FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH of HATFIELD, UCC
  • Welcome
    • FAQ
  • Visit
  • Community
    • Facility Use
  • Music
  • Pews News
  • Calendar
  • About
    • Reverend Randy
    • Our History
  • Contact
  • Donate

Pews News

Lent blog

4/4/2019

0 Comments

 

Thursday, April 4th

Throughout the year, the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ produces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for April 4th:  Psalm 126; Isaiah 43:1-7; and Philippians 2:19-24.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
 
Scholars see the hand of three separate authors in the one book of Isaiah the prophet.  The first is found in chapters 1-39, the second in 40-55, and the third in 56-66.  This means that today’s Isaiah passage is from the hand of Deutero-Isaiah, the second Isaiah.  First Isaiah writes during the final years of the Kingdom of Judah.  Deutero-Isaiah is a prophet during the time of Judah’s exile.  Their nation has been defeated, the population deported, strangers are living in their homes, and Jerusalem and its Temple have been destroyed.

This could have turned the people of Judah into an historical footnote.  When the northern tribes of the nation of Israel fell before the Assyrians about a century and half earlier, they became assimilated into the cultures around them.  Judah, instead, remained intact as a people without a land.  It was their faith in Yahweh that kept them united.  It was their hope that Yahweh would not desert them no matter how bad things were.  And it was in this milieu that Deutero-Isaiah speaks to God’s people.

In today’s passage, Yahweh reveals through His prophet that no matter the trial, He will not abandon them.  In an age when these defeated people may have felt invisible, God knows them:  “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  With so much happening that could erase easily their identity, the transcendent God bends down to tell them that each one of them is known personally to the Almighty.   This shared experience was the unifying factor that fostered community as the People of God.
  
Sometimes when we speak about God, He can seem so distant and unmoving, not a real part of our world and our lives.  Could the Almighty really understand the trials, fears and uncertainties of everyday human life?  Passages like Deutero-Isaiah’s assure us that He knows us, and then the life and even death of Jesus of Nazareth make certain that He knows what it is to be us.  Whenever we may feel distanced from God, remember that the suffering Saviour endured whatever the world would dare throw at God so that forever we are each known by name.  And may this awareness also bring us closer together as the community of God's People.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    News

    Faith, love and chitchat.


    Categories

    All
    Bible Bytes
    Events & Activities
    Jesus Said What?
    Music
    Newsletter
    Rev'd Up
    Sunday Service


    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    December 2016


    Follow

    RSS Feed

Picture
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE
First Congregational Church of Hatfield
​United Church of Christ
41 Main St - Hatfield, MA 01038

Reverend Randy (413) 824-1630 ​
​
SERVICE TIMES
Sunday 9:30-10:30am 
Children Sunday School 9:30-10:30am
Nursery care available during worship

DONATE
Make a single or recurring contribution by clicking here
FOLLOW

COPYRIGHT ©2020 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH of HATFIELD, UCC
POWERED BY ROCKET
  • Welcome
    • FAQ
  • Visit
  • Community
    • Facility Use
  • Music
  • Pews News
  • Calendar
  • About
    • Reverend Randy
    • Our History
  • Contact
  • Donate