February 27

“A people whom the Lord has blessed”

            Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines; but you shall be called priests of the Lord, you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory.  Because their shame was double, and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

Isaiah 61:5-9

            Isaiah 61 continues from yesterday with the author turning his attention from the Chosen One to those that the Chosen One will minister to.   The exiles would return home.  The oppressed would be set free.  Those who worked as slaves would enjoy freedom and the wealth of their land.  Those who had experienced injustice would see their wrongs righted.  Those who had lived in shame and whose identity was anchored in dishonor were promised that everlasting joy would be theirs.

            It is a powerful passage of promise.  It calls out to the hearts of anyone who has faced injustice, discrimination and poverty.  The Lord loves justice and promises that all the wrongs will be made right…and I don’t know what to do with the passage.  These are promises that were made thousands of years ago, the Messiah has come and gone and promised to come again.  He left behind His Holy Spirit who formed the Church to be God’s hands and feet upon the Earth.  I live in the most powerful nation in history and that nation claims to be founded upon following Jesus, yet we do not live in a just world.  We live in a world where social services to our most vulnerable populations are cut so that those with plenty can have tax breaks.  We live in a world where the divide between rich and poor is greater than it has ever been.  We live in a world where women are raped and then ridiculed for speaking out.  We live in a world where unborn children are killed every day, often for the sin of being diagnosed with a disability.  We live in a world where over 40,000 babies are born each year with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a completely preventable affliction.  40,000 each year because their mothers refused to stop drinking while they were pregnant.  40,000 souls who face a life of struggle and hardship that did not have to be theirs.  This is not a world of justice or everlasting joy.

            Again, I’m not sure what to do as I hold the state of the world in one hand and God’s promises in the other.  Maybe we do not get to see justice on this side of eternity.  Maybe this is a call for the Church to let go of its pursuit of power and status in order to serve those that society turns its back on.  Maybe this is a call to lamentation and prayer.  Maybe this is a call to advocacy and utilizing our democratic system to bring about the changes that we want to see.  Maybe this is an invitation to leave my cave and build a grassroots movement.  Maybe…maybe. 

            What do we do?  I know some parents who have devoted themselves to advocacy and policy and social action.  I know some parents who have turned their lives into instruments of compassion and service.  I know some who have taken on the role of mourners and intercessors, crying out with the weight of their hearts to God.  I know some who have just turned their backs on the rest of the world in order to focus on helping equip their kids to navigate this perilous world.  There is not a single correct approach, but here is a good starting spot:

            The Lord loves Justice.  As His children, so should we.  When the vulnerable and marginalized suffer, God’s heart grieves and produces righteous anger.  As His children, the same should happen within our hearts.

            From there we turn our hearts and our attention to God so that we can hear what opportunities He has for us. 

            The vision and the hope and the promise of Isaiah 61 is just too good to let die because it seems hard.

A moment to reflect:

Where is God calling you to invest in creating a world of Justice and Joy?