Advent

December 1, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
   And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
   their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
   when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
   surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
   but the Word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
   O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
   O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
   lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
   ‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might,
   and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
   he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
   and gently lead the mother sheep. –Isaiah 40:6-11

Discerning the Word of God is perhaps our greatest challenge as we scroll through the various Biblical translations and interpretations occurring during history stages. The Biblical book of John foresaw this dilemma when it defined the Word* as Jesus, the Christ, including Jesus indicating that the Spirit of God would always be present to guide us**. Jesus shorthanded God’s commandments by identifying loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves as the plumbline that all our actions must match. The stories provided by the gospel writers offer examples of how Jesus lived love.

Of course, we humans tend to want to make things more complicated. Even Jesus had to deal with that when the religious leader asked him to define exactly who his neighbor was. We always filter information through our life experiences and personalities. Since God created us, we can credit God with the complexities of who we are. God would not have created us with a brain if God did not expect us to use it.

I am led to conclude that God longs for a relationship with each of God’s children. Isaiah ends the above poem with God caring for us like a shepherd loving us deeply and completely, and desire that we choose to love God too.

*John 1:1-18
**John 14:15-31

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your love. Thank you for granting us the freedom to enhance our lives by knowing you more nearly. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.