Reflection
Isaiah was a court prophet for four kings in Judea in the sixth century B.C. It was in that time that the northern kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians. Hence the king and his court, along with the whole population of Judea, feared for their safety in front of the military advance of these despised conquerors.
Much needed in this environment of desperation were words of hope. Isaiah endeavours to provide just such words. There will be better times under the rule of a great king, a Messiah. This messianic time will be an age when God will bring life from death and victory from defeat. For Christians, they, like their master, can be endowed with or blessed with the spirit. Here the Messiah and his followers have a social conscience. They have a passion for justice. The question for each of us is: Do we have a passion for justice in our daily work? Are we called to serve? By justice, I mean not what each is due just because of his or her humanity, but rather what each needs as a Child of God.
May we reach out in the name of Jesus to a hurting world just as God reached out and continues to reach out to our broken lives.
Prayer
Lord God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the world. Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help. Through us give hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary. Amen.
Reading
Psalm 19, Jeremiah 23:5-6, John 13:1-17
Hymn/Song
The Church of Christ in every age
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