Monday, June 14, 2010

June 14th - Reflection


2 Chronicles 29:1-19 (NRSV)
Hezekiah renews worship of God

Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east. He said to them, "Listen to me, Levites! Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and carry out the filth from the holy place. For our ancestors have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God; they have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the dwelling of the Lord, and turned their backs. They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps, and have not offered incense or made burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. Our fathers have fallen by the sword and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence to minister to him, and to be his ministers and make offerings to him."

Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of Amasai, and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi, and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah, and Eden son of Joah; and of the sons of Elizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of Asaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the sons of Heman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. They gathered their brothers, sanctified themselves, and went in as the king had commanded, by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord; and the Levites took them and carried them out to the Wadi Kidron. They began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord; then for eight days they sanctified the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils. All the utensils that King Ahaz repudiated during his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and sanctified; see, they are in front of the altar of the Lord."

Reflection
Think of all those "upper rooms" where something miraculous happened. Children are brought to life in "upper rooms"  --- disciples gather in "upper rooms" to break bread --- disciples gather to discuss what the resurrection means in "upper rooms" --- rooms that are made clean and ready for the presence of God.

God invites us out into his Kingdom and we invite God into our rooms. As we go out into the world we begin to witness what has been done contrary to God's will, we see the need to clean a few rooms. We even partake in the sin that is contrary to God's will. But we also reach out to others' caught in that sin and bring them along with us.

Those caught in sin are the very ones God uses to clean the rooms of their lives. Once the notion of the forgiveness of sin is believed and faith is formed, how can we help but to respond in joy and thanksgiving with the cleaning of our rooms. God has faithfully invited us into the Kingdom and we joyfully are formed in his grace by cleaning our own temple. We as creatures long for God's presence in our clean room and in our heart. And God desires to be One with us in love.

So walk the walk and bring along a friend in that love and joy and clean some rooms together. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
I am aware of a room that needs cleaning. Lord, forgive my sin and permit me the joy of cleaning my room and helping in the cleaning of my brothers room as well. --- Amen

No comments: