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Showing posts from December 9, 2012

Prayer in the Face of Cataclysm

O GOD Most High, you are great and abundant in power, your understanding is beyond measure (Psalm 147.5); we cry out to you in the midst of this cataclysmic event because we are distraught. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants (Psalm 90.13)! O dear God, the loss of life, the undeserved violence foisted on the children, the death brought to those who did no wrong, the robbing of safety, security and well-being! How long, O Lord? Will you look on (Psalm 35.17)? How long, O LORD? will you hide yourself forever (Psalm 89.46)? O Lord, have mercy! But you, O Lord, know what it is to have injustice and vicious brutality poured out on someone you love! Your own Son faced torture, and bore the bloody slaughter of the cross for us and our salvation! He too asked, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27.46) as evil clouded his perception. You know! And not only do you know, but through his resurrection on the third day, you have inaugurated the new cre

Watching with Isaiah: Do You See What I See? Pt. 3: Reflecting on Isaiah 35.1-10

Isaiah 35.1-10: “1-The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2-it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. 3-Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4-Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." 5-Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6-then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7-the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8-And a highway shall be there, and i