Author: Administrador

The song of the vineyard is a ditty turned tragic. What begins as a simple, even simplistic, song about love gone wrong slides into a minor and discordant key. A harmless exercise in listening quickly turns painful as the audience is caught in a rhetorical trap. Isaiah 5:1-7 introduces a series of woes leveled against … Continue reading “Isaiah 5:1-7 Commentary by Mark S. Gignilliat”

In the classical show tune, “My Funny Valentine,” Billie Smith sings an ironic love song, describing her lover’s imperfections:“Your looks are laughable, unphotographable, yet you’re my favorite work of art.”  Despite these many imperfections, or perhaps even because of them, Billie encourages Val, “But don’t you change one hair for me, not if you care … Continue reading “Isaiah 5:1-7 Commentary by David G. Garber Jr.”

The speaker is Isaiah (“my”; 5:1, 9); the prophet speaks in the first person for the first time. The “beloved,” the owner of the vineyard, is God and the “vineyard” is Israel (5:7). After speaking 5:1-2, Isaiah quotes God in 5:3-6 and then returns to speak the balance of the chapter. For Isaiah to refer … Continue reading “Isaiah 5:1-7 Commentary by Terence E. Fretheim”

For the second Sunday in a row, the lectionary features a poetic text from Isaiah with a strong emphasis on social justice. Isaiah 1:10-20 made the case that God values justice as much as, if not more than, worship. Now, Isaiah 5:1-7 suggests that the establishment of a just society was the single desired outcome … Continue reading “Isaiah 5:1-7 Commentary by Blake Couey”

To preach on this text stands us in good stead: Isaiah preached on it, too! Or so it seems. The text occurs twice in the Bible-with minor variations-here in Isaiah and again in Micah 4:1-3. Interpreters have had as little success solving the “Which came first?” question as folks have had with the proverbial chicken … Continue reading “Isaiah 2:1-5 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”

Isaiah’s vision begins with “the mountain of the Lord’s house” (2:2). We’ve already seen this mountain: “Fair Zion,” abandoned hut, city besieged, center of a land ravaged by war (1:6-8). After this devastation follows a new word and new days (2:2). Zion will be established, made secure, firm, and lasting. It will also be lifted … Continue reading “Isaiah 2:1-5 Commentary by Anathea Portier-Young”

The First Readings for Advent, Year A, provide particularly rich visual gifts. On all four Sundays these readings come from the book of Isaiah, and each reading is filled with visual images that could shape our preaching. Even if you don’t follow the lectionary these texts from Isaiah are still worth considering. You probably know … Continue reading “Isaiah 2:1-5 Commentary by Barbara Lundblad”

A single stop in the book of Isaiah should not presume a complete picture of the narrative texture of the book. If one seeks to build a historical narrative through the use of a narrative lectionary, the book of Isaiah will confound any simplistic attempt. Whatever other label one might give to the book of … Continue reading “Isaiah 1:10-20; 2:1-4 Commentary by Richard W. Nysse”

Reform School – for Everyone When I was in junior high school, I remember hearing that one of my schoolmates would not be coming back in the fall. He would have to spend a year in “Reform School.” He had stolen a car, in fact several cars. The next year Tommy was back, attending classes … Continue reading “Isaiah 1:10-18 Commentary by James Limburg”

When I come to church, I do not usually imagine God covering the divine eyes out of disgust for my worship, but this is the exact image this passage places before its readers. The poem examines the interplay of sin and sacrifice, asserting that one can negate the efficacy of the other. This is not … Continue reading “Isaiah 1:10-18 Commentary by Corrine Carvalho”