Advent

December 2, 2022

Scripture Reading: Romans 15:4-13

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
   and sing praises to your name’;
and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
   and let all the peoples praise him’;
and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
   the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:7-13

Antisemitism has been increasingly raising its ugly head in the US.  Synagogues and Temples have been sites of bombings and mass shootings. The quote included in the above scripture is from Psalm 69, which is described as a Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution.

God is God; however, we name God. The English word god comes from the Old English god, which itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic *ǥuđán. Its cognates in other Germanic languages include guþ, gudis (both Gothic), guð (Old Norse), god (Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch), and got (Old High German)*.

Jews refer to God as YHWH, a name too sacred to speak. The scriptures also refer to God as Adonai or Elohim. This naming somehow was Latinized as Jehovah. The Spanish word for God is Dios. The Muslim word for God is Allah. Christians speak of Jesus as God Incarnate, fully divine, fully human. Many Native American people refer to God as the Great Spirit.

After the Oklahoma City bombing, a pastor (I am sorry, I do not remember who) said the first one to weep was God. I think that is true of all such acts of violence against any of God’s people, particularly, when the violence stems from persons who profess to act in the name of God.

Prayer: Forgive us, Holy One, when we name you as our excuse for violence. Heal us from searching for self-worth in all the wrong places. Help us understand that our worth was implanted in our creation as were all humans when we were made in your image. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_(word)#:~:text=The%20English%20word%20god%20comes,got%20(Old%20High%20German).

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.