In Plain Sight

“For in plain sight 

they see the return of the LORD to Zion.”

Isaiah 52:8b

How could we have missed it? 

That question is often raised after something goes wrong or we are surprised by events. When the clues were self-evident, but we or others didn’t pick-up on them at the time. It’s part of the human condition and has been so for centuries.

The verse above tells of such a moment. It comes from a passage written six centuries before the birth of Jesus. The first people of faith to hear those words had been forced to leave Jerusalem and understood their captivity in Babylon to be a direct result of disobedience to God. Yet in words from the prophet Isaiah, they hear news of a different future. One that apparently could be seen already.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,” he wrote “who brings good news, who announces salvation.” Isaiah was offering a message they had longed to hear, that redemption was at hand. Yet the auditory trait of his declaration was then joined to the visual. “Your sentinels lift up their voices,” he went on, “together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the LORD to Zion…The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

“In plain sight they see the return of the LORD,” the prophet said. 

At first hearing it’s a curious message. Few persons in the pages of Scripture are described as having a face-to-face encounter with the Almighty and it seems unlikely that an entire nation would have that experience. The initial believers to hear that message would not see a return to Jerusalem for years to come either. Yet Isaiah, speaking in metaphor, told of how those individuals could see plainly the impact, the change, the difference arising from God’s grace even then. Thus, he urged them to look.  

That’s what we are invited to see, too. The clear evidence that God is still bringing about change.  

Perhaps on this day, you are seeing signs of a mending relationship. Maybe you are noticing evidence of physical healing; aware that the road to recovery is still long, but finally underway. It could be that you are seeing the first glimmer of an answer to prayer or peace where there has only been unrest. Such discoveries and others can be in plain sight, too, and are ones to celebrate as they demonstrate how God is still breaking in.

A favorite tradition in my family of origin was the appearance of silver dollars on Christmas morning. On that day, each of the five Willingham children would find a box under the tree addressed to us, but lacking the giver’s name. The package always contained five Liberty Head or Morgan silver dollars. The coins were last minted in 1935 which meant that receiving them on a Christmas in the 1960s was unique. For not only were the coins older than our parents–-something we could hardly fathom–but they were much heavier than any coin in circulation, too.  Being gifted the coin was only part of the tradition, though, as a familiar litany would then follow. My father–who had gone into his collection to present one to each of his children–would then express delight at the generosity of this anonymous gift-giver and say “Let me give you a dollar bill for that heavy old thing.” For years we went along, content with the swap, until the day I found a book which showed the value of old coins. 

Flipping through its pages, I was startled to learn that those silver dollars were worth far more than one bill. I passed on that information to my siblings and the next Christmas we were ready. For when my father offered to trade us folding money for cold, hard cash each of us said “No, thank you. I’ll keep this one.”  To no surprise, that was the last Christmas any of us received a silver dollar!

I still have that coin along with others that were part of his collection. It can be quickly placed in plain sight, too, yet when I look at it, I don’t literally see my father. I’m not physically transported back to that moment 60 years ago when I obtained the silver dollar either. Yet it does help me see in my mind’s eye the love and sacrifice and faith he shared with the five of us; lessons that shape me still.      

That’s what those people from centuries ago came to understand when they heard Isaiah say “in plain sight they see the return of the LORD.”  As they didn’t see the physical embodiment of God or a written decree from the Babylonians that they were free to return home. Yet perhaps they saw God’s forgiveness, God’s presence, or God’s redemption in some undeniable way. Visual glimpses of a change that led them to respond with joy.

During this month, it seems unlikely any of us will literally see the child whose birth started the chain of events that resulted in our salvation. With the exception of some church pageant, the odds are good that none of us will actually see angels or a manger or some wandering magi either.  

Yet what we can see is evidence of the redemptive work of One who was born on that night. One who continues to break into and transform our days in the ways that we need most of all.     

And thus, I encourage you to keep your eyes open. For in plain sight, you might also discover the very gift that changes your life.

Indwelling One, as this season progresses, help me to remain attuned to those signs of your salvation that are breaking in still.  Amen.