Sometimes Scripture is Rough

The daily office, today, seems to be the opposite of hope.  It is lament and death and destruction all around!  I don’t want to write about that at Advent!  But things aren’t always what they seem…  And things can change…

Amos 5:12-15 was really getting to me:

“There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.  Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy…”

I was having a difficult time wrapping my mind around how it is prudent to be silent in the face of injustice while being charged with bringing justice, and then I thought of Santa Claus… no kidding… either because I’m seriously sleep deprived or because I’m the mother of one kid who still thinks reindeer fly or because I am desperately hoping some magical being might actually fill my list, this year (and don’t go all materialistic on me, because my list is an anomaly… mostly… I promise).  OK, so I was really thinking of St. Nicholas (and I know I’m a couple of days late for this post).

So often, we assume our action must be loud and in the spotlight in order to count for anything, but there are times when subversive disruption actually does more good.  This is not to imply that we should always be silent… or that we should suffer in silence… or that we should watch others suffer in silence.  I want to add my own resounding “enough” to the cries of those who have had more than their share of pain.  But I do want to underscore the thought that talk is cheap.  Action is more useful, regardless of the dynamic in play.  If we really lament, perhaps we should repent.  Perhaps we should even take responsibility for wrongs in the world for which we are not directly culpable.  Lord, have mercy…

Who can we help… who can we free… who can we resurrect… as we wait?

L.

Dismally Inadequate

Nehemiah 9:1-3, “On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.  Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.  They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God” (NIV).

I want to admit, up front, that I am currently sitting at a picnic table in the middle of a hallway at the Indiana Convention Center, and there are hoards of people milling around (because… clearly… I must have chosen the exact moment at which the workshop schedule broke to try to write this…)

But it’s pulling at my heartstrings just a little bit…  Maybe because there are so many of us gathered together… Maybe because we’re going to read Scripture and join together in worship… Maybe because I fear we are still dismally inadequate at confession, even though it matters as much as the rest of this.

Introspection… reflection… community…

It remains to be seen if there is space for that kind of balance, this week.  But I hope so.  Because, right now, it’s kind of loud…

L.