Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
2 Samuel 7:23-29
John 3:31-26

2 Samuel 7:23-29

Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel’; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

Today’s passage is the closing part of a conversation that David the King had with God, through God’s chosen intermediary, the prophet Nathan. I encourage you to read the whole chapter. David wanted to build the temple and God said, ‘No.’ This is David’s response to that ‘no.’

Even though David’s character was far from spotless, there was much in him to admire, even to emulate. And this lovely passage illustrates that point well. It’s part of prayerful answer to God’s clear ‘no,’ and there isn’t one whisper of complaint, is there? God said ‘no’ to the temple, but God also said a resounding ‘yes’ to the ‘house’ — the lineage of David. And it is that very lineage that we celebrate one week from tomorrow. The Ultimate King comes through the line of David, fulfilling ancient prophecies and hopes. David could not dream of what that fulfillment would look like, but he chose to believe it anyhow.

Help me, Lord, to believe your word, even when I cannot imagine what that word might look like in the future that is unknown to me. Help me to lean into trust, to remember my history with you, even as David remembered the history of his people and his own personal journey with you. Help me to find center in those memories, those stories, that truth.

Psalm 80:1-7
2 Samuel 7:1-17
Galatians 3:23-29

Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Ah, yes! One of the sweetest passages of all! Paul does such amazing work in these few verses, honing down the gospel truth to this powerful statement. The law was necessary, Paul says — it served as a guard for us, a ‘prison’ of sorts, putting parameters around our behavior. But the law was imperfect. Until the Perfect came and lived among us.

The coming of Jesus brings a special kind of freedom to those who choose to pay attention. “In Christ Jesus, you ARE ALL children of God through faith.” There it is, plain and simple.

But never easy.

Taking in this truth is a lifelong process, learning to believe that we are now ‘clothed with Christ,’ that we are all one, that we belong. Do you catch the cataclysmic shift in thinking/behavior/worldview/attitude/disposition/rule of life that such thinking requires? 

So as I read these words today, in the second half of the second decade of the twenty-first century, I still have to ask the Spirit of God to help me make the transition from the discipline/guardedness of the Law to the remarkable freedom/unity/equality found by living the life of faith in Christ Jesus. 

This is revolutionary stuff, my friends. And if we believe it, if we live it, everything changes. Everything. We can no longer tolerate abusive and disparaging language about any group — any race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, religious persuasion. If those of us who believe in Christ are one, then every other person on this planet has the potential to be one with us in Him. Period. There is no room for racism/sexism/classism/xenophobia/snobbery/prejudice of any kind. None.

I don’t think we’re there yet. Do you? But I have hope! And I count on the power of the Holy Spirit and the prayers of God’s people to help us move toward this picture painted by Paul’s words in the glorious epistle to the Galatians!

Psalm 146:5-10
Ruth 4:13-17
2 Peter 3:11-18

2 Peter 3:11-18

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Seems like it might be a good idea about now to reflect on a scripture that centers on that ‘third’ Advent I mentioned earlier in this series: the end of days, when Christ will come in triumph.

Peter describes it graphically as a time of cleansing by fire, the creation of a new heaven and a new earth — and I LOVE this phrase: “A place where righteousness is at home.” Isn’t that we all long for, truly? It’s one reason I titled this year’s Advent Journey, ‘Longing for Home.’ I do believe there is a deep yearning within us all for a place where righteousness ‘is at home.’ 

So Peter asks the right question here, I think. If that’s what we’re waiting for, how shall we live in the meantime? And I like his answer. (I especially like his comments on Paul, don’t you?? Love this tiny insight into their personal relationship and Peter’s ‘take’ on some of Paul’s more convoluted writing!) 

First of all, we are to live lives of holiness and godliness — and apparently, doing so might actually hasten that great day for which we wait. That’s a remarkable thing to say, isn’t it? And then he goes on to a more detailed description of the kind of people we should seek to be: 

    at peace
   without spot or blemish
   regarding the ‘patience of our Lord as our salvation’ (that’s a new idea!)
   not carried away with the ‘error of the lawless’
   not losing our stability
   growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

That’s what I call a list! I don’t begin to understand all of what this list means, much less how we are to accomplish it, but I like it. A lot. These are all qualities I think any serious follower-after-Jesus wants to see grow within them. Which one stands out to you?

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Isaiah 40:1-11
John 1:19-28

John 1:19-28

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’”

as the prophet Isaiah said.

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

I gotta say, it’s taken me a while to warm up to old John boy. How about you?

There is something so severe about him, isn’t there? A true ascetic from birth — he was a Nazarite, which meant no alcohol, and sometimes meant no shaving or hair-cutting, either — he was big on self-denial. Now that’s never been a particularly strong suit for me, I must admit. Alcohol has never been a problem — I don’t like the stuff and have a family history of alcoholism, so I’ve steered clear — but I have used food unwisely and too often resort to retail therapy during stressful times! 

But John got some things right. REALLY right. He was obedient to who he was and to who God called him to become. He made his message very, very clear. He spoke truth to power. And he knew what his limits were and didn’t hesitate for a moment to admit them. “Nope,” he said. “I am most definitely not the Messiah. And not Elijah, either. I am ‘the voice.'” That’s it — the voice.

The one who cries out in the wilderness. The one who says, “Get ready!! God is coming.”

And for that, I say a humble and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to John the Baptizer. 

I’m listening, John. And oh! I want to be ready.

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Isaiah 30:19-26
Acts 13:16-25

Isaiah 30:19-26

Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, “Away with you!”

He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water—on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.

Oh my, this is hard passage! It is also beautiful, even lyrical, in its own unique way. That Isaiah (however many there may have been!) had a way with words, didn’t he?? It is so hard for me to think of the Lord giving ‘the bread of adversity and the water of affliction,’ even though the imagery is gorgeous.

And that wonderful picture of the voice over the shoulder? Oh, I love it! A ‘word behind me.’ Oh, yes, Lord! A word behind me, please. And in front of me. And beside me. And inside me. I long for that voice, don’t you? And I’m trying to listen for it. Sometimes it’s quite clear. Others, not so much. But the more I listen, the easier it becomes – isn’t that amazing?

Maybe not so amazing after all, though. If you think about it. Listening is at the center of it all, seems to me. Learning to listen — really listen — to another is hard.to.do. I cannot tell you how often I find myself distracted when my husband is talking to me! The dearest man in my world, and  yet . . . sometimes, I simply do not hear him — if I am reading, or if I’m in the middle of thinking about something else (which, let’s face it, happens a LOT of the time). Generally speaking, neither of us is very good at asking, “Are  you in the middle of something? Is now a good time to talk?” We both just sort of forge ahead and assume the other will be all ears, no matter what! Do you do that?

Real talking, real listening, needs to be intentional. It needs to be purposeful. It needs to be generous. So those are things I’m working on during this Advent season — intentions, purposes, generosity. How about you?