Isaiah 64:1-9 - Breaking through to us...

ISAIAH 64:1-9¹   O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence — ²   as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil — to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence ³   When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. ⁴   From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. ⁵   You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. ⁶   We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. ⁷   There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity ⁸   Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. ⁹   Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

• Light a candle to remember Christ's presence with you.
• Sit five to fifteen minutes in silent meditation paying attention to the deep breath.
• As you read through this passage from Isaiah, consider a time you did not call upon the name of the Lord.
• What do you remember about this time?
• Notice any tension you feel in your body.
• Take several deep breaths to soften the tension.
• Read through the passage a second time.
• How did God break through to you?
• In what way(s) did God remold and reshape you?
• If there is still tension in your body, invite God into this tension.
• Offer a cry for forgiveness.  Take several deep breaths to soften the tension.  Breathe in the breath of God.  Breathe out the tension.
• Allow God to heal this tension in you and to give you freedom in its place.
• Breathe in freedom.  Breathe out tension.
• Give thanks to God for this time in reconciliation and for any new insights you have received.
• Share as you feel led in the reply box below.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, December 3, 2017, the First Sunday of Advent (Year B) Isaiah 64: 1-9Psalm 80:1-7, 17-191 Corinthians 1:3-9Mark 13: 24-37If you use these prayers in other groups, please give credit to author.Permission to use in not-for-profit settings.  (c) 2017 The Rev. Lil Smith, M.Div., DASD