Break forth

161223How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
(Isaiah 52:7-10, NRSV)

Break forth in singing for the Lord has done great thing, and beautiful are the feet of those who bring this good news to all the world

So sing the praises of God from the mountain tops and in the lowest of valleys so that all can hear of His wonders!

For the Lord brings us salvation and we get to herald that message to the world!

Sign of Immanuel

161222Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,  Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7:10-16, NRSV)

This is a passage which we Christians read as a prophecy of the coming of Christ. The one we await in just a few days. But here are the problems with that.

This prophecy of Isaiah is for King Ahaz whose kingdom is under siege. There are 2 kingdoms coming down upon him and Isaiah says before the child that is born eats curds and honey (about 2 years) the siege will be done. Now if this is a prophecy of the coming Messiah we await, then Isaiah is telling King Ahaz to hold out about 750 years and all will be good. Not a very good prophecy!

But how many times can a prophecy come true before it is no longer prophetic?

The sign of God with us is all around us and especially comes to us in the baby in the manger we await.

Restore us

161221Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted. They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80, NRSV)

Have you ever felt like God was not with you? Like you had been left? You are not alone. The psalmist here is asking God to shine His face on him and restore him to his place with God. A prayer many of us have prayed in many and various ways.

Please, Lord, shine in our lives and restore us to you!

called

161220Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7, NRSV)

Here Paul starts his letter to the Roman church and says that he was called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, to proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world! To make sure His grace and mercy are known throughout the world!

He is set apart, to be a part. He is called to belong, just as all of us are called to belong.

We are called, part of the priesthood of all believers, set apart for our part of God’s mission in the world. Set apart to be a part.

We are called to belong!

I wish

161219In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Luke 1:26-45, NRSV)

I wish I would respond to God like Mary, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

She is listening and believing with a child like faith that allows her to openly accept what God has for her and all of the world. I am so into over thinking everything that I wonder how this will really all work, when with God the answer is, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Let us all strive to be like Mary.