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Isaiah 65:17-25
This lesson promises that children will no longer be born for calamity, that there will be no more premature deaths in the city (vv.vv.21,23). As of late April, there had been 711 murders in 2019 in Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Brookings Institute found in 2013 that a child’s income level is closely related to the income his/her parents made. The lesson assures us that better days lie ahead, but not because of what we do. Martin Luther well expressed this point:

The Kingdom of Christ is not to be found there [while we live], but it rises to another place, where essence is not, but where faith is. So if I should feel sin, death, and evil and nothing good in my flesh, I must nevertheless believe in the Kingdom of Christ. For the Kingdom of Christ does not have its place in senses. (Luther’s Works, Vol.17, p.388)

Just because it feels hopeless, it does not mean all is lost. In fact, the first reformer adds:

In the Presence of God our prayers are regarded in such a way that they are answered before we call. I wish that this Promise were made use of to its utmost extent by all kinds of dangers... In this state of despair we must cry to God if not with our voice, then at least with our mouth. The prayer of the righteous man is answered before it is finished. (Ibid., p.392)

For this reason, Luther adds (indicating that the new reality has been realized), “To the extent that one is a Christian he is joy.” (Ibid.)  Confident in Jesus’ reassurances that all the premature deaths in our nation, and all the calamities of childhood many American kids are still facing, life can be a joy for them and for us.
Mark E.

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Isaiah 65:17-25
This reading is often entitled, “The Peaceable Kingdom” because of its reference to the wolf and the lamb lying together, the lion eating hay with the ox. Really though, this passage is also a reminder of God’s transforming love. God is creating something new, something unknown and unseen before. The city will rejoice. There will be no more want. There will be no more tears. What joy this day will bring! We wait, impatiently sometimes, for the day when lament and pain will be no more. But in the meantime my friends, know God’s dream for us, God’s hope for our future, and be glad.
Bonnie B.

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Isaiah 65:17--66:1
If we had a new heaven and a new earth, then who was elected president in the US on that new earth? When I see the news, I feel we need a new earth.

I hope the new Jerusalem will be like a new America.

We’d like to live on a new earth, but we like some things to be familiar.

I’m only 92, but it would be fun to be over a hundred. lt sounds like we will be good farmers. I hate farming. I had to try taking weeds out of a carrot patch once, but I kept pulling up carrots and trying to stick them back in the ground. I was fired.

We each have a calling, but we need to hear what God is calling us to do.

I like the idea that if we call, God will hear   So we need to make sure we hear His answer.
Bob O.

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
In recognition of Virginia’s 1786 Statue for Religious Freedom, President Barack Obama declared January 16, 2011 to be “Religious Freedom Day.” It is the acknowledgement of the one of the most basic principles of the United States, to tolerate all religious faiths and to never bring retribution upon those who choose not to believe. The President’s opening sentence is a poignant declaration of what America stands for, “Our nation was founded on a shared commitment to the values of justice, freedom and equality.”
Ron L.

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
A farmer once observed, "The hardest thing about milking cows, is that they never stay milked."

Work doesn’t seem to end sometimes, but it does matter. Mark Greene of the Billy Graham Association wrote, “Through work, God gives us the opportunity to give Him praise for the way He has made us.” He continues, “In the workplace you have relationships—lots of them. And in the workplace people can see the difference that Jesus makes in your life because everything is the same—the boss, the corporate culture, the industry pressure—everything except Jesus in you. If you lose your temper people see it: Do you apologize, or don’t you apologize? You get promoted and you don’t deserve it; you get promoted and you do deserve it—how do you handle it?”

Paul makes it clear in this passage that God created human beings to work. There is something right about that. Verse 12 notes, “Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” Our work also matters because it is an opportunity for us to honor God with our witness. So, as the seven dwarfs once sang, “Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it’s off to work we go.”
Bill T.

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
When Paul writes, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat (3:10).” what was he referring to? Perhaps a clue comes from the Didache, a first century church manual that outlines instructions for receiving Christians from other communities. Section 12 invites congregation to receive all travelers, to feed them and help them on their way. If they stay more than three days, then they should be invited to work with other Christians to produce the product that put bread on the table. Everybody works. Everybody eats. If someone refuses to work, well then, “he is a Christ-monger,” the Didache says, creating a new word in the process!
Frank R.

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Luke 21:5-19
We are fighting in Afghanistan the longest war in American history (and we don’t even care unless we’ve got GI’s in the family). Everywhere there are evidences of famines, earthquakes, and other environmental changes. Are we in the end times? John Calvin felt like that in a way we are now in the end times, but that first things will get even worse, as he claimed that the situation described in our lesson, that we encounter today, “would only be a sort of preparation for greater calamities...” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.124) Martin Luther describes our present situation well, why in the midst of all the chaos we can still feel secure:

Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, righteousness, and every good and blessing. He has snatched up, poor lost creatures, from the jaws of hell, owned us, made us free, and restored us to the Father’s favor and grace. At His own possession He has taken us under His protection and shelter, in order that He may rule us by His righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness. (Book of Concord [Kolb and Wengert, eds.], p.434)

John Wesley’s comments are sound advice for us as we wait for God’s promise to be entirely fulfilled:

Be calm and serene, masters of yourselves, and superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. By keeping the government of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery and guard the better against all dangers. (Commentary On the Bible, p.450)
Mark E.

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Luke 21:5-19
The message is not happy or even pleasant. There will be wars and insurrections. There will be famines, plagues and earthquakes. It does not seem to be hope-filled in any way. There is much tumult before eternal peace comes to us. It will be hard on us, but we are called to stay the course, to keep the faith, to remain anchored in the word. That’s a challenging task when it seems the world is crashing all around you. Yet, Jesus is clear. These challenging times will give you an opportunity to testify to the love, grace, and redemption of God. In all our challenging moments and days, may we fulfill this wish of Jesus.
Bonnie B.

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Luke 21:5-19
This text reminded me of the fire that destroyed Notre Dame. The people in France all plan to rebuild and in this text it is not only the wall that will be restored. Jesus disciples will also be hurt and even killed, but their work will succeed.
Bob O.