SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11 + Hallelujah!
1 Corinthians 9:6-23
Mark 1:29-39
In the morning,
while it was still very dark,
[Jesus] got up
and went out to a deserted place,
and there he prayed.
- Mark 1:35
Can you imagine going outdoors with Jesus in the wee hours of the morning, sensing the sky and the earth and the plants and the animals ?
Maybe you don’t need much imagination for this: maybe you’ve experienced it for yourself !?
Christ the Word of God was in the beginning with the Father and knows all of creation intimately as God. And Christ the Word of God inspired the poets to set down psalms and prophecies from earliest human writing, testifying to the Creator’s relationship with creation. Try to imagine the thoughts of the Son of God, under the pre-dawn sky. What did he notice ? What did he find remarkable ? What made him smile, or frown, out there ?
So I envy Jesus’ disciples their access to him, out there in the darkness on the hills of the Galilee. If I could wander out there with him (in person), first I would check with my scientist friends, to hone the questions I would ask him. He understands all mysteries !
What would you— what do you ask him in the wee, small hours of the morning ?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in....
“To whom then will you compare me,
or who is My equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?” [the lights in the sky]
He who brings out their host
and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because He is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
- Isaiah 40: 21 – 22, 25 – 26
Praise the LORD!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for He is gracious,
and a song of praise is fitting.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
He gives to all of them their names.
Great is our LORD, and abundant in power;
His understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
He casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11 + Hallelujah!
1 Corinthians 9:6-23
Mark 1:29-39
In the morning,
while it was still very dark,
[Jesus] got up
and went out to a deserted place,
and there he prayed.
- Mark 1:35
Can you imagine going outdoors with Jesus in the wee hours of the morning, sensing the sky and the earth and the plants and the animals ?
Maybe you don’t need much imagination for this: maybe you’ve experienced it for yourself !?
Christ the Word of God was in the beginning with the Father and knows all of creation intimately as God. And Christ the Word of God inspired the poets to set down psalms and prophecies from earliest human writing, testifying to the Creator’s relationship with creation. Try to imagine the thoughts of the Son of God, under the pre-dawn sky. What did he notice ? What did he find remarkable ? What made him smile, or frown, out there ?
So I envy Jesus’ disciples their access to him, out there in the darkness on the hills of the Galilee. If I could wander out there with him (in person), first I would check with my scientist friends, to hone the questions I would ask him. He understands all mysteries !
What would you— what do you ask him in the wee, small hours of the morning ?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in....
“To whom then will you compare me,
or who is My equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?” [the lights in the sky]
He who brings out their host
and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because He is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
- Isaiah 40: 21 – 22, 25 – 26
Praise the LORD!
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
for He is gracious,
and a song of praise is fitting.
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
He gives to all of them their names.
Great is our LORD, and abundant in power;
His understanding is beyond measure.
The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
He casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
Barry Moser
The Holy Bible: Viking Studio Edition, 1999
The Holy Bible: Viking Studio Edition, 1999
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure
in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His steadfast love.
-Psalm 147: 1 – 11
nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure
in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in His steadfast love.
-Psalm 147: 1 – 11
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