Our yearning: Good news for “underdogs” (Read Isaiah 61:1-6)
As spoken by the prophet . . .
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted . . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3).
As seen in Jesus . . .
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant (Luke 1:46-48).
Now given to you . . .
The stone-faced, sharp-tongued, typically disgruntled judge of “American Idol” was clearly taken aback. “I wasn’t expecting that Paul,” said Simon Cowell after the portly car phone salesman had sung a piece from the operatic work “Nessun Dorma.”
Paul Potts seemingly came out of nowhere. The 37 year old employee of Carphone Warehouse had done some amateur opera singing in the late 90s but made little progress as a singer, derailed by illness and a biking accident. His shocker performance on the televised “Britain’s Got Talent” gripped the attention of the UK and the world. The fact that the You-Tube video clip of Paul’s performance has been viewed tens of millions of times reflects our affinity for the underdog. It thrills us when no-names hit the big-time. And it seems to thrill God as well, because he does that kind of thing over and over again in the pages of the Bible.
Jesus took the words of Isaiah as the text for the sermon that launched his ministry. Good news would be proclaimed to the poor; the brokenhearted would be gently tended and cared for; they would be crowned with beauty, not the ashes of grief and dishonor. Jesus lived these words as he took notice of people like Zacchaeus and blind Bartimaeus and the woman who touched the hem of his robe and common fishermen like Peter and shady tax collectors like Levi.
This was the story of Jesus’ own birth. His mother was a peasant . . . and favored by the Lord. Mary marveled at this – that God had even noticed her in her humble no-name state. But this is God’s way.
Maybe today it can become your way as well. There’s a chance that many of you feel like the underdog – but it is certain that you will cross paths with someone today who is like Paul Potts. Their glory is hidden behind ordinariness; they are the people you’ll easily rush past and ignore. Let God’s way be yours as you live this day. Search out the hidden glory of each person who comes your way.
Prayer:
In your mercy, O Lord, you take notice of what we ignore. You treasure what we despise. You use the foolish things and the weak things of this world to shame those of us who live with a glutted sense of our own power and smarts. Transform us today by your Spirit that we might be as you are and love what you love, seeing the glory you’ve placed in the most humble among us. Amen.
As spoken by the prophet . . .
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted . . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3).
As seen in Jesus . . .
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant (Luke 1:46-48).
Now given to you . . .
The stone-faced, sharp-tongued, typically disgruntled judge of “American Idol” was clearly taken aback. “I wasn’t expecting that Paul,” said Simon Cowell after the portly car phone salesman had sung a piece from the operatic work “Nessun Dorma.”
Paul Potts seemingly came out of nowhere. The 37 year old employee of Carphone Warehouse had done some amateur opera singing in the late 90s but made little progress as a singer, derailed by illness and a biking accident. His shocker performance on the televised “Britain’s Got Talent” gripped the attention of the UK and the world. The fact that the You-Tube video clip of Paul’s performance has been viewed tens of millions of times reflects our affinity for the underdog. It thrills us when no-names hit the big-time. And it seems to thrill God as well, because he does that kind of thing over and over again in the pages of the Bible.
Jesus took the words of Isaiah as the text for the sermon that launched his ministry. Good news would be proclaimed to the poor; the brokenhearted would be gently tended and cared for; they would be crowned with beauty, not the ashes of grief and dishonor. Jesus lived these words as he took notice of people like Zacchaeus and blind Bartimaeus and the woman who touched the hem of his robe and common fishermen like Peter and shady tax collectors like Levi.
This was the story of Jesus’ own birth. His mother was a peasant . . . and favored by the Lord. Mary marveled at this – that God had even noticed her in her humble no-name state. But this is God’s way.
Maybe today it can become your way as well. There’s a chance that many of you feel like the underdog – but it is certain that you will cross paths with someone today who is like Paul Potts. Their glory is hidden behind ordinariness; they are the people you’ll easily rush past and ignore. Let God’s way be yours as you live this day. Search out the hidden glory of each person who comes your way.
Prayer:
In your mercy, O Lord, you take notice of what we ignore. You treasure what we despise. You use the foolish things and the weak things of this world to shame those of us who live with a glutted sense of our own power and smarts. Transform us today by your Spirit that we might be as you are and love what you love, seeing the glory you’ve placed in the most humble among us. Amen.
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