• What God Wants  Isaiah 1:1, 10-20, Randy L Quinn     (see below)

• Always Ready, Luke 12:32-48, by Rev. Dr. David Rogne     
   

• Waiting on God,  Luke 12:32-40, by Rev. Randy L Quinn      
   

• Faith is . . . Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, Rev. Thomas  Hall
   

• Telling the Truth about Worship, Isaiah 1:1; 10-20, Rev. Thomas Hall        

______________________________________________________________
 

What God Wants
based on Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Randy L Quinn

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

I recently read the story of a businessman who was working on a project at home¹. He was sitting at his desk, working hard one evening when his six-year-old daughter opened the door and walked over to his side.

She stood there a moment before the man rather anxiously said, “What do you want? I’m busy.”

“Mommy says it’s time for bed and I should go get a hug and a kiss from you.”

He leaned over and gave her a hug and a kiss, and then turned back to his work.

Meanwhile, the young girl didn’t move. Irritated, by her mere presence, he finally looked at her again, giving her a look that begged a response. (If you haven’t given that look, you’ve probably seen it.)

So she said, “Daddy I know you kissed me and I know you already gave me a hug, but you weren’t in it.”

When I first read that story, it was like looking into a mirror. I heard my story being told through the eyes of someone else. Maybe you recognize yourself, too.

Maybe it was at home with your family and your mind was on something else.

Maybe it was as we were praying together the Lord’s Prayer today.

Maybe it was when you hit your brother and your mother told you to say you were sorry.

You were doing the right thing, but you were simply going through the motions. You were not in it.

It happens to all of us on occasion. When it becomes our habit, however, it becomes problematic. Marriages fall apart when we are no longer in them. Children no longer have the guidance and direction they need when parents or teachers or pastors go through the motions and recite rote promises and passages without offering themselves along with their activities.

In one of the towns where we lived, the Ministerial Alliance took turns offering prayers at the beginning of every City Council meeting. Most of us did not attend the meetings on a regular basis so we didn’t know all of the issues being addressed and we didn’t know all of the people in the room. So, while we may have had good prayers, it was more often the case that we were not in it. We were simply saying words that no one heard – least of all God.

Isaiah is speaking to people in those kinds of settings. The people of Israel are doing all the right things. But from God’s perspective, they weren’t “in it.” Their prayers had become meaningless because their lives had no meaning. The Law of Moses, which had been given as a promise and a gift, had become a hallow shell of ritual activities.   [continue]