Psalm 5:1-8, Isaiah 28:14-29, 1 John 5:1-21 - Lectionary for 12/11/11

Today's readings are Psalm 5:1-8, Isaiah 28:14-29, and 1 John 5:1-21. Theologians use strange terms sometimes. There's one in Isaiah 28:21. Sometimes they talk about the "alien work of God." Here we see that term. What is God's alien work? It is the work which is somehow foreign to God. And that alien work of God is his work of destruction. When he cleanses the world, sweeping out all that is evil, that is God's alien work. It is not in his primary nature to be destructive, for he is the God of creation and redemption. Yet to redeem he must also cleanse evil. How does our Lord cleanse evil from the world? He lays himself a cornerstone in Zion, that Rock, Jesus Christ, who is the foundation of our faith, the one in whom we find redemption, mercy, grace, and love. Then he sweeps that foundation free of all the works we might try to do, works to earn our salvation, works of self-righteousness as well as works of overt evil. He cleanses the foundation and then he builds on it, one living stone at a time, as he places people into his kingdom by faith in his name. As opposed to the "alien" work of God, we see God's "proper" work - the work which really belongs to his character - the work of redeeming and restoring his people.