What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6: 8)
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. (Luke 11:42)
The demand for justice in the bible is grounded in the nature of God. (French, p 54) The biblical definition of justice is probably not the definition of justice that first springs to mind. When we think of justice, we first might think of a court of law; a criminal getting what they deserve and paying their dues to society. Justice becomes equal to righteousness, and we associate it with our safety and our security. If the justice system works, we will live in a better, safer world.
The prophets and Jesus, however, make it clear that according to God’s will, justice is not a question of civil or criminal law – it is about equity, fairness, sharing the abundance that God has so graciously provided. (French, p 54)
When we pray “your will be done…” we are truly praying for God’s will to be done in the whole world. We are praying for everyone to have what they need, and we are praying for the strength and grace to be able to be a part of that biblical justice.
I believe God’s will for our lives doesn’t necessarily involve our daily activities. God wants us to be happy, and comfortable, and to have enough. But I don’t think God concerns God’s self with issues such as winning a baseball game, finding out about a job, or even something as important as our health concerns. These things will happen for the better or for the worse. God doesn’t cause them, and God doesn’t fix them. God’s will is that we love and care for each other in the imperfect world in which we live, and that we love God, who strengthens us and walks with us in our joy and in our sorrow.
Prayer for today
Gracious and loving God, help me to remember that you are with me in everything that I experience in my life. Help me to understand your will on earth, and to hope for the time when I will see it clearly in heaven. Amen.
French, Henry F. book of faith Lenten Journey; 40 Days with the Lord's Prayer Augsburg Books, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
"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 6: 6-8)
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray in the words Jesus taught us. But what did Jesus mean when he said, “your will?”
There has been many a discussion about the will of God in our world. “It was God’s will” is a phrase that people use to explain why all kinds of things happen, from success and happiness, to tragedy and destruction. When we presume to understand the will of God in the specific events of our lives, we have a very good chance of getting it wrong, of misunderstanding the phrase, “your will be done.”
It has been said that tonight’s scripture passage from the prophet Micah contains “the will of God in a nutshell.” (French, 52)
Micah was speaking to the people of Israel while they were in the midst of some trouble. Things had been going badly for them, and in an attempt to turn things around, they were trying to figure out what they could do to make God happy with them again.
They were trying to bargain with and bribe God. They were trying to figure out exactly what God would have them do in order to change their situation. They thought that, perhaps if they offered sacrifices, God would be satisfied and things would get better.
Perhaps you’ve been in a similar situation, trying to figure out what to do so God will provide the outcome you desire. “God, if only … I will never … again. You fill in the blank.
It was Micah’s job to remind them of exactly what God required – that is, God’s will for them, which is also God’s will for us. Micah didn’t mince words.
God has told you what the Lord requires of you. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.
God’s will for us is for our well being, and for the well being of all of God’s creation. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we should remember that “the good and gracious will of God is done in the world without our prayer, but we pray that God’s will might also be done by us.” (Small Catechism, Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)
Micah reminds us of that God wants, and so we pray that we not only do God’s will – do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, but that in doing God’s will, we will realize God’s kingdom on earth.
When we pray “your will be done,” we are not asking that things come out right as we want things to come out, but rather we are asking that God’s will be done. Too often, we are conditioned to think of prayer as asking God for what we want… But now, in praying that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are attempting to school ourselves to want what God wants. (French, p 57, quoting Willimon and Hauerwas)
We can only imagine what our world would be like if every person, every leader, would pray each day for God’s will to be done.
Prayer for Today (written by Thomas Merton)
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray in the words Jesus taught us. But what did Jesus mean when he said, “your will?”
There has been many a discussion about the will of God in our world. “It was God’s will” is a phrase that people use to explain why all kinds of things happen, from success and happiness, to tragedy and destruction. When we presume to understand the will of God in the specific events of our lives, we have a very good chance of getting it wrong, of misunderstanding the phrase, “your will be done.”
It has been said that tonight’s scripture passage from the prophet Micah contains “the will of God in a nutshell.” (French, 52)
Micah was speaking to the people of Israel while they were in the midst of some trouble. Things had been going badly for them, and in an attempt to turn things around, they were trying to figure out what they could do to make God happy with them again.
They were trying to bargain with and bribe God. They were trying to figure out exactly what God would have them do in order to change their situation. They thought that, perhaps if they offered sacrifices, God would be satisfied and things would get better.
Perhaps you’ve been in a similar situation, trying to figure out what to do so God will provide the outcome you desire. “God, if only … I will never … again. You fill in the blank.
It was Micah’s job to remind them of exactly what God required – that is, God’s will for them, which is also God’s will for us. Micah didn’t mince words.
God has told you what the Lord requires of you. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.
God’s will for us is for our well being, and for the well being of all of God’s creation. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we should remember that “the good and gracious will of God is done in the world without our prayer, but we pray that God’s will might also be done by us.” (Small Catechism, Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)
Micah reminds us of that God wants, and so we pray that we not only do God’s will – do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, but that in doing God’s will, we will realize God’s kingdom on earth.
When we pray “your will be done,” we are not asking that things come out right as we want things to come out, but rather we are asking that God’s will be done. Too often, we are conditioned to think of prayer as asking God for what we want… But now, in praying that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are attempting to school ourselves to want what God wants. (French, p 57, quoting Willimon and Hauerwas)
We can only imagine what our world would be like if every person, every leader, would pray each day for God’s will to be done.
Prayer for Today (written by Thomas Merton)
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
“Your kingdom come…”
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1)
Henry French writes, “When we think about the coming of the kingdom, we think of human life brought to perfection.” (p 47)
We get an image from scripture of the kingdom of heaven being perfect, a place where death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. It is certainly something to which we look forward. Perfection, no suffering, is what we are promised.
But the kingdom of heaven has broken in to our imperfect world in the person of Jesus to remind us that although we anticipate perfection, we live now in a world that falls short of that perfection and even still, the kingdom is among us.
Tonight, I am writing late, after the lights should be out. But I am waiting for my deliciously fragrant broth to finish simmering on the stove so I can strain the vegetables out and have the makings of a lovely homemade soup for dinner tomorrow night. While I wait, I’m watching the March snowstorm blow against my windows, and I’m so thankful for a warm house and the relative peace inside.
Do you remember the apocalyptic groups who were trying through violence in late 1999 to bring about the second coming of Jesus, and the end of the world? Even if they could have had some kind of influence on that event, I wonder why they would have wanted to end their short time on earth. By paying attention to the way that God breaks into the world in the small but amazing pieces of our everyday lives, we get a glimpse of the kingdom. It is here, among us.
Prayer for today
God, help us to see how you have broken into the world to show us the kingdom in our everyday lives. We thank you for the gifts that you give us during our short time here, and we wait with great anticipation for the perfection of the time when we will see you face to face. Amen.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1)
Henry French writes, “When we think about the coming of the kingdom, we think of human life brought to perfection.” (p 47)
We get an image from scripture of the kingdom of heaven being perfect, a place where death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. It is certainly something to which we look forward. Perfection, no suffering, is what we are promised.
But the kingdom of heaven has broken in to our imperfect world in the person of Jesus to remind us that although we anticipate perfection, we live now in a world that falls short of that perfection and even still, the kingdom is among us.
Tonight, I am writing late, after the lights should be out. But I am waiting for my deliciously fragrant broth to finish simmering on the stove so I can strain the vegetables out and have the makings of a lovely homemade soup for dinner tomorrow night. While I wait, I’m watching the March snowstorm blow against my windows, and I’m so thankful for a warm house and the relative peace inside.
Do you remember the apocalyptic groups who were trying through violence in late 1999 to bring about the second coming of Jesus, and the end of the world? Even if they could have had some kind of influence on that event, I wonder why they would have wanted to end their short time on earth. By paying attention to the way that God breaks into the world in the small but amazing pieces of our everyday lives, we get a glimpse of the kingdom. It is here, among us.
Prayer for today
God, help us to see how you have broken into the world to show us the kingdom in our everyday lives. We thank you for the gifts that you give us during our short time here, and we wait with great anticipation for the perfection of the time when we will see you face to face. Amen.
Monday, March 9, 2009
"Your Kingdom Come…" (Matthew 6:10)
“The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea which collects fish of every kind.” (Matthew 14: 47)
In The Large Catechism, Martin Luther teaches us that when we pray these words of the Lord’s Prayer we are praying that the kingdom of heaven “may come to those that are not yet in it, and that it may come by daily growth here and in eternal life hereafter to us who have attained it.”
Sometimes, I believe, we feel like we are always striving to realize the kingdom of heaven in our lives. We seek ways to become more holy only to feel disappointed, like we have failed, when we inevitably resume in our sinful human ways.
We will rest in God’s grace when we finally realize that the kingdom of heaven includes each and every baptized child of God, whether or not we act in ways which qualify as “holy.” God’s net catches everyone, and it’s not for us to judge who is in and who is out. Our earthly measure of what is holy may be very different from God’s.
Roberta Bondi writes, “In God’s profound love and profound valuing of my life and every other human life,… holy beauty is simply given. Doesn’t the very fact of the incarnation declare God’s love of the ordinary as well as the extraordinary parts of our lives? … My life as a human being, made in the image of God, is holy because God loves it and has always loved it, and so in some mysterious way it is the site of God’s beloved, holy presence.” (p 46)
The kingdom of God comes to us and through us. We find the kingdom of God in ourselves and in each other.
Prayer for today
Teach me how to treat myself and everyone I meet as the incarnation of your kingdom. Amen.
Bondi, Roberta C. A Place to Pray; Reflections on the Lord's Prayer; Abingdon Press, 1998
“The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea which collects fish of every kind.” (Matthew 14: 47)
In The Large Catechism, Martin Luther teaches us that when we pray these words of the Lord’s Prayer we are praying that the kingdom of heaven “may come to those that are not yet in it, and that it may come by daily growth here and in eternal life hereafter to us who have attained it.”
Sometimes, I believe, we feel like we are always striving to realize the kingdom of heaven in our lives. We seek ways to become more holy only to feel disappointed, like we have failed, when we inevitably resume in our sinful human ways.
We will rest in God’s grace when we finally realize that the kingdom of heaven includes each and every baptized child of God, whether or not we act in ways which qualify as “holy.” God’s net catches everyone, and it’s not for us to judge who is in and who is out. Our earthly measure of what is holy may be very different from God’s.
Roberta Bondi writes, “In God’s profound love and profound valuing of my life and every other human life,… holy beauty is simply given. Doesn’t the very fact of the incarnation declare God’s love of the ordinary as well as the extraordinary parts of our lives? … My life as a human being, made in the image of God, is holy because God loves it and has always loved it, and so in some mysterious way it is the site of God’s beloved, holy presence.” (p 46)
The kingdom of God comes to us and through us. We find the kingdom of God in ourselves and in each other.
Prayer for today
Teach me how to treat myself and everyone I meet as the incarnation of your kingdom. Amen.
Bondi, Roberta C. A Place to Pray; Reflections on the Lord's Prayer; Abingdon Press, 1998
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Reflections will be posted here at least five times a week. It is quite easy to create an account so you can be part of the devotional conversation by posting questions or comments.
Simply click on "Follow" on the right side of the screen, then click on create an account. You have to enter only your name and email address, and then create a password.
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Please email me with any questions - I appreciate your interest in Trinity's Lenten devotional!
carries@trinitylonglake.org
Simply click on "Follow" on the right side of the screen, then click on create an account. You have to enter only your name and email address, and then create a password.
When that is done, you will be able to post a comment by clicking on the word "comment" below the day's reflection. Type in your comment, choose the type of account you created from the drop down box below the comment, and then post the comment. You will be asked to type in a code which will appear clearly in a box.
Please email me with any questions - I appreciate your interest in Trinity's Lenten devotional!
carries@trinitylonglake.org
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