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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007 Ordination of Louise Christensen
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
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3rd Sunday of
Advent (A) In the Name of him who comes, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! Our First Reading for today from Isaiah is a truly wonderful one! Actually, many Bible scholars believe that it is a prophecy made by a person known as “Second Isaiah” whose ministry was almost 200 years later than that of the original prophet Isaiah. This “Second Isaiah” lived around 540 B.C., and he was a prophet among the Jewish exiles in Babylon. A brief Bible history lesson may be in order here. The original prophet Isaiah, also known to Bible scholars as “First Isaiah”, lived around 720 B.C. when the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and completely destroyed it as a nation forever. But the southern kingdom of Judah, however, with its capital city of Jerusalem survived. In fact, Judah survived for almost another 140 years. But in 586 B.C. Judah also was conquered - this time by the Babylonian Empire. Jerusalem was completely destroyed and the Temple was burned to the ground. Many of Judah’s brightest and best people were carried off into exile to live in Babylon for the rest of their lives. By the time of today’s Old Testament reading from “Second Isaiah”, almost a half century has passed since Judah’s national catastrophe, and nothing seemed to have changed! More than two generations have come and gone, and the Jewish exiles are still in Babylon with no prospects for ever being able to return to their ancestral home. Hope among them was all but extinguished. The people are utterly and totally discouraged. Our reading uses the words “wilderness”, “dry land”, “desert”, “weak hands”, “feeble knees”, and “fearful hearts” to describe the spiritual and emotional condition of those Jewish exiles in Babylon. They were at the end of their ropes. They were convinced that God had completely abandoned them. In fact, some of them must have surely thought that God had even been destroyed along with the Temple almost fifty years before. After all, during all the time since then, they had seen absolutely no evidence of God’s power and love working among them. All that the exiles could see was that their enemies were completely triumphant, and that they were totally humiliated. But today’s reading from the 35th chapter of Isaiah is a call for hope. The exiles in Babylon are assured that God loves them and that the LORD will save and deliver them. He will restore their barren souls and fill them with joy and gladness – and will finally make it possible for them to return to their homeland of Zion! And as we know, God did keep His promises! About twenty years later, after the Persian Empire had conquered the Babylonians, the Jewish Exiles were permitted to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem. The spiritual and emotional condition of the people was changed from pain and despair to joy and gladness. God’s promises to His people all came true! What does this have to say to us? I believe that many people today are in the very same spiritual and emotional situation as the exiles in Babylon were at the time when this prophecy was made. Many people today see only darkness and cause for despair in their lives. They see no rays of sunshine, and no cause for hope of things ever getting better. This is especially often true during this time of the year. It is a fact that more people tend to feel emotionally depressed during the “Holiday Season” than at any other time. They know that they are supposed to feel happy, but they just can’t. For those who have suffered loss during the past year - such as experiencing the death of a loved one, or going through a divorce, or losing a job, or having a tragedy or disaster happen to them - these “holidays” do not bring joy, but only a sense of grief and deep sadness. They do not see any cause for joy. Their depression makes them “blind” to seeing God’s mercies, “deaf” to hearing the good news of God’s promises, “lame” in persevering in faith, and “speechless” in being able to praise God. Have any of us ever been like that? Are any of us feeling that way right now? I am sure that many of us have or are. Sometimes, when we feel overwhelmed by pain and sadness, it seems as if God is so very far away. It seems as if hope is nothing but an illusion - and that we’ll never be able to laugh and feel joy in life again.. What can we do when we are in the midst of spiritual and emotional deserts? One thing NOT to do is to try to pretend that everything is OK. Unfortunately, that is what a lot of people try to do...especially around this holiday season. Christmas is seen by many as being a time when we should try to forget about all sadness, sorrow, grief, and pain for awhile. But that doesn’t work, at least not for long. So, what then CAN we do when we are in a spiritual wilderness, and our souls are “dry lands” and lifeless deserts? What can we do when our hands are weak, our knees feeble, and our hearts fearful? The first thing is simply to acknowledge that this is where we are in our lives and that this is what we are like – and that it is OK and natural for us to experience discouragement, hopelessness, grief, and despair after we have suffered loss. But after acknowledging our grief and pain, may we then be open to hearing God’s message of love and hope – even in the midst of hopelessness. God can and will make things new for us – just as he did for his people who were exiled in Babylon. They had their joy restored in incredible ways which they could not have possibly foreseen when “Second Isaiah’s” prophecy was made. And as he did for them, he will also certainly do for us! God will open our eyes so that instead of being spiritually blind, we will clearly see his love. God will open our ears so that we truly understand and believe his promises. Instead of being lame God will make us strong in faith - and instead of being speechless we will be bubbling over with praise! Yes, even as he did for his people in the midst of their exile, God will also do for us in our lives! HOPE is a basic theme of this season of Advent! During this season especially, we hear the message that no matter what we may be facing and enduring right now, there will be joy in the morning! Yes, there will be joy in the morning! Wherever we are in our lives, God will come to us and make things new. That is what the Jewish exiles who were addressed in today’s first reading found out. So may it be for all of us as well. For God has promised to turn our mourning into great joy and God always keeps his promises. May this hope give us comfort and peace, now and always! Thanks be to God! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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