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.

Apocalyptic inversion

Apocalyptic inversion … it seems like the season is full of them. Isaiah’s imagery of the straight paths to the point of mountains being made low and valleys raised is in keeping with apocalyptic tradition. When the Lord comes it wrongs are righted and chaos brings order. It heralds a new life, a new existence.

John the Baptist is charged with the same image. He prepares the way for the Lord. The imagery carries the force of the upheaval long expected. The one coming would baptize with fire after all. Even if we indict John with having a flawed image of the roll of the messiah, he is not wrong. Jesus did, does and will bring the kind of upheaval and new order that the apocalyptic eschatology describes.

Isaiah goes on to say men wither and fade like grass.
Peter picks up the refrain also employing apocalyptic imagery.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?

But don’t get me wrong. I grew up in a culture where the church used the “Blessed Hope” as a scare tactic for some misadventure in evangelism. I was thoroughly terrorized by the thought of the Lord’s return. The expectation rich in this week’s readings is not to bring us fear but joy upon joy. As Mark points out, this is the beginning of the Good news about Jesus.

The psalmist proclaims the joy of that day, I encourage you to pray this psalm aloud as you meditate on it.

LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

Overview

Today’s readings call us to watchfulness. Isaiah assures us that God works for those who wait in faithfulness, especially through challenging times. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul affirms his readers for their spiritual gifts, which well equip them for the return of the Lord Jesus. In today’s gospel, Jesus directs us to "keep awake" (v. 37).

Now can you tell?

I realized this picture of Ella at the Folsom Children's Zoo being mobbed by goats is a good one for this week.

Can you tell the sheep from the goats?

Sheep and Goats

Who are the little ones? The disciples? The needy in the world? Some commentators reject the general needy because the attitudes to the disciples seems more in keeping with people belonging to the church. The world could give a cup of cold water, some clothes and a visit. Does that mean that they will be welcomed into the kingdom because of what they've done?

I say it is unimportant if you see the discourse from the negative.

It is not the acts of mercy and justice that saves, but lack of mercy is evidence of unrighteousness.

It isn’t that they did these little things – but that they were sheep. The doing only made it possible to distinguish them from the goats.

Still, how do we treat Christ? Is it in keeping with who we are now, by his grace?