Sarum College logo
  • All learning
    • Short Courses
      • Exploring Theology
    • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
      • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
      • Postgraduate Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
      • Guided Independent Research
    • Sarum College Course in Spiritual Direction
    • Private Stays, Retreats & Study Breaks
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Library
      • Guide to Library Services
    • Learning Resources
  • Ministry
    • Ordination
      • Undergraduate Award
      • Postgraduate Award
      • Rural ministry
      • Parish-based pioneer ministry
    • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
    • Independent Study
  • Stay, Meet & Eat
  • Courses & Events Diary
  • Join the mailing list
Sarum College logo
  • Course brochure
  • About Us
    • Our People
    • Governance
    • Work with us
  • Safeguarding
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • All learning
    • Short Courses
      • Exploring Theology
    • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
      • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Postgraduate Study
      • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
      • Postgraduate Study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
      • Guided Independent Research
    • Sarum College Course in Spiritual Direction
    • Private Stays, Retreats & Study Breaks
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • Library
      • Guide to Library Services
    • Learning Resources
  • Ministry
    • Ordination
      • Undergraduate Award
      • Postgraduate Award
      • Rural ministry
      • Parish-based pioneer ministry
    • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
    • Independent Study
  • Stay, Meet & Eat
  • Courses & Events Diary
  • Join the mailing list

Lectionary Reading Blog for 25 December: Christmas Day

Home News Lectionary Reading Blog for 25 December: Christmas Day

This is an archived post. For current news, please visit our News and Features page.

College News

LiturgyandSpiritualityThe lyrics of Awesome God begin with “When he rolls up his sleeves”. These lyrics later continue with “There is thunder in his footsteps and lightning in his fists”.

This is about God as mighty warrior rather than God as little baby. The first impression of our Isaiah reading is of peace, joy and salvation: very suitable for Christmas.

But then in verse 10 God “bares his holy arm”. Suddenly I also notice the ruins of Jerusalem, the sentinels and of course the message of peace. These are all markers of war. The messenger comes to report from a battle. Only in conflict does the message of peace make sense. This passage reflects Ps. 98 where we also hear of God’s holy arm giving victory. Is the bare holy arm in verse 10 really the arm of the warrior God who only has to show his sword for his enemies to scatter? The imagery of war is present but implicit.

In Isaiah 53:1 we have a very different arm “revealed” although the word for bare or uncover in Hebrew in these two verses is different, the image is the same. If we read Is.52:10 in the context of Is. 53:1 the question becomes, ‘what do we see when God shows his arm?’. The nations in 52:10 see ‘salvation’ or ‘help’ (yeshuah – like Jesus); in 53:1 it is only the servant, “the man of sorrow acquainted with grief”, who understands what it means when God reveals his arm. I think when God rolls up his sleeves (shows his power) we might see a baby rather than a sword. Awesome indeed.

25 December 2016
Isaiah 52: 7-10


This weekly blog on one of the lectionary readings is by Anna-Claar Thomasson-Rosingh, Coordinator for the Centre for Encountering the Bible and Director of Studies for the Centre for Formation in Ministry.

Previous postNext post

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sarum College logo

Get in touch

  • info@sarum.ac.uk
  • 01722 424800

Find us on maps

  • Sarum College, 19 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EE, UK

Stay in the know

Sign up to our newsletter

Learning

  • Prospective Students – Ways to Learn
    • Grantmaking Trusts
  • Theology, Imagination & Culture
  • Christian Spirituality
  • Bible & Sacred Texts
  • Exploring Theology
  • Human Flourishing
  • Leadership Learning
  • Spiritual Direction
  • Learning Resources
    • Grantmaking Trusts
    • SarumLearn login

Postgraduate study & research

  • Postgraduate Study in Christian Spirituality
  • Postgraduate study in Theology, Ministry and Mission
  • Library
  • SarumLearn

Ministry

  • Ordination
  • Licensed Lay Ministry / Readers
  • Independent Study
  • Parish-based pioneer ministry
  • Postgraduate Award
  • Rural ministry
  • Undergraduate Award

The College

  • About Us
  • Travel to Sarum College
  • Our People
  • Governance
  • Hospitality
  • Private Stays, Retreats, Study Breaks and Sabbaticals
  • Work with us

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy|Accessibility

© 2025 Sarum College|Registered Charity No. 1161253|Company No. 9510356|Sarum College's trading subsidiary is Sarum College Services Ltd, Company No. 1931038|Website by blue bee

Sign up to our newsletter

Fill in and submit the form below and we'll add you to our mailing list for news about Sarum College.

"*" indicates required fields

What are you interested in?

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.