Isaiah 5:20 — Monday, August 24, 2026

In Isaiah chapter 5, Israel is compared to a vineyard that, despite all the Lord's care, produced bitter grapes. The prophet then pronounces a series of woes against the nation's sins, including the moral corruption that turns values upside down. Calling evil good and good evil is the most dangerous way to distort the conscience, because no one can be corrected from what they do not recognize as wrong. The trade of darkness for light and bitter for sweet reveals a heart that has lost its sense of truth. This warning remains timely in a world that relativizes right and wrong. Today's reading invites us to examine whether we call things by the names God gives them.