March 22, 2020, Micah 3:1-3, 9-12; 6:6-8 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

I.
Let’s start our week’s reflections as usual but with one exception.

Read Micah 6:6-8 first, then read the selection form Micah 3.

II.

Micah 6:6-8 (New Revised Standard Version)

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 3:1-3 (New Revised Standard Version)

And I said:
Listen, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!

Should you not know justice?—
you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people,[a]
and the flesh off their bones;

who eat the flesh of my people,
flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
and chop them up like meat[b] in a kettle,
like flesh in a caldron.

Micah 3:9-12 (New Revised Standard Version)

Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob
and chiefs of the house of Israel,
who abhor justice
and pervert all equity,

who build Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wrong!

Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,
its priests teach for a price,
its prophets give oracles for money;
yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
“Surely the Lord is with us!
No harm shall come upon us.”

Therefore because of you
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

III.
Micah 6:8 gives us three measures for “what … the Lord require[s] of you … do justice … love kindness … walk humbly with your God”

Can you take those three measures, standards, and examine this week’s passage noticing what the people are doing that the Prophet Micah takes to be a contradiction of these measures/standards?

What did you notice in your past week that you consider a violation of these measures/standards?

I hate to ask this next question, but here goes – What have I done today, yesterday, this past week that violates these measures/standards?

All this may be too much for a Monday morning, but all I can say, is “Micah made me ask?”

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 15, 2020, Habakkuk 2:6-14 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

VI.
Let’s compare something from last week’s lesson with this week’s.

Last week we heard –

You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.

This week we hear –

But the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

VII.
Which world/sea do you live in? Want to live in? Can live in?

My first response to the question is – “Don’t I live in both? I want to live where the earth and sea are covered with the “knowledge of the glory of the Lord? And finally, I hope I can, but how do I get there?”

So, what brings you to the place “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord”?

Take time today and in the next days, to notice what ushers you into that place. Rejoice in those invitations. And, why not ask others to come with you?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 15, 2020, Habakkuk 2:6-14 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

IV.
Last week I asked how contemporary were Habakkuk’s words and I think that is worth asking again.

When you take time to consider Habakkuk’s description of his world, do you find parallels in what you see around you today?

Do we also see a contemporary Habakkuk calling attention to the ills, the failures, the “sins” around us today?

If you find a Habakkuk-like voice in your world, where does it arise? From the religious community/voices around us? From the political and civic leaders and outstanding voices? From the media? From anyplace?

V.
Let’s ask ourselves another question. One we probably rather not ask.

Are we ever called to a prophetic role in our communities? You can take “community” as your neighborhood, city, state or nation.

When I address the question to myself, my first response is, “Sure, God needs prophets and calls prophets, and I sure hope THEY can get the job done!”

And I can go on, “But, I think I will just IGNORE the possibility I might be God’s prophet. Not a role I am cut out to exercise”

VI.
Should we at least be open to the possibility that God might ask us to speak to and about the failures, ills and sins in our world?

What do you think?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 15, 2020, Habakkuk 2:6-14 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

I.
This week’s text takes us to Habakkuk again.

I encourage you to read the passage several times and consider what you see as the core of Habakkuk’s accusations.

II.

Habakkuk 2:6-14 (New Revised Standard Version)

Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them,
“Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!”
How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge?

Will not your own creditors suddenly rise,
and those who make you tremble wake up?
Then you will be booty for them.

Because you have plundered many nations,
all that survive of the peoples shall plunder you—
because of human bloodshed, and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who live in them.

“Alas for you who get evil gain for your house,
setting your nest on high
to be safe from the reach of harm!”

You have devised shame for your house
by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.

The very stones will cry out from the wall,
and the plaster[a] will respond from the woodwork.

“Alas for you who build a town by bloodshed,
and found a city on iniquity!”

Is it not from the Lord of hosts
that peoples labor only to feed the flames,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?

But the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.

III.
Is he dealing with private or public disgrace and sin? Consider his words –

“Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them … “

He speaks of –

“… creditors … booty … plundered .. evil gain … “

before he mentions –

“… forfeited your life … bloodshed … iniquity … flames …”

and finally –

“… peoples labor only to feed the flames … nations weary themselves for nothing …:”

Private or Public?

Personal/Individual or Corporate/National?

Does a prophet call individuals, a people, or a nation back to God’s covenants? God’s decrees?

Where are our prophets today?

We’ll talk later,

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 8, 2020, Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-14 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

VI.
Judgement – Confrontation – Hope

When you think of the Hebrew prophets how do you first characterize their messages?

One of judgement, confrontation, calling attention to what the people’s problem is, or hope?

If we think of it enough, probably all of these, but I suspect, a lot of us think first of judgment?

What of these words of Habakkuk we have heard?

As the people hear Habakkuk, they hear him giving voice to their complaints with God –

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?

Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.

So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous—
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

VII.
So this prophet stands before the people, before God, between the people and God and voices the cries the people have and maybe have not shouted to God?

That may be a proper role of the prophet – to name the situation, to help the people give voice to their fears, frustrations, and anger. And maybe that can encourage us to do that also.

But do we hear hope here?

VII.


Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgment;
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.

Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous,
and are silent when the wicked swallow
those more righteous than they?

Those words are full of questions and perhaps disappointment? Does the prophet help the people to voice their disappointment, frustration, that God has let them down?

Listen once more –

Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You shall not die.

Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;

The will to voice these words to God, may be the evidence of the prophet’s faith and the people’s faith. Their very shouts at God, show a faith and hope.

The prophet is one who can let people know they can still come before God with the hope of being heard.

Can that be a sign of faith?

What words of discouragement, frustration, and yes even hope can we offer today?

charles
{Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 8, 2020, Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-14 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

IV.
In my last post I asked you how contemporary you find Habakkak’s words.

Since that post I came across this prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which likely was written when Bonhoeffer was imprisoned by the German government during World War II.

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.

Help me to pray;
and to concentrate my thoughts on you;
I cannot do this alone.

In me there is darkness,
but with you there is light;

I am lonely,
but you do not leave me;

I am feeble in heart,
but with you there is help;

I am restless,
but with you there is peace.

In me there is bitterness,
but with you there is patience;

I do not understand your ways,
but you know the way for me. . . .

Restore me to liberty,
and enable me to live now
that I may answer before you and before men.

Lord,
whatever this day may bring,
your name be praised.

Amen.

V.
Bonhoeffer gives expression to his lament and to his hope, such that it is.

It is almost as if the darkness he finds himself in, keeps the light and hope out, but he does not give in to that.

Have you heard the expression, “… to hope against hope.”

Is that the place of Bonhoeffer’s hope that darkness cannot overcome?

Can you find that place in yourself?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 8, 2020, Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-14 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

I.
We turn this week to the Prophet Habakkuk.

The prophet begins with words that could come right from the Psalmist.

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?”

Do you recall the Psalmist uttering these words only once, or time and time again?

Who else can you hear crying out these words?

Read this week’s selection from Habakkuk and listen not just to the words but listen for who you hear crying out these words. Whose voice do you hear? What is their tone? Do you hear pain or anger?

II.
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 12-14 (New Revised Standard Version)

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?

Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.

So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous—
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

Are you not from of old,
O Lord my God, my Holy One?
You shall not die.
O Lord, you have marked them for judgment;
and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment.

Your eyes are too pure to behold evil,
and you cannot look on wrongdoing;
why do you look on the treacherous,
and are silent when the wicked swallow
those more righteous than they?

You have made people like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.

III.
Who did you hear?

What do you think they have seen and heard that brings forth such a lament?

How contemporary do you find these words?

Do you think you might hear someone today or tomorrow or this week or next week with these words in their mouth?

Do you feel you have or could give voice to such a cry?

What of Habakkuk’s words come closest to words you’ve spoken or could speak?

Stay with the prophet’s cry for a while and notice what you identify with.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 1, 2020, Amos 5:18-24 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

VIII.
Can we agree the prophet wants the people to have no uncertainty that their festivals, assemblies, offerings, sacrifices, songs and music do nothing to move God. All the things they might count on as proper religious activities are worthless.

What are they left with? What can they do?

I wonder if the closing sentence from this week’s reading may offer clues?

But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

IX.
If we take time to read the prophet’s words that precede our week’s reading we will notice him reporting God’s word to the people is,

“ … Seek me and live … Seek the Lord and live … Seek good and not evil, that you may live … Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate…”

Maybe a people can put so much confidence in what they come to regard as their proper religious practices, they forget the call to love God and to love the neighbor. Might they forget that the practices are not an end in themselves or a means to get God to be on their side but are a means to draw near to God and even to more closely look like and act like his daughters and sons.

X.
Our spiritual practices might not look like the ones Amos condemns but it might do us good to remember that just as the people Amos spoke to could put too much confidence in and trust in their practices, we too can become so enamored with our personal spiritual disciplines we forget they are about bringing us to the place we can more fully love God, love our neighbors and love ourselves.

Don’t neglect your spiritual practices, just hold them lightly so you can let go if the prophet comes with a word for you.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 1, 2020, Amos 5:18-24 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

IV.
Judgement – Darkness – “ … Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light — pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?”

Most of the time we would think – or certainly want to think – the “Day of the Lord” would come with light and joy, but that is not what Amos portrays. And there is much in the passage to assume that is not what his hearers expected.

V.
“… without a ray of brightness …”

Does Amos want to “pull the run out from under the people”?

Does he want them to give up hope? At least what they have based they hope on?

Where has their hope been placed?

VI.
I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.

VII.
What festivals? What rituals? What routines? Do you and I hope in?

What do we keep doing out of habit that we think will bring us closer to God or at least closer to what we want from God?

When has being in the dark a while been helpful, a growing place for you?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

March 1, 2020, Amos 5:18-24 – ISSL Reflection

Posted on by
Reply

I.
With this week’s lesson we begin a journey with the Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures.

When your mind turns to the Hebrew Prophets, what is the first thing that comes into your consciousness? Fear? A message of judgement? A message of hope? Redemption? Punishment? Exile? The loss of the Temple? Defeat?

All those might be possibilities, but stands out to you?

II.
Let’s read this week’s passage from Amos. Pay attention to the tone of his pronouncements.

Amos 5:18-24 (New Revised Standard Version)

Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

III.
Let’s see – “… fled a lion … met by a bear … rested a hand … bitten by a snake … the day of the Lord [is] darkness, not light”

How would you characterize Amos’ message?

So is this negative of a “sermon” ever a good thing?

Has it ever been more redeeming for you to hear a message of judgement rather than a message of hope?

Or, is it misleading (in part or in whole) to call these words “a message of judgement”?

Think that over for a while, and let’s talk again later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}