My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

Can you imagine having an experience like the one Jesus has in today’s Scripture? Imagine being baptized in the Jordan river. You’re plunged under the water, and as you come up for air with water streaming from your head, your ears begin to clear and you hear a voice: “This is my child, the beloved, in this one I am well pleased.”

What I wouldn’t give to hear God say those words to me — especially on those days when I don’t feel beloved, when I feel I could have done a better job, could have been a better person, should have known or done something different. Yet, God does call me a beloved child, every day. I just don’t always listen.

In Romans, it says “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (8:16). The Gospel of John tells us, “To all who received the Word, who believed in Christ’s name, he gave power to become children of God” (1:12). Jesus repeatedly called God “Father,” and reminded us that we are also God’s children with him. When his disciples asked him how to pray, Jesus said to begin, “Our Father. . .” (Matt 6:9).

The Old Testament also testifies to this fact. God is “the rock who bore you in her womb, the God who fathered you” (Deuteronomy 32:18). Isaiah says, “O Lord, you are our father” (64:8). Again and again in Scripture we are taught that we are God’s children, God’s beloved, in whom God is well pleased. Every one of us who was baptized had God say those words to us, as the water ran down our head. And, every day, God repeats those words, whether we can hear them or not.

Thought for the day: God is saying to you: “You are my child, my beloved, in you I am well pleased.” Let that sink in.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

1. Things Are Not Always As They Appear
2. 525,600 Minutes
3. Good Girls Go to Heaven. Bad Girls Go…
4. To Fight for the Right

Today’s Scripture: Esther 4:1-9 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

This is the turning point in the book of Esther. In this chapter, the door leading to Esther’s triumph on behalf of the Jewish people begins to crack open. There are many heroes in the book of Esther — Vashti who stands up to the king, Mordecai the righteous cousin, and of course Esther herself — but the story would not have been possible without a eunuch named Hathach who shows up in Chapter 4. The key who unlocks the door to Esther’s triumph is an unassuming person of ambiguous gender. A transgender hero, right there in the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures!

To understand this passage, you must first understand the black-and-white nature of gender roles in the story. In Chapter 1, you may recall, Queen Vashti throws a party exclusively for the women, while her husband has a party for the men. And when Esther becomes part of the king’s harem, she seems to be trapped in the world of the women. In this chapter, she’s unable to go to her cousin Mordecai, and he’s unable to visit her. He knows if he can get a message to her, she can go to the king, but as a man he has no way of entering her exclusively female world.

I also need to tell you a little bit about the role of eunuchs in the ancient Near East. (This was the subject of my Masters Thesis, but it won’t be wonky. I promise.) A eunuch in this context means a castrated man. In the ancient Near East, eunuchs were thought of as being neither male nor female, and were often given permission to guard — and cross — boundaries inaccessible to other people. For example, in the beginning of Esther’s story, we have eunuchs guarding the king and crossing the boundary between the royalty and the commoners. Eunuchs also guarded the sacred and profane borders of temples, as priests. And, naturally, eunuchs served as guards between men and women in harems.

So, when Esther needed to know what Mordecai was so upset about, she called Hathach the eunuch to carry the message. She needed someone who was neither male nor female to cross the boundary between her and Mordecai, and Hathach fit that bill. He was there to save the day, and turn the story in the direction of redemption for the Jewish people.

One more important thing to know about eunuchs: most were slaves who were castrated against their will. They didn’t choose to live as in-between people, that role was chosen for them. Considering Hathach’s place in the harem of the Persian king, this was probably true for him. The story of Hathach illustrates that people’s unique characteristics — even those parts of our story and our being that we didn’t choose and may not like — are usually the very things God uses to change the world.

Thought for the day: What boundaries are you able to cross that no one else can? Give thanks, be brave, and open those doors. What makes you unique may very well be the key that changes someone’s life.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

This passage from Isaiah is a common reading for Advent. It’s associated with the Kingdom of God, and most Christians believe it is fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. The poetic images of the lion and lamb, the cow and the bear, and the child and the asp have come to be called the “peaceable kingdom.” It’s a popular image in art, as with Edwards Hick’s famous Peaceable Kingdom paintings.

This is what happens, we’re told, when we allow the Prince of Peace to rule in our lives and in our hearts. It’s also a vision of the future we can all hope for, when God will rule in the hearts of all women and men.

The Gospel passage is not one normally associated with Advent, but I think it says something important about how we too-often relate to the arrival (or advent) of the Prince of Peace, and to his peaceable kingdom.

Barabbas represented a way of approaching the world with violence. We’re told he was in prison for fomenting rebellion and for murder. But Jesus approached the world with peace. Even when questioned and flogged by the Sanhedren and Pilate, Jesus refused to lash out at them. On the cross, he asked God to forgive those who crucified him.

Jesus came preaching a new kingdom, but the crowds wanted the old kingdom — just with a different king. Given a choice between the Prince of Peace and a violent leader, the people chose violence. They shouted, “Give us Barabbas!” And we still do that today.

Thought for the day: Do you long for the peaceable kingdom prophesied by Isaiah? If so, are you choosing the way of the Prince of Peace or of Barabbas? The advent (arrival) of the Prince of Peace is here, but he needs followers to bring about his kingdom.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to start, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

Our usual understanding of Elijah’s trip in the chariot is something like Mother Curry’s death. Mother Curry was a beloved, old woman who lived in Medford, Oregon where my grandfather grew up. Grandpa was at Mother Curry’s deathbed, and he says in the last moments of her life her face lit up with joy and she cried out, “I can see the chariot coming for me! It’s coming to take me away, and it’s so beautiful.”

By the description of the flames and the whirlwind — not to mention Elisha’s cries of “Father! Father!” — Elijah’s chariot seems to have been a little more frightening. There’s also the strange insistence by Elijah that Elisha not continue on their journey. Three times Elijah says to Elisha something to the effect of, “You really don’t want to follow me any farther.” And three times Elisha insists, “As the Lord lives, I will not leave you.” Elisha does this even as the prophets of Bethel and Jericho try to warn him about what’s coming. His response to them: “I know; keep silent.”

Elijah and the other prophets remind me of some of the patients and families I work with in hospice. Often, a dying parent will insist that she doesn’t want her adult child traveling with her on the final journey. “I don’t want you to see me at the end,” she’ll say. And then other friends and family members will try to warn the adult child, “Your mom’s dying. You should put her in the hospital. You don’t want to see her like that. You’ll never get those images out of your head.”

But the child says, “As the Lord lives, I will not leave you.”

Even when the others are right, and the final hours are difficult and frightening, with images that will never fade from memory, very few people regret staying with their loved ones to the end. There’s a double blessing that can only come from walking up to the edge of that fire with someone.

There are also few people who are dying, who regret their loved one’s decision to ignore their warning, “You should go no farther with me.” In the end, they recognize the love that made a caregiver say, “I will not leave you,” and they’re grateful for the persistent companionship.

Thought for the day: In what ways are you trying to push away the caring presence of others who want to support you on a difficult journey? Who have you urged to walk away from a difficult situation, simply because it frightened you? Trust their heart to lead them.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

In the verses immediately following this passage, Samuel goes to the people of Israel and tells them all the bad things a king will do. He tries to convince them that having a king will be a big disaster, because kings tax their subjects and send young men off to wars. The whole chapter has traditionally been read as a reminder that God should be our leader, and not any human.

I also read something else in this chapter. In the section we read today, God reminds us that we are not anyone’s ruler.

When the people asked for a king, Samuel was really angry. He went to God to complain, because he thought the people had rejected him. I picture Samuel saying, “Hey, God! The people are asking for a king. Don’t they know I’m their leader? I’m the one you chose to be prophet and judge of Israel. You need to tell these people how things work around here!”

And God says, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me.”

God gently reminded Samuel that he was not in charge. God always is. God’s response invites us to think about who our leaders are. It also invites us to think about our own status.

Thought for the day: Don’t give authority to someone who doesn’t deserve it. And don’t assume authority you don’t have. God is the the real boss.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.

My thoughts (Tyler Connoley):

“Hi, I’m Tyler. What’s your name?” It’s just normal conversation in the social hall after church. We make people feel at ease by opening the conversation with something casual and friendly. We let them know we care enough about them to want to know their name.

When Moses asks for God’s name in this passage, he’s not just making small talk. This is not the social hour at church, and Moses wants something more than a simple name by which to remember the God speaking to him in the burning bush.

In ancient Egypt, the name of a god was a way to control that god. People believed that by invoking the name of a supernatural being, you could make that being do things for you. If you knew their secret name, then they had to obey you, just like Alladin’s genie.

There was also another level to Moses’s question. Remember that in ancient times people’s names told you something about them. For example, Jacob’s name meant “grasper,” and he was always grasping after his brother Esau (whose name meant “hairy”). When Jacob wrestled with the angel and won, the angel renamed him Israel, meaning “wrestler,” to commemorate the event. So, when Moses asked for God’s name, he was also hoping to get some information about what kind of god he was speaking to. Was this a river god, or a fertility god, or some other kind of god? The name would give him a hint.

However, God didn’t want to be controlled or put in a box. So the name God gave Moses transcended all labels, and gave Moses no handle by which he could lead God around. God said simply, “I am who I am.” I believe God was letting us know that God is beyond all names. God simply is.

Thought for the day: As Moses learned, God is too big to be controlled or pinned down. God is, and that’s as much as you need to know.

We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.