Friday, February 8, 2008

an acceptable day to the Lord

Today's reading is unsettling for me.  

God's call through the prophet Isaiah to "loose the bonds of injustice...to share [my] bread with the hungry, to bring the homeless poor into [my] house"-- hurts because I do so little to obey it.  This is part of the repentance and renewal aspect of Lent-- and I don't much like it.

But I got stuck on the first half of the passage the first few times I read through it this morning. Because it hit home I had trouble getting past it.  

After re-reading it and slowing down enough to read the second half, I found God's gracious promise for those who obey:  "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am."

What injustice in the world do I notice?  What human oppression breaks my heart?  

That is where I need to start today.

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