READ Isaiah 61:1-3
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 brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of 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 oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory.
MEDITATE
A relatively forgettable event took place in my home church, the Hicksville Church of Christ, in the early seventies, but I’ve never forgotten it. As I told you in the introduction, our church owned a building that was, well, unassuming. Most people walked right past us. I took care of the grounds, what little there were, and the welcome sign. I’d put up anything to attract the attention of passersby: “God is like Hallmark cards; He cared enough to send the very best.” “Jesus rose on the third day. You can’t keep a good man down!”
One day, someone did walk in unexpected, uninvited, but he was a tattered, unshaven man, who wandered into our small building, smoking a cigarette. Quickly and rudely scolded by a church leader for smoking in the church foyer, the man scuttled away.
Isaiah presents a picture of a different kind of leadership. Remember how in Isaiah 11 the Messiah would reign over a restored creation, a new Eden, with lions lying down with lambs and children playing over snake pits? Inspired leadership, messianic in scope, works to secure the well-being of the whole creation, top to bottom.
Remember, too, how in Isaiah 42 the servant would bring a light to the nations, justice to the earth, Torah to the coastlands? Inspired leaders have a profound impact beyond our borders, outside the confines of a single nation, certainly beyond a people constricted by church and synagogue walls.
In today’s reading from Isaiah 61, the Spirit’s work goes deep, rather than wide, to the oppressed, the imprisoned, the bottom-feeders. Inspired leaders envelop “those who mourn in Zion.” The nation’s weakest, those with “a faint spirit,” will receive a mantle of praise.
There were apparently plenty of ruined people in the prophet’s day—a motley band of the broken. Just a few pages earlier in the book of Isaiah, this peculiar prophet paid attention to eunuchs—men excluded from worship in the temple: “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 23:1). But in the prophet’s fresh vision, even a faithful eunuch will have a place “in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.”
Inspired leaders don’t need to be conspicuous to be effective. Sometimes inspired leaders need to be invisible among the faint, the weary, the worn—those who wander in uninvited off the street into our midst.
There’s no stopping the Spirit. Better yet, there’s no stopping a leader, whether a messiah or a servant or a prophet, whom the Spirit of God anoints. Her words—yours, too—are good news to the oppressed, to men who are crushed under the weight of society’s censure. What’s a cigarette in the face of such a magnificent vision?
BREATHE 
PRAY
Holy Spirit
I’ve no need for grand visions
strategic plans
blueprints for success
Bury me instead among the faint
the weary
the worn
I’ve no need for great speeches
striking sermons
thunderous applause
Busy me instead with laughter
a wordplay or two
mirth
Amen