Isaiah 9
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
I mentioned in the last devotional the Charles Wesley hymn Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. I offered some thoughts on the words born a child and yet a King.
Today I want to look at the words, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. One has to wonder if Wesley was the most naïve Christian thinker around! Did he really believe that every nation desired the Messiah? Did he really believe that this Jesus the Christ was the "longing of every heart"? For that matter, do we today believe that Jesus is the "desire of every nation" and "the joy of every longing heart"?
The answer on one level is obviously, "No." There are plenty of nations and plenty of religious folk who do not desire the person Jesus of Nazareth. There are even here in our culture people who have no desire to connect to this man and his story. This is not exactly a world or an American culture in which people are lined up eagerly seeking the man Jesus and his message.
Yet, the world does seek him and people do need him. Our world longs for a message that love can overcome hate, that goodness can defeat evil, that the future is more than a dismal and dark uncertainty, that each of us has reason for being. Whatever one's religion; whatever one's philosophy of life; whatever one's religious sensibility or lack thereof; there is within the human spirit a desire for these things to be true for our world and for our lives.
I'd like you, with me, to contemplate this person Jesus and his world-changing / life-changing message. Isn't his witness and his message exactly what our hurting, seeking world needs? Isn't his self-giving love what so many diminished humans want and need? Isn't his unwavering desire to right the wrongs of injustice the call we long for in our world? Isn't his belief that all human beings have worth as children of God exactly what we all need to remember?
Worth our reflection these days of Advent, isn't it?
| 
