It's a Boy! -- An Advent Sermon

Matthew 1:18-25

Four Advent candles are now lit, which means that Christmas is close at hand. Except for some last minute shopping, mostly by husbands, all the packages should be wrapped, and either put under the tree or mailed. The kids, of course, are getting anxious. They’re shaking the packages and wondering about what’s inside the box. If it rattles, then it can’t be underwear or socks, and if it does rattle, then the imagination goes wild! Of course, everyone is on their best behavior, hoping that their fondest wishes will be fulfilled. But as you can see there’s still one candle that needs to be lit. The first four candles call on us to live lives of hope, peace, joy, and love, as we prepare ourselves to receive into our lives the full presence of God in the person of the Christ child. This last candle, the Christ Candle, represents the light that shines into the darkness of our world, lighting a pathway so that we might truly experience hope, peace, joy and love that are represented by the candles that we’ve already lit.

1. A MURKY START

As we ponder the meaning of these candles that we’ve been lighting these past four Sundays, and then look over at the Christmas tree, which is enwrapped by a multitude of lights, it should become clearer that part of the message of Christmas is enlightenment. For a moment let your mind drift to your evening drives through the many neighborhoods that we inhabit. Think of all the houses bedecked with Christmas lights. Normally dark streets can come alive with brightly colored lights, shining into the ever increasing winter darkness.

Even as Christmas is on the horizon, so is the Winter Solstice. In just two days, we will reach the point where the darkness of night reaches its fullest extent of the year, before the sun begins to reclaim the day from the darkness of night. It may be true that Constantine merged the Roman observance of the Solstice with Christmas, and that many of our Christmas traditions have their roots in this observance, but maybe that’s okay – as long as we recognize this to be true. Perhaps it’s appropriate that at the point at which the light of the sun pushes back the night, we will be celebrating the coming of the Son of God into the World to push back the darkness that has tried to take hold in our world.

This message of enlightenment is also present in the two gospel stories of Christ’s birth. Luke speaks of the angelic glory that breaks into the night sky, revealing the glory that is God, while Matthew speaks of a star that draws a group of sages from the east so that they might honor the one who is born king of the Jews.

There is much beauty in the traditional telling of the Christmas story, but we can also fall into a trap of romanticizing the story. Carols like “Away in a manger” envision the little Lord Jesus lying sound asleep, without a worry in his head, while Mary and Joseph, are surrounded by shepherds and magi, cooing at the little child. But, the biblical story is a bit more complicated than many of our beloved carols would suggest.

As Matthew tells it, an angel visits Joseph in a dream, and says to him: “Fear not.” Do you remember these words from last Sunday’s Cantata? “Fear not Joseph.” You see, Joseph has something to be concerned about. His betrothed is pregnant, and he’s not the father. By every right he can cast Mary off in shame, but being a good man, he wants to put her away quietly. But the angel, tells Joseph: Go ahead, get married, because this child, which Mary carries, is from the Holy Spirit, and he is a sign to the world that God is with us. In this dream Joseph learns the true message of Christmas: God is present and at work redeeming the world, through a mother and her child. Yes, Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth is truly one of redemption, but before Jesus can redeem the world, Joseph must first redeem him and his mother, by claiming this boy as his own and by giving him a name, so he can have a future. Only then can he claim us as his own.

There are also hints of this redemption story encrypted in Matthew’s genealogy. Genealogies are fun, especially when we find skeletons in the closet. Those skeletons can be just as exciting to us as the family’s shining stars. Over all, this list that links Joseph to David and Abraham is unremarkable, except for the four women it mentions. Yes, four important but unusual women, appear in Jesus’ genealogy. Although Matthew doesn’t say anything about them, if we know their stories then we get a fuller picture of this one whose birth we’re about to celebrate. One of these women, Tamar, seduces her father-in-law, Judah, because he failed to provide for her. Rahab is the Harlot from Jericho who saves the Hebrew spies, while Ruth is a Moabite woman, a foreigner, whose great-grandson is none other than David. Finally, there’s Uriah’s wife, who bears David a son. Each woman plays a significant role in the life of God’s people and each woman, as is true of Mary, is claimed by God for a purpose. Yes, the Christmas story is one of redemption, Had Joseph not claimed Jesus as his son, then Jesus would have been born with a stigma. Fortunately, Joseph listened to the angel and took away that stigma, even as Jesus takes away ours by claiming us as his own. The story of Christmas reminds us that God doesn’t stand above the fray, untouched by human emotion and tragedy, No, even though darkness may surround us, God is present as the light that cannot be extinguished.

2. THE WORD OF SALVATION

Matthew says very little about Jesus’ birth, but he does emphasize the naming of Jesus. Unlike today, names back then carried meaning. When we name our children we don’t think about what these names mean, we simply choose names that are either popular in our culture or represent a family relationship. Since most parents want to make sure that their kids don’t have odd names, unless, of course, they’re from Hollywood, so today we see a lot more Jacobs and Isabellas in the nation’s nurseries than we do Gertrudes or Homers. As all parents know, picking out a name for a child isn’t easy, but in this case the parents had help from an angel, who tells Joseph to name the child, who is to be born to Mary, Yeshua, which means "he will save his people from their sins." By giving him this name, Joseph affirms God’s call on the life of Jesus, who will bring healing to a fragmented and broken world. Yes, in him the world’s pain, suffering, disappointment, and terror will be replaced with hope, peace, joy, and love. Because of him, the darkness that lays claim to our world will begin to dissipate and lose its hold on our lives. In giving him this name, Joseph is affirming God’s choice to redeem us, even as God chose to redeem and work through Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife, better known to us as Bathsheba.

3. EMMANUEL IS WITH US

As we consider Matthew’s presentation of the Christmas story, we find ourselves standing on a river bank, looking across the water, into the Promised Land. While we can see Christmas on the horizon, Advent isn’t finished with us yet. Remember the words of our opening hymn: "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God to appear. " Is this not the cry of our hearts, that God’s realm would come in its fulness bringing to our land hope and peace and justice? If we’re willing to join with God in this work of redemption by living into the realm of God, we’ll be ready to join in singing the chorus of this hymn: "Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!"

Yes, as the angel said to Joseph, you shall call him “Emmanuel” for God is with us, binding our wounds and setting us free. This hope is well stated, as the hymn continues: . "O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind; bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven's peace."

Although we live in a world torn by war and strife, our own lives need not be torn by bitterness and disappointment, for Emmanuel has come to “bind all peoples in one heart and mind” and fill the world with “heaven’s peace.” The choice is ours – will we accept this offer to live into God’s realm? Are we willing to cross the river into the Promised Land?

When we gather Friday evening to celebrate the coming of Emmanuel into our world, we will light the Christ Candle and gather joyfully to sing the songs of the season, before sharing together in the sign of Christ’s everlasting presence at the Lord’s Table. As we move through this week, may we prepare ourselves to hear a proud father named Joseph cry out to all who would listen: “It’s a boy.” And when we hear this proud father shout out in joy, we can offer our reply by singing: “come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the new-born King” (Angels, from the Realms of Glory, refrain).

 

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church

Troy, MI

4th Sunday of Advent

December 19, 2010

Now I See My Salvation -- Advent Blog Tour (CEB)

A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said, “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation. You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples. It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.” His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him.   [Luke 2:25-33 (CEB)]

Known to many by the Latin title of a canticle that expresses the joyous response of an elderly man to the presence of the child he had spent his life seeking. This is the Song of Simeon, or the Nunc dimittis. As we ponder this beloved passage of Scripture, as it is rendered in contemporary English (Common English Bible), it is appropriate to also hear it in a more traditional voice, in this case the Book of Common Prayer, where it serves a canticle or hymn for Evening Prayer:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: according to thy word.

For mine eyes have sseen: thy salvation;

Which thou hast prepared: before the face of all people;

To be a light to lighten the Gentiles: and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

Now, let me depart in peace, for I have seen your salvation, as was promised according to your word. The journey has come to its completion, and now Simeon can rest in peace.

The story of Simeon, which only Luke tells, is told in the context of a visit to the Temple by Mary and Joseph after the birth of their child. Simeon isn’t the only elderly person who has been seeking this child. Luke also tells of Anna, who “never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day” (Lk 2:37 CEB). Anna may not be in this particular passage that stands before us, but the stories of Simeon and Anna are reminders to us that we are to honor the commitments made by those who have devoted their lives to faithfully serve God. In both cases, these two individuals had spent their lives seeking after God’s salvation. They had not lost hope, even thought the months gave way to the years. Simeon gives his blessing and Anna offers her testimony to all who will listen.

This passage is a reminder of the blessings of perseverance in faith. Both Simeon and Anna devote their lives to the pursuit of God. They saw their salvation in this little child, who provided a sense of hope for tomorrow. They could leave this life knowing that there would be restoration. And in Simeon’s song there is also the hint that this message of wholeness and peace wasn’t limited to only Israel, but to the world itself. For this child would be a light to the Gentiles.

Christmas has not yet overtaken Advent. We’re still waiting and preparing for that day, but today’s text speaks from after the Christmas event, beckoning forward on the journey. It calls us beyond the manger, to the cross and then to the resurrection. In this, the full story, there is good news. May we continue on our journey in hope, persevering to the end, knowing that we too shall see our salvation.

This meditation is offered as part of the Common English Bible Advent Blog Tour

God is with Us -- A Lectionary Meditation

Isaiah 7:10-16



Romans 1:1-7


Matthew 1:18-25

God is with Us!

Every year we hear cries from the populace demanding that Christ be put back into Christmas. In the minds of many there is a conspiracy, perhaps by a cadre of elite secularists, who are intent upon stripping Christ out of Christmas. But if Christ is at risk being removed from Christmas then it’s like that the culprit is the very ones who are making the demand. That is, our participation in the commercialization of this sacred feast of the incarnation is what is pushing the true message of Christmas out of the picture.

If we would attend to the voice of Scripture we would hear a message that is summed up in a name – Emmanuel, which is translated “God with Us.” The prophet told the king that God would provide a sign – a young woman would bear a child and she would call this child Emmanuel. And many centuries later, a gospel writer picked upon this prophetic word and reads the story of Jesus in light of it. The one, who, according to Matthew, is named Jesus because he will save his people, fulfills the promise that God would be with us. Therefore, as we watch the blue and the purple of Advent give way to the liturgical white and gold of the Christmas season, and as the hymns transition from a message of expectation to one of fulfillment, the message of God’s presence begins to make itself felt.

This message that God is with us permeates the three texts for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Two of them speak of a young woman/virgin who bears a child as a sign that God is in our midst. Paul doesn’t speak of the birth of this child but does affirm the gospel message that comes down from the prophets of old, that God’s Son, who is descended according to the flesh from David, has been declared the Son of God through the resurrection. Before I engage more fully these three texts I’d like to add into the mix a statement made by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his lectures on Christology given in Berlin during the 1930s. He notes that the two stories of Jesus birth and baptism stand together, with one concerning itself with the presence of the Word of God in Jesus, while the other is focused in the coming of the Word of God upon Jesus. He writes that “the manger directs our attention to the man, who is God; the baptism directs our attention, as we look at Jesus, to the God who calls.” He then goes on to say:

If we speak of Jesus Christ as God, we may not say of him that he is the representative of an idea of God, which possesses the characteristics of omniscience and omnipotence (there is no such thing as this abstract divine nature!); rather, we must speak of his weakness, his manger, his cross. This man is no abstract God. (John De Gruchy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Witness to Jesus Christ, pp. 116-117).

The texts for this Sunday take us directly into the Christmas story, and they remind us that the Christmas story, indeed the gospel story, isn’t the story of an abstract God-man.

The first word comes to Isaiah and is delivered to King Ahaz of Judah, who is told that God will give him a sign, but the king in a bit of false modesty declines the opportunity to test God’s faithfulness. But the prophet will not be put off, and so God will give him a sign anyway, and the sign will be this. A young woman will bear a son, and she will name him Emmanuel, which means “God with Us.” And before this child reaches the age of understanding good and evil, the land controlled by the kings whom Ahaz dreads will be deserted. In context, this is a word of hope to the people of Judah. The young woman could be Ahaz’s wife, and thus the mother of Hezekiah, or she could be Isaiah’s wife, for Isaiah speaks of his own children as “signs . . . from the Lord” (Is. 8:1). Although it’s easy to get caught up in the debate over whether Isaiah 7:14 is speaking of a virgin or simply a young woman without any reference to her sexual experience, if we do this we miss the point – God has offered a sign in the person of a child, a sign that reminds us that God is with us.

Before we move to the gospel lesson that builds upon Isaiah’s word of promise about God’s faithfulness in dealing with Judah’s enemies, we must stop and attend to Romans 1:1-7. Here in this opening section of Paul’s great letter to the Romans, in which he affirms his own call to be an apostle so that he might deliver the gospel that had been promised ages before through the prophets. This gospel concerns God’s son, who though descended from David in the flesh (note there is nothing here about an extraordinary birth), but who is then declared Son of God through the Resurrection from the dead. And the calling to which Paul has been called is to bring the Gentiles into a position of obedience “for the sake of his name,” for they belong to Jesus Christ. Again the text lends itself to debate. One wonders whether this emphasis on the resurrection being the point at which the Son of David becomes Son of God could signal an adoptionist Christology. That is, God chooses to adopt Jesus as his son – either at baptism or in the resurrection. But as Bonhoeffer reminds us these events are all connected and thus fighting over whether this is an adoptionist perspective again misses the point – God us chosen to be present in Christ.

And so we come to the gospel lesson, wherein Isaiah’s “young woman” gives way to the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew almah into the Greek parthenos (virgin). The message is this. Joseph was going to put away his betrothed because she was pregnant, and apparently he was the father. He was a kind and gentle man so he didn’t take the option of putting her away publicly. But as he contemplated this action, an angel appears in a dream and tells him: “fear not,” go ahead and get married to Mary, just as you planned, for this child is from the Holy Spirit. The focus isn’t on the how, but on the sign. This young woman, not yet fully married, and probably very young is pregnant, and that means she has broken her vows (or, more likely had been raped, perhaps by a Roman soldier). Joseph was fully in his rights to set her aside, but he was a good and gentle man and so he chose not to do so, and now the angel gives him further instructions. Get married, have the baby, and name him Jesus (Yeshua), for he will save the people from their sins. He will do this to fulfill the word of Isaiah, that a “virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they will name him Emmanuel.” And so it happened, and Joseph refrained from engaging in sexual relations with his wife until the son was born, and they named him Jesus. The message once again is this: “God is with us.”  And because God is with us, there is hope, even a world full of darkness -- as Matthew's gospel quickly reminds us in the story of the slaughter of the Innocents.  But that text is still ahead of us.  Now, the message is this:  Fear Not!

There is much going on in these texts that require our careful attention. They have a powerful message of God’s abiding presence, not in abstract form or in typical human power relationships, but rather in weakness, as Bonhoeffer points out in a manger and on a cross.

And the Glory of the Lord

Today, in church, though the snow has arrived, we will be celebrating the season with music. In morning worship the choir brings to the congregation a cantata -- the first in my time. I'm one of the narrators for the message of Advent and Christmas in song.

Then, later in the day I'm taking part in a Messiah Sing-along that the church is hosting. It will be the first time I'll be singing the Messiah since high school -- so in the spirit of this piece of music, I share with you this excerpt from the Messiah via YouTube! What better song for the Sunday of Joy than "And the Glory of the Lord"?!

Waiting Patiently -- An Advent Lectionary Meditation

Isaiah 35:1-10



James 5:7-10


Matthew 11:2-11

Waiting Patiently

I waited an entire lifetime (fifty-two years) to watch the San Francisco Giants win the World Series.  I was not yet born when a very young Willie Mays and his New York Giants teammates won the ’54 Series. I’d seen the Giants make it to the series a few times in my life, but never had I been able to watch them win it all. But, the day of reckoning did come, and my dreams were fulfilled.  Yes, in early November of this year, a much underestimated team that relied on pitching due to a relatively weak offense patiently, but persistently, overcame the odds and won it all for the first time in fifty-six years.    Being the fan of a team that more often than not rewards one’s patience with failure to succeed might lead one to switch teams (and truth be told, despite my lifelong love of the Giants, I have cheated on occasion and adopted a substitute team), but the promise lives on and we persevere (no one quite as long as Cub fans). And when the promise is fulfilled, we are truly filled with joy unspeakable!

The texts for the third Sunday of Advent have nothing to do with baseball, but they do remind us that patient waiting is required of us if we’re to see the reign of God come to full fruition. The prophet of old lays out a wondrous vision of a desert that comes alive with glorious beauty, as it tastes the benefits of water. The prophet adds another image, that of a highway, which is called the Holy Way, and this highway will be extraordinarily safe. It will be a highway for God’s people, and there will be no fear of danger nor of getting lost. And as the ransomed, the redeemed, walk upon it into Zion, they will be doing so singing songs of joy and gladness, with their sorrows fleeing away. What a grand vision of God’s reign. Of course, the prophet new that such a vision had yet to bear fruit. The people of God are living in exile, their hopes dim, but the promise is held out for them.

From the epistle of James we read words of caution – “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.” Like the farmer who patiently waits for the harvest, knowing that both the early and the late rains must come before there is to be a harvest. Yes, once again, water plays a significant role in the promised coming of the Lord. The early church leader tells the reader to strengthen their hearts, because the Lord is near. Don’t grumble against each other, lest you be liable for judgment. Indeed, the judge is at the door. But remember that the judges in this context need not be meting out punishment, but instead deciding how to distribute God’s bounty. So be patient, and if you need encouragement, then look to the example of the prophets who suffered patiently, even as they spoke in the name of the Lord.

If Isaiah lays out the vision and James cautions us to be patient in our anticipation of God’s reign, Matthew seems to think that the promise has been fulfilled. Once again John the Baptist appears in the story, as John often does during this season of patient waiting and preparation for the Coming of the Lord. But in this scene, John is in prison, his dream that God’s reign would come into being as a result of his preaching the baptism of repentance, came crashing down. He had hoped to see the dream fulfilled, and now he’s in prison. But according to Matthew, he hears word that the Messiah is doing some amazing things, so he sends his disciples to ask Jesus: Are you the one, or should we keep looking? Now, if you go back maybe eight chapters you’ll find John baptizing Jesus and proclaiming him to be the Messiah or something like that. So, why the confusion and the questions? In answer to John’s questions, Jesus reaches back to the words of Isaiah, and lays out the things he is doing, and suggests that they speak for themselves: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are clean (remember that in Isaiah 35 no one who is unclean is allowed on God’s Holy Way), the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor, yes the poor, have received the Good news. That, Jesus believes, is a sufficient answer, and the disciples of John return to their master.

As John’s disciples move out of earshot, Jesus turns to the crowd and says of the one who has been sent by God to prepare the way and to be God’s messenger, no one who has been born of a woman has risen higher than John, and yet the least in the kingdom is greater than he. Why? Because the least person in the kingdom has had the opportunity to see God’s reign in its fullness, something John did not get to experience. John is preparing the way, but like Moses another will take the people into the land of promise.

So we watch to see what God is up to, and we do so with patience, knowing the one who is coming is standing at the door. And with the ransomed and the redeemed of the Lord, we come into the Promised Land singing songs of joy!

Someone's Knocking at the Door -- An Advent Sermon

Matthew 3:1-12

Someone’s Knocking at the Door, Somebody’s Ringing the Bell

Someone’s Knocking at the Door, Somebody’s Ringing the Bell

Do me a favor and open the door and let em in. (Paul McCartney, “Let em in,” 1976)

I realize that this isn’t your typical Advent hymn, but Paul McCartney’s tune from the 1970s does catch well the message of the day. The question is: If there’s someone knocking at your door; shouldn’t you go let them in?

But, if you do open the door, you could be in for a surprise. That’s because the person could be, none other than John the Baptist, dressed in skins and toting a lunch pail full of locusts and honey. The reason he’s at your door is because he has a message for you: "Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven!” (Vs. 2, CEB). This is a message about preparation – clean up and get ready, for the Lord is coming. Yes, this time it might be John, but next time it’s likely to be the Christ.

1. THE SPIRIT OF THE KING.

It is Advent, and John the Baptist figures prominently in the Advent story. That’s because this man of the wilderness serves as the advance man of God’s kingdom. To get an idea about what John is up to you might consider what happens when the President of the United States comes to town. Members of his staff will go ahead of him to make sure everything is ready. The Secret Service checks out the security, other handlers make sure the President has a place to stay, and they set up all the speaking opportunities. Nothing is left to chance.

As Jesus’ advance man, John wants us to be ready when he comes to visit. And that means, cleaning up our lives, so that we’ll be ready to welcome him into our midst. That is well and good, but maybe you have questions of your own about this coming king. Maybe you’d like to know what kind of king is coming, and what his reign will look like. After all, history has unveiled all kinds of rulers. Some have been benign, and others have been evil. So, what should we expect? John answers our questions by telling us that he is not worthy of even tying the shoes of the coming Messianic King, the one we’ve been waiting for, and that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire, instead of water.

As we consider what kind of ruler Jesus might be, Isaiah offers us some possible answers. According to the prophet, this hoped for ruler will come bearing gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. With these gifts in hand, the one who is coming will rule wisely and justly. He’ll judge not by sight nor by what he hears, because these senses can be easily corrupted. In fact, human judgments can be skewed by riches and power, but neither of these enticements will impress the coming judge who will rule on behalf of the poor and the meek. (Isaiah 11:1ff).

John’s message to us is this: Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight his paths. Because, when the messiah comes, things will be different! Yes, I know, you’ve heard that one before. Politicians always come making promises that they rarely deliver upon. It’s not that they’re evil people, it’s just that making promises is easier than keeping them! But could this be the time when things are different?

2. THE BLESSINGS OF THE KINGDOM

The message of John is this – when the kingdom of heaven breaks into our world, it will bring a reign of peace, something we all long for. Indeed, as we lit the Peace candle this morning, we declared this to be our hope for the world. In lighting this candle, it is appropriate that we lift up in prayer those who live in areas that know not peace: Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Congo, Mexico, Columbia, Israel and Palestine. And, there is that desire to see peace come to our own streets, homes, and even congregations.

True peace, Isaiah says, comes as the wolf lies down with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the lion with the calf, and when the little child leads them. A little child comes to us with innocence, trust, gentleness, and friendship. Aren’t these the qualities we wish for ourselves? What a contrast there is between this image of the child king and the tyrants of history – Bin Laden, Hitler, or Stalin. And if we think Americans are immune from violence and hatred, just think back a few years to Abu Graib. You might want to also remember that the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world.

In the midst of this reality, we hear John calling out to us: The king is coming, so get ready! Change your hearts and your lives.

If we can look forward for a moment, we’ll discover in due time that this promised ruler will come to us in a most uncommon way. He’ll not be born in a palace in Jerusalem but rather in the little town of Bethlehem. Although there isn’t a manger in Matthew, perhaps it’s appropriate to imagine that setting for a moment. It helps us realize that this king won’t come into our lives in the same way as Caesar or Alexander, with armies and fearsome weapons in hand. Instead, this new born king comes bearing the message of Isaiah: the nations will beat "their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks," so that there might be peace on earth (Is. 2:4).

Does such talk seem unrealistic? Perhaps. And yet, this is the message that Jesus brings to us. It is the message he seeks to embody. It is a message of peace, hope and reconciliation. Bishop Desmond Tutu wrote: "violence provokes more violence and really solves nothing." Gandhi said, "an eye for an eye leaves the world blind." And Jesus said: love your enemies, even as the angels sing: “Peace on earth and good will to all.”

3. TRAVELING LIGHT

I realize that the lure of Christmas is difficult to ignore, even as we come to church for an Advent service. The bells are ringing and the songs are in the air, and would just as soon skip the preliminaries. And yet every journey requires preparation, and Advent is a season of preparation. It requires a bit of discipline in the face of our impatience.

If we will heed the call of the prophets, whether Isaiah or John the Baptist, and step back and consider the one who is coming, then we’ll be better able to heed his message of peace. And preparation for the coming king, according to John, requires of us repentance.

I realize that repentance isn’t one of our favorite words. Not only does it mean saying you’re sorry, it also means changing the way you think and live, and that requires us to do a bit of self-examination. But, if we’re willing to follow John’s lead, we will be ready to receive into our lives the one who is coming, the one who calls upon us to abandon lives of violence, anger, hatred, dishonesty, slander, while embracing God's peace, love, and grace. William Stringfellow wrote that this message of repentance is "no private or individualistic effort, but the disposition of a person is related to the reconciliation of the whole of creation." (William Stringfellow, "The Penitential Season," in Watch for the Light, (Farmington, PA: The Plough Publishing Company, 2001).

And remember the other part of John’s message – the one who is coming will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit. Fire is the refiner of our lives, burning off the chaff, the parts of our lives that do not honor God or serve as a blessing to our neighbors. And having been refined by God’s fire, which goes beyond the cleansing waters of John’s baptism, we are then ready to receive the Holy Spirit, the one who empowers and guides us on the journey, a journey that we’re better able to take, because we no longer carry with us all that baggage that weighs us down and keeps us from enjoying God’s presence.

Consider for a moment the Dickens tale, where Marley tells Scrooge that the chains he bears are the chains he put on in life. According to the ghost of Marley, in death he carries the weight of his disregard for humanity. As we prepare for Christmas, like Scrooge, we’re invited to let go of the things, the attitudes, the grudges, that keep us from experiencing the joy of the kingdom. Travel light, is the advice that both Jacob Marley and John give us as we prepare to welcome the coming King.

In Revelation, we hear Jesus say to us: “Listen, I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into you and eat with you, and you with me” (Rev. 3:20). On this second Sunday of Advent, we hear this word from a former President, Jimmy Carter: “We are always in the presence of the Holy Spirit, as my sister Ruth seemed to know. Whether the door is open or closed is our decision” (Partners in Prayer, Advent 2004, Dec. 3, Chalice Press).

Yes, “someone’s knocking at the door,” will someone let him in?

The Way of Peace -- A Lectionary Meditation

Isaiah 11:1-10

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

The Way of Peace

This second Sunday of Advent is known to many as Peace Sunday. Peace is, of course, difficult to come by. The world is certainly not at peace, and if truth be told the same can be said of our communities and even families. Peace is in the minds of many a Utopian dream that will never see fruition. The realist in me recognizes that peace is not something that can be easily attained and that perhaps there will be interim measures to keep order, if not peace, in the land. But that’s the realist in me, but that realism must be tempered by God’s vision of peace. It is a vision that is clearly espoused in Isaiah 11. But even if a direct appeal to peace is not as clearly present in the Romans and Matthew passages, what all three share is a vision of the Way of the Lord, which according to Matthew, John the Baptist has been called to prepare for.

As we continue our Advent journey, we hear this powerful vision proclaimed: From the stump of Jesse (Jesse being, of course, David’s father), comes a shoot, and upon him will rest the Spirit of the Lord. This Spirit brings wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Rather than judging by what he sees and hears, this Spirit-filled leader will judge according to righteousness. He will judge the poor and decide with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth. When we hear judgment, justice, and righteousness, too often what we hear is retributive justice, or punishment. But that’s not what the prophet has in mind. No, the word of the prophet concerning righteous judgment, speaks to God’s decision to act on behalf of the poor and the meek of the earth, what some call distributive justice – making things right for those who the world tramples upon in its eagerness to get ahead in life. Yes, righteousness and faithfulness are the qualities that form the best around the waist of God’s anointed, the true heir of David’s throne. And on that day of the Lord, when justice will be known in the land, then there will be peace – the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the lion with the calf – and a “child shall lead them.” Or as another prophet said to a governor: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty (Zechariah 4:6 NIV). Then there will be peace on earth. On that day, when the Root of Jesse stands among the people, the nations will enquire of him and his dwelling shall be glorious. It is a messianic vision, which the Christian faith has tapped into and applied to Jesus, seeing in him the hope of peace. We may not live out the vision with any consistency, but it lies before us, calling us to embrace God’s vision for the world. May we be led by the child of God!

If Isaiah lays out the vision, Paul calls on us to be instructed by what has been written in former days (Isaiah 11, perhaps), so that we might live steadfastly, encouraged by the Scriptures, in such a way that there would be harmony. And why harmony? So that we might with one voice, glorify the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Paul, whom we know to be the evangelist to the Gentiles, looks back into the biblical story, and finds promises made to the Patriarchs of old, that suggest that the Gentiles were to be welcomed into the family. Welcome one another, he says, as Christ has welcomed you, all so that the Gentiles might glorify God on account of God’s mercy. Yes, as Isaiah promised, in the root of Jesse, the Gentiles will find hope, and the God of hope will bring to all both joy and peace. It is for this cause, Paul says, that Jesus became a servant to the circumcised, which I take to mean, that it is through this particular first century Jew, that God has fulfilled the promise made to the Patriarchs, that there would be complete harmony in the world.

If Isaiah offers the promise of what God intends, in this powerful text from Matthew’s Gospel, we hear the message of John the Baptist, whom God sent into the world to prepare the way for the Lord, to make the pathways straight, to get things ready for the coming of the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire. For John, this call to prepare the way and make the paths straight is accomplished through a baptism of repentance – that call to change one’s life in the pursuit of God’s design. Matthew’s portrayal of John’s ministry includes a word towards the religious establishment, reminding them that they should bear fruit worthy of their repentance. Of course, you may be joining me in wondering why members of the religious elite would even bother to be baptized by John. Matthew doesn’t give us any explanation, but even if John is less than receptive, it suggests that even the elite seem to understand that things need to be upended. God is at work, changing things, clearing the threshing floor so that the wheat can be separated from the chaff, so that the chaff, that which keeps us from experiencing the fullness of God’s vision. The chaff may be burnt away, but what remains is God’s glorious intention for the creation. Peace on earth, good will to all!

A Candle of Hope -- Advent Lectionary Meditation

Isaiah 2:1-5



Romans 13:11-14


Matthew 24:36-44

A Candle of Hope

We begin the Advent journey by lighting a candle of hope, and hope is in the biblical scheme of things more than wishful thinking. The hope that the season of Advent holds out to us as we light this first candle is rooted in the promises of the God who is ever faithful. It is rooted in the covenant relationship that exists between God and humanity. Therefore, we can gather and sing with a sense of purpose the final stanza of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel":  "O come, Desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind; bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; fill the whole world with heaven’s peace. Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!” (Chalice Hymnal, 119). And so as we begin the journey we do so in the company of Isaiah, Paul, and Matthew’s Jesus. Each of these texts for the first Sunday of Advent speak to the hope that is present in us, and reminds us that we should continue to stay awake and live according to the promises of God.

The journey begins in Isaiah, where the prophet speaks in wondrous terms of the day that will come when the nations will stream to Zion, to God’s holy mountain, so that they might encounter the Lord, the God of Jacob. And the reason they will come is so that they might receive instruction (Torah). Yes, they’ll come in the hope that will learn of the ways of God so that they might walk in his paths of righteousness. Upon this basis God will judge, that is, God will rule over the nations. And as a result, the nations will commit themselves to peace. The fourth verse of Isaiah 2 is one of the most beautiful and promising of all texts of scripture, for it promises a war torn world a vision of peace. When God rules over the nations and therefore is the one who will arbitrate among them, then the nations will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. That is, in the days to come, instead of devoting our time, our energy, and our resources on keeping afloat a “military industrial complex,” the people will devote themselves to more productive work, such as providing food for their tables. It may sound utopian, and yet it stands before us as God’s promise, and it is a promise in which we have been called upon to place our hopes – not wishful thinking, but trusting our futures to the covenant-making God. Our lection ends with verse 5, which calls upon the house of Jacob to “walk in the Light of the Lord.”

Isaiah’s wondrous vision is paired with two texts that lack the grandeur of the Old Testament lesson, and yet they too speak to us in our day. Both remind us of the importance of being awake and living as people of the light. In his letter to the Romans, Paul rings the alarm and reminds the recipients of his letter that their salvation is nearer to them than when they first believed. The night is drawing to a close and day is at hand. Therefore, they are now to live as in the light, laying aside the works of darkness. The image here is clear, the criminal does his or her work under the cover of darkness so that they will not be seen, and such, the implication here is, once this was true for them. But now the light has dawned, the candle is lit, and so they’re to live honorably, putting aside the works of darkness including revelry, drunkenness, debauchery, licentiousness, quarreling (remember that in Isaiah, as a result of the Lord’s instruction in Zion the nations will cease their quarreling), and jealousy. Instead, they (us) are to put on Jesus Christ and make “no provision for the flesh.” There is in this word to us, that our hope in Christ should affect the way we live, especially as we move into God’s future.

Finally we come to the Gospel. With Advent we begin a new lectionary cycle, one that focuses on the Gospel of Matthew. And in this first gospel lesson of the new church year we find ourselves near the end of the Gospel, in Jesus’ eschatological discourse that comes near the end of his own earthly journey. It is a rather strong and even harsh word, one that even speaks in terms of eternal punishment. In this word about the future, Jesus lets the disciples know that the time and place of God’s judgment is known only to the Father – neither Angels nor the Son of Man know this information. And just as a word of warning, in case they get complacent (remember that Matthew is writing a half century following the death/resurrection of Jesus), on the day of his revealing, the people will be living rather normally. Indeed, the people will be eating and drinking (not necessarily in excess, just normally) and they’ll be planning weddings, just like normal. That’s the way it was when the flood hit in the days of Noah. Since they didn’t heed Noah’s warnings, they were caught unawares, and were swept away. The moral – you don’t want this to happen to you. To reinforce this message Jesus speaks enigmatically of pairs of individuals, one of whom will be taken and the other left doing their normal work – men in the field and women at the grinding stone. As to who is the one receiving judgment – that’s unclear. A recent book series might suggest that it’s the ones left behind, but it could easily be that the ones who suffer judgment are the ones being pulled out. There’s really way to know for sure. What is for sure, Jesus says, is that if a thief were planning to break into the house, and the owner knew the time of his coming, he would have been awake and would have foiled the attempt. Be awake at all times, Jesus says, for you never know when the thief is coming.

There is hope to be found in this life. We can live into the vision of God that Isaiah lays out for us, but we must be awake and attentive to the movement of God, and then live in ways that are in tune with this vision of the future. Therefore, we can affirm that Christian eschatology, that vision of God’s future, does have ethical implications, and so does the candle of hope that we light this first Sunday of Advent.

Reposted from [D]mergent

The Light That Came Into the World

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, that period where Christians the world over begin building up their enthusiasm towards the celebration of Jesus' birthday at Christmas. It also marks the beginning of an official new year in the western Christian Church. The name derives from the Latin word 'adventus', which means 'coming', and so during Advent we are anticipating the coming of the Lord. During Advent the Catholic Church expects that we will prepare ourselves "worthily" for Christ's coming by making our souls "fitting abodes for our Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace". It is a period of preparation for all Christians. We are to take this time to prepare our bodies and souls for Christ's arrival. For Catholics, this is an outstanding time to get back to the Sacrament of Penance. We should all set time aside to find out when our particular Church will be holding Penance services, and take the opportunity to cleanse ourselves of the sins that keep us from a fuller relationship with the Lord. In some cases these sins and our inability or unwillingness to confront them are keeping us from the Church itself. Advent is the most appropriate time to set aside our egos and recognize that we are part of something bigger in the Church community. The period of Advent last for approximately four weeks, and one of the traditions in the Catholic Church to mark the progression through this period is the Advent wreath. At some unknown point in the Middle Ages, the Christians adopted an existing tradition of the Germanic peoples who lit candles within a wreath during the winter months as a sign of hope for warmer brighter days of spring to come. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, chasing away the darkness of sin and radiating life and the love of God to all mankind. The wreath is made out of various evergreens, celebrating the continuous life. The evergreens can be broken down further in symbolism: laurel signifying victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew signifying immortality; and cedar signifying strength and healing. The prickly leaves of holly also remind us of Christ's crown of thorns. The wreath is round, symbolizing the eternity of God with no beginning and no end. Pine cones and nuts in the wreath symbolize life and resurrection. The wreath as a whole signifies our immortal soul promised everlasting life through Christ. The four candles in the wreath represent the four weeks of Advent, and each also represents a millennium in a 4,000 year period from the time of Adam and Eve up until the birth of our Saviour. Three of the candles are purple in color, and one candle is rose colored. The purple candles signify prayer, penance, and sacrifices of good works that we undertake during Advent. The rose candle is not saved for the end, but is lit on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, representing that we are halfway through the period and are coming quickly towards the birth of Christ. One candle is lit each week as we celebrate a progressive expectant buildup towards this most joyfully wondrous time of the Christian year. At home, we should light the candles on Sunday after saying a prayer before dinner. Traditionally the father will say the prayer this first Sunday, and the youngest child will light the first purple candle. On the 2nd Sunday, the father will say the prayer and the eldest child will light two purple candles. On the 3rd Sunday after the father says the prayer, the mother will light two purple and the rose candle. Finally on the 4th Sunday, the father will light all of the candles after praying. The entirety of Advent and the tradition of the wreath are simply to strengthen our homes and our families in remembering the true meaning of Christmas. With all of the shopping, presents, music, food, and other secular distractions, we always need to remember that there is only one 'reason for the season'. While Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, Scrooge and other characters are fun and well worth adding to the joy of a child's season, we always must remember to put the ultimate focus on why we celebrate to begin with. God is coming to live among us. He will be born to us in his Son, Jesus Christ, who will be born and live and ultimately die so that we may live in eternity. There is no greater event in the history of mankind than the birth of Christ, for the saving sacrifice of His death and resurrection would not be possible without His joyful birth. Here in Advent, we look forward to the birth of Christ, the light that came into the world.

Goodbye Again to 'Ordinary Time'

The Church has divided her year into periods of time, and the most common of those is about to call it quits once again. 'Ordinary Time' occurs in 33-34 weeks each year, and will make its final appearance next Sunday, November 23rd. Ordinary Time occurs just after Christmas season, and then again just after Easter, covering a large period at the end of winter, through the entirety of spring and summer, and into mid-fall. It is the entirety of the year outside of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. The name of Ordinary Time does not denote that there is something less special, or in other words the common meaning that we give to the word 'ordinary'. Instead it draws its name from the word 'ordinal', which means 'numbered', because the Sundays that make up Ordinary Time are indeed numbered. During this time all the days, but especially the Sundays, are devoted to the mystery of Jesus Christ in every aspect of His existence. The first Ordinary period of a calendar year begins after Mass is said on the Feat of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls the Sunday after the Epiphany. Thus the Mass on that day is said to be in Christmastide, but the Evening Prayers would fall in Ordinary Time. This first period will then last until what has become commonly known as 'Fat Tuesday', the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. At that point, Lent begins, and Ordinary Time will not return until Pentecost. When this second Ordinary period begins, it will then run right up until Advent. During these Ordinary Time periods, the Church may indeed emphasize those ordinary aspects of Christ's life. The teachings and verses of Scripture that cover his interactions with his family and friends, his day-to-day life and teachings, those things that occurred outside of his birth, death, and resurrection. Prior to the Second Vatican Council closing in 1965, the Church called these periods of the year 'Season after Epiphany' and 'Season after Pentecost', and there remain some Anglicans and other groups who still recognize these older terms. But in the broader Church, a new Catholic Calendar was issued beginning in 1969, and the Ordinary Time designations have been used ever since. So next Sunday you can go to Church and say goodbye to Ordinary Time. In so doing, you will also be anticipating one of the most joyful times of the year, what has become known even in the secular world as 'the most wonderful time of the year'. The following week, the first Sunday of Advent is observed, and we begin the run-up to the greatest event in the history of mankind, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
NOTE: This is another in the 'Sunday Sermon' series which comes each Sunday. Simply click on that below Label to visit all of the previous entries in the Series.