For each of our four advent Sundays the blog will have 3 components:
Read: the scripture of the week from the lectionary
Reflect: a short meditation about the topic
Respond: A chance to connect with the idea and share your wisdom or experience with someone else. You can email me, leave a comment or just talk with someone (or many) about your answers, but make sure to share the light with others this season. I will answer each question on the blog as my way of sharing with you.
Be blessed this Advent season, and be a blessing.
Read: the scripture of the week from the lectionary
Reflect: a short meditation about the topic
Respond: A chance to connect with the idea and share your wisdom or experience with someone else. You can email me, leave a comment or just talk with someone (or many) about your answers, but make sure to share the light with others this season. I will answer each question on the blog as my way of sharing with you.
Be blessed this Advent season, and be a blessing.
Read: Isaiah 11:1-10
Reflect: A country farmer went into a local church and was greeted by the stern secretary in the church office.
“Can I help you,” she sniffed. He smelled of dirt and land to her.
“I’d like to speak to the head hog of this trough,” he muttered through a thick accent.
“What?” The secretary was taken aback by his crudeness.
“I”d like to speak to the head hog of this trough,” he said again, pointing as the pastor’s picture on the wall.
“SIR!” the secretary chided. “That is REVEREND JONES and he is one of the most respected leaders in our community. We do NOT talk about the Reverend that way and we do not deal with anyone who would. Please leave.”
“Alrighty,” the man said as he turned to leave. “Ya see, I just got me an inheritance of 2 million dollars from my uncle and I wanted to talk about giving a tithe.”
“Just a minute, Sir,” the secretary called as she looked out the window. “I see the Big Pig pulling into his parking space right now!”
Stretching – we all do it. Sometimes for good reasons; sometimes not. Physically and spiritually, stretching is an important part of life. Remember how the Day of Hope told us to wake up? Well, what do you do when you wake up? Stretch. Reaching out with feet or arms, sometimes even turning or twisting to wake the back and shoulders up – most people will stretch before they get out of bed. The message of the day of Peace is to follow that pattern in our walk with God as well. The day of Peace is God’s way of asking us to stretch.
When I read Isaiah’s prophecy – of the child who will lead us to peace instead of war, to justice instead of oppression and to collaboration instead of survival of the fittest – my first thought is, “Well, where is it???”. The child came a long time ago and we still have war, we still have poor, and we still have wolves that eat lambs. Where is this peace we were promised?
It seems as if we are missing an ingredient in this prophecy. Is this like National Treasure or Tomb Raider? Is there a secret knock or code we are missing? Can Laura Croft lead us to a vault that contains the answers to the world’s need for peace? We have the branch from the stump of Jesse in Jesus. He had all the things it says he needed – wisdom, knowledge, power, fear of the Lord, righteousness and faith. So, what do we need to do for him to bring peace? I think we need to stretch.
“Stretch: (Verb) To extend; To reach out.” – Mirriam-Webster Dictionary.
We have not been successful in allowing Jesus to bring peace to our lives, our church or our world because we haven’t been willing to stretch – to reach out.
Reach out past Judgement
Notice we are told he will not judge with his eyes or ears, but with righteousness. We will see peace at a personal and planetary level when we do the same. Our good friends at Mirriam-Webster who gave us the definition of stretch – have an interesting definition of righteous. “Acting in accord with divine law.” Unlike all those “church ladies” (and men) who view righteousness as a reason to be separate from non-Christians or anyone they disagree with – the definers of the word understand that righteousness is not a reputation, an attitude or a description – righteous is an ACTION. It is what you do. It’s a stretch in God’s direction instead of following the “eyes and ears judgment” we are prone toward. In practical example – reaching past judgment to righteousness means instead of looking at someone in the community as an “undesirable”, treat them as someone God desires.
“Can I help you,” she sniffed. He smelled of dirt and land to her.
“I’d like to speak to the head hog of this trough,” he muttered through a thick accent.
“What?” The secretary was taken aback by his crudeness.
“I”d like to speak to the head hog of this trough,” he said again, pointing as the pastor’s picture on the wall.
“SIR!” the secretary chided. “That is REVEREND JONES and he is one of the most respected leaders in our community. We do NOT talk about the Reverend that way and we do not deal with anyone who would. Please leave.”
“Alrighty,” the man said as he turned to leave. “Ya see, I just got me an inheritance of 2 million dollars from my uncle and I wanted to talk about giving a tithe.”
“Just a minute, Sir,” the secretary called as she looked out the window. “I see the Big Pig pulling into his parking space right now!”
Stretching – we all do it. Sometimes for good reasons; sometimes not. Physically and spiritually, stretching is an important part of life. Remember how the Day of Hope told us to wake up? Well, what do you do when you wake up? Stretch. Reaching out with feet or arms, sometimes even turning or twisting to wake the back and shoulders up – most people will stretch before they get out of bed. The message of the day of Peace is to follow that pattern in our walk with God as well. The day of Peace is God’s way of asking us to stretch.
When I read Isaiah’s prophecy – of the child who will lead us to peace instead of war, to justice instead of oppression and to collaboration instead of survival of the fittest – my first thought is, “Well, where is it???”. The child came a long time ago and we still have war, we still have poor, and we still have wolves that eat lambs. Where is this peace we were promised?
It seems as if we are missing an ingredient in this prophecy. Is this like National Treasure or Tomb Raider? Is there a secret knock or code we are missing? Can Laura Croft lead us to a vault that contains the answers to the world’s need for peace? We have the branch from the stump of Jesse in Jesus. He had all the things it says he needed – wisdom, knowledge, power, fear of the Lord, righteousness and faith. So, what do we need to do for him to bring peace? I think we need to stretch.
“Stretch: (Verb) To extend; To reach out.” – Mirriam-Webster Dictionary.
We have not been successful in allowing Jesus to bring peace to our lives, our church or our world because we haven’t been willing to stretch – to reach out.
Reach out past Judgement
Notice we are told he will not judge with his eyes or ears, but with righteousness. We will see peace at a personal and planetary level when we do the same. Our good friends at Mirriam-Webster who gave us the definition of stretch – have an interesting definition of righteous. “Acting in accord with divine law.” Unlike all those “church ladies” (and men) who view righteousness as a reason to be separate from non-Christians or anyone they disagree with – the definers of the word understand that righteousness is not a reputation, an attitude or a description – righteous is an ACTION. It is what you do. It’s a stretch in God’s direction instead of following the “eyes and ears judgment” we are prone toward. In practical example – reaching past judgment to righteousness means instead of looking at someone in the community as an “undesirable”, treat them as someone God desires.
Reach out past Privilege
In the “dog eat dog” (or wolf eat lamb) world we live in, we have all grown to be people of privilege. However, Isaiah prophecies that with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. The Hebrew word translated “give decisions” in the NIV is a word used for court cases. It’s really more like “pass a verdict” – when there is a trial and Jesus will decide for the poor to make things equitable. I often hear folks say, “I didn’t “get” what I have – I worked for it.” Yet, many of these same people went to college on scholarships, or loans or parents. They got a job because they had a friend who worked in the company or they became part of a family business. They rode on the shoulders of previous ideas and advanced a thought someone already had. They used the body God gave them, the brain God gave them and the blessings God gave them. It is time to stretch beyond ourselves and give to others just as we were given to.
Reach out past Fear
Woody Allen said, “The Lion may lay with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep!” In order for peace to be part of our picture – we must learn to reach out of our fear. Fear divides us. It makes us hoard food, resources, and ideas. Our fear of being rejected keeps us from communication or reaching out to others. Our fear of being different keeps us stuck in a rut with no new input. Our fear of being judged keeps us from opening ourselves honestly and forces us to hide shame and guilt. One of the phrases of Alcoholics Anonymous is “You are only as sick as the secrets you carry.” But to have personal peace, you must reach out past fear and into faith. God will provide. God will accept you. God will forgive you. God knows your secrets and God is ready to heal your fears.
My favorite image in the prophecy is “and a little child shall lead them.” – I get this image of a whole army of people – young and old, rich and poor, all races, all ages, all orientations, all life-walks following a toddler down the road. It’s a funny picture when you think about it. And yet – anyone who has small children knows – the one thing babies, toddlers and children do more than anything else – is stretch.
Respond: In what ways is God calling you to stretch for peace?
God is calling me to stretch for peace in many ways:
Learn to live without judgement – I need to stop closing my mind and start opening my heart. I want to continue to learn how to help people where they are, not just make a mental commentary about their situation and move forward.
Stop hiding my fears – This new year one of my personal development projects that God and I will work on is for me to stop hiding when I’m afraid, hurt, sad or troubled. I tend to be a “after the fact” sharer, as in “I was really scared” or “that really hurt”. This past year I knew I had a tumor in my throat for 2.5 months before I told anyone about it. Not good! I need to be open to my beloved Jesus, and my lovely partner – as well as myself.
Prayer for my world – I read the news every day (I’m an info junkie) – and as much as I want peace in Iraq, food and medicine in Africa, safe shelter in Mexico – I rarely pray for these things. This year I hope not to simply “know”, but to involve myself in prayer and guidance for the world and my part in it.
In the “dog eat dog” (or wolf eat lamb) world we live in, we have all grown to be people of privilege. However, Isaiah prophecies that with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. The Hebrew word translated “give decisions” in the NIV is a word used for court cases. It’s really more like “pass a verdict” – when there is a trial and Jesus will decide for the poor to make things equitable. I often hear folks say, “I didn’t “get” what I have – I worked for it.” Yet, many of these same people went to college on scholarships, or loans or parents. They got a job because they had a friend who worked in the company or they became part of a family business. They rode on the shoulders of previous ideas and advanced a thought someone already had. They used the body God gave them, the brain God gave them and the blessings God gave them. It is time to stretch beyond ourselves and give to others just as we were given to.
Reach out past Fear
Woody Allen said, “The Lion may lay with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep!” In order for peace to be part of our picture – we must learn to reach out of our fear. Fear divides us. It makes us hoard food, resources, and ideas. Our fear of being rejected keeps us from communication or reaching out to others. Our fear of being different keeps us stuck in a rut with no new input. Our fear of being judged keeps us from opening ourselves honestly and forces us to hide shame and guilt. One of the phrases of Alcoholics Anonymous is “You are only as sick as the secrets you carry.” But to have personal peace, you must reach out past fear and into faith. God will provide. God will accept you. God will forgive you. God knows your secrets and God is ready to heal your fears.
My favorite image in the prophecy is “and a little child shall lead them.” – I get this image of a whole army of people – young and old, rich and poor, all races, all ages, all orientations, all life-walks following a toddler down the road. It’s a funny picture when you think about it. And yet – anyone who has small children knows – the one thing babies, toddlers and children do more than anything else – is stretch.
Respond: In what ways is God calling you to stretch for peace?
God is calling me to stretch for peace in many ways:
Learn to live without judgement – I need to stop closing my mind and start opening my heart. I want to continue to learn how to help people where they are, not just make a mental commentary about their situation and move forward.
Stop hiding my fears – This new year one of my personal development projects that God and I will work on is for me to stop hiding when I’m afraid, hurt, sad or troubled. I tend to be a “after the fact” sharer, as in “I was really scared” or “that really hurt”. This past year I knew I had a tumor in my throat for 2.5 months before I told anyone about it. Not good! I need to be open to my beloved Jesus, and my lovely partner – as well as myself.
Prayer for my world – I read the news every day (I’m an info junkie) – and as much as I want peace in Iraq, food and medicine in Africa, safe shelter in Mexico – I rarely pray for these things. This year I hope not to simply “know”, but to involve myself in prayer and guidance for the world and my part in it.
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1 comment:
Nice brief and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you as your information.
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