000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

130 First Sunday after Christmas Day/Year B
the brokenhearted, proclaim release to the captives, and comfort those
who mourn (61:1–2). It is a righteousness from the heart of God’s love for
each and all.
But it is not for Israel alone: “the Lord GOD will cause righteousness
and praise to spring up before all the nations [Gentiles]” (61:11). By manifesting
the communal characteristics of life and well-being, Israel will be
a light and blessing to the Gentiles.
Chapter 62 returns to the theme about the rebuilding of Jerusalem and
Judea articulated in 61:4: “They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall
raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the
devastations of many generations.”
Third Isaiah copes with the misgivings of his strife-ridden and insecure
community. They have found their homes burned to the ground, their
crop lands wiped out by war, their institutions in shambles and their infrastructure
wrecked. Life is unsafe, poverty rampant, and the Temple not
rebuilt. Not only is the rebuilding critical to their well-being, it is also terribly
uncertain. Many exiles have not returned and the surrounding countries
still prey upon the defenseless Judeans.
Theirs is a question of theodicy. Is God true to God’s promises? Has
God got what it takes to pull off the reconstruction of Judea? Does God
care? Third Isaiah again takes up Second Isaiah’s proclamation: “For
Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a
burning torch” (62:1). God declares that the people will be given a new
name: “You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no
more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her”
(v. 4). God is not the “unmoved Mover” of Aristotle, but the most moved
Mover of the Torah and the prophets. God cries out for Israel “like a
woman in labor” (Isa. 42:14).
The new names signal a sharp turn in the course of historical events
from the prophet’s point of view. The time of desolation and defeat is in
the past and YHWH calls Israel forward to a new future as God had called
Moses and Abraham into a new future.
In this new future, through Israel God “will cause righteousness and
praise to spring up before all the nations [Gentiles]” (61:11). Israel will be
a light to the Gentiles and the blessings of God’s loving-kindness will be
shared by all the world. Today’s passage is fittingly paired with the song
of Simeon: “my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared
in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for
glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:30–32). In Jesus Christ we Gentiles