Shalom

Second Week of Advent
Tuesday December 10, 2013

 Read: Isaiah 41:14-20 

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
…so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this,
   the Holy One of Israel has created it.—Isaiah 41:17, 20

I have been a news hound most of my life—inherited that trait from my father probably. Anymore though listening to the news is like hearing a room full of out-of-tune instruments being played. The people being interviewed are talking over the reporters, rarely answering the questions they are asked, and taking advantage of some free air time to push their ideology. It is hard to know who to believe so we do not believe any of them. It gets worse during political campaigns. I just want to run away and hid because no one seems to be addressing the most important issues that we face.  

One of the historical messages of the prophets is to talk about the things that really matter as opposed to what others want us to hear. Isaiah is doing that in our scripture reading for today. He is telling the Israelites even though they are now in captivity they will have a straight and flat road home when they return from Babylon with plenty of water to drink. In some instances prophets directly confronted those who were trying to pull the wool over the Israelites eyes. Jeremiah did this when he accused false prophets of making promises they cannot deliver. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14) Of course, the prophets paid a high price for being so outspoken. They were tortured and exiled. When we really do not want to hear the truth, maybe even out-of-tune instruments sound good to us.

 Shalom, God’s peace, gives us the confidence we need to keep moving toward the full rule of God where love is the only reality that matters. Christ is coming. Christ has come; we call him the Prince of Peace. Christ will come again.

 Prayer: Lord who is peace, grant us the gift of your peace that exceeds understanding. Amen.

All scripture passages are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version.