Lent Day 12--March 6, 2012

Lenten Reflection for Day 12

Date: March 6

Author: Elaine Day

Bible Passage: 1 Kings 19:11–12 (NRSV)

¹¹ He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

Reflection:

This passage is about God and Elijah. Fearing that King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, would have him killed, the prophet Elijah fled to Beersheba. He wandered in the wilderness and then sat down and prayed that the Lord would take his life. An angel came to Elijah and provided him with food and drink so that he would have the strength to journey forty days to Sinai, God’s holy mountain. At this low point in Elijah’s life, God told him to stand on the mountain and wait for the Lord to pass by. I’m sure that when there was a furious wind, Elijah must have thought that God was then passing by. However, God did not pass by in the wind, or in the earthquake, or in the fire. God did not pass by in any of these grandiose events. Rather God came in the sound of silence.

It seems to me that when I am at a low point and need God, I want to be alone, away from everyone and all the hustle and bustle of life. The words of these verses make me realize, that it is at those very times that God is with me, speaking to me. I just need to listen.

Prayer:

Lord, God, please be with us when we need you most. Come to us in the silence and help us see these times as opportunities to communicate with you.

First Monday in Advent: "Here is your God"!

Advent Day 2

First Monday in Advent

Monday November 28, 2011

Reading: Isaiah 40:9 (NRSV)

⁹ Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Theme: “Here is your God.”

Reflection:

Lift up your voice with strength and say “Here is your God.” In our US culture today, with its emphasis on separation of church and state, it is hard to say anything about God, in a public place, with strength. Very few of us have the courage to speak about our faith, or what God means to us, or how God has acted in our lives.

Yet here is the prophet Isaiah commanding the people—meaning us—to go to the top of a mountain and shout to everyone in hearing distance that God is out and about and acting in the world. In Advent, we are watching and waiting for signs of God’s presence among us. “Here is your God”—see what God is doing in your life.

During this season of Advent, as we watch and wait for God’s coming, we ask ourselves questions like: What is God doing in my life? What Good News does God daily bring into my life. How is God challenging is me?

Lift up your voice. Do not fear. Tell others how God has acted in your life. “Here is your God,” who daily makes God’s presence known to you.

Prayer: Challenging God, give me the courage to publically give witness to the good things that you have done for me. Help me to recognize that my God is in the here and now with me.