Morning Prayer 30th December

Isaiah 59: 1-15

Isaiah is clear on this - the Lord's people are corrupt. The society of his day has turned its back upon God; it has become greedy and corrupt - self seeking. No-one is interested in truth but only in getting their own way. The courts have become a mockery full of people telling lies and justice is about the rich getting more an no-one is interested in real fairness and justice.
We cannot expect to continue in this way. Even thought these writings describe a society 2,600 years ago they are still accurate in their description of our world today. Maybe this is where the Church comes into the story. The nations will always become corrupted - Society will always harness the talents accommodate of the greedy and the selfish and their ways will always accumulate themselves power and wealth. But the Church is to be different. The Church is to be alongside these secular structures but is to be a sign of the Kingdom where justice and fairness, love and compassion are always the lived out values.
The nation Israel failed to live to this calling and today's news shows us that it fails still.
Can the Church fair any better? What a terrifying calling to live under. But the answer is here to. We must live with a constant attitude of repentance. Looking out for and dealing with the worldly perspectives that infiltrate the mind set and shape the decisions.


John 1:19-28
Here is John fulfilling his own calling to bring those around him to repentance so that the righteousness of God could draw near. It cost him everything to fulfil this calling. He enjoyed few worldly pleasures and withdrew himself to survive on the simplest of livings. In this way he was able to face his accusers with certainty over his role and calling in life and to encourage others to leave behind the sin and desires which prevent them drawing near to God.

Thoughts
These readings together speak into the situation faced by the Church in England to today.
Our Society has become obsessed with its own desires for pleasure and as individuals we expect to get what we want. This justifies our actions. We find it to easy to lie and misguide ourselves. We are able to raise billions in days to secure our own lifestyles but cannot give to the poor of the world. Our desire to maintain our lifestyles and put ourselves first has corrupted our education system, led us into debt and broken up our families. We will do anything to try and maintain our confidence, yet we are only misleading ourselves to stay in our arrogance. We have sown the seeds of our own demise in selfishness and it is only a matter of time before we reap what we sow.
Isaiah and John share the common call to us. Repent, change direction that righteousness may draw neat.