Isaiah 45:1-7 (NRSV)
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Chapter 45Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him- and the gates shall not be closed: Verse 2I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, Verse 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. Verse 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.
Verse 5I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, Verse 6so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. Verse 7I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.
Devotion
Karl Barth said that we should proclaim God with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in another. I cannot imagine anything more difficult. Read any newspaper front page: it brings news of war, death, destruction and power over weakness. It takes a bold imagination for the prophet Isaiah to see the redemptive hand of God in the destructive work of yet another potentate, Cyrus.
Nowadays, many newspapers devote a section to "Faith and Values," and some provide a page for worship notices and church calendars. Isaiah isn't interested in such a bit part for God. The canvas of God's activity for Isaiah is something much grander than a religion page. Isaiah proclaims the front page as the place to read of God's work in the world, in all its terrible redemptive purpose.
Prayer
O Lord, teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me when I seek you. For I cannot seek you unless you first teach me, nor find you unless you first reveal yourself to me. Let me seek you in longing, and long for you in seeking. Let me find you in love, and love you in finding.
-Saint Ambrose of Milan, c. 340—397