Living today in the light of tomorrow
Every now and again someone says with bushy-tailed brightness, 'Seize the day!', or if they are feeling particularly on top of things, 'Carpe diem!'. If you are feeling a little low, a bit overwhelmed by circumstance, then their answer is to concentrate on the day in hand, make the most of every shining moment, on the train, in the bath, at a meeting. Forget tomorrow; make the most of today. And, indeed, in a busy life there is something to be said for savouring simple joys, consciously taking hold of the little bits of humour, a spot of sunset colour, the soft warmth of pillow and duvet. We all tend to miss the good things in the tyranny of the urgent.
Isaiah, in these final chapters, calls the people of the Lord, then and now, to seize the day. With the rousing call of the bugle as the dawn breaks in the eastern sky, the Lord calls us to wake up because a wonderful day is beginning. The long wait has ended; the new era begins; the Lord has visited his people; the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; victory is assured.
Who was listening to these words, then? Isaiah's prophecies were spoken to Jerusalem, the temple city of the Lord's chosen people. But this city had been conquered by foreign armies, its people exiled, the temple knocked down, ruin and destruction brought in the wake of sin and disobedience. How did they hear these words? And today, who is listening? How do the Christians of Sudan, Indonesia or Nigeria hear these words, when they wake up to find their churches and businesses burnt, their pastors attacked. Are we, in reality, being called simply to endure this day and the next, because in the end, however distant, it will all work out?
Surely we are called to seize each day for the Lord, with the faith that believes his promises, the hope that knows it will indeed all work out in the end, and the love of whole-life disciples, bringing the Kingdom into every part of our dishevelled world today. We are the active participants in today's purposes for tomorrow.
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