Week 2: Liberation for the Captives | 2023 Pre-Conference Devotional

I don’t look at the news very often. Sure, I stay relatively up to date on major events, but if I’m honest, whenever I look at the newspaper I get a feeling of overwhelming dread and fear. But looking at the news makes me feel out of control, like my identity intersections are pointing me towards inevitable doom. That makes me sound a little dramatic, I know, but I can’t help it. That’s why when I read Isaiah, I feel my own emotions reflected back at me, knowing the writer was also living under great stress, in a time of upheaval. Their struggles were, certainly, even more distressing than my own. Yet, Isaiah tells us again and again that the Lord God can be trusted, that God will once more deliver God’s people to a better tomorrow.

It’s not easy to trust God. It’s even harder to trust other Christians, especially as an LGBTQ person. We are meant to follow God, to let God’s Word lead us to acting rightly, even though interpreting that Word is harder than one might think. Yet, I believe that the most important thing we can do as Christians is to help others. If we want to follow God’s path, why not do as God does? Why not bring good news to the oppressed? Why not free prisoners? Why not promise to help those who have had their hearts broken by injustice?

I know many Christians are encouraged to treat the more liberative statements in the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible, as metaphorical. Surely, people say, God wouldn’t really ask us to free the captives, to feed the hungry, and to win justice for the oppressed? That would require an upheaval of society, and an end to so many of the established systems we rely on to keep humanity ordered! Yet, I can’t help but wonder if that’s exactly what God is promising. Perhaps bringing forth the Kingdom means actually changing the world, creating a society that is merciful and kind, the way God is merciful and kind. I’m certainly not saying it’s easy, but if I believe the Lord God wants us to follow the path described in the Bible, then how could I do otherwise?

I think many of us have to navigate the tension between metaphor and instruction, between spiritual and practical, when we read Scripture. As you read the following prayer, think of how you interpret Scripture as you read it, and how you want to follow God’s footsteps in the world around you.

Compassionate God, guide us on the paths we take to follow You. Give us the courage to shout out the liberation of the oppressed. Give us the strength to create a just world alongside You. Keep us in Your boundless heart as we follow Your call to love others, and as we base our actions on that love. In Your holy name, Amen.

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