God’s Abundant Love Redeems—Lectionary Reflection for Christmas 1A (Isaiah 63)

Isaiah 63:7-9 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

 

⁷ I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,
    the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,
because of all that the Lord has done for us
    and the great favor to the house of Israel
that he has shown them according to his mercy,
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
⁸ For he said, “Surely they are my people,
    children who will not act deceitfully,”
and he became their savior
⁹     in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
    but his presence that saved them;
in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them;
    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old

****************

                In the year 2023, the first Sunday after Christmas falls on New Year’s Day. It’s still Christmas, at least liturgically, but a new year has begun. On a Sunday like this, it’s possible to take up the Epiphany texts and meet up with the Magi in Bethlehem. The Gospel reading for today, which comes from Matthew 2 speaks of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt on the eve of Herod’s massacre of the innocents, a passage that some Christians, myself among them, view through the lens of modern migrants, many of whom are fleeing from persecution, violence, and war (Matt. 2:13-23). In this reading from Isaiah, the message speaks of God’s abundant love and mercy shared with Israel.  

                As we ponder this reading from Isaiah, which likely was shared as the Babylonian exile was coming to an end, it can speak to God’s redemptive purposes that are rooted in God’s mercy. It fits with the Christmas season because the season reminds us that God became incarnate in Jesus to redeem us. That is, in Christ, God’s compassion has been revealed to the world. Although at Christmas we celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ life, it is important to remember that it is Jesus’ entire life that revealed God’s presence to humanity. In this, we find our redemption.

                The song that begins in verse 7 follows upon the previous six verses that speak of God’s judgment of the nations, specifically Israel’s neighbor, Edom. That word vengeance speaks of God angrily trampling down peoples, crushing them as a result of God’s wrath. It’s one of those words that many of us struggle with, preferring more gracious messages. We find both within reach of each other, leaving us to struggle with the realities of judgment and mercy and what that means for how we envision the presence of God. For those who experience oppression, the promise of divine vengeance might be welcome news. For our reading, we move on to a more gentle message. Whereas wrath is the message over verse 6, the verse that begins our reading, verse 7, speaks of God’s gracious deeds and God’s praiseworthy acts. Our reading ends in verse 9, where Isaiah speaks of God redeeming the people due to God’s love and pity. There ends our reading. If we continue with the reading of Isaiah 63, judgment again rears its head. This time it’s Israel and not Edom who is God’s enemy.

                When I was in seminary, and even in college, I was taught to read biblical texts in context. That may not always be a wise strategy, as Barbara Brown Taylor points out in this case, such that we might want to set aside the words of vengeance if our purpose is to offer words of comfort. That’s because “these three verses are airlifted out of a chapter thick with divine wrath and human despair” [Feasting on the Word, 147]. Of course, we receive this word from God as we navigate a world in disarray. This reading is, of course, paired with a passage from Matthew that speaks of the slaughter of the innocents. Thus, as Taylor notes when it comes to the readings for the First Sunday after Christmas, “there may be no better day to confront the truth that neither God’s presence nor Christ’s birth rids the world of horror and death. Even the most sheltered parishioner may have noticed a sharp dip in holiday cheerfulness over the past week, as both neighbors and news media buckle their seat belts for the new year.” Indeed, as concludes: Any gospel that seeks to avoid the realities of sea monsters, murderous political leaders, dead children, wailing mothers—and yes, even the chilling image of an angry God—is not a gospel big enough for human life” [Feasting on the Word, p. 149]. Here in 2023, we see signs of division and violence everywhere around us. So, a sanitized Gospel might not offer hope for a better day ahead.

                What hear in this reading, surrounded as it is with words of judgment is a reminder that in the midst of our reality God is faithful and compassionate. Nevertheless, that compassion does not rule out God’s judgment. Therefore, unless we choose to image God to be nothing more than a compliant pal or a babysitter who lets us “get away with murder,” we might want to heed verse 10, which declares: “But they rebelled and grieved his holy spirit; therefore, he became their enemy; he himself fought against them.” As we read in Ephesians: “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

                If we keep in mind the other side of the coin, the one that speaks of judgment, we can hear this word of grace and compassion. Verse 9 is rendered in the Common English Bible: “During all their distress, God also was distressed.” In other words, God experiences the distress of God’s people. This can be good news if we find ourselves experiencing distress. God is experiencing that distress with us, but not only that, but in God’s love, God redeems us.

                This word of course comes to us on New Year’s Day, which signals the beginning of something new. That can be good news, but not always. We may feel a bit of uncertainty about the future. The stock market is falling while inflation is high. The political situation in the United States is as polarized as ever. A former president might be indicted for inciting an insurrection, which in itself could lead to violence. My LGBTQ friends are feeling threatened by certain political forces. Then there’s the war in Ukraine with nuclear saber-rattling on the part of the Russians. Thus, there’s a spirit of fear in the air.  Perhaps this is a moment when we need to engage in a bit of spiritual warfare as described by Richard Beck in his book Reviving Old Scratch. This form of spiritual warfare involves a call to love our enemies: “If our political struggle for justice is to resist the temptations toward dehumanization and hatred, it must be accompanied by this deeper spiritual struggle to love our enemies. Love is what prevents the political struggle from dehumanizing and demonizing flesh and blood” [Reviving Old Scratch, p. 61]. With this reminder of the spiritual nature of our struggle with life’s challenges, we can begin to comprehend the nature of God’s compassion. With Christmas as the context for this reflection, we can begin to comprehend the incarnation. In Jesus, we see revealed the true nature of God’s love, as it’s expressed to all, including the perceived enemies—including Herod, whom Matthew suggests sought to destroy his perceived enemy, a challenger to his power.

                Being that he is, as John declares in the prologue to his Gospel, the Word incarnate (John 1:1-14), Jesus experiences all of human life, from its highs and its lows. As we go into the new year, which will provide both highs and lows, we go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit knowing that God is our savior when we experience our moments of distress. Yes, God, in God’s love and pity, redeemed Israel and will redeem us.

As we go forth into the new year, with this promise of God’s abiding presence going with us, we can rejoice and sing:

There's a wideness in God's mercy,
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in God's justice,
which is more than liberty.  

For the love of God is broader
than the measure of our mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.

(F. W. Faber, Chalice Hymnal, #73, vs. 1, 3)