Our yearning: Good news for “underdogs” (Read Isaiah 61:1-6)
As spoken by the prophet . . .
The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. (Isaiah 61:1)
As seen in Jesus . . .
On the eighth day when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived . . . Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:21-24)
Now given to you . . .
How easily they could have been missed. The temple that day probably looked like Disney in June – masses of people, bumping shoulders every few steps, animal sounds, prayer sounds.
The young couple was there to do what the Law required. Their plan was to present their son Jesus and to make the sacrifice commanded in the Torah. Far more at ease in the setting of a small town, they would not likely linger in Jerusalem or in the temple precincts. The fact that they would present a dove or two pigeons as their sacrifice spoke to their status; lambs were offered by the more well to do.
Somewhere among the masses a man called Simeon was also being obedient. A righteous and devout man, he was there again to worship – but he was also watching. A promise had been made to him. The Lord had told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. And on that day, somehow, Simeon noticed this couple; he approached with firm but careful steps. He knew this child, the knowing coming from somewhere deep within – the same place where the Spirit had made that promise. He reaches out his arms and the young parents allow him to hold their boy.
How many people in the temple that day missed this drama entirely? How many busy, religious, habitual temple-goers walked by it? How many priests failed to detect the presence of the Holy because the holy wasn’t where they thought it would be?
Everyone at the center of this moment lacked notable status in that setting. They didn’t stand out: elderly Simeon, Anna the 84 year old prophetess – neither of them is mentioned again in the Bible. Joseph and Mary, young and poor.
The underdogs are not simply the ones that God notices; they seem most likely to notice God. What kind of holy drama might be unfolding around you today, and what would it mean for you to notice it?
Prayer:
Your works are great, O Lord, and yet so easily missed. Teach me to notice the ones you notice. Above all, teach me to notice your presence in the unlikely places and people that will surround me this day. Amen.
As spoken by the prophet . . .
The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. (Isaiah 61:1)
As seen in Jesus . . .
On the eighth day when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived . . . Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:21-24)
Now given to you . . .
How easily they could have been missed. The temple that day probably looked like Disney in June – masses of people, bumping shoulders every few steps, animal sounds, prayer sounds.
The young couple was there to do what the Law required. Their plan was to present their son Jesus and to make the sacrifice commanded in the Torah. Far more at ease in the setting of a small town, they would not likely linger in Jerusalem or in the temple precincts. The fact that they would present a dove or two pigeons as their sacrifice spoke to their status; lambs were offered by the more well to do.
Somewhere among the masses a man called Simeon was also being obedient. A righteous and devout man, he was there again to worship – but he was also watching. A promise had been made to him. The Lord had told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. And on that day, somehow, Simeon noticed this couple; he approached with firm but careful steps. He knew this child, the knowing coming from somewhere deep within – the same place where the Spirit had made that promise. He reaches out his arms and the young parents allow him to hold their boy.
How many people in the temple that day missed this drama entirely? How many busy, religious, habitual temple-goers walked by it? How many priests failed to detect the presence of the Holy because the holy wasn’t where they thought it would be?
Everyone at the center of this moment lacked notable status in that setting. They didn’t stand out: elderly Simeon, Anna the 84 year old prophetess – neither of them is mentioned again in the Bible. Joseph and Mary, young and poor.
The underdogs are not simply the ones that God notices; they seem most likely to notice God. What kind of holy drama might be unfolding around you today, and what would it mean for you to notice it?
Prayer:
Your works are great, O Lord, and yet so easily missed. Teach me to notice the ones you notice. Above all, teach me to notice your presence in the unlikely places and people that will surround me this day. Amen.
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