Singing In The Dark
Sunday, January 12
Psalm 29
When I was a child and devastating storms ravaged our neighborhood, we cowered in the dark waiting for our home to be next or the storm to pass. Today’s psalm paints a difficult-to-grasp picture of God’s power thundering over such storms. Could this power of God, found in flashes of flame, breaking of cedars, and shaking the wilderness, possibly be a comfort?
Our baptismal waters do not insulate us from the storms of life. While our temptation may be to cower and hide from these storms, this psalm is to be sung in community, inviting us to voice our fears and our assurances together. In the grounding of repeated refrain and in sharing our journeys, we draw strength from one another, recognizing God’s powerful care during all the storms of life.
Creator God, through the roaring winds and waves of life’s storms, we cannot always see that you find us and raise us to new life. Thank you for inviting us to a community that hopes for us, prays for us, believes for us, and sings to us when we feel we can no longer do these things for ourselves. Amen.
Wondering Who We Are
Monday, January 13
Isaiah 43:1-7
A new student navigates a sea of faces in the cafeteria wondering where to sit. A retired, successful businessman lies in his sickbed feeling worthless. Throughout our lives, we may wonder who we are, where we belong, and what makes us worthy.
Isaiah is speaking to people in exile; their security, identity, autonomy, and belonging denied. God reminds them whose they are: “You are mine.” The One who formed them has not abandoned them (v. 1). Then they are reminded who they are. Regardless of circumstances, they are precious, honored, and loved (v. 4). The core of our identity lies not in our roles as individuals, our ease of life, or in the size and wealth of our congregations. Rather, our identity is in God’s calling us “precious in my sight and honored” (v. 4, NRSV).
Redeemer God, thank you that our sense of belonging comes not from the acceptance of our peers or our achievements but from your gracious love. Plant deep in our hearts the truth that we are precious, honored, and loved, that it may bloom into transformative trust and hope. Amen.
Blown In The Wind
Tuesday, January 14
Luke 3:15-17
The hope for someone who can lead us out of our difficulties is a recurrent theme in human history, especially when economies are down, political battles rage, or nations are at war. The occupied Jews were no different. “Filled with expectation” (v. 15), the people questioned whether John was the Messiah.
John tells them that, contrary to their expectation, the Messiah, wielding a winnowing fork, will toss everything into the air, where the wind (Spirit) will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. It is the Spirit who exposes the unrighteous.
What expectations are we filled with? What are we looking for? How can we discern what is right and good, while trusting the Spirit to do the sifting or judging of others?
Righteous God, may we not forget our baptismal waters, allowing your Spirit to sift our hearts and blow away all the places of selfishness and self-righteousness. Help us learn to love you with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.
By The Power Of The Spirit
Wednesday, January 15
Luke 3:21-22
Jesus simply got in line with everyone else who was broken down by the wear and tear of this world. He was baptized in an act of fidelity, identifying with damaged people who need God. Are we, in the same way, willing to identify with and get in line with “sinners”? We may say the right words, but too often we send the message that it is the respectable, successful folks whom we need to build our communities, or that we will minister to certain groups without standing beside them.
Jesus rises from the baptismal waters by the power of the Spirit, who, lest we doubt the reality, appears in physical form as a dove. Empowered by the Spirit, Jesus has the stamina, patience, and love to serve in faithful ministry.
Sustaining God, show us how, empowered by your Spirit, we can place ourselves in proximity to the seeking, the hurting, and the sin-sick. May we, like Jesus, be faithful in prayer so that we may have the stamina, patience, and love to participate in building your kingdom of kinship. Amen.
Baptized And Belong
Thursday, January 16
Acts 8:14-17
There was long-held animosity between Jews and Samaritans. But Philip went to Samaria and proclaimed the good news and they believed. Perhaps the people wondered whether they would be accepted by Jesus’s followers. Samaritans had different accents, traditions, dress, and theologies—could they possibly belong? Yet when those at the center of Jesus’s ministry, John and Peter, came and laid hands on them, they received the Spirit.
We may not understand why we experience seasons when we do not sense God’s Spirit. We may question whether our faith is genuine or whether we belong. But perhaps the Spirit is waiting for a moment that will meet our deepest need in a way we have yet to imagine.
Accepting God, we have a wide variety of faith experiences, and our journeys cannot be reduced to linear narratives of cause and effect. Thank you for giving us a diversity of stories in Scripture to remind us that your Spirit is not to be controlled and can do abundantly more than we ask or imagine. Amen.
Don’t Tell Me What To Do!
Friday, January 17
Acts 8:18-25
Have you ever corrected someone, pointing out the inconsistency between their profession of faith in Christ and their action, only to have them respond, “Are you telling me what to do?!” I’ve been on the giving and receiving end of that conversation. Yet in this passage Simon is strongly rebuked by Peter and immediately repents. Perhaps Simon does not see in Peter the flaws and shortcomings we so often see in our well-meaning critics, causing us to react defensively. Peter is healing the sick, meeting the needs of the orphaned and widowed daily. Simon can’t respond to Peter negatively because it is so clear that Peter is a man of God.
We would do well to ask ourselves, is my life so generous, caring, and reflective of the heart of God that I am able to correct another in love and have them respond with sincere contrition?
Gracious God, may we be more concerned about how our lives reflect you than the faults of others. Amen.
Designed For Diversity
Saturday, January 18
Ephesians 3:1-12
I spent twenty years in a career working toward an opportunity. But as soon as that door opened, I saw that someone ten years younger would not have that opportunity unless I stepped aside. Perhaps the Jews in this passage felt something like I did.
Some Jews had misunderstood Israel’s election by God as being God’s elite. Now they were being asked to give up their special seat to Gentiles, for whom the political and social differences could not be greater. They must have wondered, “Is there room for both us and them? Will welcoming them change our faith as we know it?”
But the culmination of God’s redemptive plan includes bringing us together in diversity, not eliminating the differences. I’m sure that didn’t seem possible to the Jews. This is the mystery of Christ, as it is beyond our ability to comprehend.
Embracing God, we desperately need this diversity you invite us into. Give us the courage to welcome as partners those who are different from us and to reach out in reconciliation. Give us a fuller, deeper understanding of your mystery and our faith. Amen.
