A Place Called "Home"

Click here to read Isaiah 24

The other evening Stephen Colbert did a commentary on Global Warming.  I encourage you to watch it.  Not only for the comic...albeit sarcastic commentary....on how politicians are responding to the threat of the extreme heat in Australia, the fate of polar ice caps, and the increasing Carbon Dioxide.  But because I think Colbert offers a good challenge.

I am not scientist.  I know facts can be twisted in different directions until they are barely recognized as "fact" anymore.  I know people with all sorts of intentions...good and bad...have a tendency to do this. You can over state facts to try to motivate people to change, because unless there is urgency change is a slooooooooow process.  I also know you can under sell a fact, banking on the fact that change is a sloooooooow process.

I know that I am not going to start riding my bike to work...right now...at least.  I also know that there are things I can do.  I know there might be people reading this who don't think global warming is all that big of a problem.  Like so many issues today, we tend to take a side and fight like our life depends on us winning.  Problems by their very nature are multifaceted and complex.  If there was an easy solution or clear facts, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

What I do know is that I take Genesis 1 seriously.  If God declared all creation (not just humans) good, very good, then my actions toward creation should heed God's still speaking voice.  I also know the truth of what Paul said to the church in Rome about the whole creation groaning.  I don't know if he had Isaiah in mind when he wrote that, I don't know if a cloud of smog was hanging over Israel like it current is in Salt Lake City.  I do know that the wisdom of Scripture in this case transcends time and causes me to stop in my tracks.

I hope you will take the time to click on some of the links I have posted to this blog, spend some time thinking prayerfully about the theology of care for creation and our current state, and may the traces of God's grace guide us as we face the realities of the place we call "home."

Grace and peace.

Say What??

Click here to read Isaiah 23

You might be wondering, what in the world does the above picture and Isaiah 23 have to do with each other?  It all starts with the first verse, "Wail, you ships of Tarshish."  Tarshish was the place Jonah fled to instead of going to Nineveh.  God had told Jonah to bring God's word to the people of Nineveh, which was just to the north of where Jonah lived.  But Jonah loathed...I mean loathed....the people of Nineveh.  And so, Jonah hopped on the first ship head west...not exactly the opposite direction...but certainly not the right direction either.  The ship Jonah found himself on was heading to Tarshish.

Usually, when I think about Jonah, I think about fleeing from where God is calling me, going in a different direction.  But there is also something about humans that loves, to use the cliche, "think the grass is greener on the other side."  Tarshish is the other side.  It is that job in the paper that would be so much better than the one you have now.  It is the other car you see the moment you have signed the paperwork and drive off the lot.  It is the all the "should'ves"  and "could'ves" that are part of our daily conversations.

Of course, the rest of the passage in Isaiah is not very uplifting.  It ends with some saucy language about prostitution.  I invite you to keep Isaiah's words in tension with the ministry of Jesus, who reached out to the lost, lonely, grieving and the prostitutes in his day.

Part of Isaiah's honesty is the age old human tendency to speak ill or woes to those around us.  We do this because we feel threatened.  A person in the Sunday morning Bible study commented that often Israel felt like a bone caught between two dogs.  Israel has always been threatened from those in all directions who want to take it over to gain an geographical edge against others.  When you are in the midst of fear or uncertainty or living in constant tension, our words are not always happy.

I invite you today to think about a situation or a relationship where your words did not "turn the other check"
Did your words sound like Isaiah 23?  I know at times mine have.  And while I might not have said, "Wail, you ships of _____ (fill in blank of a person's name),"  I do recognize the sentiment.

May the traces of God's grace sustain us and open us honestly to our words for better and worse.

Blessings and peace

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!

A Different Point of View

Click here to read Isaiah 21


In this passage Isaiah gives us the image of him taking a post in a watchtower where he can see who is coming.  Watchtowers are about changing our perspective, getting above the things that block our view, being able to scan the horizon and see further.  Most of us don't have many watchtower moments in our lives.  Most of the time in the midst of life's journey, I don't see the proverbial forest for the trees.  The trees tower above my head, they clutter my ability to see, and if I am not careful I can run smack dab into one
.  
I am reminded of a prayer by Thomas Merton,  "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end." That prayer summarizes the way I feel on certain days in my life.  The image of finding the space in my life to get a clear view is not easy.  Most of the time, my busyness can cause life around me to be blurry.  And even if I have a few fleeting moments to get to the top of the watchtower, by thte time I have raced up the stairs to the top, start to feel my breathing and pulse return to normal, only to feel like I have to race back down the stairs to get on with life. Many today talk about our addiction to hurry.  Others say we walk up in the morning already feeling like we are behind.  The idea is not that we can shift our perspective by visiting the watchtower once.  We need more time to truly scan our surroundings and take time to soak in the scene from the watchtower.

I remember when my wife and I were in Hawaii, we climbed Diamond Head Mountain.  Once we reached the top, we spent several hours looking in all directions.  We would have stayed longer, but we needed to walk back.  The amazing thing is that the ocean looked so differen from the beach level when compared to looking down on it from 762 feet above.  We need moments to shift our perspective.  We need to also hold that in tension with the wisdom of Merton's prayer: that no matter what we do, or how much time we spend in the watchtower, we will not always be able to see fully the road in front of us.

I encourage you to find time tomorrow or the next day for a watchtower moment.  It does not need to be somewhere high...especially if the thought of that causes you to break out in a cold sweat.  Maybe your watchtower is a coffee shop, walk around a block, or the stillness of a room in your home.  Give this some thought.  And if you want to find me, I will be in the balcony of our church.  May you notice the traces of God's grace in your watchtower moments this week.

Blessings and peace!

Beautiful feet

Click here to read Isaiah 20
Click here to read Isaiah 52

I know Isaiah 52 is leaping ahead and is completely out of order.  I apologize to those reading this blog who prefer things orderly.  But I wanted to make a connection within Isaiah and his foot fetish.

For most of us, we don't talk about feet, we don't mention our feet, we do our best to avert our eyes at the beach, pool, and when we walk past that nail place in the mall.  And if seeing feet sends a shutter down our spine, you can only imagine what happens when we have to touch another person's foot.  And so we put socks on our feet, shoes, we cover them up and hide our feet.  I think our aversion  to all things foot related leads to a disconnect between our faith.  After all most of our churches today can hardly imagine engaging in a foot washing ceremony as Jesus did at the Last Supper.  So far, twelve years into ministry, and I have only been able to pull off one foot washing ritual on Maundy Thursday.  We don't like feet.

But feet are an important part of Isaiah's ministry.  In his call from God, the seraphim covered their feet.  In Isaiah 20, he removes his sandals is a sign of protest.  And in Isaiah 52, it is the feet of the messenger that proclaim the good news of release.  Feet.  Feet.  Feet.  What's the deal?

Of course, the cultural gap between Isaiah and today is as wide as the Grand Canyon in this case.  In Isaiah's day there were no tennis shoes, dress shoes, boots, slippers, etc.  The only foot ware was sandals.  Which we know, exposes your feet and provides a little protection against the rocky hard ground.  The other wonderful fact about the Bible is that feet can sometimes be a euphemism for other parts of your body, see Ruth 3:7-8

So, now you know why we don't talk about feet.  I also contend we don't talk about feet because it makes us feel vulnerable. I recently read a book by Brene Brown on vulnerability.  She also has a great video on TED about vulnerability.  Brene says instead of hiding our vulnerability, we need to lean into it in order to live wholehearted lives.  I like that image and I think it resonates with what Isaiah is calling the people to do.  We are called to live wholehearted lives, which includes vulnerability.  We are called to see ourselves as people created in the image of God, fully and wholely, which includes our feet.  Maybe there is a trace of God's grace in that for you and me.

Blessings and peace!

Do We See Ourselves?

Click here to read Isaiah 19

So we know Egypt and Israel have a history that is...let's just say is complicated.  I mean there is the whole indentured servitude in the book of Exodus.  Where Moses has to come in and lead the people across the Red Sea and into wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  During which people complained and wanted to go back to Egypt...you know where they were in servitude.  There is more that needs to be said about that some time when dwelling in the book of Exodus.

But Isaiah offers a prophecy against Egypt.  What really gets me about this chapter is verse 2, where brother rises against brother, neighbor against neighbor, and city against city.  I hear those words and make a connection to today in our world.  In our contentious political environment, family member is against family member, neighbor against neighbor, and a red state sits next to a blue state.  We feel that division and divisiveness in ways that seems to eat away at our very soul as a country.

So, what to do?  Let's face it, there is not much positive advice to be found in this chapter of Isaiah.  Basically he says to Egypt, "You are doomed!"  Which I can understand, it is often the way I feel after watching the news.  So, where is the hope?  Hope may not come in books we can buy or missions we create or really anything we do.  When we light the candle of "Hope" on the first Sunday of Advent, it can feel the same way.  One candle against the increasing darkness and dwindling daylight, what is the point?  What sense does that make?  We light the candle, call it "hope," and then wait.  Wait four weeks before we gather at a manger to welcome God incarnate in Jesus. That does take hope, to wait.  It can feel like we are waiting today to see if we can stop letting the differences divide and start seeing who we are connected.  Will it happen or we will end up like say the Egyptians in our passage today.

There is no neat and tidy ending here.  Hope does not come in prepacked ways.  Hope bubbles up in unexpected, even serendipitous ways.  Which if that sounds familiar, it is because it is similar to what I said about discipleship.  Maybe there is a connection between discipleship and hope that starts there and here.

May the traces of God's grace help to keep the spark of hope alive in your life today.

Blessings and peace!

Silent God

Click here to read Isaiah 18

When you belong to a denomination that has spend creative time and energy in trying to communicate the message that "God is still speaking" today in our lives, in our churches, and in our world; verse 4 comes a little bit of a shock.  Whatta mean God is silent?

Sure, I know that in 1 Kings 19:9-13 that when God appeared to Elijah, God did not come in the form of a blazing, hot fire or a wind storm more powerful than the one that swept through Wisconsin last week bringing with it a cold that chills you to the bones.  To Elijah, God whispered...or as some versions say God came out of, "a still small silence".  But at least that is still speaking...in some way.

Yet, think of it this way, silence is still communicating.  When you give your spouse the cold shoulder or refuse to respond to a hurtful comment or don't reply to a text or email, in someways you are still trying to communicate.  But in a world saturated with words, our silence is barely noticed amid the cacophony.  In a world where there is always something happening: some show to watch, blog to read, website to surf to, we rarely find ourselves in a moment of silence.

And when we do...say in the doctor's office waiting room with that awful muzak being piped in...our minds jump into hyper-drive filling the void with all sorts of random thoughts left over from days and weeks gone by.  In moments of silence our minds become like frantic patchwork quilters trying to piece together the fragments of our lives.  And usually, that silence is fleeting.  Mercifully, the nurse calls us back to the office or the phone rings or we start playing "Angry Birds" on our phone.  But what would happen if we would try to practice silence, get past that awkward stage, and really immerse ourselves in the stillness, peacefulness, and solitude of the sacred?

I do wonder if one of the ways God is still speaking today is just inviting us to be in silence.  Not so God can get a word in edgewise, but just to be.  Isaiah tells us in the midst of banners being rolled out and trumpets blasting, God sat silently.  In the midst of a world where in a little over a week billions of dollars will be spent on ads, our modern day banners, to capture our attention and music will blast from some of the most famous people today, where is God's voice in the midst of Superbowl Sunday?  Of course, being a Wisconsinite, it is easy to think that God does not have a vested interest in this year's Superbowl.

Maybe God's still speaking won't come across as words at all.  Maybe God's still speaking will invite us into a silence, the kind of silence where you actually hear your own breath.  Breath that God breathed into our ancestor's bodies in Genesis 2, giving us life.  And maybe if we can hear that breath for just a few moments, no matter how fleeting, we will sense the truth of Isaiah's words and catch a trace of God's grace.

Blessings and peace!