Tuesday of Holy Week
April 4, 2023
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them. –Isaiah 42:5-9
I immediately thought of the chorus I Will Do a New Thing in You when I read this scripture. While the song is very short, I cannot quote it as it is copyrighted. I first heard and learned it at a retreat in Tennessee sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund. The meeting was designed, I think, to remind children’s advocates not to give up. That meeting was held in the early 1980s. Fifty years ago, that does not seem possible. It also does not seem possible that we, children’s advocates, continue to work regarding the same problems; some like, gun violence, are even worse now. Here is a link to the Children’s Defense Fund’s most recent summary report of the status of children in Oklahoma. https://www.childrensdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SOAC-2021-Fact-Sheet_Oklahoma.pdf
Isaiah talks about the arrival of the Bringer of the New Thing, Messiah. While singing lifts our spirits and strengthens our motivation to do a new thing we seem to leave that challenge at the church doors as we leave worship and return to our life routines. Jesus did start a new thing planting new seeds and we are the workers in the garden assigned to bring forth the fruit of the spirit for all people striving for wholeness, oneness, and justice.
Prayer: Lord, travel with us out of the doors of our places of worship and into the world that longs for that new thing you offer. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.
