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Lean forward, reach for the light
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Third Week of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-12
The Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!”
Tomorrow at 5:03 pm the North Pole will be tilted furthest (23.5 degrees) from the sun. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year. North of the Arctic Circle, there is no daylight at all. And then slowly, the days grow a little longer. Light begins to shine again.
Ahaz and I have something in common; we don’t want to bother God. What is wrong with us? We have forgotten God’s touch on every instant of our lives, and we fail to trust what is most trustworthy in our lives. The solstice comes every year. It has never failed to come.
Every year it marks the beginning of the new by the lengthening of the light. Of course Ahaz and I are afraid in the dark, sad in the endless shadows, sick to death of cold hard dark days. And so of course, God sends us light.
What will we stand on, the darkness as it is today, or the light as it will be tomorrow? Which is the sign? Which is the sign as deep as the nether world and as high as the sky? What will I believe about the Source of my life? What will I choose?
Moses cried out to his people, “Today I set before you life and death, blessings and curses … choose life!” Show me what that means today, Lord, moment by moment. Open my heart to your Spirit. Show me how.
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