Fallen Into Knowledge

Okay, so here’s the story so far:

Yesterday evening, I sat basking in the prospects of a free weekend.  I wanted to get away, but I really didn’t want to spend the whole weekend cold.  Since I couldn’t think of anywhere I could go backpacking that would be even remotely warm, I ruled that out.

Then I had an idea:  Perhaps I could make use of my parents’ Worldmark connections.  I IM’ed my mom, to see if I could book a room, anywhere in the NW, for the next night, Friday.  I figured that wherever I could get a room, that’s where I’d go. I could be anywhere between Seattle and Kalamath Falls the next night; what sort of adventure I had would be shaped by where I got a room.

I am in Kalamath Falls.  Today I drove to Bend, had a burger and beer at the Bend brewing company, explored downtown Bend and Drake park while lunch settled, and then headed for the hills above LaPine. Tomorrow I will either spend the day in Ashland, or I will drive back up the coast on 101.  Depending on how I feel in the morning.

Some advenures work best when treated like “choose your own adventure” novels.

It is not without reason that commentaries on Isaiah generally divide it in half in between chapters 39 and 40: Isaiah 40-66 really feels like turning a corner. What struck me on this reading was the descriptions of the “Day of the Lord.” Well, actually everything that has to do with God bringing his people back from exile (from punishment) into the land. For me, reading the gospels through these passages completely overhauled my understanding of them.
When I began to see (the way was illumined by N.T. Wright’s work) that Jesus was pronouncing this “Day of the Lord’s Favor,” and saw how reading his word’s and actions in light of this proclamation made sense of Jesus’ ministry, my head spun. Now, I would go so far as to say that the more intimate one is with this chunk of Isaiah, the clearer Jesus’ message will be.