Advent Lectio – Week 1: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
November 26, 2010
(This weekend begins the season of Advent. It is a sense of joyful hope for the arrival of God in the person of Jesus.)
Psalm 80:1-7
Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
How long, LORD God Almighty,
will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.
___________
How often does it seem that God isn’t listening or can’t hear my prayers, the prayers of my friends and community? How often does it seem that the all-powerful God sits on the throne, but off in the far distance, while here we are far away from God, having only our tears and our complaints as company?
In this mist, we seek the face of God. We seek God’s nearness and presence. We remember Moses’ request to see God’s face, but God only let Moses glimpse God from a crevice in the mountain, only after passing by, seeing only the train of robes. Still Moses glowed from the experience.
We need the face of God to shine on us, to save us, to rescue us, to heal us, to give us hope. But is it worthwhile to hope in a glimpse of God only from the back, hidden in the rocks?
___________
Psalm 80:17-19
Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. (17-19)
___________
The face of God changes at Christmas. The face of God begins with Moses’ desire for intimate fellowship with an eternal Being, but on Christmas the face of God changes. It becomes tangible. Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the surrounding company can touch the face of God flesh-to-flesh. The cattle and the donkey offer the incarnate God their storage shed, and in return they can nuzzle the face of God. They can taste its cheek, hear it cry, see it soothed at the breast of his mother, cause the radiance of joy in a new father.
God’s face is as near as the baby in His parents’ arms. Our confusion and complaints and tears turn to wonder at God, enfleshed as an infant. God’s face shines on us, and like we always do in the presence of a newborn baby, we shine back.
Lectio for Feast of All Saints: Luke 6:20-31
November 1, 2010
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
”Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
- to lay down our rights?
- to seek first His Reign/Kingdom/Agenda?
- to love my neighbor as myself?
- to love my enemy?