not much reflection today

What jumped out to me today is a verse that I find confusing. Having killed the requisite animals, Abram is hard at working keeping the birds of prey away, when, seemingly out of nowhere "a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him."

I'm guessing God put him to sleep, which would make sense. God was about to pass by as a flaming torch to consume all that Abram had offered, but why is the sleep that fell upon Abram called "a deep and terrifying darkness?"

I've decided to do some research, and it seems as though our Lectionary in its splitting verses (Gen 15.1-12, 17-18) has made for the confusion.

Here it is from the Lectionary:

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates."

Here it is in context:
12 As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. 13 And He said to Abram, "Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; 14 but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. 15 As for you, You shall go to your fathers in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age. 16 And they shall return here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." 17 When the sun set and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:

God's promise in vv 13-16 isn't all good news; it isn't even mostly good news. The descendants of Abram will be oppressed in a foreign land for 400 years before they can enter the Promised Land. Surely this news is terrifying and dreadful to Abram. Just as God offers him the unfathomable news that he will sire an offspring he finds out that it is only for them to be brought very low for a very long time. Maybe that's where the dread and terror come from. Anyway, its an interesting verse, one suitable for further study.

go tell that fox...

I love the confidence with which Jesus speaks to the Pharisees here in Lent 2c. The narrative makes it hard to tell if the Pharisees are really worried about Jesus' safety, or if they just want him out of their hair. Either way, they urge him to "get away from here." Seemingly without skipping a beat, Jesus replies, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'"

This is by far one of the funniest exchanges between Jesus and the religious leaders. We expect our fair Lord to defer to the will of these men. Its just how we think of him. A 6'1" hippie who skips around from town to town telling people about "love, man." But here, I think, we see a glimpse of the real Jesus; a man who knows his mission and with conviction will live it out. He doesn't bend over backward to make people happy. His message of love isn't one of acceptance, but rather repentance. And damn it, he's not finished. He's got two more days of teaching and healing before he reaches Jerusalem, and he will be there when he gets there.

I love this image of Jesus. It speaks to me as one who 1) is a bit of a push over and 2) feels as though I have a job to do in the Lord. To do it with confidence and strength is my goal. To do so would be to model Christ. You tell 'em Jesus!

O LORD God, how am I to know...

Abram asks God the question. At least for me, right now, it is the question. How am I to know that 3 years of seminary wasn't a waste? How am I to know that a call will line up in the next few weeks? How am I to know that "playing the game" is the right/wrong thing to do. How am I to know? Clearly, the Bishop didn't have all the answers I was looking for, and clearly I need to be patient, but most clearly is I'm struggling with that.

I sorta feel like ol' Abram. God and I have an agreement; God called and Cassie and I followed all the way to Alexandria. Now, God is supposed to provide a sweet ass call in the diocese, and it just isn't happening in the right time. Like Abram, I want to remind God of our agreement, as if he doesn't remember. Like Abram, I want to fix things such that they work in my timing, as if God has gone on vacation. Like Abram, I'm wrong to do so.

It is just so difficult to wait upon God, especially when God uses people to work out his plan. It feels a lot less like I'm waiting on God and a lot more like I'm waiting on the diocese or the bishop or the possible churches, and that, for me, is the hardest part. Its not like this is new for me. When I moved to GC to be with my fiance (now wife), I went for weeks without even a nibble on the job front. Ultimately I took a job waiting tables and could barely pay the bills. I was struggling then too.

My experience says that God will provide in due time. However, it is difficult to draw on experience in situations like this. O LORD God, how am I to know that you will once again provide for this impatient sinful creature? How am I to know...

those pesky brackets again

I love the Episcopal Lectionary. I'm sorry to see it go away for the RCL; I like having it right in the back of my Book of Common Prayer. Yet one thing I am hopeful for, and I think happens some in the RCL; that we might be forced to hear those parts of the Bible that make us uncomfortable. Psalm 58 with its breaking of teeth, for example. Or maybe, all of the Gospel lesson for 2 Lent, year C. The brackets which set the first half of the lesson apart make it optional. It is optional because it is hard to deal with. It is hard to deal with because it is, gulp, exclusive. We want Jesus to tell us "it is going to be OK." Instead he tells us, "there are a goodly number who will not enter the Kingdom, and even more who you think shouldn't, who will in fact dine with God."

This is not a message we like to hear. Especially as bishops send more and more functional Unitarian/Universalists to seminary, this passage, left to the BCP Lectionary would be ignored over and over again. Of course, left to the RCL, it won't even be an option (the RCL includes only the second half of the text - I guess there's a lot more to work on than I originally thought).

Anyway, we need to hear the radically particular message of Jesus. Like with the people of Israel, God chose to work in one man, in first century Palestine, for the redemption of all the world. We can debate the wisdom of this plan of God if you like, but after 2000 years, I'd say this Way has some momentum behind it. Still, we must hear that there will be those who God has not chosen (for you predestination folk) or who, when faced with the pain of an all-loving God who they over and over again rejected, will once again choose to go their own way, to take the wide door of temptation over the narrow door of freedom. We need to hear this so that we might be prepared to again and again choose the right door, the door that leads to everlasting life and perfect communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

a home for God

When recent grads hear that Dr. Cook is teaching his Ezekiel class this semester, they tend to be jealous. "Man, I wanted to take that class," they inevitably say. It is a sweet, sweet class. The book of Ezekiel is one crazy prophetic text, and some of the themes of this exilic prophet are amazingly universal. The thing that hits me over and over again, however, is the prophets holiness theology.

A down and dirty synopsis of the holiness strand is that God, who is fully other, fully holy, dwells in the holy of holies. God's holiness is guarded by cherubim (angels) and human priests (Levites), but it radiates throughout the Promised Land and beyond. Evil in the land impacts God's holiness by making his dwelling unclean, and could, if bad enough, force God to move his presence somewhere else.

All this to say, that in the Deuteronomy lesson it is interesting to me that God has yet to choose his home in the land he will give the Israelites. More interesting, and key to understanding the Hebrew Bible and holiness theology is that God dwells among the people. As this imaginary person brings the first fruits of the land to the altar, he comes radically close to the holiness of God. This is a dangerous place to be.

The most prevalent image of holiness in the HB/OT is that of a fire (think Refiner's Fire). The holiness of God smelts the soul of humanity, removing all the impurities, and leaving only the pure gold of holiness behind. To approach God, even within the Temple, is to be ridiculously close to that fire which is all consuming. It is radical that God chose to dwell in and with his Creation. It is radical that he allowed his Creation to come so close to his otherness. This otherness, this holiness, the refining fire is an image that we have very much lost in our society, but one we should seek to reclaim.

offering thanksgiving

We, as modern-day Christians, have a hard time with the book of Deuteronomy. The law given in that book is foreign to us in many ways. Yet the lesson for Lent 1 is clearly applicable today. If one reads it with a careful eye, it seems to say that while God requires the first fruits of the harvest, he doesn't care much about it. Instead, he wants you to offer thanksgiving for the great things he has done.

In this passage the Israelites are told what they should say as they offer their first fruits to God. The words are not praises or adorations. They are not glories and hallelujahs, but rather they are a story; THE story. The story of Israel's salvation from its humble beginnings as "a wandering Aramean" to its entrance into the land of "milk and honey". The murmuring of the desert is no where to be found in this story, for it is a recollection of God's saving action; a work done having required nothing of God's chosen people. A work done in grace. Giving of the first fruits is a response to that grace. Recalling the story of salvation is a way of offering thanksgiving that is well beyond the giving of material things.

We, as modern-day Christians, can associate with this. As we come to offer God our thanksgivings we would do well to recall the saving work done long before us. The grace filled act of saving Israel from Egypt is repeated in the grace filled sacrifice of the paschal lamb. God doesn't need our first fruits, God doesn't need anything. God wants and longs for our relationship, and the beginning of that relationship is the recognition of God's total otherness and God's saving work in history. So offer your first fruits, but not to fulfill some requirement, but rather as a spiritual discipline of thanksgiving in the recollection of God's saving grace.

a crafty sob

The devil is one crafty son-of-a-gun. The story of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness gets my attention every time. It begins with the Spirit sending him to the wilderness (which if one is listening for the Spirit will happen more than once in one's life). Then, the devil shows up to have some fun. A hungry Jesus, having spent 40 days without food, is tempted first by the a call to his most basic needs. "You are hungry, make yourself something to eat." Maslow and his hierarchy of needs must have a field day with this passage. Not only is Jesus tempted to fulfill his physical desire for food, but he is also called on to self-actualize his authority, "If you are the Son of God..." Jesus however is cool, "It is written, one does not live by bread alone."

The devil tries again. This time trying to stroke Jesus' materialistic side. "I have all this," the devil says, "if you bow down and worship me, it will be yours." I'm not sure if it has always been this way, but if one looks around the world today, it is easy to say that materialism is by far the most rampant -ism afflicting humanity. Jesus, the Son of God, who will one day rule all of Creation, probably had some inclination that first he would have to suffer death upon the cross. It would have been a heck of a lot easier to skip the next 3 years of telling the same stories over and over to hard headed apostles and take the devil's offer, but he refuses. His will, both human will and divine will, are so one with the Father that he chooses the harder road, for with the harder road comes the restoration of humanity, that is the purpose for which he came to earth.

Finally, the devil gets crafty. If he won't take food and he won't take stuff, surely he'll take heed of that which is so close to his heart, the scripture. The devil turns the Word around on the Word made flesh in the hopes of catching him napping. Jesus, however, is undeterred. Having been around since, well, before time, Jesus knows full well what it means to have angels protecting him, and it certainly isn't testing God by jumping from the top of God's own dwelling place, the temple.

The devil is a crafty SOB. He's always using that which we know best to fool, trick, and confuse us. Often, we see it coming, and still are unable to defend ourselves against falling into temptation. Fortunately, we have an out. Jesus, who was like us, yet without sin, knows temptation, he knows the chicanery, and he has redeemed us from all those times when we can't get away from the tempter. Thanks be to God for that.

testimony

Surprisingly enough, the TV went off early last night and Cassie and I got into bed by 10 and read our books. As most of you know, I'm not much of a reader, but I'm really enjoying Diana Butler Bass' newest book, Christianity for the Rest of Us. The chapter with which I am currently wrestling is entitled "Testimony". In it Bass calls for a return to the ancient practice of testimony - talking openly and publicly about one's faith. I am not good at this. I think its safe to say, we, as Episcopalians are not good at this. Yet it is such a powerful practice. She recounts the words of one guy who says, "When people ask me what I did this weekend I can't help but jump into a story about a great liturgy or a sermon."

"I can't help but jump into a story about a great liturgy or sermon." This I think we can do. While we might not able to share the story of when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior (Junior Year of High School - favorite passage Proverbs 3.5-6), but we can talk about our church life, our experience of God in liturgy, Word, and Sacrament. This goes along well with the Epistle to the Romans. To confess with our lips and believe in our hearts is to know the Lord. Our confession is our testimony of our experience of the Divine. To believe is to have no choice but to testify. Its awkward and uncomfortable, but it is a wonderful practice and a great evangelism tool.

"For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved."

opportune time

I preached this weekend on what I consider to be one of the most dangerous passages in all of Scripture, "blessed are you who are poor." Today, as I dive into the readings for the first Sunday in Lent (I can't believe we're almost in lent already), I think I've found one of the most frightening lines in the Gospels, "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."

How true is this!?! The devil is a constant nemesis. Just when we think he's gone, or as the fancy is these days, just when we've explained him away as metaphor, he springs back into our lives ready to fight the same battles again. A friend calls this "Uncle Baggage". The unexpected guest who appears when you are most vulnerable to rub salt in your wounds. Jesus is led by the Spirit to the wilderness. These 40 days should be a time of quiet and deep self-reflection. Instead, the devil shows up to make it 40 days of hell.

Being tempted is not fun. You know it is happening, and you know you really really want what the devil is offering. On the other hand, you know full well the ramifications of siding with the devil. It sucks, I know. What sucks more is that even when you overcome temptation having found God once again "mighty to save" the devil doesn't leave you alone forever. You've merely won the battle, the war will continue as long as you live. The devil will depart, only to return at an opportune time.

rss goof

for those of you who track lectionary...go on rss feeds -

i tried to add a photo to an old post to change my profile photo, and it didn't work. it popped that old post to the top of rss feeds "BCP - make it difficult" is an old post, ignore it.

peace,
sjp

did moses need a shtick?

This passage from Exodus 34 is very interesting to me. Moses is up on the mountain speaking with God, receiving the Law, the Torah, for God's chosen people. As he returns Aaron and the others notice that his face is shining and are afraid. Moses calls the leaders back, and they come. Moses then covers his face with a veil. What is so interesting to me is not the he removes the veil when he approaches God, but that he keeps it off until he reports back to the people on the Word he has received.

By this time, Moses, I have to assume, is a pretty well known figure. He was, after all, the guy who led the people of Israel out of Egypt. He was, after all, the guy who parted the Red Sea, who brought water from the rock, who showed them Manna. He was THE guy in this rag tag group of refugees. So why then does Moses need a shtick? Does he gain credibility because his face is shining? Does he need to gain credibility? Why?


Generally speaking I have a hard time with shticks in religious life. Whether its Bishop Minns holy tambourine or the lavish manual actions of a high church service or even those dresses and sashes and stuff clergy have to wear because we once stood next to kings; I think they are unnecessary. Like Moses, we have an authentic message from God, "God loves you, Jesus saves you, the Holy Spirit restores right relationship." That message should be able to stand on its own. That message shouldn't need inauthentic showiness for the sake of our own comfort (or our own tradition which has, in time, lost the meaning of its symbols in ritualism).

I don't know why Moses reported back to the people with his face shining. I don't know why clergy insist on looking different than everybody else. I do know that the Word of God doesn't need a shtick and we shouldn't cheese it up for our sake, but are called to be authentic bearers of the gospel for the glory of God.

back to work

The story of the Transfiguration is a really awesome story. It tells of Jesus, Moses, Elijah, and God the Father all together with Peter, James, and John. If Paul had some how arrived, speaking in tongues of the Holy Spirit, it'd be the all-star roster for God. It is a story that I would like to hold onto. Its pretty, its funny, its provocative. "It is good for us to be [in the story]." I wouldn't mind living in the story of the Transfiguration for the rest of my life. I'm a lot like Peter in that way.

Yet like Peter, I cannot stay in the moments that make me feel good. Life is not about holding on, but about moving forward for the Kingdom. The way the Lectionary gives us this account in Year C is a great metaphor for life. The Transfiguration makes us want to hold onto it, but we move on, back to work, with Jesus and his disciples.

The returning to work is never pretty. There is always work backed up from while you were away. Email, voice mail, memos, TPS reports, they all await as we return from the mountain to the mundane. Even Jesus is less than excited to be back at work. "You faithless and perverse generation," he says, "how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?" How many times have I wanted to say that to the needy coworker who couldn't accomplish anything in my absence? I can imagine Jesus, in the vulgarity of our time - "Christ people, er, me people, it isn't that hard. Remember, faith like a mustard seed? C'mon."

Yet even in his frustration, Jesus, God's Son, God's Chosen, is faithful. It is not this family's fault Jesus' disciples weren't on top of their game. Jesus is there with a job to do, and he does it. On the top of the mountain, three people were amazed by God. In the midst of that great crowd, where Jesus healed but one boy, ALL were astounded of the greatness of God. Seems getting back to work was worth the aggravation.

to know fully

I'm not sure what happened to the expression "looking through a glass darkly", but I'm sort of glad it is gone. You see, during my first year of seminary it was all the rage to quote Paul's image of partial knowledge. The context in which I heard it was always a senior in all of his or her full knowledge comforting a lowly junior on the journey.

"Don't worry, Steve, where you are now, its like... (dramatic pause as if they're making it up as they go along)... looking through a glass darkly."

I have to admit, I hated this. It made no sense to me. It was usually completely unrelated to my question about a professor's office location. It was overused and trite.

Two years removed from that drivel, I think I'm in a place to understand again Paul's imagery of a glass darkly, or a mirror dimly. This world in which we live is but a faint glimpse of the kingdom of God. In ourselves we see someone made in the image of God, therefore we have some, albeit small, understanding of God. Yet in the age to come we will see God face to face, just as Moses did, and will come to know fully the nature of God; love, grace, peace, and mercy. The double edged sword of knowing God will be ever so pleasing and ever so painful as we recall all the times we turned our back from pure love to our own devices and desires. Surely our hearts will ache within us.

Still, it will be a great comfort to know fully, even as we have been fully known.

1 Christmas

Having finished my last paper and written my last thank you note (I had been holding off saying thanks to a few people until after I got done with papers), I now look and find 1 Christmas staring me in the face. I can echo the words of Isaiah, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord". All this final work felt like birth (as best as a man can imagine it) and now I have Christmas to celebrate. The Gospel is tough though. John's prologue is a complex piece of work, and full of stuff that needs explaining. It can get tempting to try to rip it apart and teach for hours.
Perhaps just knowing the John put a prologue on to his Gospel is enough. To know that the story needed to be explained right up front is warning enough that the contents are loaded. Be careful, this prologue says. Before we tell you any of the story, let me tell you what this is all about. Here we are at Christmas happy and celebratory, and John is saying, "Are you sure you are ready for all of this? This is heavy..."
But no matter, finals are done. Its time to party. I've got until next Sunday till I have to come to grips with what I have been given. Rejoice! The Lord is Here!

it is almost time

Advent 4 is so very close to Christmas. In fact this year it is Christmas, rather Christmas Eve. After three weeks of prophecy and apocalypse, the lessons for Advent 4 get me excited for the other goal of Advent - preparing to welcome the baby Jesus into the world.

Advent is a funny season, one I still don't really get. It is a time to prepare for the second coming, but at the same time the lessons point us also to the Incarnation, God's first time walking the Earth since the Fall. I think its that juxtaposition that is hard for me. We know Jesus came, its not really something we have to hope will come again this year. So to start the church year with a hope for the Incarnation seems strange. So too it is really strange to start the church year with the end, the End of Days. So, like most Americans I move quickly through Advent and have Christmas carols on my car radio by Advent 2. I wait expectantly for the beauty of the Incarnation played out in the beauty of liturgy with full brass, soloists, choral music, and glorious altar hangings. I wait for the gathering together of family and friends in the love we share for one another, and (at least I hope) for God. But as a good liturgical Christian I feel guilty about skipping ahead, and at least take to heart the collects for each week, which make it clear we are expecting so much more than a baby born in a cave-stable. We are waiting for God to come (back) among us.

Magnificent

Or Magnificat, or something like that. The Song of Mary is such a beautiful piece of poetry set withing such a neat story about the Mother of our Lord.

Mary, who must be on the verge of freaking out at every moment, decides to get away for a while. She visits her cousins Elizabeth and Zechariah, both of whom also must be just an angel's sneeze away from a total breakdown. The group anxiety, however, is immediately cooled by God when, as Mary enters the house, Jbap, still in his mother's womb, jumps for joy at the sound of Mary's voice. Elizabeth, rather than collapsing from a major coronary, sings praises to Mary for she is "blessed among young women..."

While it seems like a non sequiter, Mary's song captures in a few short verses the saving work of God throughout all history. It captures the corporate work of God in Israel, but is also keenly aware of the particular works of God in the lives of his people. It is just a great song as we transition from the saving work of God in his people Israel, to the saving work of God in his Son.

A DIAGNOSIS...

errrr at least a partial one.

I talked to my dad today and there is good news coming out of Lancaster General. Apparently sometime yesterday evening, after the nerve shocky testy thing, a diagnosis came through. Seems as though inflamed blood vessels which feed nerves have caused those nerves to go dormant. This leads to excruciating pain and paralysis. They began mom on a three day steroid treatment to combat the inflamed blood vessels. Since the steroid treatment began last night she's hit her morphine pump only 8 times (cf the possibility of hitting it every 8 minutes if need be).

The diagnosis is not a complete one, as of yet, because something must be causing the inflammation. So, a second Lumbar Puncture is scheduled for tomorrow to hopefully nail down the virus that is causing the rest of the stuff. The doctors are hopeful she'll be able to head home Tuesday night or Wednesday.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for a finalized diagnosis and peace for our family.

what's with all the anger?

Jbap, as he's come to be known in theology books, seems to be one angry dude. As Luke tells the story in chapter 3, John, who no doubt had pretty wild tendencies, not to mention eyes, lays into the crowd that has come seeking the baptism of repentance.

Let me repeat that. The crowd at which Jbap is yelling and angry is a crowd of people who have come from the city, to the wilderness, to take part in the baptism of repentance that he preached.

What is with all the anger? (<--read this as though Chandler Bing was saying it) There must have been some murmuring in the ranks as Jbap preached and baptized. There must have been some who came for appearances sake and not in search of true repentance. There must have been some hypocrites to make up the brood of vipers. And if there were, Jbap had every right to lay into the crowd.

Repentance is not an easy thing. Repentance requires substantial effort. To turn oneself 180 degrees from a life of the world to a life of God is a taxing thing. Human nature would be to play an easier card. 'Oh, me? Nope, no need for repentance here, I'm a son of Abraham.' or 'Oh, me? Naah, I'm good, Jesus died once for all.'

But the grace of God, freely offered, ain't cheap. Sure, the Son of God died upon the cross to take my sins, rose from the dead to defeat death, and ascended into heaven to come again with power and great glory, but the story doesn't end there. In fact, it doesn't even begin there. It begins with the foretelling of his coming by the prophets, and by his cousin Jbap.

'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.' The grace of God comes free, but damn if it doesn't burn like hell. The refining nature of God's love, always calling us away from our self and toward a closer walk with Him will be painful as we give away our own desires for those of God. Our hearts will burn and break within us as we see the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, victims of war and disease.

'So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.' Despite all appearances, this grace, no matter what the cost, is good news. The Gospel message is that grace is available to all; poor, rich, tax collector, prostitute, Enron executive, social justice worker, whatever... We can all share in the pain of Jesus on the cross, and that is Good News. Sharing that pain brings us to his granary, where there is no pain, where the images of the prophets are reality, where God, in His ever present love, is felt.

The lectionary is alive with songs this week

Peace and blessings my brothers, and thanks for keeping this site going. I will be honest and say I had lost hope but good brother Scott renewed my spirit and so I report back to add few words about what I see, or in this case, what I hear.
It being Advent 3 we will be lighting the pink candle this week. I heard in today's Seminary Euch that it is meant to bring joy in the midst of our searching for Christ in our lives. As I look at the readings, I am pulled into song by the OT, the Response, and the NT. I think it is Hymn 678 for the First Song of Isaiah that is in my ears, but joining it is a song from the Sunday School at my field ed site, Rejoice in the Lo-ord Al-l-ways and a-gain I say Rejoice (clap clap). If you don't know it just ask me to sing it when you see me next.
But then the Gospel doesn't seem to want to be sung, does it? John, almost foaming at the mouth, begins a diatribe against the ever growing stream of folks who now are more interested in following the crowd than actually repenting and turning. It would be nice to hear this more loudly today, with so many putting up Christmas trees, lights, spending more than they have, and overusing Christmas carols before their time. It would be nice to hear that searching for Christ, for preparing the way, has nothing to do with following the crowd and everything to do with making space, making ready. We can be joyful only because we go through Advent. I for one will be singing Christmas carols starting on the 25th. Today's readings tell me my voice is better used for preparing, and that is cause for rejoicing.

the prophetic imagination

"It is the prophetic task, in a time of unraveling hopes, to declare the unimaginable, to assert the rationality of the unthinkable, to call the people to new hope, grounded not on the past but on sheer faith that God is about to do the impossible." - Walter Wink

ON THAT DAY...

The words of the prophet Zephaniah sound a lot like the words of any other prophet of the Hebrew Bible. After criticism of the status quo, the wailing of the Israelites due to their unpleasant situation (or for others the pending doom due to their faithlessness) Zephaniah brings hope to the hopeless.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem...

Zephaniah goes on to tell the story of the restoration of Jerusalem and her people. In the time of the exile this story is unimaginable. The people have been spread out to repopulate other areas of conquest for the Babylonians (or was it the Assyrians). Others have been brought in to populate their land as slaves. No one has an ethnic identity under this regime, they are but pieces in the economic system. And yet, Zephaniah sets forth a vision for the impossible. The vision becomes the operating mindset for Israel, it is accepted despite its apparent impossibility.

That is the prophetic task - to point people to a reality that by human means is utterly unimaginable. To point them there over and over and over and over again so that eventually, the people relent, the people believe, and the vision becomes the reality.

---
An update from yesterday's post - Mom had an MRI and Spinal Tap yesterday. The MRI looks "good" according to the Neurologist. The ST results will take a day or two. In the meantime they may do some sort of test on the blood vessels in her brain, but they are unsure this is necessary as of yet. She remains at LGH and will be there for at least a couple of days. Thank you for your continued prayers.