URC Daily Devotion 22nd December

Isaiah’s account of Yahweh’s triumph is in poetic form. Though it takes account of history, its main purpose is to describe events in terms of God’s will. Therefore the manner in which God’s people leave Babylon befits their divine benefactor – there’s to be no trudging back grudgingly. A broad highway to freedom awaits them for a triumphant return. This will be a public demonstration of God’s liberating power.

This has proved a captivating passage for many in succeeding centuries. John the Baptist used this imagery; the early  Christians used it as a code to talk of their oppressors; Martin Luther famously wrote a paper on ‘The Babylonian Captivity of the Church’ attacking the Catholic view of sacraments; modern theologians have mined the theme deeply; the related themes of ‘release’ and ‘homecoming’ have spoken to many of the displaced and marginalised of our world.

Crucial questions might be: who are to be God’s agents in the comforting, not just of God’s people but (following Isaiah) the wider world? In what ways should the Church be cooperating with other non-Church agencies who are doing this comforting?  More personally – how can I support those whose life’s work involves caring for the ill, broken and disturbed? Do I have a vision of how God might use my talents and presence?
The hymn or psalm set to the tune Genevan 42 sounds good sung at a brisk pace. The faster time is tricky but once grasped the tune dances away enticingly. Elizabeth 1 reputedly complained sourly about the ‘Genevan jigs’ which were sung in some parts of the church; this was surely one of them!