Isaiah 1.1, 10-20, Pentecost 9C
Theme: Starting Over
There is a misconception about cleaning house. Those who are not directly involved in house cleaning know the task is not a “one off” kind of chore. Instead, it is one of those endeavors in life which never ends.
Somehow, dust and dirt endlessly find its way into the most airtight of environments. By the time one has completed a “cleaning,” a substantial amount of dust and grime has found its way into everything again.
Keeping things clean always seems to offer very dependable job security.
The text for this Sunday speaks to another type of cleansing. There we find God communicating with Israel through the prophet Isaiah concerning a population saturated with corruption. Basically, God is demanding a kind of ‘house cleaning.”
God is saying through the voice of Isaiah, “get rid of all the evil.” The “to do” list is long. God says, “Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)
So, the people of Israel needed a lot of “cleaning up.” But the word of God has a timeless quality. Even with all the cleaning back in Isaiah’s time the “dirt” seems to always come back.
Maybe that is why there are churches. Churches are supposed to be helping with the cleanup.
That just leaves one question: How is our house cleanup doing?
Worship with us in person at 10:30 AM as we will be meditating on renewing our commitment to “cleaning house” in our community while maintaining the standards of love and compassion Jesus set taught us. The service will also be streamed live on the internet -- (https://fccmaryvillemo.com) or on the church’s home Facebook page. If you miss the live stream, a recorded session is also available to view at your convenience. Want to make a comment on my blog? Click on https://fccmaryvillemosanc.wixsite.com/ftdo