Advent
December 9, 2014
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations. — Isaiah 61:10-11
The Isaiah perspective arises out of the experience of exile. As I watch the images of Syrians and Iraqis stream from their homeland, I get a limited sense of what being taken into exile might have meant. Of course the people of Israel and later of Judah were taken into slavery. While that sounds much worse than being a refugee, in some ways it assures a modicum of stability. At least as chattel, like an ox or a horse, a person has some worth to someone, perhaps enough to be fed. Refugees walk into a vast unknown future where they are most often seen as a burden. It is out of that kind of life situation that the writer of Isaiah 61 crafts audacious verses of hope and justice.
Our writer indicates that we, the readers, are a part of the solution. God has already gifted us with salvation and justice. We have been prepared to enter into a state of marriage where we share in full partnership with God in God’s work toward a world where righteousness is the norm. It is as inevitable as planted seeds growing into sources of nourishment. Those seeds will grow more healthily and produce more fruit, if we tend them well.
Prayer: Fold us into your loving arms and guide us to do your will in working for justice throughout the world. Amen
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.