The Third Sunday after Epiphany (OTA)

Isaiah 61:1-11

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

       to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

       to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

²    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

³    to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

       the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

       that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

⁴    They shall build up the ancient ruins;

they shall raise up the former devastations;

       they shall repair the ruined cities,

the devastations of many generations.

⁵    Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;

foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

⁶    but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;

they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;

       you shall eat the wealth of the nations,

and in their glory you shall boast.

⁷    Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;

instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;

       therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;

they shall have everlasting joy.

⁸    For I the Lord love justice;

I hate robbery and wrong;

       I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹    Their offspring shall be known among the nations,

and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;

       all who see them shall acknowledge them,

that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰    I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;

my soul shall exult in my God,

       for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

       as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹    For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

       so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations.

You shall be called priests, God has created for himself a treasured possession and a Holy Nation. He has created a people for himself. These people will receive the Holy Spirit. They will be welcomed into a perfect Land that has been perfectly prepared.

It would be nice to have everything done for us. It is nice to say that God has done it all. It is nice to lay back and live out our lazy lives and get fat. It is nice to be able to send messages faster than light. There are many things that one can find nice about our technologically advanced world. The corruption of the world is no longer in the big city far away but at my finger tips.

All you have to do is open up your email, or turn on the television and you can see the corruption. It is a world filled with sex, violence and death. It is world teaching us about the gift, and no action required.

Granted God sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for the forgiveness of sins. god delivered his people out of slavery into the promised land. But it did not end wi Baltism. We are called to live a holy life. We Are called to conduct ourselves in a certain way. This is not a lazy task, but a difficult task to stomp out corruption and sin in our life. St Paul will remind us to tame our bodies.

Isaiah simply tells us the Spirit of God is placed upon you. He has opened the scripture and the instruction up for you. He even gives you land ready to be harvested and worked. So we have been planted like Adam in a place to take care of and preserve. Even though you are going to fail, does not mean you shouldn't try, because there is forgiveness in Christ.