“What in the world is He thinking?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, February 6, 2023
Isaiah 58:1-12 (Forward, p. 8) CEV p. 752
God really knows how to ‘overturn the applecart’ in terms of the ways that we usually think. Usually we think that worship is one of the things that God consistently wants from us—and, speaking of worship, it is to be worship that is directed at Him, that is, God. At least, that is the sense that we get from numerous passages of Scripture.
But here He seems to turn that notion on its head. He denigrates traditional forms of worship like fasting and dressing in sackcloth and ashes and lifts up something totally different, namely caring for the unfortunate and needy of our society and world.
So, what is God thinking? What is He saying? Is He suggesting that we should worship His human creatures in place of Himself? Yes, human beings are made in His image and likeness, but this seems ridiculous. This would amount to worship a creature rather than the Creator. So, let me suggest that this is not at all what God is saying.
What I would suggest is that the fasting and the dressing in sackcloth and ashes are individual expressions—individual expressions as contrasted with corporate or communal ones. They are expressions of sorrow and penitence, on the one hand, and expressions of a willingness and a desire to make a new start, on the other.
So, God then, by my estimation, is saying that such eloquent expressions are meaningless, empty, unless (and until) they are accompanied by practical expressions of that sorrow and penitence, by actions that give evidence of that desire for a new start. It is just as the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3--all sorts of things we do, words and sacrifice and lots else, are absolutely useless—just noise--unless accompanied by love. It is exactly as James says in James 1:27, “true religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
Our corporate gathering together for worship is designed expressly for one purpose and one purpose only: we come together to know and love God and express His praises, so as to be equipped and empowered to go out into the world and share God’s love with those around us. So, worshipping God and serving others are not mutually exclusive, but two sides of the same coin. Or as the apostle John once said, “how can you say you love God whom you have not seen, if you cannot love the brother or sister whom you have seen?” (1 John 4:20). Amen.
Forward notes: “Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet!” (verse 1a)
“I have always kept good news quiet. I didn’t tell anyone where I was applying to college or if I was a finalist in a contest. I did this because I didn’t want to have to talk to people if it didn’t work out. I’m still like this. I’m not telling anyone about these devotions until after they have been submitted.
“I think it’s because I don’t want to hear the ‘I’m sorry’s’ or feel like others are pitying me. Even if I’m disappointed, I can still be happy for others. I can pray, ‘thy will be done,’ and know God had a different plan for me.
“Isaiah tells us to shout out, to not hold back, to lift our voices like a trumpet. There will always be those people who prefer to keep everything private, and I respect them, but I am trying to live into Isaiah’s call. Good news is a good thing. Sad news? Well, there is no denying it happens, but something good is coming along. If something happens, tell it. Shout it. Own it. Be grateful! We need to know that others are happy, to share in their joy, and to know that we too will have good news to trumpet.”
Moving Forward: “Share the ultimate Good News with a friend or neighbor. Shout it out!”
A concluding note: I’m afraid that today’s author has entirely missed the boat, missed the point of today’s passage. God is not telling us to proclaim some sort of good news—that is, unless to tell people how sinful and ‘off the mark’ they happen to be—is good news (which may be good news, in a way, if it forces them to change.)
No, the people God is addressing have figured that they have been doing all the right things in terms of their informal, private practice of religion. And
so, God wants them—and us too, if it applies to us—to know just how far off the mark they are in terms of these things. True religion, true worship, He says, is always to have an impact, a result, in the way we live, in the way we treat others. It is a good and bracing reminder for all of us. Amen