2022-Jan-9: Feast of the Baptism of our Lord
2022-Jan-9: Feast of the Baptism of our Lord Isaiah 40:1-11 Second Isaiah was written for an audience that had experienced trauma (Fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, exile in Babylon and eventual return from exile per the decree of Cyrus the Great in 540 BC) and whose relationship to God had been deeply wounded as a result. It is grounded in proclamation and promise, but shaped fundamentally by careful listening to those things that afflict the hearts of the audience. The path home becomes a level highway at the sound of the messenger. This will be no forty years trudging through a desert. The return will be a pilgrimage along a well-kept thoroughfare. The message given is confident and hopeful, “Here is your God!” Here is a God who comes to feed the flock, to gather the lambs, to lead the mother sheep — to bring comfort. Psalm 104 Psalm 104 presents a glorious picture of God as creator and a sweeping view of the world God made. Titus 2:11-14 3:4-7 Paul (or, as schola...