Let there be Light

Isaiah 1:2-4a

“Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption!

As I read our lectionary text from Isaiah today, I couldn’t help but wonder in amazement at the timeless relevance and power of God’s word throughout the ages. Here we have the prophet Isaiah writing to Israel some 2700 years ago, however, it still reads as if God is speaking directly through Isaiah to Christians in 2024. While this passage may seem harsh, and very direct to begin, as always God’s Word is full of hope, and a path of restoration through repentance, forgiveness, and an opportunity to respond to the love and faithfulness of God despite our rebellion and sin.

Isaiah 1:4b-15

“They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers... Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are

they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!“

For me, this passage brings to mind effortlessly many parallels of our culture today both within and without the church. Just turn on the TV, or your favorite streaming service, or scroll social media for 5 minutes to see some of the ways our culture has “Forsaken the Lord.” They are vast and obvious. But Isaiah doesn’t stop there. It’s not just “culture” or “the world” that has forsaken God. His rebuke is for the people of God as well, and in this way, Isaiah 1 sounds eerily similar to some of John’s visions for the 7 churches in the book of Revelation. God goes so far as to say he “hates” empty offerings and worship. In what ways does our worship (daily living) today become a “burden” to God? Maybe for us, this doesn’t look like bloody animal sacrifices, but more like misplaced priorities, or moral gray-area tiptoeing, or lukewarm faith, or half-hearted generosity, or some sense of religious entitlement. But, what are we to do, if even we, God’s people can’t bring to God pure, unadulterated offerings of worship (lives)?

Isaiah 1:16-20

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”