Isaiah 64:1-9 from The Message Version
It is helpful to use this blog as a discussion starter for two or more people but it will also stimulate some thoughts if used by one reader. The material is used by a Sunday Study Group at Hamilton Christian Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Commentaries for these scriptures can be found on Textweek through this link http://www.textweek.com/prophets/isaiah64.htm.
A purpose of the Advent season is to prepare for the coming Christ, the coming of God’s presence among and in us through God’s Spirit. The Lectionary scripture from Isaiah speaks to an intense desire for God to make God’s presence known. It is a scripture similar in form to a lament psalm; where was God, why did the Israelites continue to have hard times. It was written after the Israelites had returned from a long exile and rebuilt the temple but times were still hard. It reflects the passionate desire for God to come now! with all of the ramifications of the Almighty actually coming into their presence.
From Isaiah 64: Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend, make the mountains shudder at your presence— As when a forest catches fire, as when fire makes a pot to boil— To shock your enemies into facing you, make the nations shake in their boots!
• What word and images strike you from these verses? Can you imagine us making this Call to Worship with genuine feeling at the beginning of our first Advent Sunday? A commentary had these thoughts for us, what do you think:
One of the cornerstones of my understanding of theology in general, and the human condition in particular, is that left to our own devices, we don’t mind approaching the Divine on our own terms, but we sure don’t want the Divine getting too close. Like a cagey, skittish cat, we approach God…a little. Slowly. With constant suspicion. And at the slightest movement we scurry in the opposite direction. Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
• Do you agree with Fr. Morley? Do you want God to make God’s presence known in this way? How would you like God’s presence to be revealed to us and to the world?
• What must the conditions have been for a spokesperson for the nation of Israel to make this bold a desperate call for God’s presence?
• What situations and conditions today cause you to want God obvious presence?
More from Isaiah 64:
You did terrible things we never expected, descended and made the mountains shudder at your presence. Since before time began no one has ever imagined, No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who happily do what is right, who keep a good memory of the way you work.
• How is God described in these words of praise? Read Exodus 19 for a vivid description of a mountain shuddering and the awe filled presence of God. What does Isaiah say the conditions necessary for a person to sense God’s presence, what would you add?
• The people Isaiah is writing to/for have just experienced years of a sense of separation from God (see Psalm 139:1-8 for some of their emotions) and have returned full of hope only to be confronted with very hard times. What does he intend with these words?
• Has God blessed you in surprising ways during your lifetime? What feelings do you have about and what do you attribute to the God you worship? Write your own version of Isaiah’s words based on your faith life.
Isaiah 64 continues:
But how angry you've been with us! We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags. We dry up like autumn leaves— sin-dried, we're blown off by the wind. No one prays to you or makes the effort to reach out to you Because you've turned away from us, left us to stew in our sins.
• Why does Isaiah say God seems absent to the people? What cause and effect arguments does Isaiah use? Can our behavior or frame of mind make God more or less real for us?
• What sense do you have of Isaiah’s mood as he writes these words? Who does Isaiah suggest is responsible for cleaning up the Israelites problems?
• Meditation and reflection on our shortcomings is a part of the Lenten preparation for Easter. Do you think that a self assessment of ourselves and the need we have for God’s presence is an important part of preparation for Christmas? What are some useful ways for us to do this kind of introspection? What is your reaction to William Willimon’s words below?
That’s why the church generally refrains from singing Christmas carols during Advent. That’s why purple, the color of penitence, adorns our altar and the neck of your preacher. We dare not rush to greet the Redeemer prematurely until we pause here, in darkened church, to admit that we do need redemption. Nothing within us can save us. No thing can save us. We’ve tried that before. No president, no bomb, no new car, no bottle, no white Christmas can save. William Willimon, The Christian Century
Isaiah 64continues:
Still, God, you are our Father. We're the clay and you're our potter: all of us are what you made us. Don't be too angry with us, O God. Don't keep a permanent account of wrongdoing. Keep in mind, please, we are your people—all of us.
• What is Isaiah reminding God of with these words? Is Isaiah saying that bad actions on our part are the result of a problem with the potter? How important is it for us to be reminded that God is the potter? Do you feel “God made”? What can that sense do for our faith life?
• What does Advent teach us about the reality of the way in which God chooses to interact with us? What do the words of the Christmas hymn below impart about the coming of Christ? Do you prefer it to Isaiah’s call to God? How would you describe the presence of God you experience on Christmas eve?
O Little Town of Bethlehem
How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.
Closing Litany
Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, Deliver us from evil,
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance,
Eternal Pity, have mercy on us.
Amen
Alvin of York, The Oxford Book of Prayer
Next Week’s Lectionary Scriptures - Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8
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