12.20.23 - Isaiah 52:9
A coupon is an agreement, an exchange, a redemption. During this advent season, what in your life could use some ink and agreement?
Revel! Raise a song together, you ruins of Jerusalem. For the Holy One of Old has comforted God's people, God has redeemed Jerusalem.
I never understood the spiritual vernacular of "redemption".
Dictionaries will say to redeem is to "offset or compensate for a defect." Who's defect? And what does the act of "offsetting" look like?
I just didn't get it; it became a murky, shapeless concept, somewhat akin to being "made new", but not exactly.
And then a reading (so long ago I don't remember what from) pointed out that we "redeem" coupons. We take something with seemingly no value (a slip of paper) and turn it in to get a break on something we want ($2 off!).
You might look at that and say the $2 break is the redemption, but I think the redemption is in the slip of paper. The redemption is the ink that we all agree means that paper is now a worthy deal.
Jerusalem was redeemed because the Creator said so and because They acted like Jerusalem was worth it, coming to their aid.
During this advent season, what in your life could use some ink and agreement?
Is it a family tradition that has become annoying but used to mean so much? Is it some quiet time spent with your partner that gets overlooked in the rush of festivities? Is it the value of peace, which seems so commodified in decorations and merchandise?
--Katelin Champion