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Who Stands Among Us?

Links for today’s readings:

May 19  Read: Zechariah 1 Listen: (3:37) Read: Luke 10 Listen: (5:40)

Scripture Focus: Zechariah 1.12-16

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” 13 So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 

14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ 

16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

Reflection: Who Stands Among Us?

By John Tillman

Zechariah records a strange nighttime vision. A man on a red horse waits among a stand of myrtle trees.

The mysterious figure of the man among the myrtles is also called “the angel of the Lord.” The angel of the Lord is a hard character to pin down in scripture.

Sometimes, as with the man among the myrtles, the angel of the Lord speaks for God, in the third person: “This is what the Lord says…” Is he just one of many angels who speak for God, like Gabriel or others? 

At other times, the angel of the Lord speaks as God, in the first person: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob…” (Exodus 3.6) Is he a Theophany, an embodied presence of God or a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ?

One of the unique characteristics of this particular appearance of the angel of the Lord is that he speaks to God on behalf of humans. “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem…?” (Zechariah 1.12) This rarely happens with other angels and is the strongest indicator in the text that the mysterious figure might be Jesus, our mediator, the third person of the Trinity. But it is still inconclusive.

We needn’t be too concerned that we can’t quite identify this Jesus-like figure in the myrtle trees when the disciples couldn’t identify Jesus on the Emmaus road. Just keep walking and listen…

Jesus is the perfect representation of God and the Holy Spirit is among us to show him to us. We have a more complete picture of what God is like than even prophets, like Zechariah, who saw dreams and visions of him.

To Zechariah, the man in the myrtles was a powerful and mysterious presence who announced a time of mercy and rebuilding. We too are connected to a powerful and mysterious presence. Today, mercy and rebuilding are announced not by a mysterious horseman but by the Holy Spirit who stands not among myrtles but among us. The Holy Spirit speaks as God, for God, and to God on our behalf.

Let us proclaim the message the Spirit will pass on through us. When we are in step with the Spirit, we too will announce mercy to those who seek God and rebuilding of all that sin has broken.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

You are my God, and I will thank you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. — Psalm 119.113

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: A Prayer of Harvesters — Guided Prayer 

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…”
There is much work to be done, Lord.
Send us to the field—into our cities.

A Prayer of Harvesters — Guided Prayer
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Do the Work of Repair

Links for today’s readings:

May 18  Read: Haggai 2 Listen: (3:49) Read: Luke 9 Listen: (8:05)

Scripture Focus: Haggai 2.2-9

2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,  the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ 

6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Reflection: Do the Work of Repair

By John Tillman

The returning exiles began to rebuild the temple but stopped to work on other things. They rebuilt their own houses instead of God’s house. Haggai challenged them to reorient their priorities. He told them their sufferings were God’s punishments for diverting from their purpose.

However, God’s word through Haggai was not harsh. He encouraged these struggling post-exile survivors. Yes, they had misplaced their priorities. However, God seemed to understand their many obstacles. They faced enemies. They lacked resources. And they were intimidated by the scale of what they had lost. Haggai asked if any of them recalled the glory of the first temple and acknowledged that their efforts so far seemed hopelessly inadequate. Like nothing at all.

Have you ever lost something so dear to you that you could barely stand to replace it? Maybe an heirloom? Maybe a house? Maybe a sentimental car, book, or item of clothing from a loved one? Losing the thing itself is bad enough. Replacing or rebuilding can remind us of the trauma of the loss.

Rebuilding or replacing beloved things is harder when you still bear the scars of that loss. How could the people replace or rebuild something so treasured as the temple David designed and Solomon built?

When a large or intimidating problem lies ahead, don’t we often find ourselves diverting to another task? Instead of doing the difficult thing, we go to the grocery store, or fold that laundry we’ve been putting off, or dive into that closet we’ve been meaning to reorganize.

God is sensitive to us in our losses and diversions. He understands when we feel intimidated and vulnerable. But when it is time to rebuild he calls us to be strong. When it is time to repair, he stands with us, holding the spiritual tools and emotional resources we need. When we mourn lost glory, he promises greater glory to come if we rebuild with him.

Rebuilding can remind us of past trauma, but rebuilding also connects us to future hopes. Countries, organizations, churches, communities, and families can face the difficulty of needing to rebuild and repair lost things.

Despair and distraction are tempting. They say, “Nothing can be fixed. Nothing can be improved.” But God stands ready to shake heaven and earth to rebuild broken things and restore hope in place of trauma. He will help us do the work of repair.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Jesus taught us, saying: “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth to an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine into fresh skins!” — Mark 2.21–22

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Give Careful Thought

The grace of God gives us many freedoms in Christ. However, some “freedoms” can become a blight in our relationships.

Give Careful Thought—Readers’ Choice
Read more: Rebuke for Hotheads

Like James and John, we can lose sight of the greater mission and be caught up in conflict.

Rebuke for Hotheads
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To Celebrate or Lament?

Links for today’s readings:

May 15 Read:  Zephaniah 2 Listen: (2:44) Read: Luke 6 Listen: (6:46)
May 16 Read:  Zephaniah 3 Listen: (3:38) Read: Luke 7 Listen: (7:14)
May 17 Read:  Haggai 1 Listen: (2:39) Read: Luke 8 Listen: (8:09)

Scripture Focus: Zephaniah 2.13-15

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north 
and destroy Assyria, 
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate 
and dry as the desert. 
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, 
creatures of every kind. 
The desert owl and the screech owl 
will roost on her columns. 
Their hooting will echo through the windows, 
rubble will fill the doorways, 
the beams of cedar will be exposed. 
15 This is the city of revelry 
that lived in safety. 
She said to herself, 
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.” 
What a ruin she has become, 
a lair for wild beasts! 
All who pass by her scoff 
and shake their fists.

Reflection: To Celebrate or Lament?

By John Tillman

Should we be happy about judgment?

It is good news when enemies are defeated; however, God’s people can misuse or misinterpret scripture’s descriptions of judgment on enemies.

Some happily copy and paste the names of our enemies over Israel’s enemies in scripture. Assyria becomes an enemy nation. Cush becomes a feared people group. Philistia becomes a hated political party. This is a dangerous way to read scripture. It is unwise to assign modern identities to ancient people groups in prophetic judgments. This smuggles in our prejudices, hatreds, and worldly allegiances and puts them in God’s mouth. This is how partisan politics becomes sanctified idolatry. This is how racialized oppression gets baptized as “rightly ordered loves.” This is how genocides get whitewashed as holy wars. God will not ignore such blasphemies for long.

We should celebrate God’s victories that save his people. The Egyptian exodus is the prototype. Many events echo its pattern. That’s not what is happening in many prophetic judgments, including today’s reading from Zephaniah 2.

In Zephaniah, God’s people are being judged, not rescued. Jerusalem will be destroyed (Zeph 1.4-6). The nations are being judged for pridefully mocking Judah or participating in violence against them.

Every nation (and person) is responsible for their own wickedness. No one can blame others for their sins. However, only one nation and people are called to bring light to all the others. Ancient Israel and today’s church share that calling. In a few, isolated moments Israel succeeded in this calling. Other nations partnered with them and built God’s temple, learned of God’s wisdom, and worshiped his glory.

Successful moments were few. Failures were frequent. When Judah preyed on their poor, violated their covenant, and praised idol statues, these were betrayals of their national calling (Gen 18.18, 22.18; Ex 19.5-6; Deut 4.5-8; Is 49.6). They could have done otherwise.

What if Jonah wasn’t a solo act bringing short-term revival to Nineveh? What if Israel and Judah’s kings set righteous examples for the nations instead of mimicking their decadence and abuses and grasping for power? What if we did those things now?

The church’s true enemies are not flesh and blood or political and cultural. (Eph 6.12) Everyone with a heartbeat is a potential spiritual sibling. If they fall without accepting the gospel, mourning a sibling’s loss is better than cheering an enemy’s death.

When God’s people are saved, we celebrate. When they are judged, even if their enemies also fall, we lament and repent.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. — Psalm 85.13

Read more: Blessings and Woes — Guided Prayer

Matthew mentions that we are like prophets of old when treated poorly, Luke adds that when treated well, we are like the false prophets.

Blessing and Woes — A Guided Prayer
Read more: City of Revelry

Zephaniah calls to Judah…“Gather together, gather yourselves together… seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered”

City of Revelry
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Thanksgiving Stirs God’s Heart

Links for today’s readings:

May 14  Read: Zephaniah 1 Listen: (3:09) Read: Luke 5 Listen: (5:04)

Scripture Focus: Luke 5.8

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

Reflection: Thanksgiving Stirs God’s Heart

By John Tillman

When Simon (not yet called Peter) saw what Christ had done for him and his partners, he skipped right over being thankful to being fearful. “Go away from me! I’m not worthy. I don’t understand! You don’t know how sinful I am!”

Simon didn’t yet understand the heart of Jesus. He didn’t understand that he came for the sinful, that he was seeking that which was lost, and that Simon himself would be changed and would become, Peter, the rock. 

But whatever happened in this moment, he was changed enough at heart to follow when Jesus asked. This passage from Luke resounds with thankfulness from those touched by Christ. 

Richard Foster writes in his book Prayer, that seeing the heart of God is the key that opens the door to thankfulness in our hearts.

“If we could only see the heart of the Father, we would be drawn into praise and thanksgiving more often. It is easy for us to think that God is so majestic and so highly exalted that our adoration makes no difference to him. To be sure, the self-sufficiency of God is a precious doctrine, but we should always remember that words of Saint Augustine: “God thirsts to be thirsted after.”

Our God is not made of stone. His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant or small. A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God.”

Foster goes on to list many who, with simple acts of thanksgiving, touched the heart of Christ. When we act in thanksgiving, acknowledging the gifts of God’s Spirit to us, it connects us to Christ and marks us as his children carrying on his work in this world. Foster continues:

“And what about us? Dare we hold back? It brings joy to the heart of God when we grip that pierced hand and say simply and profoundly, “Thank you, bless you, praise you.!””

And if we cannot grasp his hand in thankfulness (Luke 5.12-13), we can grasp the hand of our enemies in love.
And if we cannot provide him a place to lay his head (Luke 10.38), we can work that others might have one.
And if we cannot anoint his head and feet (John 12:2-3), we can anoint those who suffer in this world.
And if we cannot weep on his feet (Luke 7.37-38; 44-47), we can weep with those who weep.

For what we do to the least of these, we do unto Him (Matthew 25.40).

And what we would do for One, by His power, we may do for all.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge; you are worthy of praise. — Psalm 18.2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Paul’s Example of Thankfulness

Who has come alongside you during difficult times? Who has helped shape you into the follower of Christ that you are today?

Paul’s Example of Thankfulness
Read more: A Psalm for Thanksgiving

Everywhere nature sings to God…The days slow down, giving our souls the chance to join creation in a shout of joy.

A Psalm for Thanksgiving
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Worshipping Through Horror

Links for today’s readings:

May 13  Read: Habakkuk 3 Listen: (2:59) Read: Luke 4 Listen: (5:27)

Scripture Focus: Habakkuk 3:5-6, 16

5 Plague went before him;
    pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
    he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
    and the age-old hills collapsed—
    but he marches on forever.

…

16 I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.

Reflection: Worshipping Through Horror 

By Erin Newton

For my doctoral studies, I’ve been researching terrifying imagery in the Old Testament. This means when I’m reading books with titles like Reading the Bible with Horror in public, people are looking at me funny.

The question I get often is, “Why horror?” Most of us feel more comfortable focusing on the pleasant places in the Bible: the psalm about being a sheep snoozing in a gentle green pasture or the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. Like it or not, however, the Bible has lots of scenes that terrify us. And it appears the prophets were a little shaken too.

Habakkuk has been given a vision from God of the impending doom on the wicked nations. Despite the terrifying revelation, he responds with a hymnic prayer. How many hymns have you sung that speak of God heading out to smite the enemy while being flanked by Plague and Pestilence? This type of imagery is good for our modern cinemas, not really for the church choir.

Habakkuk takes the terrifying image of God’s power and wrath and doesn’t flee from it. He encapsulates it in song. He carves it into history through prayer. But at the same time, he’s scared. This isn’t some machismo war-song. His heart is pounding. His lips are quivering. His knees are shaking. He can feel his own fear. Why? Because the image of God’s power has overtaken him.

Brandon Grafius, in Reading the Bible with Horror, highlights the effect of horror movies and literature in our Christian lives. We are sometimes drawn to such artistic expressions because the images typically encapsulate our fears. We fear dying, so there’s a blood-sucking monster. We fear ravaging illness (or global pandemics or virus-laden cruises), so horror would make Plague a monster.

Horror (well-crafted horror) and the Bible (especially the Old Testament) have something in common: “They both experience the realities of life too deeply to tell us that everything is okay when it’s not,” says Grafius. Habakkuk gets that. He’s scared. It’s terrifying. But his prayer admits to the reality of the darker parts of life. He knows God is working, but that doesn’t make everything sunshine and daisies.

Reading the Bible with horror means not avoiding these texts or rushing to make them more pleasant. Sometimes we need to pray about the terrifying realities of our world, knowing God is in our midst.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous; I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High. — Psalm 7.18

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: No, Not Like That

We must trust God when he chooses to address evil, whether it is in our hearts, in our institutions, or in our countries.

No, Not Like That
Read more: He Became a Servant

Habakkuk’s psalm longs for the Lord to make himself known…What Habakkuk waited for, we have seen in Jesus.

He Became a Servant
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