Isaiah 55:1–9
In her work as an abolitionist, Mariame Kaba reiterates again and again that we must continually push against our own instincts for punishment that are formed in a society where punishing those who have done wrong is normal and expected. When I first heard this idea, I had begun to be receptive to the need to end prison and policing, but had not realized the depth to which punishment had taken root in my own life and interpersonal relationships. As a partner and parent, I began to see the ways in which I was taught punishment in my own family system as a child, and how it was being manifested in the ways I worked through conflict between myself and my husband and daughter, primarily through being unforgiving and disconnected.
When I read this Isaiah passage for this week’s lectionary, I was immediately drawn to verses 7-9. These verses focus on a God who will abundantly pardon because God’s ways are not our ways. I did a little research into these verses and found that they echo a conversation in Ezekiel 18 when God’s saving actions toward the wicked were judged by the house of Israel to be unfair in verse 29. The story in this passage and Isaiah demonstrate twice over the ways in which God’s graciousness and will for the salvation of all can trip up “good people” who see graciousness toward the “bad” as reflective of an unfair God who must not value their own “goodness.”
God’s ways are not our ways. When we thirst for punishment of those who do wrong toward us or the people we love, we are being formed by our environment that says that the way we deal with being wronged is by exercising power over those who have wronged us to cause them harm. As we consider the ways in which we work to dismantle carceral systems in society and in our personal lives, may we do so with an eye toward God’s ways, where all things and people can be saved and abundantly pardoned.
Grace Kozak is an MDiv student at Christian Theological Seminary and under care for ordination with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).