Have a care for justice, act with INTEGRITY, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.
Amidst the necessary preparations for Christmas it is very easy to lose sight of the many prophetic calls that are found in the Liturgy of the Word for Advent. In the texts from the three Books of Isaiah, though they are written in different time periods, there is a strong and insistent voice that calls for an integration of worship, behaviour and attitudes. Isaiah warns against honouring God with your lips while you cheat the poor.
When the writer of the Third Book of Isaiah calls for integrity it is a radical call to ‘bind in mutuality the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor. The intent is to assure every member of security, dignity and well being.’ (Walter Brueggemann) Isaiah’s vision is one of right ordering.
In the Gospel texts which we read during Advent we walk alongside Jesus as he preaches and heals. We walk alongside Jesus as he brings the ‘right order’ of the Kingdom. Jesus models for us the integrity which we seek.
How is God calling you to integrity this Advent?
(Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8, Friday, Week 3)