God's Path Toward Restoration

 The distresses that have converged on 2020, some of them of long standing, have prompted fervent yearning for restoration. Isaiah 58:6-8, 10-12 lays out a path on which the people of God can lead the way by heeding these words from God.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

This is the greatness Jesus set forth in Matthew 23.11: The greatest among you shall be your servant.

If this evokes responses to politics or government policy, then my question is: have we/I let the world squeeze us/me into its mold (Romans 12:1 Phillips) as defined by the Republicans and Democrats; or are our/my minds being transformed and renewed toward congruence with Moses, the Hebrew Prophets, and Jesus? I am challenged to lead by a personal and communal life of love, justice, peace, compassion, and mercy for those who are weak, poor, orphans, widows, foreigners, strangers, oppressed, excluded, powerless, broken, suffering. As important as practicing those things are to me, I recognize my wife and I (and our family) live very comfortably. No guilt trip here, only acknowledgement of continuing growth on the journey.