Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter Fifty Two verse Twelve, “The Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear-guard,” (NRSVB). The prophet Isaiah prophesied regarding the departure from exile and the return to Jerusalem. In this vision, received from God, Isaiah calls the exiles to wake up from their slumber and sleep and to dress themselves with the garments of faith and freedom of worship. He calls on the captives in Babylon to take off their mourning clothes, the proverbial and physical sack cloth and ash. To loosen the yoke from their neck, which is the sign of slavery, and to take heart for their time of oppression has ended. The captives in Babylon were not sold as slaves, like Joseph was, but they were taken as plunder. God promised that they would be freed without having to pay money for their freedom, it would be a divine act. They would not flee hastily in the night, like the Israelites had to when they left Egypt, for they would leave with the permission and blessing of their former enemies. Isaiah saw in his vision God’s all encompassing protection for this remnant of Israelites returning home. God would be ahead of them and God would be behind them, protecting them from all sides, promising a safe passage, taking them to their desired haven, back home to Jerusalem.
When we are trapped in difficult circumstances, when we cannot see our way out, when we are down-casted, dressed in sack and ash, we have to quieten our anxious hearts and remind ourselves that we are not alone. The promises of God for the Israelites, when they were slaves in Egypt, when they were journeying through the desert, when they were exiled in Babylon, are also promises for us today. Through the love of Christ and his work on the Cross for us, we are included in the covenant to Israel and her children, for we are adopted in God’s family. Through Jesus Christ we have been freed from the slavery of sin, bought not for money, but by his precious blood, and therefore we have freedom from the condemnation of slavery to sin . We can take hope and heart, we can dwell in our deserts for awhile, for we are not alone. God is journeying with us and promises his protection all around us, moving us forward. In his time, through the deserts of pain, wanderings and loss, we progress to a place of safety, a place where we will praise him again with joy.
Jesus taught his disciples, preparing them for the time that he would be leaving them after his suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. They knew that he came from God and would return to God. They were concerned about their own journey, purpose and future when Jesus would not be dwelling with them in his physical presence. The comfort of the Lord’s words and his promise that he would come and redeem them from the trials of life, through death unto life eternal, gave them the courage to continue their ministry of the Gospel of Redemption through grace. These words of Christ have been recorded for all his followers, through the ages, and are comforting and consoling us as we dwelling on earth, with a view of heaven. “Jesus said: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am , there you may be also,” as we read in the Gospel of John, Chapter Fourteen verse Three, (NRSVB).
Father, we thank you that you have taken your children through ages from the bondage of slavery, journeying unto freedom. We ask that you will strengthen our faith and give us hope and joy as we journey with you, the One who protects and guards us from all calamity, Amen.