Luke 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Today on Christmas, I’ll share with you Thomas Merton’s words. In Seasons of Celebration, he writes about the birth of Christ. Merton is particularly moved by Christ as light, and our human need not only to receive the light within us, but more, to allow the light to shine through us. This is what Merton says:
Christ is born. He is born to us. And, he is born today. For Christmas is not merely a day like every other day. It is a day made holy and special by a sacred mystery. It is not merely another day in the weary round of time. Today, eternity enters into time and time, sanctified, is caught up into eternity. Today, Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father, who was in the beginning with the Father, in whom all things were made, by whom all things consist, enters into the world which he created in order to reclaim souls who have lost their identity. Therefore, the Church exults as the angels come down to announce not merely an old thing that happened long ago, but a new thing that happens today. For, today, God the Father makes all things new, in his Divine Son, our Redeemer, according to his words: Ecce nova facio omnia. . . .
At Christmas, more than ever, it is fitting to remember that we have no other light but Christ, who is born to us today. Let us reflect that he came down from heaven to be our light, and our life. He came, as he himself assures us, to be our way, by which we may return to the Father. Christ gives us light today to know him, in the Father and ourselves in him, so that thus knowing and possessing Christ, we may have life everlasting with him in the Father. . . .
Having realized, once again, who it is that comes to us, and having remembered that he alone is our light, let us open our eyes to the rising Sun, let us hasten to receive him and let us come together to celebrate the great mystery of charity which is the sacrament of our salvation and of our union in Christ. Let us receive Christ that we may in all truth be “light in the Lord” and that Christ may shine not only to us, but through us, and that we may all burn together in the sweet light of his presence in the world: I mean his presence in us, for we are his Body and his Holy Church. . . .
Christ, light of light, is born today, and since he is born to us, he is born in us as light and therefore we who believe are born today to new light. That is to say, our souls are born to new life and new grace by receiving him who is the Truth. For Christ, invisible in his own nature, has become visible in our nature. What else can this mean, except that first he has become visible as a man and second he has become visible in his Church? He wills to be visible in us, to live in us, and save us through his secret action in our own hearts and the hearts of our neighbors. So, we must receive the light of the newborn Savior by faith, in order to manifest it by our witness in common praise and by the works of our charity towards one another.
[Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration, pp. 102-105.]
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Christmas Eve - December 24, 2019
Luke 1:67-79
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
• Luke introduces this prayer of Zechariah as a “prophecy.” The Church has traditionally called it the “Canticle of Zechariah,” that is, a song. Furthermore, the Church has traditionally prayed these words of Zechariah as the conclusion to the liturgy of morning prayer in the office of daily prayer, where it is called the Benedictus.
• The song is Zechariah’s prayer of praise to God and expression of gratitude for his song John. It is, however, also a fitting prompt for our own prayer.
• Today, on Christmas Eve, find a moment to slow yourself from all the things that are tugging at you for your attention . . . the food, the family, the last-minute runs to the store . . . and give a few moments of dedicated space to these words. Read the passage two or three times slowly.
• Notice the lines that stir you. You might write them in your journal. Stay with the words or phrases that seem to have the most energy for you. Work with them. Let them speak to you about your life . . . about your hopes . . . about your dashed dreams . . . about your fears . . . about what you hold closest to your heart.
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
• Luke introduces this prayer of Zechariah as a “prophecy.” The Church has traditionally called it the “Canticle of Zechariah,” that is, a song. Furthermore, the Church has traditionally prayed these words of Zechariah as the conclusion to the liturgy of morning prayer in the office of daily prayer, where it is called the Benedictus.
• The song is Zechariah’s prayer of praise to God and expression of gratitude for his song John. It is, however, also a fitting prompt for our own prayer.
• Today, on Christmas Eve, find a moment to slow yourself from all the things that are tugging at you for your attention . . . the food, the family, the last-minute runs to the store . . . and give a few moments of dedicated space to these words. Read the passage two or three times slowly.
• Notice the lines that stir you. You might write them in your journal. Stay with the words or phrases that seem to have the most energy for you. Work with them. Let them speak to you about your life . . . about your hopes . . . about your dashed dreams . . . about your fears . . . about what you hold closest to your heart.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Fourth Monday of Advent - December 23, 2019
Luke 1:57-66
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
• The nativity of Jesus includes the story of the son born to Elizabeth and Zechariah. This miraculous birth – the one who would be known as John the Baptizer – gives much attention to the name of this newborn. His mother and father both independently confirm that his name will be “John.”
• Elizabeth and Zechariah lived in a day when names conferred an identity upon a child and shaped that little human’s destiny. Today, we are much more likely to take names from the world of entertainment or sports.
• How do you feel about the name given you at birth? Does your name fit you? Does it say something about your destiny? Have you researched the meaning of your given name to know its origins?
• I believe we each carry another deeper, more personal, God-given name within us. Part of our life’s spiritual journey is discovering the name God has given to us, for that name reflects our true inner being and say something about the spirit in which we were created to live life. Do you have any sense of what your name might be? What life-experiences confirm your hunch?
• I also believe we only learn this name across a lifetime, as the richness and fullness of who we are in connection with God becomes known to us. This is the work of the spiritual journey, a journey into becoming the people we were created to be.
• And it is helpful to recognize that not only do you have this inner “name,” but that every other person on the planet has a God-given name. How might you honor the God-given name of those around you? Those you meet today? Those you see in the run of life, but don’t know?
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
• The nativity of Jesus includes the story of the son born to Elizabeth and Zechariah. This miraculous birth – the one who would be known as John the Baptizer – gives much attention to the name of this newborn. His mother and father both independently confirm that his name will be “John.”
• Elizabeth and Zechariah lived in a day when names conferred an identity upon a child and shaped that little human’s destiny. Today, we are much more likely to take names from the world of entertainment or sports.
• How do you feel about the name given you at birth? Does your name fit you? Does it say something about your destiny? Have you researched the meaning of your given name to know its origins?
• I believe we each carry another deeper, more personal, God-given name within us. Part of our life’s spiritual journey is discovering the name God has given to us, for that name reflects our true inner being and say something about the spirit in which we were created to live life. Do you have any sense of what your name might be? What life-experiences confirm your hunch?
• I also believe we only learn this name across a lifetime, as the richness and fullness of who we are in connection with God becomes known to us. This is the work of the spiritual journey, a journey into becoming the people we were created to be.
• And it is helpful to recognize that not only do you have this inner “name,” but that every other person on the planet has a God-given name. How might you honor the God-given name of those around you? Those you meet today? Those you see in the run of life, but don’t know?
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 22, 2019
Matthew 1:18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
An old rabbi’s tale says that a common man, walking down a road one day, encountered a stranger. When the man asked the stranger about his plans, the stranger identified himself as the Messiah and said he was going into the town to reveal himself to the people there. The common man gasped, and begged the Messiah not to show himself. When asked why, the man replied, “The people are not expecting you. No one is ready. And if you appear now, they will all miss you. Wait until the people anticipate your coming.”
One version of the story says that for the rest of his life, the common man hardly slept or ate at all, as he vigilantly kept watch for the Messiah’s appearance.
Constant vigilance is difficult. Living in perpetual readiness is exhausting. I’m wondering today, in the context of Matthew’s Gospel, if God has searched and searched for any persons who anticipate Messiah’s coming . . . and found only two: Joseph and Mary.
Luke reports Mary’s story, while Matthew tells the tale from Joseph’s side . . . visions, dreams, and visitations from heavenly messengers, leading to the birth of the Promised One, Emmanuel, God-with-us. As one of my friends likes to say, the incarnation simply means God con carne – God with meat (flesh) on – living among us.
Joseph and Mary open the door of their lives, willing to receive this gift, willing to bear this promise within themselves, willing to accept the cultural ridicule that would surely come their way. In the context of the rabbi’s tale, these two simple souls are the model of readiness for Messiah’s coming.
• As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day nears, identify within you pockets of hope and anticipation. Where does God’s dream still reside within you?
• Also, identify within you pockets of cynicism, doubt, and pessimism . . . perhaps related to a relationship . . . a larger community issue . . . or a matter of justice in the larger context of the nation or world.
• Bring whatever you notice within you into your prayer today.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
An old rabbi’s tale says that a common man, walking down a road one day, encountered a stranger. When the man asked the stranger about his plans, the stranger identified himself as the Messiah and said he was going into the town to reveal himself to the people there. The common man gasped, and begged the Messiah not to show himself. When asked why, the man replied, “The people are not expecting you. No one is ready. And if you appear now, they will all miss you. Wait until the people anticipate your coming.”
One version of the story says that for the rest of his life, the common man hardly slept or ate at all, as he vigilantly kept watch for the Messiah’s appearance.
Constant vigilance is difficult. Living in perpetual readiness is exhausting. I’m wondering today, in the context of Matthew’s Gospel, if God has searched and searched for any persons who anticipate Messiah’s coming . . . and found only two: Joseph and Mary.
Luke reports Mary’s story, while Matthew tells the tale from Joseph’s side . . . visions, dreams, and visitations from heavenly messengers, leading to the birth of the Promised One, Emmanuel, God-with-us. As one of my friends likes to say, the incarnation simply means God con carne – God with meat (flesh) on – living among us.
Joseph and Mary open the door of their lives, willing to receive this gift, willing to bear this promise within themselves, willing to accept the cultural ridicule that would surely come their way. In the context of the rabbi’s tale, these two simple souls are the model of readiness for Messiah’s coming.
• As Christmas Eve and Christmas Day nears, identify within you pockets of hope and anticipation. Where does God’s dream still reside within you?
• Also, identify within you pockets of cynicism, doubt, and pessimism . . . perhaps related to a relationship . . . a larger community issue . . . or a matter of justice in the larger context of the nation or world.
• Bring whatever you notice within you into your prayer today.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Third Saturday of Advent - December 21, 2019
Luke 1:39-45
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
• As Christmas draws near, anticipation builds. The passage is full of “blessing” and promises nearing fulfillment.
• Luke’s Gospel, more than the other Gospels, gives voice to the women in the story. Even in our day, we realize that not everyone in our world is given an opportunity to speak. Not all voices are honored.
• Today, be in touch with your voice. What would you say is your true voice? From where did that voice come? What does that voice sound like when you truly “speak” into the world (whether with your words, actions, life, or stance)?
• Think about some people you know or are around regularly who have little voice or power. What is it like for you to be around those persons? In what ways do you encourage their voice? If you were honest, are there ways in which you stifle their voice?
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
• As Christmas draws near, anticipation builds. The passage is full of “blessing” and promises nearing fulfillment.
• Luke’s Gospel, more than the other Gospels, gives voice to the women in the story. Even in our day, we realize that not everyone in our world is given an opportunity to speak. Not all voices are honored.
• Today, be in touch with your voice. What would you say is your true voice? From where did that voice come? What does that voice sound like when you truly “speak” into the world (whether with your words, actions, life, or stance)?
• Think about some people you know or are around regularly who have little voice or power. What is it like for you to be around those persons? In what ways do you encourage their voice? If you were honest, are there ways in which you stifle their voice?
Friday, December 20, 2019
Third Friday of Advent - December 20, 2019
Isaiah 56:1-8
Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.
• God’s salvation is always tied to justice. The readings from Isaiah that have guided us through Advent have consistently dealt with justice, that is, with doing what is right to others.
• In our contemporary, adversarial discourse, many see “justice” as a code-word associated with radical movements or certain political positions. In fact, it is a solidly biblical word, the cornerstone of much Old Testament spirituality. You could easily substitute the word “love” for justice . . . loving God and others with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Justice is the tangible, outward expression of love wherever there is human need. Justice is the actional element of love.
• As you read and meditate on Isaiah 56, consider your own notions about justice. What is justice to you? What negative notions of justice live within you? What positive notions of justice live within you?
• Isaiah – and other Hebrew prophets – leave no doubt that we are all called to love others by living justly. In what tangible ways do you seek justice in your own world? What acts of justice are part of the normal run of your life? Notice what arises to the surface of your awareness, then bring it into your prayer.
Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.
• God’s salvation is always tied to justice. The readings from Isaiah that have guided us through Advent have consistently dealt with justice, that is, with doing what is right to others.
• In our contemporary, adversarial discourse, many see “justice” as a code-word associated with radical movements or certain political positions. In fact, it is a solidly biblical word, the cornerstone of much Old Testament spirituality. You could easily substitute the word “love” for justice . . . loving God and others with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Justice is the tangible, outward expression of love wherever there is human need. Justice is the actional element of love.
• As you read and meditate on Isaiah 56, consider your own notions about justice. What is justice to you? What negative notions of justice live within you? What positive notions of justice live within you?
• Isaiah – and other Hebrew prophets – leave no doubt that we are all called to love others by living justly. In what tangible ways do you seek justice in your own world? What acts of justice are part of the normal run of your life? Notice what arises to the surface of your awareness, then bring it into your prayer.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Third Thursday of Advent - December 19, 2019
Isaiah 54:1-10
Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.
Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
and your descendants will possess the nations
and will settle the desolate towns.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.
For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the LORD has called you
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
says the LORD, your Redeemer.
This is like the days of Noah to me:
Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
and will not rebuke you.
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
• Like so many Advent texts, especially those in Isaiah, this passage proclaims a reversal of life-situations. In the original context, this was likely the impending reversal the Israelites in Babylonian captivity would experience. They have been “barren” and “desolate,” but would soon have opportunity to return to their homeland after generations in exile.
• You and I have experienced reversals that were not of our own doing . . . times when we were empty, barren, or despairing, then something happened to turn life around for us. Suddenly, not of our own making, we had a new future, fresh opportunities, a beginning we could not have conceived.
• Consider your own reversals today. What have you experienced of a God-reversal? If a word or a line in the Isaiah 54 passage stands out to you or represents that reversal for you, pluck it out for yourself. Spend some time in prayer and meditation around the reversals you have experienced.
• Is there a person or group around you at present who desperately await that kind of reversal today? Who do you know – people or groups – in “captivity” or who are in some state of exile? How can you pray for that person or group today? How can you turn your prayer into action on behalf of that person or group today?
Sing, O barren one who did not bear;
burst into song and shout,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate woman will be more
than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.
Enlarge the site of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
For you will spread out to the right and to the left,
and your descendants will possess the nations
and will settle the desolate towns.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.
For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the LORD has called you
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
says the LORD, your Redeemer.
This is like the days of Noah to me:
Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
and will not rebuke you.
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
• Like so many Advent texts, especially those in Isaiah, this passage proclaims a reversal of life-situations. In the original context, this was likely the impending reversal the Israelites in Babylonian captivity would experience. They have been “barren” and “desolate,” but would soon have opportunity to return to their homeland after generations in exile.
• You and I have experienced reversals that were not of our own doing . . . times when we were empty, barren, or despairing, then something happened to turn life around for us. Suddenly, not of our own making, we had a new future, fresh opportunities, a beginning we could not have conceived.
• Consider your own reversals today. What have you experienced of a God-reversal? If a word or a line in the Isaiah 54 passage stands out to you or represents that reversal for you, pluck it out for yourself. Spend some time in prayer and meditation around the reversals you have experienced.
• Is there a person or group around you at present who desperately await that kind of reversal today? Who do you know – people or groups – in “captivity” or who are in some state of exile? How can you pray for that person or group today? How can you turn your prayer into action on behalf of that person or group today?
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Third Wednesday of Advent - December 18, 2019
Isaiah 45:5-8, 18, 21-25
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the LORD do all these things.
Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,[b]
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
I the LORD have created it.
For thus says the LORD,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.”
Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
shall come to him and be ashamed.
In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.
• In 587 B.C.E., the Babylonians defeated Judah and took most of the people into captivity, moving them from their homeland to Babylon. Those who were left in Judah lived in a land that was decimated, with all the structures of society destroyed. The Exile is one of the defining moments in the history of God’s covenant people.
• But about 50 years later, the Israelites celebrated the arrival of the Persian king, Cyrus, who defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return home. Though he was not a God-follower, Cyrus was celebrated as “Yahweh’s anointed” (see Isa. 45:1). This chapter in Isaiah is about the rise of Cyrus, and Yahweh’s instructions to him via the prophet.
• Several times throughout the chapter, the prophet writes of Yahweh, “There is no other god besides me.” It is the recurring theme of the entire chapter. Find the ways this idea is expressed several times in the verses above.
• Think about that phrase in terms of your life: “There is no other god besides me.”
o What do those words mean to you? Think of them not so much in a theological or analytical sense, but in a practical, real-life sense.
o In what ways do you bump up against “other gods” in the world?
o What are the “other gods” with which you personally struggle?
o What competes with Yahweh in your life?
I am the LORD, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me,
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the LORD do all these things.
Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,[b]
and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
I the LORD have created it.
For thus says the LORD,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Declare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the LORD?
There is no other god besides me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is no one besides me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn,
from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.”
Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and strength;
all who were incensed against him
shall come to him and be ashamed.
In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
shall triumph and glory.
• In 587 B.C.E., the Babylonians defeated Judah and took most of the people into captivity, moving them from their homeland to Babylon. Those who were left in Judah lived in a land that was decimated, with all the structures of society destroyed. The Exile is one of the defining moments in the history of God’s covenant people.
• But about 50 years later, the Israelites celebrated the arrival of the Persian king, Cyrus, who defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return home. Though he was not a God-follower, Cyrus was celebrated as “Yahweh’s anointed” (see Isa. 45:1). This chapter in Isaiah is about the rise of Cyrus, and Yahweh’s instructions to him via the prophet.
• Several times throughout the chapter, the prophet writes of Yahweh, “There is no other god besides me.” It is the recurring theme of the entire chapter. Find the ways this idea is expressed several times in the verses above.
• Think about that phrase in terms of your life: “There is no other god besides me.”
o What do those words mean to you? Think of them not so much in a theological or analytical sense, but in a practical, real-life sense.
o In what ways do you bump up against “other gods” in the world?
o What are the “other gods” with which you personally struggle?
o What competes with Yahweh in your life?
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Third Tuesday of Advent - December 17, 2019
Matthew 21:28-32
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."
• Something feels deceptive in the misdirection of the second son, who says, “I will go” but then never goes. Perhaps he fully intended to go, but then was distracted by other things that came up. More likely, though, he never intended to go and only wanted to appease his father.
• We live in what some have called a “post-truth world,” where we advance “alternative facts,” where we can say whatever we want – true or not – in order to create our own reality.
• Spirituality has to do with living in connection with the Really Real, discovering the truth about God, ourselves, others, and the world in a way that makes a difference in how we engage life. All of us live in some state of deception all the time (we don’t perceive things as they are, but as we would like them to be), but to be intentionally deceptive is a stumbling block to ourselves and others in the quest to live true with God.
• Be aware of your words today . . . your “yes” and your “no” . . . your promises and your claims . . . your opinions stated as facts and your beliefs stated as absolute reality. Simply go through the day conscious of your words.
• At the end of the day, do a quick review of your words, your conversations, your online exchanges. What did you actually say today? And did your words line up with the person you hope to become in God? Bring whatever you learn into your prayer.
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."
• Something feels deceptive in the misdirection of the second son, who says, “I will go” but then never goes. Perhaps he fully intended to go, but then was distracted by other things that came up. More likely, though, he never intended to go and only wanted to appease his father.
• We live in what some have called a “post-truth world,” where we advance “alternative facts,” where we can say whatever we want – true or not – in order to create our own reality.
• Spirituality has to do with living in connection with the Really Real, discovering the truth about God, ourselves, others, and the world in a way that makes a difference in how we engage life. All of us live in some state of deception all the time (we don’t perceive things as they are, but as we would like them to be), but to be intentionally deceptive is a stumbling block to ourselves and others in the quest to live true with God.
• Be aware of your words today . . . your “yes” and your “no” . . . your promises and your claims . . . your opinions stated as facts and your beliefs stated as absolute reality. Simply go through the day conscious of your words.
• At the end of the day, do a quick review of your words, your conversations, your online exchanges. What did you actually say today? And did your words line up with the person you hope to become in God? Bring whatever you learn into your prayer.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Third Monday of Advent - December 16, 2019
Matthew 21:23-27
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
• People who are caught up in hierarchies, ranks, and differentiating people (by any number of criteria) tend to overplay authority. They tend to love outer authority. “Who said you could do that?” Or, “You can’t touch THAT!” Or, “No one gave you permission.” Outer authority always originates from some power outside. Someone may grant it, or they may withhold it.
• Inner authority, on the other hand, is something you know to be true from the inside of yourself. Spirit touches spirit . . . God’s Spirit confirming to your spirit a thing's veracity. You don’t need an outside agent to tell you it’s true or right or wise. You know from your own inside.
• Jesus had both kinds of authority. His outer authority came from his Father. But he also had inner authority. He didn’t need the religious leaders and legal authorities to tell him what was right and wrong. He knew truth from the inside.
• Think of a time you knew from within yourself that something was true, even when it flew in the face of what those around you were saying. What courage did you have in your inner authority? Did you have anyone in your life at that time who could affirm your inner wisdom?
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
• People who are caught up in hierarchies, ranks, and differentiating people (by any number of criteria) tend to overplay authority. They tend to love outer authority. “Who said you could do that?” Or, “You can’t touch THAT!” Or, “No one gave you permission.” Outer authority always originates from some power outside. Someone may grant it, or they may withhold it.
• Inner authority, on the other hand, is something you know to be true from the inside of yourself. Spirit touches spirit . . . God’s Spirit confirming to your spirit a thing's veracity. You don’t need an outside agent to tell you it’s true or right or wise. You know from your own inside.
• Jesus had both kinds of authority. His outer authority came from his Father. But he also had inner authority. He didn’t need the religious leaders and legal authorities to tell him what was right and wrong. He knew truth from the inside.
• Think of a time you knew from within yourself that something was true, even when it flew in the face of what those around you were saying. What courage did you have in your inner authority? Did you have anyone in your life at that time who could affirm your inner wisdom?
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Third Sunday of Advent - December 15, 2019
Matthew 11:2-11
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
I love that the Gospels are not afraid to show us how wrong John was about Jesus.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matt. 3:11-12)
John believed Jesus was bringing fire, a winnowing fork (that never sounds good!) to clear the chaff, and a burning fire to consume those who were not “right with God.”
John taught from a place of strict asceticism. He advocated a conspicuous morality, a kind of works righteousness, and believed the Messiah would come to sift the wheat and chaff, judging people on a strict moral standard.
The Gospels writers don’t have to tell us John got it wrong. They only have to let us read the stories . . . to hold up together what John said about Jesus on one hand, and then how Jesus actually lived in the world and related to people on the other hand.
The Gospels trust us to get it. John preached hell-fire and said the Messiah would do the same. But that’s not who Jesus was.
So in today’s text, John is confused. Imprisoned, he recognizes that either he got it wrong on the Messiah or else Jesus was not actually the Messiah. He has to ask, “Are you the one coming or shall we look for another?” Jesus didn’t line up with John’s expectations. Something had to give.
It’s notable that John is in prison as this consideration takes place. As is often the case with humans, this kind of crisis setting causes him to reevaluate his belief system. We hold in our hands the things we have believed and clung to for a lifetime, but no longer does the system seem fail-safe. We ask ourselves Dr. Phil’s question: “How’s that workin’ out for ya?”
I know the question well because I’ve often muttered it in life, suddenly recognizing that what I have believed and clutched about God, life, others, and myself is not really working for me. I’ve held a belief that a spiritual mentor gave me . . . I’ve clung to a notion about life rooted in a stereotype . . . I’ve thought of myself according to a script others have given me. From my own “prisons” I’ve begun to ask questions, to find my own faith, to have some sense of what I believe apart from what others have wanted me to believe.
When John the Baptist got it wrong, he did this difficult work of inner examination . . . the same work you and I must do it we are to become the people God created us to be.
• Remember something you believed as a child or an adolescent you no longer believe as an adult.
• Have you ever come to a crisis moment when you had to honestly ask yourself, “How’s that workin’ for ya?” When was that? What was the outcome?
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
I love that the Gospels are not afraid to show us how wrong John was about Jesus.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matt. 3:11-12)
John believed Jesus was bringing fire, a winnowing fork (that never sounds good!) to clear the chaff, and a burning fire to consume those who were not “right with God.”
John taught from a place of strict asceticism. He advocated a conspicuous morality, a kind of works righteousness, and believed the Messiah would come to sift the wheat and chaff, judging people on a strict moral standard.
The Gospels writers don’t have to tell us John got it wrong. They only have to let us read the stories . . . to hold up together what John said about Jesus on one hand, and then how Jesus actually lived in the world and related to people on the other hand.
The Gospels trust us to get it. John preached hell-fire and said the Messiah would do the same. But that’s not who Jesus was.
So in today’s text, John is confused. Imprisoned, he recognizes that either he got it wrong on the Messiah or else Jesus was not actually the Messiah. He has to ask, “Are you the one coming or shall we look for another?” Jesus didn’t line up with John’s expectations. Something had to give.
It’s notable that John is in prison as this consideration takes place. As is often the case with humans, this kind of crisis setting causes him to reevaluate his belief system. We hold in our hands the things we have believed and clung to for a lifetime, but no longer does the system seem fail-safe. We ask ourselves Dr. Phil’s question: “How’s that workin’ out for ya?”
I know the question well because I’ve often muttered it in life, suddenly recognizing that what I have believed and clutched about God, life, others, and myself is not really working for me. I’ve held a belief that a spiritual mentor gave me . . . I’ve clung to a notion about life rooted in a stereotype . . . I’ve thought of myself according to a script others have given me. From my own “prisons” I’ve begun to ask questions, to find my own faith, to have some sense of what I believe apart from what others have wanted me to believe.
When John the Baptist got it wrong, he did this difficult work of inner examination . . . the same work you and I must do it we are to become the people God created us to be.
• Remember something you believed as a child or an adolescent you no longer believe as an adult.
• Have you ever come to a crisis moment when you had to honestly ask yourself, “How’s that workin’ for ya?” When was that? What was the outcome?
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Second Saturday of Advent - December 14, 2019
Matthew 17:9-13
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
• This dialogue comes directly after the Transfiguration experience, where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain. There Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Jesus. The disciples react with both awe and fear. But in the aftermath of the experience, they don’t ask about what they have just seen; rather, they question Jesus about Elijah. The Elijah figure in the ministry of Jesus is John the Baptizer, the one-who-comes-before and prepares the path for Jesus.
• What people, things, or events in your life prepared you for your first encounters with Jesus?
• What people, things, or events in your life prepared you for your deeper, more interior spiritual journey?
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
• This dialogue comes directly after the Transfiguration experience, where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain. There Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Jesus. The disciples react with both awe and fear. But in the aftermath of the experience, they don’t ask about what they have just seen; rather, they question Jesus about Elijah. The Elijah figure in the ministry of Jesus is John the Baptizer, the one-who-comes-before and prepares the path for Jesus.
• What people, things, or events in your life prepared you for your first encounters with Jesus?
• What people, things, or events in your life prepared you for your deeper, more interior spiritual journey?
Friday, December 13, 2019
Second Friday of Advent - December 13, 2019
Isaiah 48:17-19
Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
O that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your prosperity would have been like a river,
and your success like the waves of the sea;
your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.
• When I think about things that are “for my own good,” I quickly get reduced to silence. The things I would choose have more to do with comfort and diversionary pleasures. While I live as if I know what things are for my own good, in my sober moments I realize that the most transformative things in my life have always been outside what I would have considered “for my own good.” Though I don’t always see immediately what is “for my own good,” I trust that somehow there is Wisdom beyond my own, always teaching me.
• How about you? Can you think of one or two instances when you were taught something “for your own good” that you would not have chosen for yourself? What have you learned through those experiences? How did those life-experiences shift your understanding of God’s work in your life?
• In the same way, Isaiah says, we don’t get to self-determine our path in life. The spiritual life is going to take you to a place you could not have imagined, by means of a road you would not have chosen. God not only teaches us what is for our own good . . . God also leads us in a way we should go.
• Reflect on your experience of God leading you where you should go. How has that happened in the past for you? How has your past experience of God leading you shaped the way you step into the days ahead?
Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
O that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your prosperity would have been like a river,
and your success like the waves of the sea;
your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.
• When I think about things that are “for my own good,” I quickly get reduced to silence. The things I would choose have more to do with comfort and diversionary pleasures. While I live as if I know what things are for my own good, in my sober moments I realize that the most transformative things in my life have always been outside what I would have considered “for my own good.” Though I don’t always see immediately what is “for my own good,” I trust that somehow there is Wisdom beyond my own, always teaching me.
• How about you? Can you think of one or two instances when you were taught something “for your own good” that you would not have chosen for yourself? What have you learned through those experiences? How did those life-experiences shift your understanding of God’s work in your life?
• In the same way, Isaiah says, we don’t get to self-determine our path in life. The spiritual life is going to take you to a place you could not have imagined, by means of a road you would not have chosen. God not only teaches us what is for our own good . . . God also leads us in a way we should go.
• Reflect on your experience of God leading you where you should go. How has that happened in the past for you? How has your past experience of God leading you shaped the way you step into the days ahead?
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Second Thursday of Advent - December 12, 2019
Isaiah 41:13-20
For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
• The first part of the reading today contains repeated use of the first person pronoun, “I,” as God addresses those who are fearful and afraid: “Do not fear . . . do not be afraid . . . do not fear.” God’s promise is simple: “I am the Lord your God . . . I will help you . . . I myself will help you.”
• Recall a time recently when you have dealt with fear. What were you afraid of? What emotions were associated with your fear in that situation? In what tangible way(s) did you experience the “help” of God? Have a conversation with God about what you have uncovered within yourself related to that experience.
• As usual, when God does a new thing, all of the created order is involved. Deserts which had been dry become fertile with flowing water. Barren wastelands grow vegetation of all kinds. These symbols powerfully tell of God’s work in our lives.
• Consider your own experience of dryness of soul or barrenness of spirit. Can you see something growing within you now in a space that was once barren or dry? What response to God would you make for this new life where previously there was only dry land?
For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
“See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
and reduce the hills to chaff.
You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the LORD
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
“The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
• The first part of the reading today contains repeated use of the first person pronoun, “I,” as God addresses those who are fearful and afraid: “Do not fear . . . do not be afraid . . . do not fear.” God’s promise is simple: “I am the Lord your God . . . I will help you . . . I myself will help you.”
• Recall a time recently when you have dealt with fear. What were you afraid of? What emotions were associated with your fear in that situation? In what tangible way(s) did you experience the “help” of God? Have a conversation with God about what you have uncovered within yourself related to that experience.
• As usual, when God does a new thing, all of the created order is involved. Deserts which had been dry become fertile with flowing water. Barren wastelands grow vegetation of all kinds. These symbols powerfully tell of God’s work in our lives.
• Consider your own experience of dryness of soul or barrenness of spirit. Can you see something growing within you now in a space that was once barren or dry? What response to God would you make for this new life where previously there was only dry land?
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Second Wednesday of Advent - December 11, 2019
Isaiah 40:25-31
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
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.
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
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.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
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.
• The Advent reading today affirms the absolute uniqueness of Yahweh. Yahweh is not like any other deity. Yahweh is not like the best traits of a human. Anything you can say or think about Yahweh falls far short of God’s reality. As one of our Christian mystic forebears said, "If you can describe God, then what you are describing is not God."
• Do you have a guiding image for God? That is, do you have an image (Shepherd, Parent, Judge, King, etc.) by which you relate most often to God? Are there images for God you have resisted that you might consider today? Images help us relate to God, but remember, not a single one of them exhausts God.
• Notice the last few lines of the passage: “Those who hope in the Lord will . . . “ Pay special attention to the verbs . . . will renew . . . will soar . . . will run and not grow weary . . . will walk and not faint. Think about these verbs personally. How do you experience each of them in your life? Can you think of specific examples, rather than thinking in generalities?
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
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.
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
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.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
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.
• The Advent reading today affirms the absolute uniqueness of Yahweh. Yahweh is not like any other deity. Yahweh is not like the best traits of a human. Anything you can say or think about Yahweh falls far short of God’s reality. As one of our Christian mystic forebears said, "If you can describe God, then what you are describing is not God."
• Do you have a guiding image for God? That is, do you have an image (Shepherd, Parent, Judge, King, etc.) by which you relate most often to God? Are there images for God you have resisted that you might consider today? Images help us relate to God, but remember, not a single one of them exhausts God.
• Notice the last few lines of the passage: “Those who hope in the Lord will . . . “ Pay special attention to the verbs . . . will renew . . . will soar . . . will run and not grow weary . . . will walk and not faint. Think about these verbs personally. How do you experience each of them in your life? Can you think of specific examples, rather than thinking in generalities?
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Second Tuesday of Advent - December 10, 2019
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
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.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
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.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
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.
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.
• In today’s scripture text, the prophet communicates God’s words: “Comfort, comfort, my people” (v. 1). In the immediate context, the comfort is aimed at exiles who have been displaced from their homeland and taken into captivity in Babylonian. But in the larger context, God extends comfort to anyone who is held captive by social systems, religious systems, or economic systems. How do you hear these words of comfort today? What do they say to you in your life-situation?
• Of course, this passage is not simply about you. There are persons around you who need comfort. Some of those persons you know, and others are still unknown to you. You will, however, meet them in the run of your daily life . . . in your neighborhood, at the store, and on the streets. Is there someone to whom you could reach out today with a tangible expression of comfort?
• In verses 3-5, there is a great leveling. Literally, the terrain will be leveled in order to allow exiles to return to their homeland. But metaphorically, the terrain represents the people, all people whose status God is changing . . . the lowly who will be raised up and the powerful who will be brought low . . . the crooked people who will be made straight and the rough persons will be smoothed. How does this image speak to you? Where do you find yourself with this passage?
Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
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.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the LORD[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
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.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
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.
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.
• In today’s scripture text, the prophet communicates God’s words: “Comfort, comfort, my people” (v. 1). In the immediate context, the comfort is aimed at exiles who have been displaced from their homeland and taken into captivity in Babylonian. But in the larger context, God extends comfort to anyone who is held captive by social systems, religious systems, or economic systems. How do you hear these words of comfort today? What do they say to you in your life-situation?
• Of course, this passage is not simply about you. There are persons around you who need comfort. Some of those persons you know, and others are still unknown to you. You will, however, meet them in the run of your daily life . . . in your neighborhood, at the store, and on the streets. Is there someone to whom you could reach out today with a tangible expression of comfort?
• In verses 3-5, there is a great leveling. Literally, the terrain will be leveled in order to allow exiles to return to their homeland. But metaphorically, the terrain represents the people, all people whose status God is changing . . . the lowly who will be raised up and the powerful who will be brought low . . . the crooked people who will be made straight and the rough persons will be smoothed. How does this image speak to you? Where do you find yourself with this passage?
Monday, December 9, 2019
Second Monday of Advent - December 9, 2019
Isaiah 35:1-10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
• The book of Isaiah frequently uses the metaphor of flowers and streams appearing in deserts and dry lands. It is a sign of God’s work among those who feel “dry,” “barren,” or “arid of spirit.” Reflect on your own desert experience of feeling dry and barren (perhaps you are in that place right now). Find ten or twelve words that you would use to describe the experience. As you sit with that experience, be conscious of God’s voice whispering into your heart.
• As you continue to ponder your own desert experience, what “flowers” grew within you during that dry spell? What was the source of that metaphorical “flower”?
• Advent is not merely a time for you and me to receive. Isaiah also prompts us to offer ourselves to others in life-giving ways: Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” Carry these words with you today. Be alert to the weak you meet, who need to be strengthened . . . to the feeble who need your assistance . . . to those who are fearful and need a word of courage and hope.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
• The book of Isaiah frequently uses the metaphor of flowers and streams appearing in deserts and dry lands. It is a sign of God’s work among those who feel “dry,” “barren,” or “arid of spirit.” Reflect on your own desert experience of feeling dry and barren (perhaps you are in that place right now). Find ten or twelve words that you would use to describe the experience. As you sit with that experience, be conscious of God’s voice whispering into your heart.
• As you continue to ponder your own desert experience, what “flowers” grew within you during that dry spell? What was the source of that metaphorical “flower”?
• Advent is not merely a time for you and me to receive. Isaiah also prompts us to offer ourselves to others in life-giving ways: Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” Carry these words with you today. Be alert to the weak you meet, who need to be strengthened . . . to the feeble who need your assistance . . . to those who are fearful and need a word of courage and hope.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Second Sunday of Advent - December 8, 2019
Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist was a reformer. And from most accounts, he happened to be a reformer who yelled a lot. His methodology seems to have been to scare people toward the proverbial straight-and-narrow path. “Repent, you brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee? Beware lest you get cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Not all of us respond well to yelling, threats, and intimidation . . . a message many in society have yet to hear. Some people live continuously in a scorched-earth world.
But when you unknowingly ride your bicycle into oncoming traffic, a calm, well-considered warning gently spoken will not do.
When by inattentiveness you have wandered your Chevy pickup perilously close to the overlook’s guardrail, a calm and rational discussion is not in order.
When the house is on fire, a jolting wake-up call is needed.
Sometimes we all need a shout, a jolt, an attention-grabbing moment from which we can begin to travel in a different direction. We need John the Baptist standing at cliff’s edge shouting, “Watch out!” Often, life’s most difficult, and sometimes most tragic, moments provide just that jolt, that summons to rearrange life.
Those moments are John the Baptist moments . . . harsh, unyielding, in-your-face. They are not my personal style, nor yours perhaps. Still, often God has had to use John the Baptist moments to get my attention, to wake me up, to stir me to life, when I would not wake up any other way. I’m guessing that is true for all of us.
• Reflect on a couple of “John the Baptist moments” from your past . . . times when God got your attention in a blunt, jolting way. When did that happen? What were the circumstances? How did life shift for you after that John the Baptist moment?
• Is there is a John the Baptist voice now in your life which you are ignoring?
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
John the Baptist was a reformer. And from most accounts, he happened to be a reformer who yelled a lot. His methodology seems to have been to scare people toward the proverbial straight-and-narrow path. “Repent, you brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee? Beware lest you get cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Not all of us respond well to yelling, threats, and intimidation . . . a message many in society have yet to hear. Some people live continuously in a scorched-earth world.
But when you unknowingly ride your bicycle into oncoming traffic, a calm, well-considered warning gently spoken will not do.
When by inattentiveness you have wandered your Chevy pickup perilously close to the overlook’s guardrail, a calm and rational discussion is not in order.
When the house is on fire, a jolting wake-up call is needed.
Sometimes we all need a shout, a jolt, an attention-grabbing moment from which we can begin to travel in a different direction. We need John the Baptist standing at cliff’s edge shouting, “Watch out!” Often, life’s most difficult, and sometimes most tragic, moments provide just that jolt, that summons to rearrange life.
Those moments are John the Baptist moments . . . harsh, unyielding, in-your-face. They are not my personal style, nor yours perhaps. Still, often God has had to use John the Baptist moments to get my attention, to wake me up, to stir me to life, when I would not wake up any other way. I’m guessing that is true for all of us.
• Reflect on a couple of “John the Baptist moments” from your past . . . times when God got your attention in a blunt, jolting way. When did that happen? What were the circumstances? How did life shift for you after that John the Baptist moment?
• Is there is a John the Baptist voice now in your life which you are ignoring?
Saturday, December 7, 2019
First Saturday of Advent - December 7, 2019
Isaiah 30:19-25
Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, “Away with you!”
He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
• Who among us does not know the experience of “the bread of adversity and the water of affliction”? Remember a time in your life when it seemed as if day after day, all you experienced was adversity and affliction. During that season of your life, what was your experience of God? Who or what was your “Teacher” during those days?
• When we come to a crossroads in life, silence and solitude are essential partners. It is difficult to make significant, life-altering decisions when we are in a hurry or surrounded by confusion. But regular periods of silence and solitude, if we are willing to listen and not take control of the situation, have the impact of giving us eyes to see and ears to listen.
• Have you ever had the experience of coming to a crossroads – a significant life-decision in which the way forward was not immediately clear – and hearing a voice: “This is the way . . . walk in it”? Take a few moments to reflect on that experience.
• The phrase, “This is the way, walk in it,” does not merely provide a direction to go; rather, it also provides a way or manner of going. We walk with openness. We walk with open hands. We walk alert to that which would teach us. We walk in humility. We walk in mercy. How do these ways of walking speak to any decisions or situations in which you now find yourself?
Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, “Away with you!”
He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
• Who among us does not know the experience of “the bread of adversity and the water of affliction”? Remember a time in your life when it seemed as if day after day, all you experienced was adversity and affliction. During that season of your life, what was your experience of God? Who or what was your “Teacher” during those days?
• When we come to a crossroads in life, silence and solitude are essential partners. It is difficult to make significant, life-altering decisions when we are in a hurry or surrounded by confusion. But regular periods of silence and solitude, if we are willing to listen and not take control of the situation, have the impact of giving us eyes to see and ears to listen.
• Have you ever had the experience of coming to a crossroads – a significant life-decision in which the way forward was not immediately clear – and hearing a voice: “This is the way . . . walk in it”? Take a few moments to reflect on that experience.
• The phrase, “This is the way, walk in it,” does not merely provide a direction to go; rather, it also provides a way or manner of going. We walk with openness. We walk with open hands. We walk alert to that which would teach us. We walk in humility. We walk in mercy. How do these ways of walking speak to any decisions or situations in which you now find yourself?
Friday, December 6, 2019
First Friday of Advent - December 6, 2019
Isaiah 29:17-24
Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoffer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—
those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.
Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who grumble will accept instruction.
• This is another “On that day . . .” reading. Since the birth of Jesus, every day is “that day” . . . a day in which God is present in the events of our lives and in the larger design of the world. Isaiah says, “On that day the deaf shall hear . . . the eyes of the blind shall see” (vv. 17-18). We are each “the deaf and the blind.” Spirituality is about opening ourselves to hear with the ears of the heart and to see with the eyes of the heart. How might you reflect on these words from Isaiah?
• The Isaiah texts used throughout Advent consistently speak to the reversal of fortunes for those on the underside of life. This passage is no different. Notice the parts of the passage that speak to those whose way is difficult.
• What invitation is God extending to you through the words of this passage? Spend some time in silence as you consider God’s Word to you.
Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll,
and out of their gloom and darkness
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more,
and the scoffer shall cease to be;
all those alert to do evil shall be cut off—
those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.
Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who grumble will accept instruction.
• This is another “On that day . . .” reading. Since the birth of Jesus, every day is “that day” . . . a day in which God is present in the events of our lives and in the larger design of the world. Isaiah says, “On that day the deaf shall hear . . . the eyes of the blind shall see” (vv. 17-18). We are each “the deaf and the blind.” Spirituality is about opening ourselves to hear with the ears of the heart and to see with the eyes of the heart. How might you reflect on these words from Isaiah?
• The Isaiah texts used throughout Advent consistently speak to the reversal of fortunes for those on the underside of life. This passage is no different. Notice the parts of the passage that speak to those whose way is difficult.
• What invitation is God extending to you through the words of this passage? Spend some time in silence as you consider God’s Word to you.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
First Thursday of Advent - December 5, 2019
Isaiah 26:1-6
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
he sets up victory
like walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that keeps faith
may enter in.
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—
in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for in the LORD GOD
you have an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.
• As is often the case in Isaiah, the passage begins, “On that day . . .” which signals the coming intervention of God. “On that day this song will be sung.” Is this the day? Is today the awaited day to sing a song of justice, a song of celebration, a song of liberation? If today I saw what I have never seen before, would I sing?
• The passage is about cities and nations, communities who do right, who make peace peaceably, who strive for justice and speak for those underneath structures of power.
• To what communities do I belong? With what kingdoms (the country into which I was born, the clubs I have chosen, the orders I choose to follow, the relationships I choose to cultivate, etc.) do I align myself?
• If I think about the many communities of which I am a part (from nation all the way down to intimate friendships), which are “righteous” communities (doing right by all people)? Do these communities keep faith? Do they encourage faith? Do they keep the peace in a peaceable way (i.e., not warring in order to make some form of “peace”)?
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
he sets up victory
like walls and bulwarks.
Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that keeps faith
may enter in.
Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—
in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for in the LORD GOD
you have an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.
• As is often the case in Isaiah, the passage begins, “On that day . . .” which signals the coming intervention of God. “On that day this song will be sung.” Is this the day? Is today the awaited day to sing a song of justice, a song of celebration, a song of liberation? If today I saw what I have never seen before, would I sing?
• The passage is about cities and nations, communities who do right, who make peace peaceably, who strive for justice and speak for those underneath structures of power.
• To what communities do I belong? With what kingdoms (the country into which I was born, the clubs I have chosen, the orders I choose to follow, the relationships I choose to cultivate, etc.) do I align myself?
• If I think about the many communities of which I am a part (from nation all the way down to intimate friendships), which are “righteous” communities (doing right by all people)? Do these communities keep faith? Do they encourage faith? Do they keep the peace in a peaceable way (i.e., not warring in order to make some form of “peace”)?
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
First Wednesday of Advent - December 4, 2019
Isaiah 25:6-10
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain;
but Moab will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
• The reign of God is often likened to a feast or a banquet where all peoples are fed, without entry requirements or conditions. In fact, all people are fed “rich food.” Reflect on your own experience of offering food to someone who is hungry.
• Consider your own experience of hunger. Can you remember a time when you went without food for an extended period of time? What was it like to have food before you at the end of that extended period of hunger? (Perhaps even a meager meal seemed like a feast!)
• Take a moment to reflect on your current relationship with food. How do you think of food? How do you use food?
• Obviously, hunger and feasting are actual states. But they are also important symbols in spiritual living. Take a moment to reflect on hunger and feasting as spiritual symbols. Perhaps find your own vocabulary for the two. Connect with what it means to be driven by hunger . . . and what it means to be satiated by feasting.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain;
but Moab will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
• The reign of God is often likened to a feast or a banquet where all peoples are fed, without entry requirements or conditions. In fact, all people are fed “rich food.” Reflect on your own experience of offering food to someone who is hungry.
• Consider your own experience of hunger. Can you remember a time when you went without food for an extended period of time? What was it like to have food before you at the end of that extended period of hunger? (Perhaps even a meager meal seemed like a feast!)
• Take a moment to reflect on your current relationship with food. How do you think of food? How do you use food?
• Obviously, hunger and feasting are actual states. But they are also important symbols in spiritual living. Take a moment to reflect on hunger and feasting as spiritual symbols. Perhaps find your own vocabulary for the two. Connect with what it means to be driven by hunger . . . and what it means to be satiated by feasting.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
First Tuesday of Advent - December 3, 2019
Isaiah 11:1-10
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
**Isaiah's prophecy is full of vivid images for the kingdom of God: roots, stumps, shoots, and branches . . . animals who are natural enemies co-existing. Notice which of the images you are drawn to consider, then choose that images for your meditation. You may want to consider the image from this chapter graphically, creating a collage or by using various colors to sketch a scene. As you create, don't become fixated on the final product. Simply see where the creative process takes you with the image you have chosen.
**The Spirit of the Lord, Isaiah says, includes the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and the holy awe of God. Consider these qualities in your own life. Which ones are manifested within you? Where and how are they displayed in your daily living? And which ones are your growing edge, not yet well-developed within you?
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
**Isaiah's prophecy is full of vivid images for the kingdom of God: roots, stumps, shoots, and branches . . . animals who are natural enemies co-existing. Notice which of the images you are drawn to consider, then choose that images for your meditation. You may want to consider the image from this chapter graphically, creating a collage or by using various colors to sketch a scene. As you create, don't become fixated on the final product. Simply see where the creative process takes you with the image you have chosen.
**The Spirit of the Lord, Isaiah says, includes the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and the holy awe of God. Consider these qualities in your own life. Which ones are manifested within you? Where and how are they displayed in your daily living? And which ones are your growing edge, not yet well-developed within you?
Monday, December 2, 2019
First Monday of Advent - December 2, 2019
Isaiah 2:1-5
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
**Read Isaiah 2:1-5 two or three times, paying special attention to the words or images that stand out to you.
**Take a moment to ponder the words or images you noted in reading the scripture. Do you hear an invitation in the words? Pray with what you are hearing.
**In this context, "mountain" symbolizes a place of encounter with God (Israelite history was full of encounters with God on mountains). What "mountains" (places of encounter) are part of your experience with God? How might those mountains (or the memory of those mountains) be a part of your Advent experience?
** Our swords have not yet been beaten into plowshares, that is, our instruments of war are not yet instruments of harvest and feeding the hungry. Nations are fighting nations, and all are still training for war. Obviously, Isaiah's promised kingdom is still coming. We are still waiting. How do you feel about this? How does this impact you as you sit with God in prayer?
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
**Read Isaiah 2:1-5 two or three times, paying special attention to the words or images that stand out to you.
**Take a moment to ponder the words or images you noted in reading the scripture. Do you hear an invitation in the words? Pray with what you are hearing.
**In this context, "mountain" symbolizes a place of encounter with God (Israelite history was full of encounters with God on mountains). What "mountains" (places of encounter) are part of your experience with God? How might those mountains (or the memory of those mountains) be a part of your Advent experience?
** Our swords have not yet been beaten into plowshares, that is, our instruments of war are not yet instruments of harvest and feeding the hungry. Nations are fighting nations, and all are still training for war. Obviously, Isaiah's promised kingdom is still coming. We are still waiting. How do you feel about this? How does this impact you as you sit with God in prayer?
First Sunday of Advent -- December 1, 2019
Matthew 24:37-44
The Gospel for the first day of Advent comes as a wake-call, as a summons to be awake, alert, and watchful for the coming Christ. Jesus moves us to be ready: “Therefore, keep watch!”
But the passage also carries a more subversive, less-anticipated image for the coming God. God is like a thief who comes to break into your house in order to steal from you. What a strange way to begin Advent!
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matt. 24:42-44)
In spiritual stories, house is often a symbol for your life; therefore, those things inside your house are the various aspects of your life that you consider to be yours . . . your beliefs, your attitudes, your ways of being in the world, your essential framework for doing life. In short, inside your house is your entire inner world, both the parts of you that heal and give life, as well as the parts of you that are detrimental to you, others, and the world.
God is the thief who breaks into your house to steal from you . . . to steal your hatred . . . to steal your bigotry and prejudice . . . to steal your judgmental spirit . . . to steal your greed . . . to steal your miserliness . . . to steal your bent toward destructiveness.
The point seems to be that if you want to hold onto who you think you are at the moment – to your anger and your weapons of destruction and your jealousies and your ego-centric behaviors – you had best lock your doors securely and not allow God inside. Because once God gets in, God is going to steal those things you refuse to let go of, those things you cling to for life.
I know this to be true. God has been a thief, stealing from me for over two decades . . . anger, life-stealing behavior patterns, judgments, preconceived notions about life which were not true. Time after time I have found God to be a thief who takes from me what I thought I had locked away securely. God has stolen from me things that diminished my capacity to love and things that compromised my ability to act mercifully.
One of my mentors says this is essentially what the dark night of the soul is . . . God stealing from us in the darkness what we will not hand over willingly to him in the light.
Advent is here! The Thief is coming . . . jiggling the door handles of the rooms you and I have secured, in order to gain entrance . . . to steal from me and you yet again.
For Reflection:
• Are you bothered by the image of God as a thief? If so, you may want to sit quietly for a moment and explore with God why you are bothered by the image.
• What is your experience of God as a Thief?
The Gospel for the first day of Advent comes as a wake-call, as a summons to be awake, alert, and watchful for the coming Christ. Jesus moves us to be ready: “Therefore, keep watch!”
But the passage also carries a more subversive, less-anticipated image for the coming God. God is like a thief who comes to break into your house in order to steal from you. What a strange way to begin Advent!
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matt. 24:42-44)
In spiritual stories, house is often a symbol for your life; therefore, those things inside your house are the various aspects of your life that you consider to be yours . . . your beliefs, your attitudes, your ways of being in the world, your essential framework for doing life. In short, inside your house is your entire inner world, both the parts of you that heal and give life, as well as the parts of you that are detrimental to you, others, and the world.
God is the thief who breaks into your house to steal from you . . . to steal your hatred . . . to steal your bigotry and prejudice . . . to steal your judgmental spirit . . . to steal your greed . . . to steal your miserliness . . . to steal your bent toward destructiveness.
The point seems to be that if you want to hold onto who you think you are at the moment – to your anger and your weapons of destruction and your jealousies and your ego-centric behaviors – you had best lock your doors securely and not allow God inside. Because once God gets in, God is going to steal those things you refuse to let go of, those things you cling to for life.
I know this to be true. God has been a thief, stealing from me for over two decades . . . anger, life-stealing behavior patterns, judgments, preconceived notions about life which were not true. Time after time I have found God to be a thief who takes from me what I thought I had locked away securely. God has stolen from me things that diminished my capacity to love and things that compromised my ability to act mercifully.
One of my mentors says this is essentially what the dark night of the soul is . . . God stealing from us in the darkness what we will not hand over willingly to him in the light.
Advent is here! The Thief is coming . . . jiggling the door handles of the rooms you and I have secured, in order to gain entrance . . . to steal from me and you yet again.
For Reflection:
• Are you bothered by the image of God as a thief? If so, you may want to sit quietly for a moment and explore with God why you are bothered by the image.
• What is your experience of God as a Thief?
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