Sometimes we read the Bible continuously, neatly following the passages as one leads to the next. But the lectionary readings during Advent aren’t so orderly. Today’s reading from Isaiah and the Gospel reading from Mark both go backward from where we were a week ago.
You may remember that last week’s Old Testament reading was in Third Isaiah, the section written after the Israelites were allowed to return from exile to Jerusalem.
First Isaiah is the first 39 chapters of the book that address Judah in its stubbornness and failure to follow God; that section ends with an oracle in Chapter 39 that anticipates the exile into Babylon.
This week’s verses in Chapter 40 are the poetic opening of Second Isaiah. It’s thought that as much as 150 years passed between First and Second Isaiah ̶ 150 years of living in exile, of dislocation and disruption, disconnected from God’s presence and voice.
Our reading begins with God speaking, breaking into the emptiness of exile and speaking hope to God’s people. Scholars say the prophet is listening to God address a “divine council” or heavenly assembly of angels and messengers.[i]
It’s easy to miss in our translation, but the passage actually has multiple voices. In the first two verses, God is commanding that God’s people be comforted, effectively saying, “Enough is enough and your suffering is ended.” [ii]
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, her penalty is paid... (Isaiah 40:1-2)
This is good news for the Israelites who had spent the exile
looking backward to the Exodus, the time in which God had freed his people from oppression,
and looking forward with uncertainty, waiting for God to again act decisively for God’s people.
And then another voice breaks into the discourse and the third verse is the one Mark uses to announce John the Baptizer in today’s gospel.
3 A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
God promises there will be a public return, demonstrating God’s triumphant victory over Babylon.
When a third voice joins in asking, “What shall I cry?”, scholars say it is the prophet himself. He protests that after such a prolonged separation, the people are more comfortable with God’s absence than God’s presence. And they have proven themselves unreliable. What can he say to change their hearts and minds?[iii]
And then like last week’s mighty “Yet” we hear one of the council voices saying,
“Yes, but the word of God will stand forever.
Yes, the people have been fickle. Yes, they have turned away from God. But God is God and God’s grace for us is not dependent upon any human effort or merit. It is always God’s saving action for us.
And then the council voice speaks again, calling Isaiah the herald of good tidings, the bearer of the Good News that God is decisively present, here with God’s people, and “the world is changed by God.”[iv]
As God’s messengers, we too are called to be the herald of good tidings, the Good News, in today’s world.
I wonder, what message comes to you if you read this passage with the name of our congregation and community in place of Zion and Jerusalem and Judah?
Lift up your voice with strength, Ascension Lutheran, herald of good tidings. There is good news for the city of Shelby. Shout it as loud as you can from the highest mountain. Don't be afraid to shout to all of Cleveland County,
“Your God is here!”
Especially in Advent, we are called to proclaim the Good News of God’s presence and mercy to our community with joy:[v]
The Good News that, as long as the nine months of the pandemic have been, they have not been an exile from God’s presence. God is with us.
The Good News that God comforts God’s people, recognizes our suffering, and does not leave us alone.
The Good News that God is both a warrior for God’s people who conquers God’s enemies, and a gentle, shepherding God who cares for the vulnerable and shows mercy to those in need.
The Good News that the long-expected Jesus is coming into the world, delivering us from evil, freeing us from our fears and sins and giving us hope and peace.
Thanks be to God for the Good News.
Amen.
[i] Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah Chapters 40-66. 15-17.
[ii] Brueggemann, 18.
[iii] Brueggemann, 19.
[iv] Brueggemann, 21.
[v] “Light on the Lessons”. Lutheran Bible Ministries. © 2011. Used with permission.
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