The Consolations of the Reign of God

Life is difficult and from time to time dark. Bad things happen. Stress builds up within, without. The four horsemen gallop it seems wherever they want to. I am so happy to have the gift of faith for it brings beauty in the midst of suffering, and the light of Christ shatters the darkness.

God reaches us by whatever means available. Thursday night I felt pressured by all the happenings in a big family and walked out after dark for a breath of fresh air. Walking up the hill towards the church, I remembered prayer. You know what I mean, I'm sure: turning and returning to God's love. As I praised the beauty of sparkling stars on a crisp winter afternoon, I hear children singing "Once in Royal David's City"-- as if I heard God nodding in response.

As I walked past the church, I looked in the windows. The children's choir stood in a small spot of light rehearsing, with music teachers hard at their blessed work on the dark afternoon. Receiving this gift, I turned back towards my own work, refreshed.

To me such moments come directly from God's loving providence.  These touches also symbolize that God is working God's purpose out; that despite the darkness, despite the horsemen, that as Dame Julian says, "all will be well and all will be well and all manner of things shall be well."

Thanks be to God for sending the Son and bringing us to this blessed season.

II Advent - Turning of Destiny

As the exiles languished in Babylon for 50 years in the 6^th century B.C.E., we also during these darkening days of 2011, may “pine in lonely exile” for the Advent of our Lord. 

For Judah, after fifty years spent longing for home, return from exile came as a shock. Instead of the paradise promised by the prophet Isaiah, the people found ruin and desolation. They celebrate their homecoming, they give thanks, they give thanks--but wow, things have really gone to hell! In Psalm 85, in the midst of thanksgiving, the community implores God's help again; and again they receive the promises.

The psalm has been called one of “turning of destiny.” A variation of the root “return” (shuv) occurs several times, beginning in v. 1 with, “turned our fortune back to the good” (shavta sh'vit). In v. 3, God has “turned back from” (heshivotha) anger and is immediately prayed to “restore us” (shuveinu, v. 4). In v. 6, the people pray to be “returned to life”(thashuv tchayyeinu), and v. 8 speaks of the people's “returning” (yashuvu) their confidence. We may see turnings implicit in the gracious embracings prophesied in the closing verses: truth, mercy, peace and justice, are all reconciled.

The conclusion gives a clue as to how these promises can come true: “Righteousness shall go before him” [v. 13].  As our own community turns to God, we'll see our destiny turn around. Through the efforts of faith restored, God's Kingdom will unfold.

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"Turn thou us, O Good Lord, and so shall we be turned.”" (1928 Book of Common Prayer, p. 62)

Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

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Psalm 85 – Questions to Ponder

1.     Pray this psalm as part of the people returning home after exile. What were your hopes and dreams on the way to here? Among young and old, what are various feelings when confronting the reality of rebuilding this place that is supposedly "home"?

2.     How can mercy and truth, justice and peace, meet? Allow yourself to feel the tension in examples from your experience.

3.     Have you ever felt the Lord’s anger? What events made you aware of the consequences of your own sin? Has such a time been a turning point for you?

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