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Where We Will Be
Why is it, O sea, that you flee? O river, that you turn back? O mountains, that you skip like rams? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Almighty, who melts rocks into water. – Psalm 114:5-8 (adapted)
Of the many wonders of Artemis II’s mission, one was its flight path toward the moon. In order to circle the moon successfully, Artemis II had to chart a course toward where the moon wasn’t. It had to set its trajectory toward an empty point in space, trusting that the moon in its ever-shifting orbit would arrive at that point precisely when Artemis II arrived for its lunar flyby.
Very much like passing a soccer ball toward an empty space on the field, confidently setting the ball on its path toward no one, trusting your teammate to run into the open space where the ball is going.
Or like jumping into a seat on the spinning teacup ride at the amusement park … while the whole ride is in motion … while each teacup spins at a unique pace. (Kids, don’t try this at home.)
What if the teacup ride malfunctions? What if your teammate gets tackled on their run? What if a solar flare short-circuits the space vessel?
What if the seas flee? What if the mountains leap? What if the rocks melt?
We trust patterns that predict where things are going — the moon, the tides, the soccer ball, even the people around us — but a pattern isn’t a certainty. Where we think we’ll end up based on our daily patterns isn’t likely to be where we’ll actually end up.
For all the comfort I find in trusting that God meets me where I am and as I am in the now, I am even more reassured by the knowledge that God will also meet me where I will be — even though I don’t yet know where or when or how I will be.
Prayer: Christ be beside me, above me, and within me. Christ be beyond me, in whatever may be, in the wonder of not yet.
cross-posted with the UCC Daily Devotional
Everywhere a Sign
“God spoke to King Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.’ When Ahaz refused, God said, ‘Then I myself will choose the sign: See this young woman who is pregnant? By the time her child is old enough to know right from wrong, the threat of war will be over.’” (Isaiah 7:10-16, abridged & adapted)
If you’re watching for a divine sign that all will be well, a holy omen that God’s goodness will work out a way, there are plenty of potential portents to choose from:
Perhaps the daffodil as it blooms after winter hibernation is God’s sign to you from the earth. Perhaps the late-winter frost that dazzles in the morning sun is God’s sign to you from the sky.
Maybe the eerie blue underbelly of a flipped-over iceberg in Antarctica is God’s sign from the seas, letting you know change will come. Maybe a meteor exploding over Ohio is God’s sign from the heavens, promising you divine intervention.
King Ahaz wanted a divine sign of assurance in the face of rising political threats. God offered a sign as lofty as the stars. “It’s too much,” Ahaz protested. God offered a sign as certain as death’s door. “I don’t want you to go to any great lengths,” Ahaz demurred.
The porridge is too hot. The chair is too small. Give me comfort that is right-sized, please and thank you. And surely God sighed such a mighty, exasperated sigh that the olive trees bent in the wind and the crows startled into the sky.
“Fine, I’ll give you a practical sign,” God told Ahaz. “Count this young woman’s months of pregnancy and her son’s early childhood. That’s how much time will pass before the threats have ceased. On that day, everyone will eat curds and honey.” On that day, God’s sign of comfort will become God’s fulfillment of goodness.
God gave Ahaz a right-sized sign: a tangible measure he could count on his fingers, a growing measure he could watch unfold before him, a flesh-and-blood measure he could recognize. A divine sign for human understanding.
If you’re watching for a divine sign that all will be well, a holy omen that God’s goodness will work out a way, a portent of comfort that God’s justice will be realized and evil will be vanquished, there’s no shortage of signs … but maybe tune your heart most particularly to the flesh-and-blood signs you witness every day. The ones that grow and strive and change. The ones that love and break and love again. The ones that extend grace and don’t give up hope.
Watch for God’s signs. Live as one, too.
cross-posted with the UCC’s Witness for Justice newsletter
Deep Wells
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1, NRSV) My childhood home in rural Pennsylvania had a mountain spring as its sole water source when I was growing...
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O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right; who do not slander with their tongue, and stand by their oath. Those who do these things shall never be moved. - Psalm 15, excerpts (NRSV) I made a...
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Look to the rock from which you were hewn. Look to Abraham, who was one but I made him many. Look to Sarah, who was thirsty but I made her an oasis. Before you cower in fear of others’ disappointment, before you hang your head in doubt, look to the moths that will...
Telling Time
Is it time to pray again? Is it time to march again? Is it once again time to grieve, time to rage, time to resist? Is it ever not? So long as we have breath, it is time. Not because there is a cause. Not because there is a moment. Not because it's never been like...
My Deliverer Is Coming
The angel of the Lord appeared to the [wife of Manoah] and said to her, “You shall conceive and bear a son. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” - Judges 13:3-5, excerpted (NRSV) We all long for a deliverer, at least once in a...
The Mess of Money
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, saying, “When will the sabbath be over so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit by selling the sweepings of the wheat.” The Lord will turn your feasts into...
About Those Christmas Lights
Thus says the Lord: Again you shall take your tambourines, and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit. - Jeremiah 31:2a, 4b-5 (NRSV) I love Christmas...
Widows and Orphans
Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims—laws that make misery for the poor, that rob people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. Who will help you on Judgment Day? - Isaiah 10:1-3 abridged (MSG) If...
The Emperor’s Clothes
“But the emperor has no clothes!” cries the child in the crowd. And so cry we all, when our public leaders embrace an obvious scam without a trace of remorse, without a blush of embarrassment. “No kings,” we shout against unilateral political power. “No occupation,”...
