THE SCRIPTURE READINGS:
ISAIAH 63:16-17; 64:1,3-8
Isaiah 63:16-17
16. But You are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge us;
You, Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is Your Name.
17. Why, LORD, do You make us wander from Your Ways
and harden our hearts so we do not revere You?
Return for the sake of Your servants,
the tribes that are Your inheritance.
Isaiah 64: 1, 3-8
1. Oh, that You would tear the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before You!
3. For when You did awesome things that we did not expect,
You came down, and the mountains trembled before You.
4. Since ancient times, no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides You,
Who acts on behalf of those Who wait for Him.
5. You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember Your Ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
You were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6. All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf;
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7. No one calls on Your Name
or strives to lay hold of You;
For You have hidden Your Face from us
and have given us over to our sins.
8. Yet You, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, You are the Potter;
we are all the word of Your Hand. [1]
REFLECTION:
This powerful text expresses a passionate longing for God to come down among His people to heal them. "Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down . . ."
These words were written soon after the exile. A group of Israelites had returned to a temple and city which lay in ruins. The situation was a discouraging one, and they may have felt that they were in much the same situation as sinful individuals before the exile.
The future was bleak. God may have seemed silent and distant from this sad plight of His people, 'For You have hidden Your Face from us...' Now in this time of great change, Isaiah writes these words in which Israel prays with great determination and sincerity, addressing God with loving words as 'Father' and 'Redeemer'.
Israel experienced hope for the future, due to the powerful deeds of the past in which God liberated the people from bondage. The people open themselves to God, as clay is available for work by the potter. God may come and create them anew. [2]
And just so are we today. We turn to God in this season of Advent, and ask Him to model the clay which is our inner being into His Image and Likeness. We turn from the ruin of past sin in our everyday lives, without making excuses for ourselves. Yes, we made mistakes. Yes, we were fearful. Yes, we did not have the full story. Yes, we were lied to. Yes, we were less aware then.
Yet, our sin was part of the equation. We have given in to temptation, been less than we could have been, shown lack of courage, less than gracious decisions, weakness, sinfulness, emotional and spiritual failings.
Yet all is not lost. We are as clay in the Hands of the Potter. Turn to God and ask Him to remodel you to be the best person you can be. Trust that the work in your soul is not yet finished, and trust that God will faithfully complete what He has begun in you.
In this season of Advent, turn to God. Love Him with all your heart, your mind, your decisions, your actions, your soul.
Then you can't go wrong!
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, as the potter moulds the clay: mould me.
As the heavens rend open and pour down light, change indifference in our world to care, and pour down heavenly grace upon kindly efforts.
Bring us into everlasting life. Allow us to grow in grace and dignity, knowing that - despite misunderstandings and mis-steps in our past, we truly are Your children. And You love us. And we love You!
Happy Advent!
[1] The Holy Bible
[2] Inspired by: OMI sermon, 1984
Image courtesy of Freepik AI generated content with CN Whittle
