Today's reading from Isaiah 58 at Mass raised my hopes after a spiraling week of Trump nonsense.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."
How appropriate in February 2020. Do away with oppression, pointing finger, and malicious talk. What?! Does that mean caging little kids, taking health care away from those with pre-existing conditions, name-calling like Lyin' Ted, Crooked Hillary, Nasty Nancy, Liddle Marco, Low Energy Jeb are no-nos? (They are probably acceptable. But not Angry Creamsicle, Captain Chaos, Cadet Bone Spurs, World's Greatest Troll, Moscow Mitch--well, you get the idea.)
Kudos to the Catholic Church for putting together today's service. Besides the reading from Isaiah and the Gospel from Matthew 5 telling us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, my church's service ended with the hymn Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, aka Lead Me Lord (To the Light of Truth). Ouch! Truth, too!? Powerful stuff! Time to get to it! Let's go, Christians!
From Isaiah 58:7-12, here's the text.
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
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