Thursday, July 28, 2011

Community

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Isaiah 56:6-8 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
8 Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
besides those already gathered.

Observation:
First some background. This part of Isaiah is sometimes referred to by scholars as 3rd Isaiah. The book of Isaiah appears to have been written over three different time periods in Israel’s history and each offers a message appropriate to those respective time periods. Chapters 1-39 seem to have been written prior to the exile. Chapters 40-55 appear to have been written during the exile. Chapters 56-66 appear to have been written after the exile, but during a time when the return home included both hope and disappointment—it was good to return home, but things had changed, and foreigners had, in the meantime, made themselves at home.

In this latter time period the prophet offers some perspective—the kingdom is no longer just for the genetic people of Israel but, actually, for Israelite and foreigner alike; the kingdoms is for everyone who is drawn to God.

Application: One of the very unique and beautiful things about the church I serve is its diversity. There are lots of churches that sort of rally around the idea of being conservative in various ways and there are also a growing number of churches that sort of rally around the idea of being liberal in various ways. The church I serve doesn’t rally to either extreme but, rather, simply finds itself to be a community where people from a significant variety of perspectives gather under one roof to worship one God.

To be sure, nurturing such a community of faith requires a lot of give and take and listening combined with intentional efforts to assure that everyone, regardless of perspective, is valued. For some reason that seems to come relatively easy for me most days, though I’m still not exactly sure why. But it does seem to be along the lines of what Isaiah may have had in mind.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the community of faith I serve. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Isaiah 53-56, 2 Peter 2)

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