Advent Devotional | 3rd Friday in Advent | Year C | December 18th, 2015

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Isaiah 42:10-18

Sing to the Lord a new song,
   his praise from the end of the earth!
Let the sea roar and all that fills it,
   the coastlands and their inhabitants. 
Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice,
   the villages that Kedar inhabits;
let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy,
   let them shout from the tops of the mountains. 
Let them give glory to the Lord,
   and declare his praise in the coastlands. 
The Lord goes forth like a soldier,
   like a warrior he stirs up his fury;
he cries out, he shouts aloud,
   he shows himself mighty against his foes. 

For a long time I have held my peace,
   I have kept still and restrained myself;
now I will cry out like a woman in labour,
   I will gasp and pant. 
I will lay waste mountains and hills,
   and dry up all their herbage;
I will turn the rivers into islands,
   and dry up the pools. 
I will lead the blind
   by a road they do not know,
by paths they have not known
   I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
   the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will do,
   and I will not forsake them. 
They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame—
   those who trust in carved images,
who say to cast images,
   ‘You are our gods.’ 

Listen, you that are deaf;
   and you that are blind, look up and see!

Wow!  What a weighty passage!  There are some passages in scripture that are pretty straightforward and simple, like a house salad with no dressing.  If that's the case, then today's passage from Isaiah is a five course meal that lasts about four hours!  Where to begin?!

Rather than unpack this passage and attempt to squeeze its exploration into a couple paragraphs, I am going to lift before us some questions to engage the scripture.  So, sit back, get comfortable, read through the passage again slowly, digesting every verb and tasting every adjective.  And then consider these questions...happy feasting!

  • Who are the characters doing the praising in the first paragraph?  What is their purpose?
  • This song gives both a feminine and masculine image of God (for example, a warrior stirring up his fury and a woman crying out in labor pains).  What do you make of such diverse terminology of God.  Is is comfort or a curiosity that God be described as both within a few mere verses?
  • Why do you think the voice changes from the third person to the first person halfway through the passage?
  • What darkness in your life needs to be turned to light?
  • Conversely, is there anything to be found in the darkness while we are waiting for the light?
  • What do you think about God leading you on a "path unknown?"

May God bless you as you explore this passage as approach the final week of Advent!

Prayer of the Day:
God of Many Names,
Thank you for the fact that you would fight for me like a warrior and labor over me like a mother.
Thank you for the rich language of scripture that gives us imagination to wonder at your being.
May this language prepare me to receive the coming of your Son in the days to come.  Amen.

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.