Blessed Christmas to all!

Blessed Christmas to all! 

Advent: What does God look forward to?

While he (Joseph) considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

This week we read what happened when Joseph learned of Mary's pregnancy. We know of Joseph's thoughts from Matthew, and of Mary's from Luke. Here we also see the Lord's thoughts through the voice of the angel: the point of all this is to save God's people from their sins. 

When I hear about saving "his people from their sins", the plural makes it easy for me to think of someone else's sins. That's human nature -- or self-preservation, if you'd rather. If we acknowledge our own faults at all, it is still easy to believe they are caused by someone else's faults. (Say what you will about Genesis 3:12's historicity, it has realism about peoples' reactions.) But what if the problem isn't your sins *or* my sins. What if it's both, and our tendency to blame each other, and the whole web of sinfulness that undermines all our human interactions? What if it's everything that keeps the world tense and fearful, hostile and distrustful? 

God's plan is to save us from all that. And whether I'm ready to acknowledge it or not, I need it deeply. 

Lord, come quickly in our day!

Advent: Looking forward to Restoration

Looking forward to the Day of the Lord, the prophets described how all things would be restored. All things, not just the things we usually consider. Deserts would blossom. Arthritic hands and old knees would be restored. The fearful would be encouraged. Disabilities would be healed. Danger and captivity would become things of the past. All this would be brought about because of the Lord's arrival.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,

and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,

the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Holy Way;

the unclean shall not travel on it,

but it shall be for God’s people;

no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there,

nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain joy and gladness,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

Lord, come speedily in our day!

Advent: Looking forward to safety and security

Advent is a time to focus on what is coming. It is easy to focus on problems in the world, or plans of our own. In today's lectionary reading from the prophets, Isaiah describes the days of the Lord by focusing on the ruler who is to come: 

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.

In him, justice spreads over the world. Righteousness will be the undoing of the wicked. The poor and oppressed will receive their relief. 

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.

In that day, the natural order will have a complete safety even for the young: 

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

As much as this prophecy is full of hope, it did not start out with worldly power. Time and again, God starts out gentler than we would expect: 

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

This happens when the ruler comes with the spirit of the Lord. 

May it come speedily in our day!

Advent: Looking forward to peace

Focus. Advent is about looking forward, calling us to focus on God's promises. So many things compete for our attention that it takes an effort to clear out the clamor and focus on what God has said. Life can have too much noise, too much distraction, for us to hear the words of God clearly unless we mute our worries for a time and listen. 

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
   and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

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.

(From Isaiah 2)

I consider what these words would mean today: "They shall not learn war anymore." No more boot camps. No more recruiting and training soldiers. No more seething hostility and debate about who stole whose homeland. No more shockingly large military budgets. No more disturbing loss of life. The nations' disputes shall be settled by an arbiter who knows how to deliver justice: "He shall judge between the nations, arbitrate for many peoples." 

And all the resources that had been dedicated to destruction and hostility will become resources of growth and prosperity: even the weapons will be scrapped and turned to other uses. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." In our days, the money channeled to war could bring food to the hungry and warmth to the cold. We are told that the threat of nuclear war is closer than it has been in many years -- yet even those weapons could be repurposed or dismantled one day. 

Before we lay down our weapons, the hearts of the world would have to change. I expect that nothing short of God's presence will do that. 

And so here at the beginning of advent, we look forward to God's presence. 

Wisdom and Righteousness

One focus of the book of Proverbs is on righteousness. Righteousness is a word that is not currently in common use outside the church. It involves walking with God in the justice, mercy, and humility that are attributes of God himself. 

Here are twelve proverbs that speak of wisdom and righteousness: 

• (Pro 2:9)  Then you shall understand righteousness, and judgment, and fairness; even every good path.
• (Pro 8:18)  Riches and honor are with me; even durable riches and righteousness.
• (Pro 11:4)  Riches profit nothing in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivers from death.
• (Pro 11:10)  When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
• (Pro 11:23)  The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
• (Pro 14:34)  Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
• (Pro 15:9)  The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loves the one who follows after righteousness.
• (Pro 16:12)  It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.
• (Pro 18:10)  The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe.
• (Pro 23:24)  The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begets a wise child shall have joy of him.
• (Pro 29:2)  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.
• (Pro 29:7)  The righteous considers the case of the poor: but the wicked does not to know it.

Ten Proverbs on Heart's Wisdom

So much Western discussion of knowledge and wisdom is guided (misguided?) by an assumption of hostility between heart and mind. As with the Shema, so with the Proverbs: the heart and mind are best when they work together with integrity. One without the other is easily led astray. 

Here are my ten favorite proverbs that speak of the role of heart in wisdom: 

• (Pro 2:10)  When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul;
• (Pro 3:1)  My son, forget not my law; but let your heart keep my commandments
• (Pro 3:3)  Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
• (Pro 4:21)  Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart.
• (Pro 14:30)  A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
• (Pro 14:33)  Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding ... 
• (Pro 15:28)  The heart of the righteous studies to answer: but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
• (Pro 16:23)  The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.
• (Pro 22:11)  He who loves pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
• (Pro 27:9)  Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so does the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is seen as beautiful, desirable -- and drawing on more than mind alone. Truth and mercy -- the first casualties of so many disputes -- are singled out to be valued and remembered. Wisdom's domain includes pureness of heart, rejoicing, friendship, and graceful speech. I could benefit from more wisdom!