Isaiah 61:1-3
“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
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.”
The suffering servant of Isaiah moves with the anointing of God in the midst of a hurting people.
He preaches transformation to a broken, but hopeful Israel:
Brokenhearted comforted
Captives freed
Debts forgiven
Mourners uplifted
Over 500 years later, in Luke 4, Jesus reads from this passage. He stands in a world effused with the philosophy of the Stoics and the Epicureans.
The divine in Greek philosophy moves high above the mortal world so as not to sully their perfection. And the fullest idea of the divine manifested as detached apathy or a transcending pleasure. Love plays no part because love is an emotion of equals.
Abraham Heschel in his book, The Prophets, contrasts the Greek conception of the divine and the prophet’s portrait of God’s pathos - His emotional involvement with the world.
The God of the philosophers is…unknown and indifferent to man. He thinks, but does not speak; he is conscious of Himself, but oblivious of the world; while the God of Israel is a God who loves, a God who is known to, and consumed with man…
…God does not stand outside the range of human suffering and sorrow. He is personally involved in, even stirred by, the conduct and fate of man…
Jesus embodies God’s pathos, taking the mantle of the suffering servant. But he extends that mantle to the hearer. Rather than declaring “Today, I fulfill…”, He involves His audience, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing…” (Luke 4:21).
A manifestation of God in relationship with the Son and all those He loves.
What does it mean that we serve a God participating in our joy, hardships and pain? Can we take our understanding of God off a pedestal?
Lord, let us feel you breaking through. Let us see each other as we work out what that means. Let us anticipate your transforming love amid humanity.