Numbers 6.22-end; Galatians 4.4-7; Luke 2.15-21
Amongst the Christmas presents I received this Christmas was a bookmark. The bookmark had my name printed on it at the top and below that, the meaning of my name. According to this bookmark, my name means 'Peace'. It goes on to say something of the characteristics that my name symbolises or means. It says 'You have a quiet and peaceful nature. Inside you have a dynamic core. You are not afraid of life. You can deal with your own and others problems.' Well, it's not for me to judge whether that assessment is anywhere near the truth. I can think of instances when the exact opposite to the above can be seen by anyone within a few yards of me. But then we are all a huge mix and mystery.
I guess most, if not all of you have seen things like that about your own name. You might know what is the meaning of your name. And indeed, new parents spend lots of time choosing names for their babies. I'm not sure what the criteria are these days for name choosing. I sometimes have the feeling that the most important criteria is 'nafness', if there is such a word. There are lots of quite obscure names these days which don't seem to mean very much. They may be chosen with love, but I'm not sure that much thought goes into what the name actually says about the child it's given to.
You might think I'm totally off beam saying this sort of thing but I'm only saying it to reinforce the fact that until recently, a name really did mean something and it was chosen, particularly so in ancient times, so that some of the characteristics of the name might actually be shown in the person carrying it. Because it was believed that there was a power in the name; and that knowing the name of a person gave you more than a good insight into who and what that person was, it gave you knowledge of their being.
And that's why when it comes to the Bible, such great store is placed on peoples' names. The angel that visited Zechariah told him that he was to name his child John. And the archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was to name her child Jesus. The name John, in Hebrew tradition apparently means 'God is gracious'. And you can understand why that would be so significant to Elizabeth and Zechariah in their old age. It said something about God's relationship with them and with their son and also something about their son too as he was a prophet and forerunner of God's grace in Jesus Christ.
'Jesus' means 'God saves', and Emmanuel means 'God is with us.' So the name Jesus has a very deep meaning which describes both His person and work. But there is also a power in the name of Jesus which was recognised as we read in the Bible. We read that the name of Jesus was used to cast out devils and to heal people. Jesus himself told his disciples that whatever they asked the Father for in His name they would receive it. St. Peter said that there was salvation only in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And St. Paul, writing to the Philippians tells them that God has bestowed upon Jesus 'the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.' If you are asked why Christians regard their religion as superior to all the others you only need quote those verses - Philippians 2.10 and 11.
So this event in Jesus' life that we are celebrating today in this worship, the naming of Jesus, is one of the most important moments in Jesus' life. It was a moment that affirmed all that Jesus was and was to become, and all that Jesus is to us - Saviour and God with us; a real power and presence in our lives.
We hear the name of the Lord used so much as a swear word these days. It's a name that, more than any others is abused. And that is a direct attack, if you like, on the fourth commandment - 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.' Using the Lord's name as a swear word is simply vicious contempt. Actually, God can stand it. But those who use the Lord's name in that way actually use it to their own damnation. Using the Lord's name like that might upset those of us who hear it, but it damages those who use it that way. What you give out you get back. What you sow you reap. And if you sow contempt, you reap it.
So on this day in which we celebrate the naming and the name of our Lord, let us pray with all earnestness when we come to it later in our liturgy, 'hallowed be your name'. And give the name of Jesus all glory on this first day of a new year and on every day to come.
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Thursday, 22 December 2011
The Nativity - If you won't come to me; I'll come to you!
Isaiah 2.6-end; Titus 3.4-7; Luke 2.1-20
I'd like to begin with some words from a sermon of St. Gregory of Nazianzus.
'Christ is born: let us glorify him. Christ comes down from heaven: let us go out to meet him. Christ descends to earth: let us be raised on high. Let all the world sing to the Lord: let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad, for his sake who was first in heaven and then on earth. Christ is here in the flesh: let us exult with fear and joy - with fear, because of our sins; with joy, because of the hope that he brings us......This is the solemnity we are celebrating today: the arrival of God among us, so that we might go to God - or more precisely, return to God. So that stripping off our old humanity we might put on the new; for as in Adam we were dead, so in Christ we become alive: we are born with him, and we rise again with him.....A miracle, not of creation, but of re-creation. For this is the feast of my being made whole, my returning to the condition God designed for me, to the original Adam. So let us revere the nativity which releases us from the chains of evil. Let us honour this tiny Bethlehem which restores us to paradise. Let us reverence this crib because from it we, who were deprived of self-understanding, are fed by divine understanding, the Word of God himself.'
It's good, 2,000 years since the first Christmas, to read again what the early Church Fathers said about the birth of Christ. They are nearer in time to the event, yes, but that's not the only reason for reading them. They are a prime source, an original reference to bring us back to the original, and I would dare to say, real meaning of this festival of Christmas. So much has been said over the last 2,000 years, expressing so very many opinions, views and indeed, beliefs about the birth of Christ and of its significance, that, even if we are on what we might call the 'believing side', we can at best be confused and at worst come away feeling that because nobody really knows, if not the 'why', then the 'how', then it's probably all pure speculation anyway. And so St. Gregory who lived in the 4th century and who is also known as Gregory the Theologian, for me, sums up what Christmas, the Nativity of Jesus Christ is all about.
It's good too to remember, I think, that although we, living in time as we do, might have seen many Christmases, for God, who is outside of time, there is only ever one Christmas. And as such we should consider each of our Christmases, as if it were the only one we've ever experienced. So that, we really should come to it with the same sense of awe, wonder, mystery and joy as the shepherds and the magi did. We should try to cast off that sense we are bound to get, that we often do when things are repeated, that we've seen and heard it all before so it has nothing new for us. Most adults do that when they say that Christmas is for children. And it's such a pity that they've lost that excitement and sense of wonder as they look at the crib, or unwrap their gifts. So we get, 'oh, just another pair of socks;' been there, done that, worn the tee-shirt, eaten the pie! What a huge shame and pity.
So, let's try and look on Christmas each time as if it were the first and only. For God shouts down from heaven to us 'If you won't come to me; I'll come to you' (and I have to attribute that phrase to a story told by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware) And He does. And as St. Gregory says, at that we should 'exult with fear and joy - fear because of our sins; with joy, because of the hope that he brings us.'
You can't understand Christmas and find any meaning in it, without knowing something of the whole story of God and creation. Trying to make sense of Christmas on its own is like reading a single chapter from a book without reading the whole book. It won't make sense. It doesn't make sense on its own. So as we read the Christmas story, it only makes sense if we go right back to the beginning of creation, as we read it in the book of Genesis and where we read of the Fall of Adam and Eve. And even at this point and especially at this point, down the centuries people have forgotten or misplaced the meaning of events and interpreted them in a way that's been so destructive to life's meaning and purpose.
Listen to any atheist and especially the contemporary celebrity atheists that you hear vilifying the Christian faith; and immediately you hear that most seem to have a picture of God who is an evil tyrant, who created human beings as sick and needing Him; human beings who are depraved and no matter what they do they can never be right with God. And that same God looks down upon humanity seeking to find them out and punish them at every available opportunity. What a wicked travesty of the Truth this is. If there is a God delusion it's just that.
For the God of ancient Christianity, the God of St. Gregory of Nazianzus and all the other Church Fathers, the God of Jesus Himself, is quite the opposite. God is a God of love, who created the universe and all humanity out of love; who out of love, gave humanity the whole of His creation to care for, who living in the way God prescribed had face to face conversation with Him and an everlasting life of joy and wholeness, of freedom and peace.
But it was humanity, in the form of Adam and Eve, created by God in His image and likeness, that chose out of their own free will to disobey God, to go against what He'd asked of them. And the consequences of their disobedience was a falling into sickness of mind, heart, body and most importantly, sickness of soul. And with that, they died physically too. And if we've inherited anything from Adam and Eve it's that sickness of soul. And because we are spiritually sick, of our own free will, we sin, time and time again, that sin at its deepest being a continuing to turn away from God, to reject Him and walk away from Him; to abandon Him.
Read the story, listen to the story as we've heard it through Advent, as we've lit each of those candles on the Advent wreath week by week, and you can see that time and time again God, out of love for humanity, pleads with us to return to Him. Even though we abandon Him, He never abandons us. But every time, we turn away. Time and time again. Until finally God says well, 'if you won't come to me, I'll come to you' and He does that by being born as one of us in the form of Jesus Christ, as a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. Out of time and space He comes into time and space to meet with us and grow with us and die and rise to bring us back to Himself again so that we could readily and freely have that relationship we had with Him before Adam and Eve fell into sickness and death, spiritual and physical. The Uncreated comes as created, so that we, made in His image may grow into His likeness again.
And this is what St. Gregory is telling us. This is how this great saint, through the Holy Spirit working in him, sees these events, and so he proclaims 'Christ is born: let us glorify Him!' St. Gregory says that, in the light of God's coming in Christ we should fear, because of our sins. God is always a God of judgement, and we should live in the light of that fact. We know that our sin has consequences, we see that in Adam and Eve and we also, if we care to look, see that in our own life story. But we must always remember that we sin of our own free will. It's as simple as that. God gave us that free will out of love; and look how we abuse it. So we bring judgement upon ourselves.
But more than that and much more, God is a God of forgiveness and love, and so the other side of the coin to fear, because of our sins, is the 'joy, because of the hope that He brings us.' We have hope in the everlasting love and forgiveness of God. And that's why on this day, we have a smile on our faces. That everlasting love and forgiveness of God is the cause of and meaning of our celebration today, without an understanding and knowledge of which our celebrations are empty and devoid of anything worth.
Today, again, God reaches out the hand of love to each and everyone of us in Jesus Christ, a baby born in Bethlehem; He reaches out to offer us again the life He intended for us right at the beginning, a life of joy and wholeness, of freedom and peace, a life in continuous and everlasting communion with Him. What greater gift could we desire at this or any Christmas? 'Christ is born: let us glorify Him!'
The Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ
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| The Nativity |
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| St. Gregory of Nazianzus |
It's good, 2,000 years since the first Christmas, to read again what the early Church Fathers said about the birth of Christ. They are nearer in time to the event, yes, but that's not the only reason for reading them. They are a prime source, an original reference to bring us back to the original, and I would dare to say, real meaning of this festival of Christmas. So much has been said over the last 2,000 years, expressing so very many opinions, views and indeed, beliefs about the birth of Christ and of its significance, that, even if we are on what we might call the 'believing side', we can at best be confused and at worst come away feeling that because nobody really knows, if not the 'why', then the 'how', then it's probably all pure speculation anyway. And so St. Gregory who lived in the 4th century and who is also known as Gregory the Theologian, for me, sums up what Christmas, the Nativity of Jesus Christ is all about.
It's good too to remember, I think, that although we, living in time as we do, might have seen many Christmases, for God, who is outside of time, there is only ever one Christmas. And as such we should consider each of our Christmases, as if it were the only one we've ever experienced. So that, we really should come to it with the same sense of awe, wonder, mystery and joy as the shepherds and the magi did. We should try to cast off that sense we are bound to get, that we often do when things are repeated, that we've seen and heard it all before so it has nothing new for us. Most adults do that when they say that Christmas is for children. And it's such a pity that they've lost that excitement and sense of wonder as they look at the crib, or unwrap their gifts. So we get, 'oh, just another pair of socks;' been there, done that, worn the tee-shirt, eaten the pie! What a huge shame and pity.
So, let's try and look on Christmas each time as if it were the first and only. For God shouts down from heaven to us 'If you won't come to me; I'll come to you' (and I have to attribute that phrase to a story told by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware) And He does. And as St. Gregory says, at that we should 'exult with fear and joy - fear because of our sins; with joy, because of the hope that he brings us.'
You can't understand Christmas and find any meaning in it, without knowing something of the whole story of God and creation. Trying to make sense of Christmas on its own is like reading a single chapter from a book without reading the whole book. It won't make sense. It doesn't make sense on its own. So as we read the Christmas story, it only makes sense if we go right back to the beginning of creation, as we read it in the book of Genesis and where we read of the Fall of Adam and Eve. And even at this point and especially at this point, down the centuries people have forgotten or misplaced the meaning of events and interpreted them in a way that's been so destructive to life's meaning and purpose.
Listen to any atheist and especially the contemporary celebrity atheists that you hear vilifying the Christian faith; and immediately you hear that most seem to have a picture of God who is an evil tyrant, who created human beings as sick and needing Him; human beings who are depraved and no matter what they do they can never be right with God. And that same God looks down upon humanity seeking to find them out and punish them at every available opportunity. What a wicked travesty of the Truth this is. If there is a God delusion it's just that.
For the God of ancient Christianity, the God of St. Gregory of Nazianzus and all the other Church Fathers, the God of Jesus Himself, is quite the opposite. God is a God of love, who created the universe and all humanity out of love; who out of love, gave humanity the whole of His creation to care for, who living in the way God prescribed had face to face conversation with Him and an everlasting life of joy and wholeness, of freedom and peace.
But it was humanity, in the form of Adam and Eve, created by God in His image and likeness, that chose out of their own free will to disobey God, to go against what He'd asked of them. And the consequences of their disobedience was a falling into sickness of mind, heart, body and most importantly, sickness of soul. And with that, they died physically too. And if we've inherited anything from Adam and Eve it's that sickness of soul. And because we are spiritually sick, of our own free will, we sin, time and time again, that sin at its deepest being a continuing to turn away from God, to reject Him and walk away from Him; to abandon Him.
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| The Fall |
And this is what St. Gregory is telling us. This is how this great saint, through the Holy Spirit working in him, sees these events, and so he proclaims 'Christ is born: let us glorify Him!' St. Gregory says that, in the light of God's coming in Christ we should fear, because of our sins. God is always a God of judgement, and we should live in the light of that fact. We know that our sin has consequences, we see that in Adam and Eve and we also, if we care to look, see that in our own life story. But we must always remember that we sin of our own free will. It's as simple as that. God gave us that free will out of love; and look how we abuse it. So we bring judgement upon ourselves.
But more than that and much more, God is a God of forgiveness and love, and so the other side of the coin to fear, because of our sins, is the 'joy, because of the hope that He brings us.' We have hope in the everlasting love and forgiveness of God. And that's why on this day, we have a smile on our faces. That everlasting love and forgiveness of God is the cause of and meaning of our celebration today, without an understanding and knowledge of which our celebrations are empty and devoid of anything worth.
Today, again, God reaches out the hand of love to each and everyone of us in Jesus Christ, a baby born in Bethlehem; He reaches out to offer us again the life He intended for us right at the beginning, a life of joy and wholeness, of freedom and peace, a life in continuous and everlasting communion with Him. What greater gift could we desire at this or any Christmas? 'Christ is born: let us glorify Him!'
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| Christ is born: let us glorify Him! |
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Advent 4 - According to your word
2 Samuel .1-11, 16; Romans 16.25-27; Luke 1.26-38
Today we come to the fourth Sunday of Advent and we are asked to think on this day about Mary, the mother of our Lord. Since at least the third century, Mary has been given the name Theotokos, which means 'God Bearer'. Hence she has been known down the centuries in Christian tradition as the 'Mother of God'. And today, our readings from the New Testament remind us that this event we have been preparing for over the last three weeks and now going into our fourth is all about God. It's not really about the patriarchs and prophets and St. John the Baptist and about the blessed virgin Mary who we have been remembering week by week. God chose them as part of His plan to redeem the whole of creation, to join in with Him in the process, but it was God who initiated it and God who carried it through.
How extraordinary and even miraculous this thing is that God has done for us. And how extraordinary it is that it is quite forgotten by the majority of the population who celebrate Christmas, and Easter. And even we in the Church find at times that we haven't got the energy or the focus really to think about the magnitude of the event we celebrate at Christmas and also at Easter.
Very often at this time of year we are overtaken by events that come seemingly in opposition to any good recollection of Christmas. It could be anything from severe weather to family tragedy that takes our mind, heart and spirit away from Christmas, so that if we celebrate it at all, it's in a way that keeps us preoccupied rather than occupied with it in awe and wonder at the mystery unfolding.
Just yesterday I overheard a conversation between a man and a woman. They were talking about Christmas and the woman said to the man, 'I'm not celebrating it this year'. When asked why, the woman said it was because she'd lost somebody. I didn't quite catch how the person had been 'lost' but it had quite taken her heart, mind and soul away from what Christmas could and should be for her. And I think all of us very often have something that in some way, 'takes the edge off Christmas'.
So maybe we could just remember, if nothing else, that it's a miracle we are celebrating. The two women mentioned in the gospel reading, Mary and Elizabeth, one so young and the other so old, each hadn't expected to be giving birth to a child. For both of them, what was happening to them was a miracle. And a miracle that came with its own complications and difficulties. God doesn't seem to make it easy for anybody, even in His great grace and love. Or maybe that's because we are so far removed in heart, mind and soul from Him that it just is that way.
But the miracle happening to Mary and Elizabeth, in itself, helps us to remember that what was going on wasn't so much about them, it was about God Himself; about God's will for us and for all creation. And that what God wants, what God looks for in those He chooses to work with Him, is the openness of faith; the willingness of faith. He wants us, like Mary, to turn the unwillingness of Adam and Eve to a willing trust in Him; trust that what He says, He'll see through. And bring us through too, as He brought Mary and Elizabeth through what He had planned for them. And which echoes the Lord's prayer; 'thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven', where God is all in all and so that He may be all in all here on earth also.
On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, with the remembrance of the patriarchs and prophets and of St. John the Baptist behind us; those who paved the way in the world and in heart, mind and soul for the Lord; we come to join with the Mother of God in her acclamation of faith and faithfulness, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And just as through all that long preparation the Lord was born into the world, so through all this preparation, and through faith and faithfulness, the Lord may be born again in our heart, mind, soul and body this Christmas.
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| The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth |
How extraordinary and even miraculous this thing is that God has done for us. And how extraordinary it is that it is quite forgotten by the majority of the population who celebrate Christmas, and Easter. And even we in the Church find at times that we haven't got the energy or the focus really to think about the magnitude of the event we celebrate at Christmas and also at Easter.
Very often at this time of year we are overtaken by events that come seemingly in opposition to any good recollection of Christmas. It could be anything from severe weather to family tragedy that takes our mind, heart and spirit away from Christmas, so that if we celebrate it at all, it's in a way that keeps us preoccupied rather than occupied with it in awe and wonder at the mystery unfolding.
Just yesterday I overheard a conversation between a man and a woman. They were talking about Christmas and the woman said to the man, 'I'm not celebrating it this year'. When asked why, the woman said it was because she'd lost somebody. I didn't quite catch how the person had been 'lost' but it had quite taken her heart, mind and soul away from what Christmas could and should be for her. And I think all of us very often have something that in some way, 'takes the edge off Christmas'.
So maybe we could just remember, if nothing else, that it's a miracle we are celebrating. The two women mentioned in the gospel reading, Mary and Elizabeth, one so young and the other so old, each hadn't expected to be giving birth to a child. For both of them, what was happening to them was a miracle. And a miracle that came with its own complications and difficulties. God doesn't seem to make it easy for anybody, even in His great grace and love. Or maybe that's because we are so far removed in heart, mind and soul from Him that it just is that way.
But the miracle happening to Mary and Elizabeth, in itself, helps us to remember that what was going on wasn't so much about them, it was about God Himself; about God's will for us and for all creation. And that what God wants, what God looks for in those He chooses to work with Him, is the openness of faith; the willingness of faith. He wants us, like Mary, to turn the unwillingness of Adam and Eve to a willing trust in Him; trust that what He says, He'll see through. And bring us through too, as He brought Mary and Elizabeth through what He had planned for them. And which echoes the Lord's prayer; 'thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven', where God is all in all and so that He may be all in all here on earth also.
On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, with the remembrance of the patriarchs and prophets and of St. John the Baptist behind us; those who paved the way in the world and in heart, mind and soul for the Lord; we come to join with the Mother of God in her acclamation of faith and faithfulness, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And just as through all that long preparation the Lord was born into the world, so through all this preparation, and through faith and faithfulness, the Lord may be born again in our heart, mind, soul and body this Christmas.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Advent 3 - A Voice in the Wilderness
Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24; John 1.6-8, 19-28
Last week we thought about Advent as being a time of waiting. But it's a waiting that's not idled away. It's a waiting that is a preparation; and so it's a very active waiting. It's not time simply to be filled in. It's time to be used towards an end.
In that waiting, last week we were introduced to John the Baptist, the Forerunner and Prophet. It's his voice that calls us to make the waiting useful. It's his voice that calls us to prepare. And I want to think, for a few moments, a little bit more about St. John and his call, and about us, and about Jesus, and Advent and Christmas. Just for a few moments.
'Who are you?', asked the priests and Levites of John. 'What do you say about yourself?' So many people at the time had raised themselves up to show people the way to God, to enlightenment, to the answers to life's big questions. As there are so many these days. We have so many gurus around telling us how best to live our life and our death and beyond. John was emphatic. 'I am not the Messiah'. 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord."'
I'm sure we all have that picture in our minds eye of this wild man shouting his threats and promises. Maybe we see him as a little mad, deranged because of his time alone in the desert. Maybe he comes across as a bit frightening. And because of that maybe we don't listen as we could or should. Yes, we see him in the wilderness, shouting out his message. 'Prepare the way of the Lord'.
I wonder if you've ever thought of the wilderness as being yourself; being you and me? John, the wilderness man is crying INTO the wilderness that is your heart and soul and body; and mine too. And he's crying into the wilderness that is our contemporary culture. But you'll say, 'how can I and this time and place be a wilderness? I have everything I could possibly want. I want for nothing.' We can also say, those of us here, like the pharisee, like the rich young man, 'and we come to church too, we are of the faith, we've listened to the message, we hear'.
Well, yes, we have all we want, we have all we need; we think. But almost all of it is temporary and goes away quickly. When the hot winds of misfortune come along and the sand storms of chaos roar across the landscape of our life, how quickly what we see as the good things of life dry up and shrivel up and die. So what we thought was abundance and which we put such great store by was impermanent. We thought we were in a land flowing with milk and honey when all we had was a brief flowering like those desert plants that flower quickly after rain then die away just as quickly.
And isn't the desert also our mind and heart and soul and spirit? We come to church, we hear the message. But do we really know the living God? Do we really love the living God? Maybe you do. Millions upon millions don't. And those who do know God and love God can always know and love Him more. So in that sense we are always a wilderness. There's always that part of heart, mind and soul that remains parched and longing for the life-giving water that is God in Jesus Christ. So the cry of St. John the Baptist is for us too, we who have at one time answered the call and come. Still we need to come more and see more. Still we need to 'Make straight the way of the Lord'.
And notice too something else that John says. 'Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me...' He stands here amongst us and yet we don't know Him. We can come week by week and stand alongside our Lord and still not know Him, just as those priests and Levites did 2,000 years ago. And He stands in the world, in the streets, right beside people, in front and behind them; they look Him in the face and they still don't see, don't know. How many will again this year, look at the crib, give the gifts, wish others a happy Christmas, even come to church and still not know Jesus Christ, still not see Him?
And we can be like that too, it's so easy; so easy to get so caught up in ourselves that He comes and stands alongside us and we still don't know Him. And so we are still a wilderness and St. John still calls to us. And maybe we hear his voice but do we listen?
Let's listen. While there is time let's listen. It might be the last time we hear the voice and it's never too late. And this is the way to listen, in what St. Paul said to the Thessalonians; 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do this.'
When we listen in this way then we may know in our hearts what Isaiah prophesied; 'The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice, the desert shall blossom and burst into song.....For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing, with everlasting joy upon their heads. Joy and gladness shall be theirs, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.'
In that waiting, last week we were introduced to John the Baptist, the Forerunner and Prophet. It's his voice that calls us to make the waiting useful. It's his voice that calls us to prepare. And I want to think, for a few moments, a little bit more about St. John and his call, and about us, and about Jesus, and Advent and Christmas. Just for a few moments.
'Who are you?', asked the priests and Levites of John. 'What do you say about yourself?' So many people at the time had raised themselves up to show people the way to God, to enlightenment, to the answers to life's big questions. As there are so many these days. We have so many gurus around telling us how best to live our life and our death and beyond. John was emphatic. 'I am not the Messiah'. 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord."'
I'm sure we all have that picture in our minds eye of this wild man shouting his threats and promises. Maybe we see him as a little mad, deranged because of his time alone in the desert. Maybe he comes across as a bit frightening. And because of that maybe we don't listen as we could or should. Yes, we see him in the wilderness, shouting out his message. 'Prepare the way of the Lord'.
I wonder if you've ever thought of the wilderness as being yourself; being you and me? John, the wilderness man is crying INTO the wilderness that is your heart and soul and body; and mine too. And he's crying into the wilderness that is our contemporary culture. But you'll say, 'how can I and this time and place be a wilderness? I have everything I could possibly want. I want for nothing.' We can also say, those of us here, like the pharisee, like the rich young man, 'and we come to church too, we are of the faith, we've listened to the message, we hear'.
Well, yes, we have all we want, we have all we need; we think. But almost all of it is temporary and goes away quickly. When the hot winds of misfortune come along and the sand storms of chaos roar across the landscape of our life, how quickly what we see as the good things of life dry up and shrivel up and die. So what we thought was abundance and which we put such great store by was impermanent. We thought we were in a land flowing with milk and honey when all we had was a brief flowering like those desert plants that flower quickly after rain then die away just as quickly.
And isn't the desert also our mind and heart and soul and spirit? We come to church, we hear the message. But do we really know the living God? Do we really love the living God? Maybe you do. Millions upon millions don't. And those who do know God and love God can always know and love Him more. So in that sense we are always a wilderness. There's always that part of heart, mind and soul that remains parched and longing for the life-giving water that is God in Jesus Christ. So the cry of St. John the Baptist is for us too, we who have at one time answered the call and come. Still we need to come more and see more. Still we need to 'Make straight the way of the Lord'.
And notice too something else that John says. 'Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me...' He stands here amongst us and yet we don't know Him. We can come week by week and stand alongside our Lord and still not know Him, just as those priests and Levites did 2,000 years ago. And He stands in the world, in the streets, right beside people, in front and behind them; they look Him in the face and they still don't see, don't know. How many will again this year, look at the crib, give the gifts, wish others a happy Christmas, even come to church and still not know Jesus Christ, still not see Him?
And we can be like that too, it's so easy; so easy to get so caught up in ourselves that He comes and stands alongside us and we still don't know Him. And so we are still a wilderness and St. John still calls to us. And maybe we hear his voice but do we listen?
Let's listen. While there is time let's listen. It might be the last time we hear the voice and it's never too late. And this is the way to listen, in what St. Paul said to the Thessalonians; 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do this.'
When we listen in this way then we may know in our hearts what Isaiah prophesied; 'The wilderness and the dry land shall rejoice, the desert shall blossom and burst into song.....For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; The ransomed of the Lord shall return with singing, with everlasting joy upon their heads. Joy and gladness shall be theirs, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.'
Advent 2 - Waiting
Isaiah 40.1-11; 2 Peter 3.8-15a; Mark 1.1-8
Advent is a strange time, an awkward time. It's two-fold waiting - for celebration and for return. One with awe, mystery, wonder, joy; the other with judgement and fulfilment of all God promises. And in Advent we are between the two, waiting for them both. And it's the awkwardness of the waiting we feel; the strangeness of the waiting.
Because it's not ordinary waiting, like waiting for a bus or a train or a plane; or waiting in the surgery to see the doctor. This ordinary waiting is like a gap that we can fill with anything we want to do, or nothing. It's up to us. Whatever we do to fill the gap doesn't have anything to do with what we are waiting for. It's usually quite distinct or separate.
Not so with Advent. Advent waiting is preparing for what is to come. And preparing in a very particular way. It's a time for what St. John the Baptist calls for, and Jesus when He comes and St. Peter at Pentecost. It's waiting that calls for repentance, for turning heart, mind and spirit to God. And it's waiting too that isn't sort of languid, but has an urgency about it, even a tension.
It's waiting that in itself requires a response that's immediate. It's not a time to while away or waste. It's a time of opportunity not to be missed, because it might not come again. It might be our last opportunity to respond to St. John's call to repent.
Advent waiting is foretold in those parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of God; because it's that we are waiting for. Advent waiting is like the parable of the wise and foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Altogether it's about being ready for the best that could ever be. It's about waiting for God and His kingdom. His kingdom of peace, righteousness and justice - to be born, to be fulfilled.
And this happens for us in time. But in God's time it's all of a piece. We exist in time and that's why we experience this waiting and having to get ready. St. Peter reminds us in the beginning of that part of his letter we've read today how this waiting is for God. He is endless patience and He waits for us to turn to Him and be ready for Him. And then He comes in His time. And that for us may be sooner or later.
This waiting may seem like a test, a trial, a temptation. And so it is. For some it's easy, for others it's hard. For many they don't see it as anything at all because they don't hear the call to repent. But in God's grace we don't need to be concerned about others. St. Peter asked Jesus about another disciple. He said to Jesus 'what about him?' And Jesus said, 'don't worry about him, you follow me.'
So Advent waiting is a God given opportunity for each one of us to hear and respond again or for the first time to God's call through John the Baptist today to turn again to Him, to take another step closer to Him no matter how old or young we may be. Love is limitless and God asks seeks our love in response to His love through our repentance.
Let's use Advent to try and take that one step nearer; let's use this time of waiting, for our good.
Because it's not ordinary waiting, like waiting for a bus or a train or a plane; or waiting in the surgery to see the doctor. This ordinary waiting is like a gap that we can fill with anything we want to do, or nothing. It's up to us. Whatever we do to fill the gap doesn't have anything to do with what we are waiting for. It's usually quite distinct or separate.
Not so with Advent. Advent waiting is preparing for what is to come. And preparing in a very particular way. It's a time for what St. John the Baptist calls for, and Jesus when He comes and St. Peter at Pentecost. It's waiting that calls for repentance, for turning heart, mind and spirit to God. And it's waiting too that isn't sort of languid, but has an urgency about it, even a tension.
It's waiting that in itself requires a response that's immediate. It's not a time to while away or waste. It's a time of opportunity not to be missed, because it might not come again. It might be our last opportunity to respond to St. John's call to repent.
Advent waiting is foretold in those parables of Jesus about the Kingdom of God; because it's that we are waiting for. Advent waiting is like the parable of the wise and foolish virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Altogether it's about being ready for the best that could ever be. It's about waiting for God and His kingdom. His kingdom of peace, righteousness and justice - to be born, to be fulfilled.
And this happens for us in time. But in God's time it's all of a piece. We exist in time and that's why we experience this waiting and having to get ready. St. Peter reminds us in the beginning of that part of his letter we've read today how this waiting is for God. He is endless patience and He waits for us to turn to Him and be ready for Him. And then He comes in His time. And that for us may be sooner or later.
This waiting may seem like a test, a trial, a temptation. And so it is. For some it's easy, for others it's hard. For many they don't see it as anything at all because they don't hear the call to repent. But in God's grace we don't need to be concerned about others. St. Peter asked Jesus about another disciple. He said to Jesus 'what about him?' And Jesus said, 'don't worry about him, you follow me.'
So Advent waiting is a God given opportunity for each one of us to hear and respond again or for the first time to God's call through John the Baptist today to turn again to Him, to take another step closer to Him no matter how old or young we may be. Love is limitless and God asks seeks our love in response to His love through our repentance.
Let's use Advent to try and take that one step nearer; let's use this time of waiting, for our good.
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