December 24, 2025
Sing for Joy!
Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and
give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners,
‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They
shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their
pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching
wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them
will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways
shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and
behold, these from the north and from the west, and these
from the land of Syene.” Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O
earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord
has comforted his people and will have compassion on his
afflicted.
I S A I A H 4 9 : 8 - 1 3
On the eve of our Lord’s nativity celebration, as we anticipate gazing with wonder into that manger of mercy, what do
we expect to see? A swaddled baby? Yes. The God who has
become one of us? Yes.
We also see the embodiment of all our hope. “Thus says
the Lord: ‘In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of
salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a
covenant to the people…” (v. 8). There in the manger is the new
and better covenant—one with arms and legs, a heart and soul,
body and blood.
This Son of Mary and Son of God says to those imprisoned
in death, “Come out,” and to those who are in darkness, “Appear and walk in the light.” This Good Shepherd, who will feed
us along the way. We shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither
scorching wind nor sun shall strike us, for Jesus lovingly leads
us by springs of living water. No lamb does he leave behind, for
each of us is too precious for him to lose.
No matter how far we are from him, he is near to us, to bring
us home to the Father. From blown-up lives and pits of despair,
from all the dark and dismal dungeons of the soul where we
think all hope is lost, he is there to pick us up, throw us over
his shoulder, and carry us back to where we belong.
“So sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth,
O mountains, into singing! For the Lord Jesus has comforted us and will have compassion on his afflicted” (v. 13). He indeed is
all our hope, all our confidence, all the promises of God come
true.
JESUS OUR SAVIOR, THE HOPE OF ALL THE ENDS OF THE
EARTH, I PRAISE YOU FOR BRINGING ME
FROM AFAR TO DWELL IN YOUR
PASTURE OF PEACE. AMEN.
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Coming Home for Christmas: Advent in Isaiah © 2025 1517
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