I love Jon Stewart. Yet, I kinda agree with Wallace at one point. Jon does seem to use the "I'm a comedian" card to excuse his activism. I see nothing wrong with the activism though. At least he tries to criticize everyone who does something stupid. The epic duel was... epic.
What really got me thinking was how they were both arguing totally different things, but trying to speak the same language. It didn't work. How often in our conversations with each other do we argue points on such totally different levels that our words go over each other's heads. What I say to bring life is heard as death, and what another speaks as death, as hear as life. Discuss amongst yourselves... if you can!
Watch the interview between Jon and Chris here!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTiDZ0-q-2o
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Are We Ready For the Spirit?
John 16:12-15
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."
The trinity is weird. Am I right? I mean, it makes no logical sense and its one of the key points of derision and criticism from non-Christians (and some Christians, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwKNfhbmtrc). However, while the technical terms and doctrinal statements held and debated by many today were established at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, the foundational ideas are present in the scriptures themselves. I believe the finalized decrees on the specific natures of the trinity and other doctrinal conclusions were and are misleading, but the I also believe that a realization of the trinity's reality in scripture is valuable. There is a strain in all the books of the Bible emphasizing the oneness of God; a strict monotheism with no room for rivals or equals (a concept readily embraceable by our Islamic neighbors). However, there is also another strain which emphasizes the multiplicity of Godself. God appears in various forms. God talks to God. There are messengers of God that are called "God". Does this mean there is more than one God?
What are we to make of this apparent contradiction? Well, for one, it is clear that the science (physics, biology, psychology) of God is not that of created things (in our experience). God is not bound by our singular notions of time and space and personhood. Thus, God is one, but his oneness is varied and diverse and relational. One of the highlights of the trinity is that it allows God a certain greater freedom to be and do, and it establishes the communal, relational nature of God. After all, a God of love cannot love without an other to love in return, even if both entities are within Godself. Confused? Relax. Part of the beauty of the trinity is that it is not comprehensible. And who is to say there are not other parts of the trinity simply not revealed to us! God is God! I sure ain't...
What is interesting to me in this passage (and the part that relates to waiting for Pentecost this Sunday), is how Jesus describes the coming Spirit to his disciples. Jesus frequently talks in John about how he speaks only what the Father tells him to speak and does only what the Father tells him to do. There is a submission in Jesus relationship to his Father (appropriate for these parental terms). Likewise, there is a submissive relationship on the part of the Spirit of Truth, who reveals only what Jesus knows, which Jesus knew from the Father. Thus, the parts of the trinity are not distinct gods, but part of one whole, knowing the same things and acting as one.
The end result of faith is that humans can become sons and daughters of God, much like (but not exactly like) Jesus is God's son. Now, this sounds awesome and liberating, which it is. BUT, I wonder if we are ready for it... The parts of God are mutually submissive, they defer to each other and act together, as one. Are we ready to be a part of that kind of relational system?
This Sunday is Pentecost, the day we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after Jesus went back into heaven. The disciples were told to wait. Waiting must have been and is infuriating, stressful, anxious... I wonder if the reason they had to wait for the Spirit is that they first had to learn to submit themselves to God's will. To be filled with God's Spirit, God's self, God with us, God within us, we cannot be pursuing our own ends and our own wills. In waiting, we learn to pay attention to God's will, to God's leading, to God's call. Instant gratification is rare in the life of faith. This is good. We wait for the Spirit so that we can make ourselves ready to listen to the Spirit, just as the Spirit listened to Jesus, and Jesus to his Father.
Those who do not wait follow instead their own path, and it is not the Spirit of Truth that leads us in those times, but false spirits. it is difficult to wait. I pray I am ready when the time is right...
Happy waiting!
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."
The trinity is weird. Am I right? I mean, it makes no logical sense and its one of the key points of derision and criticism from non-Christians (and some Christians, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwKNfhbmtrc). However, while the technical terms and doctrinal statements held and debated by many today were established at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, the foundational ideas are present in the scriptures themselves. I believe the finalized decrees on the specific natures of the trinity and other doctrinal conclusions were and are misleading, but the I also believe that a realization of the trinity's reality in scripture is valuable. There is a strain in all the books of the Bible emphasizing the oneness of God; a strict monotheism with no room for rivals or equals (a concept readily embraceable by our Islamic neighbors). However, there is also another strain which emphasizes the multiplicity of Godself. God appears in various forms. God talks to God. There are messengers of God that are called "God". Does this mean there is more than one God?
What are we to make of this apparent contradiction? Well, for one, it is clear that the science (physics, biology, psychology) of God is not that of created things (in our experience). God is not bound by our singular notions of time and space and personhood. Thus, God is one, but his oneness is varied and diverse and relational. One of the highlights of the trinity is that it allows God a certain greater freedom to be and do, and it establishes the communal, relational nature of God. After all, a God of love cannot love without an other to love in return, even if both entities are within Godself. Confused? Relax. Part of the beauty of the trinity is that it is not comprehensible. And who is to say there are not other parts of the trinity simply not revealed to us! God is God! I sure ain't...
What is interesting to me in this passage (and the part that relates to waiting for Pentecost this Sunday), is how Jesus describes the coming Spirit to his disciples. Jesus frequently talks in John about how he speaks only what the Father tells him to speak and does only what the Father tells him to do. There is a submission in Jesus relationship to his Father (appropriate for these parental terms). Likewise, there is a submissive relationship on the part of the Spirit of Truth, who reveals only what Jesus knows, which Jesus knew from the Father. Thus, the parts of the trinity are not distinct gods, but part of one whole, knowing the same things and acting as one.
The end result of faith is that humans can become sons and daughters of God, much like (but not exactly like) Jesus is God's son. Now, this sounds awesome and liberating, which it is. BUT, I wonder if we are ready for it... The parts of God are mutually submissive, they defer to each other and act together, as one. Are we ready to be a part of that kind of relational system?
This Sunday is Pentecost, the day we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after Jesus went back into heaven. The disciples were told to wait. Waiting must have been and is infuriating, stressful, anxious... I wonder if the reason they had to wait for the Spirit is that they first had to learn to submit themselves to God's will. To be filled with God's Spirit, God's self, God with us, God within us, we cannot be pursuing our own ends and our own wills. In waiting, we learn to pay attention to God's will, to God's leading, to God's call. Instant gratification is rare in the life of faith. This is good. We wait for the Spirit so that we can make ourselves ready to listen to the Spirit, just as the Spirit listened to Jesus, and Jesus to his Father.
Those who do not wait follow instead their own path, and it is not the Spirit of Truth that leads us in those times, but false spirits. it is difficult to wait. I pray I am ready when the time is right...
Happy waiting!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Waiting For Myself
Psalm 25:1-10
"To you, O LORD, I lift my soul; in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame, now let my enemies triumph over me.
No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.
"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
"Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant."
Part of the trouble with waiting is that it feels so much like I should be doing something. I realize God is always the chief actor, but it feels more like I am waiting for myself to catch up to where God wants me to be. Its clear I am still a sinner and God's mercy, love, and grace are keeping me afloat. I pray God will wait for me, as I wait for God. I want the life he has to offer, but my while my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak... and tired, and hungry, and slow, and confusing, and greedy, and misleading...
What an amazing thing that those who put their hope in God will not be put to shame. We certainly deserve much shame. I suppose shame is reserved for those who don't do anything with their problems; those who don't recognize that in God there is no shame and even the things that the world and culture around us might call shameful, God can make honorable when she calls us to them.
May we keep the covenant, as God keeps the covenant.
"To you, O LORD, I lift my soul; in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame, now let my enemies triumph over me.
No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.
"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
"Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant."
Part of the trouble with waiting is that it feels so much like I should be doing something. I realize God is always the chief actor, but it feels more like I am waiting for myself to catch up to where God wants me to be. Its clear I am still a sinner and God's mercy, love, and grace are keeping me afloat. I pray God will wait for me, as I wait for God. I want the life he has to offer, but my while my spirit is willing, my flesh is weak... and tired, and hungry, and slow, and confusing, and greedy, and misleading...
What an amazing thing that those who put their hope in God will not be put to shame. We certainly deserve much shame. I suppose shame is reserved for those who don't do anything with their problems; those who don't recognize that in God there is no shame and even the things that the world and culture around us might call shameful, God can make honorable when she calls us to them.
May we keep the covenant, as God keeps the covenant.
Monday, June 6, 2011
How Long, Oh Lord! (new format and new directions (like GLEE!))
Acts 1:1-5
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.'"
We don't wait very well. As Americans, as humans, waiting is difficult. Anticipation builds our bodies and minds and spirits up to where we need to let out the energy, but sometimes the appropriate manner of release is dependent upon something outside of us. The disciples had just journeyed through a few crazy years of non-stop travel, service, emotional moments, confusion, suffering, witnessing their leader destroyed and glorified, coming to spiritual awakening, confounded by misunderstanding, etc... And as Jesus prepares to leave this earth after its all over, he tells the disciples not to KEEP GOING, "You got what it takes! Run with it!" Instead, he says to wait... Wait for the Spirit... They've already been baptized with John's cleansing waters, but something more remains before the disciples can make Jesus' mission their own.
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his water baptism by John, but apparently the disciples did not have the same experience. They were clean, as Jesus tells them at the Last Supper, but they are not prepared. After all, the mission, all mission, ALL ministry, is actually GOD'S mission and GOD'S ministry! To take it upon ourselves would be to steal God's glory for ourselves. That is why the Spirit is so critical. To become one with the Spirit is to join God as Christ's body in the world.
But... they had to wait. I can see Jesus telling the disciples "Stay, boys, stay! Stay! Good disciples... Wait! Wait! Good job!" Indeed, sometimes we need to be held back from barging off into the world, believing we know what is ours to do, but having not consulted or been empowered by the Spirit first.
I find myself in a similar state; waiting for instructions. I suppose the truth is, despite how annoying such times are, the greatest ministry can be done while waiting for instructions on later ministry. So hang in there! Its a'comin!
"In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.'"
We don't wait very well. As Americans, as humans, waiting is difficult. Anticipation builds our bodies and minds and spirits up to where we need to let out the energy, but sometimes the appropriate manner of release is dependent upon something outside of us. The disciples had just journeyed through a few crazy years of non-stop travel, service, emotional moments, confusion, suffering, witnessing their leader destroyed and glorified, coming to spiritual awakening, confounded by misunderstanding, etc... And as Jesus prepares to leave this earth after its all over, he tells the disciples not to KEEP GOING, "You got what it takes! Run with it!" Instead, he says to wait... Wait for the Spirit... They've already been baptized with John's cleansing waters, but something more remains before the disciples can make Jesus' mission their own.
The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his water baptism by John, but apparently the disciples did not have the same experience. They were clean, as Jesus tells them at the Last Supper, but they are not prepared. After all, the mission, all mission, ALL ministry, is actually GOD'S mission and GOD'S ministry! To take it upon ourselves would be to steal God's glory for ourselves. That is why the Spirit is so critical. To become one with the Spirit is to join God as Christ's body in the world.
But... they had to wait. I can see Jesus telling the disciples "Stay, boys, stay! Stay! Good disciples... Wait! Wait! Good job!" Indeed, sometimes we need to be held back from barging off into the world, believing we know what is ours to do, but having not consulted or been empowered by the Spirit first.
I find myself in a similar state; waiting for instructions. I suppose the truth is, despite how annoying such times are, the greatest ministry can be done while waiting for instructions on later ministry. So hang in there! Its a'comin!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Our Question
Luke 1:18-20
Christmas is coming! That means Jesus is coming! Of course, Jesus is already here, we Christians just need to be reminded of that fact and need times of preparation. Advent is very real for me this year. Thank God for that.
This is the time when the nativity story, the account of Jesus' birth, is told and hammered into our brains over and over again... on cards, in windows, in commercials, in church... So we know about how Gabriel the angel appeared to Mary and said "Hey girl! You gonna be God's baby-mama! Yay you!" (unintended to be offensive paraphrase) to which Mary replies, "How will this be?" because she was a virgin. This makes sense. God promises something ridiculous, therefore, Mary asks to explain. Not much of an explanation is given, it is about miracles and faith. The interesting thing about this is that Mary does not assume this cannot be done. She asks "How will this be?" not "How can I be sure of this?"
Zechariah, Mary's uncle, on the other hand, replies in the second way. Gabriel appears to him and says (via the unoffensive paraphrase) "Yo Zech! Yo' wife's gonna have a baby and you should call him Johnny!" to which Zechariah replies, "How can I be sure of this?" Again, perhaps a logical thing to say at a ridiculous proposition like his elderly wife conceiving ...HOWEVER, an ANGEL is TALKING to him! Is THAT logical?!
Mary had the great idea to take the Gabe at his word and instead of questioning the miraculous, she requests further details, signifying that she believes him, but is nonetheless confused, as she should be. Zechariah, though, acts like God is incapable of such a deed! Surely the God who sends glorious angels to old men in temples cannot allow my wife to get pregnant...!
Questions are not always bad, this is one lesson we can take from these stories. However, which questions we ask reveal a lot about our faith. It is worth noting that Mary was a teenage girl who had faith in a God who would do the unthinkable. Zechariah was a priest, trained in the religious world of Judaism and inundated with the stories of God's miraculous deeds in scripture. Yet, he failed to believe that God was alive and still this powerful. Likewise, we here the stories of God's power and love and faithfulness in this Advent season, but do we believe such glorious things still happen? Further, Mary's encounter delivered a promise more ridiculous-sounding than Zechariah's. Mary was a virgin, who had NEVER had sex. Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was married (obviously), HAD had sex (despite her old age), and the blessing promised to her mirrored the promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis that they would have a son named Isaac, despite Sarah's old age. Despite this, Zechariah needs further proof and is given silence instead. Mary accepts the blessing, despite the hardships such a proposition promises.
Which person's faith is most like ours?
May we respond like Mary, asking how we should proceed, and not like Zechariah, asking for proof.
Christmas is coming! That means Jesus is coming! Of course, Jesus is already here, we Christians just need to be reminded of that fact and need times of preparation. Advent is very real for me this year. Thank God for that.
This is the time when the nativity story, the account of Jesus' birth, is told and hammered into our brains over and over again... on cards, in windows, in commercials, in church... So we know about how Gabriel the angel appeared to Mary and said "Hey girl! You gonna be God's baby-mama! Yay you!" (unintended to be offensive paraphrase) to which Mary replies, "How will this be?" because she was a virgin. This makes sense. God promises something ridiculous, therefore, Mary asks to explain. Not much of an explanation is given, it is about miracles and faith. The interesting thing about this is that Mary does not assume this cannot be done. She asks "How will this be?" not "How can I be sure of this?"
Zechariah, Mary's uncle, on the other hand, replies in the second way. Gabriel appears to him and says (via the unoffensive paraphrase) "Yo Zech! Yo' wife's gonna have a baby and you should call him Johnny!" to which Zechariah replies, "How can I be sure of this?" Again, perhaps a logical thing to say at a ridiculous proposition like his elderly wife conceiving ...HOWEVER, an ANGEL is TALKING to him! Is THAT logical?!
Mary had the great idea to take the Gabe at his word and instead of questioning the miraculous, she requests further details, signifying that she believes him, but is nonetheless confused, as she should be. Zechariah, though, acts like God is incapable of such a deed! Surely the God who sends glorious angels to old men in temples cannot allow my wife to get pregnant...!
Questions are not always bad, this is one lesson we can take from these stories. However, which questions we ask reveal a lot about our faith. It is worth noting that Mary was a teenage girl who had faith in a God who would do the unthinkable. Zechariah was a priest, trained in the religious world of Judaism and inundated with the stories of God's miraculous deeds in scripture. Yet, he failed to believe that God was alive and still this powerful. Likewise, we here the stories of God's power and love and faithfulness in this Advent season, but do we believe such glorious things still happen? Further, Mary's encounter delivered a promise more ridiculous-sounding than Zechariah's. Mary was a virgin, who had NEVER had sex. Zechariah's wife Elizabeth was married (obviously), HAD had sex (despite her old age), and the blessing promised to her mirrored the promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis that they would have a son named Isaac, despite Sarah's old age. Despite this, Zechariah needs further proof and is given silence instead. Mary accepts the blessing, despite the hardships such a proposition promises.
Which person's faith is most like ours?
May we respond like Mary, asking how we should proceed, and not like Zechariah, asking for proof.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
A New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-34
I have been known to utter the often misunderstood (even by myself) words, "It's all good." As in when someone shows me sympathy after some tragedy or failure. "It's all good!" Or when some conundrum confounds us as we survey the vast diversity of Christianity and humankind. "It's all good." There is an aspect of "Who cares?!" in those three words. There is also a happy hopefulness that somehow all things beyond our control and comprehension will be taken care of and come together in the end, kind of like how the disparate threads of a good story seem to go on in opposing directions, yet somehow the author tied everything together in a way that makes perfect sense (i.e. Harry Potter).
God has made it clear from very early on that all the crazy plot twists and turns in the tale of our lives and the history of existence WILL come together in the end in a way that is fulfilling to every development and chapter along the path. We are living this grand story of mythic proportions, in which God is both author and main character. His message to and through the prophet Jeremiah is one of good news. God will make things work out. We can't predict how because we are living in the middle chapters. Pick a good book or movie and find what's happening in the middle. It won't be good. The darkest times happen in the middle, though certainly by that point the goal is somewhat visible, if foreseeably impossible to reach.
God tells us there will be a time when we will not have to teach anyone about God because we will all know God... now that's cool! Then, It ALL will be good (and I can be justified in my use of the phrase)! Imagine: everyone knowing God... so much we won't be in need to spread this word! The world is divided right now (in Christianity and among Christians too) between the house of Israel and the house of Judah, whatever those symbolize for us (it matters not in the end). God will make his new covenant with both houses and they will become one again. All of us believers will be reunited and understand one another as we should. No more will we distort each other's intentions by claiming to know what we do not. God will forgive our pride and our weakness and embrace us into his large family.
It takes a tremendous level of faith to believe that all people will be united in God and that the distances that divide all of us and God will be crossed, but our stories speak to it. Human creations hail the truth of the divine story just as the Bible perfectly does so. The question that remains is how we will live out our part of the tale. Will we be a dark spot in the story that future generations will want to skip over, or will we with Christ live out his salvation in every way, a foretaste of what is to come...?
I have been known to utter the often misunderstood (even by myself) words, "It's all good." As in when someone shows me sympathy after some tragedy or failure. "It's all good!" Or when some conundrum confounds us as we survey the vast diversity of Christianity and humankind. "It's all good." There is an aspect of "Who cares?!" in those three words. There is also a happy hopefulness that somehow all things beyond our control and comprehension will be taken care of and come together in the end, kind of like how the disparate threads of a good story seem to go on in opposing directions, yet somehow the author tied everything together in a way that makes perfect sense (i.e. Harry Potter).
God has made it clear from very early on that all the crazy plot twists and turns in the tale of our lives and the history of existence WILL come together in the end in a way that is fulfilling to every development and chapter along the path. We are living this grand story of mythic proportions, in which God is both author and main character. His message to and through the prophet Jeremiah is one of good news. God will make things work out. We can't predict how because we are living in the middle chapters. Pick a good book or movie and find what's happening in the middle. It won't be good. The darkest times happen in the middle, though certainly by that point the goal is somewhat visible, if foreseeably impossible to reach.
God tells us there will be a time when we will not have to teach anyone about God because we will all know God... now that's cool! Then, It ALL will be good (and I can be justified in my use of the phrase)! Imagine: everyone knowing God... so much we won't be in need to spread this word! The world is divided right now (in Christianity and among Christians too) between the house of Israel and the house of Judah, whatever those symbolize for us (it matters not in the end). God will make his new covenant with both houses and they will become one again. All of us believers will be reunited and understand one another as we should. No more will we distort each other's intentions by claiming to know what we do not. God will forgive our pride and our weakness and embrace us into his large family.
It takes a tremendous level of faith to believe that all people will be united in God and that the distances that divide all of us and God will be crossed, but our stories speak to it. Human creations hail the truth of the divine story just as the Bible perfectly does so. The question that remains is how we will live out our part of the tale. Will we be a dark spot in the story that future generations will want to skip over, or will we with Christ live out his salvation in every way, a foretaste of what is to come...?
Monday, November 15, 2010
New Story, Same Pattern
Isaiah 43:14-21
I am so grateful to God for meeting me and forming this new discipline. As I met with God to discover this text and worship in prayer, he inspired me to all kinds of fantastic wisdom and joys through meditation, frankness, peace, and power.
Its amazing that this new turn of events in my personal devotional time coincided with the lectionary's emphasis on new beginnings. Isaiah reminds us of the fact that God is doing something NEW. In fact, God is eternal and infinite, so he is ALWAYS doing something NEW. Every moment is both old and new to God, who is outside time and yet created it and acts through it. His manner of redemption, constantly saving his people from dark powers (sin, death, evil, slavery, injustice) and bringing them to a Promised Land of joyful life (salvation, wholeness, liberation, freedom, deliverance), repeats itself endlessly in the lives of his followers. How is God doing something new in our lives? How is he creating the space for redemption and deliverance?
Its important to remember that while those who love God will be saved, others will choose other options, leading to destruction. In this passage, the Babylonians and the Egyptians are symbols for the fall of those who do not live out of love for God and enslave and persecute their neighbors.
Also significant is that it is those who live in the desert and are not usually the most pleasant of characters who honor God for his gifts of life. How often we expect these carrion-eaters and rough-looking individuals to be those God punishes, rather than those God lifts up.
It is a time for new things! Seek him and let go of the past. He will make a path through the wilderness to the living streams.
Do we accept the invitation to begin anew, or do we want to remain as we are?
I am so grateful to God for meeting me and forming this new discipline. As I met with God to discover this text and worship in prayer, he inspired me to all kinds of fantastic wisdom and joys through meditation, frankness, peace, and power.
Its amazing that this new turn of events in my personal devotional time coincided with the lectionary's emphasis on new beginnings. Isaiah reminds us of the fact that God is doing something NEW. In fact, God is eternal and infinite, so he is ALWAYS doing something NEW. Every moment is both old and new to God, who is outside time and yet created it and acts through it. His manner of redemption, constantly saving his people from dark powers (sin, death, evil, slavery, injustice) and bringing them to a Promised Land of joyful life (salvation, wholeness, liberation, freedom, deliverance), repeats itself endlessly in the lives of his followers. How is God doing something new in our lives? How is he creating the space for redemption and deliverance?
Its important to remember that while those who love God will be saved, others will choose other options, leading to destruction. In this passage, the Babylonians and the Egyptians are symbols for the fall of those who do not live out of love for God and enslave and persecute their neighbors.
Also significant is that it is those who live in the desert and are not usually the most pleasant of characters who honor God for his gifts of life. How often we expect these carrion-eaters and rough-looking individuals to be those God punishes, rather than those God lifts up.
It is a time for new things! Seek him and let go of the past. He will make a path through the wilderness to the living streams.
Do we accept the invitation to begin anew, or do we want to remain as we are?
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