Sunday, November 30: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (Is 2:1-5).

I don’t watch much TV. Now that baseball season is over, the set stands idle for a good part of the week. But last Sunday, I watched some pro football. Aside from cringing every time someone took a hit, I was taken aback by the advertising. In the hour or so I watched the game, at least three-quarters of the ads were about some horribly violent movie or TV series. Lots of shooting and things blowing up and bloodied, mangled bodies. (And we wonder why there is so much violence in our world!) I also watched a public television series this week on the American Revolution, a documentary by Ken Burns. It is quite well done and nowhere near as graphic as those ads, but the images of war still caused me such heartache. What we see as entertaining…what we do to each other in the name of power…this is a mystery I don’t think I will ever figure out. I pray that my incarnate body will never be put to the test.
Provision: “Walk in the light of the Lord!” In Isaiah today, we hear people shall beat weapons of war into tools that foster nourishment and growth. Such an effort will take a lot of hard work and courage. It takes work, strength, and courage for each of us to stand up against violence and evil, to walk in the light of a Lord who became incarnate to teach us peace, the way of God’s Kingdom. What will you do today to simply radiate the light of peace in the face of darkness?

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

Several readings this week have to do with the universality of God’s mercy and love. God’s shelter and protection will be “over all.”  In today’s gospel, people will come “from the east and the west.”  As our world continues to shrink, we are circling the wagons, breaking up into even more insulated tribes; not just nations or regions or religions or ethnicities, but within congregations, communities, families. Such fragmentation can easily lead to the violence we spoke of yesterday. The most-oft used phrase in scripture is “Do not be afraid!” We claim to believe in God. What are we so afraid of?

Provision: Imagine the fullness of God, a shelter for all. In response to a question about how he defined himself, the Dalai Lama answered: “I am one of the 7 billion human beings alive today. We each have a responsibility to think about humanity and the good of the world because it affects our own future. We weren’t born on this planet at this time to create problems but to bring about some benefit.”  Imagine if we could all have such a simple view of ourselves, and a global, God’s-eye view of humanity! Consider how you define yourself. With what “tribe” do you align? Does your tribe exclude others who look or think or pray in a different way? Does it foment fear? Then consider how God defines you and how God defines that person you look at with disdain. Pray that “you may have strength to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth …so you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:18).

We live in a world where we can’t trust our eyes or ears. “Deep fakes” and AI-generated photos and words infect everything. It’s scary. We should never judge on appearances or hearsay anyway, but this advice is even more critical now. It takes wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and good counsel to avoid being swept away by falsehood. Relying on and delighting in God as our source of what is good and true can help us navigate these dangerous waters.

Provision: Be patient. Don’t make rash judgments. Part of being wise and strong is being patient, waiting for the truth to emerge. “By their fruits you will know them.”  Good fruit takes time to grow. We would all do well to slow down, to seek knowledge without judgment before we act or take a stand. Remember, the gifts “the shoot from Jesse’s stump” receives have nothing to do with power or riches. Pray today for wise and patient discerning eyes, ears, and hearts.

How many times have we heard or read this psalm? Most of us can recite it verbatim. And yet today, as I read these words, the Spirit poked me: “And what, Elaine, would Jesus have you do after he has honored you by spreading a table before you in the sight of your foes? Would he want you to gloat, to look upon these foes with satisfaction and disdain? No. Of course not. Jesus would have you invite them to sit at your table and partake of the feast!”

Provision: Practice hospitality. We talked on Monday about how divided our world has become. We read yesterday from Isaiah “the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb.”  I don’t know about you, but I surely cannot claim to be the lamb in this scenario, and I imagine that is true for all but the holiest among us. Find an opportunity to invite someone whose views are different than yours to coffee or lunch, not to debate or argue but to enjoy time together. Food is always a good mediator! (Watch this TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_lesser_take_the_other_to_lunch).

How many times have you, have I, lamented, “Oh, if I only knew God’s will for me!” You want simple? Here’s simple, expressed at one of the most dramatic examples of incarnational mysticism there is: the Transfiguration. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”  “LISTEN TO HIM!!!”  (I sometimes imagine God finishes by whispering, “you meatheads!”)

Provision: Listen to Jesus’ words. Act on them. No one had a microphone under Jesus’ nose to record him (so no one can do a “deepfake” either!) Our Christian faith tells us the evangelists were inspired by the Holy Spirit and referenced the Hebrew scriptures to express Jesus’ message. But one thing we notice about Jesus’ words: there’s not much in the way of dogma or doctrine. In fact, much of his message is expressed in deeds, not words: feeding, healing, consoling, enjoying hospitality, surrounding himself, not with the bigwigs and lawyers, but with the poor and marginalized. Loving enemies, praying to God in secret, showing mercy. No reason to make this complex. Doing God’s will is listening to Jesus’ words and rising each day to put those words into action. Pretty simple, I’d say!

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

Have you ever seen videos of toddlers who have been deaf since birth or adults who have lost their hearing, receiving cochlear implants? The babies hear their parents’ voices for the first time; the adults hear music again. The overwhelming delight and emotion are so moving to watch. Those blessed with five physical senses take so much for granted. Those of us blessed with plenty often don’t take the time, like the poor, to “rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

Many years ago, at Christmas time, I was helping to serve dinner for the poor in my city. As people were leaving, we gave each some toiletries that might last them a few days. One man smiled and said exuberantly to me, “Oh, I was praying for this! It is a miracle!” A small bag of toiletries! He looked around for a moment and said, “It is all a miracle.” Tears come to my eyes any time I recall this story. It humbles me and calls me to look around and see.

Provision: Tap into your sense of wonder! Simple, incarnational miracles are everywhere if we but look! As you go about today, tap into wonder. Dispel any deafness, blindness, or numbness you feel. “For Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his to the Father through the features of men’s faces” (Gerard M. Hopkins).

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

God looks out upon the Israelites enslaved by tyrants, hearing their cries. Jesus, in the gospel scene, looks out over the poor and marginalized, the lost. I see Jesus looking out today, hearing the cries of those interned in squalid camps in my own country, many whose only “crime” is having darker skin than mine or coming from countries labeled as unacceptable—I will not quote the adjective used by our leadership—imprisoned  by tyrants posing as government leaders and agents. Is your heart, like Jesus’, moved with pity? If not, perhaps it is time to pray that God will replace your heart of stone with one of flesh (Ez 36:26).

Provision: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”  I don’t do enough to address the fear and horror playing out across my country. I have not taken a risk other than to pray and to write words like these, which some consider unpatriotic. Jesus is calling us as laborers to do something real. It is not enough to say or write words, or to issue “special messages” condemning what is happening to our sisters and brothers at the hands of our leadership. Amid this busy season that celebrates a babe born into poverty and forced to flee as a refugee into the very country that so long ago enslaved his ancestors, let us gather our courage to labor in God’s fields that cry out for freedom and mercy.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

From today’s Isaiah reading:

“On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,

and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”

Isaiah’s image of a stump might well describe the condition of our world today. The news this morning reported that 30,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza, and 1.2 million Gazans have become refugees. The “stump” could also describe some part of our own lives – the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, declining health, a broken relationship. A stump is something cut down, lifeless, and seemingly beyond renewal.

What do you read in this verse? For me, it says when people know the Lord, they are not violent or evil. So, logic says, if individuals and nations still commit atrocities and violent acts, they do not know the Lord…even as they claim to be God’s “warriors!” “The way of the Lord, the way of peace they do not know and there is no justice where they go” (Is 59:8).

Provision: Get to know God. Well, this is quite an assignment to start the week! In this same passage from Isaiah, militaristic language is used: he will strike and slay the ruthless and wicked. He will be armed for battle with band and belt. Yet look at the “weapons” this shoot from Jesse will use: words of peace, justice, faithfulness. “Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding and those who find fault shall receive instruction” (Is 29: 24)—doesn’t sound too warlike to me! Today, consider your image of God. Jesus Christ came to live among us to show us the true face of God. How real is that face for you?

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

“I was afraid. I was naked. You know, the way you made me. Simple, unashamed, unencumbered, not needing to hide from you. You clothed my bones with flesh, beautiful naked flesh that allowed me to smell and taste and see and touch all the wonders of your creation. You breathed your Spirit into me…talk about an incarnational mystery! Why did you do that? You knew I’d mess up. You knew I’d make things so much more complex by striking out on my own. I’d like to somehow get back to that simple existence where I walk with you, free as the breeze that moves in the trees of your garden. Is there some way we can work together on this? Some way another incarnational mystery can come about?”

Provision: Let the incarnational mystery come about in you. We don’t need to be perfect, pure, without sin. We just need to be willing to allow the mystery to come alive within us. Pray today for the grace to accept God’s gift.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

“Ah, excuse me, Mr. or Ms. Second Isaiah: This is how you comfort us?! Reminding us we wither and wilt like the grass?! Here today and gone tomorrow?!” 

As I prayed with this reading today, it came clear to me: this is what the term “incarnational mysticism” is really all about! We read tomorrow, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God!”  We need not fear our transient nature. The God within, the Spirit that animates our earthly bodies is eternal. As Christians, this is the why and wherefore of the Incarnation. This is the reason “knowledge of the Lord” we spoke of on Sunday will lead us away from fear of death, and the violence that can bring, into the great comforting strength of the Word of God that stands forever.

Provision: Take comfort. Give comfort. The holidays can be warm and nourishing for some, but bleak for others: people living in fear of deportation, the unemployed, those grieving lost loved ones, depressed, or addicted. If you are blessed to be warm—literally and figuratively—be a source of comfort to others less fortunate. Go beyond material donations if you can, and serve at a soup kitchen or visit a nursing home. These days, even a kind word or a smile can brighten someone’s day. If you are lonely or depressed, pray God will give you the comfort—the strength and courage—to reach out to a church or community support group. Seek help and allow others to care for and comfort you.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

SIGH! If there is one thing we could all use right now, it is rest. When I reread things I’ve written in the past. I seem to have thought things could not get any more complex or difficult than they were at the time…but I am always proven wrong. The challenge I face is finding time to rest while not getting tired; reflecting, but not running away from the problems of the world. Is this a challenge for you, too?

Provision: Rest…and encourage others to rest. Saturday’s reflection has to do with our children and our future. There are a lot of studies in the news these days about our young people, many who are weary; some staggering, some falling. As their elders, one small way we can turn our hearts back to our children is by modeling simple things that bring us rest. Not vacations that stress us out or over-the-top holiday preparations (I feel my adult children’s skeptical gaze right now!) Things like prayer, meditation, “unplugging,” agreeing to simplify or eliminate some time-worn (not time-honored) traditions. Be intentional today. Think about the coming weeks and how you can bring rest into your life and the lives of others.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

There is little consensus among Biblical scholars as to what Jesus is talking about when he says the kingdom has been subjected to violence by the violent. Some translations indicate it means the kingdom of heaven is forcing its way into humanity, but most I reference say the kingdom of heaven is under attack, assailed by violent powers trying to overtake it. A bit too close for comfort considering what is happening with nationalist Christian movements.

Provision: Get to know Jesus (2). We go back to our reflection on Sunday. Violence and hatred are human flaws. They are never of God. Ethically, there is the theory and doctrine of “just war.” Those in roles of defending the innocent against those doing harm are absolved of guilt; Jesus even tells us there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another (although who is “innocent” and who is “doing harm” seem to be a matter of opinion these days, rather than a matter of ethics, morality, and truth). If you are interested in learning more about Jesus and nonviolence, books and essays by Fr. John Dear or theologian Walter Wink can be very enlightening.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

“’There is nothing in the world that resembles God as much as silence’ (Meister Eckhart). In essence, Eckhart is saying this: Silence is a privileged entry into the realm of God and into eternal life…there is a huge silence inside each of us that beckons us into itself, and the recovery of our own silence can begin to teach us the language of heaven….Silence is a language that is infinitely deeper, more far-reaching, more understanding, more compassionate, and more eternal than any other language. …It’s the language of heaven and it’s already deep inside of us, beckoning us, inviting us to deeper intimacy with everything” (Ron Rolheiser, OMI, 2001, https://ronrolheiser.com/in-praise-of-silence/).

Provision: Find time today to be silent. I mean really silent. I mean turning off the TV, phone, computer, ticking clocks, and anything else that beckons you with beeps and dings and other little noises. This means the kids, spouses, parents, whoever else beckons you with not-so-subtle noises! Put on headphones with no sound. See if you can work it for a whole half-hour. Gee! A whole half an hour to be silent, just breathing. We are mid-way through Advent. Give yourself an early Christmas gift of seeing and hearing and growing in intimacy with God in silence.

Elaine H. Ireland ehireland@gmail.com.

This last phrase—turning the hearts of elders back toward their children—always gives me pause. With a few exceptions, I don’t see much that looks like our hearts are turning towards our children’s futures: cuts in education, food assistance, and medical research; discouraging preventative means of warding off childhood diseases, a job market that is becoming increasingly difficult, the lack of affordable housing, the dismantling of efforts to offset climate change, while at the same time, giving tax breaks to the rich. I don’t know. Maybe I am missing something. But I pray we come to realize that without turning our hearts back toward our children, we have no future.

Provision: “Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”  Or, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). Or, “See, I am making all things new!” (Rev 21:5). Or, "Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, (Phil 3:13-14). Or, Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you” (Prv 4:25). Or, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is 43:18).

Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10;  Psalm 146;  James 5: 7-10;  Matthew 11: 2-11

Isaiah 7: 10-14; Psalm 24; Romans 1: 1-7; Matthew 1: 18-24