Wednesday Meditation

 

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.”  Isaiah 43:1b-3, 4a

Here we are trying to surf the world as we encounter and experience the reality around us...as well as what is within us. Here we are trying to stay afloat amid the waves that come crashing down. Here we are trying to navigate our boat through the waters of 2020.

I wonder if part of what Isaiah was doing here was a riff on the resilience of faithfulness needed for daily living. Isaiah ministered to people in exile. People who had been carted and carried away from their homes in Jerusalem to live under the watchful eye of the Babylonian empire. People’s lives had been turned upside down. Babylon had burnt the temple, the center of faith, to the ground. Babylon had wrecked the holy city where God was believed to reside. What do you do when life as you know it no longer exists? How do you worship God in new ways? Like say, when in-person worship has been suspended because of a pandemic and you need to learn technology so that you can try to offer something meaningful to people. Imagine that?

Part of what Isaiah is saying is that we have been here before. Isaiah, in exile, is calling on the collective memory of their ancestors who had experienced/lived through the exodus. When God’s people faced the crashing, chaotic Red Sea before them and the Egyptian soldiers chasing them to get their free/forced laborers back. Freedom was blocked. People felt penned in and wondered, “Where is God?” When the sea parted, they had to have the courage to take that first step into the muddy floor now revealing a way where there was once no way.

We are trying to find our way. We are living in a time of upheaval, when the waters of a pandemic, systemic racism, polarization over everything, lack of any kind of unity, fear, anger, certainty that we right, depression, hurt, and ache all clamor of our energy. And that list is what we feel just before breakfast, who knows what is in our emails? We are trying to find our way. The biggest barrier that blocks us is that it is not safe right now to be together. It is not safe to give a hug that preaches a whole sermon. Yet, while we need to social distance, we can still connect. 

Call someone today. Zoom or Facetime someone else. Text a third person. Reach out to one another. And as you do, I invite you to say to that person, “(Your name), you are precious in God’s sight, God knows you fully, loves you unconditionally, and holds you eternally. Do not be afraid.” Then, have the person say that back to you. 

May that moment be like a lifeline thrown to you offering strength and love in these days.

Prayer: God of words that create worlds, give us strength to reach out and share Your love with others today.  Amen.