Isaiah 61:1-4, 11
When we look at the world around
us through the lenses of television, movies, and social media, we see that the
favored ones are the powerful, the wealthy, the strong, the good-looking. But,
those lenses are not the only way to see the world.
In Isaiah, we see that the
favored ones are of a different sort. Speaking to those returning from the
Babylonian captivity to the broken, destroyed, neglected world they were taken
from, Isaiah reveals the favored ones to be the poor, the brokenhearted, those
who have been captives and prisoners, those who mourn. Through God's Spirit, Isaiah promises
good news, healing, freedom, light, praise...repair, renewal, and regrowth. Indeed,
Isaiah is pointing the people to something yet to come, another act of God’s
redeeming work in this broken world. He points them towards Bethlehem.
After Jesus is born in Bethlehem,
and the world changes, everything changes. As Jesus begins his ministry in Nazareth
(Luke 4) at the local synagogue, he reads the same words from Isaiah 61:
18 “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor.”
Reading these Spirit-filled words, Jesus indirectly speaks against the strong, the rich, the free, the enlightened...at least, against
those who think this way and ignore God in the process. But, the story does not
end there. In Acts 2:1-4a (Pentecost), that same Spirit that Isaiah speaks
about, that Jesus talks about, is poured out on the church. Now, what does this
mean for you and for me?
Because we, too, receive God's Spirit, these
words first spoken by Isaiah and repeated by Jesus are now our
words. These words and this work are now yours, mine, ours: the Spirit of
the Lord is on us—on you and on me, because he has anointed us to proclaim good
news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and
recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor. These ancient words are now our words because
that same Spirit is now upon us…all because Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Amen.
Sunday, December 15, 2024
“Towards Bethlehem—Isaiah”
Watch/Listen: HERE
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