Lent: Day 34

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

". . . 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' . . . Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!" . . ."

Hymn: "The Voice of God is Calling," UMH 436
John Haynes Holmes, 1913

". . . From ease and plenty save us;
From pride of place absolve;
Purge us from low desire;
Lift us to high resolve;
Take us and make us holy;
Teach us your will and way.
Speak, and behold! we answer;
Command, and we obey!"

Prayer:

Holy, holy, holy God! With the host of Isaiah's vision, I can find only this ancient heavenly cry to give words to my heart's fullness.

But you, holy God, require holy people and holy obedience. Can I be your messenger? Only with your help. Lord, burn away all that is unholy in me, and give me bold courage to go where you send me.

Lent: Day 24

Scripture: Isaiah 45

" 'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. . . . You are my witnesses,' says the LORD, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. . . . Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing . . . I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. . . .' "

Hymn: "How Firm a Foundation," UMH 529
"K" in Rippon's Selection of Hymns, 1787

". . . 'Fear not, I am with the, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.' . . ."

Prayer:

Called by name! O loving God, you know my name!

I want to follow you, dear God, wherever you lead me. I give you myself, including my darkest fears, and trust you to use my life in the way that pleases you most.

I ask only that you keep calling my name, God. I belong to you.

Lent: Day 20

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9

". . . Thus says God, the LORD . . . I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a . . . light to the nations. . . . See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare . . ."

Hymn: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" UMH 211
9th cent. Latin, various translators

"O come, Desire of nations; bind
All peoples in one heart and mind.
From dust thou brought us forth to life;
Deliver us from earthly strife.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel."

Prayer:

Maker of my heart, you know how shallow and easily bored I am. I want to be entertained and cherished; it's far more difficult for me to bring joy and love to those close to me and to recognize your blessings. Yet they're all around me!

You promised to do a new thing, and you kept that promise. You brought my life out of the pit and made me your child! O holy God, give me eyes to see your mercy, and the wonder of a little child as I experience your world new in this adventure of following Jesus.

Lent: Day 19

Scripture: Isaiah 35

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; . . . Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.' . . . And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, . . . everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, . . . and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

Hymn: "Heralds of Christ," UMH 507
Laura S. Copenhaver, 1915

"Heralds of Christ, who bear the King's commands,
Immortal tidings in your mortal hands,
Pass on and carry swift the news you bring;
Make straight, make straight the highway of the King."

Prayer:

O Jesus, my Way, I confess that grow weary of road-building sometimes! I can't see clearly enough the plan that you have; I merely see my often sloppy, half-hearted paving job. Can't you simply speak the word and build your own road?

No, I know that is not how you desire your peaceful way to come to the world. You have given your life to buy me back for God after I sold myself to sin. Now I mumble about your call to use my hands and feet and heart to serve you.

Forgive me, Lord Jesus. It is an honor to work on the building of your highway. Turn my heart around so that I desire only to serve you.

Lent: Day 18

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-9

"A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a branch grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, . . . His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. . . . "

Hymn: "O Day of Peace, That Dimly Shines," UMH 729
Carl P. Daw, Jr., 1982

". . . Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb,
Nor shall the fierce devour the small;
As beasts and cattle calmly graze,
A little child shall lead them all.
Then enemies shall learn to love,
All creatures find their true accord;
The hope of peace shall be fulfilled,
For all the earth shall know the Lord."

Prayer:

O God of peace, I long for your rule in this world and in my heart. You promised so long ago to turn things right-side up and restore your ways, yet the hope glows only faintly in the distance sometimes.

St. Francis prayed, "Make me an instrument of your peace." That is my prayer as well, O God. Just as Jesus came to bring a peace that the world can't give, let me share his peaceful kingdom with the world.

Lent: Day 17

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; . . . For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. . . ."

Hymn: "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" UMH 196
Charles Wesley, 1744

". . . Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now they gracious kingdom bring. . . ."

Prayer:

O God, what a plan you have revealed! The warring factions of the world, and the hardened hearts of your children, will be undone by the Child who was born in Bethlehem. We, who think babies are weak and powerless, have ourselves been saved by the Baby Jesus who came in such a humble way.

According to my own puny sense of time, Eternal God, this plan seems to have failed. We still make war, and our hearts are still hard. Yet you wait, and you work in and through our history, in order to bring about your will. When will I ever learn to trust that you are always on time? Past, present, and future all meet in the coming of Jesus.

Thank you for sending your own Word -- Jesus -- to be our Prince of Peace.

Advent, Week 2: Monday

Isaiah 11:1-5 (NRSV):

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

We who are the body of Christ can take a profound lesson from this prophecy of his coming. How should we reflect the likeness of the Branch of Jesse? What spirit rests on us? How do we judge? How do we treat the poor and the meek? Are we clothed in righteousness? Is it by what we do with the might of our arms, or rather the justice of our Spirit-inspired words, that the wicked are rendered no longer wicked?

Such a comparison makes me hang my head in shame. I have so much growing up still to do, and such a shortage of time in which to do it! But if I am faithful, if I permit God full control, I will progress in this "going on to perfection" that is sanctification.

Today, Lord Jesus, just for today: I choose to be more like you. May your Holy Spirit rest on me and may I then reflect you in all that I say and do.

Advent, Week 1: Tuesday

Isaiah 2:2-3 (NRSV):

"He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!"

Again today, I find myself wondering how this text might read had Isaiah written it to a 21st century audience.

"God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples: they shall melt down their missiles into farm machinery, and transform their weapons of mass destruction into disease-ending vaccines; nation shall not invade nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

Not nearly so poetic, nor I suspect would it be very religiously popular. "But Lord! We NEED war. That's the only language these international bullies understand. We have to protect our strategic neighbors, or they'll import more terrorists and we'll have to defend our own shores."

Yes, Lord, we do need to walk in your light. This exportation of war is not your will; the soil on which we send our youngsters to fight is called home by brothers and sisters you died to save. I love my country, Lord, and my heart breaks that we settled so hastily for years and trillions of dollars of war instead of daring to humbly submit to your arbitration. Help my dear people seek your way of peace.

Advent, Week 1: Monday

Isaiah 2:2-3 (NRSV)

"In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. 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.' For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."

I've been thinking today about what "Zion" and "the mountain of the Lord's house" means to us Christians in the West, at the close of 2007. It's not my intention to get into all the possible details of the historical context of Isaiah's message concerning Judah and Jerusalem, but simply to outline a few thoughts about how that message intersects with where and how we live now as Christians.

First of all, if we consider the actual city of Jerusalem, it 's interesting that nations do stream to Jerusalem. Peoples of three different world-wide faiths claim Jerusalem as a (or the) capital of their historic faith. Unfortunately, this has resulted in fierce contention for occupation of it. This is sadly ironic, considering the prophecy of verse 4 which follows. Some people come to the earthly, physical Jerusalem today to pray, some to see the sights, and some to learn. Some come, and even stay, to foment further discord among the very uneasy truce that often holds there. But when we think of Jerusalem, we don't see it as the supreme center of learning from the Lord that Isaiah prophesied it would be. It's simply an interesting, old, important, but mainly violent place that most people never visit.

So I began to wonder, what are the "jerusalems" of the world?

• For "what happens there, stays there" naughtiness, we have Las Vegas.
  
• For fashion and style, we have Paris and Milan.
  
• For celebrity and conspicuous consumption, we have Los Angeles.
  
• For the hub of world commerce and finance, we have New York and Tokyo.
  
• For history and tradition (with a fair bit of funkiness in the mix), we have London.
  
• For more history and tradition, especially religious-style, we have Rome.
  

There are many, many more "centers" and I'm certain my list could be improved. What I could not really come up with, however, was a modern-day equivalent of Isaiah's visionary city of God's own instruction. We have no one place where all the world knows they can go to learn from God.

What this tells me is that we have to settle for smaller, more intimate "centers" of godly learning. We grafted branches -- Christians -- have received precious instruction from God. According to Jesus the Christ, we are to "teach [all nations] to obey all that [Christ has] commanded [us]." When we've been taught, we're expected to teach others. (As with anything, learning that is hoarded and kept to oneself quickly becomes ingrown and does no one else any good.)

I believe that our churches, our communities of worship, learning, and service, are supposed to be "little jerusalems" to the world. We should be living, 24-7 examples of the teaching of God, reflecting the richness of God's wisdom and practicing the grace by which we have been saved.

As Advent begins, I hope to be that kind of beacon toward God for those who are dying for what only God can provide. I pray that I may be a channel through which God can work to draw others to the divine heart. The first candle is lit. I pray that I, too, may shine brightly for Christ.

Advent, Week 3: Sunday

Recommended readings from the third Sunday of Advent (from the Revised Common Lectionary):

Zephaniah 3:14-20
Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18

Here I sit, at the church office computer, in a very unusual situation. I have virtually nothing I have to do this morning except lead an opening and a closing hymn. No choir to rehearse and lead. No scurrying about, looking for misplaced robes and hijacked music folders. No spot checks and chancel furniture adjustments.

Why the "vacation"? Because our church's liturgical dance/movement group is presenting the Christmas story this morning. I could pick about it here and there (they use only canned music, it's generally the same music and choreography year to year), but such criticisms are minor. The group is girls from first through twelfth grade. Though the majority are members/daughters of members of the congregation, a significant number come from unchurched families. Because our sanctuary is relatively small and therefore does not lend itself to conventional liturgical dance per se, many years ago the group leaders developed a blend of more static movement and American Sign Language. They dress in long-sleeved, full skirted (mid-calf length) white dresses (lavender for first-year girls) with white tights and ballet shoes, and have a variety of floral garlands they wear on their heads. For this production, as for the one they do each year for the Easter sunrise service, however, various girls dress as their assigned characters, while the "chorus" full group wears their usual white/lavender. (I say all this to assure any readers who object to liturgical dance because they don't like bare arms, legs and feet; our girls are completely covered except for hands, necks, and heads. And if you object to liturgical dance on other grounds, we'll have to agree to disagree.)

How does their pending presentation this morning relate to this week's Lectionary readings? I think of this verse from the Psalm lesson (First Song of Isaiah):

And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4, NRSV)

The girls are "making known the deeds of the LORD" in a beautiful, meaningful way. We Christians read and hear the "old, old story" so often that we sometimes take it for granted. But when we witness it told in a new way, it's startlingly real to us.

I also think about the experience of the children themselves. They will know and treasure the story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the rest of their lives, thanks to this group's seasonal reenactments of those portions of the gospel story. That makes worthwhile all the hard work the girls and their leaders do. We promise, when children are baptized, that we will nurture and teach them so that, in time and with God's help, they accept for themselves the salvation God has already accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12:6, NRSV)