The prophets' words have a way of unsettling us, of giving us a holy dissatisfaction with the way things are. It's not surprising then, that we often avoid reading their uncomfortable words. They just hit too close to home sometimes. We prefer to read the more sunny, optimistic parts of the Bible.
Lent is the perfect time to linger in the words of the prophets. Historically, this penitential season is an opportunity to look both inside ourselves and at the outside world and consider "the tragic gap" -- the gap between the way the world is and the way it should be.
Isaiah called out his people for failing to live up to the ethical requirements of their relationship with a holy God. Specifically, they have failed to exercise justice in their treatment of the marginalized and oppressed. Therefore, they have resorted to "playing religion," giving lip service to God in their worship services but still choosing to live however they please.
Their insistence on having an open relationship with God -- worshiping him but demanding the freedom to worship their idols also -- has confused their hearts and perverted their sense of right and wrong.
In spite of their many sins, God reassures them that it's not too late: "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)