Epiphany 5 - February8

Greetings,
Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of weeks.

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Also, we have changed the March Bookclub book to Green Collar Economy by Van Jones.


This weeks texts are:
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39

You may find them at either
http://www.textweek.com/ or
http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/BEpiphany/bEpiphany5.htm

The Isaiah text is part of the funeral liturgy in the United Methodist Church Book of Worship. As often as I have read those words - I alway find comfort.

Isaiah 40:21-31
21Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 23who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

The comfort comes, not so much because I belive that God is in total control of all things, but because the reading reminds me that there is nothing under the sun that God and God's people have not experienced. As Bruce Epperly, in the Process and Faith Lectionary commentary puts it -

Surely, Isaiah was aware of the challenges of life—politically, economically, and personally. In fact, his reflections on the cosmos emerge in the context of all too real experiences of pain and loss for the prophet and his people. Isaiah is painfully and personally aware of the finitude of life and the temptation to give up hope as we face challenges that may never be resolved; illness that is incurable, chronic, or painful; stock portfolios that may never fully recover the ravages of the past few months; or political situations that are intractable. We need strength and courage, as well as wisdom, for the living of these days. (http://www.processandfaith.org/lectionary/YearB/2008-2009/2009-02-08.shtml)

I think that is what I love the most about scripture - regardless of when it was written and when it is read, there is a resonance with the stories that are told. People have always struggled, people have always felt joy, people have always questioned their faith, and God has continually shown us new perspectives. While we may feel at the center of the universe, God sees the much grander picture. Isaiah was awed at the sight of the stars, or of an eagle. We are awed at the thought of an infinity of galaxies, and God sees more than that.

The people who heard Isaiah's prophecy were challenged to go deep into their spirituality to see beyond their current reality and to find a space for hope. We are challenged to do the same.

How might your spiritual life be strengthened to face the difficulties of these days?