Isaiah 40:25-31 (NIV)

25 “To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27 Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Reflection:

Have you ever looked up at the clear night sky to see a multitude of shining stars? It is like a sparkling white blanket that stretches from one end to the other. With so many stars, does it matter if one star were not there? Would anyone notice or care? In our thoughts, nobody would notice or care. But to the One who created them one by one and called each one forth by name, it does matter and it does make a difference. God notices and He cares. Sometimes, we may feel like a tiny star – hidden, insignificant and alone in a myriad of others. But it is at these times that God reminds us of who He really is. “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?” God asks us. The Lord is the everlasting God and the Creator of all. He does not grow tired or weary. He gives strength to the weak ones like us. So, as we wait and hope in the Lord, we will soar on wings like eagles, we will run and not grow weary, and we will walk and not be faint.

Response:

Because of who He is, we can wait on Him. We can rest assured and put our hope in the Lord who renews our strength. Let us bring all of our weariness and lay them before the Lord. He will help us so that we will soar, run and walk as we wait on His strength and power.

“Where Do We Migrate To?”, a national touring exhibition organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC), was reviewed for the June/July issue of Art in America. The exhibit was curated by Niels Van Tomme, director of arts and media at Provisions Learning Project in Washington, DC, and features 19 internationally-recognized artists and art collectives.

The works exhibited deal in various mediums with the subject of migration, ranging from the two video pieces by Kimsooja and Julika Rudelius which anchor the exhibition, to more sculptural and installation-oriented work by Blane De St. Croix and the French collective Claire Fontaine, and photographic prints by Xaviera Simmons, to name just a few. Markus characterized the exhibition as a success, saying that “intelligent curatorial decisions transformed what might have been a straightforward thematic survey into a thought-provoking examination of the discontinuities that persist in our steadily globalizing world.”

“Where Do We Migrate To?” was featured from February 3 to April 15 in the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, which is part of the Parsons New School for Design in New York City. It is being exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans from June 30 to October 7 according to Markus’ review, and will travel from there to the Ruben Center for the Visual Arts in El Paso, Texas, for dates to be announced.

Alumnus Erick Sahler ’89, Graphic Design and Art History, was featured on the news site Delmarvanow.com on June 28th, with a focus on his latest silkscreen print for purchase. The piece, entitled “Summer of ’61,”  is based on a photograph of the time, depicting the  Chincoteague, VA’s Island Theatre with its marquee featuring the 1961 film adaptation of Misty of Chincoteague, and a ’55 Ford in the foreground.

Sahler, who worked for Salisbury, MD’s The Daily Times as managing editor from 1989 to 2011, currently sells his artwork and screen prints under his “Erick Sahler Serigraphs” moniker, which was launched last year, according to his website. He spoke of his motivation behind his latest silkscreen, saying that he wanted “to capture the excitement of the young girl in the back seat, going to the theater in Chincoteague to see ‘Misty’ for the first time. Fifty years later, it’s still a wonderful thing to imagine.”

• Wednesday, June 13
• Tuesday, July 10
  
• Wednesday, July 11
• Thursday, July 12
• Thursday, July 31
  
• Wednesday, August 1(combined freshmen & transfer day)
• Friday, August 24
  

I’m Biological Sciences major, but I love art more than science/biology. I moved from South Korea to the United States about 6 years ago. When I first moved here, I couldn’t speak English at all, but I learned English by watching SpongeBob SquarePants, Fairy OddParents, and pretty much everything aired on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Visit the Discovery Scholars Living Learning Community's web page for more information about the program.

Isaiah 40:1-24 (NIV)

Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out.”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever. ”
9 You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD,
or instruct the LORD as his counselor?
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him,
and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
or showed him the path of understanding?
15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing;
they are regarded by him as worthless
and less than nothing.
18 With whom, then, will you compare God?
To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
24 No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

Reflection:

Seventy years is a very long time. It can encompass a whole lifetime, several generations and an entire era. It was especially long for the Israelites who had been taken captive and exiled to a foreign land. Feeling forgotten and abandoned by God, they were losing their identity, purpose and, most of all, hope. It was particularly hard because, in the midst of their troubles, they saw no end to their despair. Yet God, even before the start of the captivity, had already promised the end of their misery. “Comfort, comfort, my people” was God’s promise that came from the prophet Isaiah. God alone can come in power to forgive, restore and lead tenderly like a shepherd. As He sits enthroned above all rulers, princes or idols, we can wait on the Lord and trust in His enduring words of power and comfort.

Response:

When there seems to be no end to our troubles or pains, we look desperately for easy answers or rely on our own stamina or will power to get us through. But we can be assured that there is no one else like our God. Nothing compares to His love and comfort. As we wait on the Lord, let’s take hold of God’s enduring word that declares that “the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm.”