December 26, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name. Make known among the nations what He has done. Proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things. Let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.’” (Isaiah 12.4-6)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In all the gift exchanges this holiday season, regardless of their venue, let me ask us “How did we respond?” I have no doubt that there were many of us said “thank you” to the gift givers. We prompt our children who become so excited with the gift that gratitude is forgotten. Unintentionally, and innocently, they assume their joy with the gift should suffice. “Train them up in the way they should go and they will not wander far from it when they are older.” (Proverbs 22.6) The question may be at this point, how far have we wandered from it. Or more to the point, what kind of training did we receive when we were being raised to be mighty ones of God? What am I speaking of?

Let’s take Isaiah 12 as the exemplar. An exemplar is a person or thing used to serve as an “excellent model” for future behavior. When the Apostle Paul was teaching the Christ followers in Corinth the ways of authentic Christian living, he spent a great deal of time handling an apparent misunderstanding about “spiritual gifts.” He addressed the types of gifts, the ordering of gifts and the function of gifts as they applied to the various expressions of them in human relationships. All of that information was vital to their understanding of being a member of the Body of Christ and of the Church in its mission to disciple the world. When he comes to the end of that instruction, he concludes it with this phrase, “Now let me show you a more excellent way!” Was he speaking of something that supersedes the gifting of the Holy Spirit for each believer? No. Instead, he was speaking of far more than the mere function and presentation of those many important and valued gifts. He would address the manner and essence of those gifts which proved them to be valuable and important. I might say, Paul began to speak of the “spirit of the Spiritual gifts and gifting.” In a similar fashion, by comparison, where God declared, “I no longer delight in your sacrifices….” (Isaiah 1.11, Psalm 51.16 for example) because they had become merely acts without sincere thoughts, so Paul was pressing the Corinthian fellowship in Christ to grasp the “spirit of the spiritual gifts and gifting.” Just doing a thing does not make it the thing to do. We can go back to the very act of Creation. Just making something doesn’t make it great. It may well prove a great ability but just doing a thing for the sake of doing a thing matters little in the whole scope of life and living. This is what becomes a vital and interesting part of the first century, and ongoing, discussion conducted by James the brother of Jesus concerning “faith without works is dead.” (James 2.14+) It is important for the welfare of the community of faith because the opposite corollary is equally true: “works without faith is dead.” Why would that be true? Because works in and of themselves without believing in what they can do and accomplish for the greater good are just works that you can do. That means they will always point to the “doer” of the works far more than the receiver of them. What makes the works of creation at the hands of the Trinity great and enduring is that sense of purpose long-term. When God said at the end of the day “It is good,” the affirmation was one of spirit and truth. That which was created not only served a vital function but exuded “glory to God from whom all blessings flow.” Creation was something God “did.” Creation was and is a blessing which should be received with gladness and gratitude. It is also a blessing which should be returned with thanksgiving and praise. In other words, the understanding of that “more excellent way” put things in their proper perspective. For Paul to the Corinthians, and in reality for us all, that proper perspective was “authentic love.“

What then do we hear in Isaiah 12? We hear the appropriate and proper response for the gifts which Israel had been given. The giver was God. Regardless of the delivery system, the originator of the gift and the giving was God. When Bob Cratchit solicits “thanks to the founder of our feast,” he was speaking of Ebenezzar Scrooge. In the context of the story, because it did not have the intention of being “preachy,” it focused on the human elements with a taste of spiritual (the appearing ghosts.) As believers, we rejoice in the transformation of the hardened Scrooge to a man reborn into a genuine life as he once had. As believers, however, we know that the founder of the feast and the author of Scrooge’s transformation is the Father of Spirit and Truth, God Almighty. Tiny Tim will not let us forget that final word on the subject as he declares “God bless us everyone.” Oh, yes, it is good to have such a goose, figgy pudding, and gifts around a tree for all to share. There is even that hint of love for one another was the gifts are exchanged, received and fawned over. However, does it all stand up to the measure and the fullness which is of utmost importance? Do we just stop short and “a more excellent way”? Are we giving thanks to God for His blessing, His sharing, His provision and His most inexpressible gift? What would happen if we took the time to honor God in our expressions of thanks for the “human” gifts which we share at Christmas? Would we give the same gifts as we did? Would we be more concerned for establishing a place of praise and worship than picking up the trash and washing the dishes to restore the environment back to what it was before it all began? Are we willing to undergo that righteous transformation and chart a course through the world with the good news of great joy which is for all people? The ultimate and most pure expression, and I am as guilty as the next on this so know I am taking this with a great sense of correction, is to stop and give thanks to God in a time of worship with spirit and truth.

Maybe we don’t do it because there are those in those particular gatherings who either do not know, do not understand or have refused to acknowledge the call to faith and faithfulness. Dare we operate by assumption that “just knowing” is sufficient for our witness to them? Isn’t our learning and teaching facilitated by the rehearsal and practice of right thoughts and thinking? Have we been carefully taught? Are we carefully teaching? In a fleeting thought at the moment, I remember who was missing when Jesus taught this during “the Last Supper.” The missing student was Judas of Kerioth. He had decided, under the influence, that he knew all that was needed. He acted out not to give praise nor bring praise to God but to force Jesus to be who he, Judas, wanted Jesus to be. And it wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want to teach him that, he had tried many times before with all the disciples. In that moment following the departure of Judas, Jesus had to use it for a powerful teaching moment where instruction included “prayer and praise.” That is the lesson extended to us today in Isaiah 12 and we dare not miss it by running after the world now that Christmas is over? Is it really ever over when the real reason for the season is our redemption?

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.