13 Stop bringing worthless offerings.
Your incense repulses me.
New moon, sabbath, and the calling of an assembly—
I can’t stand wickedness with celebration!
14 I hate your new moons and your festivals.
They’ve become a burden that I’m tired of bearing.
15 When you extend your hands,
I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even when you pray for a long time,
I won’t listen.
Your hands are stained with blood.
16 Wash! Be clean!
Remove your ugly deeds from my sight.
Put an end to such evil;
17 learn to do good.
Seek justice:
help the oppressed;
defend the orphan;
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let’s settle this,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be white as snow.
If they are red as crimson,
they will become like wool.
Reflection
Many of us who grew up in more evangelical churches are familiar with Isaiah 1:18. I remember memorizing it even as a second and third grader. It was key to understanding what was really valued in the church of my earliest memory. Salvation was the forgiveness of sins – period. We are sinners; God forgives through the sacrifice of Jesus. That was the faith I was taught.
Correct. But also incomplete.
Never did we read that scripture in the fuller context of Isaiah 1 (well, certainly not in my third grade Sunday School class). This passage, like Amos 5 that we read on Sunday, rails against worship in an atmosphere of injustice. Verses 16-17 set up a clear if/then condition leading into verse 18. God says: “if you come to me looking to wash your hands, worship won’t do it. But justice will.”
Though the temptation is strong, we have to be careful not to read this in a works-righteousness vein. Justice ALONE can’t save us. When we go down that path, it’s also destructive. Crusaders of all types tend to imagine that by punishing evildoers, we are doing God’s work. Typically the result is that we punish everyone else, but excuse ourselves and our friends (there’s always extenuating circumstances!)
What’s required is that we couple the work of justice with a deep humility before God. Works of justice in the world around us need always to be accompanied by the work of the Spirit within us. We must be willing to stand under the same judgments we render on others. It’s never, “What have YOU done?” but rather “What have WE done?” This is how we witness to God’s loving promise of forgiveness – by learning to do good.
The biblical context for forgiveness and blessing is always justice. To embrace the promises without the responsibilities is to take them out of context – and to miss out on a blessing.
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
Today, as you rail against something you see in the world that’s not right, pause a moment to consider and pray: What role do I have in this? What can I be doing differently to help?
Prayer: Lord, we confess we have too often substituted religious activity for a commitment to serve your people. We have looked to assuage our guilt with prayer rather than action. Help us to see ways we might do it differently today. Help us to commit once more to helping the oppressed, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow. Amen.
