Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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.
Wash Ourselves Clean
I love the message of renewal that Isaiah preaches today. He believes in a God that can make all things new – a God who gives us the chance to wash ourselves clean, to dye the red permanently white.
It’s not an easy process, or a painless one at that; Jesus never promises that it will be. Change can be incredibly hard on many of us! But now seems to be as good a time as any to accept the forgiveness and goodness our God wants to extend to us, and to undergo the transformations that seem to offer real joy on the other side.
Is there anything holding us back? Lent is a perfect opportunity to prepare ourselves for the glory that awaits.
—Joe Ertle, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Fordham University.
Prayer
Lord, you extend invitation after invitation, but we are the ones who choose whether or not to accept. When we’re open to your offers, give us the grace needed to move forward. When we’re reluctant, nervous, or downright afraid, give us peace, and help us to keep our eyes on you. Amen.
—Joe Ertle, SJ
Pray with the Pope
The Holy Father’s Monthly Prayer Intentions Brought to you by Apostleship of Prayer the first Friday of each month.