Beauty for Ashes

In the midst of struggle, disappointment, frustration, and perhaps especially sorrow, sometimes we don't know what or how to pray. Beautiful prayers put together by others might help express what we are unable to articulate, but thankfully, prayer isn't limited to words. The most eloquent oration may amount to lip-service, whilst the simplest heart's cry is heard by God.

Whenever I run out of words, don't know what to ask for, or something is just too huge to get my head around, the bottom line go-to prayer of my heart is, "come, Lord Jesus". I'm convinced that the coming of Jesus as Lord is the ultimate 'answer' to every trouble, and the basis of all truly Christian hope.

The prophecy of Isaiah 61 speaks of wonderful exchange: good news for the oppressed, healing for the brokenhearted, gladness instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. In Luke 4, Jesus claims that its fulfillment is found in him. It seems that the way that he announced this met with both admiring wonder and angry indignation. Albeit for very different reasons, our response may well be similar. There's such a lot of injustice! So much pain and sorrow. Too much unchecked corruption. Too many untimely deaths. How can Jesus be good news for the world in the face of so many downtrodden peoples, grieving communities, and heartbroken families?

I believe the resurrection of Jesus is good news for all of these. Why? As God's vindication of Jesus' audacious claims, for which he was rejected and condemned by the leaders of his own oppressed community and consequently executed by the occupying forces. As a cosmic declaration that this man who was crucified and died truly is all that he spoke and demonstrated himself to be, is indeed who he claimed to be! That the one anointed by God to bring salvation is gloriously alive, with death conquered and forever behind him, is the best possible news for all of us who live this side of death and need a sure and certain hope that goes beyond it.

The exchange of Isaiah 61 includes a crown of beauty for ashes. In the Bible, ashes were placed upon the head as a sign of mourning, both when bereaved or despairing, and when repentant. The sorrow of loss can bring ashes upon us, and in the grief of failure, guilt or shame, it is right to take upon ourselves the ashes of humility. It is in exchange for such ashes that God promises in Jesus Christ a garland of beauty, adorning and crowning those who turn to him, identifying us as children of the Most High.

The promise of beauty, healing and gladness, made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is precisely for those who wear the ashes of loss and need. This doesn't mean that painful experiences should be denied or trivialised—far from it. It is in humbly acknowledging our dependence, and throwing our very selves upon God's grace and mercy, that the greatest possible hope will arise.⬦

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