Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Our Old Testament reading for today offers a good example of the tension between God’s sovereignty over all creation on the one hand and the divine concern for individuals in need on the other. “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords,” we read, “the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18). To live in relationship with God, then, is to live out the meaning of that tension, God’s sovereign “above-ness” that in no way limits God’s nearness.
For example, when we worship God, we should hold these two aspects of God’s activity side by side. Our praise should be heartfelt and joyous, our hymns and prayers sung and spoken with the reverence that is appropriate for the Creator of all there is. But this same praise and worship is dishonest at best and meaningless at worst if it does not lead us to show care and compassion for those around us, if it does not direct our attention to a world full of need and pain. Our day to day lives as well must be guided by the recognition that our majestic God is also an imminent God. Though we might wish to move spiritually from one “mountaintop experience” to another, blinded to the world by the radiance of God’s presence, we walk a false path of discipleship if we do not also enter that world, eyes wide open to the poverty and the injustice that clamors for our attention, and which calls us to deeds of self-sacrifice on behalf of the lost and lonely.
The story of creation tells us in vivid terms that when God brought human life into existence it was as a reflection of the divine image. And the incarnation of Jesus Christ – the word of God made flesh – reveals the willingness of God to enter into human society as one of us and to live as the poorest among us, the most oppressed of our world, live. If, then, we are to give ourselves fully to God and to truly glorify God’s name, we must be willing to follow the divine imperative, recognizing God’s Lordship over all, but humbling ourselves in service to those in need. This is what it means to be the people of God.
Prayer: God of majesty and might, lead us not only to acts of praise and worship, but also to deeds of kindness and concern, that we may fully reflect your love to the world and may rightly serve you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Showing posts with label The People of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The People of God. Show all posts
Friday, February 22, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
What a Long, Strange Trip
Deuteronomy 8:1-20
“Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Two thoughts cross my mind when I read and reflect on those words from our Old Testament reading this morning. The first is the song “Truckin” by the classic rock group The Grateful Dead, which includes this refrain: “Sometimes the lights all shinin’ on me; Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been.” There are indeed times in my life when I have looked back and marveled at what a long, strange trip I’ve been on, the ups and the downs, the challenges and the accomplishments, the doubts overcome and the assumptions proved wrong, the questions answered and those that remain unanswered, the times of light and the hours of darkness. In a number of ways my life (at age 52) has been a long, strange trip, and I’m sure the people of Israel, standing on the cusp of the promised land, poised to enter and, with God’s help, to subdue it, were given cause to think in similar terms. But according to Deuteronomy God had been at work throughout, guiding and sustaining the people and testing to see their intentions. Wherever they had gone, God had been with them, and that fact had made the journey possible. Wherever we’ve gone, wherever our long, strange trips have taken us, God has been with us, too, leading us and making our journey possible.
And that leads to my second thought this morning. A minister friend of mine once spoke of his sense of call as best seen in hindsight. As he had moved from church to church in his career, it was when he took the time to reflect on events and opportunities in his life that he could most clearly recognize the hand of God at work. I’ve experienced the same reality. I’ve found myself wondering why I was in a particular situation as a minister and only after the fact, only when I’ve taken the time to ponder events and opportunities, have I recognized the real reasons that I had been there. As the book of Deuteronomy points out, the people of God finally had reached a place in their history where they could look back, reflect, and fully recognize their journey in terms of God’s actions.
Perhaps as we journey through the season of Lent each of us will be given the chance to look back, to reflect, to consider where, by God’s grace, we’ve been and how God has led us and cared for us. Perhaps we will find time to ponder the journey ahead and behind and note that, no matter how long or how strange, our trip has never been without God’s encouragement. Granted, some trips are longer and stranger than others, but the one God of Israel lies at the heart of them all.
Prayer: Lord God, make your presence known to us that we may remember we do not journey alone, but always in your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
“Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Two thoughts cross my mind when I read and reflect on those words from our Old Testament reading this morning. The first is the song “Truckin” by the classic rock group The Grateful Dead, which includes this refrain: “Sometimes the lights all shinin’ on me; Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been.” There are indeed times in my life when I have looked back and marveled at what a long, strange trip I’ve been on, the ups and the downs, the challenges and the accomplishments, the doubts overcome and the assumptions proved wrong, the questions answered and those that remain unanswered, the times of light and the hours of darkness. In a number of ways my life (at age 52) has been a long, strange trip, and I’m sure the people of Israel, standing on the cusp of the promised land, poised to enter and, with God’s help, to subdue it, were given cause to think in similar terms. But according to Deuteronomy God had been at work throughout, guiding and sustaining the people and testing to see their intentions. Wherever they had gone, God had been with them, and that fact had made the journey possible. Wherever we’ve gone, wherever our long, strange trips have taken us, God has been with us, too, leading us and making our journey possible.
And that leads to my second thought this morning. A minister friend of mine once spoke of his sense of call as best seen in hindsight. As he had moved from church to church in his career, it was when he took the time to reflect on events and opportunities in his life that he could most clearly recognize the hand of God at work. I’ve experienced the same reality. I’ve found myself wondering why I was in a particular situation as a minister and only after the fact, only when I’ve taken the time to ponder events and opportunities, have I recognized the real reasons that I had been there. As the book of Deuteronomy points out, the people of God finally had reached a place in their history where they could look back, reflect, and fully recognize their journey in terms of God’s actions.
Perhaps as we journey through the season of Lent each of us will be given the chance to look back, to reflect, to consider where, by God’s grace, we’ve been and how God has led us and cared for us. Perhaps we will find time to ponder the journey ahead and behind and note that, no matter how long or how strange, our trip has never been without God’s encouragement. Granted, some trips are longer and stranger than others, but the one God of Israel lies at the heart of them all.
Prayer: Lord God, make your presence known to us that we may remember we do not journey alone, but always in your presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Walk This Way
Isaiah 2:1-4
The prophet Isaiah shares a divine word about the times to come. “Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (Isaiah 2:3). Note the focus of the vision. In those days the nations of the world will turn their attention to God, not to institutions or agencies related to God, but to God alone. And it is in God that the truth will be found. I make this point because I think too often people of faith are tempted to claim authority in matters that belong to God. Who will teach the peoples? God will. In whose paths will they walk? The ones that God has established. Indeed, who is drawing the nations together? God is.
On the one hand this passage should remind us that we all have much to learn from God. No matter who we are or how much we know or how faithful we believe ourselves to be, we simply must remain open to what God is doing and saying and teaching. We, too, should make our way to “the house of the God of Jacob” to seek instruction for there is much that we, too, have to learn. At the same time, this passage also reminds us that God alone chooses who it is that God will teach, will guide, will claim. We do not have the authority to determine who may approach the divine presence. We do not control who is “in” or who is “out” in terms of God’s love. God alone “shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples” (v. 4a). It is God who stands at the center of Isaiah’s vision, and it is God alone who should—who must—reside at the center of our lives.
The vision offered by the prophet is one of hope precisely because it does not depend on human authority. It is only good news because it is God who is at work. So we look forward to the day when God’s will is done, and in the meantime we turn to God for instruction, standing shoulder to shoulder with whoever it is that God has called.
Prayer: Lord, help us to remain focused on you alone, and help us to hear your message of truth and righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The prophet Isaiah shares a divine word about the times to come. “Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (Isaiah 2:3). Note the focus of the vision. In those days the nations of the world will turn their attention to God, not to institutions or agencies related to God, but to God alone. And it is in God that the truth will be found. I make this point because I think too often people of faith are tempted to claim authority in matters that belong to God. Who will teach the peoples? God will. In whose paths will they walk? The ones that God has established. Indeed, who is drawing the nations together? God is.
On the one hand this passage should remind us that we all have much to learn from God. No matter who we are or how much we know or how faithful we believe ourselves to be, we simply must remain open to what God is doing and saying and teaching. We, too, should make our way to “the house of the God of Jacob” to seek instruction for there is much that we, too, have to learn. At the same time, this passage also reminds us that God alone chooses who it is that God will teach, will guide, will claim. We do not have the authority to determine who may approach the divine presence. We do not control who is “in” or who is “out” in terms of God’s love. God alone “shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples” (v. 4a). It is God who stands at the center of Isaiah’s vision, and it is God alone who should—who must—reside at the center of our lives.
The vision offered by the prophet is one of hope precisely because it does not depend on human authority. It is only good news because it is God who is at work. So we look forward to the day when God’s will is done, and in the meantime we turn to God for instruction, standing shoulder to shoulder with whoever it is that God has called.
Prayer: Lord, help us to remain focused on you alone, and help us to hear your message of truth and righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Fierce Compassion
Zechariah 12:1-10
There is a common misconception that God, as depicted in the Old Testament, is somehow limited to acts of rage and vengeance. While I would never argue that the Hebrew scriptures present God as merely passive or always peaceful, the truth is that God’s judgment is often a function of God’s grace. Our Old Testament reading for today helps to make this clear. “And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).
To enter into covenant with the God of Israel is to live as a blessing to the nations, even those whose enmity leads to conflict. To be a victor with God is to care for the vanquished and to share in their pain and loss.
Prayer: Lord, help us to reflect your love and your compassion to those around us, in times of peace and times of conflict. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
There is a common misconception that God, as depicted in the Old Testament, is somehow limited to acts of rage and vengeance. While I would never argue that the Hebrew scriptures present God as merely passive or always peaceful, the truth is that God’s judgment is often a function of God’s grace. Our Old Testament reading for today helps to make this clear. “And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).
To enter into covenant with the God of Israel is to live as a blessing to the nations, even those whose enmity leads to conflict. To be a victor with God is to care for the vanquished and to share in their pain and loss.
Prayer: Lord, help us to reflect your love and your compassion to those around us, in times of peace and times of conflict. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Friday, April 15, 2011
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.
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