Today's readings: Ps 90, 149; Isa 4:2-6; 1 Thes 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Today concludes the first week of Advent, the week focused on Hope. Tomorrow anyone with an Advent wreath will light the second Advent candle, but they will also re-light the Hope candle, and keep lighting it until the day they light the Christ candle.
One of the joys of Advent is knowing exactly when Christ will arrive – the day is already marked on our calendars. Today’s scriptures from Isaiah, 1 Thessalonians and Luke addressed people who were waiting for their own day of deliverance, but waiting without a clear end date. These writers warned that in the meantime, things would get tougher – maybe even terrible. While none of them named a specific day, all of them were confident the day would come.
Still we wait. We watch things get better in some areas and worse in others. We know from the past that the future will be both glorious and terrible. Wars begin and end. Diseases appear and disappear. Hungry people are fed, and new people go hungry. Nothing in the world is new, yet we are made new in Christ. How are we to maintain Hope in Christ’s promises for a new and better kingdom in the face of such contradiction?
Our relationship with Hope must evolve. If faith maps our lives, Hope is no longer a pushpin marking some dream destination, but a great big arrow proclaiming “You are HERE!” When we light a candle of Hope – by visiting a sick friend, working for equality, feeding the hungry – God’s kingdom exists wherever the light of those candles shines. Like the light of a distant star, Hope is something we observe in the present, but is evidence of the past and the future.
The day we are waiting for is always today. If we are living in relationship with God, does it really matter when Christ returns? If knowing a date changes how we live, we aren’t living in Hope, but in desperation. It is in the act of lighting the candle – in letting the Hope of Christ illuminate our hearts – that Christ returns again and again.
Comfort: We hope for God’s kingdom and dwell in it simultaneously.
Challenge: Every day find a way to add light to the sum of light.
Prayer: God of Hope, I will trust you with my future.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 24, 150; Isa 5:1-7; 2 Peter 3:11-8; Luke 7:28-35
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
"You don't need me to tell you this, but..."
Today's readings: Ps 72:1-7, 18-19; Isa 3:1-4:1; 1 Thes 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
It happens to all of us. Someone says, “You don’t need me to tell you this” then proceeds to tell you something you know they know you already know. How does it make you feel? Why do you think they feel the need to say it? This conversational/instructional tactic is called paralipsis, and Paul used it in his first letter to the Thessalonians to reinforce the need for the community to continue loving each other:
As a virtuoso communicator, Paul realized simply repeating an instruction might seem like an insult to the fledgling Christian community. When someone repeats something to us that we already know, it’s common to respond with an annoyed “I know that!” Paul also realized there are different levels of knowing. The most shallow level is simply being able to parrot what we’ve heard. As a habitual soda drinker, I know in my head it’s not good for me, and will tell you that. What I have yet to do is to know it on a deeper level, to internalize the knowledge until I act on it. Paul knew people well enough to know the Thessalonian church would need continued encouragement until its members internalized the knowledge and beliefs he was trying to share with them.
As we prepare this Advent for the coming of the Christ, let’s be open to hearing some of the stories we’ve heard in Advents past. We may be surprised to discover yet deeper meaning than we have found in them before. We may also be surprised to find how much more deeply we know them than we have before. As Christians, we know these stories teach us to be hopeful. Let us move from knowing hope, to being hope.
Comfort: God is patient while we grow into our faith.
Challenge: Pick one thing you know in your head, that you wish to know more deeply in your heart. Since Advent is the liturgical “New Year,” resolve to find ways to internalize it in the coming year.
Prayer: God of Hope, teach me to know your ways in my heart.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
It happens to all of us. Someone says, “You don’t need me to tell you this” then proceeds to tell you something you know they know you already know. How does it make you feel? Why do you think they feel the need to say it? This conversational/instructional tactic is called paralipsis, and Paul used it in his first letter to the Thessalonians to reinforce the need for the community to continue loving each other:
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love the borthers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more.
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
As a virtuoso communicator, Paul realized simply repeating an instruction might seem like an insult to the fledgling Christian community. When someone repeats something to us that we already know, it’s common to respond with an annoyed “I know that!” Paul also realized there are different levels of knowing. The most shallow level is simply being able to parrot what we’ve heard. As a habitual soda drinker, I know in my head it’s not good for me, and will tell you that. What I have yet to do is to know it on a deeper level, to internalize the knowledge until I act on it. Paul knew people well enough to know the Thessalonian church would need continued encouragement until its members internalized the knowledge and beliefs he was trying to share with them.
As we prepare this Advent for the coming of the Christ, let’s be open to hearing some of the stories we’ve heard in Advents past. We may be surprised to discover yet deeper meaning than we have found in them before. We may also be surprised to find how much more deeply we know them than we have before. As Christians, we know these stories teach us to be hopeful. Let us move from knowing hope, to being hope.
Comfort: God is patient while we grow into our faith.
Challenge: Pick one thing you know in your head, that you wish to know more deeply in your heart. Since Advent is the liturgical “New Year,” resolve to find ways to internalize it in the coming year.
Prayer: God of Hope, teach me to know your ways in my heart.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Discarding Idols
Today's readings: Ps 18:1-20, 147:12-20; Isaiah 2:5-22; 1 Thes 3:1-13; Luke 20:27-40
Isaiah is an Advent staple because it speaks vividly of preparing ourselves for what it is to come. Today’s passage speaks about the consequences of worshipping idols. Unlike Isaiah’s contemporaries, we probably don’t encounter many literal idols, or hand-crafted gods. However, Isaiah’s words about idols are still worth hearing today.
Isaiah’s people were constantly exposed to cultures who worshipped idols. Jews, whose God was unseen, were lured by the comfort of deities they could identify or even touch. We aren’t much concerned today that our Christian faith is threatened by golden calves, but we should be concerned about the power of man-made idols to stand between us and God.
For now, let’s define an idol to be anything we prioritize above God, if only fleetingly. We could list money, popularity, power, possessions, security, pride, comfort, etc. We may not actually worship these things as gods, but can we admit we are at least tempted to prioritize some of them before God? There’s nothing wrong with a nice car, lots of friends or a healthy 401k, but we must keep them in perspective. Taking an ethical stand in the workplace might cost us friends or a promotion, but we should not value those above our faith and principles. Such betrayals do more long-term damage to our spirits than any short-term gains are worth.
We should also be wary of idols disguised as faith. We don’t want to be like the pious man who shushed the beggar because she was interrupting his prayers to be more generous. Maybe we want to believe we have this Christian thing all sewn up because we can quote the Bible and avoid the right sins and study the right doctrine, as if reaching and maintaining some spiritual goal weight. If these things interfere with our ability to have a true relationship with God and with each other as Christ taught us, they have become idols. If God always thinks like we do, then we’ve made an idol of our ego and certainty. We can even make an idol of the Bible: some used it to justify African American slavery, clearly contrary to God’s love, and others use it to promote injustice even today.
Idols diminish our understanding of God. To prepare our hearts for Christ, we must empty them of idols. He will take up all the space we can offer!
Comfort: If our heart is empty of idols, God will find many ways to fill it.
Challenge: For the rest of the week, pray to recognize your idols.
Prayer: God of Hope, help me clear away my idols to make room for you.
Evening readings: Ps 126, 62
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 102, 148; Isa 3:1-4:1; 1 Thes 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Isaiah is an Advent staple because it speaks vividly of preparing ourselves for what it is to come. Today’s passage speaks about the consequences of worshipping idols. Unlike Isaiah’s contemporaries, we probably don’t encounter many literal idols, or hand-crafted gods. However, Isaiah’s words about idols are still worth hearing today.
Isaiah’s people were constantly exposed to cultures who worshipped idols. Jews, whose God was unseen, were lured by the comfort of deities they could identify or even touch. We aren’t much concerned today that our Christian faith is threatened by golden calves, but we should be concerned about the power of man-made idols to stand between us and God.
For now, let’s define an idol to be anything we prioritize above God, if only fleetingly. We could list money, popularity, power, possessions, security, pride, comfort, etc. We may not actually worship these things as gods, but can we admit we are at least tempted to prioritize some of them before God? There’s nothing wrong with a nice car, lots of friends or a healthy 401k, but we must keep them in perspective. Taking an ethical stand in the workplace might cost us friends or a promotion, but we should not value those above our faith and principles. Such betrayals do more long-term damage to our spirits than any short-term gains are worth.
We should also be wary of idols disguised as faith. We don’t want to be like the pious man who shushed the beggar because she was interrupting his prayers to be more generous. Maybe we want to believe we have this Christian thing all sewn up because we can quote the Bible and avoid the right sins and study the right doctrine, as if reaching and maintaining some spiritual goal weight. If these things interfere with our ability to have a true relationship with God and with each other as Christ taught us, they have become idols. If God always thinks like we do, then we’ve made an idol of our ego and certainty. We can even make an idol of the Bible: some used it to justify African American slavery, clearly contrary to God’s love, and others use it to promote injustice even today.
Idols diminish our understanding of God. To prepare our hearts for Christ, we must empty them of idols. He will take up all the space we can offer!
Comfort: If our heart is empty of idols, God will find many ways to fill it.
Challenge: For the rest of the week, pray to recognize your idols.
Prayer: God of Hope, help me clear away my idols to make room for you.
Evening readings: Ps 126, 62
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 102, 148; Isa 3:1-4:1; 1 Thes 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Revolution, Not Institution
Today's readings: Ps 33, 146; Isa 1:21-31; 1 Thes 2:1-12; Luke 20:9-18
In the early church, Advent was a season for converts to prepare for baptism though penitence and fasting. Today it’s more a time for remembering Christ’s first coming into the world, but as an annual season it also reminds us Christ comes to us again and again. Every moment we have the potential to accept Christ yet more deeply into our hearts. Advent reminds us to be open to Christ’s arrival, and the change it brings.
Make no mistake: whether it’s a revolution of our inner landscape, the world, or the church, Christ’s coming is always a revolution. Why not a more gradual and less abrasive evolution? Because institutions of power, including the institution of the church, almost always perceive and resist the kind of change Christ represents as a threat. By definition, institutions function through clearly defined, long standing programs. In stark contrast, Christ’s radical, all-inclusive love thwarts exclusionary traditions.
While we challenge external institutions that impede the Realm of God, we must also examine whether we have established internal institutions that hinder our role in that realm – institutions such as job security or financial stability. For example, I know more than one minister who laments how the church treats gay and lesbian people, yet does not speak out on the issue because “the congregation just isn’t ready to hear it.” I question the real motives for such silence. Like the bad tenants who kill the son of the vineyard owner so they may gain his inheritance (Luke 20:9-18), could these people be selling out their convictions – and Christ – for a share of an inheritance they do not deserve? Christ did not pander to the masses at the expense of the oppressed.
Why does our desire to spark a Christ-like revolution seem to dwindle with age? We often point to increased wisdom, but what if it’s really because accumulated pension plans and social prominence mean we have more to lose? Perhaps Christ teaches us the Realm of God is more accessible to the poor, because – like they young – they don’t fear losing what they haven’t got. Our first allegiance is never to external or internal institutions, but to the Realm of God.
Comfort: There’s nothing we can lose that’s more valuable than God.
Challenge: Read the lyrics of or listen to “It Should Have Been Obvious” by The Choir.
Prayer: God of Hope, I seek to serve your kingdom first.
Evening readings: Ps 85, 94
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 50, 147:1-11; Isa 2:1-4; 1 Thes 2:13-20; Luke 20:19-26
In the early church, Advent was a season for converts to prepare for baptism though penitence and fasting. Today it’s more a time for remembering Christ’s first coming into the world, but as an annual season it also reminds us Christ comes to us again and again. Every moment we have the potential to accept Christ yet more deeply into our hearts. Advent reminds us to be open to Christ’s arrival, and the change it brings.
Make no mistake: whether it’s a revolution of our inner landscape, the world, or the church, Christ’s coming is always a revolution. Why not a more gradual and less abrasive evolution? Because institutions of power, including the institution of the church, almost always perceive and resist the kind of change Christ represents as a threat. By definition, institutions function through clearly defined, long standing programs. In stark contrast, Christ’s radical, all-inclusive love thwarts exclusionary traditions.
While we challenge external institutions that impede the Realm of God, we must also examine whether we have established internal institutions that hinder our role in that realm – institutions such as job security or financial stability. For example, I know more than one minister who laments how the church treats gay and lesbian people, yet does not speak out on the issue because “the congregation just isn’t ready to hear it.” I question the real motives for such silence. Like the bad tenants who kill the son of the vineyard owner so they may gain his inheritance (Luke 20:9-18), could these people be selling out their convictions – and Christ – for a share of an inheritance they do not deserve? Christ did not pander to the masses at the expense of the oppressed.
Why does our desire to spark a Christ-like revolution seem to dwindle with age? We often point to increased wisdom, but what if it’s really because accumulated pension plans and social prominence mean we have more to lose? Perhaps Christ teaches us the Realm of God is more accessible to the poor, because – like they young – they don’t fear losing what they haven’t got. Our first allegiance is never to external or internal institutions, but to the Realm of God.
Comfort: There’s nothing we can lose that’s more valuable than God.
Challenge: Read the lyrics of or listen to “It Should Have Been Obvious” by The Choir.
Prayer: God of Hope, I seek to serve your kingdom first.
Evening readings: Ps 85, 94
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 50, 147:1-11; Isa 2:1-4; 1 Thes 2:13-20; Luke 20:19-26
Sunday, November 28, 2010
First Sunday of Advent: Hope
Today's readings: Ps 24, 150; Isaiah 1:1-9; 3 Peter 1:1-10; Matthew 25:1-13
Today we begin the four-week season of Advent. Advent isn’t merely the prelude to Christmas. It is distinct in purpose and tone. Like Lent it is a season meant for reflection and preparation for the coming of Christ. Each Sunday has a specific theme, and today’s theme is Hope. Hope is one of those virtues some secularists attribute to simple-mindedness. Yet Christian hope is not a Pollyana, rose-colored experience.
3 Peter 1:10 Peter addresses Christian hope for the parousia, or second coming of Christ. The author attempts to assure his audience that, despite some people’s flagging belief in Christ’s imminent return, God is not slow but patient. Nearly two thousand years after this letter was written, we have experienced even more of God’s patience, and even bigger questions and doubts about Christ’s return.
In Matthew's Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Jesus talked about five bridesmaids who put oil in their lamps in preparation for the coming bridegroom, and five others who did not. When the bridegroom arrived in the night, the unprepared bridesmaids were left behind. Of course the fate of the bridesmaids represents that of people who are prepared or unprepared for the second coming of Christ.
Of what use are these parables and letters to us today? Christians have varying opinions about the literal or metaphorical truth about the second coming, but wherever one falls on that spectrum, as Christians we should share a common trait: Hope. We share hope that God is in the process of transforming the world into the vision offered by Christ. Hope does not mean we coast through life waiting for God to do something. Rather, it means we live as if Christ’s reign is already here. We don’t expect children to prepare for adulthood by remaining children: we expect them to gradually assume the responsibilities of an adult. In the same way prepare ourselves to be the bridegrooms of Christ by living as Christ instructed us. Whether the parousia is around the corner or not becomes irrelevant as we become the people God yearns for us to be.
Comfort: God is present in your life right now.
Challenge: This Advent, make use of an Advent wreath.
Prayer: God of hope, I fill the lamp of my heart for you.
Evening readings: Ps 25, 110
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 122, 145; Isaiah 1:10-20; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Luke 20:1-8
Today we begin the four-week season of Advent. Advent isn’t merely the prelude to Christmas. It is distinct in purpose and tone. Like Lent it is a season meant for reflection and preparation for the coming of Christ. Each Sunday has a specific theme, and today’s theme is Hope. Hope is one of those virtues some secularists attribute to simple-mindedness. Yet Christian hope is not a Pollyana, rose-colored experience.
3 Peter 1:10 Peter addresses Christian hope for the parousia, or second coming of Christ. The author attempts to assure his audience that, despite some people’s flagging belief in Christ’s imminent return, God is not slow but patient. Nearly two thousand years after this letter was written, we have experienced even more of God’s patience, and even bigger questions and doubts about Christ’s return.
In Matthew's Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Jesus talked about five bridesmaids who put oil in their lamps in preparation for the coming bridegroom, and five others who did not. When the bridegroom arrived in the night, the unprepared bridesmaids were left behind. Of course the fate of the bridesmaids represents that of people who are prepared or unprepared for the second coming of Christ.
Of what use are these parables and letters to us today? Christians have varying opinions about the literal or metaphorical truth about the second coming, but wherever one falls on that spectrum, as Christians we should share a common trait: Hope. We share hope that God is in the process of transforming the world into the vision offered by Christ. Hope does not mean we coast through life waiting for God to do something. Rather, it means we live as if Christ’s reign is already here. We don’t expect children to prepare for adulthood by remaining children: we expect them to gradually assume the responsibilities of an adult. In the same way prepare ourselves to be the bridegrooms of Christ by living as Christ instructed us. Whether the parousia is around the corner or not becomes irrelevant as we become the people God yearns for us to be.
Comfort: God is present in your life right now.
Challenge: This Advent, make use of an Advent wreath.
Prayer: God of hope, I fill the lamp of my heart for you.
Evening readings: Ps 25, 110
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 122, 145; Isaiah 1:10-20; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Luke 20:1-8
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