December 6th Advent Devotional

December 6

Isaiah 53:3-6

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have all turned to our own way,

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

-Isaiah 53:6

I am drawn to the idea of those who bear the “iniquity of us all,” the communal sins called out throughout the prophetic tradition: the exaltation of wealth, a lack of hospitality to the outsider, the exploitation of vulnerable populations. The prophet points both to the lamentable victimization of some and the shared culpability of the whole community.

I had the recent opportunity to participate in an interfaith dialogue about the societal conditions that allowed for the Holocaust. Our groups experienced an exhibit detailing the historical arc of the atrocities and the interactions of individuals and communities with their Jewish neighbors at each stage progressing from discrimination to mass murder. Following the exhibit, we broke bread and discussed our impressions. The clear reality emerged that each person involved in the Holocaust, whether agent of the state or neighborly bystander, had the opportunity to resist, to refuse to cooperate with dehumanization and oppression. The group also recognized frightening parallels in language and action taken towards marginalized communities in our society today.

In the Advent season, we anticipate a great hope: Jesus’ lived example of radical hospitality, forgiveness, and expansion of the category of neighbor. Jesus picks up the mantle of the Hebrew prophets and extends the opportunity to acknowledge our communal sins while also affording us the chance to participate in the redemptive act, the bringing of the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.

It is my hope that we take this Advent to embrace the importance of calling out the “iniquity of us all” occurring in our contemporary civic life. May we also joyfully accept the opportunity to collaborate in the redemption of God’s blessed creation, sustained by the love that is the very essence of God.

Chris Dye