In our continuing look at Isaiah 61:1-4, we come to an uncomfortable verse. Isaiah 61:2 says we are to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.
It might feel nice to announce the Lord’s favor, but to trumpet
God’s vengeance isn’t as nice. Commentators note that it is a YEAR of favor vs.
a DAY of vengeance. They also say that the year of favor or the acceptable
year is likely a reference to the Year of Jubilee that was to happen every
50 years. God ordained, through Moses, that every seventh year should be a
Sabbath for the land to lie fallow and that you shall hallow the fiftieth
year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your
property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a
jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the
unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat
only what the field itself produces. (Leviticus 25:10-12)
The word favor comes to us from Latin favere meaning
to show kindness or cherish. It now means approval or support, even
preferential treatment or a gift (like a party favor). God’s favor or
acceptance is more than just a nice little gift. It is nothing less than Love made
Manifest as we remember during the season of Epiphany. The hymn Songs of
Thankfulness and Praise* notes that God, in Jesus, was “Manifest in making
whole/ Palsied limbs and fainting soul;/ Manifest in valiant fight,/ Quelling
all the devil’s might;/ Manifest in gracious will,/ Ever bringing good from ill.”
You can listen to a nice rendition of the hymn.
In thinking of the second part of the verse, is there
something that you need to speak out against? I’m sure we each have our list of
things (and even people) who we think need to feel the ‘wrath of God’. How do
we discern those things that truly are anathema to God’s dream for humanity?
For me, these verses in Isaiah help give guidance. It is
those actions in society and by individuals that cause injustice, imprisonment,
injury, division, or other harm which destroys community. Those things that are
not of God’s will is what we are to speak out against. They are the actions
that we must warn against and event proclaim…the day of vengeance of our
God. We may find ourselves writing letters to the editor, standing as
allies with the disenfranchised, forming action groups, providing assistance,
or simply praying for God’s kingdom.
The day of the Lord’s favor is a day of righteousness
for all, not just those we agree with. Just maybe, if we listen to those we
disagree with, we will discover that they have good ideas. We may even work
together for the common good. Listening can start reconciliation and build
bridges rather than walls. We can be part of the solution, and help manifest
God by what the hymn says is ever bringing good from ill.
Where and how can we speak up to create change and help
build the “Beloved Community”?
How can we “make manifest” the Love that we are called to
share?
How can this be a year of Jubilee, restoration, new hope?
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll consider a couple ways
that Isaiah encourages us to do this. This week, we might consider how God’s
favor is manifest in each of our lives. And follow that up by saying “Thanks”
to God.
*Songs of thankfulness and praise,
Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise,
Manifested by the star
To the sages from afar;
Branch of royal David’s stem
In Thy birth at Bethlehem;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.
Manifest at Jordan’s stream,
Prophet, Priest, and King supreme;
And at Cana, wedding guest,
In Thy Godhead manifest;
Manifest in power divine,
Changing water into wine;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.
Manifest in making whole
Palsied limbs and fainting soul;
Manifest in valiant fight,
Quelling all the devil’s might;
Manifest in gracious will,
Ever bringing good from ill;
Anthems be to Thee addressed,
God in man made manifest.
Songs of thankfulness and praise
Author: Christopher Wordsworth (1862)
Tune: SALZBURG (Hintze)
