Isaiah 62: Building Up
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Yesterday Isaiah gave us clear evidence that God can and will do the impossible in our lives. Today he tells us that God’s bounty promises more than we can imagine.
I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem;
I will not be silent until she is saved,
And her victory shines like a torch in the night.
Images of marriage, of building, and of sentinels watching for the coming of one who saves are all familiar to those who read scripture. They will not be disappointed in today’s Noontime reading.
I will speak out . . . I will not be silent until she is saved . . .
I am thinking of the emotion we feel when we anticipate reunion with a loved one, when we enter into a new project or we feel the coming of change in our lives. Sometimes we can smell or taste or even feel a shift in the air. Sometimes these changes are good, sometimes not. In either case, change will arrive and although we have little or no control of what takes place, we do have control of our own behavior and of our own reactions to change. Isaiah here predicts something good in the offing. The fulfillment of a promise made by God, a promise that is certain to be kept, a promise that builds up and does not take away, a promise that brings light rather than dark, hope rather than despair.
I will speak out . . . I will not be silent . . . And her victory shines like a torch in the night.
And so we pray . . .
O God of justice and of love, you care for your people in every time and place, despite our tendency to stray from you in foolishness. Keep us in your care from morning until evening, that we may come to rest safely in the shadow of your all-powerful wings. We ask through our lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Adapted from a reflection written on Wednesday, August 25, 2010.
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Images from: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2920314/posts
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