Streams in the Desert 10: The Year of the Lord's Favor

This podcast is brought to you by Walnut Grove Lutheran Church in Langley, D.C., in the hope that it will draw you closer to the one who loves you most.

So years ago on a television show called West Wing, you may remember it.

I heard a story which I've never forgotten.

I've shared it with you before in various locations, so you may remember it.

And it goes like this.

A man was walking down the street and he fell into a hole.

And he tried as hard as he could, but he could not get out.

And so he slumped to the bottom of the hole in despair.

Pretty soon he looked up and he saw a doctor walk by the edge of the hole.

And he said, Hey, Doc, I've fallen in this hole and I can't get out.

Can you help me?

And the doc says, sure.

So he pulls out a piece of paper out of his pocket, writes something on it, throws it in the hole, and says, Here's a prescription.

Take this twice a day, and if it doesn't get better in a week, call me.

Man says to himself, That is no help at all.

Throws the paper to the side, sits down in the hole.

A little while later, he looks up and he sees a priest walk by.

He goes, Father, I've fallen into this hole and I can't get out.

Can you help me?

And the priest says, Sure I can.

So he also pulls out a piece of paper and he writes something on it and he said, throws it in the hole and says, This is a prayer.

Pray it morning and night for about a week.

And if you don't get better, then come and see me at the church down the street.

The man looks at the paper, says, This is no help either.

Throws it away, sits down in the hole.

Pretty soon he looks up and he sees his friend Bob walking by the edge of the hole.

And he cries out, Bob, can you help me?

I've fallen in this hole and I can't get out.

Bob looks down in the hole and sees his friend and says, Yeah, sure I can help you.

And he jumps in the hole.

And the man who was in the hole first looks at his friend and he says, Bob, what'd you do that for?

You're crazy.

Now we're both in the hole.

And the friend says, Yeah, but I've been in this hole before and I know the way out.

To be human in this world means that there are times when your life seems to collapse in utter devastation.

Maybe there's a deathly diagnosis from a doctor.

Or maybe something you've invested heavily in has turned sour and you're left with nothing.

So I'm on a group chat with my mom and my siblings, and uh on that chat last night was shared that uh someone in my hometown, same age as me, uh died on Friday.

And I saw him in September and he gave me a word of encouragement.

And uh this man is part of a friend group that included my cousin and my uncle.

And in that friend group of four, three of them have died in the last year.

So, what do you do with that?

I think about the people that are in that friend group, even as I grieve myself.

And so friends can sometimes give us advice, but it seems like a band-aid solution that doesn't really help us.

We find ourselves in the middle of a pit, and we need someone to rescue us.

And so, who will do that?

Who will jump into the pit we are in and rescue us?

And to help us answer that question, we're going to look at Isaiah 61, verses 1 to 11, and this our last sermon in the series called Streams in the Desert.

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

Now, this sermon opens with someone extraordinary who is speaking.

And we know that he is extraordinary because he's described as being God appointed and spirit anointed.

And the only two times in the Bible, in the Old Testament, where we see those two things together, anointing and the Holy Spirit, is when Saul and then later David were made king.

But this seems to be someone who is greater than any earthly king.

This is the servant of Isaiah's servant songs, who is speaking.

He's the one who said, who was described as being pierced for our transgressions, was crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

But now, as that servant speaks, he says this 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.

And so this is the spirit-filled God-chosen, God-anointed servant who's been sent by God to proclaim good news and to make it real, to bring it into reality.

He is the one who jumps into the pit with us, and he is the one that knows the way out.

And what does it look like?

Well, the servant tells us he that is God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners.

And so this servant, this Messiah, because that's what the word Messiah means is the anointed one, this servant Messiah comes to bandage together the open wounds of our broken hearts.

And like a king declaring amnesty, the servant proclaims words that set us free forever.

The dark prison of sin, mortality, and spiritual blindness no longer holds us.

In his light, we finally see reality as it actually is.

Because of the servant, we are fully alive and free.

So the first aspect of rescue the servant gives us is freedom.

But there's more.

The servant will give us more than that, for he has been anointed and sent to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion.

Now, here the year of the Lord's favor refers to something called the year of Jubilee.

And so this was like a reset that would happen once every 50 years.

And in the year of Jubilee, those who had to sell themselves into debt because into slavery because of debts were set free.

And those who had to sell their family land because of poverty would have it restored.

And the year of Jubilee was God's way of making sure that his people were secure and free.

You see, the freedom he gave his people through the Exodus would not be undone by making them permanent slaves.

And the inheritance of land that God gave to each family when he brought them into the promised land could not be stolen away forever.

And by seeing each other and the land the way that God did, and by restoring each other in accordance with God's perspective, the Israelites would live in true freedom.

You see, Jubilee meant that no one had to stay trapped forever.

And Jesus of Nazareth ultimately fills the Jubilee promise.

In the synagogue in Nazareth, he stood up and read Isaiah 61 and then said, Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

As natural-born sinners, we are enemies of God by nature.

But God demonstrates his love for us in this while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

By going to the cross and dying for our sins and rising again, Jesus has poured out God's love and favor upon us.

In him we have new life and forgiveness for all of our sins.

And he has made us, beloved, forgiven, children of God.

Jesus defeated our greatest enemies, sin and death and the devil, and one day he will banish them from creation forever.

Now, right now, we get to taste a part of our salvation.

Full forgiveness, new life, and adoption into God's family.

And these are incredible gifts that change everything for us.

And yet a day is coming when we will receive salvation in all of its fullness: resurrection, restoration, and life forever with Jesus in the new heaven and earth.

And the part of our salvation that is to come is like a wonderful inheritance which is kept safe for us in heaven until we receive it at the end of time.

And when we see ourselves as Jesus does and treasure the inheritance He has given to us in our hearts, earthly sorrow will be transformed into heavenly joy.

And we will want to share the good news of God's favor with others so that they too can experience it.

The servant not only frees and favors us, he gives us a new identity.

For the servant promises to bestow on them, that's us, a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

No longer will we be clothed in mourning, for Jesus will adorn us with beauty and celebratory clothes, like we're going to a wonderful party.

There were oak trees mentioned in Isaiah 1, which withered, died, and became firewood because of sinful human pride and rebellion.

But because of Jesus, that is no longer who we are.

Our identity is centered in the God who gave us new life and planted us into the fertile ground of his freedom and favor.

And as we grow and mature, nourished by God's love, favor, and forgiveness, we radiate God's stability, strength, and righteousness like magnificent oak trees.

This means that when storms come as they inevitably do, you and I won't topple as easily as we would have otherwise.

Instead, we respond with patience instead of panic, hope instead of despair, generosity instead of self-protection.

It's an amazing paradox that we find throughout Isaiah and elsewhere in the Bible.

As John Oswald describes it in his commentary on Isaiah, we try to make ourselves mighty and we burn ourselves up.

Admit ourselves helpless and doomed, and God gives us his beauty.

We were made to be mirrors.

When his beauty is reflected in us, we become beautiful.

On May 1st, 2023, a single-engine plane crashed in the jungles of Columbia.

When rescuers got to the crash site, they found that three of the seven people had been killed on impact, but the other four passengers, which were children, ages 13 years to 11 months, had all disappeared.

They sent out rescuers trying to find them.

The army even got involved.

They would drop food in the jungle to try and save them.

Nothing worked.

Because you see, these children, the older ones anyway, had lived on the edge of the jungle and they knew how to survive in the jungle.

And they were afraid of the people who were looking for them, and so they hid from them.

And so finally, in desperation, those who were searching for the children recorded words of their grandmother calling to them, saying, Stay in one place, help is on the way.

And then they broadcast her voice through speakers lowered into the trees.

On day 40, the children were found, starved, bitten, and exhausted, but alive.

What finally drew them out wasn't the army or the supplies.

It was a voice that they trusted.

Dear friends, you can trust the voice of Jesus.

He is the God-appointed, spirit-annointed servant who came to give you freedom, God's favor, and a new identity as a beautiful oak of righteousness.

And he says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Admit to your own helplessness, and then embrace the identity that Jesus has given you.

For you are beloved, you are beautiful, and you are free.

And this broken and hurting world needs you to be who God created and redeemed you to be.

And so step into the freedom, favor, and identity Jesus has already given you.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Dear Jesus, we thank you for being our rescuer, for giving of yourself sacrificially, so that we might have freedom and favor and a new identity in you.

We pray, dear Lord, that you would help us to hear your voice and follow you wherever you lead us.

And we also pray, Lord, that as you draw us closer to you, your beauty might be reflected more and more in us.

And we also pray that others may see that beauty of yours and be drawn closer to you.

In your holy and precious name we ask this, and all God's people said.

Amen.

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Thank you and God's blessings.