Such radical love leaves us speechless, but you gave it human form and shape in the person of Jesus, in whom your promises of healing and empowerment were fulfilled. We give you thanks and praise for blessing our lives in this way, and we pray that in Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we too can become radical lovers of the powerless, and passionate bearers of hope to those whose lives are filled with despair and hopelessness. May this time of worship be a true expression of our desire to praise and glorify you, O God, for the many ways in which you bless us, and may our lives reveal our gratitude in all we think, and do, and say. This we pray in Jesus' name. If the machine is overloaded, when it is time for the clothes to spin, the washine machine spins out of control before it comes to a stop.
Someone has to rearrange the clothes or even remove some before the machine spins smoothly.
The people, young and old, of the prophet Isaiah's time felt that they had lost control of their lives as their enemies had forced them to leave their homes and their country. Like many refugees nowadays, they had to leave behind precious possessions and familiar landmarks. They believed that God had abandoned them, but Isaiah assured them of God's love and of God's promise to love and care for them. And that promise came true when Jesus came to show us God's love in person - to assure people that God is certainly in control of the world. And, although Jesus is no longer here in person, he makes us strong enough to help those whose lives seem to be spinning out of control - with his love in us, we can help make lives run smoothly again.