Imagine

Amanda MacQuarrie December 19, 2025 2 0

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Isaiah 61 (NIVUK)

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendour.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 ‘For I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.’

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the young plant come up
    and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
    and praise spring up before all nations.

Imagine a table.
Imagine a table with all the people of the world.
Imagine a table…
With all of the people in the world,
With all of their joys and sorrows,
All of their brokenness and hurt…
Imagine a table.
The weeping, the suffering, the hurt…
Imagine a table.

Imagine a table. 
Imagine a table with all the people of the world,
Imagine a table…
With all of the people of the world,
With all of their poverty, all of their injustice, all of their despair…
Imagine a table.
The shame, the indignity, the scandal…
Imagine a table.

Imagine a table.
Imagine a table with all the people of the world,
Imagine a table…
With all of the people in the world,
With God in the centre, welcoming all…
Imagine the table.
The captives released, freedom proclaimed, broken hearts bound up, tears wiped away.
Imagine the table.

Imagine a table,
Imagine a table with all the people of the world,
Imagine the table, 
With all the people of the world,
Their crowns of ashes replaced with ones of beauty,
Their garments: praise, not mourning, and dignity in place of shame…
Imagine a table.
That’s the table where the Lord hosts.
A table of justice, renewal and restoration…
Imagine a table 
A table for all,
Come to the table… be part of it!

To be invited,
To be welcomed,
To your table Lord,
What might that mean for me?
A place, a welcome, a space…
To leave behind what has been,
To find new beginnings, new life,
Justice, dignity, restoration…
Lord, help me take my place at your table,
And encourage me to reach out and offer that same welcome to others… that they too may find a new, more life giving way to be.