Wednesday, December 8, 2021
With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage
those who have weak knees. Say
to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is
coming to destroy your enemies. He is
coming to save you.” And when
he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and
those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the
wasteland. The parched ground
will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will
flourish where desert jackals once lived.
Isaiah 35:3-7
We’re in the middle of Advent, a time for reflection and preparation. At the first Advent it was a time of
oppression. Roman soldiers occupied Mary
and Joseph’s country. Taxes were
high. Government was a heavy hand, hard
and capricious. Mary was expecting her first
child any moment. Even at Mary’s tender
age the exuberance of youth could be reduced to barely an ember. Tired hands, weak knees, and, in Mary’s case,
probably swollen ankles and backache were the stuff of every morning’s
challenge. And then came the tax decree
that meant a week’s journey on the back of a donkey for a very pregnant girl. Add that to the complications of pregnancy, and
“weariness” just doesn’t begin to describe the difference between the darkness
of Advent and the coming of the Day Star.
Fast-forward a couple of millennia, and here we are on the post-side of
two years’ pandemic-frenzy. Heavy-handed
and capricious government is still a reality.
Tired hands and weak knees are much the common experience. And taxes?
Let’s not even go there! That’s
where the fearful hearts dwell too. And
Isaiah is still saying to us Be strong and do not fear…!
And the normal response is, Lord,
in your mercy.
Every time I think it’s safe to write (or even think) a phrase like winding-down,
or, coming-to-a-close in connection with Coronavirus, there’s a
new spike, or a new variant, or something else that stokes the flames of
conflict and fear. There is precious
little rest for the weary, and little hope for any sense of normalcy in this
world. This old man’s heart aches for
the groaning of our children and theirs, and for the children of Adam and Eve
around the world. This Advent is little
more than waiting and whistling in the darkness.
And Isaiah still says the blind and deaf will have working eyes and
ears; the lame will leap, and the mute shall sing; the springs will become
rivers, and the echo of all-is-lost will fade into the distance
like the memory of childbirth’s pain. And
it will be because our God is coming for us.
And anyone with a modicum of sanity understands that this world cannot
sustain if He doesn’t.
And doesn’t that describe the waiting angst of Advent? It’s not about Christmas trees, twinkling lights,
and candy canes. Salvation is not simply
a one-and-done trip to the altar, or getting your name added to a church
roster. It’s not a matter of subscribing
to this progressive doctrine, or that traditional dogma; salvation is the
strength of the Creator, condescending to distribute His blood over our sins,
and the Divine mingling with our souls.
It is taking away the burden of our selfishness and offering us a strong
right hand of joy in exchange.
Advent is waiting for Emmanuel…that God with us.
For You Today
Emmanuel…kinda makes the wait worthwhile; don’t you
think?
[1] Title and Other Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For another post on this text see the WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
