Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with
me today.
I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in
Hudson, OH. Yesterday we read from John 1 and heard about John the Baptist who
was called to prepare the way for Jesus. John’s mission was to point people to
Jesus, and that is our mission, too. Our Old Testament lesson this week finds
Isaiah prophesying about Jesus. In fact, Jesus used these words about Himself
to say that He was the one Isaiah prophesied about. This passage gives us
insight into what it means that Jesus is the Christ and what the Christ would
do.
The Old Testament reading for the 3rd Sunday of
Advent is ….
The Reading: Isaiah
61:1-4, 8-11 (ESV)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to
bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the
captives,
and the opening of
the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of
the LORD's favor,
and the day of
vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to
those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress
instead of ashes,
the oil of
gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a
faint spirit;
that they may be
called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of
the LORD,
that he may be
glorified.
4 They
shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former
devastations;
they shall repair
the ruined cities,
the devastations
of many generations. (Isa. 61:1-4 ESV)
8 For I the LORD love justice;
I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting
covenant with them.
9 Their
offspring shall be known among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst
of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are an offspring the LORD
has blessed.
10 I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of
righteousness,
as a bridegroom
decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride
adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as
the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown
in it to sprout up,
so the Lord GOD will cause
righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
Comments
Why is the coming of the Messiah good
news? We often answer that question in terms of His coming to die to pay for
our sins. But God’s salvation is bigger than the forgiveness of sins. It is the
restoration of all that sin destroys. God’s plan is not merely to forgive us,
but to give us a new life, to make us into a new creation. There is, in the
background of this reading, the foundational message that the Word-Made-Flesh
who created all things in the beginning is also the Word that re-creates all
things in the end.
So God’s servant, Jesus the Messiah,
has been anointed to bring good news to the poor. On the one hand this matches
with Jesus’ word in Beatitudes that the poor in spirit are indeed blessed for
theirs in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, poverty and lack are
byproducts of sin and the economic injustice that plagues the world. This good
news is both spiritual and physical.
Jesus was sent to bind up the
brokenhearted. This is true of the healing forgiveness Jesus gives to those
whose hearts are broken with guilt and sin. It is also true of the healing He
gives to those whose hearts are broken through ended relationships, including
those whose relationships are ended by death, as He points them ahead to a
heavenly reunion and a glorious resurrection for those who die in faith.
Jesus brings liberty to captives and
release for prisoners by freeing those who are trapped in patterns of sinful
behavior. He also brings liberty and release to those who deal with the
consequences of their sin, who have been incarcerated for their crimes, but who
can be forgiven and receive and new life through faith in Jesus and the life
changing work of the Holy Spirit.
He proclaims the year of the Lord’s
favor, as the Christmas angels said, “Peace to those on whom His favor rests.”
He also brings the day of vengeance for our God, as God punished sin in Jesus’
body on the cross. That punishment was very real and physical, even as we
continue to suffer earthly consequences for our sins in earthy ways. But the
favor of God extends to all kinds of earthly blessings and benefits as well.
It is too often the case that when we
think of God’s salvation we think too small. For some reason we seem to want to
limit what God can do. We need to begin to think bigger, to be in awe of what
God does for the whole person: soul, body, and mind. When we see that salvation
is a complete reversal of the curse of sin in every aspect of life we will be
moved to praise God, to greatly rejoice in the Lord, and to exult in our
Savior. We will stand out in this world clothed in the garment of salvation so
that our very lives become a witness to our neighbors, showing what God has
done. And God will cause righteousness and praise to arise from all kinds of
people who come to believe in him.
Prayers
O God, You anointed Jesus to bring good news to the poor, to
bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty and the year of Your favor. We
thank You for Jesus’ ministry in which He did all these things and continues to
do them to this day in our whole life – physical and spiritual. Forgive us for
underestimating how great and broad your salvation is. Help us to be amazed
once again and all that Jesus has done to save us, and let the joy or Your
salvation be our strength and witness. Amen.
Memory Verse:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - 16 Rejoice always, 17
pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I would remind you once again that God’s salvation is so
great that it impacts our physical life as well as our spiritual life. One of
the ways that we can express the fullness of God’s salvation in this world is
through the devotional habit of giving of alms, which helps people with their
earthly needs. I encourage you to be part of God’s incredible salvation as you
give to help people in need.
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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