Reading: Isaiah 62: 1-5

Verse 5: “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you”.

Zion is the city of God in the Old Testament – Jerusalem. In the opening verse Isaiah desires for the city’s righteousness to shine out and for salvation to be a blazing torch. To modernize this verse, we would say the light of Christ shines forth from our church and the beacon of salvation draws people in. To personalize it, we would say that the light of Jesus shines out in our lives through our words and deeds and we proclaim the message of salvation through faith in Christ alone to all we meet. This is the role of the church today and the call of all Christians today.

As our passage unfolds we read, “the Lord will take delight in you”. Since the creation of Adam and Eve God has created each person – knit them together in the womb (Psalm 139). We are all unique creations of God’s mighty hand, all children of the Creator. Because all that God does is good, God delights in us. This does not mean that we are perfect. Most of us are far from it. It is not about perfection. God delights in us as we are. It is not because of what we do or do not do. God loves us simply because we are God’s children.

Our passage today closes with, “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you”. When I first got married, I was head over heels in love. My new wife could do no wrong, she always looked beautiful, all I wanted to do was please her. They were heady days. We are still deeply in love, but those first few months were different. That head over heels love is the love God had for each of us all the time. It is a “no matter what” love. God rejoices over us. God delights in us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for your love and delighting in even me. Being human, I often fail, often come up short. But you love me just the same. On my best day, on my worst day, you love me just the same. Thank you God. Amen.