Isaiah 49 (NRSVUE, selected verses)
The Lord called me before I was born;
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
…. my God has become my strength—
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Devotion – An Ordinary Tuesday
Today is Tuesday of Holy Week. Almost two millennia ago in Jerusalem for most people it was just another day. This was the most important week in human history, but no one knew that yet. What was Jesus doing this unremarkable Tuesday? Probably what he always did: preaching, teaching, and connecting with his Father in prayer. Perhaps he thought of the passage from Isaiah. Our only record of him reading scripture in worship involves that scroll. But of course, Jesus didn’t need Isaiah to remind him that he was chosen by God.
God had a plan for Jesus and God has a plan for us. Perhaps we should use our free time while we are waiting for the crucifixion and resurrection trying to discern that plan through prayer. If our answer doesn’t involve a clean heart and a new and right spirit, maybe we need to reconsider. Whether we are in our late 80s, like me, or far younger, it is always the right time to seek to become closer to our God.
Prayer
Almighty God, give us a clean heart and the new and right spirit so that we may discern your mission for us as we seek to further your Kingdom in this world. Help us to know that it is never the wrong time for us to draw closer to you. We ask this in the name of your greatest gift, Jesus the Christ.
Linton Brooks