Finding our Inner-Santa

Click here to read Isaiah 22

Up on the rooftop, we did pause,
Hoping that God would hear our cause.
But what happens when things don't work out,
Do we find ourselves wanting to shout?

So, in the last post, I encouraged you to find sometime today to get to the watchtower, to change your perspective, or as Isaiah 22 puts it, "go to the rooftop".  I think sometimes religion can become too formulaic.  If I say, "Go to the watchtower," the expectation might be that certainly God is going to meet you there, maybe even be waiting for you.  I think one reason why we give up on prayer, and some have given up on church, so quickly is because we have some lofty ideals (pun intended) about what the church, God, and religion should (or maybe ought?) to do for us.  And by the way, we are a bit busy, so if there is a drive-thru window in the watchtower/rooftop that would be great!

Twenty-two chapters into Isaiah and he is still droning on and on about the destruction of this and that.  Look, we get it.  We live in the age of twitter and condensed news.  Can't Isaiah just move on?  Much more of this and we will think maybe Isaiah should be tested for signs of depression.  But maybe the point is that as people today we move on too quickly.  Have we forgotten the pain of Sandy Hook?  Have we forgotten those in countries like Haiti or Japan ravaged by tsunamis?

I don't think the point is to put on a sackcloth and take off our sandals, like Isaiah did a few chapters earlier. But I also don't think we should always "try to look on the bright side" or think we need to sing like orphan Annie, "The sun will come out to tomorrow."  Life is messier than that.  Part what it means when we go to the watchtower or rooftop is we take our life with us.

When I talk about the watchtower/rooftop, I think often the first image that comes to my mind is Jesus' transfiguration.  In that scene, Jesus glows a dazzling white in front of Peter, James, and John (the first three disciples he called to follow him).  And because those images are intermingled in my mind, I start to think that if I find time today or tomorrow to get to the watchtower or rooftop, I should have a mountain top experience.  It is part of the psychology around a consumer society.  I made the time, I need to be rewarded.

I think life and faith are more complicated than that.  Sometimes I sit in the sanctuary alone and feel God's presence.  Other times, I just feel cold.  Some religious folks would say that the blame is fully on me in those God-is-distant moments, that I am doing something wrong.  And I think there can be a measure of truth in that.  Maybe in that moment I have a divided heart or I am just going through the motions.  But I also don't think faith is that black and white.  I have had experiences of prayer where I was fully open and honest and still did not sense God the way I had in other moments.

For me, I could just throw in the towel or wonder, "Why bother?"  But Isaiah's words invite me to re-consider.  In 22, he speaks honestly that just because we get to the rooftop does not mean everything will turn out peachy.  But, maybe, we can keep trying to carve the space in our lives for those moments of getting to the watchtower and rooftop, I trust the glimpse of God's grace will be heard honestly and authentically in my life.  And those moments, perhaps fleeting, will be enough.

Blessings and peace!