Curating a Life in Christ
Today’s Prayer
Christ, our Guide, grant that today we may follow what you command,
–we humbly ask you.
Christ, our Guide, grant that today your life may grow within us,
–we humbly ask you.
Christ, our Guide, grant that today we may live in peace,
–we humbly ask you.
Christ, our Guide, grant that today we may not fall into sin,
–we humbly ask you.
Today’s Text
Psalm 36:5-10 (NIV)
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Our Call This Week
The central culture in the world of human affairs has evolved as one of getting and consuming. Of course, as will have recently been preached around the world, Christmas reveals this clearly and disturbingly. And the cost we have paid has been deeply felt in the last years.
However, as Christ revealed in his life and teachings, the ‘culture’ of God’s reign is one of giving, sharing and preserving. Only by allowing this ‘Christ-culture’ to permeate our lives and world can we ever hope to address the great crises of our time – poverty, human trafficking, dread diseases, terrorism and war. Imagine the difference if nations sought ways to give to one another, rather than exploit; if organisations sought to do well only by doing good; and if individuals learned that love for our neighbours is expressed through giving of time, resources, compassion and energy.
While it may seem naive and sentimental to say so, the truth is that many of the world’s problems need the approach of love to address them. We need to learn to love our political, religious, international, and economic rivals. We need to learn to love our co-workers, our collaborators and our supporters. We need to learn to love those for whom we work for justice. This is not a sentimental, fickle, “feeling”, but a commitment to seek the best for the other, to honour their humanity, their God-createdness, and their right to life. The Christlike kind of love is a choice, made daily, to live in ways that contribute to the well-being of others and of our planet in whatever way we can. This is the call this week.
Thoughts on Today’s Text
What is clear from reading Isaiah is that the effects of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem are still felt very keenly. The key symbols of Zion theology, the presence of temple and the continued reign of the Davidic king — along with the sense of safety provided by the walls of the city — provided physical as well as symbolic sources of security. Now, although their reconstruction may have started, the symbols are still in ruins. This is the reality with which the prophet is grappling in Isaiah 62: the loss of self-rule and the continued absence of physical and symbolic stability, which suggests that God is absent as well.
The expression, “Where there’s breath, there’s hope,” certainly applies here. By giving Zion breath and personality, speaking as if she were a human being, the prophet suggests to the people that it is not yet time to give up on Zion. There is still reason to hope. She is not dead yet.
Today’s Prayer
I call upon you, O Lord.
In the morning you hear me;
in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting. . .Psalm 5
I lift my heart to you, O Lord,
to be strengthened for this day.
Be with me in all I do, my God;
guide me in all my ways.
I will carry some burdens today;
some trials will be mine.
So I wait for your help, Lord,
lest I stumble and fall.
I will do my work, Father,
the work begun by your Son.
He lives in me and I in him;
may his work today be done.
Today’s Scripture
Isaiah 62:1-12 (NIV)
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest,
7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;
9 but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.”
10 Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.
11 The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'”
12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
Richard Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals, 21st century
“When I die, God isn’t going to ask me ‘Did I create the Earth in six days or five days?’ but ‘What did you do with what I gave you?'”
Sören Kierkegaard, 19th century
“Christ turned water into wine, but the church has succeeded in doing something even more difficult: it has turned wine into water.”
Today’s Prayer
O God of steadfast love, at the wedding in Cana your Son Jesus turned water into wine, delighting all who were there. Transform our hearts by your Spirit, that we may use our varied gifts to show forth the light of your love as one body in Christ. Amen.
Praise for the Day
Praise the Lord, all you nations,
glorify God, all you peoples!
For steadfast is God’s kindness toward us
and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever. . . Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, faraway space,
glorify God,
every home and family!
For God has brought us to the beginning of this day,
and God will see us to its end.
Praise the Lord, world of today,
come with your blessings;
come with your struggles.
Praise the Lord!