ADVENT
ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS
By Sara Jane Munshower
PLEASE BEGIN WITH ME IN PRAYER…..O come, O come, Emmanuel….O Come thou wisdom from on high and order all things, far and nigh, to us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go. O God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each heart here, be acceptable to you, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. In the spirit of the Christ Child, Amen.
The experts on Advent! Who do you think they are? For starters, I suggest to you that they are none other than these people we have met in the scriptures this morning…..the proclaiming prophet, Isaiah….the prolific letter-writer, St. Paul……….the mystical gospel-writer, St. John……and, of course, the one shouting out in the wilderness, John the Baptizer. I suggest this even though they, in their earthly, never even heard of Advent.
First, let’s look
at Isaiah. He seems to fit the mold of
Advent as we know it. God anointed him
and he seems to want to keep busy. After
all, he’s making a list and checking it twice…..the list of things that God
gave him to tell the Israelites to do. I
figure he’s the expert on six things to do before Christmas.
Now that’s what I call a real Christmas list! Do you suppose that, as a congregation, you are checking each one off? Let’s see….”to bring good news to the oppressed?” Well, maybe. But we do comfort the grieving and we do console the broken-hearted; but, well, maybe we don’t do much prison ministry or real proclamation.
I read somewhere that you can’t reduce this scripture to just a list…that there is always something more that needs to be said or done or understood. And, isn’t that just the way it is for us at Christmastime. There’s always something more to do, something we forgot to write down to do, or that we forgot to say to someone, or that we are keeping a lid on so as not to say; to someone.
Even so, I still hear Isaiah shouting to us over the clang of Christmas and the clutter of more and more stuff. I believe that, even if I do only one thing on his list, that this will be a more blessed Advent than if I ignore Isaiah’s prophecy. That’s it for Expert 31.
Next we look in
on
· GIVING THANKS…WHENEVER AND WHEREVER
· ACCEPTING THE ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
· CONSIDERING BOTH GOOD AND EVIL, BUT
· HOLDING ONTO…….ONLY THE GOOD.
Sounds like another Advent list from one who never heard of Advent! But it is a good list for all of us because whether we have too much or too little to do for our Christmas and New year’s, doing these things will , and I don’t mean this lightly, doing these things will “make our season bright.” The season will be brighter for someone else because we listened to God and Isaiah and Paul and John. These are the things we are to do, to be, if there is to be light in this, oft times, dark world.
The Gospel of St. John opens with poetic thoughts about the light of the world that was coming into the world. Someone once told me they thought this was a terrible scripture to use on national TV on Christmas Eve. That it was too mystical for the average person and a real “turn-off” for people who aren’t regular churchgoers.
What do you think? Personally, I like this gospel writer, our third “Advent expert.” He lifts us up from daily drudgery and invites us into a higher, brighter realm….and brings us back again.
We need mystics like
Leaving the prophets for a moment, we come to John the Baptizer, our fourth “advent expert.” This John knew the world was dark. He called out from the wilderness of the light that was coming into the world. He was clear about who he was not and who he was….about who sent him and what he was being sent to do.
John the Baptizer was intuitive….he understood what
God was saying and wanted said. He was
not one to “quench the Spirit” as
A “spiritual voice.” Isn’t that an interesting idea? Have you ever thought about your spiritual voice? Surely, we all have one. Surely God’s plan and purpose for the world did not end with the proclamations of John and the birth of Christ. God’s purpose is for that proclamation to continue in all times and in all places.
So there we have the experts….Isaiah, Paul,
But there is another person I want to mention….one we did not hear from in the scripture lessons this morning. But one who was called, by and called out to, God.
On certain weeks, the lectionary gives an alternative reading . Today it is in the Gospel of Luke and has been the basis for much sacred music. It is the song of Mary, The Magnificat. In Mary’s song we hear echoes of all the “Advent experts.”…
SHE PROPHESIES
SHE GIVE THANKS
SHE REJOICES……….AND SO WE ADD HER TO THE LIST AND THINK THAT MUST BE ALL OF THEM.
BUT……
I suggest to you that there are other spiritual voices, more experts to be seen and to be heard from. I suggest that they are behind me and in front of me……..that each of us is an “Advent expert” ….that each of us has a role in the coming of God’s realm and……………that each of us has a spiritual voice that needs to be heard.
And, if you disagree or think that your voice is too small or too argumentative or not smart, then remember that you are already part of this congregation and that together we are one spiritual voice. That the gathered community is intended to be the continuing voice of Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus ../.and with that voice, we are called to…to do…what??
It looks like we’re back to the lists….well, if you can’t remember, you are welcome to take your bulletins home so you can read those lessons again…..and then compare your list of things to do before Christmas with the lists of the “experts.”….
I’m guessing you’ll be glad you did……that your spirit will rejoice and your soul will magnify the Lord! And, maybe, just maybe, your Visa……your MasterCard…..your American Express………..won’t be nearly as high come January of 2006.
Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace to all people. In the Spirit of the Christ Child, Amen.