First Reading:  Isaiah 66:18-21

Who Truly Knows The Mind of God?

When this passage from Isaiah was written, Jerusalem stood as shell of its former glory. Completely leveled by the Babylonians nearly a century before, the people struggled to rebuild the God's Temple and his City. But, even those who returned from Babylon tired of the effort. Morale was low and the city remained only half built. To the citizens of Jerusalem, God must have seemed very distant indeed.

These passages shook the people from there despair. Jerusalem's glory would return because the city stood as a sign of God's glory. [66:18] Visitors from all over, both the poor and the wealthy, would come to seek and worship God; their offering would be like the faithful in Jerusalem. [66:20] God would even designate the foreigners as priests, for the foreigners would be a priestly people, just as the Israelites. [66:21] The foreigners would proclaim God's glory to the ends of the earth, for they, too were part of God's plan. [66:19] God would be close to his people and to all who trusted in his providence.