Taking Stock in Turbulent Times

It's my joy to come to you on this Friday live from the backyard at the parsonage. I hope you and yours are doing well as we wind up yet another business week in a time unlike any other, that any of us alive now have experienced.

Today, I want us to look very briefly at something that I think we need to hold onto more than anything else right now, and that is the idea of redemption. Understanding that we are in a time where pretty much everyone is making it up as we go. I think there are some great opportunities for us, as we have been and are rethinking every aspect of our lives. Or are we? Are we really looking at things in a different way?

Hey, look. I understand. For many, this is simply a time of survival; a time of getting through every day. One day, to another, to another. A week here and a week there. Who has time to take time, or make time, to look at some big picture stuff? And yet, what if one of the redemptive things about our time of separation and quarantine is, in fact, that whether in the immediacy of now or in a postmortem, when we're moving out of the parallelization of now, we have been provided time to take stock not only of those things that easily catch our eye, but also maybe the state of our soul. Like anyone in leadership, which is everyone, because we all lead someone, even if it's just ourselves; like anyone in leadership who is trying to divine the best way forward as things slowly open up again, we hope, soon, I must admit a great deal of my thinking is going toward logistical matters. And that's quite understandable, because no matter how much I would love to just open things up full board, there's going to be a lot of adjustments. A lot of adjustments in my own life, a lot of adjustments in the life of the church, and our community, and our world. And any of us that think that we're just going to revert back to what was are naive, at best, and delusional, at worst.

How can we reasonably expect to reorient everything else in our lives, but yet not examine our conscience? Isaiah shared a word from the Lord that might help us in this journey of self-examination. Although light words for most prophets, we might also find ourselves a little threatened and/or convicted. Here are these words from Isaiah 29, verses 13 and 14, as found in the Common English Bible.

The Lord says: Since these people turn toward me with their mouths, and honor me with lip service while their heart is distant from me, and their fear of me is just a human command that has been memorized, I will go on doing amazing things to these people, shocking and startling things. The wisdom of their wise will perish, and the discernment of their discerning will be hidden.

Understanding, of course, that at the heart of biblical study is an understanding that we are but eavesdropping on ancient conversations as a way to discern the will of God, and how it is that we are to live as God's faithful in the here and now, there are but a couple of things I want to mention briefly.

First, while the Lord is addressing the behavior of a specific group of people at a specific place at a specific point in history, as we hear these words, let us ask ourselves about our own faith. And, more importantly, the exercise thereof. Our mouths may sing God's praises, and our words may say the right things, but can we say that our hearts are close to God? Our are we merely playing games to try and have it both ways? That is, to have the joys of faith while continuing to run according to the will of anyone other than the Lord, our God.

Secondly, let us be encouraged, and not threatened, by God's promise that wisdom of those which the world considers wise will perish. Let us be encouraged, because while it may not seem like it in current settings, to be a person of the Christian faith is to be a person who plays the long game.

As we conclude today's installment, allow me to make one last observation. Especially in times of global upheaval, there are many well-meaning, but I think ultimately misguided, men and women of the Christian faith who want to figure out how these times of distress are the result of God sending divine wrath down on those who have strayed away from his teachings. Honestly, while I understand the desire to want to figure out the "why" behind things, I ultimately find it most unhelpful.

I find it unhelpful because nowhere in scripture does God call us to discern where and when certain things will happen, nor are people of faith called to use scare tactics to try and get folks to "get right with God." God calls us to a life of faith, living in such a way that we reflect God's grace, peace, mercy, and love; through being the hands and feet of Jesus, in and through all things, in and through all situations. That is why the prophetic word came from God through Isaiah, a clarion call to understand faith is not a human command, but a divine invitation.