She who is in labor ...

Together, let us meditate on the word of the Lord:

Micah 5:2-5a

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Can anything good happen in a small town? Can anything worthy of note come from Bethlehem, this “house of bread,” this tiny village? How often does God work with the small things - with places, things, or persons held in low esteem by humanity? The American equivalent of Bethlehem would be a small rural town on the margins of a politically insignificant state, perhaps somewhere in Oklahoma.

From this nowhere comes one who will not merely rule the world, but one who moves to restore it. This One knows how to restore this planet to its original and intended beauty because, quite simply, he was there when it was formed. To even speak of his origin reveals our ignorance.

Therefore he shall give them up until
the time when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.

This small town on the margins of a small clan is a part of a larger nation. That nation wavered, time after time, in its faithfulness to its God. Every time this people chose to repent and return, God received them back. Every time, that is, until the last. When the fickleness of God’s people finally became a joke among the nations, then God let them go. God did not merely give up Jerusalem, or the Temple; the Holy One of Israel gave up the people of Israel. The holy temple was defiled, the holy city razed, the holy people scattered to the four corners of the earth. God gave them up.

But not forever. When “she who is in labor” bears her child, then the reunification of God and the people of God is to begin. Evidently the purpose of this child’s birth is to call all of God’s children back into relationship with God.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall live secure,
for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;

He who stands is one who is thoroughly acquainted with the truth about humanity; he knows our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities. A relationship with this majestic one brings a vulnerable people into a safe place. In the midst of that safe place are resources, provision for daily living, bread for body and soul. Is it mere coincidence that the “Bread of Heaven” comes from the “house of bread?” Yet, this majestic one will point the thankful to the source of all providence, the faithful God of Israel. The wonder of the place in which this Shepherd stands becomes even more apparent as others come to understand this great One, and open their lives to him.

and he shall be the one of peace.

Knowing the truth of our weakness and unfaithfulness, the Shepherd nonetheless hopes. Amazingly, he has made peace between his God and his people. That is his truth, but what is his hope? I believe that he hopes for those who have chosen peace to choose to keep it, and for those who have yet to choose peace to do so as well. May it be so.

Peace, peace, in him there can be peace.

Grace and peace,

Ron

Perfect peace ...

Jason directs our thoughts today:

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4

Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.

Do this! Do that! Be over here at this time, wearing this, juggling that, while you are whistling this tune and standing on your head! The demands of life can be so overwhelming sometimes. They aren’t always this crazy. I do not believe we have to let it get to that point. We have great intentions of doing our best and then one thing is added to our pile and one more and then something bad happens that adds to our time and so on an so on. I know you feel it. I know you are feeling it right now.

Do you feel this way? I am going to write this quote down from Max Lucado and leave you for the day to dwell on this thought.

“Who is the active one? Who is in charge? The shepherd. The shepherd selects the trail and prepares the pasture. The sheep’s job—our job—is to watch the shepherd. With our eyes on our Shepherd, we’ll be able to get some sleep. ‘You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You!’”

Find you a quiet place and just keep singing this song over and over to yourself and allow His peace to settle on your heart!

Be STILL and know that I am God,
Be STILL and know that I am God,
Be STILL and know that I am God.

Blessings for Peace!

Jason

Voice: the word spoken and recognizable

Voice is the word that scripture and prayer illuminate for us today:

Hear the voice of Jesus:

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.
The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice.
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers . . . .

Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away —
and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.
I have received this command from my Father.

John 10:1-18 NRSV

The voice we can scarcely hear
Walter Brueggemann

You are the voice we can scarcely hear
because you speak about dying and suffering,
and we are impacted by so many voices
that have to do with power
and competence
and success.

We do know that you are the voice that give life,
that you are the voice that opens futures to people who are hopeless.

We are part of a hopeless people,
because the other voices eat at our hearts
and we are immobilized
and we become deaf.

So we pray for new ears.

We pray that your voice may be more audible to us,
that we may be able to sort out the death-giving
from the life-giving voices among us.

We pray in the name of Jesus,
through whom you have spoken
in such inscrutable ways.

Amen

Blessings,

Ron