Repair, Rebuild, Restore

Yesterday we reflected on a passage from the book of Isaiah, chapter 61:

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me;
 he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted,
 to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… to comfort all who mourn…”

What is interesting is that if we continue reading, by the end of verse 3, Isaiah has shifted the voice from the first person “I” or “me” to the third person plural – “They.” The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… But then Isaiah says, They… “They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities….

And then, by verse 6, it shifts again from “they” to “you.” You shall be called priests of the Lord; you shall be named ministers of our God…

In other words, this empowering Spirit has fallen not just on the prophet, not just on Jesus, but on you…

Build up the ruins… raise up the devastations… repair….

There is a lot of repair that needs to be done right now, isn’t there?

When I think about this text, I can’t help but think about the suffering of the world around us… the ruins of Palestine, the heartbreaking loss in Israel, and the antisemitism that has resurfaced even in our own country.

I think about how a friend was telling me that at the Thanksgiving dinner this year his wife and her sister got into a huge argument about politics. And she got up, stormed off – left right in the middle of dinner…

And then, over this past month, personally, I’ve become acutely aware of a true crisis of mental health in our country… and how it has touched so many of us. And beyond that, I think about addiction and loss… broken families… and hungry children…

Build up the ruins… raise up the devastations… repair….

Today, I wonder in what ways, in your own personal life, God may be empowering you to be a minister and priest, to rebuild, restore, and repair the world around you.

Let us pray: Anoint us again with your Spirit, O God, that we might indeed be your servants, and join you in this holy work of redemption; through Christ our Lord. Amen.