Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Isaiah 1:16-17 NABRE
Syria and Ephraim (Israel) aligned against Assyria and they tried to convince Judah to join. King Ahaz of Judah rather made an alliance with Assyria and after the Assyrians defeated Syria and Ephraim Judah became a state dependent on Assyria. At the cost of many concessions, an uneasy peace prevailed. Religious life and the rule of law deteriorated. Against this background come the earliest oracles of the Prophet Isaiah. The book begins with a general denunciation of the forsaking of the Lord. The community is practicing ritual but is doing so with hearts that are numb. True transformation requires passion in a person’s heart expressed through good action. So the prophet calls the people to repent, to change direction, wash themselves, put away misdeeds and quit doing evil. Make justice your aim, learn to do good, right wrongs help the orphan, the widow defend. To learn the sort of life God wants us to lead we must be properly trained. We can study to learn to do good deeds. We must know the word of God, we must practice virtue. A human virtue is a habit and firm disposition to do good. It allows us to not only perform good acts but to get the best of ourselves. The virtuous person tends toward good with all sensory and spiritual powers, they pursue good and choose good in concrete action.
“If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom] whose works are virtues, she teaches moderation and prudence, righteousness and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful than these.” (Wisdom 8:7)
Do you want to choose good? Do you ask for the grace of God to learn human virtue?
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