Monday, December 5: Scripture -Isaiah 40:3-5
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
When I interned with Asheville Youth Mission – an organization I first found through Unity – Isaiah 40 was one of the scriptures we read every week of the summer with our youth groups. It became one of my favorite texts in the whole Bible, and Isaiah is now the book I have the most fun reading and wrestling. The deep joy I find in this wrestling comes from the fact that no matter how many times I read a passage, there is always something new to discover. I think God wants us to always see things anew. This is part of what God is doing with the biblical prophets, after all. Prophets like Isaiah are hopeful visionaries who see the world in entirely new ways. In Isaiah 40:3-5, the prophet calls the people of Judah to prepare a way for the Lord, and, in doing so, he says the whole world will be transformed. Valleys are raised, mountains are flattened, and it results in all peoples enjoying God’s glory together. Isaiah’s vision sees things in new, expansive, reorienting ways. It counters how his society currently is and instead includes all the people of the world. For me, this is a profound vision of hope, and it all flows from Isaiah’s willingness to imagine a new way of being in the world with God.
Prayer: God of hope, like your prophets did so long ago, help us to imagine new ways for the world that show your endless love to all people. Amen.
Jackson Ringley