Sunday Stretch: Vol. 51

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers -

I’m been writing to you on Sunday mornings for more than a year - and this is the first time this happened! Some kind of Substack snafu cut off the end of this week’s Sunday Stretch email. I’m still not sure what happened - but I wanted to include the full post below, especially our prayer. Thank you for reading. Sending you my love and prayers - Angela

Dear Readers,

I write to overcome with sadness by the recent outbreaks of violence and the death in the Holy Land, in Israel and on the Gaza Strip. Last Sunday morning, as I preached on a brilliant and beautiful autumn day in Minnesota, I did so knowing that tears of despair and loss were flowing in the lands where Jesus once preached the very same parable I read aloud to the congregation.

I am comforted today by the very same words of Scripture, the voice of the God of Israel speaking through the Prophet Isaiah.

In our Hebrew Bible text this week, God promises through the Prophet, speaking to a community mired in loss and devastation- and promises to “wipe away every tear from their eye.”

I am thinking today that so often when we see someone in tears, our primary societal response is to offer them a Kleenex, and to tell them: “Don’t cry.” Our response is antiseptic and almost dismissive, because maybe we are more worried about how someone’s crying makes us feel. But God reacts very differently. God reaches in closely and gently, and wipes away our tears without telling us we need to stop. My hope is that we might bear these same burdens for one another, and for our siblings in the Holy Land, in a similar way, without a rush to offer our own incomplete analysis or perception.

Let’s get to the texts …

A woman cries during the funeral of Israeli Col. Roi Levy at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. Levy was killed in fighting with Hamas militants who stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns.

Photo by Maya Alleruzzo, Associated Press

Bible Stories

Isaiah 25:1-9

O Lord, you are my God;
   I will exalt you, I will praise your name;
for you have done wonderful things,
   plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For you have made the city a heap,
   the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
   it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
   cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a refuge to the poor,
   a refuge to the needy in their distress,
   a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
   the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
   the song of the ruthless was stilled.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
   a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
   of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
   the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
   the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
   and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
   for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
   Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
   This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

The Prophet Isaiah calls out to God in the midst of destruction and loss for the people of Israel, but remarkably, the Prophet still speaks of confidence in God having done “wonderful things.” In the rubble of the destroyed city, Isaiah reminds God’s people of the character of Gos: “a refuge for the poor and the needy … a shelter in a rainstorm.”

In this age of global warfare and weapons of mass destruction, God promises justice. And God also reminds God’s people to pause and take refuge, so that the poor and needy - those usually damaged most by war - can heal and recover and grieve and mourn and take shelter.

Questions to Ponder

For what reasons does Isaiah say God will be glorified and feared?

Can you remember a time when someone helped wipe away tears from your eyes? How did it feel?

Why do you think Isaiah uses imagery that evokes food and weather?

Philippians 4:1-9

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

When I read the final section of this passage from Philippians, I find myself comparing it to our modern-day societal admonition: “Good Vibes Only.” But that’s not what Paul is really urging, is it? A kind of facile positivism that ignores injustice or even reality? I don’t think so. Instead, Paul is urging our minds to a deeper and more present beauty and purity. Perhaps he’s urging an acknowledgment of nature and of love, that will undergird our resolve to endure and face the day, seeking truth and justice.

What do you think rejoicing might look like for you? Does it feel natural?

Do some reading on Euodia and Syntyche. Who were these women? How does their mention by Paul jibe with modern-day American Christian calls for women to be Silent in Christian spaces?

What things do you think Paul is referring to here: “Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me”?

Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

If you’ve ever thrown a party and feared no one would come, <raises hand> you might find this to be one of Jesus’ most relatable parables. There is such a powerful ministry in invitation, and yet this parable also shows that an inviting God is a vulnerable God. Invitation is almost certain to result in rejection. But God does not give up or become embarrassed.