The words of Sunday’s lesson from Psalm 147 seem fitting for the colder temperatures appearing on our weather forecasts this week:
God spreads snow like it was wool;
God scatters frost like it was ashes;
God throws his hail down like crumbs—
who can endure God’s freezing cold?
Then God issues his word and melts it all away!
God makes his winds blow; the water flows again. (147:16-18 CEB)
Growing up in central NY, winters were pretty rough. When you breathed in the cold, frosty air while waiting for the school bus, it would tickle your nose, and cause you to pull up the scarf Mom had wrapped around your neck. (I never understood why it would run when it was FREEZING outside!) As a youngster after a snowfall, it was hard to be patient getting all bundled up before going outside to play in the newly fallen snow. Long underwear, a turtleneck, a wool sweater, snow pants, wool socks, snow boots, a winter coat, a knit hat pulled down over my ears, insulated gloves, and a scarf wrapped around my neck completed the wardrobe. There’s truth in the scene from A Christmas Story when Ralphie’s brother, Randy, can hardly move when his mother wraps him up for his walk to school!
After spending two winters as a graduate student at the University of Vermont, I came to appreciate the blessing of being wrapped up in wool. Winds would blow across campus, creating a wind chill with temperatures consistently in the single digits that would make your teeth chatter. Trying to stay warm as you walked to class was a daily chore, as was avoiding the icy spots on the sidewalks silently awaiting your missteps to trick your balance and challenge you to perform an awkward slide which you hoped would not lead to a hard fall.
The image created by the psalmist’s words are very real to me: “who can endure God’s freezing cold? Then God issues his word and melts it all away!” God issues his word. Whenever God issues his word, creation happens, deliverance occurs, and empathy is extended. How thankful we are for God’s activity through his word, building and covering, lifting and making, redeeming and saving.
“The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (1:14 CEB). As we celebrate the joy of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, we journey into the seasons before us, remembering and moving on. Brian Wren’s words speak truth for us all:
Christ is alive, and goes before us,
To show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
Our God is making all things new.
During those Vermont winter walks across campus, I remember how good it felt to arrive to my destination upright and the rush of warm air that welcomed you as you stepped inside a building. I recall shaking off the cold and welcoming the warmth of the heat that was enveloping me as I began to remove the hat, scarf, gloves and coat. Although the cold had been brutal, the heat of the inside space melted it all away.
God’s word does that as well. “Then God issues his word and melts it all away!” God’s word melts away the sorrow of your first Christmas without your loved one. God’s word melts away the jaggedness of hurtful words that cut you. God’s word melts away the worries of an unknown future.
In these opening days of a New Year, amidst colder temperatures settling in, might we welcome the joy of spending time with God every day.
In his word.
Blessings,
David
If you would like to view past editions of Driving with David, follow this link:
https://beacondistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/