Isaiah 58:9b-14 (NRSV)
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Verse 9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, Verse 10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Verse 11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Verse 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Verse 13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; Verse 14then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Devotion
No one is free unless everyone is free. These words of Martin Luther King Jr. are only a slight variation on the words of American Jewish poet Emma Lazarus (d. 1887): "Until we are all free, we are none of us free." Both versions capture something of what Isaiah speaks of the reality of life in community according to God's justice.
For many of us the word justice conjures images of crimes, courts, and punishment, and in the United States, a blindfolded (impartial) woman holding a scale and sword. These are images of retributive justice, but this is not the justice of which the prophet speaks. God's justice is not impartial, but passionate and unwavering in its insistence that all God's beloved people and creation know well-being as God intends. Honoring Sabbath — rest for all people, animals, and the earth — is living in the promise of God's restorative justice so as to become well-watered gardens, infused with light and delight in the Lord.
Prayer
Restoring God, we give you thanks for your steadfast love and commitment to all creation as revealed in your gift of Sabbath, given freely from your hand, so that we may delight in you. Amen.