I AmThe Lord

Is 45: 6c-8, 18, 21b-23 

The Reign of the Messiah

so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
    I make weal and create woe;
    I the Lord do all these things.

⁸ Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,^[a]
    and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
    I the Lord have created it.

For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
    he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the Lord, and there is no other. 

²¹ Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is no one besides me.

²² Turn to me and be saved,
    all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn,
    from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear.”

²⁴ Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
    shall come to him and be ashamed.
²⁵ In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall triumph and glory.

Luke 7: 18b-23

Jesus and John the Baptist

¹⁸ John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹ he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

²¹ At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. ²² So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ²³ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

These two passages, written centuries apart, describe the essentials of the Messianic Era:  "I am the Lord."  Jesus is the ONE foretold by Isaiah and John the Baptist.  Long predicted, long anticipated, he finally made his appearance.  Yet, we sometimes act as if he never came.  Our world today is in dire need of his presence his teaching, his recognition.  Advent is calling us to welcome him and change our lives to meet his new standards. Let us respond with enthusiasm and confidence that despite our feeble success in recognizing him or living up to his standards,, he is still there for us!

Bro. Rene