Christmastide

January 5, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
   they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
   your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
   the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
   the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
   all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
   and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

What metaphors of wellbeing do we choose? The first stanza of the above poem speaks to the glory of the Lord, having risen upon us. In elegant terms, the verse tells of light dispels darkness, which elicits thoughts of peace and wellbeing. The second stanza strays to measures of material wealth to represent the wonders of the Lord with us. Jesus changed those metaphors. He described justice as the fruition of God with us. The hungry are fed, the sick are healed, strangers welcomed, and prisoners are restored to wholeness.

Isaiah does state that they all gather. Perhaps suggesting that the coming of the Lord is only realized when all have justice. We might also consider Isaiah’s other description of Justice:

Isaiah 11:6-9
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
   the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
   and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
   on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
   as the waters cover the sea.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand the depth and breadth of your righteousness, enabling us to live into it. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.