"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Tuesday, 13 December 2016 with Scripture Psalm 146:5-10
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Psalm 146:5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah![Complete Jewish Bible]
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For the Advent season we are looking back and reflecting on the previous week's readings.
Psalm 146 strengthens the vision of what God is hoping for on this earth: justice for the oppressed and food for the hungry. The vision of Isaiah is also reiterated and intensified: announced in last week's reading with the wolf and lamb sleeping together and now in this week with the elimination of the roaring lion (not the elimination of creation but of violence). God is working in silent, quiet ways among us, liberating prisoners and watching over the stranger (the foreigner). But this work does not happen without us. In the giving of a glass of water, in the sharing of a meal, in the welcome to a refugee, in all these ways God is working with us towards what is our deepest Advent hope: the vision of a splendid universal communion, a vision Pope Francis has described in his encyclical "Praise be to You: In Care of our Common Home."
O God, praise be to you! Your name is holy, for you have lifted up the lowly, you fill the hungry with good things, you have looked upon us in mercy. Amen.
Dirk G. Lange
Associate Dean, Graduate Theological Education and Fredrik A. Schiotz Chair of Missions and Professor of Worship, Luther Seminary
Psalm 146:5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
[New Revised Standard Version]
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"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 11 December 2016 with Scripture Isaiah 35:1-10
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Isaiah 35:1 The desert and the dry land will be glad;
the ‘Aravah will rejoice and blossom like the lily.
2 It will burst into flower,
will rejoice with joy and singing,
will be given the glory of the L’vanon,
the splendor of Karmel and the Sharon.
They will see the glory of Adonai,
the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen your drooping arms,
and steady your tottering knees.
4 Say to the fainthearted, “Be strong and unafraid!
Here is your God; he will come with vengeance;
with God’s retribution he will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;
6 then the lame man will leap like a deer,
and the mute person’s tongue will sing.
For in the desert, springs will burst forth,
streams of water in the ‘Aravah;
7 the sandy mirage will become a pool,
the thirsty ground springs of water.
The haunts where jackals lie down will become
a marsh filled with reeds and papyrus.
8 A highway will be there, a way,
called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not pass over it,
but it will be for those whom he guides —
fools will not stray along it.
9 No lion or other beast of prey
will be there, traveling on it.
They will not be found there,
but the redeemed will go there.
10 Those ransomed by Adonai will return
and come with singing to Tziyon,
on their heads will be everlasting joy.
They will acquire gladness and joy,
while sorrow and sighing will flee.[Complete Jewish Bible]
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For the Advent season we are looking back and reflecting on the previous week's readings.
In Isaiah this week, the path or highway of God's people is called a holy way. On this way no one shall go astray, no one will be lost, no one will be without a home; the burning sand under the feet will become a pool and there will be springs of water. God's way, God's holy way for which we hope is not an illusion or dream. This way expresses God's own hope for us. God does not want human beings wandering helplessly, fleeing war, fleeing bombs and destruction, struggling to find a way even to the point of selling themselves into slavery simply for the possibility of crossing the Mediterranean in a clandestine ship. God does not want children washed up, drowned, on the shore. Hope in the one who comes is hope made active in seeking ways of peace, of welcome. Hope calls us into service so that the weak, the feeble, the homeless, sing for joy.
O God, pour out your joy upon all people that all sorrow and sighing and searching and wandering flee away. Grant everyone a home. Amen.
Dirk G. Lange
Associate Dean, Graduate Theological Education and Fredrik A. Schiotz Chair of Missions and Professor of Worship, Luther Seminary
Isaiah 35:1 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 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."
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 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;
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.[New Revised Standard Version]
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"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Sunday, 11 December 2016 "Savior of the Nations, Come" (ELW 263)
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"Savior of the Nations, Come" (ELW 263)
For the Advent season we are looking back and reflecting on the previous week's readings.
1. Savior of the nations, come;
virgin's son, make here your home.
Marvel now, O heav'n and earth:
God has chosen such a birth.
2. Not by human flesh and blood,
but the mystic Breath of God,
was the Word of God made flesh,
fruit of woman, blossom fresh.
3. Wondrous birth--oh, wondrous child--
from his throne, a virgin mild!
Very God, and Mary's son,
eager now his race to run!
4. From God's heart the Savior speeds,
back to God his pathway leads;
out to vanquish death's command,
back to reign at God's right hand.
5. Now your manger, shining bright,
hallows night with newborn light.
Night cannot this light subdue;
let our faith shine ever new.
6. Praise we sing to Christ the Lord,
virgin's son, incarnate Word!
To the holy Trinity
praise we sing eternally!
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"Savior of the Nations, Come" Text copyright 2006 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. No further reproduction or distribution allowed without the written permission of Augsburg Fortress.
Our Advent hymn invites us into deeper contemplation of Christ's journey. The English translation however misses a line found in the original German. In the English, Christ comes forth from God's heart and speeds back, vanquishing death on the way. In the original, mention is also made of Christ's descent into the realm of the dead (or hell) as part of this journey and then, from there, to God's right hand. But what does the descent into hell have to do with Advent? God's coming, the incarnation, touches all aspects of life. There is nothing that is left untouched, not even death, not even the realms that seem furthest away from God, not even those places inside us we dare not look at or enter ourselves. God touches all of life and death within us and our world and God touches it all without ever hurting or wounding. Only God can touch us in that way.
O God, turn our deserts into blossoming gardens. Touch all that is dead within us, raising up hope and life again. Amen.
Dirk G. Lange
Associate Dean, Graduate Theological Education and Fredrik A. Schiotz Chair of Missions and Professor of Worship, Luther Seminary
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