Stirred Up

Haggai 1:1-15

“Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God…” (Haggai 1:13-14).

God has often stirred up the spirit of God’s people, encouraging, enabling, and empowering them to be about God’s will, doing more than they thought they ever could. Even during the season of Advent we hear of God inspiring Zachariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, and the residents of Jerusalem and all of Judea. When so many are awakened from spiritual complacency there must be something going on, and when so many turn to God and welcome God’s presence in their lives with shouts of joy and songs of praise it is clearly God who is responsible for the stirring.

Through the words of the prophet Haggai God stirred up “the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God….” And through countless other voices God continues to stir folks up. May we, too, be stirred from our spiritual listlessness until we find ourselves doing more than we ever knew we could. Then we will truly know that the Lord is at work.

Prayer: Lord, stir us up by your word and lead us in lives of faithfulness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Clean Up Your Act

Matthew 23:13-26

Our gospel reading for today includes words of Jesus’ condemning the actions of the religious elite. “Woe to you,” Jesus says, “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean” (Matthew 23:25-26). Jesus is pointing to the ritual purification of household items, and using it as a parable of righteousness. Those who were worried about appearances but who cared little for God’s will were like cups and plates cleaned on the outside but left full of filth on the inside. “Get your priorities straight,” says Jesus. “Clean up your act.”

Most of us are preparing ourselves for the coming holidays by decorating, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and so forth. We worry about our budgets (so much to buy), about our weight (so much to eat), about our time (so much to do), about our obligations (so many folks to please). Are our priorities straight? Are we focused on the real point of the season, the needs of our world that Jesus addresses over and over again? Or are we cups and plates that are clean on the outside but filthy on the inside? Let’s put it another way: would you serve holiday guests on dishes that had not been washed? No! Nor should we serve God with hearts that have not been touched by the call for justice and righteousness.

Jesus’ words are stark and direct. What matters to God is a life of faithful obedience. Live in accordance with God’s will first and foremost, and let your actions be your gift to the world.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to live as you intend, with hearts set not on worldly desires, but on the grace and mercy that you seek. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Listen Here

Amos 8:1-14

Of all the words of warning that God shares through the prophet Amos perhaps the most ominous comes in our reading for today.

“The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,

when I will send a famine on the land;

not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord.

They shall wander from sea to sea,

and from north to east;

they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,

but they shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12).

Amos is describing a sense of disorientation that few of us can fully appreciate. I imagine the absence of God’s word as similar to the rasping sound of a poorly tuned radio. Unable to find the proper signal we might soon become dizzy following after other voices, other sounds that offered no real substance.

But what if God’s word is present yet we refuse to listen to it? What if our “spiritual radios” are turned off or set to other stations? Is the effect not the same? Do we not risk the same disorientation? Do we not find ourselves drawn to voices and sounds unworthy of our attention? Advent is about tuning into the proper message, about seeking out the correct frequency so that the message comes though clearly. Jesus Christ is the Word of God and in his birth we find God broadcasting the good news to all who will listen.

Prayer: Lord, help us to hear your Word and to respond in faith, during Advent and beyond. 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.

Who Is Expecting Whom?

Amos 7:1-9

According to our Old Testament reading for today God gave the prophet Amos a clear image of judgment.

“This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword’" (Amos 7:7-9).

In order for a wall to be its strongest it must be built with precision. The wall next to which Amos saw the Lord standing had been built with a plumb line, meaning it had been well constructed. This, then, was the expectation that God was setting for the people. Everything they did was to be as straight and true as a well built wall. If all was not as God wished it God’s judgment would come to bear.

That may not sound like a cheery message for Advent, but the truth is unmistakable. To be in relationship with another or to be bound in covenant means that each party expects the other to abide by the terms of the contract. We, then, are not the only ones with expectations these days. As we await the coming reign of God we must strive to live in truth, to “measure up” to the expectations that God has for us. The good news is that by grace God offers a plumb line for us to use. If we allow God to guide us the lives we construct will be all they should be, a blessing to us and to others.

Prayer: Lord, may our lives we straight and true, built according to your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Give and Take

Jude 1-16

One of my favorite blessings comes from this rather small New Testament book. “May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance” (Jude 2). I use it often as an element of worship and in greeting others. But when I do I am being a little sneaky, because this is more than a simple benediction; it is a call to righteousness as well. In order to recognize mercy received one must show mercy to others. In order to live in peace one must also be peaceful. How can you truly understand someone’s love for you if you do not strive to love others? Jude’s blessing, then, is also a charge. May your life be filled with mercy given and received; may your life be filled with peace offered and returned; may your life be filled with love poured out and experienced.

During the season of Advent—and beyond—may our living lead to a balance between what we do for others and what others do for us, all according to God’s will.

Prayer: Lord, bless us and keep us, even as we bless and keep those around us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jarring Time

Matthew 21:33-46

According to our gospel reading for today Jesus’ opponents were able to grasp the meaning of his words, but only to a certain extent. “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them” (Matthew 21:45). The problem was that while they understood that Jesus was talking about them, they were not able to grasp the validity of what he said. To them Jesus was a nuisance and not the Son of God. The chief priests and Pharisees considered themselves devout people of great faith, but they were so wrapped up in their own expectations that they missed the fact that God was standing (and speaking) right in front of them. What they needed was an attitude adjustment.

In the film version of John Grisham’s novel A Time To Kill, Jake, a young defense attorney, makes his closing argument to the jury. He begins by asking the twelve men and women to close their eyes and to imagine the scene he is describing: the brutal assault on a young black girl by two white men, the various horrific things they did to her, the fact that they ignored her pleas for mercy and how they left her for dead. “Can you see that?” Jake asks the jury. “Now, imagine that little girl is white.” The impact of Jake’s words is instantly apparent. The jarring change in perspective makes all the difference in how the jury members perceive the case at hand.

The chief priests and Pharisees might have been jarred into a change of perspective by Jesus’ parable, yet they were not receptive to what Jesus was saying. What about you and me? Are we receptive to God’s word in such a way that we can hear it and be moved by it? Are we willing to be corrected of our false assumptions, to at least entertain the notion that God’s will is other than what we may expect? It is so easy to condemn the chief priests and Pharisees for their hardheartedness, but unless we are open to God’s word we may miss the chance to be jarred into a change of perspective ourselves. During Advent, as we await the arrival of Jesus Christ, it is important to allow God to speak to us and then to really listen to what God is saying. Otherwise we may well miss the chance of a lifetime. We always have more to learn; but are we really willing to be taught?

Prayer: Lord, allow us to be moved by your word, and when we are reluctant to listen jar us from our complacency that we may live as your people, guided by your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.