Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 14, 2016 - 3rd Week of Advent - Wed
[Isa 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25 and Luke 7:18b-23]"Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down. Let earth open and salvation bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the Lord, have created this." [Isaiah]
Throughout Advent, the words of Isaiah are presented to us for reflection because they express so well the longing of Israel for a "messiah" who would deliver them from their many afflictions. The location of Israel at the Mediterranean crossroads of great political kingdoms such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece and Rome virtually guaranteed that it would suffer at the hands of empire builders looking for territory, crops and taxes. The Babylonian exile and return came to represent a kind of new "exodus" for Israelites. Isaiah (or at least one part of Isaiah) was preaching to the exiles. Later on, the Christian community would read Isaiah in the light of Jesus' life, death and resurrection and find words of hope.
The need for hope is expressed in starkly contrasting ways between our relatively comfortable American culture and the sorrow and affliction being experienced by those caught in the conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Human life is so cheap to those who lust for empire and power. Nevertheless, even in our "secure" land life is cheap in cities beset with record numbers of gun-related or substance abuse deaths. There are also the sorrows of parents for their children or grandchildren who have lost faith because of the relentless demands of our secular culture. In other words, hope becomes THE need expressed in this season. Isaiah promises that God has not abandoned us.
The pastoral challenge for all of us on whatever level we live, from Syria/Iraq to our own neighborhood is to be signs of hope and missionaries of mercy. Isaiah prays that justice will rain down. We can bring that rain! AMEN
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