Careful What You Believe

Isaiah 44:24-45:7
God has strong words by way of the prophet Isaiah for those who would claim to speak from insight they don’t actually have. Even those who are perceived as wise will be thwarted in their views. “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,” we read, “who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord… who frustrates the omens of liars, and makes fools of diviners; who turns back the wise, and makes their knowledge foolish…” (Isaiah 44:24a, 25).

In the modern world, the internet provides a steady stream of dubious claims and questionable statements. (I say this knowing full well that what I write and post online may, to some, seem like “dubious” and “questionable” material!) But even before the dawn of email and text messaging, rumors and half-truths found their way into everyday discourse. Indeed, this is a part of the problem that Isaiah was addressing because many people who were content to put their faith, their confidence in what the world said was factual. God’s response is to go right to the source, to “frustrate” those who offer lies and foolishness, and to “turn back” even that which seems intelligent to our ears. There is only one source of truth, the God from whom alone wisdom arises and in whom alone we must put our trust.

To live a life of faithful obedience we must set aside the falsehoods of the world and instead prayerfully seek for guidance in the word of God, all the while being attentive to what the Holy Spirit shows us to be correct.

Prayer: Lord, may we come to know your truth and to cast aside the falsehoods and lies of those who would deceive. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Don’t Be Offended

Luke 7:18-35
In our passage from Luke’s gospel for today we read, “And (Jesus) answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me’” (Luke 7:22-23). This is a curious list of attributes that Jesus gives as evidence of his identity. Not the first several, of course. Healing the blind, the lame, those with leprosy, the deaf; raising the dead; bringing good news to the poor; all of these make sense. But what does it mean when Jesus blesses those who are not offended by him?

If we reflect back over earlier sections of Luke we may recall events in 4:18-19 where Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah as a means of inaugurating his ministry. There is some overlap in the sections. Both refer to healing the blind in particular, and to good news for the poor. These passages seem to serve the same purpose. But as a result of his comments in chapter 4, Jesus finds himself driven out of town and threatened with stoning (vv. 29-30). Why? Apparently the crowd that day had been offended by his words. Now, a bit further on in the gospel, John’s disciples ask Jesus to make his identity clear. Jesus points to the work he is doing but makes the additional comment that those who are willing to accept him will be blessed.

Are we offended by Jesus? Does he say and do things that we’d rather he didn’t? Does he push us in uncomfortable directions? In all honesty, if Jesus doesn’t fluster us it probably means we aren’t paying attention. But when we do listen, and when we are willing to hear Jesus’ words as grace and not as an inconvenience, we will find ourselves blessed by the encounter.

Prayer: O God, open our hearts to your word that we may become what you intend us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Expect the Unexpected

Amos 7:10-17

The book of Amos offers only a brief description of the prophet’s call from God. “Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel”'” (Amos 7:14-15). This is not a unique story in scripture. Moses was herding the flocks of his father-in-law when God called him (Exodus 3). Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1) were minding their own business when the presence of the Lord burst upon them with work to be done. In the New Testament Mary was surprised to learn that she would bear God’s Son (Luke 1:26-38); Simon, Andrew, James and John were interrupted in their daily activities when Jesus called them to follow (Matthew 4:18-22); and Paul was stunned by Jesus’ appearance to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). These are just a few of the examples that scripture gives us.

Advent is a time for listening to God’s voice in our lives, for following where God leads us, for doing the unexpected. Few of us herd livestock, prune sycamore trees, or fish for a living. Even fewer—I suspect—are in the habit of persecuting Christians. That’s not the point of these stories. What we need to understand it that God sees in us gifts and skills that we may not readily see in ourselves, and God seeks to use those skills to serve God’s will. The tasks we find ourselves doing may be small or large, may cause us little discomfort or force us to completely change our way of life. Whatever the case, God’s people must always “expect the unexpected.” That may seem difficult during Advent when we think we know pretty well what is going on, but if we are really listening, really paying attention, then we will learn all sorts of things about God, about ourselves, and about the world around us.

Advent is a time for expectations, some of which are very unexpected. Be ready.

Prayer: Lord, keep us focused on what you are doing in our world, and give us the strength to respond when you call. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Adding It All Up

Mark 11:12-26

Our reading from the gospel today includes what is commonly referred to as “The Cleansing of the Temple.” This is one of a handful of accounts that appear in all four gospels in essentially the same form (Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-17). Each tells the story of Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem and driving out those who did business there, selling livestock or changing money. Quoting from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, Jesus accuses these business people of changing the temple from a house of prayer into a haven for thieves. In short, worldly qualities and values had taken root within this most holy of places, where God’s presence alone was to be recognized.

Jesus’ response to the state of affairs in Jerusalem should not surprise us. As was often said of him, he was zealous for God’s will. But I wonder what Jesus might do were he to enter one of our congregations today. In fact, this is a question we all should struggle with. Financial concerns occupy a great deal of time for church leaders. Annual budgets, stewardship campaigns, endowments, investments, bequests, building loans, insurance policies, salaries, utilities and so forth are constant factors of church life. Have we turned our places of worship into erstwhile financial institutions? Well, frankly, we are probably more money conscious than we should be. Most spreadsheets leave little room for faith as a line item. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Giving, in and of itself, can and should be a form of spiritual discipline; a “get-to” not a “have-to” as it were. But it should not replace prayer, study, or active participation as our primary function.

In my opinion the congregations that worry the most about money are probably the ones in most danger of considering it to be essential for survival. Ultimately money should only be seen as a tool to do the work of the Lord, not as a reason for being. Financial well-being is important, but a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered group of people can accomplish great things with very little, as long as God is at work there.

Prayer: Lord, bless us with the tools we need in order to serve you most faithfully. And help us to use what we have wisely and generously. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Highway Improvements

2 Peter 2:10b-16

Matthew 3:1-12

I’ve never been on a long car trip that didn’t eventually take me through an area of road construction. Maybe the guardrails needed replacing. Maybe the lanes needed re-striping. Or maybe the entire roadbed had to be redone. Whatever the case, traffic slowed down as we inched by the site before returning to normal speeds. It’s frustrating, but it leads to improved roads so it needs to be done.

Both the writer of 2 Peter and John the Baptist know that improvements need to be made in the way we are traveling spiritually. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah as he describes John’s ministry: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Matthew 3:3). The language in 2 Peter is far more direct. “They (false teachers of the gospel) have hearts trained in greed…They have left the straight road and gone astray…” (2 Peter 2:14-15).

What does it mean to walk a straight path, to travel in the proper direction? It means living in tune with God’s will. It means opening ourselves to what it is that God is doing in our lives. In the words of Micah, it means to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The good news is that God has not left us to do the “road work” alone. In Jesus Christ, God walks the path with us, points out the dangerous curves and the icy patches that can cause us so much trouble. With God’s grace we are able to repair our spiritual lives and walk a straighter highway, the highway of God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live in faithful obedience to you and to walk straight paths untainted by greed and selfishness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Burning Coals and First Stones

Isaiah 6:1-13

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

John 7:53-8:11

“To this end,” writes Paul, “we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call…” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). But what does it mean to be “worthy of (God’s) call” and how might that happen? Isaiah and John offer a bit of insight.

When Isaiah encountered the heavenly court there in the temple he immediately recognized his predicament. “Woe is me!” he said. “I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…yet my eyes have see the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)! Then a seraph touches his mouth with a live coal from the altar and blots out Isaiah’s sin. He is now worthy to accept God’s call in his life.

In John, a woman is brought to Jesus accused of adultery. The law says she should be stoned to death, but what will Jesus say? Fine, is his response, just let the one without sin be the first to throw a stone. Before long the crowd has departed and Jesus and the woman are left alone. “Go you way,” he tells her, “and from now on do not sin again” (John 8:11). I would suggest that like Isaiah, this woman is now worthy to accept God’s call in her life. She has been forgiven and restored to a life in community.

So what are we to say about these things? For one, God alone is the arbiter of human worth and worthiness. How much we matter or to what extent we are “worthwhile” comes from no other source but God. For another thing, worthiness arrives in strange and unexpected circumstances, like a walk in the temple or in the face of a mob. And finally, this sense of worthiness changes everything. Now I don’t believe that Isaiah or the woman lived the rest of their lives without sin, but I do believe that the reordering of their lives by God removes questions of worthiness from the equation. If God says we are worthy, that settles it, no matter what happens next. And that is good news.

Prayer: Lord, walk with us and guide us in worthiness that we may respond to your call with all our hearts. Amen.