Monthly Archives: November 2012

First Sunday of Advent: Experiencing the Not Knowing

Readings

Isaiah 64:1-9

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:24-37

Devotion

Peace be with you!

There is a certain level of anxiety that comes with waiting. Will my new son or daughter be born healthy? Will my husband or my wife make it through surgery? Will the builder make the deadline, or will the bank have to re-evaluate my construction loan? Will my son or daughter ever be healthy enough to escape the intensive care unit? Will my friend wake up from his/her coma? Will I achieve my life long dream – [whatever “it” is]? Will the government approve my request for public assistance? Or will [whatever “it” is] ever happen? It could be as simple as waiting for a friend to show up and as intense as waiting for a jury’s verdict.

The not knowing what will happen causes us to have anxiety, because we are so use to knowing what is to come. The day I defended my MA thesis was nerve racking for me. I had to defend my work in front of two professors who I respected whole hearty and felt unworthy to present before. After my defense, I was asked to leave the room for ten minutes while my thesis advisors deliberated. I remember driving my electric wheelchair in a figure eight in front of the library doors and having a friend come out to calm my nerves. After two years of studies and a year of writing, my fate was left up to those two professors. Although I was asked to reword a few topics, I was grated the pass to graduation. While I was relieved I got a pass, the ten minutes of waiting were nerve wracking, which has really never left me, especially now as I attempt to prove myself as a New Testament scholar.

Waiting is one of the hardest things to do, especially when you do not know what is going to happen or what the outcome will be. Sure, you may have an idea of what is going to happen and have an ideal outcome.

So here we are with Prophet Isaiah speaking to the Lord about forgiving the Israelites. By doing so, Prophet Isaiah reminds the Lord that we are his clay to scalp into his image (Isaiah 64:8). We are all children of God (Isaiah 64:9) as Prophet Isaiah reminds the Lord as well as the Israelites and us. God forms us in his own image.

Prophet Isaiah is reminding God of his ways and reminding us of how we are to live in order to honor God. We are being reminded of our relationship with God the Father and his love for us. We are created in his likeness, and we are his people – all his people.

Prophet Isaiah also has news of the Lord coming to meet Israelites (and us) in the world. We need to be alert and be prepared for his arrival by following the Ten Commandments and honor his ways. Each individual honors the Lord in different ways. One person maybe honor God by being a pastor, while another person may honor God by being a nurse, a newspaper seller, a politician, or [whatever “it” is] you do to bring the good news to others. When we live out our calling(s), we bring honor to the Lord.

While the Israelites were waiting for the first coming of the Lord, we, as Christians, are waiting for Jesus Christ to come again. The Advent season helps us to remember the promise of Jesus’ return to judge the living and the dead. The season of waiting is where we come to appreciate the Jews’ anticipation of the coming of the Lord and what it was like not to understand how the Lord was going to fulfill his promise. As Christians, (in my opinion at least) it is easy for us to skip a few and end up at Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection that we miss the anticipation in not knowing. Or do we experience anticipation of our own?

In Mark 13:24-37, we read about Jesus’ second coming. Jesus is talking in parables to his disciples in this section. Just a few verses before this parable Jesus warns the disciples about false messiahs who will “come in the Lord’s name” (Mark 13:22-24). But here Jesus is stressing the importance of keeping and being alert, because he will be back (Mark 13:33, 35, 36). Jesus is saying I maybe leaving for now, but I’ll be back as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say. We cannot forget what Jesus did for us on the cross, because he keeps on doing it and will have the final say.

Although we may know how the Christmas story, we do not know when, how, where, why, etc Jesus’ second coming. As the Jews had anticipation as to when, how, where, why, etc the Messiah was going to come, we, as Christians, have the same anticipation of Jesus’ second coming.

As I reflect on Jesus’ second coming, I cannot help to ask the when, how, where, why, etc questions. Are we almost to the end? Will I go to heaven? Have I made the Lord glad in my answer to his calling? I invite you to experience the anticipation the Jews/Israelites felt when they were waiting for the coming Messiah.

Another way to look at it is to forget the ending of the story for a moment and dwell on what it would be like to experience the wonderment of not knowing the when, how, where, why, etc answers. Try to hear the Christmas story for the first time. Walk with Mary and Elizabeth as they carry their sons. Feel their amazement, fear, joy, love, and anticipation as they begin the story that would change our lives forever.

Come, O Lord, come.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the opportunity to join in the anticipation of waiting for Jesus to come again. Help us to forget the ending of the Christmas story in order to feel Mary’s and Elizabeth’s raw emotion as the impossible happens. Thank you for inviting us to experience the Christmas story. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. How do you honor God?

2. How are you going to relive the Christmas story?

3. Where are do you feel God is calling you?

Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: The Impoverished Widow

Readings

1 Kings 17:8-16

Psalm 146

Hebrews 9:24-28

Mark 12:38-44

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The impoverished widow puts her last two coins in the offering plate, and Jesus says she has contributed more than all the rest (Mark 12:42-43). The widow had practically nothing to her name, yet she put in all she had. Meanwhile, the scribes dress in the best robes and want to be greeted in the marketplace and at banquets with honor. They really believe that it’s “all about them.” The scribes are the ones who are given authority over the Jewish laws. The scribes are supposed to live humbly among God’s people, yet they live “high on the hog” instead. The scribes are supposed to tend to the needs of the poor and needy, yet they fill their wardrobes with most elegant clothes.

Jesus is appalled by the scribes’ lack of caring for God’s people. He laments over the fact that the poor widow feels the need to give all she has to the treasury, yet no one tends to her needs as a child of God. The poor widow has nothing, yet she tends to the needs of others. Something is wrong with this picture, according to Jesus.

As God’s people, we are called to tend to the needs of the poor, people with disabilities, and others who need help. It is not enough to just read God’s Word and pray. God wants us to live in community with each other and take of each other, especially those who are less fortunate than ourselves. God entrusts us with resources not so much for our own pleasure, but to enable us to take care of one another.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for entrusting us with the responsibility to care for one another. Help us not to be like the scribes, but rather to be caring to one another. Give us a loving heart to show compassion to individuals who are poor, disabled, elderly, and less fortunate. Thank you for giving us a community to live in as your people. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Who are the scribes in today’s world?

2. Who is the poor widow in today’s world?

 

Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost: To Love God is to Love Others

Readings

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Psalm 119:1-8

Hebrews 9:11-14

Mark 12:28-34

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The world Jesus lived in and the world we live in are not much different. The world was and still is a hostile place – Satan still lives among us. As the Pharisees and the scribes plot to have Jesus arrested and killed, Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem when a scribe asks him what the greatest commandment is (Mark 12:28c). As Jesus faces the upcoming ordeal of the cross, the question allows him one last chance to teach the masses.

The scribe’s question comes out of sincerity; even though most of the scribes aligned themselves with the Pharisees, some of them were open to Jesus’ message. If Jesus is the Messiah (or even just a great teacher, as far as the scribe knows), then he should know which of the commandments is the greatest. The scribe wants to know what God really wants from his children. The scribe is asking, “What is at God’s heart?” (Mark 12:28c).

The answer is simple: love your God with your whole being – heart, understanding, soul and strength (Mark 12:29-30; Deuteronomy 6:4-5). This is the positive side of the first commandment: you shall have no other gods. Our God is the one above all of the other gods. No other god can love us more than our God. He deserves the wholeness of our love.

How do we express our love to God? Jesus gives us a second commandment: love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31; Leviticus 19:18). God shows us love through others’ actions, and we show others God’s love through our actions. Micah 6:6 says that God wants justice, kindness, and humility to be how we live out our lives and express his love to others.

As you look at the devastation Hurricane Sandy left in the northeast, I invite you to think of ways to show God’s love to those trying to rebuild their lives. Will you donate to Red Cross? Will you help with the clean-up? Will you send teddy bears to the children who lost their homes and toys in the storm? Will you make meals for those who now have nothing? Will you make families without a bed a quilt? Will you shovel your elderly neighbor’s snowed-in driveway? Will you drive a person in a wheelchair to safety? Hurricane Sandy is having a great effect on the northeastern part of United States. What a great excuse for us to love God by loving others.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving us by sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Help us to show others your love through our actions of justice, kindness, and humility. Remind of your love through the actions of others. Thank you for allowing us to show others your love. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. What is at God’s heart? What does God want from us?

2. How will you love God by loving those affected by Hurricane Sandy?