Weekly Reflection

 

January 4th to 10th

Epiphany

 

Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2

 

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

    and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn.

 

This reading of course is a direct prophecy applying to Jesus.  If you have been a Christian for a while you may have noticed during your walk with Jesus, that many prophecies have more than one fulfilment, the most notable example being in Isaiah 7:14 which we read every year at Christmas.  You may like to read back from the beginning of Chapter 7, where you will find that this prophecy of a son born to a virgin, or young woman, was originally given to King Ahaz of Judah; this was in the context of his war with two hostile kings, of Israel and Syria (described in the text as two smouldering stubs of firewood).  We see in verse 14 that the prophecy was later applied by Matthew (in 1:22) to the Birth of Jesus.

 

The prophecy we see in this week’s reading from Isaiah 61, has many fulfilments.  I believe it applies to every Christian who is willing to hear it; we are all sent to proclaim good news to the poor and all of the other features of those two verses.  We are servants of Christ; we are His voice, His hands and His feet in the many situations and encounters into which He leads us.

 

 At New Year for each of the last two years, God has said to us as a church, “This is the year of the Lord’s favour”, and I believe He is saying much the same this year except that He is now saying, “Wake up!” – if we localise Isaiah 52:1, we can read it as, “Awake, awake, church, clothe yourself with strength”.  2026 is another “year of the Lord’s favour;” let us rise to the opportunities and challenges He gives us in this coming year.

 

O Lord our God, you know who we are and this is such a comfort.

You know each thought, each gesture, each heartache.

And, how much we love you.

Lord, help us to perceive how much You love humanity.

Lord, help us to do Your will alone!

Lord, forgive! Father, forgive!

Lord, help us to shine for You.

Thank You for opening our eyes to Your truth,

Jesus Christ.

Amen

 

Peter Sebborn

Christian.Footsoldier@gmail.com