Illustrations, Quotes and Lectionary Reflections (Advent 2C)
by Various Authors
Don't know quite where I am going with this yet, but the beginning of the reading struck me forcibly as I read the Gospel to myself yesterday - the way Luke piles up all those names and territories. "in the 15th year of the emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ..ruler of Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiphas." The impression is of a world where all the power is sewn up, where every square inch has its ruler - there seems so little room to manoeuvre. Yet into this comes the word of God to John - prepare a way, make the paths straight,.all flesh shall see the salvation of God. It seems a very deliberate piece of storytelling - the contrast between the tightly packed earthly powers and the imagery of God sweeping into this place as if he owned it (which of course he does). I imagine the Roman road builders would have acted like this - they wanted to build their nice straight road through your land; they built their nice straight road through your land. You didn't like it? Tough! It spoke to me of the way that we like to think we have got things all organised, but perhaps discover when something unexpected happens that we aren't as powerful, as in control as we thought. In another sense it also speaks to me of the helplessness we can feel that we have no room to manoeuvre either - we can't do this and we can't do that - the territory of our lives is all sewn up - we have to be responsible for such and such and so and so - this or that won't let us do what we feel called to do - what will people think of us if we do something different from the herd? This article from The Independent on Sunday (a UK Sunday newspaper) left me scratching my head in bemusement, not sure if I wanted to give the author a good shake, or cry for her. http://money.independent.co.uk/personal_finance/invest_save/article2030802.ece And there are those who live with far more crushing oppressions and restrictions - poverty, disease, occupation, civil war - I think of child soldiers around the world, for example - their lives seem to have been all sewn up at an early age, conditioned to fight and hate as children, - and yet.things can be different, those who work with them can make a difference - a pathway can be made into their lives which lets something new in (the dawn from on high shall break up on them.) and lets them out into a new place too. http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/crp/index.htm I have mental image of Tiberius, Pilate, Herod, Philip Lysanias et al. standing spluttering furiously as the road builders of God come tearing into their nice, well sorted landscape ."you need planning permission for that road..! You can't build it here. This is my land."
The highway of God is to be built not in the spare land, the land no one wants, but through these tightly ruled lands. It is a highway, not a bypass. We are using the alternative lectionary reading from Baruch 5.1-9, which makes it quite clear that this is a highway to Jerusalem, the centre of power, the centre of the world. Faith is not a bolt on extra; the perfect gift for the person who has everything; something to do with your spare time and energy. It should be something that goes to the heart of our lives and our dealings with the world. There are commemorations planned for next year marking 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade, for example. We might wonder how so many Christians could have lived with this, and why it took so long for them to let the message of the Gospel get to the heart of their thinking on this, why there were so few, apparently, like Wilberforce, raising voices to challenge the trade. The disjunctions between our apparent comfort with our over-consuming lifestyles and the effect this has on the people of the two thirds world and on the environment might be an example of this same "bypass" mentality today. Sugary sentiments about the love of God, mushy choruses about the joy of salvation, focus on the destination of eternal souls; these are all ok, but when faith gets involved in politics there can be hell to pay. God can have the spare bits of our lives, the bits which would otherwise have been unoccupied desert, but not building a highway to Zion, to the centre of power is another thing altogether. John's preaching starts in the wilderness - but the culmination of Jesus ministry is in Jerusalem.
The Hinge of History
It sometimes seems that God shows his sense of humor with history. Halford Luccock once noted that Nero was sure that the most important happenings in Rome were the words he said, the laws he enacted, and the things he did. As a matter of fact, the biggest events in Rome at the time were some prayer meetings which were being held secretly in the catacombs. The Medici, he observes, must have seemed the key figures in Renaissance Europe, with their palaces, art galleries, and political power. Yet they are overshadowed by "a little boy playing about on the docks of Genoa," who would eventually open the seaway to the Americans - Christopher Columbus. So it was in John the Baptizer's time. One can easily imagine the pomp and circumstance with which Herod trampled about as tetrarch of Galilee. Wherever he went, people scraped and bowed. They waited for a disdaining nod and dreamed of some act of preferment from his hand. Herod was, indeed, a big man in Galilee in the first century. Today, all his pomp is simply pompous, and all his circumstance only circumstantial. But John the Baptizer! -- a great human being. (by J. Ellsworth Kalas from 'The Hinge of History,' Sermons on the Gospel Readings, Cycle C, CSS Publishing Company)
A Higher Standard of Living
Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob most of his life. He just couldn't comprehend the logic of neatness. Why make up a bed if you're going to sleep in it again tonight? Why put the lid on the toothpaste tube if you're going to take it off again in the morning? He admitted to being compulsive about being messy. Then he got married. His wife was patient. She said she didn't mind his habits . . . if he didn't mind sleeping on the couch. Since he did mind, he began to change. He said he enrolled in a 12-step program for slobs. A physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to the smell of Pine Sol. By the time his in-laws arrived for a visit, he was a new man. But then came that moment of truth. His wife went out of town for a week. At first he reverted to the old man. He figured he could be a slob for six days and clean up on the seventh. But something strange happened. He could no longer relax with dirty dishes in the sink or towels flung around the bathroom or clothes on the floor or sheets piled up like a mountain on the bed. What happened? Simple. He had been exposed to a higher standard of living. That's what confession and repentance do for us. That's what Jesus does for us. (by Billy D. Strayhorn from Thunder in the Desert)
Turn on the Lights!
During the recent recession, one commentator on television began his newscast by saying, "Due to the current financial crisis, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off." The world turns off lights. Christians turn them on - look around you, in your neighborhoods, in this season. Light (especially light at the end of a tunnel) represents hope. Something that pierces the darkness. (by William R. Boyer from A God Full of Surprises)
We Need a Bath!
Last week we embarked on the journey of Advent. We lit the first candle, and we read biblical passages that propelled us into the future to consider the end of time-the apocalypse. Today, our reading sends us in the opposite direction. On the second Sunday of Advent, we are pulled into the distant past to hear the words of the ancient prophet, Malachi. Malachi tells of a figure who is coming "to prepare the way for the Lord." He speaks of a messenger who will purify people's hearts. "God is sending an emissary," writes Malachi, "who comes intending to cleanse your souls." It all seems a bit presumptuous, doesn't it? In the midst of our pre-Christmas hustle and bustle, the church trots out some primitive prophet who promises us an Advent scrub-down. Is that really what we need right now? You would think that the lectionary could come up with a few encouraging words at this time-assuring us that we will make it through another Christmas, instead of cheekily suggesting that before God arrives, we need a bath. (by Scott Black Johnston from Fire and Soap)
Preparation - or lack of it!
To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son's school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and--this is a real song--"Suzy Snowflake," all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology. (by Dave Barry in his "Notes on Western Civilization" Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991)
True repentance is to cease from sin. Ambrose of Milan
To Whom Should We Repent
When a man undertakes to repent toward his fellowmen, it is repenting straight up a precipice; when he repents toward law, it is repenting into the crocodile's jaws; when he repents toward public sentiment, it is throwing himself into a thicket of brambles and thorns; but when he repents toward God, he repents toward all love and delicacy. God receives the soul as the sea the bather, to return it again, purer and whiter than he took it. Henry Ward Beecher
Repentance
True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it has discovered and felt God's love. (by W.M. Taylor)
Recognizing our Need to Repent
One critic said he had gone to many churches and heard the preacher say, "Don't try to impress God with your works" or "Don't attempt to please God with your merits" or "Don't try to keep the rules and regulations and thus win your way." He looked around at nearly slumbering collections of utterly casual Christians and wondered, "Who's trying?" (by Martin Marty)
Our Basic Problem
Billy Graham, who has often played the 20th century role of John the Baptizer, had these comments about the disease running rampant in our world: "We're suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic problem is not a race problem. Our basic problem is not a poverty problem. Our basic problem is not a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart problem. We need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed." (by Michael J. Anton from Good News for Now, CSS Publishing, p. 12)
The Color Purple
For those using the liturgical colors of the season of advent: Whenever I reflect upon the fact that purple is the color of Advent, I am reminded of an historical story. When Louis the IV was a young boy growing up in France the Royal family employed one of the best teachers in the land to instruct him on the ways of royalty. When he arrived the first thing that he did was to give the young prince a purple tunic. Your grace, he said, I cannot give you orders, for I am but a commoner. How can a commoner command royalty. But I give you this purple tunic. And every time I see you doing something unbecoming of the royal prince, I am going to point to the purple and remind you that that represents France. I will remind you that it is for that that your countrymen died. I will not make my appeal to you, your Prince, I will make my appeal to the purple. (by Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com)
Sermon Ender - Forgiveness
Carl Michalson, a brilliant young theologian who died in a plane crash some years ago, once told about playing with his young son one afternoon. They tussled playfully on their front lawn when Michalson accidentally hit the young boy in the face with his elbow. It was a sharp blow full to his son's face. The little boy was stunned by the impact of the elbow. It hurt, and he was just about to burst into tears. But then he looked into his father's eyes. Instead of anger and hostility, he saw there his father's sympathy and concern; he saw there his father's love and compassion. Instead of exploding into tears, the little boy suddenly burst into laughter. What he saw in his father's eyes made all the difference! The sharp blow of God's message to us is: Repentance. But, look into your father's eyes. What he offers you is forgiveness and that makes all the difference. Repent and you will be forgiven. (by James W. Moore from Some Things Are too Good Not to Be True, Nashville:Dimensions, p. 43. Adapted)
Turning Up the Religious Machinery
Eugene Peterson claims in one of his books: "For a long time I have been convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum would consist of four courses. Course 1: Creative Plagiarism. I would put you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a reputation for wit and wisdom. Course 2: Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling. We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation, acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys an unmistakable aura of sanctity. Course 3: Efficient Office Management. There is nothing that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a tight ship administratively ... Course 4: Image Projection. Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and easily implemented devices that create the impression that we are terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people in the community." As one preacher speaking to others, Peterson is poking fun, of course, but he is also speaking a hard truth. The clergy always run the risk of merely putting on a good show. Ministers like me can grow so accustomed to the absence of God that we lose our vocabulary for naming God's presence. And we fill the vacuum by heaping up empty prayers and tuning up the religious machinery. The one thing we need is a Word from God. The one gift we cannot purchase out of a catalog is the Word that names us, claims us, judges us, and redeems us. We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, God didn't speak to the politicians. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, God didn't speak to the religious functionaries. No, "the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness." (by William G. Carter from Praying for a Whole New World CSS Publishing Company)
Shake It Off and Step Up!
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and went to the site. After assessing the situation the farmer sympathized with the mule but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead he called his neighbors and asked them to bring their shovels and bury the poor mule and put him out of his misery. The mule seemed hysterical. When the dirt struck his back he shook it off. As the farmer and his friends continued to shovel a thought struck the farmer. After each shovel of dirt was thrown onto the mule he said, "Shake it off and step up." The mule did what he asked, after every shovel of dirt. After a time the old mule stepped triumphantly out of the well. What seemed to bury him actually became his road to freedom. There is an alternative to every impossible situation. The way is not always visible to us. But our task is not to work miracles, that is up to God. Our responsibility is to prepare the way, committing every ounce of energy we have to the possibility of the transforming power of God, remembering that a single act of kindness can bring hope to generations yet to come. (by Keith Wagner from Possibilities Unlimited)
There Is Work to Do!
What a message for us at Advent! "Let every heart/Prepare him room" we sing. Perhaps we would do well to say let every heart get out the bulldozers and backhoes, the rock crushers and road graders: There are mountains that need to come down - mountains of racism, sexism, ageism, and any other "-ism" that blocks our way to healthy relationships with one another and with our Lord. There are valleys to be filled - valleys of depression, despair, loneliness, grief, pain, any of which can keep us from the rich relationship the Savior offers and that keep us from enjoying the fellowship of the faith. There are crooked places to be made straight - yes, there is perversity, even among those we might never imagine; fine exteriors mask rotten interiors of abuse, neglect, immorality, even violence. There are rough places to be made smooth - rough places that have come because of oppression and injustice. There is work to do! Bring on the heavy equipment! (by David E. Leininger One Shock after Another)
So You Want To Go To Bethlehem, Do You?
Sermon Starter
Luke 3:1-6 Each year, during the season of Advent, the church sets off on a journey. We begin to prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming of the Christ-child, so that this time he will have a proper place to be born. And we think we know the way to Bethlehem. We can find it on the map. It's not that far from Jerusalem, by today's standards; shouldn't be a problem. But the problem is that so much has changed since our last visit. A whole year has passed, a year that brought many changes in our lives, some of them good, some of them not so good, some of them heartbreaking. The geographic map of life has changed, and even old familiar places don't seem the same any more. So maybe we could use a little help in finding our way back to Bethlehem this year. That is, if you still want to go. If we were to ask any of the writers of the gospels how to get to Bethlehem, I think we might be surprised by their answer. "So you want to go to Bethlehem, do you? Tell you what to do: go on out to the desert, outside of the relatively safe confines of Jerusalem. Keep going till you get to the Jordan River. You'll know it when you see it. It’s the only river around these parts. You'll find a man there – strange looking old coot – standing knee-deep in the water, just baptizing folks left and right, as fast as he can. That'll be John the Baptist. You ask him how to get to Bethlehem. If you want to get to Bethlehem, you have to start there at the Jordan with John. He's the only one who can help you get there.
Luke 1:68-79-52 In 1956, Jim Elliot, and four other missionaries were martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador. In her grief, Jim's wife Elisabeth Elliot found comfort and strength in her relationship with the Lord. She believed that God loved her and allowed the tragedy for some good purpose. Her confidence in Him enabled her to write the following to a friend. "Only in acceptance lies peace -- not in forgetting nor in resignation nor in business. His will is good and acceptable and perfect." She went on to continue her husband's work of taking the gospel to the Auca Indians. Elisabeth returned to the United States in 1963, became a seminary professor and married again. Her second husband, Addison Leitch, was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1973. On her radio program, Gateway to Joy, she spoke about the peace she experienced during that painful season. "When you're standing in the corridor waiting for the doctor's diagnosis on someone you love, when the worst possible news is brought, the peace of Christ can be there. I know that this is true." She also recalled surprising little ways Jesus gave her His peace -- through a lady who served coffee with a smile in the waiting room, through a young mother of a seriously ill child who chose to reach out to other people who were suffering, and through His wonderful promises to be with her all the days and all the nights.
John sees the world in need of preparation. By the time one makes all the paths straight, all the valleys filled, and the mountains brought low, the crooked places made straight, and the rough places smooth, you have a desert, a waste land. And the only way to go through a waste land is to go waist over through the Jordan. Then one sees the salvation of God. The only way to see the salvation of God is to tackle the waste in one’s life that is spent in systems of the world as obstacles to seeing and experiencing the promise of salvation. For why would you want salvation when you are sitting on top of the world on mountains? And why would one want all the valleys filled when it is so nice to be above those who live there? Why would you want salvation when you are going down your own path of security and self-assurance? Why would you want to consider salvation when crookedness yields better returns. And who wants the rough places smooth when you own a 4X4 and you are having too much fun mudding? Why would one want salvation when one already has it in the world of luscious living? But John would say that we are only living in a mirage, and if we only looked in the mirage, we would see ourselves really in a desert. Cleared away, there is only one need in one’s life. And we stand on the edge of the horizon, looking through the wilderness with hope and promise. It is equal to throwing a preparation H Bomb on one’s life to deal with the discomfort of living. You don’t have to go searching for the wilderness, we are in the wilderness.
At the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, West
Africa. The meetings were held in the large sanctuary in the capital
city, Freetown. Each day as we entered the large doors into the
sanctuary there was a young girl, maybe about the age of 8, who begged
at the door. She looked ragged, dirty, her hair was matted and knotty,
and she had on tattered clothes. No one seemed to know her, and people
brushed her aside upon entering. Some of the pastors tried to tell her
to go away. We were busy doing the work of the church. She was a bother.
This went on for several days.
As I sat in the pew observing the Conference one day, my peripheral vision caught some motion outside.
I looked out the window, and there on the patio, outside the sanctuary was a woman, a lay member of the conference.
She found a bucket and some soap. Although dressed in a beautiful traditional tie-dye gown, she pushed up her sleeves,
and she was giving that 8-year-old girl a bath. She soaped up her hair and was tenderly making her all clean and new.
She washed the clothes the child had been wearing, and they were spread out on the bushes in the sun drying.
The woman went out and got another dress for her to wear, too.
Hundreds of pastors and devoted laypersons poured into the Methodist Church of Freetown to do the work of the church.
But outside, on the edges, quietly and without notice, the work of redemption - the work of Jesus Christ was being done.
It was not the work of committees and reports and programs. It was the work of soap and water and human touch
and being able to see the face of Jesus in that of an abandoned 8-year-old girl.
(by Sharon Rhodes-Wickett from Collapsing the Distance between Heaven and Earth)