Reversals

Isaiah 1:10-18 & Luke 19:1-10 - Ever been surprised at what happens in a worship setting? Me too! Actually, according to Isaiah, God finds what goes in in worship shocking! God cannot stand public worship practiced by people with blood on their hands, the prophet proclaims. It's deeply offensive to God that leaders who do not take of widows and orphans, the poor and foreigners, have the nerve to offer praise and thanksgiving to God. In a stunning reversal, God-through-Isaiah says - take care of the humans first! THEN you can come an praise me. (See Matt 5:23-24). As if that surprise wasn't enough for this week, we also have a surprise about who is the most righteous person in Jericho!