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?
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
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?
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