The Long Road Back to Normal (A weekday meditation)

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A reading from he prophet Isaiah (41:13-20):

I am the LORD, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I will help you.”

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
I will plant in the desert the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
I will set in the wasteland the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,
That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The word of the Lord.

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There’s plenty of talk about COVID vaccines. When will they be administered? Who will get them first? And, eventually, when will society at large return to normal?

These are questions I’m sure none of us ever thought we’d be asking. We ask them in times of war, not peace. And yet, when will we return to normal?

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In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah shares a word of comfort with Israel. The Jews have just been through some of their darkest days, having spent decades in exile.

Now they’re beginning their long journey home.

I’m sure many wondered, “What shape will my home be in? Will I be able to recognize it? Where will I find the basic necessities? When will I find a new normal?”

Questions a bit like the ones we are asking today.

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Fully aware of the challenges Israel faced, the Lord declared through the prophet Isaiah, “I will level the mountains. I will quench your thirst. I will turn the desert into a marshland, planting trees to give you shade.”

God will do everything necessary to keep Israel going. 

Life will return to normal. 

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The Lord makes this same promise to us.

We have long journey ahead. 

From the first vaccine being administered to the last child returning to school; from breaking every chain of isolation to this church being filled with worship once again.

We have a long journey ahead.

But every journey begins with a single step.

And ours, with God by our side.

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