Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Isaiah 35:4-7a           

Isaiah 35:4-7a

Lots of clamor in my country these days. Politics. Surface ideas. Human greed and deep incompetence have a lock on nearly every issue brought to the fore. And somehow in the midst of the noise one political movement has latched on to the idea of “joy.” Joy as a means of convincing less than informed folks that all they really need to do is catch the vibe. Get on board. Feel the joy.

If it wasn’t so sad it might be funny. But politics is the realm of sleight-of-hand, or better yet, sleight-of-heart. And the world is a master of getting people to see what they don’t see. The old “emperor has no clothes” syndrome. God’s people are different. Or they should be. Both in what they actually see and in what they are able to see through. Our text today speaks of joy. True joy. And it comes from a mute tongue now healed. It is a healing that is put on display through the promise and realization of the coming of Israel’s Messiah. “He will come and save you,” promises Isaiah (cf. Is. 35:4b).

The joy attending God’s people is no passing fad. And why? Because God’s Anointed One is no passing Savior. What He is promised by Isaiah to accomplish has been accomplished. He has saved His people and fullness of joy is the result.

This world knows nothing of it. May we be used by God to help them learn.