The Trajectory of Resurrection - Isaiah 65:17-25



The following is a targum inspired by Isaiah 65:17-25.[1]  A targum is an ancient Jewish practice where you take a text of scripture and then adapt the text to your own context.  It’s a way of helping us imagine how scripture might apply to our current situation.  The passage in Isaiah 65 is about God’s dream of restoration, bringing beauty from the ashes of Israel’s tragedy.  So this is my dream, inspired by His dream.  It’s written specifically about Newberg. 

Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating;

For I am about to create Newberg as a joy, and its people as a delight. No more shall the wailing of a broken family be heard in it.  No more shall 99W divide the rich and poor[2]; no more shall fears and misconceptions shape the way races see each other; no more shall drug addiction steal mothers and fathers away from their children; no more shall George Fox be a community unto itself[3]; no more shall it happen that divided churches happily craft exquisite choruses, while they overlook their neighbor’s hurts.

Relationships shall be put back together; side by side brown, white, and black shall plant, harvest, and profit; the churches shall be woven together, their unity shall be a shield against injustice and suffering; their harmony a door to reconciliation and restoration; their peace a sumptuous dinner for the hungry.

Yes, the people of Newberg shall be a people blessed by the Lord.  The neighborhoods of the North and the South, the wealthy and those scraping-by shall all feast together at my table.  

Yes, the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Friends, the Evangelicals, the Roman Catholics, the Presbyterians, and all their sisters and brothers shall join me in creating a town of joy and shalom. No longer will anyone bring harm, injustice, division, or destruction to Newberg, says the Lord.
Such is the trajectory of Christ’s resurrection.  May his dream be our dream.



[1] You can read about targums here.  And here is a link to Isaiah 65:17-25.
[2] There are lots of people who live south of 99W that aren’t poor and plenty who live north who aren’t rich.  However, no matter who I talk to it seems to be in our heads that this road divides people, that the experience of living on one side of it is better than the other.
[3] This probably sounds like I’m pushing my perspective of Fox onto it, but actually this line came out of conversations with folks who work and go to school at Fox.

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