Redeemed By Justice

Isaiah 1:21-31

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

I find the ideas contained in Isaiah’s words, “Zion shall be redeemed by justice…” (Isaiah 1:27) to be deeply moving for a number of reasons, and especially apt for this time of year. First of all the prophet affirms that God remains at work in the life of the people. There is an ongoing relationship, a conversation if you will, that God maintains. Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation. But we do not wait in isolation, we literally wait with God to see what God will do.

For another thing, redemption and justice help to define one another. To be redeemed by God is not the same thing as a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card in the game Monopoly. Redemption, though not dependant on our works, nonetheless presupposes our participation in God’s purposes. Meanwhile, God’s justice, when shared with the world, works to spread the grace and mercy upon which all community must be built if it is to survive. God’s redemption leads us to acts of justice, which in turn push the boundaries of community outward and help to make God’s redeeming work known to others.

Finally, Isaiah’s words resonate well with those of 1 Thessalonians where we read, “(We are) urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). God’s call has already been placed. The kingdom is already at hand. Redemption is a reality. Now all people are urged and encouraged and plead with to “lead a life worthy” of what God is doing, to enter wholeheartedly into the cycle of redemption and justice because that is what God’s people do.

What would God’s justice look like? How will we know when it arrives? These are not easy questions and good people with good intentions can argue long and hard about them without consensus. But it is a conversation that we must have at all times and it is a process that must allow and accept God’s word to stand supreme in our midst, during Advent and beyond. Part of our excitement at Advent should come from knowing that someday, in God’s time, the answers will become clear and the kingdom will arrive in its fullness, and that is something worth working for and living towards!

Prayer: O God, as we await your coming may we do so with justice for others and with thanks for your redeeming love in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Clean Up Time

Isaiah 1:10-20

We have entered the season of Advent, that time when we await the coming of Christ. But as we wait there is much to be done. On the one hand there are plans to make, cards to mail, presents to buy, decorations to display, parties to attend; all the things that make the Advent and Christmas seasons both hectic and festive. But there are even more important tasks for us to be doing as well. Isaiah puts it this way: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doing from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17). It is not enough to clean our houses, we must also cleanse our hearts and minds; it is good to decorate for the season, but we must also dedicate ourselves to God’s will; and while we attend parties we should also attend to the word of God.

Somewhere along the way Advent got shoved aside for the sake of a longer Christmas season. The stores in our community have been ready for Christmas since just after Halloween. I know this season has profound economic consequences for the coming year, but we’ve got to reclaim its profound spiritual and moral consequences, too. If we need to slow down our pace in order to appreciate what God is saying, if we need to look away from the colored lights and massive displays in order to see the needs of the hungry and oppressed in our midst, then so be it. Christmas can wait. Indeed, waiting is what Advent is all about. What better time to begin getting things in order? What better time to do the will of God?

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we look past those in need, our attention stolen by the flash and glitter of our world. Help us to clean ourselves and to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

The Realm of Light

Zechariah 14:1-11

Zechariah’s vision of the day of the Lord with an end to darkness is a familiar image. “And there shall be continuous day,…not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light” (Zechariah 14:7). Among other places in scripture that we find this notion expressed is the book of Revelation. “And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light…” (Revelation 22:5). What strikes me about passages such as these is how fundamental a change they represent.

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God call the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” (Genesis 1:3-5). At the very beginning of creation God had created Day and Night and had set them apart from each other. Of course only the light was called “good” because it stood over and against the darkness of the void, but this rhythm of day and night had been essential to human life from the very beginning. John’s gospel adds a new dimension to the story by associating light with the Word of God and saying, “The light shines in the darkness (present tense, on-going), and the darkness did not overcome it (past tense, once and for all)” (John 1:5, with author’s comments). All of this is to say that in Zechariah we find an end to the rhythm of day and night and a new reality where light—God’s Word—is at last established. And the light that God first brought into being at last overwhelms the darkness, fills the void, and God’s kingdom arrives in its fullness.

As we enter the season of Advent this Sunday, we will be entering a time of renewed emphasis on light. We are awaiting the time when darkness will finally be pushed back and light will prevail. In the meantime we work hard to focus on the light, on the Word of God, and on living as God intends us to live. Zechariah’s vision has not been realized…yet. But we know that it will be, for the light shines continually, and that the darkness was unable to put it out the one chance it got.

Prayer: Lord, as we draw near to Advent, help us to welcome the light and to live in it as your people. In the name of the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do Not Cease to Give Thanks

Ephesians 1:15-23

The Christian year is drawing to a close and Advent is upon us. Now is the time that many of us pause to reflect on months passed, to assess where we have been and what we have done, and to acknowledge God’s many blessings along the way. Thanksgiving Day, the civil holiday celebrated today in American, is also a good time to consider one’s blessings. Perhaps it will take place as families are seated around a table, or in religious services, or public gatherings. Where there is thankfulness, there God is praised.

Paul has words of thanks for us today as well. He writes to the Ephesians, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16). What Paul indicates, and what we really must remember, is that thanks and praise to God should not be limited to one time of year or another, should not be an occasional event. Paul does not cease giving thanks for the faith of his readers. Every time he prays he remembers them and gives God glory for their discipleship.

Hopefully we give thanks to God for all that God has done for us and for others every time we pray. Hopefully we do not limit our praise or ration our acknowledgement of God’s grace. Hopefully what we do today will roll over into a continual act of thankfulness to God, and into what my father-in-law calls “Thanks-living.”

May this day and all days bring you the joy of God’s peace and blessings, and may your heart be filled with thanks.

Prayer: Lord, we give you thanks for all our many blessings. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Small Minded and Up a Tree

Luke 19:1-10
“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he…”

I remember singing that song in Vacation Bible School over the years. It helps us to set the scene in Like 19 where Jesus passes through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem. In Jericho there was a tax collector named Zacchaeus who, according to Luke, “was short in stature” (Luke 19:3). So he climbed a tree to get a view of the man called Jesus. Most of us know the rest of the story. Jesus came to the foot of that very tree, called Zacchaeus by name, and went with the tax collector to dinner. When others complained that Jesus was consorting with sinners, Jesus replied that “the Son of man came to seek out and save the lost” (v. 10).

But I want to reflect a bit on Zacchaeus’ small stature. Zacchaeus, though Jewish, was a collaborator with the Romans because he collected taxes for them. This would have given him a small personal stature in the eyes of his neighbors. Maybe Luke is telling us that Jesus had every excuse to “overlook” Zacchaeus, to ignore or avoid him. But Jesus does no such thing. Instead he engages the man in conversation and ultimately conversion.

But setting aside the question of physical height, I know that many times I do “small” things, act in ways that are “small minded.” So do you. We all commit thoughtless or selfish acts that disappoint God. We all fail to live to our potential as God’s people. Frankly, God has every right to “overlook” us, to ignore or avoid us. But in Jesus Christ God does no such thing. Instead God continually engages us in conversation leading us patiently toward the coming kingdom. How many times will I need to be forgiven in my life? I don’t know, but I do know that God is willing to stick with me. Even when my sinfulness has pushed me up a tree. The same is true with you. Because “the Son of Man come to seek out and save the lost.”

Prayer: Lord, I know that I often do that which I should not. Continue to forgive me and to lead me along the path of discipleship. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What a Fool Believes

1 Corinthians 3:10-23
“If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). This is a familiar concept, this issue of foolishness versus wisdom. What we as Christians are called to do often seems downright stupid to the world. Where the world seeks wealth and power, Christians are taught to give up what we have and to follow Jesus’ example of weakness. Where the world believes bigger is always better, Jesus teaches that the least and the smallest are sometimes the best examples of grace. When the world seeks revenge in the guise of justice or accepts the death of others in the pursuit of a “greater good” Jesus calls us to take up our crosses and follow him, to share in his passion and to turn the other cheek. What was God thinking?

It’s like the song says, “What a fool believes he sees, the wise man has the power to reason away…” And yet, sometimes reason is the very worst response we can offer, especially to God. Sometimes God calls for a foolishness, or even a giddy sense of joy, when circumstances would seem to merit another response all together. But that’s life in the coming kingdom. God is not interested in what we think is prudent or smart because God is not trying to win a prize, God is working to claim hearts and minds and to use them to reach out to others.

So what do we do? We quit worrying about what the world thinks of us and go right on seeking God’s will, God’s way, God’s wisdom which defies the world. And if anyone laughs, we invite them to join in. And if anyone cries, we offer them hope. And if anyone doubts we offer our faith. “For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God.” And vice versa.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to set our priorities on you and not on what the world holds to be true, and when we appear foolish give us the strength to continue on your path. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Gospel According to Sam and Dave

Galatians 6:1-10
Paul’s words in the sixth chapter of Galatians really hit home for me, especially when the apostle encourages his readers to continue in the faith. In the years immediately following the resurrection there were already questions about how long it would take before God’s kingdom came in its fullness and Jesus returned to lead his people home. As the time passed by and the wait grew longer, some believers began to lose hope and even revert to their former ways. Paul offered them encouragement. “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,” Paul writes, “for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Paul’s words remind me of the Sam and Dave classic, “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

Well don't you ever be sad
Lean on me when times are bad
When the day comes and you're in doubt,
In a river of trouble, about to drown.
Hold on, I'm coming.
Hold on, I'm coming.

There are times when I feel overwhelmed by the struggles of life, “the river of trouble” full of doubt. At those times it lifts my soul to hear a word of hope, a reminder that it will be okay. Hold on, Paul says to me and to anyone else who is listening. Hold on until the harvest time. Continue by God’s grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do what is right and just and true. If you will just hang on you will see the promises of God fulfilled in due time. In other words, “When the day comes and you’re in doubt, in a river of trouble and about to drown, hold on…” Yes, we will grow weary. Yes, our lamps may flicker for want of oil and our eyelids droop from want of sleep, but that for which we wait grows ever nearer. Hold on, for Christ is coming. Hold on, for the time of harvest is nearly here.

So I move ahead by God’s grace as I look for the kingdom to come. And I strive with the help of the Spirit to live a life of faithful obedience. Sometimes that’s all I can do.

Prayer: Lord, when we feel the weariness of time lift our hearts with your word of hope that we may remain faithful and continue to do what is right in your eyes. In Jesus’ name. Amen.