Daily Scripture: Isaiah 49:8 Here is what Adonai says:
“At the time when I choose, I will answer you;
on the day of salvation, I will help you.
I have preserved you, and I have appointed you
to be the covenant for a people,
to restore the land and distribute again
its ruined inheritances to their owners,
9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out!’
to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’
They will feed along the paths,
and all the high hills will be their pastures.
10 They will be neither hungry nor thirsty;
neither scorching wind nor sun will strike them;
for he who has mercy on them will lead them
and guide them to springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into a road,
my highways will be raised up.
12 There they come, some from far away,
some from the north, some from the west,
and some from the land of Sinim.”
13 Sing, heaven! Rejoice, earth!
Break out in song, you mountains!
For Adonai is comforting his people,
having mercy on his own who have suffered.
14 “But Tziyon says, ‘Adonai has abandoned me,
Adonai has forgotten me.’
15 Can a woman forget her child at the breast,
not show pity on the child from her womb?
Even if these were to forget,
I would not forget you.
Matthew 23:37 “Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!
Reflection Questions:Almost all of us know that the Bible used the image of a father to portray God. You may be surprised, however, to find that the Bible also used “mothering” images to show how much God loves us. Isaiah said God is less likely to forget us than a mother is to forget her nursing child. Jesus compared his caring for the people of Jerusalem to a mother hen. (Psalm 131 is another example.) Even in a highly patriarchal world, the Scriptures said that both fathers and mothers share in God’s image (cf. Genesis 1:27).
- In what ways, if any, is or was your mother a reliable positive presence in your life? Did your mother help to make God’s steadfast love seem real to you? How does Isaiah’s imagery speak to your heart at those testing times when God’s presence and power are not on obvious display? Jesus' picture of the mother hen showed God’s heart, but it also showed that we can choose to refuse God’s love. Have you found it easy or hard to trust that God loves you and will never, ever forget you? How has opening yourself to God’s nurturing love begun to heal any gaps left by the way you were treated as you grew up?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for never forgetting me, for offering to gather and shelter me under your wings. Guide me as I learn to rest trustingly in your mothering love for me. Amen.
Family Activity:
Jesus chose women to be the first people to share the news of His resurrection! Research the women in Bible. With younger children, use a Bible story book and discover how many stories of women are told. With older kids, use a concordance or the Internet to explore the stories of women. You may also want to discover how many names of women are mentioned whose stories are not told. Read a few of the stories and describe the qualities of the women mentioned. Discuss what their stories teach us about God. Think of the women in your life today and compare Biblical women with them. Write a note to a woman who displays God-like qualities. Thank her for sharing her faith. As a family, commit to praying for the special women in your life.Insights from Dave Robertson
Lord Jesus, thank you for never forgetting me, for offering to gather and shelter me under your wings. Guide me as I learn to rest trustingly in your mothering love for me. Amen.
Family Activity:
Jesus chose women to be the first people to share the news of His resurrection! Research the women in Bible. With younger children, use a Bible story book and discover how many stories of women are told. With older kids, use a concordance or the Internet to explore the stories of women. You may also want to discover how many names of women are mentioned whose stories are not told. Read a few of the stories and describe the qualities of the women mentioned. Discuss what their stories teach us about God. Think of the women in your life today and compare Biblical women with them. Write a note to a woman who displays God-like qualities. Thank her for sharing her faith. As a family, commit to praying for the special women in your life.Insights from Dave Robertson
Dave Robertson is the Director of Community Life at The Church of the Resurrection’s West Campus
When I speak of God I try, when possible , to remain gender neutral. I do however, when using gender, refer to God in the male tense. I wonder sometimes, however, if God would have as much of an identity problem in the Old Testament if God was portrayed more in the feminine gender.
However, many of the ancient goddesses were just as violent as the ancient male gods. Anat, the ancient Canaanite goddess of love and war, is not someone you would want to go up against. An ancient Ugaritic text describes Anat’s revenge against a man who slighted her in no uncertain terms: “Anat seized Mot, the divine son,/ With a sickle she cut him,/ with a winnow she winnows him,/ with fire she scorches him,/ with a mill she crushes him,/ she scatters his flesh in the field to be eaten by birds.”
Many people regard the God of the Old Testament as different from the God Jesus revealed in the New Testament. A God who advocates violence and is quick to throw his people under the bus and into exile when things go wrong. If this is your thought about the God in the Old Testament I suggest you read it again with an eye for God’s patience, mercy, love, and understanding. I am constantly amazed at how God doesn’t give up on people, no matter how wicked they act. One of the bloodiest books in the Old Testament is Judges. Yet even in that book, Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it “The Lord is Peace.” (Judges 6:24)
In the Isaiah passage for today, the writer likens God to a mother who embraces the baby at her breast. There is an almost unbreakable bond between a mother and an infant. In some rare instances, a mother may forsake her child. Isaiah says, “Though she may forget, I will not forgot you.” God has this unbreakable bond with human beings. That bond is known as covenant. God made several covenants with people, and the good news is God will not go back on God’s pledge and promise.
My own mother has been gone 36 years this year. When I read the Bible, images of her presence in my younger days flash before my mind as I see how God loves and cares for Israel and Judah. Isaiah 40:1-2 says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…” Whenever I wanted comfort as a child, or to have someone speak tenderly to me, it was my mother. As a child, it took both of my parents to show me the fullest image of God my little brain could muster. I viewed my father as a strong, protecting, providing, disciplined and disciplining, somewhat distant presence. My mother was who I snuggled with, came to with all my hurts and someone whom I placed my full trust. She was my best friend and confidant. My dad represented God’s strength. My mother represented God’s love.
For my father, I know this was true of the relationship he had with his parents. My dad was the youngest of 6 boys and 1 girl. My father credits his mother and a promise he made to her for his faith and calling into ministry. On his 18th birthday, my dad joined the Navy. Four of his older brothers served in the military during World War II. Before leaving home his mother called him to her side and made him promise he wouldn’t come home changed for the worse as his brothers did. My grandmother was the spiritual, loving, caring presence in his life, calling him to be a better man. This promise made has carried him into his 85th year as he still seeks to make a difference in the lives of others in ministry.
What difference has your mother played in making you a better person? In what ways have God’s qualities of comforting, nurturing, caring and loving us made a difference in who you are striving to be today?
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
When I speak of God I try, when possible , to remain gender neutral. I do however, when using gender, refer to God in the male tense. I wonder sometimes, however, if God would have as much of an identity problem in the Old Testament if God was portrayed more in the feminine gender.
However, many of the ancient goddesses were just as violent as the ancient male gods. Anat, the ancient Canaanite goddess of love and war, is not someone you would want to go up against. An ancient Ugaritic text describes Anat’s revenge against a man who slighted her in no uncertain terms: “Anat seized Mot, the divine son,/ With a sickle she cut him,/ with a winnow she winnows him,/ with fire she scorches him,/ with a mill she crushes him,/ she scatters his flesh in the field to be eaten by birds.”
Many people regard the God of the Old Testament as different from the God Jesus revealed in the New Testament. A God who advocates violence and is quick to throw his people under the bus and into exile when things go wrong. If this is your thought about the God in the Old Testament I suggest you read it again with an eye for God’s patience, mercy, love, and understanding. I am constantly amazed at how God doesn’t give up on people, no matter how wicked they act. One of the bloodiest books in the Old Testament is Judges. Yet even in that book, Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it “The Lord is Peace.” (Judges 6:24)
In the Isaiah passage for today, the writer likens God to a mother who embraces the baby at her breast. There is an almost unbreakable bond between a mother and an infant. In some rare instances, a mother may forsake her child. Isaiah says, “Though she may forget, I will not forgot you.” God has this unbreakable bond with human beings. That bond is known as covenant. God made several covenants with people, and the good news is God will not go back on God’s pledge and promise.
My own mother has been gone 36 years this year. When I read the Bible, images of her presence in my younger days flash before my mind as I see how God loves and cares for Israel and Judah. Isaiah 40:1-2 says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…” Whenever I wanted comfort as a child, or to have someone speak tenderly to me, it was my mother. As a child, it took both of my parents to show me the fullest image of God my little brain could muster. I viewed my father as a strong, protecting, providing, disciplined and disciplining, somewhat distant presence. My mother was who I snuggled with, came to with all my hurts and someone whom I placed my full trust. She was my best friend and confidant. My dad represented God’s strength. My mother represented God’s love.
For my father, I know this was true of the relationship he had with his parents. My dad was the youngest of 6 boys and 1 girl. My father credits his mother and a promise he made to her for his faith and calling into ministry. On his 18th birthday, my dad joined the Navy. Four of his older brothers served in the military during World War II. Before leaving home his mother called him to her side and made him promise he wouldn’t come home changed for the worse as his brothers did. My grandmother was the spiritual, loving, caring presence in his life, calling him to be a better man. This promise made has carried him into his 85th year as he still seeks to make a difference in the lives of others in ministry.
What difference has your mother played in making you a better person? In what ways have God’s qualities of comforting, nurturing, caring and loving us made a difference in who you are striving to be today?
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
___________________________________
___________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment