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.

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.