PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 58:1-14, NIV)
REFLECTIONS:
What does it mean to be righteous? How are we to live before God and with others? When the Israelites returned to Judah after the Babylonian Exile, they faced enormous losses and spiritual confusion. The Temple had been destroyed and God’s favor seemed lost as well. What did we do wrong? they must have wondered, and How can we win our way back to God? When confronted by significant loss, we all ask such questions, don’t we?
One way to try to get right with God—and that’s what it means to be righteous—involves engaging in ritual practices that close us off from the world, such as those in monastic orders. While at times such withdrawal is necessary, taken to extreme we end up hiding from God and the world. Notice how Sunday morning worship in some of our churches takes on a rigid quality as though stuck in a certain period of time and afraid of the Holy Spirit. Hiding in ritual does not draw us closer to God.
Isaiah 58 points out a radical alternative. Getting right before God involves pursuing justice, letting the oppressed go free, and sharing bread with the hungry. These actions follow the ordinance of God; this is what it means to be righteous. Religious ritual makes sense when tied to the work of redemption. God’s presence is alive and real on Sunday mornings when worship celebrates and initiates works of justice and mercy.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, after the congregants have received Holy Communion, the church distributes the leftover bread to the poor—a simple gesture that signifies an important connection. Worship flows out into mission because true righteousness establishes a right relationship with God and with those in need.
What God longs for is a heart open to his presence and working in the world. God does not care for our religious rituals or our acts of righteousness. Those sorts of performance-based efforts do not earn his favor. They do not measure up as righteous in his eyes. No, what God wants is a heart that is open to him and to his people. God yearns for our words and our actions to "line up"—to be in harmony with one another. God yearns for us to value the things that he values, to delight in the things he delights, to participate in the sorts of things he is doing.
And, what is God doing? He is working to right the wrongs in our world today. He is working to make all things new. He is reconciling all things, all people to himself in Christ Jesus. He is setting people free. He is healing the brokenhearted. He is lifting up the week, the lame, and the downtrodden. Our God is steadily but surely advancing his kingdom on the earth, one heart at a time.
Do we truly want to live a life of righteousness? Let us join with God in what he is doing in the world. Let our worship overflow into mission with God.
PRAYER:
O God, keep us from hiding from the world’s needs as we seek to grow in our relationship with you. Stir up in our hearts a spirit of compassion that overflows into new acts of mercy and justice. Inspire us and empower us to join with you in advancing your kingdom and making all things new. Amen.
WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I love a warm fire and a cup of coffee on cold, windy Sunday afternoon. Life is good… :)
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