“Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.” -Isaiah 43:4

When I was in seminary, there was a retreat day during my birthday weekend. My (now former) husband was going to be gone on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts, so I decided to treat myself and signed up. A fellow classmate gave me a ride to the church where it was being held, and this verse was part of a larger passage we were given to contemplate when we arrived. Termed “A Love Letter from God”, the passage comprised the first seven verses of Isaiah 43, and I ended up swinging for a while on the church’s swing set along with one of my classmates as we thought about and prayed through the passage. (Yes, I was almost 22 and playing on the swings. It was a nice stress release as I was a newlywed at the time and in that adjustment period in which one learns to live with one’s spouse 24/7.)

This part of Isaiah takes place after the Babylonian Captivity when Cyrus had conquered the Babylonians and God was using him to return the captives after the Exile. This particular section tells Israel not to fear and that God is returning them home, giving other nations as a ransom to secure their release. Promises of being with them through various trials are given, and the larger message is that of restoration because God loves us so much. As much as it is a bit troubling to me that other nations and people groups should be captured and taken to secure my freedom, it is comforting to hear that I am precious in God’s sight and loved.

Thank you, Lord, for the promises of restoration and your presence with us in times of trial. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this,
That caused the Lord of bliss,
To bear the dreadful curse,
For my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing!
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing!
To God and to the Lamb, Who is the great “I AM, ”
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing!
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on!
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on,
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
And thro’ eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And thro’ eternity, I’ll sing on.
-The Hymnal 1982, #439

“A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.” -Proverbs 17:17

I blush to confess that this is my first encounter with this particular proverb, and it immediately struck me as something that Shakespeare might have written for Henry IV. Both this selection from Proverbs and King Henry’s stirring speech before the Battle of Agincourt (as dramatized by The Bard) make a point that resonates with me. As I look back on my life, there are a lot of people who have loved me and that I have loved in return. But when it comes to the those who have stood with me through thick and thin, brotherhood is truly forged in the crucible of adversity — for sooner or later we all confront our own “St. Crispin’s Day.” This is a truth that transcends theology but is nonetheless an emulation of God’s love for us. And on that note, I leave you with Henry IV’s exhortation to his “band of brothers”:

“For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

Lord, I thank you for the example you sent to us in the form of your son, our Savior, Christ Jesus, that love is given, not earned. It is not for us to be worthy, for Christ didn’t ask that of us. He simply asked us to love without condition, as God loves us. In that love, we are all truly brothers and sisters. Amen.
-Michael Boss

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” -Proverbs 10:12

It is so easy to hate. I watch the news and I find my soul twisting and turning and grief welling up inside. Yes, hate stirs up strife, and there are certainly things we can hate without distorting our souls too badly. I hate lies. I hate abusive behavior and ugly words. But love – God’s love – calls me to lay the cold steel of hate upon the altar and let God transform them into plowshares and pruning hooks. Then God invites us to take up those implements of peace and prepare the soil to receive seeds of grace and hope, joy and comfort, peace and justice.

God, you know how easy it is for me to hate. I can rationalize my bitterness and justify my words and actions, but I also know you have called me to come to a higher place, as a friend – indeed, as your very own child!. Help me live into that vocation so that your love will cover all my transgressions. Amen.
-Keith Axberg

“My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” -Proverbs 3:11-12

This passage could be taken several ways depending on how you were raised. If you were raised in a family where discipline was pain-based and where “spare the rod, spoil the child” (a phrase from “Hudibras” by Samuel Butler that may or may not take its origin from Proverbs 13:24a) was taken to be an advocation of corporal punishment, this passage is going to be very difficult for you. It is also an inaccurate reading of this proverb and the one Butler paraphrased. (An article on the subject is here.)

The way I interpret it (and Proverbs 13:24a) is that God gives us boundaries out of love for us and concern for our well-being. If you love someone, you do not leave them in the bad situation in which you found them. My Catholic friends speak of “helping their children to heaven” and I absolutely love that idea. I think that part of agape is helping each other to heaven and that God wants that for us. It means that I do not allow my son Daniel to do things that are harmful to himself and for others because God does not want me to do anything that is harmful to myself.

Lord, thank you for the reminder that we all belong to each other and that we are all to help each other to heaven. Amen.
-Jen McCabe