Today's reading from Isaiah carries with it a number of things of which we should take careful note in the world in which we live.
Isa 5:16-25 - "16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. 17 Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, and in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. 18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope; 19 That say, "Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it." 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, 23 who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man! 24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still."
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope - The vision painted by the prophet is that of taking sins with us wherever we go, assuring that they follow us, not leaving them behind even for an instant. And we carry them why? Because we are attached to them more than we are attached to our destination. And in taking our sins with us, we use them wherever we go. In so many instances as we confess our sins, we come to the understanding that a sin that we commit almost never affects only us, but it also affects others around us. If I am angered, my anger alienates the one with whom I'm angry. If I am covetous, my desire to outdo the other causes them to enter the race with me. If I am adulterous, envious, filled with gossip, . . Name the sin, it carries the effect of impacting the one or ones who surround me, who are taking from the cart I draw carrying my own iniquity.
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! - Look at the world around us. Without taking sides in political issues, how can two sides project as truth words that are diametrically opposed to one another? How can both be true? How can "universal health care" be simultaneously that which will bring down a nation and that which will elevate a nation out of the depths? How can "man-made global warming" be simultaneously the thing that most threatens the planet and a huge hoax to control the populace? Some side is putting darkness for light. Some side is putting bitter for sweet. And the scary thing is that while we, the people in the trenches try to figure out for ourselves which side is telling the truth, it's totally possible that both are putting darkness for light, and bitter for sweet.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight - This is especially cutting to those of us who see ourselves as self-sufficient, who have been put in places of authority, and who exercise that authority by our own "wisdom", as opposed to seeking first the will of God! It happens in business, in education, in the home, and yes - even in the church.
23 (Woe to those) who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man! - Our world is filled with intrigue and subterfuge. We see it in our political officials. Money is allocated, and it just seems to "disappear". Taking justice from the righteous can mean that which happens to deprive one who is accused from a good defense. But it can also mean our own reticence to offer alms to those in need. How so? We hold the resources to provide for a need, and the one who is in need righteously requires what God has given to us in His bounty, not for us to hoard it for ourselves, but to use it as His will would dictate - to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned (Mat 25). Our holding on to what God has given us in selfishness indeed then withholds justice from the righteous.
For any of us who fall into any of these categories (and if we're honest with ourselves, we all fit here somewhere), the words of the Prophet Isaiah that follow should bring us to repentance.
24 As the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel - Isaiah tells us that if we follow these paths unrepentantly, God will be against us. This does not mean we will lose that which we have in this world, but in the Kingdom, we gain no root, for that which we've planted, that which we've sown is rotten to the Lord. The "blossom" is that which flowers from what is planted, and if there is no root, there will be no blossom, and our entry to the Kingdom is despoiled by our sewing seeds that are unrighteous.
The alternatives are easily seen. Our Lord does not command us to do things which He Himself does not or will not do. And He commands us, "If your brother sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying , 'I repent!', you shall forgive him." (Luke 17:4) This is the God Whom we serve. This is the heart of the Lord Who came and suffered for us. This is our Lord Who, in a few short weeks, we will walk with toward Jerusalem, and to Gethsemane, and to Golgotha, and to a new tomb. Before He makes that journey, let us complete our journey towards Him, by confessing that which separates us from Him, making it a sincere offering, for He assures us that He will accept this. "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." (Ps 51:17)
No comments:
Post a Comment