Between Faithfulness and Forgetfulness

Deuteronomy 6:1-15
Throughout the history of God’s people there has been a prevailing trend: when times are tough, we turn to God and seek the divine favor; when times are good, however, it is very easy for us to forget God’s presence or that we ever needed God in the first place. The writer of Deuteronomy warned against just such a turn of events. “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors,” we read, “to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you…take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:10a, 12).

“Take care that you do not forget the Lord.” These are telling words that go straight to the heart of contemporary life. It is so easy in our consumer-driven culture, in this age of the self-made individual, to take credit for who we are and for the blessings we’ve received as if we have done it all by ourselves. Not only does this put us at odds with the divine will, but it also tears at the very fabric of the community of faith. One of the realities that binds us together as Christians is the recognition of our profound need for God and for one another. To forget God, then, is also to forget those around us, their needs and aspirations, their challenges and sorrows. A call to remember the Lord at all times, then is also a call to remember one another. And not just to remember each other, but to continue to care for and show compassion to others as well.

We are blessed in many ways by a God who loves us, watches over us, and, when need be, judges and corrects us. If we forget this, we lose an essential aspect of who we are.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to remember you at all times and to live our lives in accordance with your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Listen to the Silence

Psalm 28
One of the evening psalms for today offers what I might call an auditory conundrum. “To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit” (Psalm 28:1). What exactly does the silence of God sound like? Is it like the sound of one hand clapping, or a tree falling in the forest when there is no one there? Is it like the quiet of a library, or the hush of a school building when the day is over and the children have gone home? The homecoming parades I marched in during high school used to pass by a hospital at which point the instruments quit playing and the drums simply marked a soft tap, tap, tap so we could keep cadence. Surely the silence of God is not like that.

The psalmist knew, or at least thought he knew, what the silence of God would be like. It was the experience of separation, of descending to a place where the love of God was only a memory. It meant being cast off, as the wicked are sent away and left to their own fate. How deeply the psalmist felt the need for what one writer calls, “a living mutual relationship with God.” And so the psalmist prayed, with arms outstretched toward the temple, and beseeched God to listen and to respond and to not be silent.

Silence can be a good thing, of course. When young children have been a little wound up the soft sounds of their sleeping comes as a blessing. But silence can also be a draining experience, can leave us feeling lost or lonely, can remind us of our need for others. And with arms outstretched we lift our prayers to a God who does indeed listen, and who indeed responds, and who is capable of breaking the silence of our very souls with the knowledge of the divine presence. “Blessed is the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength and my shield…” (vs. 6-7a).

What does the silence of God sound like? At the end of the day we have to answer that question for ourselves. But whatever the answer may be, it cannot mask the fact that God cares for God’s people like a shepherd for a flock, that God hears our pleadings, hears our prayers, and in ways that we cannot fully understand responds to us. God’s silence then is only an illusion, for the sound of God is really the sound of our being.

Prayer: Lord, hear us when we call to you, and bless us with the knowledge of your presence, for it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.

Blessing the World

Genesis 47:1-26

When God called Abraham and Sarah into a covenant relationship a significant part of the promise what that they would become a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Now as we approach the end of the Genesis account we find the promise being carried out. “Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.…Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh” (Genesis 47:7, 10). You would expect that the ruler of a great a civilization like Pharaoh would be the one dispensing the blessings, but in keeping with God’s word to his ancestor, Jacob is the one blessing the king.

We should not overlook the significance of this event. Jacob, a man of faith, has offered a benediction to one outside of his tradition. Jacob has essentially shared the love of God with Pharaoh. As people of faith we, too, have the opportunity to live as a blessing to the nations and to offer grace and benediction to those around us. Even when we feel weak or insignificant, when we ourselves are wrestling with weighty issues, when we feel displaced or set upon, we may reflect the love of God. This was the call to discipleship that Jesus issued over and over again. To follow Jesus is to seek the wellbeing of the world and to work for the coming kingdom. When confronted by evil Jesus offered a different path; with illness, healing; with brokenness, reconciliation. Jesus himself was a benediction to the world, God’s Word of grace, and as the body of Christ at work in the world we are challenged to be the same.

Prayer: Lord, may we be a blessing to the world and in sharing your love may we offer a light in the darkness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

On Being a Blessing

Jeremiah 29:1 (2-3) 4-14

Romans 11:13-24

Today’s readings include verses from Jeremiah and Romans which remind us what it means to be God’s people. As I’ve point out before, God promised to make Abraham a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Today we catch a glimpse of what that means.

“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,” says Jeremiah, “and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). It does no good for God’s people to remove themselves from the world. Quite the contrary, they are to seek what is good for the world so that the world may be a good place for everyone. This is part of what it means to be a blessing, to challenge others to be their best, demonstrating the mutuality of life in community.

In Romans Paul is writing to Gentiles but speaking about the role of the Hebrew people. “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not vaunt yourselves over the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you” (Romans 11:17-18). In this case, the ever-widening growth of believers is dependent on a foundation of faith first established in the people of Israel. Abraham’s children are to bless those being added to their number through Christ, not rejecting them but welcoming them into full fellowship.

Christians today stand in this line of faith. It is now our calling to challenge the world to be a place of goodness for all people. We are also to welcome and nurture those being added to our number. In these ways, and others, we demonstrate what it means to bless others even as we are blessed by God.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to those around us; help us to care for them and to bless them in your name. Amen.

On Being Blessed

Isaiah 61:1-9 2

Timothy 3:1-17

There is an interesting connection between our reading from Isaiah today and that from 2 Timothy. In discussing what is to become of God’s people in the future the prophet says, “all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed” (Isaiah 61:9). This is a statement of promise pointing to a time of restoration and grace. And here’s what the writer of 2 Timothy says: “What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them” (2 Timothy 3:11). What does it mean to be blessed by God? Does it mean peace, with no pain or sorrow? Or does it mean something else altogether? Can it be found in this life, or is it reserved for the life to come?

One answer is to say that God’s blessing is best understood in the life of the one who is blessed. Paul certainly considered himself blessed by God yet he went through times of severe trial and hardship. Elsewhere we read how members of the early church would rejoice at being found worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ. God’s blessing isn’t about a life of ease and luxury, it is about knowing that one is claimed by God and set apart for the work of the kingdom. As early as Abraham God also charged those whom God blessed to be a blessing to others. That understanding continues for us today. To be chosen by God is to be set aside for service as much as salvation, and when we grasp this we can begin to see ourselves for who we are: “people whom the Lord has blessed.”

So here’s a challenge for us all today. Let’s each take a moment to consider our lives, to reflect on what it means to be set apart by God for a task, to be in relationship with our Creator. And let’s thank God, even as we endure the pains of life, that we have this calling. For it is indeed a gift.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the blessings in our lives and to share them freely with others that all may know your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.