Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19 We have all known hardship and sorrow and loss, I am sure. Although we might not have known it the way Israel did. The Old Testament book of Isaiah tells us of the trials that Israel endured during the 6th century BCE when they were invaded by a powerful enemy – the Babylonians. The city of Jerusalem was protected by strong walls, but the Babylonian army was big enough, powerful enough to wear them down. They laid siege to the city, surrounded it, trapping the Israelites inside. No one could go in or out. The enemy waited. The people inside the walls went through all their food stores, and the Babylonians waited. They waited until the people inside were starving, and then they waited a little more. Finally, they attacked. They trampled, they killed, they set fires. They destroyed the holy temple. The temple that Israel had […]
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QUEST, Part 3: REFLECTION
Isaiah 65:17-25 Revelations 21: 22-26 I often hear people complain about the Old Testament. They say that it is full of nothing but violence and ugliness. I just want to point out this beautiful passage from Isaiah is part of the Old Testament. People, including me, also say that the book of Revelation is chock full of awful stuff. But then you have this exquisite passage from chapter 21. It is true, in the Old Testament and in Revelation, and perhaps even in the gospels, we wade through a lot of hard stuff, awful stuff – and then we get to this place of breathtaking beauty. Kind of like life, at times. There is a lot of awful and painful stuff in the world, stuff that is hard to look at. Yet, if we remain present, we may get to hope. These two passages we read today are preceded by […]
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