“For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still. Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, to make widows their spoil and to plunder orphans! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.” Isaiah 9:21 – 10:4

All things seem to be colliding this morning. Colliding rather than aligning because all my readings seem to be pointing to the same theme, but what?

My Lectio 365 reflects on Zechariah’s silence, the circumstance surrounding John’s birth and name focusing on Luke 1:66, “what then will this child be?” It is a question of what is the end game.

A friend shared a Tik-Tok video about a new world order which speaks to the end of national sovereignty, and where everything is ordered by one organization and people literally have no say in what happens in their lives.  Isn’t this the way of the world now and not something to come?  What is the end game of reading the bible? Is it to be used to coerce persons? Is it a book of prophecies of what the future holds? Or is it the reflection of how people in a certain contexts viewed God? Is their reflection similar to ours and can God’s faithfulness resonate with us in 21^st century Jamaica. 

I am being cynical this morning. But individuals have never had any control over their own lives.  We have always had to conform to one thing or another in order to exist.  Conform suggests doing something you really do not want to do, but you do it because…

Birds of a feather flock together. We join as family, community or likeminded persons to protect what is important to us. 

My friend Rev. Bertram Gayle posted on Facebook that the Bible does not determine the reading of the Bible.  Yes, this is so true because the Bible has context. The people who wrote are reflecting on their own experiences of God.  Mine is not necessarily theirs. My experience does not have to be yours either.  That is a difficult pill to swallow, because like the Tik-Tok video we are all supposed to conform. For most people conforming is harmony.  Conforming means everything will work in the best interest of all involved.  No! Sorry! We fool ourselves!  All will be well despite what we say or do.  All will be well whether we conform to the status quo or not.

What differs is the process. The life we live until we are able to see that all is well. The pain we endure, the Joy we experience and the balance of both in our lives.   That is what makes the difference. This is the end game to reflect on the past and through the present maintain a balanced life into the future, whatever that may be.

Isaiah says twice in the span of 6 verses “For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.” What does he mean? There is no and or but linking the two phrases. Is it saying that no matter what God remains angry?  Does he just mean that God is not finished being angry with Israel?

Isaiah is warning the northern kingdom of God’s impending judgment. He suggests that they will not fare well. May be they will not.  But they are not going to fare well, not because God is going to punish them Instead, it is because they have not done the right thing.  They have not lived right with each other and with the communities around them. This discord and disunity ‘breeds bad blood’ as we would say in Jamaica. Nothing good can come of that. 

However Isaiah as the prophet of God looks through his theological eyes. He tells them no good will come from their behaviour.  He believes because they are disobedient, God is going to punish them. 

I have the benefit of hindsight. I can look back on Isaiah’s time and all of the old testament prophets, I can see the bigger picture.  I recognize that God is faithful and delivers God’s people every time. They must pay attention to God and what God is doing. When they turn to their own ways, they are conforming to what is happening around. Things then go awry.  Paul in Romans speak about not conforming. If we look through history it is when a society conforms to the status quo, when they sit and do nothing that things go awry.

Because I see in all of the bible the story of Salvation, God as I understand ‘him’, always stretch out God’s hand in mercy. You see my God is a forgiving God. My God is a loving God. My God does not hold grudges.  My God is always there. It is for us to reach out to that outstretched hand and hold it. Unlike Isaiah we cannot be afraid and think that the hand can only punish.

God is not man. We give God human characteristics in an effort to understand God.  I do not know if we can truly comprehend the mystery called God.  I do not know that we should try either.  What I do know is that God exists and I experience God present with me regularly. I dare to say daily. I however, must admit that I do not always pay attention to what God is saying or doing.

I however pray constantly and consistently that God will be my guide in all things. I pray that the “Eternal Light, shine into our hearts; Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil; Eternal Power, be
our support; Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance; Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
That with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek God’s face and be brought by God’s infinite mercy to God’s holy presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Amen.