Healing Rays of Righteousness

Is Our God Heartbroken and Lonely?

The events of the past few years prompt me to encourage the reading of the biblical book, Hosea.  Hear and feel its message regarding our God being heartbroken and lonely because we chose to follow the false gods of selfish consumerism, fearful racism, and divisive politics.

Through the prophet Hosea, we are given a sweeping review of the earlier history of God’s people.  Hosea sees and understands the past, present, and future of Israel as God’s child from the perspective of God being the divine parent who remembers with joy, anguishes with grief, suffers with loneliness, and looks forward with hope.

To read these verses slowly and reflectively is to feel the pulse-beat of God’s lonely, heartbroken love for His people.  Yes, a people who have foolishly rejected and ignored His freely offered relationship of love.  The people who cause Him the deep pain of loneliness.

Chapter 11 opens with God, the parent, saying that, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”  You then immediately feel the pain of a rejected love that this all-knowing parent has for his child, “But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.”  And yet, He lavishly poured out His grace and love upon them. 

And in verse four we hear that God considered Isarel to be family.  He says, “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.  To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.” 

God graciously loved His son Israel and helped him leave Egypt.  But Israel soon chose to worship new gods and broke the basic rule of the covenant, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3).  Did they do this deliberately and intentionally?  Probably not.  More likely it was the result of the people becoming careless in nurturing their faith and thus their relationship with God became non-existent. 

Israel’s peace and prosperity were soon disrupted by the Assyrians.  In 721 BC the Assyrians besieged the capital and Israel’s armies were defeated, bringing the Northern Kingdom under Assyrian control.  Hosea saw and understood this event to be God’s judgment upon the faithlessness and immorality of the people. 

But throughout this time of defeat and despair, Hosea continued to affirm the steadfast love of God.  The central theme of Hosea’s prophetic ministry is captured in the Hebrew word “hesed” usually translated “steadfast love.”  “Hesed” is a passionate, emotional, persistent and loyal love, a love that will not ever quit loving.  Although the lover clearly sees the beloved’s unfaithfulness, “hesed” relentlessly works for the restoration of the relationship.

And, according to Hosea, that is the kind of love God has for his people.  God chose these people, claimed them as children, made a covenant to faithfully love them, when he brought them out of bondage in Egypt.

But they prostituted themselves by turning to other gods.  And Hosea heard the Lord say, “They have deserted (me) to give themselves to prostitution” (4:11).  And later the Lord describes their fickle love, “What can I do with you, Ephraim?  What can I do with you, Judah?  Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (6:4).  

And this heartbroken, lonely God asks, “How can I give you up, Ephraim?  How can I hand you over, Israel?  How can I treat you like Admah?  How can I make you like Zeboiim?” (11:8).  God had destroyed these two cities along with Sodom & Gomorrah.

Good news!  The God whose heart is revealed in Hosea 11 is the same God of whom John would describe in his first letter, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!” (3:1).  “This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (3:16).   “This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (4:9).

It is awful to contemplate the thought that Almighty God is heartbroken, lonely, and longing to reconcile our relationship with Himself, to enjoy the intimacy for which we were created.  It is awesome to imagine an empty place in God’s heart which only you and I can fill with our voices of grateful praise. 

My friend, the God who would not abandon the people of Israel has not given up on us.  When we act as if He does not exist, when we sell ourselves to other lovers, when we prostitute ourselves for the sake of the pleasures of the world around us, His steadfast love follows us.

When we suffer the consequences of our own foolish choices, when we experience the results of our own sinful behavior, His steadfast love follows and overshadow us, waiting in grieving loneliness for our return to a restored relationship of total love and trust.

May we soon give attention to Hosea’s appeal and respond with repentant hearts;  “Come, let us return to the Lord.  He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.  … Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.  As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (6:1-3).

Then we can fully experience the reality of Zephaniah 3:17;  “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”  AMEN!

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 29, 2021

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

God Keeps His Promise

In Viktor E. Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he tells a story that illustrates how God shows up in the strangest and most unexpected ways. Frankl was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.  He tells of how he and some other prisoners were moved on a work detail from Auschwitz to a Bavarian work camp.

“One evening when we were already resting on the floor of our hut, dead tired, soup bowls in hand, a fellow prisoner rushed in and asked us to run out to the assembly grounds and see the wonderful sunset. Standing outside we saw sinister clouds glowing in the west and the whole sky alive with clouds of ever-changing shapes and colors, from steel blue to blood red. The desolate gray mud huts provided a sharp contrast, while the puddles on the muddy ground reflected the glowing sky. Then, after minutes of moving silence, one prisoner said to another. “How beautiful the world could be!”

Even amid death and dying, through a sunset, God reminded a group of prisoners not to give up hope, for indeed the world could be beautiful.

This is Luke’s message in relating the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Mary’s lives were full of trouble, but Mary’s visit is filled with encouragement and joy. Despite their many troubles, their faith allowed them to see that God had not abandoned them but was working in them to bring new life into the world, making the world beautiful.

In first-century Judea, during the December darkness, people were shut up in their darkened houses for fear of Roman soldiers. The streets were deserted and fearfully quiet. There, in the dark silence of fear and hopelessness, a pure, clear, feminine voice cuts through the night, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, …for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”

We usually encounter Mary’s song of praise, called the Magnificat, only during the Christmas season. We joyfully listen to the beautiful music and picture in our minds a simple young peasant girl in blue and white, surrounded by celestial blue light, with her hands clasped under her chin, looking prayerfully up into heaven and singing. We intently listen to the beautiful music, but seldom do we listen to the words.

We need to erase that picture from our imagination, silence the music, and listen to the words. I know that Luke did not pen these words to make beautiful music for our ears, he penned them because he had a message that he wants us to hear. So, I urge you to listen carefully to the strong emotion-filled words and think about God. Mary’s Song declares that God is in the thick of things, that God is bringing about a revolution.

“… He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.’” (Luke 1:46-55).

Mary’s Song is about the inbreaking of God’s Kingdom to which the whole Old Testament had been pointing. At that time, all existing order will be turned upside down. All present standards of success measurements will be reversed. An upside-down Kingdom will break open and over-rule the present worldly kingdom. Therefore we, along with Mary, celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

Mary’s Song is about God’s promise of justice for those who are treated unfairly, who are oppressed. But when, is our question. We look at the spreading unrighteousness in the world. We daily read the accounts of injustices, prejudices, racism, hatred, and political and religious divides and we say, “O God, how long?”  We forget that God’s timing is different than ours.

Let us make no mistake about it, God is sovereign. He is on the heavenly throne and rules the universe with love and justice. Nothing escapes his notice. Every evil act of unrighteousness, every devilish act of greed and lying is seen, and every oppressor is judged by the sovereign God of righteous love, mercy, and justice.

God promises it. His created world of all nature and humanity will again be beautiful. The searching question for each of us is whether we are intentionally and actively helping to make it happen or not.

When Mary was invited by God’s angel to participate in his work of making the world beautiful, Mary questioned how, but then said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”  (Luke 1:38).

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 15, 2021

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

For Whom Do We Labor

Another Labor Day.  Another day to gratefully acknowledge all who have and are working for the “common good” of all persons in our nation and world.  Another chance to review and ask ourselves for what and for whom am I working.  Is my working all about me or about God? 

The Labor Day holiday is also a good time to be reminded that God created you and me primarily for fellowship with himself, and secondly, he tasked us to be the loving caregivers of all his created works.  From the beginning of this earth, God intended to sustain and continue his creative working in this world through you and me.  This truth alone should encourage and motivate us to busy ourselves with God’s business.  But what can we correctly say is God’s business? 

In Isaiah 40:3-5 we hear God calling us to invest and engage ourselves in his grand excavation project of lowering mountains, raising valleys, and making rough places level, building a glorious highway toward a new earth and heaven.

Every Sunday for many generations, the Lord’s Prayer has been repeated by millions of Christians around the world.  And in that prayer, we petition God to energize us in making his name holy and in doing his will on earth as it is in heaven.  So, what is his will and how will it be done? 

In Luke 4:16-21, we read that Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, and on the first Sabbath, went to the synagogue where he read Isaiah’s prophetic listing of the Messiah’s work credentials.  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

After reading the text, Jesus surprisingly claimed these credentials as his own work (mission) credentials.  And later, he listed these same work credentials to the disciples of John the Baptist when they asked, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:18-23). 

It is important to note that these credentials are all about responding to the social needs of others.  The welfare of the weak and powerless, the sick and helpless, the poor and the hungry, the abused and the abuser, the stranger and immigrant, of all races and creeds.  This is God’s transforming, redemptive work in the world.  This has always been God’s business. 

As a Christian, rooted in Anabaptist theology and understanding of Scripture, I believe all of scripture would declare that God’s intention for us disciples of Jesus, is to daily emulate the life and work of Jesus.  I believe that “God is at work” where social concerns and human needs are responded to with authentic Jesus-like acts of compassionate love and practical, material generosity.  This is God’s business.   

I believe “serving others” is what identifies us as disciples of Jesus Christ.  I believe Christian faith is more than worship and verbal commitment to the Lordship of Jesus on a Sunday morning.  It is also the live performanceof that worship and commitment in every conversation and activity of life Monday through Saturday.  It is “walking the talk” of Jesus’ lordship and love in our worship, work and every relational encounter.  Thus, Jesus’ work credentials are intended to be the authentic work credentials for all God’s people living today.

Or, as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  And in verses 44-45, we hear this “good deeds” also includes our response toward our enemies.  “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

For this Labor Day week, we do well to review our work priorities and behaviors.  How energetic and vigorous has been my commitment to laboring in God’s business of loving and caring for the world through me?  How sincere have I been in praying “Our Father in heaven, … your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”?  For whom do I labor?  Is my “going to work” all about me or about God.

In doing so, be encouraged by Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  AMEN!

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 8, 2021

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

The Good Journey of Aging

Today we are living 20 years longer than our forebears did a century ago.  However, many persons have not prepared themselves to fully enjoy life during these years.  Instead, they awake each morning without purpose and with a diminished sense of self-worth.  They meander through their days with no vision, no mission, no dreams, and no enthusiasm for life.  For them life is just one long monotonous “rocking chair” wait for death.  HOW SAD.

We may well ask, why does God allow aging to happen?  What is its purpose?  When did the process of maturing, which we see as being positive, become the thief in the night that we see as aging?  And that question leads to, If God allows aging to happen, it must have a purpose.  So, what is its purpose?

It has been said, “It is not how old you are but how you are old that makes the difference in your enjoyment or despair of life.”  It has also been said, “A beautiful young person is an accident of nature, but a beautiful older person is a work of art.”

Regretfully, in our American culture, attitudes about aging are very negative, resulting in a massive denial of aging.  We joke about growing old and stigmatize those who do.  We call our older adults “elderly” an identification suggesting diminishment and requiring constant care, rather than calling them “elders” which denotes wisdom and respect.

We idolize the young and desperately cling to the carefree, immature lifestyle of youth.  We constantly fight the evidence of aging and deny its reality by spending millions of dollars on cosmetic cover-ups to keep us looking young.  We pluck or dye our gray hairs and pay for surgical face-lifts attempting to cover any evidence of the aging process.  But it is all in vain.

American culture views aging as a succession of losses, a painful descent into nothingness, and a senseless slippage of strength, abilities, and stature in the community.  As evidenced in their attitudes and actions, Americans do not agree with the wisdom of Proverbs 16:31 which says, “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”

Even we, who call ourselves Christian, are tempted to become despondent and resentful as we grow older, causing us to age more like sour vinegar than sweet wine.  We need to daily adjust our attitude toward seeing aging from a vantage point dramatically different from that of the non-Christian world.

In appealing for a corrective change in our attitudes, Biblical wisdom states that our latter years are the glory years? “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” (Proverbs 4:18).  

To change our attitude toward viewing our life pilgrimage as a journey into “the full light of day”  is to prepare us to see new visions, hear new sounds, and find new directions for living our latter years in continuing service to God and our fellow human beings .

In their book, Aging, God’s Challenge to Church & Synagogue, Richard Gentzler, Jr. and Donald Clingan state: “Aging can begrowing into the light in such a way that as we age, we see new visions, hear new sounds, and find new directions for living in service to God and to our fellow human beings.  …aging is so filled with promises that it can lead us to discover more and more of life’s treasures.  Aging is not a reason for despair, but a basis of hope; not a slow decaying, but a gradual maturing; not a fate to be undergone, but a change to be embraced.

The psalmist paints a beautiful word picture of the aging person in Psalms 92:12-14.  The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”

These verses suggest that our aging has the potential for spiritual development and character refinement far beyond what we could imagine for ourselves.  Our unique, individual, God-given gifts should improve and mature as we grow older.  Our character should become more Christ-like as we grow in a deeply rooted relationship with God.

Katie Funk Wiebe says in her book, Border Crossing, p.201,  “Old age is the proving ground of whatever one has believed, taught, and said.” 

This is to say that all we have been in the earlier years of life now matures and flowers in our older years.  Growing older leads us into new physical, social, and spiritual experiences and challenges, giving  opportunity for the integration of life, accumulated knowledge and discernment to bless our journey. 

I agree with those who say, “Aging is not an enemy to be conquered, but a friend to be cultivated.” 

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – September 1, 2021

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley