December 14, 2025

 

Suggested Readings:

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 146:5-10

Luke 1:46b-55

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

 

Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head.

Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return,
And come with singing unto Zion;
And everlasting joy shall be upon their head.

They shall obtain gladness and joy;
And sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

 

This short song composed by Ruth Lake, based on Isaiah 35:10; 51:11 is a song of joy expressing the triumphal return from exile of the children of Israel. It is a song of deliverance and hope which is appropriate during the season of Advent as we prepare our hearts to receive the good news of Christ’s birth.

 

Mary’s Song (the Magnificat) expresses the overwhelming joy and excitement that she feels having been selected to be the mother of the Lord. The song follows the visitation by the angel Gabriel informing Mary that she is favored by God and will give birth to the Messiah. Mary’s response to this news needs to be the response of all disciples to the good news of Jesus and the challenge to live into his life and teaching, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38a).

 

John from his prison cell, sent disciples to Jesus to raise the question. “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3). Rather than answer John with a theological dissertation Jesus tells John’s emissaries to look around them at what they see and hear. “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them” (Matthew 11:5).

 

The Gospel is good news! It is pragmatic in that it touches people in their deepest needs; physical and spiritual needs are met. Of course, not all the deaf have their hearing restored, not all the blind receive sight, not every leper is cleansed, and we have little experience with the dead being raised. We are not responsible for the physical healing of our friends and loved ones. We are, however, responsible for the physical nurture and spiritual well-being of our sisters and brothers. We often mutter, “I’ll pray for you” as we hustle on our way, soon forgetting the promise we hastily made.

 

Listen to the words of Jesus’ half-brother James, “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:15-17)

 

The redeemed of the Lord sing for joy as they return from exile. We often choose to exile ourselves from the love and forgiveness of God by our attitudes and actions toward our neighbors. Advent presents us with the challenge to leave the exile of our selfish nature and sing the songs of joy as sorrow and mourning pass away.