Isaiah 61: 8-11 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 61: 8-11 on biblegateway.com
Verse 8For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Verse 9Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
Verse 10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Verse 11For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
Devotion
I have two rescued cats: Freyja, who can turn almost anything into a cat toy; and Loki, who appeared entirely unfamiliar with the idea of play at first. Eventually he discovered how much fun playing could be—but he had to learn to play. In today’s reading, Isaiah encourages the people of God to “greatly rejoice in the Lord.” During this third week in Advent, perhaps we can learn from Isaiah how to truly rejoice in what God has done for us. At first, rejoicing may feel uncomfortable—and even a bit ridiculous—given the state of the world. We might have to learn how to rejoice, even as the Israelites had to learn from Isaiah. “God is good,” my friend in South Africa says in greeting—and no matter the circumstance,
the proper response is “All the time.” That is something worth learning to rejoice about!
Prayer
God of mercy and grace, we rejoice in you and give you thanks for clothing us in the garments of your salvation. Give us glad and generous hearts. Amen.