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Isaiah 40:21-31: What Can You Reasonably Expect from God?: Epiphany 5B
I received a phone call the other day from a modern-day daughter of Job, whom I will call Mary. At one time Mary had been a pastor’s wife with 2 young children and a nice home, but her husband was extremely abusive and she had to get out of the marriage. The church did not…
Isaiah 40:21-31
Epiphany 5B
Psalm 103 promises that God will satisfy our desire for good things, using words that will sound familiar from the reading of Isaiah 40: “so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” The parallels between these texts are instructive. Psalm 103 does not begin with God’s promise of satisfaction but with forgiveness, healing, liberation…
Isaiah 40:1-11
Advent 2B
Comments, Observations and Questions: The Good News! The prophet Isaiah must have gotten pretty tired of breaking bad news to people. Roughly 95% of Isaiah 1-39 is bad news, with the tiniest snippets of hope popping up here and there. So, I can imagine him taking a deep breath, maybe a soothing drink of water…
Isaiah 40:21-31
Epiphany 5B
I once preached this sample sermon, focusing particularly on the beloved verse 31: Isaiah 40:21-31: What Can You Reasonably Expect from God?: Epiphany 5B
Isaiah 40:1-11
Advent 2B
Advent began last week with a lament filled with longing for the coming of God (Isaiah 64). On this Second Sunday of Advent, the mood changes dramatically with the Good News that God is coming soon. That shift of mood parallels the radical shift between Isaiah 39 and Isaiah 40. Even the most casual reader…
Isaiah 40:21-31
Epiphany 5B
Grasshoppers are interesting creatures. While they have wings, just like eagles, they can’t soar like eagles. Yet grasshoppers can really jump. If people could jump like them, we’d be able to leap more than 40 yards. Yet while grasshoppers can be colorful, heads that are relatively tiny also house their brains. If you walk through…
Isaiah 40:1-11
Advent 2B
Today “comfort” conjures up a cloud of images ranging from La-Z-Boy recliners to Royal Caribbean cruises. “Comfort food” is all about the personal satisfaction that can come from mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “Creature comforts” are all about having the nicest stuff even as the words “luxury and comfort” get yoked to describe things like the…
Isaiah 40:21-31
Epiphany 5B
Comments and Observations Isaiah 40 is by no means the only place in the Hebrew Scriptures to see this irony but it is on glorious display in also these verses. You can see it also in places like Psalms 8, 19, and 90, as well as in the Book of Job and other places. What…
Isaiah 40:1-11
Advent 2B
Today “comfort” conjures up a cloud of images ranging from La-Z-Boy recliners to Royal Caribbean cruises. “Comfort food” is all about the personal satisfaction that can come from mashed potatoes and meatloaf. “Creature comforts” are all about having the nicest stuff even as the words “luxury and comfort” get yoked to describe things like the…
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