 reading from the Prophet Isaiah the 61st chapter the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and a day of vengeance for our God to comfort all who mourn to provide for those who mourn in Zion 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 the oaks of righteousness the planting of the Lord to display the Lord's glory they shall build up the ancient ruins they shall raise up the former devastations they shall repair the ruined cities the devastations of many generations this is the word of the Lord for you Jesus and we gather to hear the good news we've all seen graphic images of bombed out buildings entire city blocks blown to smithereens homes and lives shattered by violence what we've been slow to see more like deliberately avoided seeing is the devastation of sexual violence it's an insidious stealthy often invisible devastation that creeps in to dismantle lives destroy reputations shatter families and poison entire communities with its ruination but we're here today in the good company of Isaiah and of Jesus and the spirit to testify that ruination is not the end of the story Isaiah declares they shall build up the ancient ruins they shall raise up the former devastations they shall repair the ruined cities the devastations of many generations who are these builders seriously who is it that builds up the ancient ruins that raises up the devastations even the devastations of many generations who is it well it's not the high and mighty the successful and powerful who come back with their big earth moving machines to set all to right no it's the broken-hearted it's those who've been oppressed it's the ones who know what it is to be held captive yes yes this is what astonishes us this is the dumbfounding good news of the gospel it's those who mourn who have been faint in spirit it is they who will be called oaks of righteousness oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord to display his glory oh the wonder of it all the year of the Lord's favor when all is set a right from ruined cities to the planting of beautiful strong stately oaks but I'm getting ahead of the story let's back up just a bit when Jesus returned to Nazareth his hometown near the beginning of his public ministry he took the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read from the very passage we heard earlier the spirit of the Lord is upon me he said he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and then he said today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and everyone cheered right no not right not anywhere close to right Jesus hometown folks suddenly turned into a lynching mob apparently the year of the Lord's favor had nothing to do with party favors for privileged leaders in fact proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor got Jesus into serious trouble with those who led the religious institutions of their day the scribes and Pharisees they regularly got Jesus riled up whoa to you scribes and Pharisees he said who sit on Moses seat whoa to you who lock people out of the kingdom of heaven whoa to you who are like whitewashed tombs woe to you blind guides look at this after his most most scathing extended critique of the religious authorities that's when Jesus moves to lament he laments Jerusalem Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing see your house is left to you desolate ruination devastation why because the religious authorities institutional leaders were not willing because Jerusalem as a whole the children of Jerusalem were not willing to acknowledge their illness their sin and Jesus laments how often how often I have desired to gather your children together you know I believe it is Jesus lament that shows the way for us today all of us those who directly suffered abuse and those of us tainted implicated directly or indirectly by the sin of abuse all of us if we are willing if we are willing to be gathered together under his wings AMBS faculty and administrators are surely among the religious authorities of our day are we willing I submit to you that we are we are willing to profess our unreserved longing to be gathered as sinners together with all God's children under Jesus wings I can't speak for each of you but I hope that all of us gathered together here today are willing why because it's under those wings where we come alive again together next to the warm beating heart of Jesus our spirits quicken and it dawns on us we are being saved together under the wings of our fierce protective mother hen we are being saved by the sheer grace of her loving embrace saved to tell the world that there is safety in the company of the beloved there is wholeness and health and abundant life what joy what surprising joy Jesus wants to gather his children as the hen gathers her brood under her wings thanks be to God if as I dearly hope many of us here today are among the willing let's proclaim this as a day of the Lord's favor let's imagine the smile of the Lord's favor on us here this afternoon let's imagine the smile of the Lord's favor on us and the goodness of release restoration and freedom together let's give glory to God when all gather as children saved by grace under the wings of our mother hen repeat after me we give glory to God I'll say it again when all gather as children saved by grace under the wings of our mother hen when the truth is publicly declared and sets us free when the brokenhearted and faint spirited tell their stories and show the way to rebuild our communities when prophetic women stand as oaks of righteousness calling the rest of us toward repentance and salvation when powerful men protect dignify and empower vulnerable women and children when children are unafraid and no one hurts or destroys on God's holy mountain when despite the pain that still threatens to undo us the Holy Spirit joins us in groanings too deep for words when even those who massively failed can receive mercy when what is good and praiseworthy endures despite our massive failures in the strong love of God where nothing is wasted nothing is lost we are given a garland instead of ashes the oil of gladness instead of mourning the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit in the strong love of God where nothing is wasted nothing is lost we use what was broken to rebuild the ancient ruins we become builders who repair the devastations of generations in the year of the Lord's favor nothing nothing is lost but is gathered and known in its goodness to the glory of God