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?He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name;because he is great in strength, not one is missing. From Isaiah 40:25-31, NRSV Isaiah’s words…
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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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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 40:1-5,9-11, NRSV In today’s first reading, we hear further words of consolation for God’s people. Although it…
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Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide…
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On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll,and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. From Isaiah 29:17-24, NRSV In previous chapters from the book of Isaiah,…
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Trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low.He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. From Isaiah 26:1-6, NRSV These words form part of what is entitled “Judah’s Song of Victory”. Such…
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On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations;he will swallow…
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A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall…
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He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks;nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more From Isaiah 2:1-5, NRSV As Advent begins and our attention turns to the coming of Christ, we are…
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