October 31: Hosea 3-4; Psalm 99; Matthew 1

How wonderful that in this midst of fall....before Thanksgiving and Advent and  before Christmas.....we are given the gift of the story of Incarnation.

Incarnation.  The story when God placed his only Son---Divinity itself---smack dab in the messiness of humanity.  In a lowly manger.

Humans often want to believe we should only put God and praise God in clean places.  In holy places.  Places where the ritual is just right; the gold and silver are gleaming; the candles are properly lit, and everyone says the right thing at the right time.

But, when God is in control of how the Body of Christ is received in the world, God placed divinity in a manger amongst ordinary people----without gold, without candles, without ritual----but still very holy nonetheless.  What made it so holy?  God dwells among us.  Immanuel.  Heaven on earth.

October 30: Hosea 1-2; Psalm 98; Revelation 22

How interesting to read the critique of religious life---and how it is found so wanting---in Hosea while at the same time pondering the prophetic vision of God's Kingdom found in the book of Revelation.

One could be considered current status (Hosea) while the other (Revelation) is the hoped-for end result.

And that's where we find ourselves: in the already but not yet.  The in-between times.

The question for us today is how do we move from our current status toward the hoped-for end result?

What are we willing to do to completely and fully lay claim on the salvation that is already ours?

Are we willing to let go of our status quo?
Are we willing to take on transformative tasks and practices?
Are we willing to let the Holy Spirit breathe new life into our dark spaces?

And let everyone who hears say, "Come." 
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."

October 29: Daniel 11-12; Psalm 97; Revelation 21

This reading from Revelation is one of my favorites.  It gives a glimpse into what the Kingdom of God looks like.  And this isn't a glimpse of some ethereal, cloud-filled territory we will move to when we die.  Heaven is meant for us now---and later.  We experience it already, but not fully yet.

Whenever we act and move from the love of God, instead of the love of self, then we experience Heaven--God's Kingdom---where God dwells.  And God promises to dwell within humanity.

Today, allow yourself to rest in the beauty of these words and then look for their living reality in your life and the life of the world around you.

Today, make Heaven a reality for others.

Then I saw a new heaven and new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.  He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."

October 28: Daniel 9-10; Psalm 96; Revelation 20

In today's Psalm, the Psalmist declares:
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;....Declare his glory among the nations....

How do we bless the One who has provided everything?  How do we bless the Creator who blesses us?  How do we declare God's glory?

The book of Daniel offers us a glimpse into an important element of this-----repentance.

Often, we think of God's forgiveness as merely an eraser.  We feel badly about what we've done, so we ask God to forgive us.....and God does.

But, repentance isn't about merely saying we are sorry; it's about change, transformation, metanoia.  Repentance means we turn around; we do a 180.  We change our ways.  We return to God.

Daniel prays to God as the voice of Israel:
All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice.

Step one in repentance is to recognize our error and to own up to it.....to seek forgiveness.

Step two is to turn away from the evil we have done.  To choose another way of being.

Step three is to begin to live in that other way---the Jesus way---with God at the center and sacrificial love as our method of living.

And these three steps repeat over and over because this is no easy task.  But, by repeating these steps---by making repentance part of our daily discipline and our rule of life---we are changed and transformed.  We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like our Lord--putting others first and asserting God with our words and actions.  Our rough edges are smoothed; our dark places are removed. Our hearts are pierced with the love of God and our very being is opened to the possibility of a new way, a new life.

Make repentance a part of your everyday prayer life.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name;....Declare his glory among the nations....

October 27: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

October 26: Daniel 7-8; Psalm 95; Revelation 19

Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation offer us visions.  Visions of what it might look like when we live in such a way that God's Kingdom reigns---in all times and in all places by all people.

Of course, we catch glimpses of that Kingdom now.  When we help and serve one another.  When we seek forgiveness and reconciliation.  When we work toward unity of our common callling instead of focusing on what differs among us.

If you were to describe in writing what you believe the Kingdom of God looks like, what would you write?  And what are you willing to do and be in order for that vision, that dream, to become reality?

October 25: Daniel 5-6; Psalm 94; Revelation 18

Daniel 5: Is this where we get the saying: It's obvious: the writing's on the wall?

Strange things, huh?  And when we get these texts that we can not swallow as a story of facts---we still need to wrestle with the Truth for which the story is told.

No one is so powerful, important or of such a status that they are above God.

We all are accountable for our actions and choices---even the King (and great cities of power like Rome).

But, in the end, Scripture tells us---God is the one who does the weighing, the judging, the analysis.

And, in the end, Scripture tells us---God "desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4)

Praise be to God!  Give thanks to God today, in word and deed, for your salvation.

October 24: Daniel 3-4; Psalm 93: Revelation 17

I always loved this story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Not even so much because they escaped the fiery furnace....I love the sound of their names.

And while I know this is not a historical document----it is a story that tells a great Truth:
God is sovereign over all.

And again, it brings us to the idea of whether or not God causes every event or God works through every event.

God does not cause Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's troubles today, that is for sure.  Human beings do---Human beings with our frailties of pride, stubbornness, greed, and vengeance.

But God certainly does work through this disastrous event.  And the Truth for us is that God saves.

We are not always saved from pain and suffering; we are not always saved from "the trial."  But God does promise if we place all our trust in and on him, God will be there to embrace us and restore us and redeem us---no matter if the distress we are in is of our own causing or someone else's.  God is sovereign and God saves---even in the midst of humanity's cruelty to one another.

October 23: Daniel 1-2; Psalm 92; Revelation 16

One of the great questions we have is how God works through and in the world.  Does God control every event and item that happens in this Creation?  As Creator, we know that God can control Creation, but does this mean that whenever something happens it is God's choosing.....God's doing?

Many peoples throughout time would answer yes; we see evidence of this in both the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel.  But if God causes all to happen....God causes destruction and warfare and disease and violence.  That's pretty hard to swallow considering the entirety of Scripture which tells us that God---as Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier---is all about creating and not destroying.  God is about giving life, not causing death.  God is a God of Resurrection---bringing forth new life out of death.

So,  what do we do with these texts of Scripture that express the belief that God causes all things to happen?

The LORD let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power....(Daniel 1:2)

The Hebrew is not quite so straight-forward...more along the lines that the Lord gave of his hand to Daniel.....more the idea that the Lord allows rather than the Lord causes.

So maybe our question is: Why does God allow these things?  And maybe an idea to be pondered today is: Instead of thinking of God as working on us, maybe we could begin thinking of God working through us.

What does this slightly new perspective tell us about God and our relationship with God?

October 22: Ezekiel 47-48; Psalm 91; Revelation 15

So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel.  You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you.  They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel..." (Ezekiel 47:21-22)

Here we have resident aliens and native Israelites treated alike---a principle of holiness.

This text challenges us to consider what it means to belong....to move from "alien" to "citizen."  We are challenged to consider how God defines belonging.  What are God's requirements for being considered a "citizen," one of God's own?  The answers to these questions, for Christians, trump the State's answer.

These thoughts stretch us because we have been instructed to think in boundaries---boundaries that define us---boundaries that determine who is in and who is out, who is worthy of receiving and who is not----who is our obligation and who is not.

In Jesus, those boundaries are dissolved.  Those boundaries are erased.  Leaving just an "us" where before there was a "them."  So, how will that change how we live?

October 21: Ezekiel 45-46; Psalm 90; Revelation 14

The Book of Revelation is a vision.  A vision that combines what has happened with what can be.  In Chapter 14, we come upon the one hundred forty-four thousand "who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads." This number is symbolic of the multiplication that is expected to happen among believers.  I do not believe it is meant to be taken literally---as a restriction to how many dwell with God in the eternal life.  The rest of Scripture contradicts that interpretation.  Rather, it is an image that implies there is great multiplication of believers.

Those who have his "name written on their foreheads."  That's us.  We baptized believers, we are "sealed by the Holy Spirit of baptism and marked as Christ's own forever."  We are marked.  And our markings should be visible.  Like the Marks of Mission in the Episcopal Church:

~ To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

~ To teach, baptize and nurture new believers 

~ To respond to human need by loving service 

~ To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

~ To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

Who we are and what we believe should be visible to others.  How will we live the mission of Christ today?  How is God calling each one of us to proclaim, teach, nurture, respond....to seek, challenge, pursue and strive in our everyday lives today?  

How will people konow that the Lord is our dwelling place?

October 17: Ezekiel 39-40; Psalm 88; Revelation 11

Wow!  We have the measurement of the temple in two different readings today....goodness, that lined up well.

The measurement of the temple---where God dwells.  And, as we know, the temple isn't really a building.  Yes, most of us go to a building to worship God---but the building merely serves as a place for the community to gather.  It is often beautiful and has beautiful items and symbols to remind us of God and to help us truly put ourselves into the presence of God----but the building isn't where God lives.

The true temple is us----the Body of Christ.  Jesus promises to dwell within us and we in him.  In fact, this has been a promise of God since the beginning.  God dwells within us.  We are the temple.

So, the "measuring of the temple" is actually a judgement if you will.  A judgement isn't about leading to a punishment....it's about taking a measure of how close we are to Jesus or how far we still have to go.  It's an important step in repentance----a step of discerning how well we have aligned ourselves with our True North.  If we miss this step, we won't know how to change our direction.

How wonderful it will be when that seventh angel can truly say: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever."  This is the pronouncement that will be made when we have aligned ourselves rightly with Jesus.  So, let's take some time today to "measure" the temple----let's take some time today to discern where we are rightly aligned with Jesus and where we are missing the mark.  And then, let's ask God to help us know how to correct our steps and to move back to center.  To move back to Jesus.  To make heaven known on earth.  Thy Kingdom come.

October 16: Ezekiel 37-38; Psalm 87; Revelation 10

Prophecies:  Not a telling of the future so much as a telling of the way things will be if......

The way things will be if we continue to ignore our calling to be the living members of the Body of Christ in the world

OR

The way things will be if we live into this calling of sacrifical love that Jesus embodies.

This reading from Ezekiel is one of the prescribed readings for the Easter Vigil because it prophesies the Resurrection----new life begun where before there was only death.  Notice the details:

Yes, God provides the life, but it is mortals who calls forth the breath that provides the new life.  This is how Resurrection happens......God provides the breath/wind/spirit and humanity provides the Body.

God desires to use you today to breathe new life into something or someone who needs the breath of God blown into the midst of them.  It may be the simple act of listening.  It may be noticing one who needs help and providing that help.  It may be giving your time or your talent or your treasure.  It may be a lifted prayer.

God uses humanity in acts of Resurrection.  Practice Resurrection today.

October 15: Ezekiel 35-36; Psalm 86; Revelation 9

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. Psalm 86:8

It seems to me, humanity's biggest mistake is to idolize other things, people, and gods.  This is not merely done by kneeling in front of a statue or praying to an entity.  Whenever we worship---give unadulterated adoration--- toward something or someone other than God---then we are practicing idolatry.

For Americans, idolatry doesn't usually look like it did to the early church.  The early church was dealing with other gods---the pagan gods of other cultures and religions.  This isn't usually our fight.  The early church was also dealing with a government, Rome, that demanded its citizens proclaim their leader, the Emperor, to be god.  This is something we know about.  In America we certainly have leaders and entertainers and athletes and politicians who desire us to treat them as if they are infallible and worthy of a great amount of our time, talent, and treasure.

And often, in America, we get sucked up into the pursuit of many things that can derail us from our pursuit of Jesus.  We think we must spend the majority of our time making more money or becoming more powerful or achieving more accomplishments.....as if our security is found in these things.

As Christians, we know our security is found in God.  And the gifts and treasure God has given us are to be used to advance God's Kingdom. Yes, we must work to provide for us and our people, but not to the point that we neglect our relationship to the Divine.  The Book of Revelation was meant to be a vision of what may come, or could come, as well as a way to understand what had already happened.  How today can we turn from idolatry and back to God?  What simple act can we do to take the first step of repentance and return?

October 14: Ezekiel 33-34; Psalm 85; Revelation 8

Trumpets are blowing in both the prophecy of Ezekiel and the Apocalyptic vision of John in the Book of Revelation.  Trumpets are blowing.

The blowing of trumpets was a warning sign---a sign to pay attention.

God sends warning signs to us; sometimes they come from the voices of people;  sometimes our bodies make it clear to us; sometimes the warning comes from elements outside of ourselves.  No matter what form the warning takes, the Holy Spirit sends us signals to let us know we've gotten a bit off track.

For me, I can often tell when I am "off-center" and "off-balanced."  When I feel things get a bit chaotic and stressfull...that is always a good indication that I have not spent enough time centered in Christ.

Words from friends, family, and strangers often are signs for me as well.....as long as I'm listening in a way that I can truly hear.

God doesn't always come in an earthquake or rumbling....God even shows up in the silence---like the great silence that accompanies the breaking of the seventh seal in Revelation.

The key is to expect God to send us these warnings and signs....and then to carefully discern their meaning and direction.  Where are the trumpets blowing in your life today?

October 13: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

October 12: Ezekiel 31-32: Psalm 84; Revelation 7

The space between.  Between what has happened and what will happen.  The space of already and not yet.

This is where we live. We are the servants who are sealed with God's mark on our foreheads: "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever. BCP 308

This chapter serves as an interlude between what has been (before the Messiah) and what is to come.

Now, realizing that God has placed the choosing into our hands is a bit scary.  But remember, God is the Alpha and the Omega.  Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne.

Do we believe God is going to get what God wants?  Are we ready and willing to be God's agents, and in thanksgiving, serve God and God's purpose?  Read verses 15-17 of this seventh chapter; if this is the reality you wish to live in, then say yes to God.

for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

October 11: Ezekiel 29-30; Psalm 83; Revelation 6

I get Chapter 6.  We all try to explain and understand the misery we have experienced.  We all desire to give our pain and tragedy a narrative.

Here we have the writer narrating the calamity in life---the tragedy of humanity living in God's creation thus far.

But this chapter ends with only six of the seven seals opened....what will happen next?

October 10: Ezekiel 27-28; Psalm 82; Revelation 5

They sing a new song...(Revelation 5:9)

The life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus have given us a new song.  Given us a new way of being and living.  Given us a new start (apocalypse remember: when the Messiah comes, one way of living ends and a new one begins).

Let our lives sing this new song.
A song of God's justice and mercy.
A song of kindness and compassion.
A song of forgiveness and reconciliation.
A song of inclusion and gathering.
A song of hope and new life.

What notes of this song will your words and actions play today?

October 9: Ezekiel 25-26; Psalm 81; Revelation 4

I can only imagine...
And this is just what the writer of the book of Revelation did---imagined or experienced a vision of what it must look like to see God seated upon the throne.

It doesn't matter if this is what it truly looks like or not.  What matters, the Truth, in this vision is that Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

God is eternal.  Eternal is a bit different than everlasting.  Everlasting, in my mind anyway, has a starting point.  A beginning but then goes on for forever once it's started.

Eternal has no beginning...and no end---or God is the beginning and the End.  God always has been and always will be.  Even when we totally mess up.  Even when we take the wrong turns.  Even when humanity is at its worst and forgets that we are made in the image of the divine.  God is the beginning and the end---there is no time without God.

Even though God is in control, it doesn't mean that God controls every event that happens.  It's like being parents of children.  In many homes, the parents are "in control."  They set the boundaries and agenda of the family.  However, sometimes those kiddos do things that the parents have no control over---and on purpose---because if the parents do not grant the kiddos any choosing, then the kiddos will never learn how to be responsible adults who can manage in this world.

Because God is so powerful, God has enough power to grant us the ability to choose---And our choices cannot end or destroy God.  They can certainly disappoint and disconnect us from God.  But God Almighty is eternal.  What hope and joy that Truth contains!

October 8: Ezekiel 23-24; Psalm 80; Revelation 3

This chapter of the book of Revelation is asking one question:

Are you in or are you out?

Are you lukewarm, the voice asks.....then I will spit you out.  Lukewarm means we are neither in or out; we are riding the fence.  God doesn't call us to ride the fence but to put our skin in the game---to put our whole self into this process of sanctification, of being made holy so that we may make Christ known in the world.

"Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut." (3:8)

In Christ, God has removed all barriers between us and God.  The obstacle between earth (where humans dwell) and heaven (where God dwells) has been removed.  Will we choose to stand at the threshold (I love Jesus, but....) or will we step over into the realm where we believe that Jesus, the Messiah, lives and reigns....and therefore, calls us to live differently than we did when we lived on the other side?

The choice is ours.  No one can take away that choice.  But we can certainly deny it.

Are you in or are you out?

October 7: Ezekiel 21-22; Psalm 79; Revelation 2

Revelation!  Talk about a book of the Bible that has people guessing.  This week let's focus on this book that has generated so much talk and hype.

First of all, this book is not a text one should read literally.  It is a book of revelations---yes, some of it can be said to have been based on historic events and places(the destruction of Jerusalem and the city of Rome, for example), but it isn't only an historic text.

And yes, it is certainly written to reveal truths to us---to give us a hopeful vision into how things could turn out---but not in such a way that we can predict when and where things happen.

And it is definitely apocalyptic.  The Jewish people believed in an apocalypse---that when the Messiah came, one way of living would end and another begin.  As Christians, we believe this too.  But, for us, we are called to recognize that we are to be agents into this new way of living---our actions (empowered by the Holy Spirit) bringing God's Kingdom to life in this realm.
"To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom...." (Revelation 1:5-6)

In this revelation, Jesus speaks to us:
"I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance....I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name....But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first....." (Revelation 2:2-4)

Today we are invited to ponder how we have abandoned the love...the love we felt when we first became enthralled with Jesus.  The litte details of the day can drag us down.  We get tired of being patient; tolerance can exhaust us; generosity can deplete us; kindness and compassion have a way of wearying us.

We must remember what Jesus did to endure these toils and taxes on him.  He prayed.  He sought time with God.  He went away.  He replenished himself.

We have been granted the gift of a community who can bear our burdens with us; a community who will dive into Scripture with us; a community who will pray with and for us.
We have been given the well of living water and Spirit in the form of Sacraments.
We have the luxury of free will-----so we can choose how to schedule our time and to choose to make time to sit at the feet of God, our Creator.

God knows we will all fall short.  Falling short is not the problem.  Choosing not to be replenished so we can continue on in the works of Jesus is the issue.  How will you be renewed today?

October 1: Ezekiel 11-12: Psalm 75; 1 John 5

Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.   Ezekiel 12: 2-3

Goodness, God could just as easily be speaking to us instead of to the prophet Ezekiel thousands of years ago.

We too have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear.

We fail to see how our self-centered ways are depleting Creation.
We fail to hear the cries of the hungry and thirsty.
We fail to see the injuries we inflict on others with our words.
We fail to hear the laments of those who mourn the fatalities of warfare.
We fail to see the lost among us.
We fail to hear the many labels we use to divide instead of unite.

God must be wondering: When?  When, my people, will you hear and see?