The Park Forum

Links for today’s readings:

Dec 15   Read: 2 Chronicles 17 Listen: (2:48)  Read: Psalms 119.121-144 Listen: (15:14)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 119.121-128

121 I have done what is righteous and just;
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being;
    do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation,
    looking for your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your love
    and teach me your decrees.
125 I am your servant; give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.
126 It is time for you to act, Lord;
    your law is being broken.
127 Because I love your commands
    more than gold, more than pure gold,
128 and because I consider all your precepts right,
    I hate every wrong path.

Reflection: The Door to Joy — Joy of Advent

By John Tillman

How can we be joyful in the dark?

The psalmist makes a bold statement! God, you’re late.

It is time for God to show up, but the psalmist’s eyes fail waiting for God. It is time for God to destroy oppressors, but oppressors still stand, whip in hand. It is time for justice to fall on law-breakers, but the judge of all the earth seems to be holding his court in recess.

Moments of darkness can become moments of doubt. It is easy to become discouraged and disillusioned. How long, O Lord?

Like the psalmist, we see oppressors and law-breakers and systems of justice that seem inadequate or absent. Oppressors and law-breakers are, in some ways, unchanging. Every time and culture has criminals who break laws and the most literal form of oppression, slavery, still exists today. But the form and means of lawlessness and oppression change and adapt.

Oppressors today might use an algorithm instead of a whip or banking policies instead of chains. Law-breakers may use the legal systems intended to uphold the law to upend justice by enacting unjust laws or enforcing just laws through unjust means.

But oppression is not only outward; it is inward. We are oppressed individually by sinful temptations, addictions, tendencies, and desires. Sin pressures, prods, and pushes us towards lawless paths by small steps. As God warned the downcast Cain, Sin crouches at the door to pounce. (Genesis 4.7) If we do not master it, it will be our master. (Romans 6.16)

The psalmist resisted by leaning into love for God’s word. This makes him “hate every wrong path” and is how he held onto joy in the dark. Jesus is our door to enter Advent’s joy. 

Joy may not be the first thing people think of when they think of Advent.

Many perceive Advent as somber and sober. We sit in the dark and light candles very slowly. (One a week!) Christmas is the party, the good gifts, the joyous celebrations. Avent is just the waiting. However, Advent is not a static and staid ceremony of somberness. Advent prepares us to party, but has joys all its own. Advent arms us with joy and light.

Joy thrives even in sunless realms. Christian joy is not based on temporal circumstances but on eternal realities of God’s character revealed in Jesus. Enter Avent’s joy from any dark place you find yourself by the door of Jesus, Emmanuel. (John 10.9)

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” — Luke 1.39-45

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

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Links for today’s readings:

Dec 12  Read: 2 Chronicles 13  Listen: (3:56) Read: Psalms 119.49-72 Listen: (15:14)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Dec 13  Read: 2 Chronicles 14-15  Listen: (5:49) Read: Psalms 119.73-96 Listen: (15:14)
Dec 14  Read: 2 Chronicles 16  Listen: (2:51) Read: Psalms 119.97-120 Listen: (15:14)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 119:106

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

Reflection: Peace for Our Path – Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Robert Frost penned “The Road Not Taken” in 1915.

Some tend to read a hopeful tone, seeing the untraveled road as a counter-cultural move. Frost admitted that the speaker echoes the laments of a friend who consistently regretted whichever path he had not taken. But therein lies the irony of life. Some paths are brave; others are disappointing. Some are good; some are dreadful.

The diversity of our options is one of God’s greatest gifts to us. We are granted a measure of creativity in how our lives go. Some paths, however, are laid under our feet. Hardships and difficulty come upon us, perhaps having no measurable connection to any decision we’ve made. It just happens. On those paths, it feels rather dark and trepidatious.

I imagine Mary and Joseph seeing their calling as a daunting road to travel. She responded with joy, but we know she must have questioned how the path laid before her was really going to work out. Raise a divine child? I don’t envy that calling! Joseph struggled with his part in the story, even the “right choice” to dismiss Mary was one he likely struggled with. Accepting his role as the guardian of the divine infant is literally the most untraveled road in history.

But we know that they were guided and encouraged (and helped!) by messengers from God and friends and family. Their path was not a darkened, obscure journey. It was lit by the Light of the World—the very same Prince of Peace who called them would be the one to guide them.

I have found myself walking down the unexpected path of raising a special needs child or burying my mother or struggling against my own intrusive thoughts. I have often thought, “I don’t know how I’ll do this,” as I take one step after another.

I have tried to think of peace as a source of light in my life. When there is no peace, it does feel awfully dark.

As we reflect on the peace of Advent, may we ask for God to light our paths—which I think might just mean finding peace where we are.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness,…make your way straight before me. — Psalm 5.8

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

Read more: Peace from Uncertainty — Peace of Advent

This is no Canaanite tale of a weak god against the sea-serpent. This is Emmanuel. The God who puts the dragon on the leash…

Peace from Uncertainty — Peace of Advent

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https://mailchi.mp/theparkforum/m-f-daily-email-devotional

Links for today’s readings:

Dec 11  Read: 2 Chronicles 11-12 Listen: (6:00) Read: Psalms 119.25-48 Listen: (15:14)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 119: 41-42

41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord,
    your salvation, according to your promise;
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.

Reflection: The Absurdity of Peace – Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

Every nativity scene portrays Jesus in his most vulnerable state. This baby is the Prince of Peace? The Almighty God? It sounds absurd.

But Advent is absurd. It is unthinkable that a God of infinite power would limit himself by taking on flesh or that a baby would rule nations. But the absurdity is measured by our human (limited) expectations.

It is the unimaginable aspect of Advent that draws us in each year. It is the unexpected works of God that we celebrate and we hope for. Advent reminds us that our hope does not align with what the world offers.

Though we know little from the text about Mary’s experience during pregnancy, we know that Joseph feared the community would shame her. Taunting was a real threat. Their journey could not have been without sideways glances or hushed whispers when she walked by. Joseph likely feared the taunts when people learned the truth. But she resolutely followed through with what God had called her to do—because she trusted in his word.

Most of us will not receive a level of taunting that causes anything more than hurt feelings, bruised egos, strained relationships, and perhaps a little embarrassment. But when we live fully trusting in God’s word, we might be questioned about our decisions or our demeanor. It is far more likely for a friend to ask a piercing “Why?” when we are following Christ.

Can we call these questions “taunts”? Probably not. We are not like Elijah on Mount Carmel battling the false prophets of Baal. But the motive behind the question hinges on the perspective that God being incarnated into a tiny baby is an absurd idea. Who is this God? Is he really all that powerful? Prove it.

The Prince of Peace’s first advent was in frailty and meekness and in a body completely dependent on two trusting parents. Mary and Joseph trusted in the words spoken to them. They faced potential ridicule because they trusted in God more than the world’s expectation.

As we look at the peace that came with Advent, we see the absurdity of it all. The Virgin pregnant. The Infinite in flesh. The Almighty swaddled.

The absurdity of the peace of Advent gives us confidence that we can face the world’s questions or criticisms. Our peace defies reality. Peace from God sometimes looks ridiculous. The peace born from Advent is unlike any other. Praise God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Seven times a day do I praise you, because of your righteous judgments. — Psalm 119.164

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

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Read more: Peace from Strife — Peace of Advent

There is the expectation…The Redeemer will come with swords and fire and plagues! But you turn the page and find a baby…

Peace from Strife — Peace of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Dec 10  Read: 2 Chronicles 10  Listen: (3:01) Read: Psalms 119.1-24 Listen: (15:14)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 119: 18-19

18 Open my eyes that I may see
    wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
    do not hide your commands from me.

Reflection: Peace in a World Not Our Home – Peace of Advent

By Erin Newton

“This world is not our own”—a phrase we have heard many times. It is an idea that ought to bring us peace. It should identify us as strangers on this earth. But we fall prey to the attempts of conforming to our world and its wishes, its desires, its motivations, its means.

But this world is not always kind, and motivations are often self-serving or abusive. The goals of one sometimes mean the subjugation of another. We cannot be at home here, not now, not as it is.

The prophets cried out in the wilderness against the same social injustices we have not found freedom from yet. We join the call: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert  a highway for our God” (Isa 40:3).

And so one day, Christ left his home in the heavens to abide with us. Now, he bids us all to leave our home here and join him. We are, in fact, strangers on earth.

We are estranged from the impulses of society, the human-centered goals of a self-centered populace. For such reasons, we must see the beauty and wonder of God’s law. We must find peace in going a different direction than what the world says is “the way.” The Way tells us to find our peace in him.

Wendell Berry expresses the need for “the peace of simple things” in his poem “The Want of Peace”:

     All goes back to the earth,
     and so I do not desire
     pride of excess power,
     but men who have had little:
     the fisherman’s silence
     receiving the river’s grace
     the gardener’s musing on rows.

     I lack the peace of simple things.
     I am never wholly in place.
     I find no peace or grace.
     We sell the world to buy fire,
     our way lighted by burning men,
     and that has bent my mind
     and made me think of darkness
     and wish for the dumb life of roots.

As we reflect on the peace of knowing we are truly strangers here—never exactly conforming, never assimilating to those around us—we find peace. The peace of Advent is rooting ourselves in who God calls us to be.

Let us find the peace of simple things. Let go of the ways of the world and embrace the beauty of God’s direction in your life. The peace of Advent calls us to our true home.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

In due course John the Baptist appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.’ This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said: A voice of one that cries in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’ This man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather loin-cloth round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. — Matthew 3.1-6

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

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Read more: People of Two Cities

The righteous, eternal city…is a city of people who trust God for their peace. It is a shelter for refugees escaping the wicked city.

People of Two Cities

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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