Wednesday, June 18, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 65:1–9

I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that did not call on my name.
I held out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
and offering incense on bricks;
who sit inside tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
See, it is written before me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
full payment for their actions.
Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, “Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,”
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
and not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there. (NRSV)

Reflection

In stark contrast to the more hopeful chapters surrounding it, the prophet Isaiah begins this sixty-fifth chapter by highlighting the indifference and rejection God had previously experienced from Israel, entering into a dialogue with the people about how to begin anew. New beginnings are certainly a running theme in the closing chapters of Isaiah, captured beautifully by Isaiah 65:15: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” And yet, Isaiah prophesies, the foundations of this new beginning will be built on the people’s willingness to listen to God’s word.

These chapters from Isaiah were written in a unique period in Israel’s history: after six long decades in the Babylonian Exile, the people had miraculously been given a second chance to rebuild not only Jerusalem and the temple, but also the way their faith was woven into their daily lives. Isaiah and other prophets certainly decried the ways in which those in power ignored the poor and showed favor to the rich, but they did not hold back from criticizing the faithlessness of everyday people as well — for all of us have a role to play in making God known in our world.

I’m guessing most of us can think of places in our world where we would like a new beginning, whether that is with intractable issues like hunger or poverty or in other things that are too large to be in our control. Many of these things truly are beyond our ability to change wholesale, but every time we put God’s word into practice, we are helping to manifest this promise of new beginnings in the world around us. So where might you practice that today?

Prayer

Holy God, I am grateful for the gift of this new day and the opportunities that it will bring. May all that I do help to witness to your love in this world, until the day you truly make all things new. Amen.

Written by Matt Helms, Associate Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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