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Stories Seldom Heard
305th Edition - December 2024
Voices of Hope: Isaiah Begins
Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard. I would especially like to welcome the
sisters, associates, companions and friends of the Dominican Sisters of
Blauvelt, Caldwell, Sparkill and the Religious of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
New York.
Advent is both a season of vigilance and hope. It invites us to reflect
on the warnings of the prophets whose radical voices not only alerted their
contemporaries, but warn us as well. Isaiah is one of those voices. He was a man
of profound faith: a faith that enabled him to condemn the destructive forces of
his day, while at the same time, see through the darkness and proclaim without
hesitancy words of hope. His voice instructs us during this Advent season. Stay
awake, he says. Identify and confront the evils of our day: the false prophets
and the chaos they sow. He also instructs us to stay awake and be attentive to
the invisible God whose presence we meet every day. Because we have the eyes of
faith we, like Isaiah, can wait attentively for the Light to dispel the
darkness. All is not dark. There are other prophets in scripture and authors who
reflect Isaiah’s theology. Tagore, the Indian poet/philosopher, offered his
contemporaries a poetic image that reflects Isaiah’s and our Advent faith.
“Faith is like the bird who feels the light and sings while the dawn is still
dark.”
Advent is a season of preparation: a time to prepare ourselves to celebrate
Christ’s birth. It’s a time to commit ourselves to prayer, to consciously make
space and reflect on our lives and the world around us. With this in mind, I am
suggesting the following. Set aside 15 minutes each day to pray with the
following quotes from the Prophet Isaiah and other insightful preachers.
Journal. Write a prayer. Draw an image. Create a poem. Spend quality time
reflecting on these hope-filled voices especially when we feel anxious or
uprooted by the daily news.
Hope looms large in the second part of the Book of Isaiah. Beginning with
Chapter 40, “The Book of the Consolation of Israel,” Isaiah offers us comforting
words. He paints the big picture and asks us questions, questions that lift us
out of our everyday concerns; questions that ask us to consider the immensity
and vastness of creation and our place in it.
Who has measured with their palm the waters, marked off the heavens
with a span, held in their fingers the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains
in scales and the hills in a balance? Who advised the spirit
of God? What counselor could have instructed God? See, the nations
count as a drop in the bucket, as a wisp of cloud on the scales; the
coastlands weigh no more than a speck.” You whom I brought from
the confines of the earth, and called from the end of the world (40:12-13).
Similarly, Job in The Book of Job asks:
Have you visited the place where snow is kept or seen
where hail is stored up? Who carves a channel for the
downpour and hacks a way for the rolling thunder? What
womb brings forth ice and gives birth to the frost of heaven
when the waters grow hard as stone? (Job 38: 22, 25)
Isaiah reminds us that God does not leave us on our own. Echoing the psalms,
“God’s strong right arm upholds us.”
You are my servant, I have chosen you, not rejected you.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; stop being anxious and
watch, for I am your God. I give you strength. I hold you with
my right hand (Is 41:9 -10).
God has led us through many challenges before and is leading us now through
experiences that threaten us with “death.” But!
Should you pass through the sea I will be with you. Should you walk through fire
you will not be scorched and the flames will not burn you.
You are precious in my eyes and I love you (43:2-4).
I have formed you. I will not forget you (Isaiah 44:21).
Psalm 27 reminds us that God can never abandon us. “Even if my father and mother
abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.”
God is always calling us to something new, a deeper trust and relationship. We
were birthed out of Love and Love continues revealing our true identity.
I call you by a new name… No longer are you to be named
forsaken, nor your land abandoned, but you shall be called
my delight for I take delight in you (Isaiah 62:2).
Something new is happening to all of us. There is no one word to express our
experiences. We are slowly identifying the depth of the changes. Yet, we are
confident that the Divine is with us as we respond.
No need to recall the past, no need to think about what was done before.
See I am doing something new, even now it comes to light. Can you not
see it? Yes, I am making a road in the wilderness, paths in the wild
(Isaiah 43:18).
It is helpful to recall the past, but Isaiah is emphasizing that God is doing
something even more astounding now. We trust God because God has seen us through
fire and storm. In those times of pain and struggle new visions were born.
Obedience to God requires a willingness to go forward in trust even when it is
impossible to see how God will bring blessing and goodness out of the horrendous
suffering.
Isaiah, Job and the Psalms are ancient voices of hope. In our modern world their
words take on a new energy and focus. Their visions challenge us to deepen our
hope. Strengthened by prayer, we are able to stand firm and wait for God’s
promises to be fully realized.
This waiting time we call Advent gives us pause to reflect on our lives in
prayer and silence. It gives us time to ask what is happening around us. It
gives us a chance to make new choices about how we can birth hope in our lives
and the lives of others. Our actions and attitudes have important repercussions.
When we give bread to another, it feeds real hungers. When we attentively listen
to another, it feeds the soul. When we work on issues of justice with people of
good will striving for the common good, we help bring about the restoration of
the land and the people. When we work to protect the earth, others will join us
because they realize they are protecting their children’s children.
Hope rests in trusting and actively believing that God can do great things even
in the “even if” parts of our lives. Even if there is greed in the world, there
are many people sharing their food and their resources with those who are in
need. Even if there is a growing fear of violence and continued escalation of
war, there are people everywhere choosing the path of reconciliation and active
nonviolence. Even if we experience the power of international corporations,
there is a large and ever-growing movement of international socially responsible
investors whose voices cannot be shut out of corporate board rooms or political
caucuses. Even if the powerful oil and gas corporations dominated the Climate
Conference, there are vocal and larger coalitions forcing their way forward.
I hope this article will encourage you to spend time in prayer reflecting on
these quotes or other significant writings. Perhaps by doing so we will become
like the bird who feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark – true
Advent people!
An additional Prayer:
A Prayer of a mystic Anonymous
Every noon at twelve in the blazing heat God comes to me in the form of two
hundred grams of gruel. I know God in every grain. I taste God in every lick. I
commune with God as I gulp, for God keeps me alive, with two hundred grams of
gruel. I wait until next noon and now know God will come; I can hope to live one
day more for you made God come to me as two hundred grams of gruel. I know now
that God loves me – not until you made it possible. Now I know what you’re
speaking about for God so loved the world that God gave God’s only son every
noon through you.
Special thanks to Mary Ellen Green and Maria
Hetherton who have helped in editing this article. Also, special thanks
to Bob McGrath who conscientiously mails SSH to you each
month. Without Bob’s generosity this service would not be possible. To make
changes or remove your name from Stories Seldom Heard mailing list, please
contact Bob at robert.mcgrath@mgrc.com.
Thank you. Enjoy the beginning of Advent.
"Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister
Patricia Bruno, O.P. Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael,
California. This service is offered to the Christian community to enrich one's
personal and spiritual life. The articles can be used for individual or group
reflection. If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend,
please send a note to Sister Patricia at brunoop2017@gmail.com. If you would
like to support this ministry, please send a donation to Dominican Sisters
of San Rafael, c/o Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P.,
40 Locust Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. Thank you.
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