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Morning Meditation for the Season after Pentecost
November 27, 2024
Reading: Isaiah 43:8-13
Bring forth the people who are blind yet have eyes,
who are deaf yet have ears!
Let all the nations gather together,
and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them declared this
and foretold to us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to justify them,
and let them hear and say, “It is true.”
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
I am the one who declared and saved and proclaimed,
not some strange god among you;
you are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God.
Indeed, since that day I am he;
there is no one who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can hinder it?
Meditation by Jeremy O’Neill
My favorite advertisement of all time came out when I was in middle school. LeBron James was at the height of his basketball career, and it seemed like every time he went out on the court, he would do something incredible. You would come to school or work the next day and ask your friends “did you see that?” As a result of the almost unbelievable nature of these performances, his shoe sponsor, Nike, ran an ad that featured a black and white photo of James looking to the sky with his arms stretched out wide. A simple block text above the image read “We are all witnesses.”
The implication behind the ad was that to watch this athlete perform was to watch history being made. Merely observing the man’s talents was enough to leave one inspired, moved, even transformed. Nike soon started selling t-shirts that just said the word “witness” as if to proclaim to others that you had seen greatness.
This ad is one of a number of Nike taglines that contain theological undertones. I can imagine using “There is no finish line” or “It was never a long shot” in a sermon. But the idea of witness resonates with me. Evangelical Christians talk about witness much more often than we Episcopalians do, but we do have signs at Redeemer that say “Come and See.”
One of the primary elements of Christian evangelism is the ability to say “Look at this!” The words of the prophet Isaiah - “let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, ‘It is true.’ You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen” – remind us of our call to speak to all the wonderful and incredible things that God does. Grace and wonder abound, and it is our job to show that to people and bear witness to the joy and goodness that lies all around us, all as a gift from God.
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