Isaiah 30:3-5 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 30:3-5 on biblegateway.com
Verse 3Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation. Verse 4For though his officials are at Zoan and his envoys reach Hanes, Verse 5everyone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace.
Devotion
Here in Berkeley, where I work, you see a lot of bicyclists. You also see a lot of steep hills. As I creep along in my car, negotiating the curves and the climb on my way to the seminary, I marvel at the undaunted riders fiercely pedaling. This is for me an image of discipleship. Many days it is an uphill struggle, and there are always rough places to throw you for a loop. Yet the time is coming when there will be no more obstacles. Even now we are preparing the Lord’s way; we have his promise that he will complete the good work begun in us. And behold, he comes, revealing his glory in the infant in the manger,in the crucified Jesus, in the lives of his faithful people.
Prayer
Lord of all the living, give us courage to travel our pilgrim way, through valley and desert and hill, until we come safely to you. Amen.