The beginning of the Book of Isaiah identifies the period covered by the prophet: "The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." This would place the ministry of Isaiah roughly in the period 750-700 BC, during the latter …
A Vocabulary for the Journey
Today's reading from Isaiah 11:10-12:2 skips the first half of chapter 11, which is rather strange. Perhaps because it's one of the readings of the Christmas Vespers? While the Flood narrative continues in Genesis, I'd like to focus on the whole of chapter 11 of Isaiah. The shoot from the root of Jesse has always …
The Word and my words
And so we begin. During the weekdays of Lent, the Orthodox Church reads from the Old Testament instead of the Gospels and the Letters of Paul. And three books of the Old Testament in particular are read on a daily basis: Genesis, Isaiah and Proverbs. Today, it's the beginning of each of those three books: …
When did the good news become a gospel?
Today's Gospel reading is the first eight verses of the Gospel written by Mark. Here's how it begins: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet... The Greek word translated as "gospel" is evangelion = "good news." So how did "good news" …
