Isaiah 63:7-9

Year A - Christmas 1 - Blessed Body ^[1]

December 29, 2013

Isaiah 63:7-9

An interesting juxtaposition of a slaughter of innocents and gracious deeds of G*D. For extra credit compare and contrast the pericopes of the day without conflating or reconciling them.

For the moment, focus on verse 9.

NRSV: 

   ... in all their distress.
It was no messenger or angel
   but his presence that saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
   he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

The Inclusive Bible:

In all their distress, O God, you were distressed,
and the angel of your Presence saved them;
you redeemed them out of deep love
and profound mercy;
you lifted them up and carried them
from time immemorial. 

So, for you, are love and mercy mediated or not? This is as good a measure of our different approaches to life as any scale. One is not inherently better than the other, but they do not live easily with each other. They can inform each other, but are often trying to convince the other experience of the rightness of their way.

As we proceed from Christmas there are a multitude of understandings of such an event or story. It will be interesting to track how this difference shows up in other venues of life. Try substituting “Bible” for angel and see what happens. How about if you substitute “nation” or “money” or another of your favorite virtues?