Seeds For Thinking

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* Advent
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18, NKJV)

Come, Thou long expected Jesus, . . .
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart. (C. Wesley)

Longing, anticipation, and expectation, the root of hope, the expectation of future good. Looking back, we find many peoples living in times of trial and suffering, typified by the words of the Lord to Moses at his calling; “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.” (Exodus 3:7)
It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
It was such a time, oppressed by brutal rulers, dominated by a foreign empire, that moved the Apostle John to write of a light coming to illuminate the darkness, the ‘True Light,’ “which gives light to every man coming into the world.” (John 1:9) John is only one of many bearing witness to that Light.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The ‘Incarnation’ - the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. The coming into being, The Advent. For many Christians, Advent marks the beginning of the church year, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas and observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting.
John makes an important distinction, affirmed by Paul, who wrote that all creation groans for its redemption as we witness the evil that so dominates our world (Rom 8:18-25). The sufferings of oppression and injustice, the systemic evil of the world expressed in evil empires and tyrants “are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.”.
The Word became flesh, that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. And as children of God, heirs of the glory to come.
While some church traditions focus on penitence during Advent, for others, Advent is celebrated as a time of joy and happiness awaiting the coming of the King.
November 27, 2005

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Scripture: Return to me and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you said, ‘In what way shall we return.’ (Malachi 3:7b, NKJV)

We have a Livestock Guard Dog (LGD) named Joe, who lives with our flock of sheep. Bred for centuries for the guarding trait, and imprinted on sheep as a puppy, the LGD protects against predators, such as coyotes or stray dogs looking to harm the sheep. Occasionally, the dogs will manage to get out of the pen or pasture, but will usually return to their ‘buddies’ the sheep after patrolling the neighborhood.
Joe found a way to get out of the sheep pasture on a Fourth of July evening, possibly inspired by the neighbor’s fireworks. We didn’t miss him until the next morning. We checked the fence rows to see if he was trapped somewhere, and drove the roads around our farm. Nothing.
We called the county dog pound as soon as they were open, hoping that they had found him. They asked if we had checked their web site. We did not know about it, but quickly got on-line. There, in the “Found” listing was a “big, white dog, friendly.” That sounded promising, but the location astonished us! He was found over twelve miles away! Could that be possible?
We called the finder’s telephone number. Her description sure sounded like our dog, Joe. My wife and granddaughter went to check it out.
Sure enough it was Joe, tired, with sore feet, and hair full of burrs. What a joy for the return of the wayward one, for the lost to come home.
We have no idea what adventures he had during his trip. Judging from where he started and where he was found, he possibly followed a waterway, which kept him off the highways, and near water. We suppose that once he left familiar landmarks he just kept moving, trying to find his way home, but all the while getting farther and farther away.
The scriptures are filled with accounts of persons who have wandered away from God, searching, seeking and yet lost. Malachi prophesied to Israel during a time when the nation became indifferent to God’s moral and ceremonial law. Even the priests had become spiritually insensitive and corrupt, cheating on tithes and offerings. Observances of worship were empty ritual. The prevailing attitude was one of spiritual lethargy.
Their lack of blessing was not caused by God’s lack of concern, but by their disregard of the covenant law. And yet they wondered why they were not being blessed by God.
“I have no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.” (Malachi 1:10b)
The people and the priests continued to move away from God. Their perception of God grew dim. Materialism and externalism became accepted social practices.
In spite of all this, God still loved His people, and extended His grace to any who would humbly turn to Him.
The prophet Joel writes of rescue and salvation: “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. . . . Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” (Joel 2:12-13b)
Yes, there is hope for those who are seeking, searching, yet running away from God.
“Return to me and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. What a joy for the return of the wayward one, for the lost to come home.

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Scripture: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law. justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others behind.

I miss Pogo Possum. Created by Walt Kelly, Pogo and his pals lived in the Georgia section of the Okefenokee Swamp, and served up daily social and political satire through its funny animal characters. I especially enjoyed Mr. Kelly’s use of “Swamp-Speak,” essentially a rural, Southern U.S. English dialect laced with mispronunciations, fractured grammar, mangled polysyllables such as "incredibobble" and "hysteriwockle," and invented words such as the exasperated exclamation "Rowrbazzle!"
Mr. Kelly imbued the denizens of the swamp with various aspects of our human nature. You could probably take any list of shortcomings and find it exposed in some manner. Pogo Possum was one of few major characters with the sense to avoid trouble.”(1)
Faced with the bumbling ineptitude about him, Pogo was noted for proclaiming, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
I thought of this statement as I was browsing through Chapter Twenty-three of the Gospel of Matthew. This is the chapter where Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees at length, proclaiming, “Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites.” Sadly, a careful reading of these words brings a realization that Jesus is baring our common human folly: The Scribes and Pharisees are not our enemies; they are us!
Do we desire to separate ourselves from those people who follow worldly and ungodly lifestyles? So did they; the word “Pharisee” means “separated.”
Do we at times overly emphasize proper dress and decorum - certain “churchy” practices? So did they. Not that these things are necessarily bad, but, as Jesus noted, if we (they) place too much emphasis on essentially minor details to the exclusion of justice and mercy and faith, then we are missing the mark. (Mt. 23:23)
Psalm 82 speaks to this point, saying, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4)
Note that Jesus is not condemning Pharisees as a total class (for there were many who were indeed worthy), but those who did all of their works to be seen by men (vs. 5) and did little or nothing to lift men’s burdens. Luke records the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, praying in the temple (Luke 18:9-14) as an example: The Pharisee stood and thanked God that he was not as other men, citing his public fasting and tithing as examples of his superior “religiosity.” The tax collector (Publican) prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Lk. 18:13.
It is a matter of balance, of completeness. Jesus didn’t use the exact words, but literally meant that they “talked the (religious) talk but didn’t walk the walk.”
What is the ‘walk’? To minister to the weak, the poor, the needy and the oppressed. To dispense justice, to show mercy, and exhibit faith. To judge not by our conceptions of propriety, but by God’s standards, lest we be judged by our shortcomings.
Oh, how often are those who exalt themselves humbled!

(1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogo_(comics)

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