Studying Isaiah (9/13/2023)

This week, our bible study group began the Book of Isaiah the prophet. Talk about a reality check, the LORD’s call to the people through the prophet is clear and persistent: focus on relationships. The words of the text remind me that my life is all about relationships, not possessions, not personal power. It’s a wake-up call, nearly three millenniums later, we are still being called by the LORD to focus on the essentials of life, our life with one another possible only because of our life with the LORD. And I wonder, will we ever get it right, LORD?

This week, the day of our bible study, was the 22nd anniversary of one of the darkest days in our country, 9-11. It is permanently etched in the memory of all of us who were alive that day of the destructive toll of hatred and evil in our world. And yet amidst all that pain and suffering, we have the image of so very many who fought that hatred and evil up close, personally, with all they had, and for so many, with their own lives as they sought to help others. We had before us that day the image of hate and the image of love. That day we swore we would never forget. And I wonder what all of us, or even what any of us are doing to defeat hatred and evil in our world.

Today is the first day of faith formation classes for our parish youth. My daughter and I will be catechists for the sixth graders. I am looking forward to it, to sharing time with these young people talking about our faith and finding real ways to strengthen it so that we might more perfectly live it. There is real hope in this endeavor. And so, this morning, my thoughts are really on this group of young people I have yet to meet but that I will be companioning on their journey of faith, hope and love for the next few months. I pray for guidance, I pray for patience, I pray for them, I pray for me and my relationship with them, and I pray that through our time together they might see the centrality of relationships to our lives, to our world, to our happiness, to our wholeness, to our past, to our present, and to our future.

It truly is all about relationships. This day, as we begin anew, made new through the love of our LORD, let us focus on our relationships. Let us consider first our relationship with our LORD and what the LORD is calling us to be, to do on this day. Let us turn to the LORD, the source of our very being, and let us seek to anchor ourselves in that relationship, in that love. Let us also consider those with whom we are sharing the journey, our family, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors, the fellow who is always on our bus. Are our interactions with others marked by love, kindness, awareness of the others’ crosses? Do we seek the face of Christ in those with whom we share the moments of our day?

May this day, a new beginning, be a turning point for us in our journeys. May this day be marked with love, with outreach to one another, with surrender to our loving LORD. May this day be a day in which we get it right.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.