Today’s Reading | Isaiah 52:3–10
For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore on that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns”
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God. (NRSV)
Reflection
“God’s thoughts are higher than human thoughts. Yet just as God may share the sufferings of man, so man may share the thoughts of God . . . . As a rule we reflect on the problem of suffering in relation to him who suffers. The prophet’s message insists that suffering is not to be understood exclusively in terms of the sufferer’s own situation. In Israel’s agony, all nations are involved. Israel’s suffering is not a penalty, but a privilege, a sacrifice; its endurance is a ritual, its meaning is to be disclosed to all men in the hour of Israel’s redemption.”
—Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets
Now that we have once again experienced the Christmas miracle, it can be easy for us to want to sit back, relax, and assume all the hard work has been done. We did the hard work of making preparation to receive God’s light into our lives; we observed the right traditions; we attended all the special services; and we even made special offerings and spared kind thoughts for people from whom we are ordinarily distant. Our task is complete, isn’t it?
Our reading from Isaiah and the commentary by Rabbi Heschel urge us to shake off our weariness and desire for peaceful contentment, to take a different perspective on what the promise of God’s salvation might mean for us. In Isaiah’s proclamation, it is precisely the suffering of God’s people that spurs God to action and that demands the proclamation of peace from God’s messenger.
In this season of Epiphany, as we look for proof of God’s presence in the world, perhaps we should not shy away from searching for God in places of suffering. It may be that we are called to engage in conflict and struggle so that God’s intention to save creation may be revealed to all people.
Prayer
Holy God, you can redeem all our suffering. So make us bold to engage difficult situations—such as the violence we inflict on one another, the poverty we produce in our pursuit of wealth, and the barriers we build between one another on account of our fear. By our struggle and our faithfulness, may your mighty arm be revealed. Amen.
Written by Hardy H. Kim, Associate Pastor for Evangelism
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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