...in His name all oppression shall cease...

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound...

Isaiah 61:1

This messianic prophecy was picked up and read by Jesus Himself in His home synagogue in Nazareth where the people of His own home town rejected His ministry (see Luke 4:16-30). My own church read it as part of our final Advent Sunday worship just two days ago. And it echoes a haunting bit of lyric from a Christmas carol that has been twisting and burning inside my brain all season. That line from “O Holy Night” that is so incongruous with experience worldwide: “...and in His name all oppression shall cease...”

How can we continue to sing that line when there is still so much oppression in our world? Another depressing carol lyric echoes this observation: “...for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.” Jesus came to bring peace and there is still so much violence. So much is still so very, very wrong. It is heartbreaking. People suffer. Good people suffer... a lot.

Last night, after attending my own church’s afternoon Christmas Eve celebration, I brought my entire family to attend the service of a large urban church. It was a beautiful thing to stand shoulder to shoulder in a loud and very vocal celebration of Jesus in this urban context. Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, new immigrants, and whites, all were together. Then it happened. By candlelight we sang “O Holy Night”. We got to that gut wrenching line I’ve been struggling with all season... that line about “oppression ceasing” and I looked out at young and old of every race worshipping Jesus and I started to tear up. I saw young urban males who represented the most at risk group for death by gun violence or incarceration, I saw single urban moms with several kids a piece, I saw new Hispanic immigrant families, I saw senior citizens in economic hardship, and all were singing joyfully that Jesus came to end all this mess. 

The gospel story and belief in Jesus brought us all together. And in the hope of the gospel, in the hope of Jesus, oppression ceases. Where and when He rules, there is indeed, peace.

No doubt, many left that service to a more challenging set of life circumstances than I went back home to in my 35 minute commute to the false safety of the suburbs. But Jesus, Prince of Peace, shall bring us all peace. And that is the powerful truth of Christmas... a Savior is born. Oppression shall cease! Amen.