Isaiah 51:1-6 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 51:1-6 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 51Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Verse 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. Verse 3For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Verse 4Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. Verse 5I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. Verse 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.
Devotion
We are swirling in a sea of voices asking for consideration—information overload, news fatigue, bubbles of information, lives lived in silos, endless breaking news. Is that something new?
Isaiah is asking for a hearing, to get God’s good word into the distracted ears of a people. That is a very contemporary problem. Isaiah proclaims that God’s Word will give justice, life, joy, and gladness. Listen, here is a positive caring and just vision of hope for all nations!
Yet Isaiah raises the question: Why does he even have to ask for a listen and look? Are we distracted by those other voices? How can God get a word in edgewise? Read Isaiah and then think of this 1964 quote from Eric Sevareid, “The biggest big business in America is not steel, automobiles, or television. It is the manufacture, refinement, and distribution of anxiety.” Now, listen to Isaiah fresh in 2023.
Prayer
Lord of all, you seek us out in the daily noise that surrounds our lives. Open our ears and our minds to honest truth, to gentle our hearts and direct us to a peaceful world that finds joy in being together. Amen.