Justice Brings Joy — Joy of Advent

  • December 17, 2021
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: 2 Chronicles 19.4-7
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their ancestors. 5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the LORD be on you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” 

Revelation 8.4-5
The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Reflection: Justice Brings Joy — Joy of Advent
By John Tillman

Part of the joy of Christ’s first Advent was the promise of justice and judgment on evil. (Luke 1.46-55) Christ’s second Advent holds the final fulfillment of this promise. Just a portion of Christ’s coming judgment is depicted by John as a censer full of burning coals from Heaven’s altar being hurled to the earth.

The anticipatory joy of Advent was always intended by the ancient church to remember the arrival of Jesus, the baby in the manger, and rehearse the arrival of Jesus, the conquering King of the Universe. 

Eschatology is the “theology of last things” and deals with questions of final judgment of the earth and the final destiny of humanity. A Christian eschatology should be filled with hope and joy. However, it’s possible for eschatology to put so much hope in the future day of the Lord that it has no hope left for today. It is possible for eschatology to be joyless in the present because the only joy it acknowledges is the joy of the finally fulfilled future.

In 2019 we wrote this about Eschatology and Justice:

Some eschatology…forsakes our responsibility to work and be concerned for the Earth of today. This line of thought claims that there is no need to uphold environmental concerns and care for the Earth, for God will make a new one, and there is no need to work for justice on the Earth, for final justice at the end of time is all that matters and is up to God….

Such hopeless hope and joyless joy! We should not neglect wiping away the tears of our neighbors by quoting a scripture that God will wipe away tears in the future.

Would we leave a mess for our master to clean up on his return? Would we expect an earthly parent to be pleased with this kind of neglect? Would we bury the tasks of righteousness and justice in the ground and dig them up, undeveloped and unimproved, to hand back to Christ when he comes? (Matthew 25.14-30) Would we expect his approval if we did so?

Justice brings joy. There is joy to be found today in being God-empowered agents of his kingdom coming on the earth. (John 3.25-30) May we greet his coming joyfully as faithful forerunners who have prepared the way for him. Let him find us faithfully at work sowing the gospel, establishing righteousness, and distributing a harvest of justice.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me.
In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice.
He will bring me safely back… God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me. — Psalm 55.17

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

Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 19-20 (Listen – 8:09)
Revelation 8 (Listen – 2:15)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Chronicles 21 (Listen – 3:25), Revelation 9 (Listen – 3:30)
2 Chronicles 22-23 (Listen – 6:51), Revelation 10 (Listen – 1:59)

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One Worth Rejoicing In — Joy of Advent

  • December 14, 2021
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Revelation 5.4-5
4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 

2 Chronicles 16.9
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…

Reflection: One Worth Rejoicing In — Joy of Advent
By John Tillman

Asa started out so well and fell so far. 

Asa began as one of the great spiritual reformers of the Davidic line of kings. However, even though he is described as being “fully committed to the Lord” for his entire life (2 Chronicles 15.17), he definitely ended his life differently than he began his reign.

Later in his life, Asa’s theological and ceremonial religious reforms gave way to practical, political concerns. Eventually, due to faith in military power rather than God, Asa stripped the treasuries of the temple, purchasing military assistance. 

Asa justified his means by his ends. Asa’s heart hardened not only against God but against people. He became an oppressor of the people and imprisoned prophets who challenged him. Asa ended his life in bitter rebellion against God.

We have seen many leaders in the mold of Asa. Political and religious leaders who have begun as reformers. They win early, joyful victories and do good things but eventually are exposed as corrupt, cynical, immoral, or power-obsessed. They shrivel before our eyes like a diseased root. We may weep over the fall of these leaders or weep because we suffer under their abuse but there is a leader coming, the “Root of David” (Isaiah 11.1, 10-11; Revelation 5.5; 22.16), who will set all things right. 

As we weep for (or because of) unworthy leaders, we share tears with John, who wept that none were worthy to open the scroll in heaven. Before the seals were opened, the elder spoke to John and speaks to us: “Do not weep. The true root of Jesse, the root of David is coming!” We may weep while we wait, yet we can rejoice. 

The Lord is coming, who is our source of victory and joy. We are waiting for him and he is searching for us. The eyes of the Lord are looking for those who are humble, those who are committed to him, those who are weeping as they wait for him. If we humble ourselves, he will strengthen us.

May we be humble servants, not oppressors.
May we not grow proud of our own strength or fearful of others.
May we rely on God and his providence, not the machinations of this world.

Our joy is not in our own selves but in Christ. Triumph and joy are assured by the undefeatable identity of Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
My lips will sing with joy when I play to you, and so will my soul, which you have redeemed. — Psalm 71.2

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

Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 16 (Listen – 2:51)
Revelation 5 (Listen – 2:39)

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Read more about Good Christian Men, Rejoice — Carols of Advent Joy
We need to choose to embrace true joy, even in the midst of difficulty.

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Unexpected Victory — Joy of Advent

  • December 13, 2021
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: 2 Chronicles 14.11
11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” 

Reflection: Unexpected Victory — Joy of Advent
By John Tillman

The joy of unexpected victory is ours in Advent.

Asa, son of David, faces a Goliath of an army and cries out in faith, “There is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty…”

The armies Asa faced vastly outnumbered him and were better equipped, with hundreds of chariots on hand. We often see this scenario in scripture. Over and over, the people of God are at a power deficit, at a technological deficit, and often at a deficit of courage. When they cry out to God, he is sufficient. When they seek human sufficiency, they fail. 

We see this in Asa’s life. In today’s reading, Asa relies on God. In just a couple pages, he will turn to political means for defense. When Asa is confronted, he will throw God’s prophet in prison. (2 Chronicles 16.7-10)

Like Asa, our reliance on God can be fickle. Our faith can fluctuate. We need to be regularly reacquainted with and recalibrated by the joy of unexpected victory.

For this reason Advent, and other seasons of the church, are needed. Looking deeply and regularly into the unexpected victory of Jesus at every stage, we recalibrate our expectations.

Rather than come in power, Jesus comes in weakness. Rather than gather soldiers or scholars, he gathers fishermen and fools. Rather than strengthen our arms, Jesus lays his arms down. Rather than pierce his enemies, for enemies, he is pierced.

God entered our world that was and is deficient in leadership, deficient in financial opportunity, deficient in peace, deficient in safety. He bore our sorrows and sufferings as his own, not just in the type of death he died but in the type of life he lived. Jesus endured deficiency to supply us with sufficiency.

The world expects us to surrender to what surrounds us. These Goliath-sized armies of sins, cravings, systems, and ideologies will defeat our human strength. Yet, there is no one like Jesus to help the powerless against the mighty. Jesus provides us with unexpected victory. 

Advent is the unassuming mustard seed from which sprouts the unexpected joy of gospel victory. There is no one whose sufficient victory is more surprising than the eucatastrophe of the cross. Christ’s upside-down victory through birth, life, death, and resurrection shocks us into joy. 

The rhythm of Advent’s repetition reminds us of the sufficiency of God for all our needs and the joy of the unexpected.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it. — Psalm 118.24

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

Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 14-15 (Listen – 5:49)
Revelation 4 (Listen – 2:09)

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Read more about Love that Points to the Cross :: Love of Advent
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Scandalous Surprise of Hope — The Hope of Advent

  • December 3, 2021
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: 2 Chronicles 2.5-6
5 “The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? 
 
1 John 2.7-8
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 

Reflection: Scandalous Surprise of Hope — The Hope of Advent
By John Tillman

Who are we to have such hope as advent promises? That Christ would come to us is baffling, surprising, and to some, scandalous. Yet he did and does and will do so.

Past promises pave a way for faith in the future. God’s gift comes to all as assuredly as it did before. Darkness will pass and true light will shine.

Christ was at one time hidden but was then revealed. He is the peasant child foretold by a star. He is the lowly babe, announced in the heights of heaven. He is the pearl discovered in the field. He is a treasure in a jar of clay. He is the lamp placed on a stand. He is a candle revealed when the bushel is kicked over. He is the light from the holy of holies spilling out when the curtain was torn from top to bottom. 

We see Christ as a living paradox and a mystery, a foolish farce to some and a source of unshakable faith for others. He is the uncontainable God, “tabernacling” in a human-made temple. He is the good which comes from a town no good thing could come from. He is the God who could not be seen, being born with a face to be kissed by his teenage mother. He is the source of life, whose life was snuffed out on a Roman cross and the source of light whose death put out the light of the sun that he called into being.

As we have written before about Jesus:

This is the glory of the incarnation— that God draws us in and shows us the fullness of who he is and what he is like in the form of a baby. He was hidden in the darkness of the womb, hidden in the darkness of the night of his birth, hidden in the arms of peasants from the eyes of the powerful. He was revealed to the outcasts, the unworthy, the foreigners, and the humble.

What is hidden will be revealed and what seems mysterious or foolish in the gospel will prove to be greater than all the wisdom of humankind. God will surprise us. New things, new light, new hope springs up even now for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the morning Lessons
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. — 2 Corinthians 4.6

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

Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 2 (Listen – 3:41)
1 John 2 (Listen – 4:04)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Chronicles 3-4 (Listen – 5:42), 1 John 3 (Listen – 3:21)
2 Chronicles 5-6.11 (Listen – 9:47), 1 John 4 (Listen – 2:58)

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This is the glory of the incarnation— that God draws us in and shows us the fullness of who he is and what he is like in the form of a baby.

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The Curse Reversed :: Epiphany

  • December 31, 2019
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Revelation 22.3, 17
No longer will there be any curse….The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Reflection: The Curse Reversed :: Epiphany
By John Tillman

In Eden, humanity hid from God because of sin and fear and from each other because of shame and blame. This carries on into our interactions today. We both hide from God and hide God from ourselves, pushing him away to make room for gods of our choosing and making. We take the power and dominion God gave as a blessing and curse ourselves with it. 

God spoke the curse of Eden but, in many ways, we wrote it. And Christ reversed it. 

Even as he speaks the curse of Eden, God purposes and promises to break it. Scripture describes a God constantly working to reverse the curse and speaking repetitions of the theme of the final paragraphs of the Bible, “Come.”

In Eden, God says, “Where are you?” 
At Sinai, God says, “Follow me.”
In Galilee, Christ says, “Here I am.”
In the wilderness, Christ says, “Return to me.”
In Samaria, Christ says, “Ask me for water.”
In his teaching, Christ says, “Abide with me.”
At the table, Christ says, “Remember me.”
In the garden, Christ begs, “Be with me.”
At the beginning of John’s vision, Christ says, “Come up here.”
And here, at the end of God’s vision for the world and for us, God says, “Come.”

In the curse of Eden, God commits himself to a course of intervention on our behalf. The curse is made to be broken.

Epiphany is the revealing of Christ to the nations. It is God breaking through all of our concealments, coming out of hiding, breaking the curse of
banishment, and openly saying, “Come.” 

The visions of Revelation can be intimidating, but we must remember the character of the God we serve, perfectly revealed to us in Jesus Christ. He is the same in the throne room as he was in the manger, as he was in the upper room washing our feet, as he was on the cross, as he was pressing the fingers of doubters into his hands, and as he is now, tenderly reaching out to all humanity.

As we enter the new year, may we remember, we do not cower before a punitively petulant God who from his pedestal pronounces our doom.
We kneel before a compassionately caring creator, who kneels lower than us, so that he may lift our face to look in his eyes.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
I will call upon God, and the Lord will deliver me.
In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday, I will complain and lament, and he will hear my voice.
He will bring me safely back…God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me. — Psalm 55.17

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

Today’s Readings
2 Chronicles 36 (Listen -4:26) 
Revelation 22 (Listen -3:59)

Tomorrow’s Readings (Happy New Year!)
Ezra 1 (Listen -2:03) 
Acts 1 (Listen -3:58)

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Jesus Christ became a curse for us…died to release the curse’s hold on us, then he rose to bring to us the full blessings of life that overflows with good things.

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