In chapter twenty-nine, Isaiah describes a process of restoration for Judah, but it must start with some purging.

            Yet I will distress Ariel,

               and there shall be moaning and lamentation,

               and Jerusalem shall be to me like an Ariel. (Isa. 29:2 NRSV)

“Like an Ariel, “like an altar-hearth [of a sanctuary whose constant fire consumes the sacrifice]” (Victor R. Gold and William L. Holladay, NOAB, and Holladay, Lexicon). God will “besiege” Jerusalem as David did when he first captured the city from the Jebusites (v. 3; cf. 2 Sam. 5:6-9). Jerusalem’s voice will “come from the ground like the voice of a ghost” and “whisper out of the dust” (v. 4). The description of Jerusalem’s spiritual insensibility continues to a sort of climax:

            Because these people draw near with their mouths

               and honor me with their lips,

               while their hearts are far from me,

            and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote (Isa. 29:13 NRSV)

but God himself will act (v. 14), for he is the potter and Jerusalem is the clay.

            Shall the thing made say of its maker,

               “He did not make me”;

            or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,

               “He has no understanding”? (Isa. 29:16c,d,e,f NRSV)

“A new relationship with God, based on a positive response to his acts (Ex. 19:4-6) will replace Judah’s superficial traditionalism (ironically called wisdom and discernment; compare 1 Cor. 1:9)” (Gold and Holladay on vv. 13-14). The attempt to be the potter rather than the clay (vv. 15-16)–“Judah’s leaders have usurped God’s prerogatives by plotting against Assyria (45:9; Jer 18:1-6; Rom. 9:20-21; Mt. 10:24).” But better times are coming, when Lebanon becomes “a fruitful field” (v. 17), “the meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD” “the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel” (v. 19), “the tyrant shall be no more,/and the scoffer shall cease to be” (v. 20). “Abraham’s God will restore repentant Israel, who will accept God’s instruction (Ezek. 36:22-32)” (Gold and Holladay on vv. 22-24).

John continues to describe the New Jerusalem. “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Rev. 21:22). “The glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (v. 23), a light for the nations (v. 24), a city whose “gates will never be shut” (v. 25). Key features will be “the river of the water of life” (Rev. 22:1) that will far surpass the San Antonia Riverwalk–no offense to San Antonio!–and the tree of life (v. 2). Paradise regained! “Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will se his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (vv. 3-5).

In the reading from Luke, Mary comes to visit Elizabeth and is greeted by a blessing. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk. 1:42). When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, “the child in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). She concludes by summing up Mary’s response to Gabriel. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (v. 45). The reading continues with the opening lines of the “Magnificat”:

            My soul magnifies [magnificat, first in Latin word order] the Lord,

               and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

            for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. (Lk. 1:46-48a NRSV)

This reading from Luke was used by the Presbyterians yesterday, with the option of completing the Magnificat (through v. 55) and concluding with verse 56. Since both traditions come together on Christmas Eve, moving on to the “Benedictus,” we might point out here that Mary’s “Magnificat” has been compared to Hannah’s prayer (1 Sam. 2:1-10), which has been called a community song of thanksgiving.

            He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

               and lifted up the lowly;

            he has filled the hungry with good things,

               and sent the rich away empty. (Lk. 1:52-53 NRSV)

            The bows of the mighty are broken,

               but the feeble gird on strength.

            Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

               but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. (1 Sam. 2:4, 5a,b NRSV)