 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Who is in? Who is out? Part 2 Isaiah 56:1,6-8 Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32 Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings, and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. This says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.   Romans 11:1-2, 29-32 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so now they have been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. Question to ponder How far does this mercy extend? What might the implications be for us? Isaiah says something radical – on God’s behalf: Even those filthy Gentiles, apart from circumcision, if they join themselves to the God of Judaism, are welcome – and their sacrifices are acceptable. And Paul says that neither Jews nor Gentiles are independent of each other – that both are embraced by God’s mercy. Who might ‘all the peoples” include right now? Who do you want God to exclude? What if they want to exclude you? Does God?  |
Categories:
Tags:
No responses yet