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Isaiah 58:1-12
Epiphany 5A
Because I prepare about a month early, I am reading these words against the backdrop of ICE raids, of terrorized people and extrajudicial killing in detention facilities and on the streets of Minneapolis. As I settled into my seat to review the text before diving into commentaries, I read these words and my body tensed,…
Isaiah 9:1-4
Epiphany 3A
Illustration It may feel strange to be preaching Isaiah 9—a quintessentially Christmas text—a full month after the holiday has passed. Surely decorations are put away, the tree is in a woodchopper somewhere, making mulch for next spring and our lives have gone back to “normal,” whatever that means. But, rereading Isaiah 9 in late January…
Isaiah 49:1-7
Epiphany 2A
Illustration “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists in two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” Knowledge of God, of course, sounds noble enough but that knowledge of ourselves? Does it strike you as a little pop-psychology? Kind-of self-help-y and postmodern? Where does that quotation…
Isaiah 42:1-9
Epiphany 1A
Illustration As a matter of visuals in the sanctuary or maybe as content for a children’s message, consider bringing in a bouquet of flowers in a vase, but bending one so that it sticks out at a strange angle. Perhaps consult with a florist in your congregation on methods they can use to support a…
Isaiah 63:7-9
Christmas 1A
How Can I Keep from Singing? The Sunday after Christmas is, especially for those who have (mostly) kept Christmas at bay with Advent hymns, a chance to sing all the Christmas carols that wouldn’t fit into a Christmas Eve or Christmas morning service. Unfortunately, once we get to January, people have turned the calendar page….
Isaiah 7:10-16
Advent 4A
Backs Against the Wall The text of Isaiah 7:10-16 (well, really, verse 14) is embedded in the Christian imagination as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. But, before it served that purpose, it had another. Taking in the context of the first 9 verses of chapter 7, here’s the…
Isaiah 35:1-10
Advent 3A
Lectionary Connection On the third Sunday in Advent, we often hear John the Baptist’s story. A strange guy out in the wilderness, dressed in camel hair and eating honey-dipped locust. He arrives on the scene announcing (in the language of The Message translation) “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”People aren’t sure what to make…
Isaiah 11:1-10
Advent 2A
It can be hard to talk about fear. Once you get past fears of public speaking or mice or heights or whatever and start talking about fear at a gut-level, it’s an incredibly vulnerable thing. Our fears reveal to us who we are and what we value and what happens when we those things are…
Isaiah 2:1-5
Advent 1A
Illustration Beginning in 1939, Operation Pied Piper relocated 1.5 million Britons inland, North and to the country from cities and coastal towns. Nearly 830,000 of these evacuees were unaccompanied children. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, thousands were evacuated within the first 4 days. Children bundled onto trains, marshalled by teachers and government officials….
Isaiah 65:17-25
Proper 28C
Heaven is a Place on Earth A lot of ink has been spilled in scholarly spaces debating the nature of the New Jerusalem that Isaiah celebrates here in this passage. Some say the New Jerusalem will be an eternal heavenly reality after this earth is destroyed, first by human hands until, finally, (as though mercifully)…
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