Words from God

Throughout today's lectionary passages from the Old and New Testaments there are passages about the effects and consequences of the Word of the Lord upon the earth. From songs of faithfulness in the Psalms to words of warning in Amos to words of comfort in Matthew, when God speaks the people of the Bible not only know it, but they feel it too.

So, do we still feel the word of the Lord? I've been wondering about that over the past few days as we've been gripped in the cold embrace of winter all of a sudden in Twin Falls. Not only is it cold as it is supposed to be in December but it is bitter cold. What with the wind and snow, even when the sun does come out it may look inviting, but looks can be deceiving.

And so we are forced inside, we are forced to draw closer to those whom we love, we are forced by the bone chilling cold to think of those who do not live in warm and comforting homes or who have no shelter at all. Could this cold weather be the voice of God? If we really listen might we not hear something of God in both the beauty and horror of such dangerous weather?

And if we do hear God's voice, what then are we to do? Maybe this nasty weather is a wake up call for us all to realize what we have been given. At a time of year when advertisers are working their hardest to push us into thinking we have nothing or at least not enough, maybe the freezing weather outside might help direct us to seeing how much God has blessed us with which will prompt us to acts of generosity.

Servants

This morning's daily lectionary features Amos chapter six which is a stinging rebuke of the privileged of Israel whose luxuriant lifestyle is mocked by God through God's prophet. This can be either easily overlooked as God's word against people long ago and have nothing to do with me or it can be a lens through which to examine our own luxuriant lives especially in comparison to the bleak global reality.

Then again I'd like to split the difference this morning, especially as I look at my clock and see that I have about five minutes until I have to be on the other side of the building. While I'm not quite willing to assume that this Amos passage has nothing to say outside its historical context neither am I willing or able to go off on a social-justice tirade. Instead, this passage from Amos calls to mind the sight I beheld when I showed up in the bleak and utter chill this morning at church.

Although we didn't have a lot of snow we had enough to make me realize that I'd probably be pulling out the shovel in addition to my usual Sunday morning preparations. But when I showed up at church there was a four-wheeler with plow attached to it sitting out in front of the building, definitely out of the usual. As I got closer I saw that Rob Blackston had left the warmth and comfort of his home, donning hat and gloves and cleared the walk with his four-wheeler and swept the steps and front porch of the sanctuary building. If that's not service I don't know what is.

Rob's dedication of time and being out in the cold ensuring that others would have safe footing into the building today is the kind of lifestyle that Amos ultimately encourages us to live with the prophet's damning language in chapter six. What sometimes can be overlooked or used to rhetorically bludgeon can also point to sacrificial servant hood as I witnessed this morning upon arrival at church. Thank you, Rob for exemplifying the life that Amos and Jesus preached.

Amos, a Presbyterian?

Over the last few days on Facebook I have been watching as several of my friends from seminary and other clergy I've met along the way comment on the various distractions they engage in during Presbytery meetings. Along with it being Advent, it seems that many Presbyteries hold their last meeting of the year in December. One colleague from Denver remarked how she and about eight others (probably among fifty to sixty clergy present) text one another throughout the meeting, even texting the person who is giving a report if they know his phone is on, you know, giving him a buzz. Another friend from West Virginia was lamenting how she wished she had taken up knitting so that she could get something done during the all-day meeting. And earlier this week I pondered whether or not buying a Kindle so that I could upload my Presbytery agenda to it would be justification enough for the $259 expense.

All that is to say, myself included, not too many people a keen on a day spent at the quarterly Presbytery meeting. Included among those who wonder about meetings is the prophet Amos who says for God, "I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies" (Amos 5:21). Truth be told, few people take delight in solemn assemblies, which has been evidenced enough on Facebook these past several days.

But as I read a little further in Amos, verse 24 to be exact, "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" in those words I see justification for some of the ideas expressed by friends for finding distraction at Presbytery. For wouldn't their be some benefit in knitting a prayer shawl throughout the meeting, of being in prayer for the recipient of the shawl as well as for the work of the Presbytery. Or what about the friend who texts her colleagues in the midst of the meeting, certainly that's better than a gaggle getting up and talking in the halls or worse yet among one another while someone else is trying to speak.

Now I'm not sure that Amos had knitting or texting in mind when he prophesied so many centuries ago, but when you think about how some would have us behave during such a solemn event as Presbytery maybe a distraction every now and again might open the gates and allow justice to roll down.

Boise State & Psalm 102

Granted, that title isn't too catchy and it has little to do with Advent, but then again even as we prepare our heart and mind for the Advent of the Christ we do so within the context of a very real world. After all, are we simply to lay aside all of our worldly concerns in these weeks leading up to Christmas? Does not God want us to enjoy life? What harm is there in cheering for a team that is most definitely an underdog in the world of college sports? Couldn't how we cheer for Boise State be a witness to others about how to go about being a fan?

Maybe its a bit much to say that being a good fan of Boise State is on par with being a good witness to the love of God found in Jesus Christ. Yeah, it probably is. But what the heck, after all, as I said they're underdogs when you consider football programs that have dominated the headlines for generations. So why not join with the psalmist and make our prayer for Boise State:

Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call. (Psalm 102:1-2)

What could be the harm? Maybe by praying thus for Boise State we'll get into the spirit of relying on God even more on more pressing matters in our life. Maybe by praying thus for Boise State we'll begin to see that there are other concerns in our life that need to be covered in prayer just as passionately. Maybe by praying thus for Boise State we will find in ourselves a longing for the living God who comes among us as the ultimate underdog; as a babe in a manger.

Fruits of the Kingdom

Reading today's daily lectionary is a challenge. The Psalm is about God rescuing someone, but in the process of doing so there is much fire & brimstone language. In Amos the prophet speaks for God who has gone to great lengths to show favoritism to Israel and yet still Israel does not turn to God. In the Epistle, 2 Peter, there is instruction about not following those who might lead us astray. And finally in the Gospel for today, the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 21:33-46 Jesus tells the story of a man who grows a vineyard and then travels to a foreign land while the neighbors kill all the vineyard workers and even the vineyard owner's son. In short it is not a very cheery set of readings.

And yet, toward the end of the Gospel Jesus says, "the kingdom of God will be ... given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom."

Although I'm certain if I turned around and consulted my Bible commentaries there are many wise men and women who could tell me more specifically what Jesus meant by the "fruits of the kingdom" but it made me think about Jesus' response to the question about what the greatest commandment is and his reply; loving God and loving neighbor. Jesus' words about producing the fruits of the kingdom also made me think about Paul's letter to the church at Galatia where he said, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things."

Even in the midst of some very challenging passages of scripture, Jesus' words about the kingdom of God belonging to those who produce the fruits of the kingdom seem like very applicable words in the hustle and bustle of early December. For if the fruits include loving God and loving neighbor there are many opportunities for us to pause in the midst of our many tasks and give thanks to God as well as looking out for the many people who make up our neighbor.

Likewise, with so much stress being associated with the month of December, trying to keep in mind things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control can bring a lot of growth to our preparations. Granted, adding one more list to an already burgeoning list of responsibilities might seem like a lot to ask, but when we think about the outcome achieved by producing the fruit of the kingdom, that of coming into an even fuller embrace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, perhaps the added responsibility might just be worth the effort.

Heroes and Psalm 147:10-11

Tonight at our church's LOGOS ministry we're doing "Heroes Night" and as I lay awake early this morning I wondered about why we're still fascinated by or repelled by heroes. And then I read this morning's daily lectionary from the Psalms, especially verses ten and eleven which read; "[God's] delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love."

What those two verses said to me is that we want someone in whom we can trust steadfastly. And even as we are reminded again and again that steadfast love is what God wants from us, we fickle, finite, people are always on the lookout for a being who is greater than we are and yet also one whom we can see.

That's where heroes come in. Whether they are heroes from the battlefield, like the dwindling number of Medal of Honor Recipients, or heroes from the ball field, or heroes from the world of comic books; we all long for someone who can do more than we can and whom we can trust to be there for us no matter what. Of course that is who God is in our lives and our longing for God to be more present was accomplished by God through the incarnation and later the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of God's Son Jesus Christ who made the way for the Holy Spirit.

And yet even as we confess our faith in such beliefs we daily long for something more tangible. And so we put our hopes in the boys in blue on the blue turf in Boise or in the men and women who give of themselves overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan or we look to supermen and women from the world of "graphic novels" to rescue us. And yet at some point or another all of these valiant heroes let us down in one way or another and we would better serve by the One who came to be among us--Emmanuel--God with us. And that is our challenge for this Advent season, to longingly trust that God comes among us and lives in us and that makes all the difference in the world.

Advent Calendars & Amos

This morning I awoke to the sound of Kathy egging Eric on about what new special thing he would get to do starting today. He had all sorts of guesses and it took him awhile to remember that this being the first day of December meant he could begin opening his Advent Calendar.

I'm sure most of you have had Advent calendars with little doors that open up revealing either symbols of the season or maybe even a little treat. I remember being especially fond of the chocolate Advent calendars as a child, but with a little sister that meant that we alternated days of opening the little doors. In our family's case, Kathy last year made one out of twenty-five little tins that reveal chocolate, legos, and this year a Bakugan!

And so I was reminded that, if I can remember, I might try and blog through Advent using the daily lectionary and other sources. And boy what a surprise to read Amos today. I mean, I've been thinking about how the sermon might unfold with this coming Sunday being the Second Sunday of Advent with Luke's introduction of John the Baptist and how people have mixed feelings about having to run headlong into John in their Advent/Christmas preparations, but he's nothing compared to Amos.

Amos' word from the Lord makes John's "voice crying out in the wilderness" seem rather tame. Which makes me wonder about whether or not we really understand the prophetic voice, especially at this time of year. Sure, some Christians will get upset about all the Santas and Reindeers and Elves and cry out "Jesus is the reason for the season." But really, do any of us think that will make a difference? With all the suffering in this world, what does it matter whether or not people focus too much on Santa?

Maybe instead of getting all worked up about decorations or the greetings people extend to us we should look out for words from the Lord that we see in those around us whether or not they claim any faith or not. After all, God doesn't want our self-righteous indignation, but rather the gift of our heart in response to God's gift of Jesus and then our sharing of ourselves for those in need.