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The Heart of Christ
In the days after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, his disciples struggled to make sense of the Read More
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Alina Kanaski | Read Isaiah 9:1-4
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Sign Up TodayThis joyful pronouncement promises a time to come when all
will rejoice before God, when oppression and war will end,
when the anguish of darkness shall cease. God has promised us
good, good things.
God comes, bringing light. Isaiah contrasts the former time
of contempt with the latter time of...
God, thank you for bringing light to our darkness. May we rejoice. Amen.
The image of light figures in three of the texts. Light not only illumines but brings a changed situation. The psalmist’s confession links light with salvation. The Gospel lesson expresses deliverance in terms of the nearness of God’s reign, which overcomes diseases and distortions. Light permits well-being. Light is the mode of God’s presence.
• Read Isaiah 9:1-4. When has God called you out of the darkness of an old habit, a familiar circumstance, into the light of new opportunity for ministry?
• Read Psalm 27:1, 4-9. Do you feel more comfortable talking with God about your joys or your pains? Is there need for more openness in either?
• Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-18. In your faith community, when have members found themselves at odds over priorities of no eternal value?
• Read Matthew 4:12-23. Put yourself into the story. What do you hear, see, feel, or smell? How have you answered the call of Jesus?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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