Thursday 23 December 2021

Psalm 97

Background

Jerusalem is set high on the Judean hills. Anyone travelling there has to ascend these hills, whether by foot or otherwise. When the Bible writers talk about ‘going up’  or ‘coming down’ from Jerusalem, it is not a figure of speech, it is a geographical fact! Those bringing news – or anything else – have to climb the mountain to the city.

The lyrical words of rejoicing in today's passage from Isaiah affirm that the Lord has returned to Mount  Zion where Jerusalem was built, that God is with his people. The Israelites may have returned from their Babylon exile to find Jerusalem in ruins, but the Lord has vindicated them in the eyes of the nations around them. The exiles are home and God is with them.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is that ‘good news’. We are the people – via our voices, texts, phone calls, cups of coffee, etc  – who must  bring it over the mountains faced by those around us and into their lives.

This is not an easy time in which to proclaim "Your God reigns!" It often seems that there are other powerful forces at work, making lives unbearable and hopeless for many, such as those waiting to cross the Channel on the coast at Calais, those on the Belarus border, or those  on Lampedusa, crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Tragically, it is all too easy to add to that list.

I once asked a leading campaigner for homeless people what ordinary people might do when faced with this seemingly intractable problem. She said  "Some of you can raise money; some of you can lobby politicians – and all of you can give someone a smile, that may be the only smile a person gets that day." A smile is good news for many…

To Ponder:

• For whom might I bring good news today?
• And what form might this take – a smile, a cup of coffee, a scarf, or a representation to those in positions of influence and power?

Prayer

Loving Lord, as you blessed five loaves and two fish, we pray that you will bless our efforts to bring good news to others in your name. Amen.