Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 40:1-11   Immanuel The first word broke the silence, a silence that had lingered for far too long.   It had been a haunting silence, a painful silence, a silence heavy with lament.     That silence, it lives between the end of the 39 th chapter of Isaiah and the first word of chapter 40.   For over a century the prophet went silent.   There were no words.   Somehow more than 150 years of silence abides in the little white space of your Bible that separates the two prophetic oracles.     While the nation waited a century and a half to hear a word from God, a lot happened.   The Babylonian empire rose to power and Jerusalem fell into ruin.   The Davidic dynasty died.   The Temple was reduced to rubble.   And the people were carried away into exile and deposited by the rivers of Babylon.   And all the while the silence, that persistent, deafening silence.  ...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson 1 Kings 19:1-15a Done I think I know what is going on here: Elijah is trying to get fired.   He’s done.   He wants out and he wants out now.   I mean just look at the story we heard this morning from the first book of Kings.   Elijah runs away from the job site, falls asleep on the job, and then tells his boss that he would rather be dead than punch the clock one more time.   This prophet is practically daring God to hand him his walking papers. But it wasn’t always like this.   In fact, Elijah is coming directly off of his biggest professional triumph.   The chapter preceding today’s Old Testament lesson details his epic showdown with the prophets of Baal and with the royals of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.   You might remember that one: in an astounding display Elijah calls down fire from heaven to devour offering and altar after the whimpering prophets of the Canaanite deity Baal fail to conjure as...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson The Silence Not so fast. I know there are colorful eggs to hide. I know there are baskets to fill. I know there are hams to honey. I know that Easter is just around the corner and there are just so many things to do. But before the trumpets announce the resurrection with their assertive brassy shouts, there is a rest; it is written into the music, into our song – a long indefinite pause that disrupts the frantic rhythm of our lives. Death does that. And this death more than any other. In the shadow of the cross, there are no words to say. There is only silence, and a stunning absence of life. Historical perspective and liturgical repetition tell us that this terrible cross does not have the last word, that this death is not final, but every death before and every death since, they were final – and those who witnessed Jesus' death did not have the luxury of skipping ahead in the story. So to all those standing by...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 40:1-11 The Word that Breaks that Silence This is what happens after silence.   This.   This is what happens after silence – a long silence, a forever kind of silence.   This is what happens.   A Word.   A word is spoken and the silence is broken; the silence is no more; it is forever interrupted.   This is what happens after silence.   After the 39 th   chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah there is a 150 year silence.   Before there is a chapter 40; before the prophetic word we heard today.   For a century and a half the prophetic voice does not speak.   The book of Isaiah is actually three books, a prophetic voice spoken through multiple mouths over a long, long time.   There was a cry – an oracle of impending doom – a threat of exile.   And then there was silence – a long silence. A long silence filled with tragedy.   There was the rise of Babylon the ...