Thursday 01 December 2022

Psalm 16

Background

These early chapters of Isaiah alternate between a vision of glory for Jerusalem, the city of God, and the extremely difficult situation in Judah that Isaiah is living through. In total contrast to Isaiah’s preceding tale of woe in chapter 1, Isaiah’s prophecy in this chapter is all about positivity and hope. Very similar language and thought is used in the prophecy of Micah 4:1-5.

The vision is that God’s dwelling place on the mountain is so wonderful that it has an almost magnetic attraction for those who gaze upon it. There will be no need to coerce people into such a holy place, because they will want to go there willingly so God “may teach us his ways and... we may walk in his paths.”(v. 3)

God's rule is described in verse 4: it will include wise judgements and arbitration, rejecting war, turning swords into ploughshares and peaceful farming. Why would anyone prefer a different way of life? “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (v. 5)

So Isaiah gives us both the sordid everyday reality of life under Assyrian rule as well as the vision of a life lived under the benevolent authority of God. In the 21st century, are we not living in such fundamentally different times. Across the world, there are people living under foreign occupation; others witnessing all manner of human rights’ violations; there seems to be no agreed or concerted plan to tackle the destruction of our planet home; excesses abound in personal and national life; and the poor are still with us, even as the richest get even richer. It was this way when Jesus came among us 2000 years ago, and it is why we need to keep his words and example at the forefront of our lives in 2022.

 In today’s reading, Isaiah’s vision of a better world sets the scene for the Messiah. It will be given over to Jesus to usher in the kingdom of God; not as a distant future wish, but as a present reality, if only the people of God would take his life and his message to their hearts. If only we would take the two great commandments seriously – to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves – then we too could be going “up to the mountain of the Lord.”(v. 3). We too could begin to “walk in the light of the Lord”, and even glimpse the kingdom of God here on earth.

 To Ponder:

• “Power in complete subordination to love – that is something like a definition of the Kingdom of God.” (William Temple). How would you define the kingdom of God? How would you then live it out?
• Today’s hymn 'O God of hope, your prophets spoke' (Singing the Faith 708) has the words, “our shattered hope is born again.” How are you able to restore hope for both yourself and others in such a broken world? Today is World AIDs day. Are there lessons to be learned from our attitudes towards those living with HIV/AIDs?