Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return:‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.’ From Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25, NRSV Isaiah’s words were addressed…
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For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly.They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord— the remnant of Israel;they shall do no wrong and utter no lies,nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them…
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I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel;it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites. From Numbers 24:2-7,15-17, NRSV In today’s reading we hear the prophecy of Balaam who was the least…
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The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory;he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love;he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. From Zephaniah 3:14-18, NRSV On this Gaudete…
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Then Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his word burned like a torch.He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.How glorious you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose…
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O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea;your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains;their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me. From Isaiah 48:17-19, NRSV In…
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For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand;it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ From Isaiah 41:13-20, NRSV Isaiah’s prophecy was to a people still in captivity who had little reason to believe that their situation would improve any time soon. Yet, Isaiah brings them a message of…
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But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you…
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Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to herthat she has served her term, that her penalty is paid,that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. From Isaiah 40:1-11, NRSV In today’s first reading, we hear further words of consolation for God’s people. Although it…
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The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. From Isaiah 35:1-10, NRSV…
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