Preaching: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Today, we light a pink candle, representing joy, on the Advent wreath.
Today's passage contains many reasons for joy.
One sermon is suggested by the fact that the passage is a call narrative.
The people have returned from exile. When they left Babylon, they anticipated
that they would joyously and quickly rebuild their former way of life in Palestine.
Upon arriving, they discovered that the cities were in ruins and that the land
itself was barren. Some people oppressed others. Some people turned to idols.
The people became discouraged.
This passage certifies that God has poured the spirit on the prophetic
community to announce that God is reversing the situation. God will liberate
the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the captives, the prisoners, those who mourn
in Zion, those of faint spirit. The time of the Lord's favor is coming. God will
judge ("the year of vengeance") those who have conspired with other
deities and who have engaged in economic exploitation.
The preacher can ask the congregation to identify with the prophetic community.
How, through the Advent season, does God call the congregation to announce these
tidings to the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the captives, the prisoners of today?
The preacher needs to identify these persons and groups in our setting, as well
as the specific ways in which God is moving for their liberation. What are the
former devastations and the ruined cities that the spirit empowers the church
to rebuild today?
In a related sermon, the preacher could ask the congregation to identify
with the people who receive the good news of this text. Are we oppressed, brokenhearted,
captive, imprisoned? How is God acting to bring us good news, binding, liberty,
release?
Inversely, the preacher could ask the congregation to identify with those
in the text whom God judges. Do we serve other deities? Are we complicit in oppression?
If so, the preacher can help us name how, and can help the community recognize
that the consequence of such behavior is the dissolution of community. However,
if we repent and join God in love and justice, then we can enjoy blessing.
A sermon could also arise from vv. 5-7. By omitting these verses from the
reading for today, the lectionary omits a theme that is important to the text
and to Christians. Behind this motif is the idea that Jewish people and gentiles
descended from common ancestry. Children of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob is the progenitor
of the Israelite community, Esau the gentiles. Although siblings, the two are
disfranchised.
Isaiah 61:5-7 affirms that "strangers" and
"foreigners" will gather near the community of Israel. The wealth of
the nations will flow into Jerusalem. Strangers, foreigners, and the nations
are gentiles. Isaiah confirms that gentiles will serve the God of Israel by serving
the Jewish people ("feed your flocks…dress your vines").
This passage stops short of declaring gentiles full-fledged members of
Israel. However, the text is part of the root system of a tree of thinking that
gives the fruit of the anticipation of a day when gentiles will be reunited with
the Jewish people in the knowledge and service of God. Many Jewish texts anticipate
that this development will come about in the eschatological age.
According to Christian theology, Jesus Christ makes it possible for gentiles
to know and serve the God of Israel as gentiles (for example, Lk 2:22-40, the
text for December 26, 1999). Hence, on this Sunday, we gentiles have special
reason for joy. Isaiah's hope has become our reality. In joyful gratitude, how
can we gentiles feed the flocks or God? Dress the vines in the vineyard of God?
Use our wealth to glorify God?
Today's passage points to the shared work of prophet and priest. While
I have earlier spoken of this passage as a call to prophesy, the text also describes
the community as priestly (v. 6). The priest helps the community recognize and
respond to the divine presence, promises, and commands. Prophecy takes place
within the larger priestly role. The prophet alerts the community to imbalance.
At times, the people forget God's commands and drift into idolatry and injustice.
The prophet calls for repentance. At other times, the community forgets God's
promises and power. The prophet calls for trust.
Another sermon could develop the motif of the priestly role played by the
community. How can our congregation mediate God's promises and commands to the
other communities of the world? What does God offer to the neighborhood, the
city, the state, the nation, and the world? What does God require?
Still another sermon could deal directly with a theme that is behind this
passage and much of Isaiah 40-66: God's power. One reason that this literature
came to expression is that many people in exile (Is 40-55) and upon return from
exile (Is 56-66) doubted that God had the power to release them from exile, and
then to rebuild their homeland. Many people in our congregations share this doubt.
This question is conscious for a few people, but the question is not specifically
named for many others. The preacher could help the community recognize ways that
this question is still alive. The preacher can discuss the nature of God's power,
and its ways of working in the world. For me, one of the most persuasive pieces
of evidence is the continuing faith of the Jewish people. Despite 4,000 years
of struggle, each Sabbath evening, the sound of praise rises from the synagogue.
Authority, a hot issue in today's church, suggests yet another possible
sermon. Whom should the church regard as an authoritative interpreter of the
divine? What content should the church regard as an authoritative interpretation
of the gospel for our situation? In the world of Isaiah, a call narrative such
as vv. 1-4 was regarded as a warrant for the trustworthiness of the claims of
the speaker or the text that followed. The preacher could help the congregation
explore those sources that today's church can regard as authoritative in helping
us interpret the divine leading in our setting: the Bible, Christian tradition,
experience, reason, and their interaction.
Ronald J. Allen
