Knowing God - Isaiah 9:6

(fp)

For a child

has been born for us,

a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

 

At Thanksgiving, most of the kids in my house one day were talking about singing The Messiah. I think if we'd had an alto -- the only part missing -- they would have performed the whole thing on the spot.

 

My favorite line from Handel's great work comes from this verse: "Wonderful! Counselor! Almighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace!"

 

Peace and preparations are our theme for the second week of Advent. And it's almost impossible to combine peace with preparations in the month of December. We decorate and bake and shop. Every activity has a final performance. Every office has an extra party. Every class has an exam. More money flows out than replenishment flows in. And it's the same with energy -- more energy flows out than refreshment flows in. 

 

Where's the peace?

 

It's in the first line for today: "a child has been born for us."

 

Sit with that one for a moment. In fact, your Advent Adventure is to hunt for a quiet spot, and sit with prince of peace for a moment.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's working on his "day off"

(Oops. Prince of Peace I need you!)

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I have never heard all of Handel's Messiah, but yesterday I learned about a free audiobook about Handel that includes some excerpts from Messiah that' I've been listening to in the car. Did you know Handel was a Lutheran? But the theme - Peace. Where is it? Is it really possible? There are days where it feels so dark that I wonder if it even exists.