Thoughts for the Day

Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoffer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—
those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.

Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Since 2019 Lebanon has suffered political unrest, the collapse of its banking system, an enormous explosion in its port, and recently a war between Israel and Hezbollah's militant wing. The latter has decimated large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon and killed over 4,000 people many of them civilians. Despite a cease-fire being in place for the last year Israeli air strikes continue to rain down on Muslims and Christians alike. But even so there is a glimmer of hope for future international relationships, for Pope Leo has just spent 4 days in the country. Among other things he offered some silent prayers at the site of the port explosion and celebrated Mass at the water-front in Beirut.

Today's passage from Isaiah also offers a different kind of glimmer of hope, this time to those living many centuries ago in Judah. The people had turned away from God, and their hearts had grown cold. They had become like a dry and parched land, unable to bear fruit. But the Lord has not abandoned them. He has a plan to restore them and to bring them back to Himself. Isaiah recognises the spiritual blindness of the people and their pride and arrogance. He warns them that things are going to change in a little while, and he uses the image of Lebanon's beautiful forests which at the time were so famous. Just as God can turn them to crops of vegetables, or turn them back to forest again, so when that time comes God will make the deaf hear, give the blind sight, and rescue the poor and downtrodden.

Thousands of years later as we hear this message again, we rejoice that Yahweh still loves His people, that He challenges us to return to the path of righteousness, and work towards the coming of His Kingdom.

Lord God,
You call us again and again to You,
as You called Your people over the centuries,
and like them we listen for a moment or two
when the world does not pull us away,
but then all too often fall back into apathy.
Revitalise us this Advent,
jog us out of our apathy
and our spiritual blindness,
that we may approach Christmas
ready to hear the eternal message
of the coming of the Saviour
Amen.