Bright the vision

Yesterday the Evening Prayer reading was Isaiah 60. It is a bit long but it seemed important to read the whole chapter as it gave us a chance to really sink into the reading - to experience the excitement and promise which the prophet was offering.

These chapters of great promise would have been well known in the time of Jesus and help us to understand the level of opposition which he faced in his ministry. The Jews were expecting the sort of messiah who would bring them the apparent political gain which Isaiah 60 speaks of - nations bowing down to Israel. When Jesus offers a different sort of message they are angry and dissapointed.

I wonder whether this might help us to reflect back on our own history. Sometimes we tend too believe that there are Golden Ages past and that we are just waiting to relive them. Israel had golden ages - the most famous, perhaps, the age of Solomon which the Bible puts down to God's reward for Solomon's asking for wisdom and continued devotion to God. Golden Ages rarely come without cost - in the case of Solomon it was a life dedicated to God and the people of Israel. But there are often hidden and more sinister costs to apparent prosperity - everything costs something somewhere down the line whether the cost is translated in money or in human exploitation of the planet or other people.

When we look over our shoulders we would do well to look closely - are those glittering places in the past really without either giving up something of self or forcing someone else to give up something - whether it be land or the right to a decent and reliable wage.

The vision in Isaiah is of perfect and reciprocal relationship - something which we can never seem to get quite right. There are good times in our lives and there are bad and we are called to learn from both - but to really learn and to look beneath the surface. Sometimes we will find a praying king, other times a less attractive picture - but always in honest reflection and repentance we will find God and inch towards the brighter future which the prophets promise.