A new name, called by God (Dec 26 2021)
Scripture: Isa 61:10-62:3
Date: Dec 26 2021
ISA 61:10-62:3 (NRSV)
10 I 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.
11 For 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.
1 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.
2 The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
0. opening
Today is the first Sunday after Christmas. The baby Jesus is
finally born. Traditionally, Christmas was celebrated before this Sunday, and
folks might feel a little bit tired after all the family gatherings. According
to the Gregorian calendar, it is also the time to take a break, relax, and
prepare for the next holiday, which is near: the New Year. And people will get
busy again, for the family gathering, making new plans for the upcoming year, entering
another cycle of life.
1. the scripture and its background – the return of the Judah
empire
Book of Isaiah is one of the favorite books cited in the New
Testament. Most of the essential metaphors were used in the Christian bible and
developed in theologies are from this book, such as “she shall bear a son, and
shall name him Immanuel” (Isa 7:14) and “For a child has been born for us, a
son is given to us…named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be
endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom…with justice and with
righteousness…forevermore.” (Isa 9:6-7) and the image of the suffered servant
(Isa 53-54).
Authors of the Gospels used this book as the prelude for
John the Baptist, too. We might not be too surprised that even Jesus read the Book
of Isaiah 61:1-3 in the synagogue on Sabbath, and claimed this is his mission
on earth. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has
anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the
prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion—to
give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.” Such an
important book, isn’t it?
Prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, has the vision concerning Judah
and Jerusalem (Isa 1:1). Recent biblical studies told us, there are three
different “Isaiah” in this book; they represented and reflected on different
contexts and challenges in their time. The scripture we read today is between
the second and the third Isaiah. Since the fall of Judah in 597 BCE and soon
the exilic period, the Hebrews were waiting for the day that they could rebuild
their Judah and go back to their homeland. It was not until 539 BCE, after the
fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered by the Persian King, Cyrus, and
then Darius the Great allowed those reallocated people to go back home, for
Hebrews was back to the promised land. Sixty years was a long time waiting.
Most of us have known, Babylonian Empire was mentioned by
the first Isaiah as the agent from God to teach Israel a lesson that God has
forsaken you. It was the punishment from God for Israel’s unfaithfulness. The Temple
in Jerusalem was destroyed, and it was God’s intention to do so. Elites, royal
families, and priests were expelled and captives of the Babylonian Empire.
But now, in the third Isaiah as the scripture today, “I”
will greatly rejoice in the Lord, be covered with the garments of salvation,
the robe of righteousness. The time of suffering has passed, and God has shown
mercy. Right now, it is a new area. Scholars are arguing who was this “I”
speaking? It might be the collective voices of Jerusalem, this city where the
Temple was located. That will lead to the meaning of God’s Temple will be
restored with glory under the permission of the Persian Empire. Jerusalem is
now the faithful city, Zion, and is no longer unfaithful.
“I” might be the prophet, the third Isaiah. Then, he will be
the representative of the Hebrews, to give thanks to God for God’s
unconditional salvation, after three generations of suffering and they cannot
do anything about it: no temple to worship, no place to repent, no institutionalized
entity to do justice and walk on the path God has shown. That leads to the
meaning that God’s righteousness has been fulfilled by the sixty years’
suffering. The kingdom of Judah could be restored. And that is beyond the
Hebrews’ control
“I” might be the Persian King, Cyrus, who was the anointed
one, who proclaimed the “good news” that the enemy, Babylonian Empire, was
destroyed. Or, the Persian King Darius, who is the other anointed one who
released the Hebrews from captivity and grand them to rebuild their Temple in
Jerusalem. The Hebrews were still under the shade of another colonial empire.
And this one is even. Anything should obey and worship “the King of kings,” and
the title of Persian Emperors.
If we use intertextual reading with Psalm and first Isaiah,
we will come up with the idea that it will be the Kingdom of David, the whole
Israel, that be restored and vindicated by God. However, in the third prophet
Isaiah’s mind, it is Judah, the southern kingdom only, that will be restored
and vindicated.
The joy is the grant, like a happy marriage. The unfaithful
woman, Jerusalem, is now a beloved bride with jewels, the crown of beauty. The
restored relationship between God, the groom, and the bride, the collective of
Jerusalem. And this restoration will be recognized by all the nations and
kings. A new name will be given directly from God.
2. from a Christian eye
We can also try to under this scripture from a Christian
perspective. “I” speaking here might be Jesus the Christ, like Augustine, the
early Father and then essential Christian theologian, claimed, “Christ is
preaching himself,” in clothing Christ, God the Father in a sense adorns
himself, this scripture is a mystery of the Trinity.
Martin Luther continued this thought and treated the Book of
Isaiah here is describing the spiritual kingdom of Christ. The rise and
restoration of Jerusalem are as the light in the Gospel against the darkness,
which could also attract the nations, remove all the restrictions of the synagogue,
and extend to the Gentiles. And that leads to Jesus being the Christ, the king,
the Messiah, and the anointed one. (Childs, 199-200). As Luther’s famous statement, “Wherever the
gospel is proclaimed, there is the kingdom of Christ.” (Childs, 196)
However, John Calvin has lots of arguments against the
method of allegory used by both Augustine and Luther. In Calvin’s perspective,
for the Church, those glory of garments, salvation, and righteousness are
invisible. But the church people need to have faith to comprehend those
heavenly and invisible things. (Calvin, Commentary on Isa 61).
Theologians hold different viewpoints concerning the
historical facts, interpretations across history, theologies they believed, and
the context they encountered. I learned some of those from a book, The
Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture, written by Brevard S.
Childs (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004). And I believe following interpretation of this
scripture might be quite different than some of us today at our church.
2.1. in our context – the review of 2021
The year 2021 is another year of challenges. Since 2019, COVID-19
has taken 5 million lives from us, globally. In the US, the number means we
lost 800 thousand of our brothers, sisters, and siblings.[1]
In the US, there are three different vaccines to help us against the virus. We
are getting the booster now. However, the fully vaccinated rate is still 60%
for a long time.[2] Delta
variation is still here, but Omicron is now the dominating among the new cases.
A 17-year-old person from Illinois gunshot two other people
and wounded one in Wisconsin. He was sentenced not guilty.[3]
A 24-year-old UoC graduate was gunshot by another 18-year-old person in Hyde
Park.[4]
On the same day, gang-related shooting around the church corner. There have
been 783 homicides in the city and an additional 3,592 nonfatal shooting
victims this year so far.[5]
115 thousand people got shot, and 39 thousand died this year in the US.[6]
How much longer that we shall wait for the day of relief? Why
do we have to suffer?
2.2. restoration of the Davidic dynasty – nationalist
People had been seeking salvation and righteousness for a
long time, especially the Christians. We Christians love to identify the
saviors for our own benefit. Look at what’s happened in history. In this
country, Christians also crowned different politicians as their saviors, or the
solutions for various issues. It did not always work out well. We behaved just
like different Isaiahs: you king was not my king, your restored kingdom is not
mime. We are still struggling, under the
shadow of Black Lives Matter, White Supremacy, the combination of Christianity,
nationalism, and patriotism. We are not going anywhere.
Where is “the collective of Jerusalem” in our context? Who
will be the anointed one we shall wait for? What is the salvation to come? How
is righteousness to be achieved? So we Christians shall ask, especially the newborn
king is here with us already.
3. the salvation, the righteousness, and the name called by
God
What could we do from here? There are some differences
between our and Isaiah’s contexts: we still have a place to assemble, worship,
and do good to the community. We get some opportunities and autonomy. Book of
Isaiah provides us with an essential clue. “For 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.” (Isa
61:11) If we spread the seed, it is God who would spring them up, and people would
see it.
In late summer, many of us joined the lawn planting. And we
do see the differences; not only do we get a greener lawn on the 53rd
St, but also a collective work from our community: church folks, Boys/Girls
Scout, and our neighbors. If you walked by the church today, you might
question: what? Are you kidding me? I see no leaf but dry branches right now.
We Christians are very good at waiting and realizing the cycle of life, but we
are not lazy. Things might be invisible at this point, with all the efforts we
put, and with faith we hold, as John Calvin has encouraged us, we shall see the
invisible and heavenly things, not only in our vision but also in our context.
People around us would recognize those things and realize: oh, those Christians
do have God.
If you are still uncertain about it, stay longer by the
lawn, the sparrows are already having fun there and they have shown us what’s
under the ground. The soil represents an unpredictable possibility and
fertility, right here, on our lawn, around our church, among us. In the first
Corinthians, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth...For we are
God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor
3:6, 9).
What are the seeds that you are going to spread, in this
garden? What kind of righteousness, praise, and joy are you expecting? God,
won’t keep silent, will not rest. People will know the new name, given by God,
via the seeds and what has grown.
Amen.
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=covid-19+death&oq=covid-19+death&aqs=chrome..69i57.5949j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=vaccination+rate+in+us&oq=va&aqs=chrome.1.69i59l2j69i57j69i59j69i60l2j69i65j69i60.1806j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[3] https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/shootings-arrest-trial-and-more-the-kyle-rittenhouse-story-explained/2684756/
[4] https://news.wttw.com/2021/11/13/suspect-charged-death-university-chicago-student
[5] https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-2021-gun-violence-20211223-ojymqhxao5czzi33rh5mc4bdvq-htmlstory.html
[6] https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics
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