Daily Worship

In search of belonging and worth

Fyfe January 22, 2016 0 0

Isaiah 56: 1-3

God’s Message:
“Guard my common good:
    Do what’s right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner,
    my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How blessed are you who enter into these things,
    you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    who watch your step and don’t do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God
    ever has occasion to say, ‘God put me in second-class.
    I don’t really belong.’
And make sure no physically mutilated person
    is ever made to think, ‘I’m damaged goods.
    I don’t really belong.’”

To belong and be part of things, to feel valued and have worth is important. Too much belittles and casts people down. Some of it is obvious, yet for many it is hidden - the lack of these things that help us feel human. Isaiah’s message was spoken into a turbulent and chaotic world. Amidst this God’s people are searching for what it means to be God’s people in the messiness and brokenness. To find a faith that sustains and gives hope. Having experienced exile, what is one’s worth as a person, what is it to belong and be at home? The prophet speaks words that invite and yet are dangerous.  Who are the strangers and marginalised or forgotten people around us today?

A meditation:  Listen to this song to aid your reflections: 'Hey Stranger' by Malcolm Gordon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJjOjsiuY5U

Pray: 
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbours who are poor.
Amen.  [A Franciscan Benediction]