Freedom
Today’s scripture selection: Isaiah 56-61
Key verses: Isaiah 61:1-4
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born – the prophet Isaiah spoke of him. And when Jesus began his public ministry, he quoted from the ancient scriptures in our passage today.
They speak of good news for the oppressed; healing for the brokenhearted; freedom for captives. Two thousand years later we are still taking comfort in that good news.
And we need it, just as much as ever.
For all the work of the politicians and social engineers; for all the preaching and protesting, people are still oppressed in many ways.
That’s why it’s the personal and spiritual aspect of this passage that speaks the loudest to me.
I believe that, despite humanity’s best efforts, poverty and injustice will long be with us. There is no “perfect” society on the horizon. No political party can offer it, despite all the promises. No TV psychologist or guru can solve the problem completely.
But that does not mean we can’t experience freedom in a deep and full sense.
While we may at times feel captive to our
- Confusion
- Fear
- Frustration
- And more
Christ comes offering us a peace that “passes all understanding” and the world simply doesn’t understand.
So celebrate your freedom – found in Christ. It’s real and it’s lasting – no matter what the newscasters have to say.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be at peace, and be free from anxiety, even in a very troubled world. AMEN.
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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