Isaiah 58:6-14(CEB)
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose: releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke,
setting free the mistreated, and breaking every yoke?
7 Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry and bringing the homeless poor into your house, covering the naked when you see them, and not hiding from your own family?
8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, and you will be healed quickly.
Your own righteousness will walk before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.” If you remove the yoke from among you, the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;
10 If you open your heart to the hungry, and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,
your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will be like the noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually and provide for you, even in parched places.
He will rescue your bones. You will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water that won’t run dry.
12 They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account; the foundations of generations past you will restore. You will be called Mender of Broken Walls, Restorer of Livable Streets.13 If you stop trampling the Sabbath, stop doing whatever you want on my holy day,
and consider the Sabbath a delight, sacred to the Lord, honored, and honor it instead of doing things your way, seeking what you want and doing business as usual,
14 Then you will take delight in the Lord. I will let you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will sustain you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Reflection
I would like to share a challenge with you today.
When I received my guidance for this devotional it was unique, no scripture provided, and the task was to answer a question. The question was what actions, if taken, would be meaningful to you. I really had to do some pondering and prayer to figure out what that could be.
What do you think that you would think of that could be meaningful to share? Save your thoughts, they may inspire you!
Isaiah 58 is a powerful peace of scripture for me, and I will tell you why a bit later. It was written when the people have returned from exile to Jerusalem, anticipating a glorious restoration, but instead finding themselves frustrated by insurmountable hardships. Our scripture is the Lord’s words, as spoken to the oracle. Simply put, the Lord rejects action that is accompanied by oppression. Compassion for others is more important to God than our own self-interest.
Adam Hamilton, Senior Pastor at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, recently spoke about Isaiah 58 on his podcast – please see Youtube link below – copy and paste:
Matthew 25:31-40, the parable of the sheep and the goats, is Jesus telling us what he values. Sheep represent the faithful and goats symbolize those who stray from Jesus’ teaching. Jesus characterizes the faithful as those who gave Christ something to eat when he was hungry, something to drink when he was thirsty, a place to rest when homeless, clothing when without, care when sick, and visitation when in prison.
Verses 37 – 39 are interesting to me as they are the words of the people asking Christ, when did we do these things for you? In Verse 40 Jesus answers their question, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”.
Jesus’ ministry reflects deeds of mercy and caring for the poor, vulnerable, orphans and aliens.
For me, our Isaiah 58 scripture is extremely meaningful because it is so clear to me. God really cares about all of humankind and caring makes it necessary to set out standards for us to follow. God delights in seeing us take care of each other and sustains us.
Jesus parable of the sheep and the goats is also powerful to me in a unique way. Multiple times in my history of learning biblical interpretation I have been told that it is important that a piece of scripture be consistent with other scripture. The Old and New Testament scriptures used here support each other and are consistent with what we know of God and Christ.
Understanding the Lord’s desire for us, as individuals and a society, to live in justice and fairness showing care for the poor, vulnerable, sick, immigrants and our neighbor must be powered by the words in Ephesians 2:8-9, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
Can you imagine a world where everyone values equally the scripture quoted here, as spoken by God, Christ, and delivered through the Holy Spirit today? What would be different?
Writing about this is very meaningful to me as I would like to see a better world that is achieved through our love, love that comes from God. What are your thoughts and feelings?
Prayer: Lord, we pray for your presence on this day, and throughout our Lenten Journey, as we seek to know you better and feel greater connection. Help us to honor you by the life we live and the attitude of our hearts. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
