Isaiah 66:10-14 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 66:10-14 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her- Verse 11that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom. Verse 12For thus says the Lord: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees. Verse 13As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Verse 14You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.
Devotion
After years of exile in Babylon, Israel has returned to Jerusalem. The people's feelings are mixed about returning to their native land—joy that they are "home"; sadness that the Jerusalem they knew isn't the one they're returning to; traumatic memories of living in exile for so long. Yet the return to Jerusalem is also about relationship. It's a return to the relationship that will carry them now that they are home—one they were never really separated from.
Like the Israelites, God welcomes us back when we think things are no longer the same, and when we think the paces of life have left us that way. This time God, like a mother, comforts us and nurtures us through those moments. Like Israel, we return with a mix of feelings. As with Israel, God rejoices at our return.
Prayer
Mothering God, we give thanks that you not only call us home, but comfort and nurture us so we can truly live. Amen.