Find what you’re looking for
In our personal lives and in our politics, let us strive to follow God’s way rather than our own self-interests. Let’s put the common good—God’s realm of Shalom—ahead of power and politics.
We need the prophetic “wake-up call” of John the Baptist in today’s Gospel to summon us to conversion. We need to welcome God’s grace and power in order to become part of God’s dream.
We don’t know how to rest and relax anymore.
For many people, self-compassion is an atrophied muscle. Yet how can we connect with others’ pain if we can’t open to our own?
Through Isaiah, God assures his people that everything is going to be all right because the Lord will make it so. This is a message of hope pure and simple.
Most of us want to be seen as strong and capable. We don’t want to be helpless and needy. We fear vulnerability. Paul’s advice to the Philippians is startling: “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” He’s telling us that knowing God is near makes it safe to let our guard down. We don’t trust others and often we don’t even trust ourselves. If we’ve made bad choices in the past, we may not trust ourselves to make good choices. If we’ve been hurt, we instinctively protect ourselves from further harm. If our trust has been betrayed, we’re reluctant to trust again.
Trust in the slow work of God. If we try to control our lives, we will never be at peace. Wait with openness and unclench your fists. Without grasping, receive fully what God has for you.
Isaiah’s prophetic proclamation continues to look forward to the time of God’s kingdom. What Isaiah looked forward to, Jesus offered his followers during his earthly ministry, and offers us today.
The prophet Isaiah continues to instruct God’s people about God’s providential plans for their future. God will serve as a wall of safety for those who are his own.
Ask your body and your spirit what they need at this time. It might be rest. Then again it might be more exercise. Our needs change throughout our lives and we don’t always pay attention to that.
