A simple response
December 20, 2017
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Isaiah 61: 8-11
8 For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
We take a moment with CrossReach in the third of a weekly series through December.
Isaiah 61: 8 speaks of God’s love of justice but hatred of oppression and crime.
There is surely an expectation that we, His people, will reflect these words in our lives and works - it’s really that simple.
There is always a risk that we convert simple into complicated. His words are simple, challenging but simple, therefore our response should also be simple.
Happily, the teams at CrossReach undertake much of this kind of work and the commitment demonstrated by the staff is exemplary as they are often working in very difficult and challenging circumstances.
As CrossReach has been developing the Social Care Forum and its resource website, they have been both impressed and encouraged by the enthusiasm and commitment of congregations who are involved, or seek to be, in such missional work and this demonstrates that our response to God is a personal one - even when we are part of a team.
As His eyes and ears, His hands and feet, we are individually responsible, with His help, to demonstrate love; to fight crime, oppression and injustice in all its forms – it’s that simple!
We might all take a moment, amongst the chaos that so often envelops this season, to quietly ask ourselves how we might become more involved.
Thus, as we serve, we will know His blessing and with it we will find ourselves privileged to be clothed in the Garments of Salvation described in this passage.
Loving God, as we watch daily the tragedy, injustice, crime, and manipulation that continue to unfold on a global scale, we can’t imagine the pain you must feel for your Creation. Help us Lord, not just to see the problem as a vast global issue and thus too large for us to tackle, but rather please help us to identify the local issues and situations in which we can achieve something by demonstrating your love, your grace and the meaning of your words - serving selflessly, making a difference, however small, right where we are. Amen.
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