Isaiah 43:8-13 "I'm It. I'm All There Is."

 

Observation: In the midst of the Babylonian exile, where the Jews are surrounded by idols of Babylonian gods and myths, the prophet makes a startling claim. Not only is the Lord of Israel the strongest, most powerful, and sovereign above all gods (that was a standard claim...every nation claimed its god was "the best"). The Lord of Israel is, in fact, all there is. "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior." The people of Israel were always monotheists in terms of only worshiping one god. That's different from saying there are no other gods. Contrary to what the Babylonians would have you believe, these other gods simply do not exist. Interestingly, centuries later the Jews and Christians were falsely labeled "atheists" by the Roman authorities because they denied the existence of any Roman gods.

Application: So God is it. God is all there is. So what? I don't feel much societal pressure these days to acknowledge Marduk, or Jupiter, or Zeus and Athena. 

But we do feel a lot of pressure to give our time and talents, our "worship," to things like our economy, our national identity, our chosen political platform, our cultural standards of beauty, and whatever advertisers want us to spend money on. We even feel pressure from well-meaning religious folks to worship their version of the God of Israel, who fits neatly into the cultural categories they set up, who celebrates what they celebrate and hates the same people they hate. Even our ideas of God can become idols. 

We do sometimes get scammed into worshiping gods that do not exist. Maybe they don't want to be called "gods". But if we worship them--if we give them our time, our money, our loyalty above all else--that's what they are. The rest is just semantics. Yet God gives us the reality check. These aren't just minor deities, squabbling over souls. These things do not exist. They have no consciousness. They do not care for you because they can not care for anyone. They cannot save you because they have no will, no mind, no inner life. They are ideas in your mind. You might just as well appeal for help to Han Solo or Captain Jean-Luc Picard. You get the idea. God is it. God is all there is. And God loves you and wants to save you. Thanks be to God. 

Prayer: God, you are it. You are all there is, not just in my life, but in the universe. Help me become an "atheist" regarding all these other fictional saviors we chase after, and put my full faith in you. In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Jeremiah 28:10-17 When "Good News" is No News

 

Observation: It's a classic "duel of the prophets." Hananiah, a court prophet, breaks the yoke that Jeremiah is wearing around his neck, to symbolize that within two years, the people of Judah will be free of the oppressive Babylonian empire. Jeremiah replies that Hananiah has broken wooden bars, but iron bars will come in their place. Judah has not repented of its sins; therefore, the "yoke" of Babylon will not be broken. Additionally, Jeremiah predicts the death of Hananiah within the year. Both things happen. 

Application: In the marketplace of ideas, comfort is always a best seller. When we hear from one voice saying we need to change, and another saying we were right all along, guess who will more likely get our attention? Our praise? Our effort, time, and money? You guessed it...it's the one telling us what we want to hear. 

The problem, of course, is that what we want to hear and the truth are often two different things. Sometimes the "good news" in which we trust, is "no news" at all. It's a comfortable lie. 

That's why communities of believers need to listen to prophets, and work on their own prophetic witness to the world. We need trustworthy people like Jeremiah, led by the Holy Spirit, rooted in God's Word, who love us enough to tell us when we're off the track. Prophets are not always purveyors of "doom and gloom." But they are always willing to honestly share their sense of where God is leading us. And they do so in love, because the truth we find in scripture is that, whatever hard truths we need to hear today, at the end of the day NOTHING can separate us from God's love. 

Prayer: God, stir up you Spirit in prophets. Bestow your gift of prophecy on people in all communities and walks of life, and open our ears to hear your word through them, even when it challenges us. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Job 39:13-25 Even God's Dumbest Creatures

 

Observation: Job has accused God of dealing unfairly with him. God issues a poetic rebuttal that lasts several chapters, saying Job has no standing to challenge God's judgment. In this passage, God mentions the ostrich, who leaves its young to be stepped on, "because God  has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding." (That line is so good.) God's point is, "You couldn't create even my dumbest creature. You have no right to tell me how to run the universe." 

Application: Job is really not a good book if you need comfort and support. Ironically, if you're actually in Job's position, if you're grieving, and you've lost everything, this often sarcastic book may not be for you right now. There are lots of other parts of the Bible I'd recommend, but not Job. 

Job, I think, is for us at our most comfortable, at the height of our power and influence, at the height of our hubris. When we are feeling pretty good about our ability to run our lives--maybe even the lives of others--that is a good time to consider the ostrich. When we're full of helpful suggestions for God, let's remember this: on our best day, we could not create even God's dumbest creature. So let's maybe calm down and let God be God. 

Prayer: God, you are smarter than me. There, I said it. Guide me in your way, not my own. Amen. 

Ezekiel 39:7-8, 21-29 The Nations Will Know

 

Observation: the Lord promises to restore the fortunes of the people of Israel (Jacob) just as God sent them into exile in Babylon in the first place. Both of these actions, God explains, were to show God's glory to the nations (Gentiles). 

Application: The Babylonian exile was a traumatic experience for anyone who lived through it. It's a hard pill to swallow, that God would have anything to do with that, even if it did end up teaching Judah (and the Gentile nations who saw it happen) a lesson. 

I don't believe that God intentionally sends or causes every traumatic thing that happens to us. Living in a fallen world, sometimes bad things just happen. But God can and does use the bad things that do happen as lessons. They can be opportunities to draw closer to God, to our loved ones, and maybe to let go of some of the unhelpful habits or relationships that cause us pain. Even the pain that breaks God's heart, and ours, can teach us something. 

Prayer: God, deliver us from evil and save us from the time of trial. But with the trials that have already come, bring wisdom, lessons, and a chance to make your name known. Amen.

Numbers 16:41-50 Protecting the People

 Numbers 16:41-50 (NRSV)

41On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the people of the LORD." 42And when the congregation had assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting; the cloud had covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45Get away from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell on their faces. 46Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire on it from the altar and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun." 47So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. 48He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped. 49Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50When the plague was stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Observation: God has recently caused a man named Korah and his family to be swallowed up by the earth for trying to usurp the priesthood from the family of Aaron. Now, God tells Moses God intends to consume all the people of Israel with a plague. Moses and Aaron act fast. Aaron grabs a censer full of holy incense and goes into the midst of the people already dying from plague, separating the dead from the living, saving  hundreds of thousands of lives. Still, over fourteen thousand die. 

Application: Honestly, if this text were the only story I have about the God of Israel, I would not be inclined to worship that God. I don't see compassion, forgiveness or love. Just vindictive rage. We don't always have to come to the defense of the Bible and try to explain God's actions--or at least what the storytellers perceive to be God's actions. No priest should have to step into the breach to defend the people from an angry God. And whatever really happened here, and whatever it meant to Israel, my belief is that no priest does have to protect the people from God. In fact, the message we get from Jesus is that more often it's God stepping in to protect us from ourselves. 

I don't know if God really wanted to consume all Israel with a plague, or if that's just how the people experienced it. But one thing I do gain from this text is that even though Moses and Aaron DO perceive this plague to be somehow from God, they have no compunction about doing the right thing and protecting their people from it. Whatever your theology dictates, it's never wrong to do what you can to keep others safe. It's never ever wrong to save lives. 

Prayer: God, I just don't understand this story. It doesn't seem like you, but I trust you are in there. Open my ears to hear your word in the difficult stories, and my heart to receive it. Amen. 

Ezekiel 34:23-31 Safety and Abundance

 

Observation: God promises to shepherd the people of Israel, to protect them from "wild animals," meaning hostile and tyrannous nations or leaders, and to feed them "splendid vegetation" so they will no longer go hungry. 

Application: It's a good thing that God is our true shepherd, because human beings have never been any good at it. Oh, we're plenty good at ordering each other around, and imposing our will on others. But in terms of leading and ordering our society in such a way that all are safe, fed, sheltered and able to prosper, not so much. After reading reports of over a hundred thousand killed on either side of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, after wondering if we can steward the planet well enough to support my great grandchildren, after watching leaders in the most prosperous nation in history bicker back and forth about whether we should pay our bills, I know we need a better shepherd. And while we're waiting for the fullness of God's promise for the world, God can still shepherd in our hearts.

Prayer: Lead our souls, Good Shepherd. We are wandering in a dangerous and afraid land. Show us the abundance of a life guided by you. Amen. 

1 Corinthians 15:12-28 All or Nothing

 

Observation: Paul writes to Christians in Corinth, who are struggling with the first, and I'd say mots important question of the Christian faith. "Did God really raise Jesus from the dead? Really?" Paul does not equivocate. He doesn't give any wiggle room. If Christ has not been raised, there is no point to any of this. But in fact Christ HAS been raised from the dead. 

Application: As Paul says, the resurrection of Jesus is an "all or nothing" moment for our faith. Many have tried, not just in modern times, to find meaning in the story of Jesus' rising as a metaphor for the new life of spring, new hope after hard times, healing after hurts, or any number of other things. Sure, the Easter story can work as a metaphor. But so can any other story. If Jesus didn't rise, then I might just as well find solace in Lord of the Rings or any other piece of writing, fiction or nonfiction, that comforts my soul in this life. If Jesus isn't alive, then any story that gets your through the night is as good as the next. 

But, with Paul, we proclaim that Jesus did rise. He is alive. He is active in our lives today. And God will raise us too. 

A word from one of my favorite poems, John Updike's Seven Stanzas At Easter :

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

Prayer: Lord, I can't pretend that my faith is unwavering. I won't pretend I never doubt you, or question sometimes how your rising speaks to the sorrows in my life or the lives of those in my care. It's true. Sometimes, I do. Thank you for showing up in my life anyway. Thank you for appearing to me through the words and actions of friends, family and siblings in Christ. Thank you for rising in my heart, even in times I thought it was broken beyond repair. In your strong name I pray. Amen.