Today's Reading: Isaiah 64-66
The prophet Isaiah is caught in a game of Hide and Seek. Justice is hiding. It has found such a good hiding place, it has been so covered up, that all the other players have given up and have gone home, tired of seeking. Only the prophet remains way into the twilight looking for justice. All the rest have tired of the pursuit of justice.
Why is this?
One of the reasons is that justice is a very difficult destination. It is so much easier to be caught up in the downward flow of the status quo stream. It is hard to paddle against the currents of poverty, politics and power.
Justice is also so illusive. Though it seems simple to state "be fair," "be kind," "don't lie," "treat others the way you would want to be treated," actually incarnating those statements is a daily challenge for even the most ethical among us.
And justice calls for such selflessness. Our greed, our power, our gluttonous appetite for comfort often squeak louder, demanding the grease of our labors. Justice's voice is often overrun by the other noise pollution in our lives.
We are called to seek justice. To call out for it. To search high and low, near and far. To run after it. To listen for the slightest whisper.
O Justice,
Come out!
Make yourself known to us.
Draw us into your passionate embrace.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 211: Preaching to exiles
Today's Reading: Isaiah 59-63
The people of God were living in exile. They had been transported, against their wills, away from their homes and all that was familiar, to another country. In the midst of all this sorrow and despair, the prophet Isaiah promised release, healing, and return.
During the Roman Empire, a rogue rabbi was invited to preach at a local synagogue. Religious men, at their wits end, trying to hold what little was left of their lives, culture and religion together, listened as Jesus unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and read:
Recently, my daughter was living in a part of the country very unlike the midwest in which she grew up. The people, culture and religious beliefs were foreign to her. She said, "Mom, I just want to come home to the place where I understand what is going on."
The New Testament speaks to all of us, calling us aliens in a foreign land. It says our home is heaven, and thus we struggle with the culture of "darkness" that is all around us.
Jesus still crashes into our modern day places of worship and preaches to us exiles. He offers a trade that is not fair; it is a trade of grace. Good news, healing, freedom, light, comfort, beauty, gladness and an attitude of praise. These are all marks of our true homeland.
So, if you are feeling a little frustrated and lost in this world, it's because you are in exile.
One of these days, you'll get to go home.
The people of God were living in exile. They had been transported, against their wills, away from their homes and all that was familiar, to another country. In the midst of all this sorrow and despair, the prophet Isaiah promised release, healing, and return.
During the Roman Empire, a rogue rabbi was invited to preach at a local synagogue. Religious men, at their wits end, trying to hold what little was left of their lives, culture and religion together, listened as Jesus unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and read:
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Recently, my daughter was living in a part of the country very unlike the midwest in which she grew up. The people, culture and religious beliefs were foreign to her. She said, "Mom, I just want to come home to the place where I understand what is going on."
The New Testament speaks to all of us, calling us aliens in a foreign land. It says our home is heaven, and thus we struggle with the culture of "darkness" that is all around us.
Jesus still crashes into our modern day places of worship and preaches to us exiles. He offers a trade that is not fair; it is a trade of grace. Good news, healing, freedom, light, comfort, beauty, gladness and an attitude of praise. These are all marks of our true homeland.
So, if you are feeling a little frustrated and lost in this world, it's because you are in exile.
One of these days, you'll get to go home.
Day 210: Never again abandoned
Today's Reading: Isaiah 54-58
There have been times when I feel very alone and lonely, but I have never felt abandoned by God.
Now, before I go on, I know there are those who have felt abandoned by God.
People who have faced great and long periods of pain.
People who have been prisoners of war.
People who have been victims of abuse or violence.
The people of Israel not only felt God's cold shoulder, God admits that he abandoned them. How horrible that must have been!
In the admitting, God promises never to abandon them again. What an incredible promise that is! Read these words again.
Jesus repeats this promise as he is about to ascend into heaven: "I will not leave you comfortless, but I will come to you and your heart shall rejoice."
You might be feeling very lonely at this very moment. You might feel abandoned. But, you have not been left alone.
God also swore not to be angry with us anymore. Just as he promised never to flood the earth again to destroy it, he promised never to be angry with us again. That is an incredible promise! Instead, God says, "My unfailing love for you will not be shaken."
God's stance toward us is love and presence.
Amazing!
There have been times when I feel very alone and lonely, but I have never felt abandoned by God.
Now, before I go on, I know there are those who have felt abandoned by God.
People who have faced great and long periods of pain.
People who have been prisoners of war.
People who have been victims of abuse or violence.
The people of Israel not only felt God's cold shoulder, God admits that he abandoned them. How horrible that must have been!
In the admitting, God promises never to abandon them again. What an incredible promise that is! Read these words again.
"For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.
"To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
Jesus repeats this promise as he is about to ascend into heaven: "I will not leave you comfortless, but I will come to you and your heart shall rejoice."
You might be feeling very lonely at this very moment. You might feel abandoned. But, you have not been left alone.
God also swore not to be angry with us anymore. Just as he promised never to flood the earth again to destroy it, he promised never to be angry with us again. That is an incredible promise! Instead, God says, "My unfailing love for you will not be shaken."
God's stance toward us is love and presence.
Amazing!
Day 209: Engorged breasts
Today's Reading: Isaiah 49-53
I breast fed both of my children until they were at least two years old. I feel like I am close to being an expert in breast feeding as I have fed a baby at my breast at least 10,000 times.
All breast feeding mothers know a couple of things. A breast feeding mother does not have the option of forgetting her child.
When your baby cries, your breasts respond by letting down milk. Many a time, the front of my shirt or blouse was drenched with milk before I could get my crying baby to my breast. This can be quite embarrassing. This is something over which you have no control.
You cannot easily skip a feeding. Your breasts become as hard as rocks and very painful with the pressure of milk that is built up in them. There is nothing like putting your baby to your breast and getting the relief as the sucking child drains the milk.
The relationship between a breast feeding mother and her child is incredible. They are mutually dependent and the time spent in that kind of intimacy bonds them for life at an unexplainable level.
God speaks today as a mother with engorged breasts.
"There is no way I can forget you."
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
I breast fed both of my children until they were at least two years old. I feel like I am close to being an expert in breast feeding as I have fed a baby at my breast at least 10,000 times.
All breast feeding mothers know a couple of things. A breast feeding mother does not have the option of forgetting her child.
When your baby cries, your breasts respond by letting down milk. Many a time, the front of my shirt or blouse was drenched with milk before I could get my crying baby to my breast. This can be quite embarrassing. This is something over which you have no control.
You cannot easily skip a feeding. Your breasts become as hard as rocks and very painful with the pressure of milk that is built up in them. There is nothing like putting your baby to your breast and getting the relief as the sucking child drains the milk.
The relationship between a breast feeding mother and her child is incredible. They are mutually dependent and the time spent in that kind of intimacy bonds them for life at an unexplainable level.
God speaks today as a mother with engorged breasts.
"There is no way I can forget you."
Day 208: Face Shine
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37; Psalms 46, 80, 135
Recently, I visited with a young family. The five year old son, aware that his dad and mom were engrossed in a conversation with someone else, tried a lot of tactics to get their attention away from me, their guest, back to him, their son. Finally, he climbed up in his dad's lap, took his dad's face in his pudgy little hands and turned it away from me so they were nose to nose. "Look at me, Daddy," he demanded.
As a mother, I have noticed my face turning to my children. When there is a class picture from a field trip, none of the other people in the picture hold any interest for me until I find my son. During a concert, it is very hard for me to enjoy the whole production as my eyes are fixed upon my child everytime she is on the stage. My face beams with delight; it shines when my child walks in the door way, coming home from college.
The Psalmist begs:
Bring us to the center of your attention, LORD.
O, that I might hold your interest.
Fix your eyes of love upon me.
May I bring you delight.
Recently, I visited with a young family. The five year old son, aware that his dad and mom were engrossed in a conversation with someone else, tried a lot of tactics to get their attention away from me, their guest, back to him, their son. Finally, he climbed up in his dad's lap, took his dad's face in his pudgy little hands and turned it away from me so they were nose to nose. "Look at me, Daddy," he demanded.
As a mother, I have noticed my face turning to my children. When there is a class picture from a field trip, none of the other people in the picture hold any interest for me until I find my son. During a concert, it is very hard for me to enjoy the whole production as my eyes are fixed upon my child everytime she is on the stage. My face beams with delight; it shines when my child walks in the door way, coming home from college.
The Psalmist begs:
Make your face shine upon us.
Bring us to the center of your attention, LORD.
O, that I might hold your interest.
Fix your eyes of love upon me.
May I bring you delight.
Day 207: "I belong to the LORD"
Today's Reading: Isaiah 44-48
I am getting ready to teach a confirmation class.
I have been pondering just what sort of information the young people need to be taught, what experiences would we especially provacative and what projects would spur their imagination.
But the real objective is to help these fabulous young people answer one question and one alone.
To whom do you belong?
We can belong to a family, a club, a sweetheart, a team, a church. To "belong" not only implies privileges, it evokes responsibility and commitment.
But in each of these instances, the idea of "ownership" is not part of the deal. We would say, "That car belongs to me," but we would never want to be "owned" by anyone or anything. We want to be free agents, in control of our own lives.
But when we declare, "I belong to the LORD," there is a sense of being "owned" by our God. God has power and authority over all of our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Belonging to God demands something of me. "I belong to the LORD," therefore, I cannot belong to any other god. God's faithfulness to me demands my faithfulness to God. It changes everything--every choice, every moment, every other commitment.
The Brief Statement of Faith of the PCUSA sums it up like this:
For me, I find great comfort in the phrase, "I belong to the LORD." I am one of his children. I am one of his sheep. I am one of his beloved ones for whom he has died.
I am getting ready to teach a confirmation class.
I have been pondering just what sort of information the young people need to be taught, what experiences would we especially provacative and what projects would spur their imagination.
But the real objective is to help these fabulous young people answer one question and one alone.
To whom do you belong?
We can belong to a family, a club, a sweetheart, a team, a church. To "belong" not only implies privileges, it evokes responsibility and commitment.
But in each of these instances, the idea of "ownership" is not part of the deal. We would say, "That car belongs to me," but we would never want to be "owned" by anyone or anything. We want to be free agents, in control of our own lives.
But when we declare, "I belong to the LORD," there is a sense of being "owned" by our God. God has power and authority over all of our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Belonging to God demands something of me. "I belong to the LORD," therefore, I cannot belong to any other god. God's faithfulness to me demands my faithfulness to God. It changes everything--every choice, every moment, every other commitment.
The Brief Statement of Faith of the PCUSA sums it up like this:
In life and in death, we belong to God.
For me, I find great comfort in the phrase, "I belong to the LORD." I am one of his children. I am one of his sheep. I am one of his beloved ones for whom he has died.
Day 206: Comfort, Comfort
Today's Reading: Isaiah 40-43
Each one of us has had a time when we have been very, very brave.
We have stood against a very hard enemy. We have faced the foe. We have gulped down our fear and moved forward. We have swallowed our tears in order to minister to another.
But when we get home from a day like this, or when we come to a Sabbath rest from a season like this, we crumple in a heap and have a good cry.
It is at times like this when the words, "Comfort, comfort..." encircle us like two loving arms. It is at times like this when we need someone to speak tenderly to us and let us know "It is all over; you don't need to be strong any longer. I am here, I will take over for you."
I remember a time when my children were both very young. I was fighting cancer. My dad had just died. My hair had fallen out. I couldn't keep any food down. The laundry was piling up. I was overwhelmed. I thought nothing else could come and hit me. And them my children came down with the chicken pox. I sat on the living room floor feeling as though I could not go on.
I remember someone coming to me in that moment, putting arms around me, walking me up to my bedroom, pulling a blanket around me and telling me to sleep. That someone told me, "Do not worry. I am here. I will take care of everything. You rest." Later, that someone brought up a cup of tea and spooned the warm liquid into my mouth. When I asked about the children, she shushed me, telling me everything was under control. I sank back into my pillow and slept deeply.
Jesus said, "I will send you the Comforter." Many have been the times the Comforter has soothed me with the still small voice. Many have been the times the Comforter has soothed me with the hand and presence of a brother or sister in faith. Many have been the times the Comforter has brought up to me the wonderful words of life. Many have been the times the Comforter has given me Sabbath rest.
Praise be to the living God.
Each one of us has had a time when we have been very, very brave.
We have stood against a very hard enemy. We have faced the foe. We have gulped down our fear and moved forward. We have swallowed our tears in order to minister to another.
But when we get home from a day like this, or when we come to a Sabbath rest from a season like this, we crumple in a heap and have a good cry.
It is at times like this when the words, "Comfort, comfort..." encircle us like two loving arms. It is at times like this when we need someone to speak tenderly to us and let us know "It is all over; you don't need to be strong any longer. I am here, I will take over for you."
I remember a time when my children were both very young. I was fighting cancer. My dad had just died. My hair had fallen out. I couldn't keep any food down. The laundry was piling up. I was overwhelmed. I thought nothing else could come and hit me. And them my children came down with the chicken pox. I sat on the living room floor feeling as though I could not go on.
I remember someone coming to me in that moment, putting arms around me, walking me up to my bedroom, pulling a blanket around me and telling me to sleep. That someone told me, "Do not worry. I am here. I will take care of everything. You rest." Later, that someone brought up a cup of tea and spooned the warm liquid into my mouth. When I asked about the children, she shushed me, telling me everything was under control. I sank back into my pillow and slept deeply.
Jesus said, "I will send you the Comforter." Many have been the times the Comforter has soothed me with the still small voice. Many have been the times the Comforter has soothed me with the hand and presence of a brother or sister in faith. Many have been the times the Comforter has brought up to me the wonderful words of life. Many have been the times the Comforter has given me Sabbath rest.
Praise be to the living God.
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.
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