Holy Defiance [Advent 3A - Isaiah 35:1-10]
The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Isaiah 35:1-10 Holy Defiance There were no crocuses, no majestic cedars brushing the clouds with their branches, no reeds or rushes swaying in the gentle breeze. There were no refreshing pools of water in which to escape the summer sun. They were just a dream – all of them. They were products of the prophetic imagination of the prophet Isaiah. He was looking for the Garden of Eden in a golden sea of sand. It was a fool’s errand. But so is most of the prophet’s work, and so this was par for the course. Isaiah’s task was to dream contagious dreams, to kindle the delicate flame of hope in a hopeless people living in a hopeless world. It was his job to remind them that, on the other side of their pain, God had a better future in mind. Isaiah wasn’t asking them to be optimistic; he was challenging them to have hope. And there is a difference. Optimism is a flim...