Texts: Isaiah 58:9b-14, Luke 13:10-17
On days I ride my bike into church the commute home includes a left turn off High St by Global Gallery followed by a nice long coast down Dunedin Road towards the river. Not every day, but what has felt like most days this summer, a group of kids is out playing on Dunedin near the bottom of the hill. And when I say playing on Dunedin I mean on Dunedin. On the street. The play frequently involves bikes and scooters turning circles and tricks, weaving back and forth from curb to curb. Cars slow as they approach and wait for the street to clear before passing. Even a grown up on a bike cruising at gravity-assisted speed has to ride the brakes and yield to the action. These kids rule the road. It’s pretty awesome.
It’s perhaps because of this recurring experience that a particular line from the Isaiah reading stood out to me:
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
“You shall be called…the restorer of streets to live...