Isaiah 58:9b-14 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 58:9b-14 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, Verse 10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Verse 11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Verse 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Verse 13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; Verse 14then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Devotion
Distraught by the devastation of their homeland, the newly returned exiles to whom this text is addressed longed to experience the presence of God and the restoration of their community. These gifts would come, exhorted the prophet, not through the formality of their worship, but through the orientation of their hearts. They would be called “repairers of the breach” when they took upon themselves the godly responsibility of community building.
Members of the ELCA’s Metropolitan New York synod became familiar with this passage when Bishop Stephen Bouman adopted it as theme of the synod’s 2002 assembly. Speaking shortly after the events of Sept. 11, he called upon the members of our synod to be “repairers of the breach.” The bishop reminded us, using Isaiah’s words, that the restoration of our hope and the promise of a renewed community, would be found in the breach – in godly acts of human goodness.
Prayer
God, equip me with the faith and skills I need for mission in your world, that, in deeds big or small, I may contribute to the health and welfare of my community. Amen.