Is 35:1-10 / Lk 5:17-26
There are stages in all our lives that qualify very nicely for some of the adjectives that Isaiah uses in today’s first reading: parched, lifeless, lame, feeble, thirsting. We don’t have to be old or sick to have those feelings deep in our souls. Life can wear us down. The endless routines, the etcetera’s of life can leave us with the energy and dynamism of a TV test pattern. And we can seriously begin to wonder if we’ve still got a pulse.
It can happen for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes we hit a dead end, find ourselves in a place with no life in it, and slowly recognize that we need to make some changes and move on. But more often it’s a simple matter of memory loss: we forgot why we’re here in this place, doing this or that, and we forgot where we’re going.
It’s the “vision thing.” And when we lose our vision, the whole world turns gray. The remedy is actually quite simple: Remembering who we are, what our gifts are, and to whom God is calling us to carry those gifts. The moment the vision returns, the energy and the joy return as well.
That’s a key part of our daily prayer, remembering that we are the Lord’s and that we have from him a purpose that is worthy of us. So take that quiet remembering time with the Lord every day. It’s the best investment you’ll ever make.
