Rejoice the God is in your midst

Luke goes messing this week up again. The first three readings talk about rejoicing that God is in the midst of his people. Emanuel is come.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Isaiah 12:6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Philippains 4:4-5 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

Then we have the end of the world stuff from John the Baptist. "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Yet when you look at what he teaches, "Bear fruits worthy of repentance." It sounds just like Jesus when he is proclaiming that the Kingdom is at hand. Yeah, but where is the grace?

In entering the kingdom silly. Some have said that John the Baptist represents the last of the graceless age. That Jesus offered a new age of grace and wrath is no more. I don't think so, Jesus offered an enterance to the Kingdom of God to the real rule and presence - an eternal kind of life now as Willard puts it. In that God has never changed. He has always wanted people to trust him and enter into his life. The acts John describes are the same kind of living out the eternal kind of life that Jesus shows. And all this talk of the judgement to come gets people talking. A great expectation arose.
Could John be the one? No, he says, there is one coming after me who will baptise into a new kingdom with fire. We get the purifying theme coming back from last week's old testament reading.
It souldn't surprise us that the coming of God in the Flesh would have such strong statements. God is a consuming fire. Let us not let the meekness of the babe allow us to forget.

Fiery Expectation

The dual focus of advent is shown this week. We see the telescoping of the expectation of the coming of the Messiah as we celebrate it on Christmas Day and the expectation of his return “in the clouds”.

Malachi gives us a picture of the coming Messiah that perhaps reflects John The Baptist’s understanding of what the messiah’s role would be.

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

He did in deed accomplish those things. We see in the ministry of Jesus a way that constantly challenged the religious authorities, but we have yet to see the offerings to the Lord being presented in righteousness by the house of Levi. Instead we see Malachi’s expectation fulfilled in the temples of our hearts, as the Shekinah—the cloud of God’s glory, again fills the temple of our hearts.

The fiery language of the prophets (Malachi and later John) gives a sense of imminent judgment. That sense is not reflected in Zachariah’s song.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace."

Many have questioned whether John understood his mission in the way his father described it. They wonder if perhaps John later doubted that Jesus was the one precisely because he wasn’t winnowing the chaff to be burned. Perhaps, but his message is spot on.

The language John uses in Luke is particularly apocalyptic. Luke alone quotes the further context from Isaiah.

Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God's salvation.

God’s instruction to the one calling in the desert (Isaiah 40:2) is to speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Yet, in preparing the way some very chaotic things happen. We have a list of apocalyptic inversions, employed to show how God will bring order from chaos, and turn the world upside down to bring salvation: valleys filled in and mountains leveled, crooked roads straight and rough ways smoothed. And all mankind will see [a good thing] God’s Salvation.

Paul too points out the good thing in God’s salvation.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Just as in the Revelation reading a couple weeks back, Paul’s concern is that they endure to the end to see the beauty of Jesus face to face. He prays that their love may increase and that they could discern what is pure and blameless. The need only look to their Lord—the fullers soap, the smelting furnace.

Year C Advent 2 Malachi 3

Year C Advent 2 Malachi 3: "Malachi is a book suitable for reading during Advent, in that it describes a time of restless waiting in the history of the people of Judah. The exile was over, the second temple had been built and worship there restored, but all was not as it had been envisioned. There was as yet no sign of the glory of God returning to fill the temple.

We know little about the prophet Malachi, whose name means, ‘my messenger.’ Like the other prophets, he was given a word from the Lord to speak in a particular time. The priests had strayed from their faithful worship, and led the people astray (Mal. 1:6-8). People noted the inequities of life around them and asked, ‘Where is the God of justice?’ (Mal. 2:17)

The passage for this Sunday from chapter 3 comes in answer to that question, with the promise of a day when all will be set right. God promises a messenger of the covenant to prepare the Lord’s way, and to herald the coming of justice. The forerunner is seen in Rabbinic interpretations as an angel appointed to avenge the breaking of a covenant, or perhaps Elijah or the prophet Malachi himself. But this coming is not only good news. It implies purification and judgment will precede the Lord’s coming."

Synoptic study

If we assume Markan priority, then the uniqueness in Luke takes on added significance. First Luke leaves out the reference to the gathering of the Elect. This may be to place the warning at the end of the discourse, But watch at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. (vs. 36) The burning question is what are “all these things”. It is frustrating for me to understand these eschatologies outside of the dispensational construct I grew up with and have rejected. This could be taken as a support for a pre-trib rapture. But I think that the things referred to are not the supposed Great Tribulation, but the real possibility of falling away during the trials the Jews and the Church would face. Hooker takes a look at the Markan text in the same way:

At the end of the discourse, we have two parables and a number of sayings, which seem to have been linked together because of certain words and phrases that they have in common. The first is a parable about a sign – a natural enough pericope to have added here. Yet it fits badly into its context: these things in v. 29 cannot refer to the events in vv.26f., since they were themselves the climax to the period of waiting. The parable has been added here because it was thought to be on the same theme as the rest of the discourse, but in the setting of Jesus’ own lifetime it may well have had a different emphasis. Even in its present setting, Luke takes it to be a parable about the Kingdom of God, and he may well be right. If so, then perhaps the signs, which showed that the Kingdom was near were originally the activities of Jesus himself (cf. Luke 11.20; 12.54-6). Mark may perhaps have had another reason for adding the parable at this point. The parable is about a fig tree, and it was a fig tree that was cursed in chapter 11, when Jesus first pronounced judgment on the temple and on Israel. It is significant that now, when Jesus has spelt out the nature of Israel’s punishment and the final gathering of the elect, we have a story about another fig tree. The dormant tree, apparently dead, bursts into new life, and its young leaves are a promise of coming summer: hope and not destruction, is the final word….

…Many attempts have been made to understand the Greek for this generation in some other way, but they are all unconvincing. The reason for these attempts was the embarrassment caused by an apparently unfulfilled prediction in the mouth of Jesus. An alternative solution was to limit the application of the phrase ‘all these things’. Once it is recognized that the saying did not originally belong in its present context, the difficulties become rather different. If it is an authentic saying, to what did it originally refer? The similarity with Mark 9.1 suggests that it could have referred to the Kingdom of God. A comparison of that saying with the Matthaean parallel shows how easily a saying about the coming of the Kingdom could be reapplied to the coming of the Son of man. But perhaps it is a warning of unknown origin, couched in traditional apocalyptic language and used here by Mark because it seemed appropriate – at once ominous and vague. Used here, the saying provides an important clue to Mark’s purpose in this chapter. If all these things are to take place within this generation, then we understand why he ends the discourse with the warnings in vv.33-7. The fact that some Christians have been misled by false signs of the parousia does not mean that there is no need for continual vigilance: sooner or later the End will come, and Marks’s readers must therefore keep watch.

Enduring to the end

The hope we have as Christians is in deed great. This week we are faced again with the messiah coming again – with the hope of seeing his face, the trustworthiness of God’s saving arm, and the promise of trials to come.

Jeremiah prophesies that a branch with sprout from the line of David. We find ourselves in the expectation between the last two verses in the reading. We have seen “The Lord is Our Righteousness” bloom in human flesh, but yet we don’t see Jerusalem living in safety, nor did the disciples who followed him to the cross.

The psalmist sings of our expectation of the ability of God to make his promise sure. In spite of the fact we have yet to see the perfect rule of Christ, we still sing with the psalmist.

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

Paul reveals his joy in the church of Thessalonica and desire to see him and compares it with the hope they have in seeing Christ return. He prays that they would be strong to endure to the end. There is much trouble coming their way, and God puts a premium on the faithful who overcome.

As a former dispensationalist, the Lukan text gives me pause. I believe that the blessed hope of the return of Christ is imminent, nothing has to happen to set the stage, it has been set from Pentecost. The signs of the times can confuse us. I grew up with the fear of movies like “A thief in the night.” My grandfather watched Jack Van Impe regularly and believed Edgar Whisenant’s “88 reasons why the Rapture will be in 1988.” I was afraid, of what should be our blessed hope, along with a surprising number of my generation who grew up with nuclear war as an expectation. This fear is fueled by “Left Behind” and war in the Middle East. Luke says we are not to faint from fear.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly,”

As we face the text in Luke we must see it through the eyes of a disciple. Jesus isn’t trying to frighten or convert. He is giving them a base of understanding as the approach the cross, then the persecution of the early church. He is equipping them with the tools to overcome. He says this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. One commentator (Pentecostal no less) suggests that “generation” should be taken as a type of people (i.e. an evil generation, or righteous generation). In that, his people and those who will have nothing to do with him will be around to the end – just like the wheat and the tares. What was true for them is true for us. Every generation has had its reason to realize that the return of Christ is near, because it is. From Goth, to pope, to crusade, to Hitler, to Hussein, the stage has been set, the time ripe. Antichrists come and go, but Christ remains forever and one day we will see him face to face if we are strong in the day of temptation and trial.

“Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Expectation

The God of all praise has come.  The God proclaimed by psalmist and prophet, priest and king has come and is held in the arms of Simeon and Anna.  In the expectation of this old man and crazy old woman, gives light to the immensity, the importance, the incomparability of this Christ.  Reminds me of the old S. M. Lockridge sermon.

I read a piece in The Incarnation an Anthology  by Penelope Stokes called “The Ancients.” It was the narrative of Simeon’s experience and expectation.  Like the Lockridge sermon I wept to hear.

What to do?

What should I do next week?  I am facing a smaller crowd, and I want to embrace it.  I’m thinking of maybe sitting around the tree together with carols, perhaps unwrapping the scriptures instead of preaching them.  I’m leaning toward using Proper III with its John text.  I love John’s mysticism. I focused on the mystery today; in fact I had them unwrap gifts of poems to meditate on the mystery. (The first one is especially for the kids).  So I guess I’ll have to do some thinking and meditating myself tomorrow and see what God may give.

Merry Christmas!

whoever you are.... Why not leave a comment and say hi!

Disclosed

The ancient mysteries are made known in the babe of manger mild. The mystery was proclaimed in covenants of blood to patriarchs and kings. David wants to respond to his God by building him a house. God ironically tells him “I don’t need a house, instead I will build your house.” The word of the Lord. He is always true to his word, and on David’s throne sits the King of Kings.

Mary magnifies the Lord as that faithful doer of His word. From the patriarchs down to his lowly handmaiden he has done amazing things-things that turn the world on its ear.

The psalmist declares and discloses God’s purpose and plans for David, accepting them as fact and poetic praise.

This is the meaning of the annunciation. Just as the angel disclosed God’s purpose and favor to Mary, so he discloses his plan to those of us who will receive it.
Can we cry like Paul at the mystery revealed?

“ Now to God
who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel
and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery
that was kept secret for long ages,
but is now disclosed,
and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles,
according to the command of the eternal God,
to bring about the obedience of faith
–
to the only wise God,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be the glory forever!
Amen.

Annunciation

Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is all everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Lo, faithful virgin, yields Himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He will wear,
Taken from thence, flesh, which death's force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in His mind, who is thy Son and Brother;
Whom thou conceivst, conceived; yea thou art now
Thy Maker's maker, and thy Father's mother;
Thou hast light in dark, and shutst in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.

-John Donne

Four R's

Ray thinks that the four weeks this advent carry a theme.  

Return
Repent
Respond
Receive

The Voices of Christmas

The Akron-Fairgrove Community Singers are presenting this cantata this year. The discription grabed me as being appropriate for this weeks readings.

Using beloved carols and new anthems especially composed for this cantata, the
story of Christmas unfolds through the "voices" of witnesses (heard in the
narration) and is echoed in the voices of the choir as they sing the Good News
of the Savior’s birth. The music will eloquently convey the message that Christ
was born to everyone (past, present and future), and so we are all, in some
sense, connected to the manger; we are all witnesses to, and voices of, the Good
News of His birth.

From Isaiah to Mary, to the Psalmist, to the Baptist individual voices intone the good news. Paul spurs us to do the same. Sing singers with me.

Preparing

If last week was about apocalyptic inversion to come, this week is about the efforts of God’s servants to prepare the world for its coming.

Isaiah proclaims he has come to preach a restoration to come; the passage is taken up by Jesus to define his mission. The psalmist sings in expectation of that restoration.

Mary sings her magnificat praise to her God who with strong arm will invert the present order, while in her whom the Son of God is preparing to bring it about.

John baptizes taking water to cleanse and foretell a baptism of another kind. He is not The Prophet that is waited on, but he clearly stands in the prophet’s office. The Pharisees see it and begin to tremble at the coming inversion, despising the words of the prophet.

Paul exhorts us to the life that, like Mary, Isaiah, and John prepares the way for the coming of the Lord in our lives.

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.

Solstice and Advent

Solstice and Advent

The ancient custom of observing the shortest day of the year involves keeping vigil so that light would begin to gain ground in the growing darkness.  Certainly this custom resonates with our spirits as it was birthed from our spiritual fears and aspirations.  It is no wonder that the church would adopt this time of year for observing the coming Christ. Advent’s rich tapestry of apocalyptic imagery reinforces the spiritual significance: stay awake and prepare, a new day is dawning.  A new season of life is approaching.

Isaiah Exegesis (Advent A4)

God's indictment against the house of David is an age old one. "Why do you try my patience?" Ahaz harkens back to the Stiff-necked in the wilderness demanding water from a rock. "I'm not going to test God like that…" But in not looking for the proof in God when he was invited to believe, his Stiff-necked lack of faith shows through. Or, by not testing God when he wants to be tested, Ahaz is testing God just like the Israelites tested God.

God's signs aren't what we look for. Israel wanted water from a rock to quench their thirst, God just shook his head at them. The sign that he gave Ahaz, the house of David, and us, makes us shake our heads in wonder.

"Look," he says, "by the time a baby can be born and eat soft food the two kings you are so worried about will be gone…. But look out, you're next." He has a way of bringing more questions in the wake of his answers. Good news and bad rolled into one.

God's ways were not what Ahaz expected. They are not what the House of David expected either. God promised them a dynasty that would last forever; soon they would be destroyed waiting for the King to come.

I realized while I was working on Isaiah exegesis today, that this was the last Sunday before Christmas, which means Christmas program. "Maybe I'm working to hard," I thought. "I've already committed to telling 'The Tale Of Three Trees'." It isn't my style to try to fit a sermon to an illustration, but lo-and-behold it works. The expectation of the trees is like that of Ahaz, Joseph, the line of David, and Israel. God works his plan out beautifully even though they can't see how or maybe even refuse to ask.

The big question is still, so what? What does this mean to us, what is the truth that will knock our socks off, whether we are children or fogies?

Milk and Honey eater? (Advent A4)

I am trying to get my head around Isaiah this week. It seems that this reading is somehow the linchpin for the rest of the week's readings.

The first thing that strikes me is the prominence of the house of David. The prophesy of Isaiah is directed to Ahaz along with the whole Davidic line he represents. By the time of the gospel the line of David is reduced to a poor, righteous, carpenter with a pregnant fiancé. Paul's Christology points to Jesus as a king in the line of David.

What did Immanuel mean to Isaiah and Ahaz? Was there an immediate meaning? If so, was it positive or negative? Syria and Israel would not be a threat by the time the boy could make a moral choice. By the time he was eating milk and honey they would have to worry about the king of Assyria. Was milk and honey a food of the prosperous Promised Land or the meager food the son of a carpenter might eat?

Does "God with us" mean punishment or salvation? I think it means both. As a fulfillment in Christ the line of David finally has it's righteous king. In him is all the nature of God, wrath and love, punishment and mercy, he holds all in his hand. The important and beautiful thing is that God is with us! That is what Ahaz missed. That is what we miss too… I will take it all! the transcendent Holy God, the intimate lover, and the fierce avenger. Be near us I pray!

The psalmist's prayer is a cry for Immanuel to be near when he seems distant.

But what does this mean to you David? How did you react to Asaph's song? How does your house long for the savior? What do you say to Isaiah's injunction that you weary men and God? I bang on your door with my forehead, for I need to understand what all this means together.

Thaumaturge and praise (Advent A3)

Jesus comes in power, the thaumaturge.

All creation responds. Streams break forth in the desert. Glory and beauty return to desolate places as they blossom in praise and rejoicing.

Eyes will open, the deaf shall hear, lame will leap and the mute will begin to sing all because the kingdom has come near. Praise is demanded!

How can we stand weak and weary in face of such power? Strengthen weak hands and feeble knees. We do not fear for our God has come near.

Isaiah's themes are carried on through the rest of this week's texts. Images of nature rejoicing, miracles and displays of power and a call to the people of God to strength and praise are everywhere.

In the Gospel, John, imprisoned and isolated, sends to know if what he prophesied is true. Is it because he was confused, that Jesus didn't act like he thought? Maybe, or perhaps in his isolation he was just hungry for news. I love the imagery in the old movie, "Salome" when John receives word of the power of the Christ bringing sight and hearing and hope, he leans against his cell wall with a look of pure worship on his face.

And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. The word of the work of the kingdom of heaven near strengthened John. It should strengthen us, it should demand from us praise, miracles and works of the Spirit should follow as an expression of intense praise.

Inversion (Advent A2)

I think a good illustration for my sermon this week will be to turn somthing on its head, maybe a kid. It illustrates the act of repentance as well as apocolyptic inversion. I didn't see the connection until the image hit me.

This song would be a great puppet song this week if anyone could understand it.

[Listening to: The Messenjah - P.O.D. - Satellite (04:18)]

Simplon pass illustration

I remembered this story from a book I read before preaching on making straight paths several years ago. This amaizing feat of engeneering involved great loss of life to make this passable. Perhaps you can find more information at your local library.

Simplon: "[Napoleon] recognized the fact that the Simplon is the shortest connection between Paris and Milan and wanted to use it for his expansion plans. In September 1800 he ordered the construction, from 1801-1805 the road was established. The engineer Nicolas Céard led the construction and despite all problems with his subordinated engineers, with the disputes between the Italian and French workers and engineers and also with the topography in the Gondoschlucht the new road over the Simplon could be opened on October 9, 1805. However this was too late for Napoleon, who had to select the Mont Cénis for the return of its coronation as king of Italy. After the end of the Napoleonean empire the Valais took over the road. For the people of that time it was a technical wonder with its bridges, galleries and with its width of at least 7.2 meters: the Simplon got a certain touristic relevance. "

Did that man come?

“John had some seriously mistaken ideas about who Jesus was and what he came to do…” writes Sarah Dylan Breuer. “John spent his life teaching and baptizing to distinguish wheat from chaff, and he expected that Jesus would be dealing out blessings and punishments accordingly. John had it half right: Jesus came to bless…”

How does this expectation of the Messiah, which John presents the people, prepare the way for the Lord? Doesn’t it bear the confusion that the Messiah would be a warrior freeing them from Roman oppression? That he would immediately destroy those who didn’t line up for him?

John’s call to repentance is certainly inline with an apocalyptic coming of the Messiah. Cliff asked at our ministerial today, “Did that man come?” The Jesus we read about seems very different from the Jesus John describes.

Following the line of apocalyptic inversion that makes mountains low, raises valleys, and brings order to Chaos, John cries out, “an age is ending! One is coming who will baptize with Spirit and Fire!” Everyone was looking for the mountains to crumble and mighty terrible signs. They flooded to the Jordan to repent before this Righteous and Just one came.

And he came, this rod of Jesse. Embodied in him was the essence of apocalyptic inversion. He brought a state of being for mankind to a close and ushered in a new life, an event that continues moment by moment, devoid of time and space. He turned Jewish thought of what Messiah would be on its nose. Even John was surprised by the way he lived. Jesus was the inversion of John eating and drinking. He was the inversion of society proclaiming radical idea. He was the inversion of the religious system bringing grace, Spirit and intimacy to the impotent millions.

All these things John foretold were hidden in Jesus, and expressed themselves in ways no body but the heart of the Father could have guessed. We can only see it in the way the scriptures have been opened to us in light of the resurrected Christ. A suffering servant, a man of sorrows, a King of kings and a Lord of lords, God clothed in human flesh! Who could have guessed?