URC Daily Devotion 17 August 2026

Isaiah 22.12-14 
On that day the Lord God of hosts
     called to weeping and mourning,
     to baldness and putting on sackcloth;
 but instead there was joy and festivity,
     killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
     eating meat and drinking wine.
 ‘Let us eat and drink,
     for tomorrow we die.’
 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
 Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,
     says the Lord God of hosts.

Reflection

I remember exactly what I was doing six years ago this evening. We were in that interim phase of the Covid pandemic, Eat Out to Help Out, and my wife and I took advantage of the scheme on several occasions to enjoy £10 each off a number of lovely restaurant meals. Perhaps in Wales we felt a little safer than most with 2 metres’ social distancing and many restaurants allowed to open only outdoors during what was, fortunately, a sunny August.

Nonetheless, the Covid Inquiry report published last year found that many who knew more about viral transmission than us thought that the scheme was foolish – Prof. Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, apparently called it in private ‘Eat out to help the virus’. There is no doubt that some approached this special offer with the gung-ho attitude “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” We now know (but did not at the time) that such an attitude had already permeated 10 Downing Street, where parties on Friday nights helped hard-working staff to relax, despite the danger of spreading Covid by socialising in this way, and the fact that thousands of people were dying and millions in fear of their lives.

In this chapter, Isaiah is talking not about a pandemic, but the restoration of Jerusalem after a period of desolation (although the exact historical reference is difficult to pin down). The desire to revel in a break from disaster is understandable, but, says Isaiah, utterly wrong. Weeping and mourning were the fitting response. These verses might have usefully been read six years ago in Downing Street and elsewhere.
This week we will reflect, with the benefit of six years’ distance, on the remarkable events of 2020-22, and what we might learn for the future from our experiences.

Prayer

Lord God of hosts,
in your Son you showed that you too enjoy a party.
But you remind us that there is a time and a place for everything –
and when people are dying or in fear of their lives
is a time for weeping and mourning rather than eating and drinking.
Help us to see our revelry from your perspective
and the perspective of those who might be hurt by our excess.
Amen.