Reflection for Advent 2 – Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Are you waiting for some good news?

In this Advent season, we’ve been reading the words of the prophet Isaiah. In our first week, we heard Isaiah cry out to God to “tear open the heavens and come down,” and we reflected on those times when we reach the end of our rope, and cry out to God, “why won’t you do something?” Last week, we heard Isaiah tell of a voice crying out “prepare the way of the Lord,” and we reflected on what that means and who’s called to do it. This week, we hear Isaiah telling us about God calling him to “bring good news to the oppressed.” So, we might ask ourselves, “are we waiting for good news?”

A lot of folks I know are waiting for good news. Some friends have lost jobs that were cut because of Covid restrictions or companies going out of business, and they’re looking for new opportunities. I hear folks in the neighborhood asking for referrals to get food and bill assistance because they’ve never needed help before. Other friends have been sick with Covid and want to know when their symptoms are going to subside. Some folks are anxiously waiting to hear that their loved ones can finally be moved out of intensive care, and aren’t allowed to visit. Though our situations may be different, in one way or another, I think we’re all waiting for some kind of good news. What kind of good news are you waiting for?

On this third Sunday of Advent, we hear the prophet Isaiah proclaim, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.” (Is 61:1) Here Isaiah speaks to God’s chosen people, who have been held captive in Babylon. Finally they’ve been released to return home to Jerusalem, and they rejoice that God has heard their cries and delivered them. Filled with memories of the good old days, they get back home, and are shocked to see the city still in ruins from when Babylon had destroyed the city. How could they possibly rebuild after all this destruction?

So God calls Isaiah to bring good news to these folks – “to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion – to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.” (Is 61:3) The road ahead for these folks will be long and hard, and safe to say that they must feel pretty stranded and maybe even abandoned in a wasteland. But God makes a promise to them. “They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations.” (Is 61:3-4)

Of course, Isaiah isn’t talking to us – he’s preaching to the Israelites to whom God sends him. But, Isaiah’s words still seem to say something reassuring to us, thousands of years later. Though, it may not feel so reassuring when we’re being held captive by something outside of our control. On a good day, it’s hard. On a bad day, it’s frightening and keeps us awake at night. What makes it so hard? Certainly, we struggle when physical and emotional pain bear down upon us. We pray and wait for relief that doesn’t seem to come, despite how we might endure. We may cry out “How long, O Lord?” (Is 6:11) We may even try to bargain with God. I confess I’ve done more than my fair share of that. Or, we might torture ourselves with trying to figure out what we did to bring this upon ourselves. Did we fail to take responsibility? Make a wrong choice? Were we careless?

Maybe part of why we do all this, is because we just feel so alone. Like we have to take care of ourselves because no one else will. And while we’re stuck in this hard place where we don’t want to be, we feel like the rest of the world is passing us by. Maybe we even feel abandoned by God. So, perhaps the good news we need to hear most of all is that we haven’t been abandoned, because God has sent us Jesus, God’s only son. We call him Emmanuel – “God with us.” Not up in heaven or far away, but as near to us as our next breath. This is the one who John the Baptist testified to the Pharisees as “the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” (John 1:27) Nevertheless, Jesus still comes to John and all those in that day, to befriend, to heal, to forgive, and even to suffer, die, and be raised. What kind of good news is that? It’s the good news that Jesus knows exactly what we’re suffering. That Jesus knows exactly how we feel. That there is nowhere in heaven or earth where we could possibly go that Jesus hasn’t already gone before us, and yet he abides with us all the while.

By Jesus’ gift of faith, somehow this good news gives us strength, even if we can’t figure out exactly why. It doesn’t pretend like this isn’t really happening. It doesn’t try to give us any fake answers. But, it does reassure us that we are being seen and heard exactly as we are. And if Jesus sees us, we can be sure that Jesus makes his other disciples to see us, and sends them to be a comfort to us. It may not be the way we expect. It may be virtual instead of physical. But even still, that power of connection in the Holy Spirit is a welcome gift.

As Isaiah says, “For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” (Is 61:11) May Jesus make it be so for you and for me.