Isaiah 64

The December 2nd class was led by the Rev’d Todd Bryant, Associate Rector

Isaiah 64 is rent with a longing for God to “tear open the heavens and come down”. As we move through 64, the longing seems to turn a little dour and a little upset with God. “Because you hid yourself, we transgressed.” The God of action so longed for has hidden himself; therefore the author hints that it might be God’s fault for the state they are in. The writer changes his complaint and says “yet, O Lord, you are our father.” The writer takes his prayer of complaint in a different direction. He tells his Lord and father about the desolation of the restored community and concludes with “after all this will you restrain yourself, O Lord? Will you keep silent and punish us so severely?” It seems that the writer longs for God’s presence and is not above giving God a little poke of guilt.

Isaiah 64 was read on the first Sunday of Advent (Nov 30). As Fr. Nutter preached on Nov 30th, the readings (Isaiah 64, Mark 13, 1st Corinthians 1) are not about the sweet and cuddly baby Jesus. When he was preaching, I could not help but think about Will Ferrell’s dinnertime prayer to sweet baby Jesus. Playing Ricky Bobby in “Talladega Nights”, Will preferred to address his prayers to the infant Jesus - the dear 8lbs, 6oz newborn infant Jesus…with Golden Fleece diapers and a tiny little fat balled up fist. The point of Advent is not the baby Jesus. The point and invitation is for us to cultivate an expectation of God’s love revealed in our life over and over, through Jesus, John the Baptist, Mary, you and me. We are all called to prepare the way of the Lord for the whole world.