Tag Archives: Creator

Before the Call

Hands_of_God_and_AdamLiving in the Spirit
May 25, 2015

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’—Isaiah 6:1-5

What is our vision of God? Artist throughout history have tried to capture a portrayal of God. I like Michelangelo’s portrait of The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel where God’s finger and the finger of the first human reach to touch each other. It seems to capture strength and dependency, assertiveness and response, and the choice to love or not love.

Isaiah’s vision builds on God as larger than life in a full, formal worship service where every participant is fully engaged. Isaiah, like all of us made in the image of God, on seeing this vision understands that he is not even close to reflecting back to God the same image he has received nor have the other people of God with whom Isaiah lives and works.

Before we hear God’s call, we must accept the full measure of God’s love and amazing as it may seem that is not easy to do. It wasn’t for Isaiah. God chose to love us when God created us—no matter what, no strings attached. If we are to experience the full fruition of who we are, we must recognize that we are a part of our creator and our Creator is a part of us.  It is a paradox, but it is true: the closer we relate to God the more we realize our own wholeness.

We do not relate to God without God’s nurturing the way through the gift of God’s Son our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit to guide us along the way.

Prayer: Lord grant me the wisdom to open myself fully to you. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Made in the Image of God

RainbowEpiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
February 17, 2015

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 9:8-17

God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’ God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.’ — Genesis 9:12-17

When you see a rainbow, do you recall God’s promise to Noah, to all of us actually? God committed to remembering that promise each time a rainbow appears in the sky. We should do that also. Rainbows are beautiful, representing the full spectrum of color.

I read the young adult book, the Giver, recently. It describes a colorless world devised to avoid change, conflict, and struggle. It prescribes a sanitized life with no meaning and no love. Like Hitler, it carefully extracts from the world anyone who is different or drifts from the sanctioned ways. There is, however, one person, the Giver, who is responsible for maintaining the memory of life before this chosen way. The story is about the current Giver passing that history to his replacement and raises the question: is there salvation for such a world as this?

People were created in the image of God and God is an innovator, a pioneer, a thinker who struggles with tough challenges and searches for solutions that can further God’s creation through God’s love and the love God instilled in each of us. God sent God’s son to show us the way of love. We are called to follow Christ’s example as innovators, pioneers, and thinkers, not run away and hide.

Prayer: Embolden us Lord, to act like you created us in your image by loving like you do. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

God’s Covenant with Noah

Flood of loveEpiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
February 16, 2015

Scripture Reading: Genesis 9:8-17

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’  — Genesis 9:8-11

In creation God extended us the gift of autonomy, self-direction. The subsequent history of God is the story of God cleaning up our messes when we failed to use that gift well and giving us second chances. Noah’s Covenant is just such a second chance. Since Noah’s covenant God has given us guidelines to live by, leaders and teachers, and prophets to warn us. And we still seek an easy way to have our autonomy while keeping our chaos too. It will never work.

It is the lie of evil that we can be fully ourselves by settling to be something less than God created us to be. Evil is a parasite that feeds on our talents and skills draining us of energy and vision. Short-sighted, we settle for second best or less. We war with each other and suffer from envy and greed, both sins that eat us from the inside out. The whole world suffers for it because it takes the energy and vision of all of God’s children working together to be the Kingdom of God.

The season of Lent introduces a new chapter in God’s attempt to save us from ourselves. God sent his son in the man Jesus to do whatever it took to redeem God’s people. As we enter this time leading up to Good Friday and Easter, let us consider not just becoming who God created us to be but turning the whole world into the Kingdom Jesus foresaw.

Prayer: Lord, we are surrounded by terrorism, racism, human trafficking, war, disease, climate change and so many other problems. It all feels too big to even try to address. This time, Lord, empower us to be the flood, a flood of love that washes away evil and turns your vision into reality. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.