Dec. 3 "Behold, I am bringing you good news of great joy"

Saturday, December 3 | Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

The beginning verses of the eleventh chapter of the book of Isaiah were clearly intended to give the people of God hope for a better tomorrow. Although the exact time/year these passages were written is disputed, the description of Israel as a “stump” implies a period of decline and decay. The great family tree of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has been felled. Nothing but a shallow, rotting stump was left to bear witness to the glory of years gone by. And the future forecast looked grim.

To those forsaken people the prophet proclaims good news, “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” New life is coming, and it will grow out of the very carcass of what once was. Isaiah casts a vision for the coming of God’s peaceful reign. He envisions a time when wrongs will be made right, outcasts shall be welcomed in, enemies will recline together as siblings, and the whole earth “will be full of the knowledge of the LORD.”

Each year at Christmas we are reminded that God has not forsaken us. Our days may be filled with uncertainty and grim predictions. Yet, in the birth of our savior, God’s work of establishing a world of justice, righteousness, and peaceful coexistence has begun. Most surprisingly, this new era is not ushered in by political dictates nor conquering armies. Instead, a child is born, quite inauspiciously, in an obscure location, to average and ordinary parents.

Some days it is difficult not to be overwhelmed by the barrage of bad news streaming into our ears from every media outlet imaginable. Do not be fooled. God’s plan for the redemption of all creation is unfolding in mysterious and majestic ways all around us … “and a little child shall lead them.”

– Rev. Dr. Al Krummenacher Director of Development