What is important to us? What are willing to do for it?
The Old Testament reading for today comes from Isa. 3:8-15. The prophet speaks of those who grind the faces of the poor, who crush God's people. Perhaps these oppressors do what they do for gain: the "spoil of the poor" is in their houses. Perhaps they do what they do simply because they can, for the pleasure of exercising their own wills.
The Gospel reading for today comes from Luke 20:41-21:4. Jesus tells his listeners to beware the scribes who "devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers." He gives us some insight into what motivates these oppressors: they love being greeted with respect in the marketplace. Weirdly enough, some oppressors, at least, do what they do because they want people to like them. They want "validation" from other people. "See, he has plenty, people like him, he must be good," regardless of how this wealth was obtained and whether any apparent virtue is real or sincere.
The New Testament reading for today discusses how we ought to live. Paul writes, "But we exhort you . . . . to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you; so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody." We should earn the respect of others, but the source of well-being should not be dependent on other people. The source should be God's love for us, and our love for other people.
What is important to us is God, his love, and our love for his creation: to get it, we should sacrifice the false sense of esteem that other people can give us. To get that esteem, those around us and we ourselves must pay too steep a price. The greater blessing comes to us for free.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
We live world that is hardly concerned with responding to God's grace. How do we live in that world?
The Old Testament reading for today comes from Isa. 2:1-11. The first part of that reading reminds us that God has in store for us a wonderful future: not just improvements on our present state, but salvation. But the second part serves as an acknowledgement that we have to hold that promise in our hearts while we live in a world that is not merely indifferent, but hostile and displeasing to God.
The Gospel reading for today is from Luke 20:19-26. In it, some religious authorities confront Jesus to ask him a question: is it permissible to pay Roman taxes? It may have been a sincere question. After all, the Roman coin had an idolatrous image of the emperor, and a pious person may have had scruples about doing any task that required handling anything of that nature. But Jesus called for a coin and said, whose image is this? The emperor's, they answered. Then give the emperor what belongs to him, and give God what belongs to God, Jesus answered. We live not just with God's promise of salvation, but with the understanding that we belong to God.
Living with this promise of salvation, in the knowledge that we belong to God, can give us courage to confront outright evil, not just worldly indifference. In the New Testament reading for today, 1 Thess. 2:13-20, Paul recounts how he wanted to come visit his readers, but that Satan had hindered him--again and again. In other words, there were times when the bad guys won the battle, but Paul kept trying. But he was bereft of them only in person, not in heart, he wrote. What evil managed to keep him from accomplishing in the world, God allowed him to accomplish in spirit.
As we go through the day, dealing with indifference and perhaps even outright evil, may we always remember the future that God promises us and the fact that we belong to him, so that evil may not overcome us as we serve the Lord we love.
The Old Testament reading for today comes from Isa. 2:1-11. The first part of that reading reminds us that God has in store for us a wonderful future: not just improvements on our present state, but salvation. But the second part serves as an acknowledgement that we have to hold that promise in our hearts while we live in a world that is not merely indifferent, but hostile and displeasing to God.
The Gospel reading for today is from Luke 20:19-26. In it, some religious authorities confront Jesus to ask him a question: is it permissible to pay Roman taxes? It may have been a sincere question. After all, the Roman coin had an idolatrous image of the emperor, and a pious person may have had scruples about doing any task that required handling anything of that nature. But Jesus called for a coin and said, whose image is this? The emperor's, they answered. Then give the emperor what belongs to him, and give God what belongs to God, Jesus answered. We live not just with God's promise of salvation, but with the understanding that we belong to God.
Living with this promise of salvation, in the knowledge that we belong to God, can give us courage to confront outright evil, not just worldly indifference. In the New Testament reading for today, 1 Thess. 2:13-20, Paul recounts how he wanted to come visit his readers, but that Satan had hindered him--again and again. In other words, there were times when the bad guys won the battle, but Paul kept trying. But he was bereft of them only in person, not in heart, he wrote. What evil managed to keep him from accomplishing in the world, God allowed him to accomplish in spirit.
As we go through the day, dealing with indifference and perhaps even outright evil, may we always remember the future that God promises us and the fact that we belong to him, so that evil may not overcome us as we serve the Lord we love.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
The Gospel reading for today comes from Luke 20:9-18. It's the story of the man who sends his servants to check out a vineyard he owns, only to have the workmen in the vineyard abuse the servants. After several tries, the man sends his own son, who the workmen kill in the hopes of claiming the vineyard for themselves.
God sends prophets, messages, and signs about what he expects us to do. Over and over, we reject those efforts so that we can do what we want to do. It's a very old problem. In the Old Testament reading for today, Isa. 1:21-31, the prophet describes a world in which judges take bribes, rulers rebel against God, and on one defends the orphan or the widow. It's a call to repentance, then and now.
The New Testament reading for today comes from 1 Thess. 2:1-12. There, we are encouraged "to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." God reaches out to us: he does not expect us to accomplish great things on our own, but only to refrain from rebellion and to follow the path that he set for us.
May we lead lives worthy of God.
God sends prophets, messages, and signs about what he expects us to do. Over and over, we reject those efforts so that we can do what we want to do. It's a very old problem. In the Old Testament reading for today, Isa. 1:21-31, the prophet describes a world in which judges take bribes, rulers rebel against God, and on one defends the orphan or the widow. It's a call to repentance, then and now.
The New Testament reading for today comes from 1 Thess. 2:1-12. There, we are encouraged "to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory." God reaches out to us: he does not expect us to accomplish great things on our own, but only to refrain from rebellion and to follow the path that he set for us.
May we lead lives worthy of God.
Monday, December 1, 2014
When God asks a question, how do I answer?
The Gospel reading today comes from Luke 20:1-8. Some bystanders asked Jesus where he got the authority to do the things he was doing. Jesus replied by asking them a question: where did John get his authority to baptize? His listeners were unable to answer, but not because they lacked the resources to figure out the answer. They could not reply because they could not figure out a response that would avoid diminishing their stature in the community. If they said, God gave John that authority, then everyone would ask, why didn't you follow him? But if they said, John had no authority, then the community would hate them, even stone them.
Jesus asks us a question, perhaps several questions, every day. Do we answer honestly?
We may try to answer in a way that shows those around us how much devotion we have. But the Old Testament reading for today, Isa. 1:10-20, shows what God thinks of those answers. There, the prophet tells us that God was sick of fancy rituals, slavishly followed. He wanted worship in the form of seeking after justice and resisting oppression, helping widows and defending the fatherless.
The New Testatment reading for today, 1 Thess. 1:1-10, teaches us that the Holy Spirit wants us to answer the questions that God puts to us by acting with conviction. We are to turn from idols, away from our conceits and our desire for esteem, and toward God, whose coming we anticipate in Advent.
The Gospel reading today comes from Luke 20:1-8. Some bystanders asked Jesus where he got the authority to do the things he was doing. Jesus replied by asking them a question: where did John get his authority to baptize? His listeners were unable to answer, but not because they lacked the resources to figure out the answer. They could not reply because they could not figure out a response that would avoid diminishing their stature in the community. If they said, God gave John that authority, then everyone would ask, why didn't you follow him? But if they said, John had no authority, then the community would hate them, even stone them.
Jesus asks us a question, perhaps several questions, every day. Do we answer honestly?
We may try to answer in a way that shows those around us how much devotion we have. But the Old Testament reading for today, Isa. 1:10-20, shows what God thinks of those answers. There, the prophet tells us that God was sick of fancy rituals, slavishly followed. He wanted worship in the form of seeking after justice and resisting oppression, helping widows and defending the fatherless.
The New Testatment reading for today, 1 Thess. 1:1-10, teaches us that the Holy Spirit wants us to answer the questions that God puts to us by acting with conviction. We are to turn from idols, away from our conceits and our desire for esteem, and toward God, whose coming we anticipate in Advent.
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