Second Monday of Advent
Scripture Reading for Today:
Isaiah 24:1-16
See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. 5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. 7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers. 10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. 13 So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest. 14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16 From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
Psalm 21
For the director of music. A psalm of David.The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give! 2 You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. 3 You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. 4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever. 5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. 6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence. 7 For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken. 8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes. 9 When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. 11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. 12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. 13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. 9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Waiting in Desolation
by Matthew R. Green
Matthew Green can't decide on any one thing, so he just does a little of everything. He's been called an engineer, a teacher, a theologian, an artist, and a counselor among other things. He currently utilizes his PhD to sell gag gifts online, which makes no sense whatsoever, but God's a funny character, so he just runs with it. He likes integrating neuropsychology and spirituality and lives in Hamilton with his wife and neurotic dog.
We typically see Advent as a season of waiting. We’re mirroring the people of Judea, who waited for the anointed one as we now wait for the return of Jesus at the end of the age. And just like the Jews who didn’t know when the Messiah would appear, we don’t know when the Lord will return.
Waiting can be gentle and lovely. I recall waiting to pick up a friend from her office years ago.The space outside her building was landscaped beautifully, with a well-maintained park with trees and benches and a stream with bridges to meander over. I rarely minded when she was late. Waiting was a pleasure.
But that wasn’t how many of the Jews felt about their waiting for the Messiah or, indeed, many periods of waiting throughout their history. They were crying out for the Lord’s anointed because Rome had imposed its laws and taxes on them, and they longed for their freedom. This echoes back to those parts of Isaiah’s prophecies in today’s readings, where he painted for them a picture of the Babylonian invasion that was coming and the devastation that would result. There was no wine to enjoy. No one laughed any longer. There was no singing or music. The streets were filled with people grieving because of the devastation of their homes. In their despair and misery, they waited for the Lord to save them. When would God appear? Why didn’t God do something?
Why does God leave us in these places of desolation? The Lord could surely rescue, but redemption often takes so much longer than we want. Desperate for relief, sometimes all we can do is keep crying out for help. We know our God is strong. We know the Father is good and kind. Someday, the Lord’s hand will appear and do something to alleviate the trouble, but until then, we’re left hurting and uncertain. There is, in these moments, no resolution.
Surely all of us have had to wait in frustration, grief, or loneliness. The COVID pandemic stuck many people in places of frustrated waiting: how long before we can go out again? When will we be able to see each other face-to-face? Or perhaps impending medical tests have left us aching for news. I vividly remember sitting in a subway car before the results came back from my wife’s breast cancer biopsy. I just stared as blank walls sped by the window, numb to everything because I had no choice but to wait in my anxiety until the doctors called.
How difficult it can be to wait in those desolate places! Yet they come, and our invitation is to learn to live well even in desolation. I invite you to turn back to such a time from your past or perhaps to focus on the present if you are waiting and struggling now. If you feel safe enough, in a spirit of openness to God in prayer, think back to that time. Open yourself up to what you were feeling then. What was happening? What was going on in your mind and heart? Take a moment to stay with those thoughts and feelings before moving on.
Do you recall what your relationship with God was like when you were going through those circumstances? Did God seem present? Distant? Caring? Cold? Angry? Empathic? How did you experience the Lord? Did you ask anything of God? Did you hear any response?
Did you invite God into your circumstances? Not necessarily to fix things or bring resolution, but just to be with you? If not, take a moment to imagine what it would have been like to ask Jesus to be present there, perhaps walking with you like he walked with the disciples. How might things have changed if you had experienced the Lord with you in a gentle way through that troubled waiting? Take a moment to consider and experience what that might have been like.
If, on the other hand, you did experience God with you in that time, just take a few moments to return to how you felt then and allow that gentle presence to fill your heart.
We are still waiting in a troubled world. Advent is the season of anticipation. What difference does it make if, even in struggle, we know Immanuel - God with us?
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