Friday, March 7th
Bill Buhner
“…they ask of me righteous judgments;
they want God on their side.” Isaiah 58:2b
“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” Isaiah 58:8
One of my favorite movies is “The Verdict” starring Paul Newman as Frank Galvin, a washed-up drunk of a lawyer who is given a case of medical malpractice (which he is supposed to lose) and via this case, is afforded wonderful redemption. In his summation to the jury he says:
“You know, so much of the time we’re just lost. We say, “Please, God, tell us what is right; tell us what is true.” And there is no justice: the rich win, the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie. And after a time, we become dead.”
Isaiah, I think, is in exactly the same place: How do we “get right” with our Lord and with our brothers and sisters who we see every day? In this reading, Isaiah, by the grace of God, shows us the way.
It is time for us to stop being “Dead,” and to rejoin the grateful and redeemed “Living.” We know the way. Thanks be to God!
Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on us, all sinners. Amen
Other readings for the day: Isaiah 58:1-9a, Matthew 9:10-17, Psalm 51:1-10
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