Today's Isaiah reading brought me to thinking about GPS devices and our contemporary "felt need" for the device.
In today's words, once again the great prophet offers encouragement to his readers and hearers, sharing God's message: "I teach you for your own good ... (It is I) who leads you where you should go."
Commercials for the GPS devices fill pages of every weekend's newspapers. The ads are address to drivers of every age ... even encouraging parents of college-bound students to purchase the wonder map! I don't own one (yet) but have been in cars equipped with the modern day compass. More fascinating than the technology is trying to understand why modern-day men and women, auto drivers, truckers, bikers, even walkers have to have the GPS. Our contemporary need to be at our destination asap speaks much about our own insecurities. These devices and the need we have reflect the current searching that is a major part of many lives ... whether recognized as such or not. How many times to we hear of new books or talk show guests who are asking the same question: "Where am I going?" Some even have been heard to say, "What has God lined up for me in the future?"
Throughout the Book of Isaiah, the prophet reminds us that we have a moral compass deep within our very being. We don't have to purchase it. It came with as as a part of the birth package that arrived on this earth one day perhaps some years ago. We were born with a God-given GPS ... our own internal G(0d)PS! Over and again, God, through the prophets, Jesus, the Commandments, and the teachings of our Church, have given us directions to achieve the goal we seek ... reaching the kingdom God has prepared for us. Ours is to listen to the voice that speaks within our hearts. It is the voice of the Lord: "It is I who leads you where you should go." What more do we need?
