These two passages speak of a world that would have seen like a dream to the People of God. For Isaiah to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, it not just about all things coming up rainbows and chocolate rivers. The year of the Lord's favor was the year of Jubilee, when slaves were to be set free; debts were forgiven; and no one farmed for the whole year. It was year long Sabbath to remember to trust in God in all times.
Isaiah 61 actually is the passage Jesus preached one of his first sermon on in Luke. If you click on that link, you will see that the sermon does not end well. Let me give thanks that to date no congregation has ever tried to hurl me off a cliff in response to a sermon of mine...maybe I am not doing something right? Jesus proclaims the year of the Lord's favor, which sounds so good. Until the people realize that quoting from Isaiah means the Lord's favor includes everyone, even the foreigners and people we don't like. All of the sudden, we might wonder about this. And does Jesus really expect us not to plant gardens when spring finally comes? Does Jesus really expect us to forgive other people's debts to us? I mean that is fine in church when saying the Lord's prayer, but can we really live this way?
Isaiah offers a compelling vision. But what is our role in all of this? Do we just wait passively? Or, perhaps, we are called to live this way right now. Which is challenging, because people are going to look at us all strange. People might say things behind our back. Living the faith means we will at times bump hard against the values of our culture.
I pray you will listen to the wisdom of these two passages today and in the coming days. Perhaps as these words dwell within us, they might be heard in some of our words and felt in some of our actions. If that can happen it would be a trace of God's grace.
Blessings!
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