Monday Devotional: January 13, 2025

Bible Reading: Isaiah 62:1-4 (NRSVUE)
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn and her salvation like a burning torch. 2 The nations shall see your vindication and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. 3 You shall be a beautiful crown in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her and your land Married, for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
A “Back to Church Sunday” YouTube clip featured a number of people explaining why they were not part of a faith community. Their heartfelt reasons included “I’ve got to get my life together first,” “It would make me nervous to go,” and “I don’t believe everything they believe.” The saddest comment for me to hear was, “If they knew mew, they wouldn’t want me.”
The ad countered each worry with reassurance. A faith community is the place to get your life together; you’ll feel right at home; and you don’t have to believe everything — you can still belong. Most reassuring was, “It’s okay not to be okay. Really.”
These words from Isaiah describe the people of the time: people crushed by daily worries who understood themselves as forsaken and desolate. This description still rings true. On a global level, so many are, indeed, forsaken and desolate. Their images come vividly to our minds. On a personal level, most of us have times of feeling that are wretched.
Yet, we and the Israelites hear these words from the prophet and joyfully affirm the action of one who vindicates us and with whom we have a relationship. In this relationship, we no longer have the names of Forsaken and Desolate. The Lord renames us; we become My Delight Is In Her, and Married — names that convey a life of relationship.
The YouTube clip described church as a place of new beginning, a place that welcomes imperfect people and declares us all of infinite worth. We discover our true value in the names given us by the One who loves us into relationship. For, as the prophet Isaiah says, “the Lord delights” in us.
Prayer
O Lord, may we believe that you claim and rename us; may we be a delight to you. Amen.
By Amory Peck, The Upper Room Disciplines 2013, page 30.
Bible Study
“Following Jesus” By Laura Wittman
Session Title: We Are Part of a Beloved Community
Focal Passage: John 15:9-17
Purpose Statement: To build Christ’s beloved community around us.
Zoom Session
Monday, January 13, 2025, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
For Zoom Link, send email to [email protected].
In-Person Session
Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at 1:00 pm-2:00 pm, Conference Room, McGee Building.