December 6

The spirit of God is upon me because the Holy One has anointed me…to provide for those who mourn – to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Holy One, to display God’s glory. Isaiah 61:1-4

Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay, Minister for Worship and Theology, UCC National

“We appear to have forgotten how to like and respect people who use drugs… We need to reimagine how harm reduction can work in this austere climate and, yes, maybe this also means we need to rediscover a new style of activism to once again make a difference by keeping people who inject drugs alive and well.” – Nick Wilson

 

Isaiah 61 speaks to a people who live in the tension of promised possibility and the challenges of making it a reality. The end of suffering is imminent yet the hard work of rebuilding what has been destroyed could lead to debilitating discouragement. Yet, Isaiah provides a vision of compassion leading to restoration.

Compassion means “to suffer with,” and that definition can, at times, encourage us to be satisfied with feeling bad about our neighbor’s circumstances. Instead, the prophet insists that the Spirit of God does not limit our companionship to an emotional response. Spirit calls us to act with a response that alleviates suffering and transforms it into joy. When we cultivate compassion in our approach to harm reduction, we dare to believe transformation is possible and to claim redemption and liberation as our collective hope.

Later, Jesus quotes this passage in the temple while proclaiming themself to be the fulfillment of the prophetic promise. When we engage in harm reduction with compassion instead of condemnation, trust instead of suspicion, and hope instead of fatalism, we fulfill the prophetic vision, respond to the Spirit’s call, and give glory to the God who comes to us demonstrating the way to come to one another.

Prayer

By Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies

God of Shalom,
here we are dangling one another from the precipice without care or concern for our collective fate. 
We have lost sight of our own faces, risking our humanity in favor of supremacy.
Guide us away from the edge of our undoing. 
Show us what it means to be people of deep and abiding reverence
for the beauty and connectedness of everything everywhere…
May any honor we have withheld from one another be doubled in the presence of reparation and forgiveness. 
We won’t get free alone.  Keep us human.  Amen.

Freedom Song

Music: “Deep Down Inside of Me” composer unknown
Offered by: Denise Griebler