25 March 2013 - reeding the signs

25 March 2013 - reeding the signs

Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

This is counterintuitive.  How can one who is so meek and humble command such attention?  The celebrities of the world are typically the ones who loudly flaunt and commoditize themselves.  Who then is this gentle one?  What is it about him that makes the world hold its collective breath to hear him teach.

Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;

The anointing of the Spirit is a draw and an appeal that is very different from the appeal of the world.  Let us pay attention to this difference to learn discernment  The subtle invitation of the Spirit respects our freedom in a profound way.  The world's attempts to draw us are more like manipulations.  Any means will do.  The Spirit is a still small voice but TV commercials prefer to have a louder volume than the surrounding programming to make themselves harder to ignore.

Our circumstances press upon us in a way that is consistent with the world.  They do not invite, they demand.  Their demeanor shows that if they could force us they would.  But even when they press in thus the Spirit still speaks, inviting us to trust.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust. 

We are called to trust the voice of the Spirit even when circumstances seem insurmountable   Even (especially) if we are just one man and they are an army we must trust.

When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,
My foes and my enemies
themselves stumble and fall.

The necessitates of the kingdom are different than the necessities of the world.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 

If we let the circumstances dictate to us their pressing concerns we might miss the wonderful fragrance of this oil.  Trusting the Spirit in how he wants the oil to be used we may thereby indicate the absolute primacy of Jesus over the circumstances of the world.  The Spirit's anointing, symbolized with this oil, may seem to fly in the face of due regard for the armies of circumstances such as poverty.  But it does not.  The battle is in the hands of the LORD and his resources are sufficient.  Let us not look to the armies that happen to be the loudest.  Teach us, LORD, to know your voice and to trust in you always. We believe your in your promise.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.