Prepare to Listen. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Prayerfully Read Isaiah 9:2-5 2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined. 3You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. Prayerfully Wonder Failed leadership is an ancient and recurrent problem. We’re experiencing it today in the U.S. with a contentious government and divisive country. For Isaiah failed leadership was King Ahaz,[1] who failed to practice the justice and righteousness essential for a governance that is equitable and humane, one where social power is properly deployed.[2] Poor leadership results in the darkness of despair for all people. Only the true light, represented by a just and righteous ruler such as the Messiah, can dispel it. The prophet’s message gives hope to the oppressed, the aliens, the poor, the marginalized because, he says, they will see a great light. The darkness will be dispelled by a new King, the Messiah. He won’t, as John’s Gospel claims, be overcome by the darkness but instead will dispel it and thus be able to enlighten everyone (Jn 1:5, 9). Today we, the Church, read Isaiah’s prophecy through the lens of Jesus the Messiah. His coming “marks the decisive turn towards wellbeing.”[3] New leadership has arrived in Jesus, who has the power and the resolve to defeat and destroy all oppressive regimes, including our own, and restore order, justice, righteousness, truth for all peoples, not just our own. Prayerfully Reflect What surprised you and caught your attention in today’s reading? Prayerfully Respond Jesus you are the Great Light that dispels the darkness. Keep me walking in your Light no matter the cost to my comfort. Amen. Live obediently. Walk in and with the great Light, Jesus. [1] See 2 Chronicles 28:1-4 for a summary of his reign. [2] Brueggemann, W. Isaiah 1-39. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, p. 84. [3] Ibid, p. 82.
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