Lessons
Isaiah 43:14-21
Psalm 46
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
John 11:38-44
This morning I have been taken back to one of the many “Christmas” programs, which Woodrow Wilson Elementary School presented to parents and other loved ones as we children sang our hearts out in joy of the season. Some of the songs were not religious, such as “Up on the Housetop.” Some were very much religious and Christian in origin, such as “What Child Is This?” to the tune of “Greensleeves.” We also sang “O Chanukkah, O Chanukkah, come light the menorah.” And we learned about dreidles. And there are other songs which even now, 50 years later whisper in my heart. I’ve been listening to Johannes Brahms Symphony Number 1 in C Minor, Opus 68. While I’m sure that that symphony isn’t playing in our hearts this morning, since a very small percentage of Americans listen to classical music, in the 4th movement of the symphony, a tune sprang into my mind from long ago, one of the songs we sang at Christmas time in my former elementary school. My former elementary school no longer exists, because it was torn down, much to my surprise and dismay. Now the new building is Ralph Bunche Elementary School! But, my memories are still intact, at least some of them.
The song I remember from that Christmas Pageant so long ago is “The White Snows of Winter,” which much to my surprise is a Kingston Trio song. (They’re the same group who sang about Charlie and the MTA—”He Never Returned, No He Never Returned, and His Fate is Still Unlearned…………”)
There have been so many changes not only in my life, but also in yours. The year 2010 is at hand. Not too long ago, many folks were really concerned that “Y2K” would undo us all. It didn’t happen.
And for the Jews who were taken captive to Babylon, and whose capital, Jerusalem had been destroyed, there would be a new day.
The same can be said for all who wait in faith. Changes happen. We grieve. There are tears. Like Adam and Eve, leaving the Garden of Eden, we can never go back. But, we can go forward. We can learn and we can grow. And as God molds us and shapes us in these times which really do try our souls we become “new.” Brahm’s First Symphony took 14 years to write. That’s only one piece of music. Brahms dates from the same Romantic period as Beethoven, the late 1800′s. Listening to his music, one cannot but help discern grandeur in the 4th movement of the First Symphony. But, like life itself, and as in the biblical record, grandeur often follows tragedy.
In the case of the apostle Paul, it was the transformation of his soul when God’s grace swept away the hatred that had dwelt there so long, as God replaced it with love. (We must remember that Paul, then Saul, held the coats of those who had stoned Stephen to death as Christianity was taking its very first steps in Jerusalem, and God knocked him senseless from his horse on the way to Damascus to arrest others who believed in Jesus. And finding himself blind and helpless, he was led to someone in Damascus (Ananias) a follower of Jesus who said to him, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” This was done by someone who was part of the group he hated so much. (It sends shivers up and down my spine as I reflect on what happened to Paul in that moment of healing!) And in the case of Mary and Martha, as they watched their brother Lazarus emerge from his tomb, and the grave clothes falling away, what joy must have filled their hearts!
So, as we begin yet another year, and see yet another decade pass away, with many changes, losses, and new creations just on the horizon, perhaps we need to claim the faith which we have through God and Christ and remember in the words of the Psalmist: “Therfore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea……………” And, we will remember, most of all, in God’s words through the Psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God.” The world belongs to our Lord. So do we. And that is our solid foundation as we get ready for the newness which God is already preparing for us in 2010. Happy New Year! Keep the Faith.
No Comments »
Common Lectionary Texts for this Sunday:
Hebrew Bible: Micah 5:2-5a
First Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:47-55
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45
Trust and Obey
Underlying these texts one finds the agony of Israel’s destruction at the hands of the Assyrians (721 B.C.E.) and the “Messianic Hope” of a person in King David’s lineage restoring all that was lost, including Israel’s prominence in the world of nations. The lesson from Micah stops short and does not finish Micah’s thought, that peace would constitute no more Assyrians on Jewish soil.
But, for those of us in the New Testament community of faith, we see Jesus as that fulfillment of the Messianic Hope, and peace will be brought about not by adherence to the system of sacrifices established under the Law of Moses, but according to the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus will constitute the one perfect sacrifice for all sin. The thought that blindly carrying out sacrifices does not please God is not new. The prophets (8th-6th Century B.C.E.) voiced this very well. Instead, our lessons today take us into the realm of faith and obedience, which constitute the heart of what it means to “believe” in God. Faith and obedience produce a godly person, and a godly community of faith. This is the hope underlying Jesus’ preaching of the Kingdom or Reign of God. It is the hope which still inspires us today as we prepare once again to celebrate the birth of the One we believe to be the Messiah. As we “trust and obey” to use the words of a very familiar hymn, the hope of the Kingdom is spread like yeast in bread dough (See Matthew 13:33). In a world which still glorifies the misuse of power, and the use of violence to produce domination, the Gospel looks to another way: Violence ends on the Cross, and we are reminded of the cost of evil, and yet the hope that God has not and will not abandon us, because God has plans for the future of the human race, and they are glorious.
No Comments »
Common Lectionary Texts For Christmas Day
Hebrew Bible: Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalter: Psalm 98
Epistle Lesson: Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12)
Gospel Lesson: John 1:1-14
Who Is Jesus? A Quest for The Christ We Encounter and the Christ of Faith
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today, many of us do not realize that we are in the very heart of an ancient conflict, which has surfaced again, now, in what many people are calling the “post modern” era. If we define the heart of the “modern era” as a world view shaped by the scientific method, i.e., setting a hypothesis and testing it and determining if there is validation to our hypothesis, and if we characterize the past two centuries or so as a time when we measured and cataloged creation and its vast complexity, all of these methodologies growing out the “the Enlightenment” or “Age of Reason,” perhaps one way of talking about out current time would be to say that people are looking once again to be drawn out of themselves into what the Church has called “the Holy.”
Words like “mystery,” “spirituality,” “mysticism,” and other phrases like “alternate realities” are seizing people’s imaginations again. Some label these as “New Age,” meaning, philosophies which do not find their roots in Christian Orthodoxy. Some, afraid that we will abandon the blessings of science, such as vaccines, antibiotics, magnetic resonance imaging, and a world view which has relegated the “demonic” to “superstition,” are afraid that we will return to a “pre-scientific” world view, where the majority of people thought that evil spirits surrounded everyone, from cradle to grave. To those who have embraced the blessings borne of the scientific method, talking of “spirituality,” and “spirit(s)” can be like someone from another world speaking a language which just isn’t understood, Deepak Chopra withstanding, and other writers in the area of “spirituality” such as Eckhart Tolle, whose writings are based in Buddhism and Jungian psychology. And yes, I read them, too.
Please understand that as a thinking Christian, I know that my faith is evolving. It is not static. Nor do I believe that my understanding of God is static. But, I do have questions about how we understand God and Christ in a way which allows for growth, and yet does not abandon the “essence” or “substance” of our faith. So this writing is not complete and won’t ever be because my journey isn’t over yet.
Christmas or (Christ’s mass) is the festival of Christ’s birth. Many know that Christianity “plundered the Egyptians” by building its European churches on former pagan (indigenous) places of worship, and we adapted former pagan (indigenous) festivals to our own viewpoint. For instance, Christmas occurs very closely to the celebration of the Winter Solstice. There are those writing in the area of religion, history, philosophy, and mythology, who have drawn connections between the birth of Jesus and other fabled historical or mythological figures, and in so doing, have tried to simply “debunk” Christian orthodoxy’s belief that Jesus is the 2nd person of the Trinity, the Son of God and Savior of the world. It has also become common place in much of academia today to say that since the age of the Roman Emperor Constantine (4th century C.E. (common era for some) or A.D. (Anno Domini, or in the year of our Lord, for those who see Jesus as the center of history), beliefs accepted by the mainstream of the Church, which flourished because it co-existed with the Roman Empire and its benevolence, were actually “enforced” by Roman might, i.e., that of the Emperor. And so, the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.) convened by Constantine to address the Arian controversy, and which was a fairly early step in the Church’s on going defining of what “true” or “orthodox” faith about the person of Jesus was, has been seen by many scholars in the past 100 years or so, as a manipulation of this debate, and a heavy handed one. We need to also remember, that in the Church catholic, ecumenical councils were convened as doctrinal issues were discerned through prayer, and also in a response later (Council of Trent 1545-1563) to Protestant expressions of the Christian faith. The first council was the Council of Jerusalem, mentioned in the New Testament. Trent was the 19th Council. Vatican II was not primarily a doctrinal council, but a council which focused on how to live out catholic faith pastorally in the world at large and with other faith systems, whether Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, not mainstream, or not Christian. So, in some senses, our faith has continued to evolve and to become more clearly discerned and discernable.
Those who do not read the Early Church Fathers or give them credence, because they were part of a male dominant culture and influenced by Constantinianism, or, whose bias toward the history of the Early Church can be led into a non-orthodox viewpoint about Jesus if one listens to many current authors, who struggle with their own faith (genuinely, I might add), and who come out at a different place from orthodoxy. As an example of orthodox Christian beliefs, let’s lift up the accepted major creeds of the Church, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. Some would add the Creed of Athanasius. More obvious would be the New Testament itself as a witness to who Jesus was and is. But, some scholars, primarily coming out of the German schools of Marburg, Tubingen, and other academies on the European continent, and having introduced methods of scriptural interpretation based on the tools of literary criticism of the 19th century, have questioned the authority or “canon” of the New Testament and the “historicity” of the New Testament as a whole, carving the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke into verses which are: 1. unquestionably rooted or traced to the historical Jesus, 2. Traced to those who followed him, and whose historicity may be questionable, and 3. Outright rejected scripture which, in their viewpoint, due to these tools from 19th century Europe, convinced them that some parts of the New Testament are not historical at all, i.e., they may be merely “stories” written to advance the “official” faith of the young Church, and also of the Empire. Albert Schweitzer’s “Quest for the Historical Jesus” is an iconic example of this methodology. Current scholars who depart from orthodoxy would include those of the Jesus Seminar, and others who embrace their viewpoints. Weststar Institute is home to the work of these scholars. Their internet address is: http://www.westarinstitute.org. And many of these scholars have impeccable academic credentials. Karen Armstrong, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Elaine Pagels are luminaries of the viewpoints expressed at Weststar. And if one has read any of their works, such as A History of God, or Jerusalem, by Karen Armstrong, who is, by the way, a brilliant historian, or The Gnostic Gospels or Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels, whose own faith journey spoken about in Beyond Belief, expresses a very personal journey and an encounter with Christianity anew, or Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, by John Dominic Crossan, or the work of Marcus Borg, Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary, or The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Week in Jerusalem one cannot help but be impressed by their scholarship, and in their own way, they are seeking their own understanding of “faith.” Those who call themselves conservative Christians may and often do not agree with much of their work doctrinally. But, if those of us who call ourselves orthodox, are going to address their work, and also the current worldview to which they are appealing, and perhaps even shaping, we’d better be able to speak to their viewpoints in ways that make sense to the average person not just in the pew, but those who won’t set foot in a church, for whatever the reason.
Other authors who hold more orthodox beliefs, such as N.T. Wright, Jaroslav Pelikan, Billy Abraham, Ben Witherington, III, have addressed Weststar’s scholars. And one can find links on this website’s “links” page to N.T. Wright’s homepage, and also information about Jaroslav Pelikan. Billy Abraham teaches at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, and Ben Witherington teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary. And one doesn’t necessarily need a Ph.D. to read their works. I have greatly appreciated the dialogue between N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg in their book: Jesus: Two Visions. There is a genuine dialogue which took place in that writing, and respect was expressed between these two scholars. In this time in history, such respect is absolutely necessary because when those who do not know Jesus first meet his followers, doctrine will not be the first characteristic noted. Our attitude, the expressions of our “soul,” i.e., love, justice, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, will be the first things noted.
Let me propose, if you will, it is very difficult to put ourselves in the shoes of those who have come before us, i,e., in the apostolic age and subsequent Early Church. We are so conditioned by our own worldview, that stepping back that far is difficult. Many youth to whom I relate today, are not even sure who Franklin Roosevelt was. So, how in the world will the average person know anything about the founding of Rome or the Aeneid, much less Tertullian or Irenaeus. A vast majority of people cannot name the four gospels. Years ago, a parishioner in a church in northern Indiana heard a young person say, when he was asked if he was going to “Good Friday” worship services said, “What’s Good Friday?” He didn’t know that Jesus was crucified on that dark day. This is the climate in which the Church must carry out its mission. And many church goers lack knowledge about the Bible and are very uncomfortable with sharing their faith.
We live in times when everyone is supposed to be “tolerant” of others’ beliefs. Americans generally take a “live and let live” viewpoint. Since our Constitution did not appoint an “official” religion of the United States of America, many believe that a climate that is religiously “neutral” should be the way of life in the United States, especially in government related agencies or public schools. But, how can one simply ignore the huge impact that the Law of Moses has had on Western Society or that of the Gospel? How can one ignore the Sermon on the Mount and its enduring influence on our society. In this tense time between Church, Synagogue and Mosque, the one common ground which we hold together is that we are “people of the book,” meaning the Bible, even though Jews, Christians, and Muslims do not see “eye to eye” on who Jesus was, and Christians would say, “is.” But, the Vatican II Council called Catholics to treat non-Roman Catholic Christians with respect. We were considered “separated brethren.” And those who did not stand in the Christian tradition were to be treated with respect as well. We are now many years past Vatican II, and John the 23rd’s influence seems to have waned.
The Christian influence has lost ground not only due to some of the shortcomings of the academic methods which were listed earlier, though these should be considered “tools” for understanding biblical literature and cannot be considered the only valid tools for the study of the bible, but also because many Christians have a very difficult time understanding the Bible and expressing their faith. My own college and seminary were places where I learned “the historical critical” approach to scripture study. I cut my “eye teeth” on these disciplines at Kentucky Wesleyan and Garrett-Evangelical Seminary. Many persons have turned away from Christianity not so much because of our beliefs, but because of integrity issues related to religious leaders who obviously have failed to “live” their faith. It’s not necessary to name names. Scams in the name of Jesus have been around a long time. Poison Kool Aid sends shivers down the spines of those who remember Jonestown, and its disaster. Pastors and other religious leaders who have abused children, broken marriage vows, been dishonest financially and embezzled funds, or whose lifestyles do not “walk the talk” of our faith, have all contributed to Christianity’s more enfeebled grip on American and Western culture.
But, what of Jesus? Can we trust the witness of the earliest Christians? Do we carve up the gospels like Weststar’s scholars into 1. Real sayings of Jesus, 2. Purported sayings of Jesus, and 3. Discredited sayings of Jesus? Is it important to know how many angels were at the tomb on that first Easter? Or is the witness that Christ was raised from the dead our Great Hope? We can focus on academic methodologies for academia’s sake and perpetuate a scholarly class out of touch with every day people, or those in academia can lace up their boots with the rest of us, because they’re mortal too, and seeking truth and a relationship with God as we are.
How many angels sang in that multitude of angels when Jesus was born, if one can trust that story? (I trust it.) How many angels constitute a “multitude?” I’ve always wondered. Are the gospels simply stories written to “inspire” us as we face a limited, finite life on this planet, with much suffering, confusion and hopelessness? Or, is the Reality that there really was a Jesus whose witness provided by the New Testament is still not only valid, but vital in today’s world? Though there are those who make apocalypticism the be all of Christianity today, many of these pastors having huge congregations and being prolific writers and focusing on the violence found in the Book of Revelation, and getting fairly rich from their writings, there are those of us who cling to the hope found in Revelation. The book’s ending is about the restoration of Eden, and the New Jerusalem. And while the New Testament’s formative era was very much influenced by apocalyptic thought, do we not experience glimpses of the Kingdom or Reign of God in the here and now? Do we yet believe as we proclaim in our Eucharistic liturgies: “Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come Again”?
One thing which rings true, and has since the days of that earliest church is that we aren’t going to have total agreement about who Jesus was or is. Beliefs are “personal” whether we like it or not. But, and this is a huge “but,” the New Testament as a whole bears witness to the incarnation of Christ, his life and teachings, his death, and for those who believe, his resurrection. And, we need to remember that the New Testament grew out of the faith and beliefs of those first Christian communities in the Roman Empire, and those folks believed in Jesus. The canon of the New Testament was growing into its current form by the 2nd Century A.D. when the Muratorian Canon was formed. Should we simply say, due to the pain of those who have been harmed by a predominately male dominated culture, that the modern Western worldview, shaped largely by Christianity should simply be abandoned or “revised” away? Marcion picked and chose his own authoritative version of the New Testament in the Second Century A.D. I hunch, though, that many folks today, also pick and choose what they like in the Scriptures today as well, though the canon of our Bible is much different from the one used by Marcion. Is there really a “pristine” primitive Christianity? Or are we willing to admit that in many places in the Roman Empire in the first five centuries of the church’s existence that “heretical” forms of Christianity were the dominant forms in some parts of the empire? As I encounter and try to understand this entire landscape, I often think of what the letter of Jude says: “3Beloved, being very eager to write to you of our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 1:3 RSV. And as a boy growing up at Woodmar Methodist Church in Hammond, I certainly would have stood with Jude. A huge part of me still does.
We need to consider as we share our faith and experience of Christ as those who believe the mainstream beliefs of Christianity, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, we will not make everybody happy as we share what we believe, and there will not be 100% agreement in some areas of belief. The Cross, itself, has been a stumbling block since day one. For those who see the Cross and the God which sent his Son to die upon it as a sign of child abuse, a position taken by many feminist/womanist authors today, or who cannot utilize orthodoxy, because it does not speak to their cultural situations, (Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker’s book Proverbs of Ashes comes to mind) and those who do relate to liberation theology as practiced in South and Central America or Black Theology, as practiced by James Cone and others, perhaps a theology of solidarity will speak to their and our condition. The Christian faith has believed in the Incarnation. And Christmas is all about that! Looking at our world it’s obvious that the Powers and Principalities spoken about by Paul are real, define them as one may. Oppression has always been a part of the human condition, and the gospels bear witness to that, especially Luke’s gospel and the book of Acts. The Magnificat in Luke remains one of the most moving statements of faith in my life, because Mary, the mother of Jesus, was part of the anawim, those who had only their faith in God to take them through life. Mary was not one of the movers and shakers of her time. But, my, has her faith not made a huge impact on all of us?
My hope is on this Christmas Day, 2009, that persons will hear the Gospel afresh, and rediscover the vitality and validity of Christian orthodoxy and will meet the Risen Christ, who is Savior, and “the only begotten Son of God.” I also hope that we will come to an understanding that Jesus is like a multi-faceted gem. While the ecumenical creeds are “crystallizations” of orthodox faith, how can they completely help us understand who Jesus was and is in all of his glory? In closing, I would like to quote John’s gospel: Those who know me well will not be surprised that I quote John. I am quoting from the Revised Standard Version, not NRSV. This reflects a bias in translation from the dominant Greek manuscripts of John, which in my opinion is more consistent with John’s theology and viewpoint on the nature of Jesus/Christ as a whole:
10″He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. 11He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” John 1:10-14 RSV.
Please pray about my reflections and your own before preaching on the lectionary lessons for today. I pray that your Christmas is merry, and that Christ is with you in all of his grace in this Holy Season of Christmas and Epiphany and that God’s love and righeousness bring you and our world peace, because that is, after all, what that “multitude” of angels sang about so long ago. I believe that this peace, which is greater than that offered by Caesar Augustus (and all government), will speak to us not only as Christ’s followers, but, also to those who do not know Jesus. I offer this writing as my Christmas gift to you, and again leave you with these words from Jude: 24”Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.” Jude 1:24-25 RSV.
“No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.” (Phillips Brooks, 1868 A.D.)
Chris Madison, Frankfort, Indiana
Written December 13, 2009
No Comments »
Common Lectionary
Hebrew Bible: Zephaniah 3:14-20
Hebrew Bible: Isaiah 12:2-6
Epistle Lesson: Philippians 4:4-7
Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:7-18
What, Then, Shall We Do?
Again this week as we worship and prepare for the celebration of Christ’s festival, we are pointed in several directions:
The prophet Zephaniah speaks of redemption for the nation of Israel, culminating in words that speak of hope for what Matthew’s gospel calls “the least of these,” i.e., the disenfranchised, downtrodden, and outcasts of society. Isaiah, in a classic Advent text speaks of the joy that Israel will share as the nation “draws from the wells of salvation.” And this prophecy ends in praise and thanksgiving.
Our lesson from Philippians is also a classic, good words of advice for living our lives in Christ: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.” We are called to offer our anxiety and other cares to the Lord so that the peace of God, which “passes all understanding” will dwell in our hearts and minds.
Lastly, the Gospel lesson from Luke tells of John the Baptizer’s encounter with the “multitudes” which came to listen to his message at the Jordan River. His emphasis was not simply on a “personal relationship” with God, but making that relationship in the community: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” “Collect no more than is appointed you.” (This was his advice to tax collectors). And to the soldiers he said, “Rob no one by violence or false accusation, and be content with your wages.” And, because the people recognized that John was a prophet, and because he spoke of God’s judgment and impending intervention in history, they listened, and asked for practical advice. He made faith “down to earth, and very very practical.”
Its almost Christmas. There are avenues for giving everywhere, from Salvation Army bell ringers, to mission opportunities, to our Bishop’s Christmas Offering for Children. There are so many opportunities to “do good.” But, the heart of Christmas is that God sent the Son so that we might not only “do good,” but “be good.” We are called to be Christlike. And that is the hope of our faith. The Kingdom or Reign of God will not simply be brought by our good deeds. But the good deeds are going to help. And we must continue to live in expectation of the return of Christ, and to represent him well, in a world where prominent figures fall from grace and stature every week in the news, and where the power elite, who are just as prevalent today as they were in Jesus’ day, continue to wield their power. “A day is coming,” says the Lord. “What then shall we do?” Get ready, live by faith, and let your faith speak in charitable and loving deeds.
No Comments »
December 6, 2009
Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary Texts:
Hebrew Bible:Malachi 3:1-4
First Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:68-79
Epistle Lesson:Philippians 1:3-11
Second Gospel Lesson:Luke 3:1-6
Prepare the Way of the Lord!
The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) contains a hope, a hope grounded in the intervention of God into history, where things which are wrong will be put right, and where sin will be vanquished, and finally Israel shall be saved from her enemies. All things will be put right. Its not often that we use the word righteousness anymore in conversation, much less the word sin. We don’t like these words, because they remind us that there are things in us that are out of step with God and out of step with our neighbors. It doesn’t take much to raise the hackles on some folk. And all this talk of sin and righteousness is just so……unsettling. But, if we read the prophets of Israel, who were really reformers, sent by God to call the nation of Israel back to her true relationship with God, one of faith, righteousness and true peace, we discover that the Kingdom of God or Reign of God, which Jesus preached about, is grounded in what the prophets called: The Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord was to be a day of judgment, where God would intervene. Thrones would topple (see the Magnificat, (Mary’s song) Luke 1:46-56), the last would be put first and the first put in last place. Those who practice injustice, will suffer. Those who have been treated wrongly will be redeemed. And who will do this? Jesus Christ, who is called “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” is the One who will do this. This Sunday John the Baptist makes his yearly appearance so that the gospel is tied to the prophets, to their faith, and to their moral sensibilities. Isaiah said it well, when he reminded his hearers (and us) that if our faith is real, it will resemble this:
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow. Isaiah 1:16-17 RSV.
Gosh. This is almost………….Christmas. And those darned prophets have stuck their noses in again, and unsettled everything. And they said that One would come who would put all of this in motion: The Messiah. We are getting ready to celebrate his birth in just a couple of weeks. The world needs to be redeemed. But, let’s make this personal. You and I need redemption. And it won’t come through our own “natural” goodness. It will come through faith in Christ and the salvation God offers through Jesus. The babe of Bethlehem’s destination is a Cross. This may sound fundamental to some. It is. Its the foundation of our faith as Christians. So, we must ask ourselves, “When our Lord returns and God intervenes, will Jesus know us?” Its a hard question. And only each of us can answer it.
No Comments »
The Common Lectionary Gives These Texts:
Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalter: Psalm 25:1-10
Epistle Lesson: 1 thessalonians 3:9-13
Gospel Lesson: Luke 21:25-36
At first glance, when reading these scripture passages, one might wonder what they have in common. Jeremiah speaks of a righteous branch which will spring from the lineage of King David. King David asks that God not remember his youthful sins, and that David be spared from his enemies. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians speaks hope to those at the church in that city, and reminds them of their faith, and wishes to strengthen them in it. And finally, we have a bit of apocalyptic: Luke’s gospel lesson focuses on what has been called “the mini apocalypse,” which can be found also in Mark and Matthew. Signs of the times leap to the forefront. Threats to the people of Jerusalem (again!)will materialize at some future time (most probably 70 AD when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem), though not everyone sees things this way. And as we read these lessons, with their huge time span and try to apply them to us in our time, what can we draw from them?
1. God has a plan. From the beginning God has had a plan for the human race and for the entire creation itself. And the goal of that plan is “goodness” as opposed to evil, and the reign of God. Once God makes a promise, God never abandons it. We must remember that today, when we face our own personal struggles, and as we look at the world in all of its violence and yet, hopefulness. God has a plan.
2. God employs very ordinary people to do extraordinary things. David wasn’t always a king. Jeremiah wasn’t always a prophet. Paul wasn’t always an apostle. And, Luke was a physician. And who could have predicted what God had in mind for all of them? But, God knew what God intended. And God called them to the ministries where they were needed. He does the same with you and me.
3. God does forgive our sins. And God forgets them. Sometimes we may harbor grudges (have you ever seen someone hold a “grudge?” Wow, are they ugly! Looks like something right out of some sci-fi zombie kind of movie). But, in God’s Kingdom or Reign, forgiving and forgetting are the rule of the day. That’s not an easy thing to do, and in truth, forgiving and forgetting is a process.
4. Who knows what the future holds? God does. We don’t. At least we don’t know exactly. We do know that according to scripture there will be a final battle between good and evil (Armageddon, named after Har Megiddo (Hebrew for Mount Megiddo, where all the major battles happened in Israel). And only The Father knows when all of this will happen. Jesus said so. I believe it. But, we know that in the end, those who remain faithful will not only endure, but be given an unending future with God.
So………Keep the Faith. (In the 1960′s we said, “Keep the faith, baby!” Of course we don’t talk the way we did in our teens and twenties now. We’re too sophisticated for that!) Ah, heck. No we’re not!
On this first Sunday of Advent know that all of history is in God’s hands. And so are you. And they’re good and kind. And God never causes a child of his a needless tear. And God has better things in mind. Hold on to that, will you? Thanks.
No Comments »