Second Thursday of Advent - December 12, 2019

Isaiah 41:13-20


For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.


• The first part of the reading today contains repeated use of the first person pronoun, “I,” as God addresses those who are fearful and afraid: “Do not fear . . . do not be afraid . . . do not fear.” God’s promise is simple: “I am the Lord your God . . . I will help you . . . I myself will help you.”

• Recall a time recently when you have dealt with fear. What were you afraid of? What emotions were associated with your fear in that situation? In what tangible way(s) did you experience the “help” of God? Have a conversation with God about what you have uncovered within yourself related to that experience.

• As usual, when God does a new thing, all of the created order is involved. Deserts which had been dry become fertile with flowing water. Barren wastelands grow vegetation of all kinds. These symbols powerfully tell of God’s work in our lives.

• Consider your own experience of dryness of soul or barrenness of spirit. Can you see something growing within you now in a space that was once barren or dry? What response to God would you make for this new life where previously there was only dry land?

Second Monday of Advent - December 9, 2019

Isaiah 35:1-10


The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 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.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.


• The book of Isaiah frequently uses the metaphor of flowers and streams appearing in deserts and dry lands. It is a sign of God’s work among those who feel “dry,” “barren,” or “arid of spirit.” Reflect on your own desert experience of feeling dry and barren (perhaps you are in that place right now). Find ten or twelve words that you would use to describe the experience. As you sit with that experience, be conscious of God’s voice whispering into your heart.

• As you continue to ponder your own desert experience, what “flowers” grew within you during that dry spell? What was the source of that metaphorical “flower”?

• Advent is not merely a time for you and me to receive. Isaiah also prompts us to offer ourselves to others in life-giving ways: Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” Carry these words with you today. Be alert to the weak you meet, who need to be strengthened . . . to the feeble who need your assistance . . . to those who are fearful and need a word of courage and hope.