No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. – Isaiah 62:4

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 11, 2020): Isaiah 62

We often believe that London took the brunt of the bombing during the Battle of Britain, but the reality is that the city of Kingston upon Hull, often shortened to just Hull, had 95% of its homes destroyed. The truth is that in the early days of aviation, sometimes London was a little hard to find. But the planes could always find Hull on the Eastern coast of the Island Empire. And as a result, Hull takes its place in history as one of the cities that suffered the most destruction in times of war.

But Kingston upon Hull was far from being the only city to suffer devastation during times of conflict. If we accept that these latter chapters of Isaiah were written as the exiles were returning to Jerusalem, decades after the Babylonians had destroyed the city, then we need to recognize that the Jerusalem they were returning to had been devastated. No one inhabited on the Holy mountain anymore. It probably received some visitors; the curious came to see where the mighty Jerusalem had once stood, and some people of various religions had likely built small worship altars on the mountain, approximately where they believed the Temple had once stood. But Jerusalem was no longer a city. It was Deserted and Desolate, a place where only the ghosts of the past made their homes and wandered the destroyed streets. And for many in the area, the belief was that Jerusalem would never live again.

Isaiah had a different message. Yes, there is no question that Jerusalem was a city with a past. No one could argue about the cities destruction. The people had deserted it, but none of that was Jerusalem's future. Isaiah says that Jerusalem would be known as Hephzibah, a word that means "My delight is in her." Even deserted and desolate, God was willing to declare that he took delight in Jerusalem. And the city would also be called Beulah, which means "married." A time was coming when Jerusalem would know the love and presence of God in the same way that husband and wife commit to sharing life together.

The Christian Church has clung to this idea of Beulah but, unfortunately, have forgotten the concept of Hephzibah. But both are extremely important. A God who takes delight in us (the Church) is a God that is willing to make us his bride and share his presence with us. And in return, we need to take delight in him, and share our lives unreservedly with him and accomplishing his purposes in the world around us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 63

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. – Isaiah 61:11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 10, 2020): Isaiah 61

In nature, there are two basic processes; growth and decline or death. Nature doesn't seem to support the status quo. Staying the same is an impossible task; we either grow or die. The inevitable result of the end of growth is the beginning of death. And it doesn't matter what kind of life about which we are speaking. Whenever the process of growth ends, the process of death begins. Our reality in life is that if you want to keep on living, the trick is to keep on growing. We need to make sure that there are still challenges in our lives that need to be solved. We are created in a way that we need mountains in our lives that have yet to be climbed.

But the other side of this reality is that we have little control over the actual process of growth. Believe it or not, there is no switch on the seed that the farmer uses to turn it on to get the process started. All the farmer can do is set the conditions for growth. He places the seed into the ground, giving it the nutrients that the seed needs to grow. He waters his crops, or he prays for rain so that the seed can begin life. Most gardeners know that there is an eternal battle with weeds that want nothing more than to steal the nutrients away from our precious plants. These thieves need to be removed so that the conditions for growth can be enhanced. But that is about all that that the farmer or the gardener can do.

Isaiah argues that our righteousness and praise is not something that can be manufactured. It is something that grows. Like a seed, it is planted in our lives. We might set the conditions, develop the rituals and practices like regular prayer, and exposing ourselves to the biblical writings, giving the seed fertile ground in which to grow, as well as weeding out harmful habits that might slow the seed's growth. Still, in the end, the growth is left up to God. But we take comfort in the fact that God promises if we do our part, that he will give us the growth.

But the reverse is also true. We can't manufacture the process. We can't leave the seed in the ground of our lives and then just ignore it and expect good things to happen. And at the moment where we begin to take righteousness and praise for granted, the death process begins. And just like a neglected seed in our gardens, it doesn't take long for the things that God has caused to grow in our lives to die. And the result is that we become bitter facsimiles of a religious person, rather than genuine followers of God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 62

Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession. – Isaiah 60:11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 9, 2020): Isaiah 60

Early twentieth-century Baptist pastor, Joseph Fort Newton, argued that "Men build too many walls and not enough bridges." There continue to be too many things that separate us. Walls have historically been an important security feature of a society. Walls and fences keep things out, and as well as corralling stuff so that it cannot escape. And that becomes part of the problem. What helps protect us can quickly be transformed into a prison that separates us from the rest of the world.

Isaiah speaks of a day of prosperity for Israel. And it is interesting to note that one feature of this day of economic triumph was that the gates set into the walls of the city would always remain open. According to Isaiah, prosperity results when we stop building walls and start building bridges, or in this case, leaving the gates of the city always open. It is something that some economic experts have been trying to tell us for years. Everyone benefits when we stop putting up barriers to trade and begin to do business with those who have traditionally existed outside of our walls.

It has also been an argument that we have been hearing from Africa for years. African businesses have been asking for a generation, not for handouts from the wealthy First World countries, but for a level playing field where they can compete with the world's businesses. The idea is that if they are given a chance, they can bring prosperity to the continent without needing humanitarian assistance from the West. (And, yes, the problem of corrupt African governments and war would also have to be solved for this to be a possibility.)

But the reality is that we still live in a world that has walls as its main feature. Not all of the walls are physical, many of the barriers take the form of tariffs, trade barriers, and other forms of protectionism, but they are still walls. And regardless of whether you think these walls are a necessary feature of our international relations, the reality, according to Isaiah, is that when we can finally pull these barriers down, when we can, at last, put our efforts toward building bridges or leaving the gates to our cities open, then we will know that the day of prosperity has arrived. And that prosperity will not just be for Israel, but the world as well.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. – Isaiah 59:9

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 8, 2020): Isaiah 59

Jesus told the story. It involves a shepherd and his flock of sheep. The flock in the story conveniently numbers one hundred. And in the story, one of the sheep goes missing. The question that Jesus asks is, what should be the shepherd's priority? Does he stay with the ninety-nine, or does he go in search of the one? The intuitive answer for those who first heard Jesus's story was that the shepherd should go and search for the one. But, if we are honest, in our society, we aren't sure.

One parishioner cornered me with the story some years ago. He was furious about what he felt were the unnecessary efforts of the church to minister to those who did not give back to the life of the church. And during our discussion, he brought up this story and argued against Jesus's conclusion. In what world does keeping the ninety-nine safe take second place to searching for the one in trouble.

The answer to my friend's question is that the needs of the one are more important than the ninety-nine in any culture that values justice and righteousness. Justice and righteousness are fundamentally unconcerned about the needs of the majority. The concern of justice and righteousness are always in support of those who exist on the edges of culture. Because if justice is available only to the powerful, then it isn't really justice, nor can it be right.

It is an interesting argument to evaluate in our present cultural moment. In a world where we fight over "Black Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter," maybe we need to relook at Jesus's story and focus on the one. In a world where we question the advice about wearing a mask in public when only one percent of our society will suffer devastating health outcomes due to COVID-19, maybe we need to hear the story of the shepherd and his flock one more time.

I admit that I have a persistent nightmare. Admittedly, I am among the blessed in our culture. I don't worry about my rights being stolen from me by those in power. But that does not mean that it could not happen. One day I could wake up, not as one of the ninety-nine, but as the one. And Isaiah makes it clear. If justice and righteousness are not part of our plan when we are the ninety-nine, it won't be there when we make the journey to the one. At that moment, we will look for the light but only find darkness. And the fault won't lie with God; it will lie with us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 60

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? – Isaiah 58:6

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 7, 2020): Isaiah 58

Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho, in "Brida," says that "A prayer couched in the words of the soul, is far more powerful than any ritual." Unfortunately, it seems that prayer couched in the words of the soul is sometimes hard to come by. Often, we seem more comforted by the ritual prompted by our spirituality. The effort and pain that is required to reach our souls seems beyond either our ability or our energy.

And yet, the ritual in our spiritual lives is often dangerous because, while we think we are doing something, in reality, we are just going through the motions. Any spiritual act that does not reach the depth of our being is wasted because it did nothing to prompt a change in how we interact with our world. It would be like wearing a "Black Lives Matter" t-shirt, but still doing racist things. Unless the slogan reaches the depths of our actions, the t-shirt is just a t-shirt.

Isaiah argues that the returning exiles have not learned the lesson of their deportation. They were going through the motions, acting out the ritual, but none of it had reached the depth of their beings. Specifically, Isaiah argues that they are fasting and fulfilling the ritual, but there is no self-examination involved in the fast. Injustice still reigns all around them, and those who fast are doing nothing to change it. And because of their lack of action to eliminate injustice, God is not honored by the fast.

A fast is essentially giving up something to spend time in self-examination so that we can get ourselves right with God. The year 2020 saw two significant pauses to pro sports. One was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second was in support of racial equality, and a plea for the cessation of the senseless shooting of unarmed African Americans in the United States. If nothing changes, they were both just pauses in the daily routine of these athletes. But if our actions change. If we become more aware of the racial injustice that exists in our society, and if we begin to take action on injustice. If we can set the oppressed free, then maybe we could consider the second pause a fast, because, as a direct result of the break, we spoke with the words of our souls and our nation began to reflect what it is that God wants for us. But if we continue as we always have, if we continue to be complacent and injustice continues, and we remain silent, then the pause was a couple of days off enjoyed by professional athletes. It can mean nothing more.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 59

Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? – Isaiah 57:11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 6, 2020): Isaiah 57

For the United States, the Season of Fear has arrived. In the United States, the season reoccurs every four years on a regular schedule. In Canada, it is a little less stable, but if I listen to the rumors, Canadians may also be entering into their fearful season. I wish I knew if it had always been this way, or if this is a relatively recent development in history. It is a product of democracy. The season is instigated by the act of choosing who it is that will lead our countries. It has the potential of being a positive process, but usually, it quickly devolves into why we should fear one candidate for the nation's highest office more than the other. And so, we go to the polls, not to make a positive choice, but to choose the one who causes us to fear the least, and often characterizing the ones we don't support with over the top descriptions describing the monsters that they are. And every season, the fear seems to grow.

The biblical idea of the "fear of God" contains a healthy element of respect. To the contemporary ear, fearing God seems like a foreign idea. We love God and want to serve him. But there should also be an element of fear and respect present in our worship. For instance, I love storms. There is something beautiful about watching the majesty and power of a thunderstorm and seeing the bright flash of lightning. I love being able to not only hear but feel the thunder. But I also respect and fear the power of the storm. I know the damage that it can cause if I am not careful and find myself in the wrong place. The fear of God is similar. We love him, but we also recognize and respect, or fear, his power.

Isaiah's message is that the people have found something else that they fear more than God.  And because they fear something else more, they have chosen to serve the demands of that something and place their trust in this "other." Isaiah mentions the god Molek in the passage, but there are also allusions to other gods and powers. And the question that rings out throughout this passage is, "who is it that you fear more than God?"

I doubt that anyone who reads this blog fears Molek more than God. But that does not mean that we are immune to the problem. In the society in which I live, even inside the church, people fear poverty more than God. And so, despite the inscription on American currency professing a trust in God, the reality is that we trust in money. We fear being powerless, and so we often trust power, wherever we might be able to find it, rather than God. We fear isolation, which usually translates into the trust of friends, and sometimes results in sexual promiscuity so that we won't be alone. Whatever it might be that we fear will always influence the things in which we trust.

But no matter what we might fear, the core of Isaiah's message is that if we fear anything more than God, then we are misled. And we need to get back to fearing, and therefore trusting, God above anything else. And that means that we need to examine ourselves and take an inventory of the things that we fear.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 58

Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. – Isaiah 56:10

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2020): Isaiah 56

English humorist P. G. Wodehouse, in "Love Among the Chickens," writes, "If there is one thing I dislike, it is the man who tries to air his grievances when I wish to air mine." I get it. There is nothing like arriving at a friend's place so that you can lodge your complaints about the world around you, only to find that your friend has a list of grievances as long or longer than your own. (I have to admit, I have actually tried this with some of my friends, just to see their reaction. Sometimes the response is good, but often I am reminded of the foolishness of the endeavor.)

I suspect that an unknown author wrote this portion of Isaiah at the end of the exile as Jerusalem's former inhabitants began to make their return home. And as they made their way home, the reality is that going from living in Babylon, in exile, and under the direct command of foreign kings and leaders, then suddenly being thrust into the leadership role and governing a nation on their own, meant a steep learning curve. It seems likely that the leaders had grown permissive, trying their best to keep their people happy without stepping on too many toes. And they had grown selfish, wanting the best for themselves.

Isaiah sees this and realizes that none of this is in the job description of a leader. And so, he reminds them of their duty. They are to be watchmen for the nations, ever watching for the dangers that might befall the people. They were watchdogs, charged with the responsibility of raising the alarm whenever the enemy approached, regardless of whether the threat arose from outside the community or from within it. And while they might want to lie around and dream of a better day, right now they were required to keep their attention on the things that were needed in the present, so that, one day, they might live in the world of which they liked to dream.

It was time to get to work. Isaiah insists that if they lacked knowledge, as it is likely the exiles did, then they needed to do something to gain it. Ignorance was not an excuse. If they were blind, then maybe they should try opening their eyes so that they could see the society that they were attempting to lead. If there was a problem, they needed to voice it, even if it did upset some within the community. The time for selfish sleep had ended. There was much to be done to create a society that pleased God. God had commissioned them as leaders, and it was time that they grew into the role.

They needed to listen to the grievances of others, but also take action on what they have heard. Now was the time to give themselves to the problems of the other.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 57