Author: Erin Newton

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Peace and Second Chances – Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Dec 9  Read: 2 Chronicles 9 Listen: (5:07) Read: Psalms 117-118 Listen: (2:52)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 118:17-18

17 I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.

Reflection: Peace and Second Chances – Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Since Advent falls at the end of our calendar year, it can be a time of reflection and anticipation. What went well this year? What went wrong? Cherished memories can also be accompanied by moments we’d rather throw away. The days wind down, and in the long night of winter we remember “what the Lord has done.” Sometimes with a sigh of relief that we are still here, a second chance at life.

I would never limit God in the number of chances he gives us. He is an infinitely merciful God. But since our language has already enshrined the phrase “second chance”—I will use the phrase with the caveat that “second” to God is likely a number with an asterisk (*to the infinite degree).

As God’s people waited for the coming of Messiah, they were already accustomed to the “second chances” given by God. They had their frequent rituals of sacrifices and feasts. They had been exiled and scattered but then returned and rebuilt the temple. They knew what it meant to be “chastened severely.”

True, some people literally did die in those moments of warfare. Their tragic ending probably damped the community’s hope for the peace that the prophets heralded over and over. But on a wider scope, God did not sever his relationship with his people. He did not abandon them to “death.”

When God incarnated himself and dwelt among us, he made his promise of eternal communion something tangible. Jesus’s presence was a testimony to his faithfulness to us. He wasn’t going anywhere, even when things got hard (and even if his people were responsible for such hardships).

The peace of Advent shows us the persistent nature of God’s commitment to us. He laid aside the comforts of heaven to tread our scarred and blemished Earth. He had never given up on us, despite our many wayward paths. The peace of Advent is a commitment beyond our weakness and mercy beyond our deservedness.

In this week, let the peace of Advent guide your reflections on the year. Praise him, you are still here. “I did not die but lived.” Proclaim what he has done, to a friend, on social media, to your children, in a poem, or on a slip of paper that you tuck into a book to be found again some serendipitous day.

The peace of Advent ensures our “second chances” again and again.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

…when God restores the fortunes of his people Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad. — Psalm 53.6b

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Peace and Rest – Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Dec 8  Read: 2 Chronicles 8 Listen: (3:02) Read: Psalms 116 Listen: (1:34)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 116:3-7

3 The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

Reflection: Peace and Rest — Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Despite the joy of the Christmas season, I find myself utterly exhausted—and it is only week two. In other ways, I am emotionally spent, having been emotionally exhausted from grief, unmet expectations, unrealistic fears, and the uncertainty of our daily lives. It is overwhelming.

This same plea and exhaustion reverberated through the hearts of God’s people two millennia ago. The prophets foretold salvation, but it had not yet come. They promised the people peace and rest for their weary souls, but it had not come to fruition. They cast a vision of things being made right, but so much was still terribly wrong.

But Jesus came. What was promised began its path to fulfillment.

In the darkness of those ancient days, peace and rest had been promised but without the Messiah, our Jesus Christ, it was still only just an unfulfilled promise. Perhaps they enjoyed momentary peace. Things would be okay for a little while. Relationships would get along fairly well. People would find some assurance in their stance before God. But the peace that truly endures comes through faith in Christ. Praise God it has now come.

What I love about Advent is the realization that we are not stuck in the distressing and exhausting “cords of death” that wrap themselves around us. When we have come to know the Lord, we realize that the peace of his advent is with us here and now. We can repeat in our hearts the call: Return to your rest, my soul.

Can you hear it? The promise of peace is a harbor of rest for your soul. It is an invitation to come in, sit down, stay awhile.

The peace of Advent, for us, is knowing that our souls have returned to rest (or at least that opportunity is offered to us). Often we are too busy with the season. Commercial Advent calendars tempt us to keep things exciting for 24 days straight. New items! New projects! New activities!

Can the peace of Advent be letting your soul return to rest this week? That might look like praying Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55) with your coffee one morning. It might be laying aside the urge to add presents when your friends and family probably prefer presence. It might be counting the ways “the Lord has been good to you.”

In whatever way you choose, let the peace of Advent guide your soul to rest.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your Name forevermore. — Psalm 86.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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A Psalm for Thanksgiving

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 26   Read: 1 Chronicles 22 Listen: (3:25)   Read: Psalms 97-98 Listen: (2:19)

Links for tomorrow’s readings:

Nov 27   Read: 1 Chronicles 23  Listen: (4:20) Read: Psalms 99-101 Listen: (2:42)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 100:4

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

Reflection: A Psalm for Thanksgiving

By Erin Newton

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Gather around the dinner table, smile and laugh. Curl up in chairs and on the floor with blankets by the fire’s warm glow. Breathe in the crisp autumn air and let your creaturely body run wild and free. Everywhere nature sings to God: the orange and yellow leaves; the crisp brown crunch of acorns; the rustling winds through the bare grass; the birds fluffing their feathers, capturing the warmth; the mild days and the quiet, longer nights. The days slow down, giving our souls the chance to join creation in a shout of joy.

Know that the Lord is God.  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Quiet your mind and let go of your grip. He holds our breath. He holds our life. He holds our future. Like children tucked in warm blankets drifting carefree, we are his. This green planet is our pasture. We graze and frolic and rest under his care. He has created us to enjoy the blue skies, the sunsets and the sunrises, the full moons and the shooting stars. We give thanks, and he keeps guard.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

The whole of creation, the shelter of our homes, the tabernacle of our bodies invite him in with thanksgiving. Enter the gates of life with unending thanksgiving to him. Enter into community with family and friends, knowing he has created this world for you to thank him.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;  his faithfulness continues through all generations.

He is good. He is “the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God.” Knowing the Lord is the joy that can never be taken away. It endures. It endures hardship. It endures time. It endures the dark nights of the soul. You are loved. You are known. And you are never forgotten from generation to generation. For as our Lord is good and loving, he bestows that on you.

May your Thanksgiving and holiday season be a gateway to hope that exceeds expectation, that exceeds present circumstances, that surprises even yourself. And may we enter his gates with thanksgiving this season.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him! — Psalm 34.8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: We Gather Together – Hymns for Giving Thanks

This God who leads us through the challenges of life is worthy of our humble adoration. “Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!”

We Gather Together – Hymns for Giving Thanks
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Revelry and Reverence

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 19  Read: 1 Chronicles 13-14  Listen: (4:13) Read: Psalms 88 Listen: (1:58)

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 13:7–10

7 They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. 8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.

9 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

Reflection: Revelry and Reverence

By Erin Newton

What is holy revelry without appropriate reverence?

Martin Luther is said to have proclaimed, “If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.” I concur with the desire for eternal laughter and frivolity. Yet some prefer to keep religion serious and devout, perhaps echoing the lyrics from Sound of Music, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?,” who was (according to the song) “a clown.”

David and the Israelites were fellow “clowns” celebrating the return of the ark—with all their might. The same account in 2 Samuel 6 tells of David’s wife Michal criticizing him for “going around half-naked . . . as any vulgar fellow would!” David says his celebration was merely an expression of joy.

In both accounts of the ark’s return, the fate of Uzzah is repeated. As a quick, seemingly absent-minded, reaction he failed to show the ark and by proxy, God, the proper respect. David danced and celebrated without care of his reputation or impression. Uzzah lapsed into religious carelessness. David was chastised. Uzzah died.

The juxtaposed stories of how a person responds in this religious setting is interesting. David was much like the “will-o’-the-wisp” nun Maria, carried on by his emotions and joy. The story of him dancing is often used to encourage others to hold nothing back emotionally, to praise God with every fiber of our being. Uzzah could have benefited a little from Mother Abbess, who sought to ensure obedience.

What of churches today? Are we to follow the lead of holy revelry and let our joy go unbounded? Or do we keep our minds focused on the holiness of God, knowing that a misstep into irreverence would only anger our Lord?

As they say, everything in moderation. And perhaps everything according to our context.

So many Christians today have lost the joy of the Lord. Perhaps their reading of God’s Word has been used to define faith as a stern list of do’s and don’ts. The focus is constantly on finding the right posture before God, always with downcast eyes and quiet reflection. This type of church would benefit from some revelry before God.

While God is the source and aim of our joy, loving God isn’t just a life of fun and laughter without morals and responsibility.

The pendulum must continually swing between revelry and reverence. May we always seek to find the middle.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to you holy hill and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God. — Psalm 43.3-4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Irreverently Abusing God’s Presence

Do we abuse God’s presence?…take “the Name” in vain?…weaponize God against enemies?…treat him like a magical charm?

Irreverently Abusing God’s Presence
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Starving People for Gold

Links for today’s readings:

Nov 12  Read:  2 Kings 25 Listen: (5:24) Read: Psalms 78.38-72 Listen: (7:12)

Scripture Focus: 2 Kings 25:3, 11-15

3 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 

11 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon. 12 But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

13 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 15 The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.

Reflection: Starving People for Gold

By Erin Newton

The siege against Jerusalem by the Babylonian army lasted nearly two years. What takes us just seconds to read covers months of devastation for the people. Siege warfare, at least to our nearly isolated geography in the United States, is a strange concept to our minds.

According to Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible, to lay a siege “involves the surrounding of a city until its population either surrendered or was weakened enough to be overcome.” Famine sets in, not from lack of rain but from manmade power. This type of warfare is still happening today.

In 2 Kings 25, we see the Babylonian army surrounding Jerusalem and effectively prohibiting them from normal trade or receiving crops or aid from outside their walls.

The Babylonians knew that hungry, starved people were easier to control. Not only were they easier to push over, but they were much easier to rob.

Part of 2 Kings 25 focuses heavily on the destruction of the Temple. Nebuchadnezzar burned it down. It was an affront to God as the place where he met with his people was torn apart, stripped of its beauty and sacred vessels.

But Babylon had already decimated the temples of God by isolating and starving humans. We are familiar with 1 Corinthians 3:16: “You yourselves are God’s temple.” We know that each person is the image of God. So what was done to the Temple was merely a reflection of what had already been done to the people.

And for what? To gain power. To gather gold.

Nebuchadnezzar stroked his ego by decimating God’s people. He filled his coffers for no other reason than to appear important and flaunt his power over others. To strengthen himself, he had to weaken others—by any means necessary. And that is the face of cruelty.

Many of us today are opening the gates of our pantries, behind the cabinet walls, and counting the few measly cans left on the shelf. Fellow image bearers are looking into accounts, drained by the siege of those in power. Just like the ancient tactic to starve a people in order to control them, powers are exploiting the weak.
Will another gilded ornament be placed on the wall while supplies are strategically cut off from those in need? There is nothing new under the sun, just like Qoheleth said (Eccl 1.9). Cruelty today looks an awful lot the same.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Rescue me from the hurtful sword and deliver me from the hand of foreign people,
Whose mouths speak deceitfully and whose right hand is raised in falsehood.
May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth, and our daughters like sculptured corners of a palace.
May our barns be filled to overflowing with all manner of crops; may the flocks in our pastures increase by thousands and tens of thousands; may our cattle be fat and sleek.
May there be no breaching of the walls, no going into exile, no wailing in the public squares.
Happy are the people of whom this is so! Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! — Psalm 144.11-16

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Restoration begins with repentance. Exile and slavery are not the end for God’s people. They’re more like a restart.

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Read more: The End for Summer Fruit

Starvation is one of the harshest sufferings. It is slow and debilitating…Spiritual starvation is equally slow and painful.

The End for Summer Fruit