Week Two
December 8, 2021
A Hope Filled Longing for Joy
Isaiah 35: 3-7
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. Isaiah 35:5-7
Alienation is one of the conditions of living in exile. In Isaiah’s writings, we encounter people living under chaotic, disorienting experiences of oppression where there is a scarcity of hope.
For many living in the middle of an ongoing pandemic and the heightened racial and political tensions of the last five years, there is a profound sense of estrangement. One consequence of isolation and ongoing tensions is the struggle to maintain a sense of hope. The reminder that joy is more than a possibility it is a promise of abundant justice and healing.
In the wilderness of separation parched by feelings of loneliness and uncertainty about the future, the memory of connection and wholeness lingers in the distance like a mirage. The longing for refreshing springs of renewed health and relief from the suffering of Creation and her Peoples.
Isaiah reminds us there is still hope and the potential for joy as we remind one another and bear each other up while navigating the desert. God’s promise bubbles forth and the thirst abates and gives way to song. Even in precarious surroundings, we are not alone in our sojourn. Together, we can participate in compassion in such a way that a place of communion is created.
Dr. Lisa A. Dellinger
Visiting Assistant Professor of Constructive Theologies
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