Week  3

Waiting for Guidance with Joseph…
Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-15, 19-23

He was a carpenter, and able to read plans for building ploughs, houses, carts. And he was engaged to be married, and making plans for the wedding, their house, and their life together. But now Mary was pregnant . . .

A SCANDAL in the eyes of the town folk and the Law. Joseph’s reason kept him on the side of the town and the Law; his goodness guarded her life, thus he decided to leave her quietly (because it wasn’t his child she was carrying). Joseph was a good man, obedient to the Law until his obedience was shattered by a dream! Now he wasn’t used to reading dreams–visions of the night which evaporate like mist in the clear light of day. Carpenter’s plans are concrete, square, touchable, predictable. The dream troubled his goodness, his safety, his respectability:

THE SCANDEL WAS EMMANUEL: GOD WITH US!
Joseph repented of his obedience to the Law, took Mary within his embrace, and with her, the Christ-Child, JESUS. He thought he had embraced the unborn, but now his life is held and directed by the tiny Child—

THE MIGHTY GOD, THE PRINCE OF PEACE…
Now he became a refugee, his life guided by dreams.  He thought he would build safe houses, but now he is protector of Mary and the Child, a safe presence for God in the violent darkness of the world guided by dreams given by God.

Reflection
How are you allowing Jesus to embrace and direct your life? What risk is God calling you to embrace? Who is God for you as you respond to the dreams God has placed within you?

Christ, Savior of all life, You come to us always.
Welcoming You in the silence of our days,
in the beauty of creation, in the hours of
great combat within, in knowing that
You will be with us in every situation, always,
in our nights, welcoming You . . .

Zechariah was born into a family of priests whose family tree was rooted in soil 1200 years old, and whose tap-root was Aaron, brother of Moses. Tradition had nurtured, pruned, and shaped his lot in life since birth; and his work as priest was scheduled by lot.

When his lot came, Zechariah stood alone at the altar of incense in the holy place to pray for the people. But in his heart he carried another prayer–a longing he had voiced over and again. Somehow the pain of waiting had become dulled by doubt, and even though he said the words, his heart hid from the God who did not seem to listen . . . and so Zechariah was not ready for God’s answer–or the birth announcement Gabriel carried from God.

God leads his servant into silence—

a desert pregnant with the struggle of re-visioning—

learning to see as God sees;

embracing the birthing.

For Zechariah enters the silence as a priest who stands alone to speak to God for the people; but he emerges as a prophet who sits among the people of his community to speak for God.

Reflection

What is your lot in life? As you sit alone and listen, what are the longings of your heart? If God answered the prayer of your heart, what would you need to encounter and surrender within yourself?

I AM SILENT . . . AND EXPECTANT

How silently, how silently,

the wondrous Gift is given.

I would be silent now, Lord, and expectant…

that I may receive the gift I need,

so I may become the gift others need.

Week  1

Waiting with Emptiness with Elizabeth…
Luke 1: 5-7, 24-25, 39-66

For long, long years Elizabeth had been obedient but remained barren.

Now she is elderly, but shamed by her neighbors because she is without child.

The lonely hours and days carve deep spaces in her soul. Not allowing anger and bitterness to trap her heart, Elizabeth learns to sit in the pain of that space, and thus the table of compassion and hospitality is spread within her.

When God answers her prayers, her solitude blossoms into a safe space—
for Zechariah and his silence,
for the new life within Elizabeth,
for Mary, a young woman needing refuge,
for her neighbors, and the forming of community …

as they celebrate together the naming of John.

Reflection
What emptiness do you bring into this quiet space? Feel welcomed, safe, heard. Who are the Elizabeths who are helping you to recognize and name the sign of God within you?

Holy Spirit,
Spirit of the Living God,
You breathe in us on all that is
inadequate and fragile.
You make living water spring even
from our hurts themselves.
And through You, the valley of tears
becomes a place of wellsprings.

Developing a discipline of gratitude is essential for us as we grow in our knowledge of God and our experience of Him. Perhaps thinking of gratitude as a spiritual discipline is a new idea for you. Growing and continuing in our spiritual formation means that we need to continue to expand our thinking of what spiritual disciplines are. There is the discipline of surrender, the discipline of listening, the discipline of denying self, the discipline of waiting. And there is the discipline of gratitude.

Why is the discipline of gratitude so important? Why must I cultivate this disposition in my life? Gratitude is an interactive spiral between a giver and a receiver. It recognizes that a gift has been given. It recognizes a favor done by someone for us. Gratitude is also a response to that gift. We thank the giver with an expression of appreciation. A gesture of gratitude completes the circle and lets the loving act flow from giver to receiver and then back to the giver again.

Such an exchange opens us up to another exchange. The gesture of thanks moves both the giver and receiver to another level. In realizing that God showers us with gifts, we also recognize our dependence on God. We admit our weakness and allow Him to fill us. Having received from Him a blessing and a gift we acknowledge His goodness, His love for us, and His grace by responding with gratitude.

God is the Giver and we are the thanks-givers. The circle is complete and it allows us to open yet a deeper part of our life where there is weakness and we acknowledge our dependence on God. God meets us at that point with another blessing and gift. His grace and help come into our lives. We recognize that He has met us and blessed us. We know that it is a gift of grace that He has brought into our lives, so we respond again with gratitude, praise, trust and faith. The circle is complete and the spiral of our life and experience with God continues to deepen and widen. Life begins to change, not because the circumstances are easier or less demanding, but because we begin to see them in a new light.

The life and discipline of gratitude is one reason why King David could write Psalms of magnificent praise in the midst of very difficult times in his life. King David experienced God in a deeper and life-giving way through the discipline of gratitude. A disposition of gratitude is important for us to develop too.

It’s a discipline that is different from what appears to me to be more active ones. Bible study is something I do. Prayer is something I do. Fasting is something I do. Giving is something I do. But gratitude is something that I am. It is the difference between doing and being.                        (JAY SIVITS)

What sort of Lion was Jesus Christ? He was a Lamb-like Lion. The Lion of Judah conquered because He was willing to act
the part of a Lamb. He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday like a King on the way to a throne, and He went out of Jerusalem on Good Friday like a Lamb on the way to the slaughter. He drove out the robbers from the Temple like a Lion devouring its prey. And then at the end of the week He gave His majestic neck to the knife, and they slaughtered the Lion of Judah like a Lamb. So He conquered sin and death and Satan not just because He was a Lion, but because He was a Lamb-like Lion.

But not only is He a Lamb-like Lion. He is also a Lion-like Lamb. Revelation 5:6: “And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns…”

Notice two things. First, notice that the Lamb is standing. It is not slumped in a heap on the ground as It once was. It had been slain. But now It is standing — standing in the innermost circle next to the throne.

Second, notice that the Lamb has seven horns. A horn is a symbol of strength and power throughout the book of Revelation (12:3; 13:1; 17:3 & 12) as well as in the OT (Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalm 18:2; 112:7). And the number seven signifies fullness and completeness.

So this is no ordinary Lamb. He is a Lion-like Lamb. Look at Revelation 6:16 where men call to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” And look at Revelation 17:14 where the final enemies of God fight against Christ: “they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.” In other words, He is a Lion-like Lamb.

So I conclude by stressing the main point: since Jesus is not merely a simple thing like a lion or like a lamb, but is a Lion-like Lamb and a Lamb-like Lion, therefore He is admirable and excellent and worthy to take the scroll and open its seals and bring this world to an end for the glory of His name and the good of His ransomed people.

And you can be among that number if you trust Him as your Lamb, and submit to Him as your Lion, and join the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and the millions of angels to worship the King of kings with all your heart.                                                                       (JOHN PIPER)

In worship, God is our true audience—and He certainly has a right to our very best. As a searcher of hearts, He knows when our performance and motivation are second-rate.

Perhaps we should view Sunday worship as a dress rehearsal for heavenly worship. We know that heaven is our destination— we find that truth comforting when we are in the midst of suffering. But we need to remember heaven as well when we are celebrating with the members of our congregation.

The Bible tantalizes us with its restraint on the subject of our activities in the new heaven and the new earth. What will we be doing for eternity? From the magnificent pictures in the book of Revelation, we are certain of one thing: worship will be among our occupations, and this heavenly worship will surpass any celebrating or praising we do here on earth. While we can’t actually enjoy such heavenly worship here on earth, we should certainly be using that worship as a model. We need to discover all we can about heavenly worship and then to begin “practicing” what we’ve learned in our Sunday “rehearsals.”

Heavenly worship, first of all, is extensive. Everyone participates in heaven. There are no bystanders or nonperformers. All the saints and all the angels join together in musical praise. Nobody says “I can’t carry a tune” or “My voice isn’t good enough.”

Second, heavenly worship is exuberant. Emotions as well as intellect, hearts as well as minds, are employed. The sound is deafening—more like the roar of thunder and waterfalls than the tentative mumbling we sometimes mistake for worship. We can shout to God with a loud voice, as the psalms command us to do, only if everyone present rejoices in the Lord.

Third, heavenly worship is eternal. Worship will become a chief occupation of God’s people. It will be something so wondrous, so thoroughly satisfying to our new natures, that we will never grow weary of proclaiming the glory of God. No cell phones will interrupt our joy. As seraphs never tire of crying “Holy, holy, holy,” saints will never tire of crying “Worthy is the Lamb.”

Fourth, heavenly worship is evangelical. Every word, every note, every heart will speak of the Savior who was slain and is alive—the Redeemer who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Humanistic moralizing will have no place in heaven. The heavenly harps will extol sovereign grace, not secular attainments. Worship there will be magnificent in its Christ-centeredness.

Extensive. Exuberant. Eternal. Evangelical. When these words begin to describe our Sunday worship, we will be doing more than rejoicing in the excitement of a rehearsal for “the real thing” yet to come. Sunday’s worship will truly begin to serve as an appetizer, a brief taste, of the thrill that will soon be ours in heaven’s courts.                                    (LAWRENCE C. ROFF)