September 29th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Freed Slaves Exalting

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Opening Prayer

Lord, fix my heart on You and Your Word, for all else changes. May I walk closely with You today.

Read Isaiah 61:1-11

[1] The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [2] to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, [3] and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. [4] They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. [5] Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. [6] And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. [7] Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. [8] “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. [9] Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” [10] I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. [11] For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“Christ suffered as a free man, alone, apart and in ignominy, in body and spirit (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Recount Christ’s sorrows, grief and wounds—for you.

Think Further

Immediately before today’s oracle, Isaiah envisions the city of the Lord to which all nations stream with tribute (60). Now his focus changes to record Jerusalem’s ultimate and transforming encounter with its Redeemer. The Lord’s anointed Servant resembles the promised Messiah of chs. 7-12 because he loosens every kind of bondage through the power of his words, through preaching, healing and compassionate counseling (1-3). While the deliverance described here most obviously applies to Israel’s exiles returning from Babylon, the oracle’s immediate context and messianic allusions open it to a more eschatological interpretation: Isaiah’s Davidic Messiah who will save all nations. Jesus certainly applies this meaning to it (Luke 4:18-21). 

Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in February 1990 was momentous. One parliamentary act released all political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and religious objectors to military service, and permitted the return to South Africa of thousands of exiles. Freedom Day, as we now remember it, minimally resembles the theological significance of Israel’s liberation from Babylon, and the eschatological “release” (1; Lev. 25) that Jesus fulfills in the now-and-yet-to-be Jubilee of his new creation. The “now” of Jesus’ redemption effects restitution and restorative justice for society and creation, redesigning the framework that has threatened so much of creation’s biodiversity and economic potential (4-8). If our descendants across the whole world will have any share in fullness of life (9,11), the whole church urgently needs to embrace the Jubilee work inherent in the Gospel. Jesus’ loosing of bondage ushers his redeemed and his creation into a now-and-yet-to-be way of eternal jubilant worship (10,11).  Come, Lord Jesus!

Apply

Cry “Maranatha!” today, ready to emulate Christ’s servant hands, which break all chains. How can you embrace the Gospel’s Jubilee work?

Closing prayer

Gracious Father, what has happened in my life since I was awakened to Your love gives me anticipation of what will happen when You return.

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