… say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” – Isaiah 35:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 26, 2017): Isaiah 35

I have had a recurring fantasy. It is probably brought on by watching too many movies.  The fantasy is that in the moment of defeat, something – maybe something that I do, or maybe something that is done on my behalf – but something will come to my rescue and save me.

I know that it isn’t all that uncommon a fantasy. In fact, it is one that we hold as a society together. So as we use more and more fossil fuels to support our way of life – fuels that cannot be replaced – because we have a fantasy that we will find more fuel, or even better, that we will discover other more renewable ways of supporting our society’s needs. So far that hasn’t happened, but we believe that in our greatest hour of need something will come to the rescue. We have the same fantasy regarding climate change. Our behavior may be contributing to the ultimate collapse of our environment. But someday, someone will discover the magic cure, and we will be saved.

It was Israel’s fantasy as well. Someday Israel would find itself in trouble. But in that day someone would respond to their need. The Messiah – the one sent from God – would come and rescue them. And in that day, he would take his revenge on all of those that presumed that they were gods of their nations and that they could terrorize the nation that God had chosen to be his own.

And then, the Messiah came – but the revenge he brought was not against the temporal powers that had become the nightmare of Israel. Instead, he brought a final revenge against evil itself – personified in the figure of Satan or the devil – that not only held Israel in its grip but who had held every other nation in its grip as well.

Our God has come. He has entered into our situation. And the result is that we don’t need to fear the power of evil. Our God has come to save. And that is the real message of the Incarnation – and of the Christmas that we have just celebrated (And you thought the message of Christmas was caught up in your overweight January credit card statements.) This is the message. Our God is here – now.

Originally Published on December 12, 2010

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 36