Monday, March 11, 2013

Word for Today

From Isaiah 43:
  18Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
  19I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

From John 12:
 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 


I invite you to click on the link above for a few spectacular examples of "rivers in the desert."

Bill Bryson, in the book "A Walk in the Woods" muses about the U.S. Forest Service. For all the good the Forest Service does, they also have a tendency to build a lot of roads. Paraphrasing Bryson, the Forest Service will look at a mountain-scape and say, "wow, that is so beautiful. I bet we can put a road through there."

Is this what the book of Isaiah means with this image? Is God interested in providing water for those who live in the desert, or a highway for those who want to get through the mountains?

I think the metaphor speaks for itself and is even more powerful as such. Through God's own power, God is going to make the impossible possible. God will make safe passage through the wilds of life, and will be satisfaction for the driest of souls.

Think of Mary's gift as a stream in the desert. Her love and devotion to the Lord changed that moment, even the air in the room was different!

May God be for you the way through the wilderness, the river in your desert.




Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church
541.889.9349

/W/orshipping/I/nviting/S/tudying/E/ncouraging/G/iving/P/raying/S/erving

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