Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? – Isaiah 58:6

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 7, 2020): Isaiah 58

Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho, in "Brida," says that "A prayer couched in the words of the soul, is far more powerful than any ritual." Unfortunately, it seems that prayer couched in the words of the soul is sometimes hard to come by. Often, we seem more comforted by the ritual prompted by our spirituality. The effort and pain that is required to reach our souls seems beyond either our ability or our energy.

And yet, the ritual in our spiritual lives is often dangerous because, while we think we are doing something, in reality, we are just going through the motions. Any spiritual act that does not reach the depth of our being is wasted because it did nothing to prompt a change in how we interact with our world. It would be like wearing a "Black Lives Matter" t-shirt, but still doing racist things. Unless the slogan reaches the depths of our actions, the t-shirt is just a t-shirt.

Isaiah argues that the returning exiles have not learned the lesson of their deportation. They were going through the motions, acting out the ritual, but none of it had reached the depth of their beings. Specifically, Isaiah argues that they are fasting and fulfilling the ritual, but there is no self-examination involved in the fast. Injustice still reigns all around them, and those who fast are doing nothing to change it. And because of their lack of action to eliminate injustice, God is not honored by the fast.

A fast is essentially giving up something to spend time in self-examination so that we can get ourselves right with God. The year 2020 saw two significant pauses to pro sports. One was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second was in support of racial equality, and a plea for the cessation of the senseless shooting of unarmed African Americans in the United States. If nothing changes, they were both just pauses in the daily routine of these athletes. But if our actions change. If we become more aware of the racial injustice that exists in our society, and if we begin to take action on injustice. If we can set the oppressed free, then maybe we could consider the second pause a fast, because, as a direct result of the break, we spoke with the words of our souls and our nation began to reflect what it is that God wants for us. But if we continue as we always have, if we continue to be complacent and injustice continues, and we remain silent, then the pause was a couple of days off enjoyed by professional athletes. It can mean nothing more.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 59

Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? – Isaiah 57:11

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 6, 2020): Isaiah 57

For the United States, the Season of Fear has arrived. In the United States, the season reoccurs every four years on a regular schedule. In Canada, it is a little less stable, but if I listen to the rumors, Canadians may also be entering into their fearful season. I wish I knew if it had always been this way, or if this is a relatively recent development in history. It is a product of democracy. The season is instigated by the act of choosing who it is that will lead our countries. It has the potential of being a positive process, but usually, it quickly devolves into why we should fear one candidate for the nation's highest office more than the other. And so, we go to the polls, not to make a positive choice, but to choose the one who causes us to fear the least, and often characterizing the ones we don't support with over the top descriptions describing the monsters that they are. And every season, the fear seems to grow.

The biblical idea of the "fear of God" contains a healthy element of respect. To the contemporary ear, fearing God seems like a foreign idea. We love God and want to serve him. But there should also be an element of fear and respect present in our worship. For instance, I love storms. There is something beautiful about watching the majesty and power of a thunderstorm and seeing the bright flash of lightning. I love being able to not only hear but feel the thunder. But I also respect and fear the power of the storm. I know the damage that it can cause if I am not careful and find myself in the wrong place. The fear of God is similar. We love him, but we also recognize and respect, or fear, his power.

Isaiah's message is that the people have found something else that they fear more than God.  And because they fear something else more, they have chosen to serve the demands of that something and place their trust in this "other." Isaiah mentions the god Molek in the passage, but there are also allusions to other gods and powers. And the question that rings out throughout this passage is, "who is it that you fear more than God?"

I doubt that anyone who reads this blog fears Molek more than God. But that does not mean that we are immune to the problem. In the society in which I live, even inside the church, people fear poverty more than God. And so, despite the inscription on American currency professing a trust in God, the reality is that we trust in money. We fear being powerless, and so we often trust power, wherever we might be able to find it, rather than God. We fear isolation, which usually translates into the trust of friends, and sometimes results in sexual promiscuity so that we won't be alone. Whatever it might be that we fear will always influence the things in which we trust.

But no matter what we might fear, the core of Isaiah's message is that if we fear anything more than God, then we are misled. And we need to get back to fearing, and therefore trusting, God above anything else. And that means that we need to examine ourselves and take an inventory of the things that we fear.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 58

Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. – Isaiah 56:10

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2020): Isaiah 56

English humorist P. G. Wodehouse, in "Love Among the Chickens," writes, "If there is one thing I dislike, it is the man who tries to air his grievances when I wish to air mine." I get it. There is nothing like arriving at a friend's place so that you can lodge your complaints about the world around you, only to find that your friend has a list of grievances as long or longer than your own. (I have to admit, I have actually tried this with some of my friends, just to see their reaction. Sometimes the response is good, but often I am reminded of the foolishness of the endeavor.)

I suspect that an unknown author wrote this portion of Isaiah at the end of the exile as Jerusalem's former inhabitants began to make their return home. And as they made their way home, the reality is that going from living in Babylon, in exile, and under the direct command of foreign kings and leaders, then suddenly being thrust into the leadership role and governing a nation on their own, meant a steep learning curve. It seems likely that the leaders had grown permissive, trying their best to keep their people happy without stepping on too many toes. And they had grown selfish, wanting the best for themselves.

Isaiah sees this and realizes that none of this is in the job description of a leader. And so, he reminds them of their duty. They are to be watchmen for the nations, ever watching for the dangers that might befall the people. They were watchdogs, charged with the responsibility of raising the alarm whenever the enemy approached, regardless of whether the threat arose from outside the community or from within it. And while they might want to lie around and dream of a better day, right now they were required to keep their attention on the things that were needed in the present, so that, one day, they might live in the world of which they liked to dream.

It was time to get to work. Isaiah insists that if they lacked knowledge, as it is likely the exiles did, then they needed to do something to gain it. Ignorance was not an excuse. If they were blind, then maybe they should try opening their eyes so that they could see the society that they were attempting to lead. If there was a problem, they needed to voice it, even if it did upset some within the community. The time for selfish sleep had ended. There was much to be done to create a society that pleased God. God had commissioned them as leaders, and it was time that they grew into the role.

They needed to listen to the grievances of others, but also take action on what they have heard. Now was the time to give themselves to the problems of the other.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 57

 

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. – Isaiah 55:2

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 4, 2020): Isaiah 55

Please read the following with much grace. There is no perfect answer to the current racial division in which we find ourselves. My bias is that I am a white male who, as much as a white man can, understands the angst and anger of our minority communities. I unreservedly support "Black Lives Matter." And for all of my readers who insist on "All Lives Matter" or even "Blue Lives Matter," understand that both of those are stage two propositions, and neither can be true until we understand and support "Black Lives Matter." I have never been profiled because of the color of my skin, but my Black friends have been, and that is evidence enough of the systemic racism that exists in our society. The shooting of unarmed Black men has to cease, NOW, period and full stop. I also understand that even these words are likely to be misunderstood and provoke anger from both sides. So, I am sorry.

But since you are already mad at me, let me push a few more buttons. Because as much as some might want to make us believe this is just a race issue, I am not sure that is true. President Donald Trump occupies the White House, not because of the powerlessness and oppression of American minorities, but, at least partially, because of the powerlessness and oppression of White people in our culture. The problem? There is a wealth and power division in our society, and the divide is getting wider. And that division is making our race issues even worse.

And, I know that I am meddling, but the reality is that I don't believe that the racial divide can be healed until we solve the wealth and power chasm. Oh, and by the way, we can't heal the chasm between those with power and those without, of every color, until we really understand "Black Lives Matter." These are two storms that insist on feeding each other. It is like trying to put out a fire while someone else is still pouring accelerant on the blaze.

Isaiah speaks to Israel and asks, why are you spending money on things that are not food? You are hungry, so shouldn't something to eat be on the top of your priority list? Why do you spend on what will not satisfy? It is a good question and one that we need to answer because we are still doing it. We are hungry, and spend our money on entertainment. We need love and insist on getting there by spending what we have on hate. It is like somehow believing that more guns are miraculously going to result in less shooting (and I am sorry for mentioning this Sacred Cow.) But it doesn't make sense.

More NBA General Managers of color, something I have heard suggested several times over the past week, doesn't fix our problem. Where we have to get to is that point where we understand the radical equality of each of us. President Trump is not more valuable because he has more money or power. Rich and the poor, the powerful and powerless, black, white and every shade in between has to be willing to embrace each other, recognizing the value of the other, and work toward a common solution. Nothing changes if all that exists is the demand for more for me. That is spending money on what will not satisfy. White people have to stand up for the powerless Black man or woman. And my African American friends have to be willing to point at the powerless white person and demand respect for them. If we are going to change anything, we have to change it for each other.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I wear a mask knowing that it does not protect me; it protects you. If men of color are going to stop being shot in the back seven times, it is only going to happen if White people, especially people of power like the President or police officers, stand up and say, "not on my watch. This is not the way we are going to live." This has to end. And not tomorrow. Today is the day.

Dear White People, including me, it is past time for us to set aside "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" for another day. Today it is "Black Lives Matter." And it is time for us to stand to protect them. Because underneath our skin, we are all the same. Anything less than our willingness to protect those who do not look like us, and we are wasting our resources on things that will not, and cannot, satisfy.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 56

It will be a unique day—a day known only to the LORD—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light. – Zechariah 14:7

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 3, 2020): Zechariah 14

Comedian Steve Martin argues that "a day without sunshine is like, you know, night." One defines the other, and it has from the very beginning. Remember the words from Genesis on the first day of creation.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day (Genesis 1:3-5).

According to the biblical creation account, we know that it is day because it is light. I don't need to see the sun, which didn't come into being until day four, just the light. So even on a cloudy day, I still know that it is day. And when the light disappears, that is night. A few hundred miles to the north of my home, there comes a time, which has just past, where it is day for weeks because the sun does nothing by circle the horizon. And there is a day coming when it will be night for a similar period, as the sun stays well below that horizon. Light, and its lack, is how we know the difference between day and night.

But Zechariah argues that a day is coming when there will be no distinction between day and night. It will be an era when the very forces of creation will be upset and abolished. Day and night will no longer be defined by the sun and the light that it sheds on the earth. It will be determined by the presence of God, and by our understanding.

Paul argues the same thing at the end of his dissertation on love. "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Then, in the blazing light of the day, I could only see some of what I wanted to see. But now, as the evening approaches, I can see and know. As we get closer to the return of the Messiah, the light increases, even though it is evening, and the sun is setting.

It is a day known only to God. It is a time when we will, at last, see him face to face, and understand all of the things that have eluded us during our time on this planet. It is the time of the full light, as well as the final light. And then, on that day known only to God, we will finally understand.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. – Zechariah 12:10

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 2, 2020): Zechariah 12 & 13

Ronald Reagan, speaking about abortion, said that "I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." All of us, arguing for and against the birth of an unborn child, share that fact in common. It is not our birth about which we are speaking. And maybe if it were, if it were possible for us to time travel back to the days following our conception and be part of the discussion around the beginning of our lives, we would think differently. Maybe. But then again, sometimes the obvious things are hard for us to see.

And our struggle with the obvious rears its head with this prophecy. For some, primarily more conservative Christians, the allusion here could not be more explicit. Zechariah places these words in the mouth of God and says they will look on me, the one they have pierced. The verse seems to confirm that God himself will be pierced, suggesting that not only would the Messiah be pierced, but that he would also be God. Zechariah said that this is the way that it had to happen more than five centuries before Jesus was born; the Messiah would be pierced, and he would die.

If that is not enough, the language continues as Zechariah speaks of mourning an only child and grieving a firstborn son, all adding to the picture that seems to be fulfilled in the story of Jesus. Zechariah argues that this piercing of the Messiah will somehow be connected to God pouring out a spirit of grace and supplication, or of repentance, on the house of David, all of which was reinforced through the ministry of Jesus. I have to admit that often when it comes to prophesy from various sources, including biblical ones, it seems that you can only see what the prophet might be getting at if you squint your eyes and peer into the mystery in just the right way. It is the reason why prophecy always seems more apparent after the events have been fulfilled.

But if you are still struggling, wondering if this passage is really about Jesus, then John confirms in his witness that he believes it is, although he doesn't mention Zechariah by name. John writes, ^"These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced" (John 19:36-37). John's latter comment is a clear allusion to Zechariah 12:10.

So, what's the problem. For some, Zechariah's words are too obvious; besides, God cannot die. And so, they argue a translation problem or translating the verse with an eye to what we believe is the fulfillment, except that even those who struggle with the translation of the verse agree that the easiest and the most straightforward reading seems to be the one that we have.

Zechariah seems to tell us that the Messiah would come and that he would be God incarnate. God, in the guise of the Messiah and a member of the house of David, would minister grace and repentance to the nation of Israel. And then he would be pierced and would die. And he would be mourned as an only child and a firstborn son.

This is the story of the Messiah. The only question is, is it also the story of Jesus, or is that just too obvious an answer.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 14

Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Praise the LORD, I am rich!' Their own shepherds do not spare them. – Zechariah 11:5

 Today's Scripture Reading (September 1, 2020): Zechariah 11

Last Sunday, my granddaughter (eight years old) sat at my dinner table, wearing a T-Shirt that read "Never Give Up." As I listened to her tell stories, and watched her roll her eyes at her grandfather's feeble attempts at humor, my eyes kept returning to the logo on her T-Shirt. And her grandfather hoped that she took the slogan seriously. I am already proud of her. She has gone through more challenges than I ever wanted her to suffer through during her first eight years of life and has come through those challenges with flying colors. But I know that more trials are ahead. And, I hope that she just keeps persisting through all that is to come; that she never gives up. And that hope is extended to all three of my grandsons.

As Zechariah begins his story, he introduces us to three characters. The buyers who purchase the animals only to kill them from owners who are only concerned with increasing their wealth without objection from the shepherds who have been given the responsibility for the daily care for the flock. No one in the process speaks in defense of the animals.

Zechariah's point is that Israel is the flock. They are weak, exiles who are returning to the land that has now been occupied by foreigners for decades. The new occupants have a different plan than those who formerly lived in the area. They need someone to speak for them. They need someone willing to stand up for them and defend their interests. But Zechariah believes that everyone involved in the process just wants to benefit from Israel and that Israel is being sent to the slaughter. But God has commissioned Zechariah to be the "Good Shepherd," the one standing in defense of the people. Even though they were weak and poor, Zechariah was not going to give up on them.

Of course, another "Good Shepherd" was coming. And he would make a stand for the weak, and the overlooked of Israel. John tells a story of a blind man in John 9-10. The blind man has been abused and victimized by those in power. He is left to beg for his food while the religious elite of the day argue over whose sin caused the blindness.

But Jesus sees the man, and while the religious of his day had given up on him, Jesus restores his sight. The elite are not pleased because it was not part of their plan. The healed man is kicked out of the Temple and has a second positive confrontation with Jesus. But then Jesus meets with the Pharisees. He attacks their willingness to give up on the weak of Israel, much like the characters in Zechariah's tale. And in his meeting with the Pharisees, he makes this comment.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Jesus promises that he is not the one who will give up on you, no matter how inconsequential you might think yourself to be, so be careful that you do not give up on yourself. The Good Shepherd still comes to give life and to give it fully.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah 12 & 13