The healing journey of a widowed, unschooling badass in Delaware.
Isaiah 9:2 RSV — The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.
Delaware got cold today. In many ways, it is a land of deep darkness.
Today I feel the hope and anticipation of Christ’s birth and victory over death.
Luke 4:18-21 RSV — “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
This warms my anarchist heart.
Isaiah 55:1 RSV — “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:8-9 RSV — For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Long before Jesus walked the earth, God opened His covenant to all who thirst.
Isaiah 55:3 RSV — Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
Isaiah 54:13-14 RSV — All your sons shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the prosperity of your sons. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Immediately following the suffering of the Messiah, God tells his people how they will be healed.
I’m fortunate to appreciate failure.
Our new sink is ugly and leaky, but I’ve learned a lot and the failures will be fixed.
Isaiah 52:14 RSV — As many were astonished at him–his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men–
Isaiah 53:2 RSV — For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Revelation 5:6 RSV — And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth;
Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 remarkably predicts the coming and suffering of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 52:13 RSV — Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
Crucifixion didn’t exist at the writing. This phrase must have been a mystery to Isaiah. Jewish texts will ponder these verses for 700 years before Christ is born.
Depictions of Jesus always show us a healthy, strong man. But we are meant to worship the Jesus who was beaten into a horrid state before being hung on a cross and stabbed through with a spear.
That’s a dark vision of the Messiah.
I think that vision has kept me ready for the tragedies of life. Maybe not “ready,” but unsurprised at how dark reality can become.
I’m inclined toward the argument that we are all biased to varying degrees. An “expert” is going to be biased toward their subject of interest. In many cases, you want someone who loves their subject matter to be your source. For example: Soccer is my favorite team sport, so it might be a good idea to ask me about the rules of the game.
On trickier subjects, I want the bias to be presented up front, “As a Christian…” “From a Jungian perspective…,” “As a former…”
Bias recognition and proper appropriation are my major markers for whether a source is trustworthy or not.
This is my favorite podcast about the most important news items of the week.
