Isaiah 58: 7-10
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
True Light Breaks Forth
The Super Bowl is excessive: $10 million 30-second ads, plates piled with gut-busting food, the near-violent spectacle of NFL football, the pre-game, post-game, and halftime shows illuminated with blinding lights. Excessive.
To be clear—I’ll be watching. I love the game. I want to see a Grammy-winner remind us of the fullness and complexity of America. I’m hoping Green Day speaks some truth to power. I want to hear the anthems sung with gusto and delight in the ads we’ll talk about all week.
But beneath this excess lies a divine invitation to a different kind of excess: abundant generosity. Through the prophet Isaiah, God urges us to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked, promising that true light breaks forth when we resist self-indulgence and turn toward one another. Today, let us pray that consumption does not drown out compassion, and that God’s merciful abundance shines brighter than any stadium light.
—Fr. Eric Immel, SJ, is a vocation promoter for the Midwest Jesuits. To learn more about how to become a Jesuit, visit beajesuit.org.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;
Teach me to serve you as you deserve,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labor and not to seek reward,
Except that of knowing that I do your will.
Amen.
—Prayer for Generosity
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