And the ransomed of the Lord shall Now we move into the chapter entitled "Departure from Babylon." It begins with Isaiah 35:8-10
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there. but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and the sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
The deepest theological conviction of Israel in exile is that YHWH continues to be faithful. The concrete consequences of that fidelity is that YHWH is resolved to bring Israel safely back to Jerusalem and to restore the shalom of covenant. This is a remarkable conviction, given the fact that imperial ideology always claims that there is not and cannot be life outside the empire.
All they can see is what is in place. That is the empire. That is the power that can rule and control and bring about life or death. Babylon is it! Not much hope if that is all that the people of God could see. But then, as is always the case of our God, voices are lifted up with words of encouragement. Not only encouragement - but words of new life that is not at all visible at the present moment. Such words as these turn heads. They may even make people laugh. At the same time, such words of God's fidelity bring a breath of fresh air into the lives of people so bent by the powers of the day that they hold their heads up high in anticipation of God's promise coming to life - even if they see no evidence of such talk. Walking by faith they begin the journey home even if the road is not yet open.
Connection: Before the way is clear, we are invited to start walking - living as though there is another way to go through life than the way that is handed to us by the ruling powers that have so many ways to influence our lives.
You, O God, already have us moving in a new direction even when we are stuck in what is old and overwhelming. This is the time when we need your empowering Spirit to move us and hold our hands so that we will begin to walk in your way that is set for our future. Amen.
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