God Breaking In – Isaiah 52:7-10

A text – Isaiah 52:7-10

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸ Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices; together they shout for joy,
for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹ Break forth; shout together for joy, you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

A reflection:

Our Friday text is almost always from the Book of Psalms, but I love this passage from Isaiah that is one of the chosen texts for this Christmas week. It is beautiful poetry about a down-trodden nation getting good news of being freed from exile and returning to their ruined city where they will rebuild and worship as they have done in the past and be restored to their way of life.

Everything about this passage is beautiful – even the feet of the messenger who brings the good news. And beauty isn’t just physical. The ruins of the people’s capital city are certainly sad and neglected. Beauty is found in the joy of even the possibility of being restored. Imagine an accident victim whose arm has been paralyzed, who, after weeks of stillness, suddenly experiences movement in one finger. The beauty of the possibility of being restored is pure joy, even though the road to rehabilitation may be very long. There is hope once again.

Why this passage of Isaiah offered during Christmas week? Because God is doing a new thing, being incarnated into human flesh and dwelling among us, or as Eugene Peterson famously translated that verse of John 1, “moved into the neighborhood.” God is with us. God is reborn into human being-hood. And that makes all of us humans kin to God. Paul calls us all heirs of the promises. Even people you would never expect to be kin to.

Rejoice. The best thing has happened. We get to celebrate it every year. We are in the will! The will of God. We are eligible to live with God forever. But even better: we are called to be part of the Kingdom of God breaking into this world even now. Where is God busy with something in your neighborhood? Join it and share in this deep joy of re-creation and restored movement. Be God’s child today.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for making us all children of you. Help us to see the opportunities all around us to lift the curtain for people and show them your in-breaking reign today. Never let us forget we are called to that work. Amen.