A faith that changes us. 

Isaiah 1:10-17 (From The Message)

Is. 1:10               "Listen to my Message, you Sodom-schooled leaders.

            Receive God's revelation, you Gomorrah-schooled people.

Is. 1:11               "Why this frenzy of sacrifices?" GOD'S asking.

            "Don't you think I've had my fill of burnt sacrifices, rams and plump grain-fed calves?

            Don't you think I've had my fill of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?

12             When you come before me,who ever gave you the idea of acting like this,

            Running here and there, doing this and that—all this sheer commotion in the place             provided for worship?

Is. 1:13       "Quit your worship charades.

            I can't stand your trivial religious games:

            Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—

            meetings, meetings, meetings—I can't stand one more!

14             Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out!

            I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion,while you go right on sinning.

15             When you put on your next prayer-performance,I'll be looking the other way.

            No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening.

            And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands             are bloody.

16             Go home and wash up. Clean up your act.

            Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer.

            Say no to wrong.

17                Learn to do good.

            Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless.

            Go to bat for the defenseless.

 

Meetings, meetings, meetings… I think we can all relate to frustration of meetings.  From many years in the corporate world, often meetings were scheduled with details, or training, or numbers, or the next new best idea.  How many times would we get to the next meeting and talk about the same problems, or just go through the motions.   But often what was needed was the time to visit people…customers, the place where the rubber hits the road.  This is what Isaiah is sharing with us…God's frustration in continued meetings.  Meetings with ideas, maybe saying the right things, or sharing the "right rituals",  kinda' going through the motions.   What God is asking for is action, the kind of faith that changes us.  God doesn't have a problem with worship.  God is angry with the hypocrisy of saying the right things in worship, but then not putting these ideas into practice.

 

Martin Luther shares the paradox that we are justified by faith alone and how this works with a responsibility to care for our neighbor.  This paradox he shares from reading 1 Corinth. 9:19 : "A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none"; and "A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all".  Luther was struggling with his new revelation that we are saved by grace alone while witnessing all of the rules that "religion" had set in place.  Luther writes, "Good works do not make a good person, but a good person does good works; evil works do not make a wicked person, but a wicked person does evil works".  This is fully dependent on motive.  Understanding that righteousness is found through faith, a believer is therefore motivated through faith to do good works.  It is through this that works come as a result of faith.  It is from the eyes of faith that we love our neighbors as Christ taught us with no self-motive, but the genuine intent on fully helping our neighbor.  In our good health and abundance, it is our responsibility in faith to financially support and provide care for those in need as Luther states, "bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ" Motivation is measured by whether this comes from the freedom of God's grace absent from personal gain.  It is on the basis of the name Christian that Christ dwells within us that we care for our neighbor without condition or without judgment, whether friend or foe, whether thankful or thankless.