The colours of distraction

Isaiah 41:21-29

The Futility of Idols

Set forth your case, says the Lord;

bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen.

Tell us the former things, what they are,

so that we may consider them,

and that we may know their outcome;

or declare to us the things to come.

Tell us what is to come hereafter,

that we may know that you are gods;

do good, or do harm,

that we may be afraid and terrified.

You, indeed, are nothing

and your work is nothing at all;

whoever chooses you is an abomination.

I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,

from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.

He shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,

and beforehand, so that we might say, “He is right”?

There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,

none who heard your words.

I first have declared it to Zion,

and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings.

But when I look there is no one;

among these there is no counselor

who, when I ask, gives an answer.

No, they are all a delusion;

their works are nothing;

their images are empty wind.

There are many delusions

Many temptations

to lure us with false promises

and empty threats

Without substance

they dissolve into nothing,

vanish like vapour

None can stand against God

None can even come close

to the stature of the one

who was there at the beginning of creation

who called the stars to their places

and breathed life into the world.

None can measure up

to the God of all creation.

May we fix our eyes on truth

and not on passing fantasy.

On the One who colours the sky and the earth

new every day

surprising us time and again

with unimaginable beauty.

Prayer

God may we lift our eyes to see your indisputable majesty in the world around us. Save us from the glittering distractions that blind us to the truth. May we share, this season, with those for whom every day brings unrelenting greyness, the colour of your love displayed in rainbow hues, poured out on a world in need.