Here I am, Lord

Epiphany 5, February 7, 2025

Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112:1-10
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Matthew 5:13-20

Our Old Testament text comes from third Isaiah. Third Isaiah was a post Babylonian prophet. As you may remember, after returning from their captivity, the Israelites were trying to rebuild their lives and things were not going as well or quickly as they wanted. You can imagine the struggle. It had been 70 years since they were in the land. Other people occupied the land and the economy was unable to fully support the Israelites and their plans at rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. Looking for an easy solution to their problem they tried fasting and sacrifice to get God’s approval. But after all their effort with no improvement of their problems the people started to question God. They were asking why God had not answered their prayers. Was not their worship and fasting good enough? Isaiah responds to their questioning of God by telling them that it was because they were selfish and did not help out those who were truly struggling. That is, they were not taking care of those whom God called them to care for. Isaiah tells them they are to loose the bonds of injustice, undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, to share their bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into their house, and to cover the naked. Isaiah told them that God was not concerned with their fasting and worship as long as they mistreated and ignored others who were in need. This seems also to be an expansion of the earlier formula God gave them. That was to take care of the orphan, widow, and foreigner in their land. We do not know how the Israelites received these words of Isaiah. Did they receive them just as they received first and second Isaiah’s words? Did they take them to heart and began to practice humble service to others as God called them to do? We do know that eventually they were able to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. 

Jesus’ words from the sermon on the mount remind us of Isaiah’s words as well. He reminds us that we are to take care of others to be the ones who share all that we have and, in so doing, flavor the world with God’s love while shining light upon the work of Jesus. He also tells us that he had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. And that you must follow the law and have greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees to enter the kingdom of heaven. These are pretty harsh words and seem to go against an understanding of salvation by grace. That is until we remember what the Law was. The Law was God’s gift to the people. It was a gift not to be used to judge them but to teach them how they were to live as God’s people. The Law was given to them to make them a community – the people of God. That is why Jesus did not abolish the Law. It is God’s gift to us so that we can learn how to live in community. More importantly, it is given to teach us how to live and treat others. 

That is also our calling. As Jesus tells us we are to be the flavor and light of the world giving the world a taste of God and clear view of Jesus. We do this task not because we have to but because we want to in thanksgiving to God for all that God has given us. That is the opposite of what the Israelites were doing. They were hoping their actions would be rewarded by God. As Isaiah reminded them they were acting out of selfishness and not in thanksgiving for the gifts of God. Jesus reminds us of this same dynamic. We are called to give of ourselves so that others will see God by our good works. You have been made the children of God and filled with many good gifts. Use the gifts that you have received to flavor the world with God’s love and shining light upon Jesus. Use your gifts to answer God with, “Here I am Lord, Send me.”