It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

If/then, a Reflection on Isaiah 58:9b-12

If, then.

Isaiah calls on the people to take care of each other, to care for each other.
Remove the yoke. The United States has abolished slavery, but many of our citizens are living lives encumbered by debt. Currently under criticism by some are Pay Day Lenders:
They give people access to quick cash for necessities like medicine and utilities.
William Houck, retired bishop of Catholic Diocese of Jackson, says the businesses create "a vicious cycle of borrowing and indebtedness" with loans carrying the equivalent of a 572 percent annual interest rate.

Offer food to the hungry.

Satisfy the needs of the afflicted. Would this requirement include access to health care?

Those are the ifs.

The then: Your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

If a nation--and the people that make up that nation--continually and continuously care for each other, making sure that each person has a life of freedom, is well-fed, and has afflictions addresses, well, what would such a nation be like? How could it be anything other than the way that Isaiah describes it.

Try it out.

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