Devotion for December 14

For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire… Isaiah 9:5

I remember reading a quote from Helen Keller, that remarkable woman who was born deaf and blind and became a great teacher and leader. She wrote: “I know there is life after death because I have immortal longings within me.” Her point was simple. As a human being she had no hope for eternal life that hadn’t been preceded by an inner longing for life in all its richness.

In the same manner the words of God through the prophet Isaiah speak to the deepest longing within the human soul for peace. This is the inner dream for a time when God’s presence will be so tangible that the human proclivity to make war will be suspended. The very basic tools for warfare will be burnt up because there will be no need for them.

This prophecy leads to the promise of the birth of Jesus. Though our heart’s longing for peace in the world has not been fulfilled, the inner peace of God that comes at Christmas is very real. The Christ-child is, after all, the Prince of Peace.

Christmas is, therefore, the season for making peace: peace with God, with ourselves and one another. We make peace when we see others – their hopes and dreams and needs; their humanity. When we see others through the lens of Christmas we see ourselves differently. We become part of humankind and no longer see ourselves as isolated by either failure or success.  Making peace creates both grateful and generous hearts.

I have an annual tradition of watching two movies during this holy season: A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life.  Both embody these truths.  Both remind me that I am a person who shares with others the longing for immortality and the hope for real peace – in myself and in the world.  Both created a spirit of prayer – of gratitude and generosity.

Merry Christmas.

Devotion for December 7

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Isaiah 11:1

We had followed the directions that the park ranger had given us. In search of fallen timber that we would take chain saws to and make firewood for our wood stoves, we had taken the right at the river and followed the old logging road. But instead of finding the fallen trees all we see was a landscape blackened by a forest fire: as far as the eye could see there were only burned stumps and charred earth. My friend took the truck further down the road to look for the timber we had been told was there while I walked that bleak landscape to look over the hill and see if I could find it that way. That’s when I saw it.

A blackened stump had a single bright green shoot extending outward and upward: the green in sharp contrast to the charred earth and wood. For a moment I stood transfixed. And the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming of our Lord came to mind.

Isaiah looked north and saw the burnt up relic of the northern kingdom of Israel – the wildfire of Assyrian aggression had utterly destroyed it. Then, looking closer to home, the prophet saw the bleak landscape of the kingdom of Judah besieged by that same juggernaut. In that moment, God directed his inner sight to the bright green hope of the Messiah. God’s people would not be annihilated. Instead, from the lineage of King David, God would raise a great leader who would bring peace and joy.

Centuries later, the Christ-child was born. And to this day he brings the green hope and bright promise of heaven to all who believe – no matter how burnt out or bleak the world may seem. Christmas means that God has not given up on us or his creation.

Merry Christmas!

Devotion for November 30

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…Isaiah 64:1

The Christian season of Advent begins with this plea from the prophet Isaiah. Sitting in exile in a strange country and feeling estranged from his God, the prophet prays: tear open the skies and make your presence felt, O God. Break the chains of your people and bring us peace and healing and freedom.

This prayer prepares us for the coming of the Christ-child. The heavens would be torn apart but not as the prophet had imagined. Instead of an eruption of heavenly wrath, complete with shaking mountains and nations trembling before the presence of God, there was an angel choir on Bethlehem’s hillside. Heaven had opened and a child had been born – just a child whose birth cries were lost amid the lowing cattle and the braying ass.

This Advent text reminds us of two wonderful promises of God. The first is that God does answer prayer. The deepest hopes and needs and dreams of our hearts move God.  At the heart of Christmas is the message that God’s heart is moved for us – not that our hearts are first moved for God. This is a wonderful mystery so remarkably demonstrated in the celebration of our Lord’s birth. That this should be true; how this can be true is inexplicable – but true.

The second promise is that when God comes, it is always in a way that is redemptive; God brings shalom – the healing peace for which the prophet prayed and for which our world yearns. This is the great surprise of God: God tears the heavens not just in judgment but in love… and a child is born who will rend the veil of death.

So, like the prophet, we pray and wait. Come Lord Jesus, come. Amen

Devotion for November 2

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation… Isaiah 12:3

When I was a child staying the summer on my grandparents’ farm, I used to love to go to the well and, first priming the pump, pump until the cold water would come gushing out. We usually put it in a metal pail and, in the heat of the summer, that pail would sweat beads of water. Even before I took that pail of water to the house, I would ladle a tin cup for myself. On hot, humid days in Iowa, that water was so refreshing that I couldn’t imagine anything would taste as good.           

At St. Mark we have recently been refreshed by the wells of salvation. We have had three funerals in two weeks. This is not typical of our ministry. Nevertheless, over and over again we were drawn to the promises of God in Jesus Christ – specifically, the promise of eternal life. Again and again we would be comforted and refreshed as scripture was read and the promises of God declared. The Gospel was like drinking from that well as a child.

There is a dryness to grief. Oh, I know that tears often flow. But in the human heart, grief is often dry. We experience grief like the dry leaves blown about by the wind. We cannot control our feelings any more than the leaves can control the direction the wind carries them. And there is an arid quality to life when grief touches us deeply. Our hearts dry up and we thirst for hope.

Into this deserted place we call loss, our Savior comes and says, “Welcome to the wells of salvation. Here you can drink and be filled. Here eternal love will satisfy the thirst of your soul.”

To be a Christian is to know the assurance of God’s promise that we shall live though we die; that we shall be received into heaven and be reunited with those who have gone before us. These are the wells of salvation of which the prophet writes – and they are possible through the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen

Devotion for May 26

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish that which I propose… Isaiah 55:10-11

Words have power. Human language can shape our perceptions, alter our attitudes and behaviors and influence generations. Think of some of the historic addresses that still have power to stir us. I remember memorizing the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. Scribbled on an envelope, Lincoln was not the keynote speaker of the event. But his few words shaped, not only that memorial event but our American psyche. Think of the recent declaration from President Obama on the successful completion of the mission to seize or assassinate Osama Bin Laden.

On a more personal level, the words we say to one another have the power to hurt or heal, bless or curse. Tell a child often enough that they are inadequate and they will feel that way for the rest of their lives. Affirm a child and you will build a positive self-image that can equip them for healthy living.

But human speech cannot effect what it declares… influence and shape over time, to be sure but not accomplish what it declares. The Bible is clear that what God says happens. The Holy Spirit takes the written Word of God (the Bible) and transforms it into the declared Word of God that will not return to God empty; that is to say that God will make changes through it.

When I get discouraged at the seeming lack of faith in our society, I cling to this promise of God. The Word of God has power and will not be deterred. In the midst of controversy or lethargy, God’s Word shall prevail – please take heart in this spiritual truth.

Lord, let your Word dwell in me and I in it. Amen

Devotion for December 2

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1

I remember one of the early lessons of my childhood because it was painful. I had told a family friend that I would come and help in her yard clean up but something else came along. I didn’t show up. My father heard about it from church and, the next day, I was there cleaning the yard by myself. My father told me that there are few things as important as doing what you say you’re going to do. The importance of that lesson was reinforced as I watched my father live it.

Faithfulness is a key value in the Bible. We celebrate God’s faithfulness to us in Jesus Christ. This is a personal promise to all who believe… and it brings with it the gift of eternal life.

On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that our God’s faithfulness is to the world. The passage above from Isaiah 42 brings to mind the baptism of Jesus. In that event, Christians throughout history have seen God’s promises above fulfilled in Jesus Christ -that this has been understood as a messianic prophecy certainly predates Jesus. But in Him, we see God’s word being kept. God did what God promised to do. Here is the source of our confidence.

Justice is the consequence of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Justice for the Christian is not blind – except in establishing fairness. Then the blindfold comes off and the wisdom of Jesus is applied. I thought of this when I listened to the mayor of Philadelphia talk about Michael Vick – the dog fighting, former quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Now, he is starring as the quarterback in Philadelphia – but also in his own story of redemption, according to the mayor. His is a life brought back from the pit through faith. The Justice of God is fair… and then gives us as many chances as we need.

Give me the attitude of your justice, O Lord. Amen