God Acts First: a Reflection on Psalm 122, Genesis 17:1-12a, 15-16, Colossians 2:6-12, and John 16:2

Are we glad when we gather for worship in the house of the Lord? I wonder at times, why followers of Jesus worship. We often make it more about ourselves than God…entertainment…convenience…positive thinking. The psalmist reminds us to seek the good of the city and tell other members of the community to have peace within their souls (within them). Abram was told to walk before God and be blameless. In fact, God made a covenant with Abram and told him things that he would do and all Abram needed to do was believe that God would do what God had said. Paul admonishes us to live in Christ; be rooted and built up in him. And John in the gospel states that we are to ask God for anything and it will be given; that in Christ there is peace. And so we must realize that there is something about God that is necessary for us to be a follower of Jesus. God has accomplished something already that we cannot do for ourselves. God knew each of us by name…first. God commanded us to have no other gods before him…first. God created peace out of chaos…first. Jesus has been there and done that on our behalf…first. Why is it then that human deems itself so significant? It is time to stop seeing ourselves as first. Really!

Scripture texts are taken from the two-year daily lectionary cycle which follows the liturgical calendar and begins on the First Sunday of Advent.