Advent 2020 (day 15 of 26)

 December 13, 2020 (Sunday)

 

Day 15 of 26, Advent 2020 (third Sunday of Advent)

 

During Advent, one of the things to consider is why Jesus came to earth in the first place. To say Jesus came to provide for our salvation is accurate. But wait, there is more!

 

I don’t know if you know this, but the world is really messed up. The battle started in a garden, continues in the garbage heap, but someday will end in glory. Did you know our hope is not just in the future? Sometimes we get the impression, from faulty theology, that we are helpless in the garbage heap.

 

Isaiah described what Jesus would do, and by extension what our mission should be. Let’s dig in. Isaiah starts with, “The Lord God’s spirit is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.” [Isaiah 61:1a CEB] In the Old Testament, anointing was done by pouring oil on a person. The oil symbolized the Holy Spirit. Being anointed also meant one was appointed, approved, and accredited for a purpose.

 

So what did Jesus do, that helps us now? I am so glad you asked. Let’s continue: “He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for Zion’s mourners, to give them a crown in place of ashes, oil of joy in place of mourning, a mantle of praise in place of discouragement." [Isaiah 61:1b 3a CEB]

 

1. Good news to the poor. When Jesus preached His best known sermon, He started with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Mathew 5:3 ESV] Those who have little to nothing have the promise of inheriting (owning) the kingdom. But Jesus is not talking about mere worldly poverty. I think Jesus is speaking about spiritual need. Later He states, “On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” [Matthew 9:12 NIV] Realizing and admitting our spiritual poverty is the first step on a long spiritual journey.

 

2. Bind up the brokenhearted. It makes sense once we discover the reality of our deep spiritual poverty, we are truly broken hearted. There is also a sense that when we are brokenhearted in this world, Jesus is there for us.

 

3. Proclaim release for captives and liberation for prisoners. Wesley observed, “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature's night; Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee.” The note attached to this hymn is “sing joyfully.”

 

4. Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Every 50^th year, God declared all debts canceled, all property returned to ancestral owners, and all slaves freed. Kind of like the “reset” button. In every generation everyone had the chance to start again on even footing. Eventually there will be a final Jubilee at the end of this age for those in Jesus.

 

5. Comfort all who mourn. Jesus had an adversarial relationship with death. There were times Jesus stood up to death as an enemy. In Luke 7 there is the story of the widow of Nain. During the funeral, Jesus interrupted the procession and flipped the script from mourning to joy when He raised the boy back to life. Jair’s daughter didn’t stay dead. Lazarus was called out of the grave. Jesus Himself rose from the dead. Paul understood Jesus’ resurrection as a promise for our own (see 1 Corinthians 15:20). Paul even called death the “last enemy to be destroyed” (see 1 Corinthians 15:26).

 

6. A new reality. The promise is a crown in place of ashes, oil of joy in place of mourning, and a mantle of praise in place of discouragement. Death (ashes), mourning, and discouragement are our “new normal” in this covid infested world. Only Jesus can give a crown, joy, and praise in seeming hopeless days.

 

While some want to celebrate the triumph of science to create a covid beating vaccine; hope in a vaccine only distracts us of the real fatal illness plaguing humanity. The Bible calls this deadly plague “sin,” and Jesus blood is the only cure. But this remedy is good only for those who receive it and become children of God (see John 1:12).