“Climb a high mountain, Zion. You’re the preacher of good news. Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem. You’re the preacher of good news. Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid! Tell the cities of Judah, ‘Look! Your God!’ Look at Him! God, the Master, comes in power, ready to go into action…” -Isaiah 40:9-11
This isn’t a ‘some-day’ prophecy. ‘Look! Our God! He comes in power!’; this is a ‘He-is’prophecy. Not a ‘Our God will someday come in power so keep your chin up prophecy’. He reigns. Always has and always will. Jesus didn’t come to make this true, He came to show us what Love is and that Love reigns. He came to “make us alive with his own life.” (Isaiah 42) He came down to give us a Spirit of Love so that we can ‘Look at Him’ and be reunited with Love itself. Because, truth be told, our spirits without Him only want to look at ourselves or the princes of this world.
Look! Our God. Look at Him. We can turn our eyes away from this world; we can quit worrying ourselves sick over ourselves. Because of His Spirit, we can now Look to Love instead. This is Good News. And in case we doubt, in case we think God isn’t enough, Isaiah continues the prophecy with a couple perspective shifters for us:
…Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window… All the nations add up to simply nothing before him - less than nothing is more like it. A minus… So who (what?) even comes close to being like God? To whom or what can you compare him? Some no-god idol?… Have you not been paying attention? Have you not been listening? Haven’t you heard these stories all your life? Don’t you understand the foundation of all things? God sits high above the round ball of earth. The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas - yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what the princes say and do. The rulers of the earth count for nothing… God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out… those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired…” -Isaiah 40
Love lives. What are we going to settle our gaze on today? And if we are willing to want something more than this world can offer, all we have to do is ask. Holy Spirit, reunite us with Love. Amen.
