Prayer: Comfort us, open our eyes, and help us to see you, Lord. Amen.
Reading: Isaiah 40: 1-11 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: If you are familiar with Handel’s Messiah, you will recognize some of these words. They are part of that great oratorio. Which got me to thinking, “Why do we listen to Messiah during the Advent and Christmas season?” So, I did some research. I found out that only the first part of the work is about Christmas and the birth of Jesus. The second has to do with Christ’s death and the third about resurrection. I also found out that oratorio was first conceived as a work for Easter and was premiered during the Lenten season of 1742. As I reflected on these facts, it dawns on me that to truly appreciate what we celebrate this season- the coming of Christ- we need to know the whole story. We know why Christ came into the world and what God sent him to do. Reminding ourselves of the whole story helps us to appreciate the beginning even more. To that I say, “Hallelujah!” --Chad Hershberger
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