December 12, 2004
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| Joy
In The Coming Light Third Sunday of Advent The bell choir has reminded us of what this season of expectation will bring to us. Advent is a time of waiting with eager longing to experience in new ways the coming of God’s light and love into the world in human form. We are waiting for a present you know is coming. We already know what it is, even so, when it arrives, the sense of joy will be great. You know the feeling as you waited for your graduation ceremony from school. Everything has been prepared. The course work is finished, the cap and gown have been fitted, you are in line waiting for “Pomp and Circumstance” to be played. You know the sense of waiting with expectation or anticipation as you waited for your wedding day or for the birth or adoption of a child. The fulfillment is worth every minute of the wait. Now in Advent, for just a little while longer, we wait with hope, we long for peace, and today we wait with joy for the light of life that is coming, we wait for Jesus Christ. Today’s gospel lesson begins with a question about Jesus. John the Baptist has sent his disciples to inquire of him, “are you the one, or shall we look for another”? Remember, John came out of the wilderness telling people to prepare for the coming Messiah. “He is on the way and when he comes, you will be in big trouble if you do not change your ways’. He has warned the people that “the ax is at the root of the tree and if it bears no fruit, it will be cut down and used for kindling. The Messiah, the Christ He is going to come in and clear out everyone who is not worthy of him” (paraphrase of Matthew 3.10,12). John has preached about a tough, strong, muscular, warrior Messiah who would take names and knock some sense into the world. But from his prison cell, John has heard that Jesus is not going about calling down fire and brimstone on worthless people. Already he is declaring that everyone is worth the love of God. He has healed a paralyzed man; raised a religious leader’s daughter from death and stopped the hemorrhage of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. He has cast out demons, collected and commissioned a group of disciples, he taught and preached and broken bread and welcomed people wherever he went. This is not the Messiah John expected so he sends his people to ask Jesus, “If you are who you claim you are, why aren’t bad people being punished for their misdeeds the way I said they would be; are you the one, or should we wait for another? The question is one that we have asked from time to time. Expectations that differ from reality can shock us, so we find ourselves living in the tension between a Messiah/Savior who is a take no prisoners warrior, and one who is a compassionate kind, humble teacher. We know that the life’s joy we seek is often tempered by harsh reality and the knowledge that life is not fair, good people can be hurt, hurtful people can get away with things can steal our joy. The relationship doesn’t always last. The dream job can be terminated, or never even offered to you. Someone else is living in your dream house. You may find yourself in a place you never thought you would be, and you wonder how you got there. Jesus we look to you for guidance, but are you the one, or shall we wait for another? The answer to that question brings us to this church, this season of the church year, this faith. It brings us to joy in the coming light. I want to suggest to you this morning that we can find joy light, and all that we need as we need as recognize who Jesus is and claim him as Messiah and light, and the source of our joy. We may be unclear sometimes, but Jesus knows who he is and in spite of what John expects, or of what we expect sometimes, Jesus knows that the world does not need another angry warrior. There are more than enough warriors in the world. The world needed then what it needs now, a divine presence that will embrace and heal, that will welcome outcasts and repentant sinners, and who will teach us to do the same. It needed then and it needs now a Christ who will call people to account for their actions to be sure. “But his primary activity is the restoration of the needy and the giving of life to the lifeless. Some might prefer to wait for another in hopes of finding a leader more to their liking. Jesus alone, however, defines his own messiah-ship” (Texts for Preaching, pages 26-27). He is about being faithful to God, calling down God’s justice into the world and he is about calling out the best in all of us, helping us see the best in others, and calling us to act justly and morally in all that we do. Jesus knows who he is, he helps us understand who John is too. He speaks to people who are unsure about him and confused and disappointed that John is in prison. Three times Jesus asks the crowd, what did you expect to see, was it a reed in the wind? A well dressed official? Then you are looking for someone like King Herod. Herod ate gourmet food and lived in a palace, he wore robes of the finest, softest materials. But if it is not an earthly king you are looking for, but a prophet indeed who will point you to joy and light, don’t look to the palace, look to the woods for John. Focus on the one who ate locusts and honey straight from the hive, who wove his clothes from camel’s hair. Herod’s personal symbol of reeds growing in the Jordan valley was on the coins people used as they went about their daily business. John had no money. “Look to him”, Jesus says, “he will point you to me”. Jesus is saying that John is not a powerful political leader, he is the forerunner of Jesus himself, the one sent to announce that the light of the world is on the way. (Interpretation series. Matthew. Douglas RA Hare. Louisville: John Knox Press. 1993, p.122). John proclaims the coming, salvation bringing joy. That joy that comes with Jesus will help us find restoration. So much of our lives needs restoring. Too many of us are feeling disjointed and out of sorts. We know that life has its ups and downs, but lately it seems that the low times are incredibly deep and the up times are not high enough for us to see that it makes any difference at all. But look, Isaiah tells us, look at what is happening, it’s not all bleak. He uses the image of a blooming desert to describe the joy that comes when life finds balance. Nature will rejoice. Think of the delight you feel when flowers and trees begin to bloom, our whole being perks up. After the long cold winter, signs of life are restored. Neighbors who, if we see them at all in the winter, are glimpsed going into or leaving their garages. Then when spring comes, they begin to emerge and catch up with each other. Our restoration will be like a spring day after a long winter. It just feels good and everything around us will feel renewed and restored. Take joy in the coming light and know that the time of restoration is near. We also find joy in renewed courage. In fearful times, our impulse is to retreat, to step back, go back, turn back, to wait for a better time to act. God reminds us over and over again that even when times are fearful, we as God’s sons and daughters are nevertheless called to be courageous. This is not a time for fear. It is a time to find the strength to put tired hands to work. It is time to make weak knees firm again. It is time to look up and remind ourselves when we are overwhelmed by fear that we have cause for joy – our God is with us. As God comes, God will bring us good gifts such as courage, such as life, such as joy. This season is a time for strategic waiting, it’s what people with great patience do. Watch an athlete wait for just the right moment to swing the bat, throw the pass, swing the club, kick their run into high gear. Watch a parent, remember when you did it yourself, discern the time to praise and the time to critique and punish. Recall those times of holy patience when an angry conversation that surely would have become a shouting match is delayed long enough for heads and hearts to cool so that a calm conversation can take place. Watch a congregation of God’s people find the courage to dig deep and declare its highest values in order to better open themselves to God’s will for them. The light of God is coming into the world and the joy in that light will transform us. It will bring new sight for those whose spirits have been blinded; new sounds for those who no longer hear God’s news. There will be new mobility for people stuck in ill health, low self-esteem, unable to move, now there will be movement as gracious as a leaping deer. And there will be a new voice for those who have been unable to speak. New life is promised with the coming light and that is cause for joy. Claim the light of courage. Feeling spiritually dry? Joy seems impossible? Renewal is possible. Those dry desert places in our lives, the ones that shut our eyes, stop up our ears, keep us from movement or speech are being watered by the light of the world. Some of us may just need a little spray, some of us need to be drenched, all of us need the life giving water that will transform our spirits. Claim the way to joy. Isaiah talks about a holy road. The gospel song describes a “highway to heaven; none may walk up there, but the pure in heart” (“Walking Up The King’s Highway” by Mary Gardner and Thomas A. Dorsey). On this road, that for Isaiah was the road to Jerusalem. For us this road to light and joy is the road to salvation. “Unlike the dangerous road to Jericho, where one can get mugged (Luke 10.30), this road is utterly safe. There are no attacking lions, no ambush, no threat. The new creation is on its way rejoicing” (Texts for Preaching-Year A, Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995, p.21). In the meantime, rejoice and be glad, our salvation is so close that we can celebrate his arrival now by doing what he did. We can teach and preach and show unbounded, unconditional love to people, and be a safe haven for those who are weary and in need of rest. We can serve the poor, and be compassionate and welcoming to everyone. We can live with hope and peace and joy, and as we do, we can say daily, thanks be to God and may Jesus Christ be praised. Amen. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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