November 19, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“See how the faithful city has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers! They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” (Isaiah 1.21, 23b)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I mentioned the other day that I believe James, the brother of Jesus, was greatly influenced by the works of Isaiah. By that I mean the works of God made visible to us through Isaiah. Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah frequently. The most important quote for me was the “Jubilee Passage” which Jesus was given to read on His visit to the synagogue in Nazareth. It said “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach good news….” (Isaiah 61.1-2; Luke 4.18-19) It was a defining moment in the ministry of Jesus. It came after His wilderness retreat where for forty days He prepared Himself to be totally focused on the will of the Lord. It wasn’t easy being Jesus! We have to truly allow ourselves to embrace the humanity of Jesus. We dare not think it was “a snap” to be who He had consented to be: God in human form; of two natures- spirit and flesh. Jesus went often on prayer retreats to clear His mind of the things of the world and recalibrate on the things of the Kingdom. And while we may quote Matthew 26.41 “Pray diligently that you do not fall into temptation for while the spirit is willing the flesh is weak.” Judas had already fallen prey to the flesh of false religion and worldly ideals. Judas was not the only one. Thomas would doubt. Peter would deny Jesus three times and that after he attempted to fend off the soldiers and keep them from arresting Jesus in the Garden. The other disciples would run into the shadows as well leaving Jesus to stand alone with Judas, the Temple Guards and the Roman soldiers. There was a young man, not one of the disciples, who was nearly captured but slipped out of his robe and fled naked into the dark. Being the season of Passover, the hills would have been filled with thousands of others camped out now in slumber after celebrating the Seder and readying themselves for Sabbath. They were the very ones who had just days before chanted “Hosanna, Hosanna, hail to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” But were they disturbed by the proceedings begun by Judas Kerioth? Were they troubled by drawn swords which left one wounded? Were they shaken by the sounds of people running through the grove and camps? Were they captured by the sounds and having considered the visitation of the Angel of Death in Egypt which was remembered in the Seder, did they stay within praying death would not come upon them? There was no blood, after all, spread over the doorways and tent openings. There was far more to the scene than meets the eye of the authors and the witnesses of the gospel testimony of that early morning hour. Even Jesus, who urged Peter, James and John to keep watch and tend to the prayer vigil, would feel the burden of humanity bearing down upon Him. Hear again Isaiah’s words naming the Deliverer “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9.6) Yes, the weight of heavenly and earthly governance would be borne upon the shoulders of Jesus. He would accept the punishment of the “state” and be crucified for the claim of “King of the Jews.” Such claim made Him a threat to the politics of religion which defined the Sanhedrin and the religion of politics which was the burden of Rome. More than that, Jesus would bear the weight of the sins of the world- confessed and unconfessed. The generations of sinners past, present and future would be His to lift up to God with the soul’s sincere desire to effect forgiveness. There in the Garden, that divinity would be intertwined with His humanity as He cried out to God, “Abba, Father, if it is possible take this cup from Me. Yet, I know, not My will but Yours is what must be done.” Do we feel “us” in the Him of that prayer? Are we faithful enough to be humble enough to be human enough to see ourselves in the struggle between heaven and earth? Or will we choose to stumble again believing we can pick ourselves up by our own words and works and move into each day? Are we so perilous spiritually that we believe ourselves to be impervious in our humanity? Mighty ones of God, being Jesus wasn’t easy. It isn’t easy being any one of us either.

It is that kind of struggle Isaiah heard God address about the condition of Israel before, during and after the days of King Uzziah and those who would follow after him as Israel’s leaders. The burden of leadership is heavy. Without the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, the yoke would be far too great. Time after time, that yoke was shouldered with little or no appeal to God’s on-dwelling and indwelling of His Holy Spirit. We saw it in Saul, then David, then Solomon and the rise and fall of others where walking with God proved beneficial and without Him fatal. It is no less true today. Once again, God speaks of the reality of the failure of pursuing the simplest interests: protecting the widow and the orphan and keeping one’s self from being stained and entertained by the world. James would call it “the religion which pleases God.” Jesus would teach it as the heart of the righteous identifying “the lost” as those made widows and orphans by those stained by the world. The prophetic word for that transaction was “prostitution.” It was not limited to the physical transaction of buying sexual favors or selling them. It was an image of the bride of God, Israel, prostituting herself to foreign nations and rulers instead of trusting only God and being faithful to Him alone. Poor Hosea. He was told to take Gomer as his wife and redeem her from her harlotry. Three children were born to their marriage and God used them as prophetic utterances against the very sinful nature of Israel. [I believe it was their names that Jesus wrote in the dust when the sinful elders and High Priest brought the woman caught in their adultery to Jesus for condemnation of her and empowerment of themselves. His ultimate response was “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” There would be no stones thrown that day lest the smoky mirrors of the accusers would be shattered and they themselves left naked and ashamed, running into the darkness for cover.] This was the state of affairs which plagued Israel (both north and south). It is what weakened the nation, the people and their belief to trust God in and with all things. Taking things into their own hands, they now suffered and created suffering. They reduced the beautiful Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, into a tawdry chaos of humanity. It wasn’t easy being the children of God. It isn’t easy even today. But…..

IT ISN’T IMPOSSIBLE.

“With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19.26) And take heed, mighty ones of God, this verse is not meant to support our efforts to capitalize on being human. It is not an empowerment of our human endeavors. It is not a validation of our choices to be a “G.O.A.T.” in our given field or desires for prominence and recognition within the scope of the world. That verse is centered on the identity of “…who can be saved.” It was Jesus’ response to the disciples wondering as they were left with the undoing of the thought that “riches equal righteousness.” We may be able to do great things. We are humans created by God with great potential. That potential, however, is not to serve us but others and bring glory to God. That potential, however, will not and cannot save us from the despair of our sin and sinfulness. Only God can! Only through believing in Jesus as the Christ and making Him Lord and Savior will! It isn’t easy…but it isn’t impossible.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.