Sunday June 24th 2012
The rest of Isaiah
The beginning of today's reading is pretty graphic if you picture it. Fires, decay, mountains shaking, dead bodies in the streets, and army of perfect soldiers- sounds like the makings of a really good horror movie. People will try anything, from fleeing and hiding, to their idols, to seeking help from their fellow men, but nothing will work. So God then reminds the people that if they would only turn to Him, their sins would be forgiven. If they would seek Him out, nothing they had done previously would make God turn away from them. It's a powerful message, and one that repeats throughout the Bible. I don't know how many times He repeats that if you turn to Him, He will love you unconditionally. It's almost a Biblical mantra, it's repeated so often- seek out the Lord, gain forgiveness and love. It seems like such an easy thing to do, right? Not always, and not for everyone.
The people in today's passage were faced with death. Their options literally were: 1. Seek the Lord and gain forgiveness or 2. Die a horrible death. I think if ever faced with these options I know which one I would pick. I would turn to God in a heartbeat. But this brings up another interesting thought: what are people's real reasons for turning to God? Are they only turning to Him to "evade a horrible death," whether that death be literal, like in the passage today, or figurative death or loss? That doesn't seem fair, it seems selfish. It would be like only going to Him when you need Him. You would become that friend that only calls you when he or she needs help with something, and then is never heard from again until his or her next problem. But this just goes and proves God's love. He is willing to accept you any way He can, because He knows once you've seen His greatness, you're going to be coming willingly, because who would want to live without the eternal peace God offers? Like Kenny said in his sermon today, you're going to want to go back for more apples, and you're going to want to share them. (The apples meaning God and His love, for those who missed today's sermon). But as we keep reading about the political uprisings at the time, we see that a cycle is there. King ascends, king does wrong by God, king loses his power. This reinforces the idea that all good things come with God, and once you stray from that path, you can't take those good things with you.
Today's reading ends with Isaiah volunteering himself to do God's work. He turns to God because he loves Him, and not just out of personal need. I'm going to attach a song that I grew up singing about these very verses called "Here I Am, Lord." I went to Catholic school for most of my life, and this song was pretty much a constant at every mass. It's a beautiful hymn that I'm glad I have the opportunity to share with you all.
I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday!
-Gina :)
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