Present Moments Reveal Future Plans

Reflecting on the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Three Days after Sunday (Year A)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 130

Old Testament: Genesis 45:16-28

Gospel: Matthew 8:1-13

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 87

Old Testament: Isaiah 66:18-23

Gospel: Matthew 8:1-13

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Prayer

Holy One, hear our prayers and make us faithful stewards of the fragile bounty of this earth so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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Reflection

for I know their works and their thoughts.

I am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, to Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. And I will also take some of them as priests and as Levites, says the Lord.

For as the new heavens and the new earth,

    which I will make,

shall remain before me, says the Lord,

    so shall your descendants and your name remain.

From new moon to new moon

    and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

says the Lord (Isaiah 66:18-23).

There is an old adage that says, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. Isaiah 66:18-23 speaks of ultimate judgment and salvation that God will bring to the world. Whatever unfolds in the future, God is there squeezing goodness out of the difficulties.

God is aware of the actions and thoughts of humanity and will gather the nations and all those who speak the earth’s languages to see God’s glory. God will set a sign among the nations and send survivors or exiled missionaries to distant lands to declare that glory among the nations. Even in a foreign land, the mission is central. The Israelites will be gathered from all nations returning to Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord, using various modes of transportation (horses, chariots, mules, etc.). Jerusalem will become a center of worship for all people. From among these nations, God will select priests and Levites, reiterating the idea that God’s chosen people and ministers aren’t limited by ethnicity or national origin.

The new heavens and the new earth that God will create will endure, as will the descendants of Israel. All flesh will come and worship God every Sabbath and new moon, indicating regular and continuous worship of God in the future era. One day, God’s glory will be universally recognized, and people from all nations will turn to Israel’s God in worship. God’s plan is for the redemption of all humanity; and Jerusalem will play a central role when several centuries later the Savior of the World is crucified just outside the city walls.

PRAYER: Loving God, open our ears to hear your word and draw us closer to you, that the whole world may be one with you as you are one with us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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