This Reflection is taken from the Sunday Devotion written by this blogger for Christ Episcopal Church, Yankton, SD on December 13, 2020
THE FIRST LESSON
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
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.
THE SECOND LESSON
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
REFLECTION
by
Norm Wright
+ Spirit of the living God, descend on us we pray. Amen +
On this third Sunday of Advent, things get a little pink as we light the Gaudate (Latin for rejoice) candle. Historically, it was meant to give us a break during this penitential season of Advent, and perhaps we need a break, if not from penitence, then from the hustle of getting Christmas gifts bought, wrapped, and sent off to friends and relatives who we will not be able to gather together this year.
In our second lesson this morning, Paul gives us this advice, “Do not quench (extinguish) the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.” So let’s spend a little time and apply today’s first lesson from Isaiah’s to ourselves as individuals and as the family of Christ.
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most important books of the Old Testament for Christians. In the early Church, it was considered by some to be the fifth Gospel, as so much of the times, the life, and the ministry of Jesus resonated with the prophecies found in it.
Throughout the Gospels, Isaiah is frequently quoted to identify Jesus as the one promised who will redeem the world. Jesus, himself, identified with these prophesies. In particular, the Gospel of Luke has Jesus reading the first two verses from this morning’s lesson from Isaiah in his home town synagogue of Nazareth and applying them to himself. [See Luke 4:14-21]
In past reflections, I have made a point of saying that what is true for Jesus is true for us and that what is true about us is also true about Jesus. With that perspective in mind, I ask that we look at the first two verses of Isaiah’s prophecy that Jesus identified with and apply them to ourselves.
In baptism, we affirm that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us; that we, like Jesus, are children of God in whom God is well-pleased. Like Jesus, we are thrust into the wilderness of life in which we are tested and where we are to test everything and to hold fast to what is good and to abstain from (and I would add to challenge as Jesus did) every form of evil both in our lives and in the world in which we live.
In light of Jesus’ identification with Isaiah’s prophecy, we find ourselves gifted like Jesus to become the bearers of good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, to release prisoners, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. In Luke’s version of this passage, Jesus added recovery of sight to the blind; that is, to shed light on what we have become blind to.
These are the gifts of the Spirit that keep on giving. They are continually handed down through the generations by those who were freed from oppression, those whose hearts were healed, those liberated from captivity, those released from prison, and those who were enabled to see clearly. In short, these are the gifts that have been handed down to us, God’s healed and liberated people.
As Isaiah’s prophecy proclaims, “They (we) will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins… the devastations of many generations. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.”
These gifts already come packaged in us. They come wrapped in the compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love shown to us and shown through us. They are the everyday gifts we give to our family members, our friends, our neighbors, co-workers, and everyone we come into contact with. The ability to give good news, to heal, to liberate, to release, and to enable sight is in our possession to be gifted to others.
Christ’s gift to the world is us, and our gift to the world is Christ. It is in this cycle of receiving and giving that the Kingdom of God, as the “people whom the Lord has blessed,” is revealed. Therefore, let us be confident that the one who calls us is faithful and will accomplish this in our lives.
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God of peace, sanctify us entirely that every spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Until next time, stay faithful.
Norm
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