Monday in the Fourth Week

Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 30:1-6,11-13; John 4:43-54

"The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way" (Jn 4:50).
As I read the beautiful words of Isaiah today, I think of this man.  Do I believe the word that is spoken to me?  Do I believe that the words of Isaiah are spoken to me?  Or are they history, or poetry, to be enjoyed but not acted upon?
After a week spent with people describing the horrors facing women around the world, and the valiant activism that seeks to change them, I believe that I need to believe.  I need to let Isaiah's promise sink into my bones until the promise of peace and plenty is as real as the wars and the famines in the news.  And then I need to start on my way.
I don't think belief is a matter of simple knowing, accepting an idea.  Belief is relying on the word, on the one speaking.  Leaning on it.  Starting on our way based on the premise that what has been promised will come about.
As I listened to the women and men who are working to change the world, I heard their belief.  They believe it is possible for men and women to live as equals, to honor and respect one another.  They believe it is possible for us to live in peace.  They have started on their way, building from where they are, changing their villages and towns and cities.
Our Lenten transformation is not just about our selves, our internal states.  We are incarnate, embodied, social beings.  Our transformation must be communal, recreating our world.  It takes courage and love, and the willingness to lose the life we thought we wanted for the life we are promised.
Where can you start on your way today?
A new heaven and a new earth are waiting for us.