Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Today is the last day of the year. As we get ready to say goodbye to 2023, Psalm 90 speaks to our hearts. The context of Psalm 90 is not a pleasant one. It was written in a time when the people of God were “consumed by [God’s] anger” and “terrified” by God’s indignation (v. 7) because of their “iniquities” and “secret sins” (v. 8). Nevertheless, underneath the bad news of God’s righteous judgment lies a bedrock of confidence in God’s everlasting goodness. Rejoicing and prosperity will come again (vv. 14, 17). Psalm 90 reframes the way we think about time and its passing. The psalm begins with good news: “Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” (v. 1). Moreover, God exists outside of time, “before the mountains were born” (v. 2). Indeed, the psalm writer exults, “from everlasting to everlasting You are God” (v. 2). Because God is timeless, God views the expanse of time differently than we see it: “A thousand years in Your sight are like a watch in the night” (v. 4). Framed by God’s eternal existence, our time on earth is short: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away” (v. 10). The shortness of our life could be discouraging. But it can lead to wisdom: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). The phrase “number our days” means “know that we have a limited number of days on earth.” Knowledge of the shortness of our life can help us become wise, according to this psalm. How? What about our few days helps us to become wise? To begin, when we count our days, we are reminded of our smallness compared with God’s unlimited greatness. This recognition leads us, on the one hand, to want to use well the time given to us. On the other hand, it also reminds us of our utter dependence on God. Thus, the final verse reads, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.” When God’s favor rests on us, when God prospers us, then and only then will our work be truly fruitful. What a fascinating – and relevant – conclusion to this psalm! The psalmist’s reflections on God’s timelessness, the relative shortness of our lives, and our dependence on God’s grace lead to a prayer that God “prosper” our work. In this prayer, we hear an echo of the creation story in Genesis 1, in which God worked to create us in God’s own image so that we might work in this world as God’s agents and co-laborers. Though our time on earth is limited, our work still matters. It matters to God. And it matters to this world. What we do as workers will prosper as God’s grace is active in our lives. Thus, as the year changes from 2023 to 2024, and as we remember the shortness of our lives, we do not despair. Rather, when we count our days, we renew our trust in our timeless God and we ask for God’s favor so that we might make a difference through our work in the brief time allotted to us. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
We don’t know much about the Magi, who are traditionally called the Wise Men. They came from the “east” to Judea, because they had seen an unusual star and interpreted it as a sign of the birth of a new Jewish king. They were looking for “the One who has been born king of the Jews” At first the Magi came to Jerusalem to see if King Herod could direct them to the newborn king. Herod wasn’t much help. Guided by the star, the Magi traveled to Bethlehem, where they found Jesus. As they approached Him, “they bowed down and worshiped Him,” and then offered their famous treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After they were done visiting Jesus, they were “warned in a dream” not to go back to Herod, so they went home “by another route.” As I reflect on this familiar story, I’m impressed by the boldness of the Magi. They were risk-taking people, to be sure. For one thing, they believed that the star pointed to the birth of a king, so they endured considerable inconvenience in order to worship Him. Then, when they came before the child Jesus, they boldly bowed and offered their gifts. Finally, because of what they perceived through a dream, they chose to disobey King Herod, something they surely realized endangered their lives. These Magi were bold men. Hebrews 4:16 invites us to be like the Magi. It’s a little hard to see this in the NIV, which reads, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.” “Confidence” is not the obvious or best translation of the Greek word parresia. Parresia is usually rendered as “boldness,” as in the NRSV: “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness.” The KJV reads, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.” Because Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest, because He understands what it’s like to be fully human, since He was born into this world, we are invited to come before God, not with fear nor with hesitation, not even with quiet reverence, but with boldness. Because Jesus was one of us, something we celebrate at Christmas, we have astounding freedom to come before God, to tell God everything we need to say, and to know that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). So, as you reflect on the Magi in the Christmas story, as you are impressed by their boldness, not just admire them. Imitate them. Approach God’s throne boldly. Know that, because of Jesus Christ, God is ready to shower you with mercy and grace in your time of need. He has raised up a horn [mighty Savior] of salvation for us in the house of His servant David. (Luke 1:69)
In Luke 1:5-25, Zechariah receives a visit from Gabriel, the angel, who informs the priest that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, will bear a child. When Zechariah doubts the angel’s good news, his power of speech is taken away until his child is born. After the birth of his son in the final section of Luke 1, Zechariah’s ability to speak is restored. The first thing he does with his voice after months of silence is to praise God (read Luke 1:64-79). A portion of his celebration is found in Luke 1:68-79, a passage that we often call the “Benedictus” (the first word of verse 68 in Latin, meaning “blessed”). In this hymn of praise to God, Zechariah proclaims that God “has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the house of His servant David” (v. 69). Through this Savior, the people of Israel would be saved “from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” For Zechariah, these enemies and haters were the armies and leaders of the Roman empire. Notice what follows. Zechariah says that when God rescues us from our enemies, it will “enable us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness.” (vv. 74-75). God’s people are saved so that they might respond by serving God. How does this service happen? To be sure, in Zechariah’s day, it included the offerings presented in the temple and the other actions of the priests. But the Old Testament concept of serving God also embraces our daily work. The Hebrew word for “service” (avodah) can mean “work” or “worship.” Those whom God saves will serve God, not just in their religious activities, but also in every part of life. Those who have been saved by God’s grace, through Christ, have the same experience and calling. We have been saved to serve the Lord in a variety of ways, including our daily work. In Ephesians 2:8-10, for example, we learn that we have been saved by grace through faith and that when we are saved we are also recreated in Christ for good works. When we do our ordinary work “in holiness and righteousness” (v. 74), we live out our salvation by serving God and contributing to God’s work in the world. As we do our daily work today – whether paid, unpaid, or both – let us be intentional about offering our work to God in response to God’s grace in our lives. Heavenly Father, as we receive Your gift of salvation, may we receive it with joy and gratitude And may we offer ourselves as Your servants in every part of our life. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the Child and His mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” (Matthew 2:13)
If You Will Wait Advent requires waiting, but that waiting shows the providence of God. When we wait, most of us have had thoughts that are not the ideal conclusions we hope for. The owner, waiting on the results of a partnership, could conclude it will not work. The student, waiting on entry exam results, replays every question, second-guessing her answers. The offender, waiting to know if he is forgiven, anticipates revenge. While we wait, we must have spiritual roots. Whether the whole world recognizes the doom when God's chosen are looking for Messiah, the story does not seem to line up with the anticipated results. The Messiah does not come with pomp and circumstance. He does not come immediately annihilating the dark spiritual world or pummeling the Roman oppressor of the Jews. He was not born in a spectacular or renowned city. Everything about the kingdom and the King's arrival is muted and inconspicuous. A young woman and man trying to make sense of conversations with angels, a virgin birth, and after a ninety-mile walk, there was no place to lay their head. How do you get redemption from this kind of start? Advent requires waiting, and in that pause, we learn of God's providence and of His power also. While we wait, we often create stories of doom for ourselves or others. However, God has repeatedly demonstrated that, if we would just wait, God's power is perfect because we are weak. In this feeding trough lays the Son of God, forcing us to repent and change our minds about how any story must unfold. Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes for us what could be for our Advent, if we would just wait: "...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong and that what we take to be evil and dark is, in reality, good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives." We cannot avoid trouble and ought not be surprised when we or others experience it as though something strange is happening to us. We do not author stories of doom for others or ourselves when the Savior of the world's Incarnation began in a feeding trough. Gospel believers don't wallow in the vanity of misery; they know the story ends in power. In that acknowledgment, there is peace even in the waiting. |
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