AGED WINE FOR ALL (44 OF 52)
Scripture: Isaiah 25:1-9
This content is part of a series.
Aged Wine for All (44 of 52)
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Isaiah 25:1-9
We like life to follow expected patterns. That is the basis for so many prejudices and the reason we rebel against their being challenged. We want life to be predictable. We like rules set solidly in stone. We want to know what to expect, what we will find around the next bend, and to be free from surprises or disappointments. The order we project onto the world must match reality, otherwise, we find ourselves stressed and distressed. We find excuses to retain our prejudices to hold onto a sense of order. What happens when God does not deign to fit inside our assumptions and expectations for life?
Reversals seem to be a way of life in the Hebrew prophetic tradition. Time and again we hear of Yahweh turning the standards of life on their heads. Sometimes we miss what the prophets are saying for lack of cultural and historical context. It is hard for us to take in the perspectives of peoples long since dead as we read descriptions of life two or three millennia removed from our context. We struggle to grasp the realities of life in their subsistence economy. Our failures of imagination keep us from catching the import and implications of too many texts we hold sacred.
For those who worshiped Yahweh, their faith narratives centered around unexpected reversals. A bush burst in flames without being consumed. A band of slaves despoiled their Egyptian overlords on release from captivity without fighting any battle. Water flowed from a rock to slake their thirst in a dry land. Manna fell from heaven, feeding a wandering people for a generation. The walls of Jericho fell, not to battering rams and siege towers, but at the sound of trumpets and a people marching around the city. Gideon's 300 routed 130,000 enemies, by raising torches and blowing trumpets. A shepherd boy became king of Israel. A jar of oil met the needs of a widow and her son for years. Bathing seven time ...
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Isaiah 25:1-9
We like life to follow expected patterns. That is the basis for so many prejudices and the reason we rebel against their being challenged. We want life to be predictable. We like rules set solidly in stone. We want to know what to expect, what we will find around the next bend, and to be free from surprises or disappointments. The order we project onto the world must match reality, otherwise, we find ourselves stressed and distressed. We find excuses to retain our prejudices to hold onto a sense of order. What happens when God does not deign to fit inside our assumptions and expectations for life?
Reversals seem to be a way of life in the Hebrew prophetic tradition. Time and again we hear of Yahweh turning the standards of life on their heads. Sometimes we miss what the prophets are saying for lack of cultural and historical context. It is hard for us to take in the perspectives of peoples long since dead as we read descriptions of life two or three millennia removed from our context. We struggle to grasp the realities of life in their subsistence economy. Our failures of imagination keep us from catching the import and implications of too many texts we hold sacred.
For those who worshiped Yahweh, their faith narratives centered around unexpected reversals. A bush burst in flames without being consumed. A band of slaves despoiled their Egyptian overlords on release from captivity without fighting any battle. Water flowed from a rock to slake their thirst in a dry land. Manna fell from heaven, feeding a wandering people for a generation. The walls of Jericho fell, not to battering rams and siege towers, but at the sound of trumpets and a people marching around the city. Gideon's 300 routed 130,000 enemies, by raising torches and blowing trumpets. A shepherd boy became king of Israel. A jar of oil met the needs of a widow and her son for years. Bathing seven time ...
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