These rocket engine tests are fairly common for those of us living near the small, central Texas town of McGregor. SpaceX has a very active operation there. The deep-throated roar of those engines has been known to shake pictures off walls, objects off shelves, and nappers out of repose.
The first time it happened, around suppertime one evening, many of us wondered if the world was coming to an end ... or if we were under some sort of attack ... or, at the very least, if the black helicopters were converging on the nearby Bush (43) Ranch. Local authorities and news media were flooded with phone calls.
There was one question on the mind of every person: What is happening?!
During those first few minutes and hours, there was a great deal of concern. But, after a while, even though no answers had yet come forth, people began to relax a bit. Oh, the roar continued off and on, but nothing actually seemed to be happening. After a bit, the event dropped from "emergency!" down to "just a lot of noise." Oh, it was still annoying, and it was still loud, and it still had everybody's house shaking. But nothing bad followed all that noise; nothing momentous occurred. People left their front yards and returned to their houses. They stopped trying to call the Mayor, the Sheriff, the Chief of Police, the TV stations, the radio stations.
The excitement had waned.
We started to settle down.
We got used to it.
That's the situation confronted by Isaiah in one of this week's Lectionary scriptures. God had been active in the lives of the Jewish people for centuries. God had sometimes presented as a giant pillar of fire, sometimes as a great whirlwind (think: tornado or hurricane), sometimes appearing with such a roar that ordinary people were afraid to approach.
God could be blindingly bright, thunderously loud.
Eventually, though, people came to take God for granted. Oh, they did the religious things. They fasted, made sacrifices, participated in worship. And, in their minds, it was enough. But, in truth, they had moved past the excitement of following God's commandments for living. They quarreled and fought with each other. They let the hungry go hungry. They denied justice to those who were falsely imprisoned. They were supposed to bring the homeless into their own homes, to free the oppressed, and to be caring for their relatives ... but, no. No time for any of that stuff; too busy being busy. And all the time wondering where God had gotten to.
Because they no longer did as God asked, God told Isaiah to "Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion...." Apparently, nothing else was going to get their attention.
They could no longer hear the roar. They could no longer see the light.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 5, 2017)
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/lections.php?year=A&season=Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)
Psalm 112:1-9 (10)
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
Matthew 5:13-20
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As we continue to move through the Epiphany season, I hope you can join us Friday morning at Lectionary Breakfast. Fat Tuesday will be upon us before you know it, and then Ash Wednesday and Lent. Next thing you know, we'll be celebrating Easter.
Take some time to fellowship with us at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. We start at 8:00 and mosey along around 9:00. We eat, we laugh, we pray, and we spend some quality time in God's word ... hearing the roar ... seeing the light.
Blessings,
Steve
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