SING:
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful
In the Lord I will rejoice
Trust in God
Do not be afraid
Lift up your voices
The Lord is near
Lift up your voices,
The Lord is near! (from Taize)
We have a rather obvious theme running through today’s readings
In the order I heard them…here are the clues:
Rejoice
Exult
Do not fear
God is in your midst
Rejoice
Exult
Do not be afraid
Give thanks
Exalt
Sing
The lord has done great things
Ring out your joy
Rejoice
Again, I say rejoice
The Lord is near
Shalom…Peace
And then there is theBaptist…who apparently didn’t get the message;)
YOU BROOD OF VIPERS!
I AM NOT WORTHY!
BURNING WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE!
EVEN NOW THE AX LIES READY!
This is the 3rd Sunday of Advent
3 candles
Gaudete Sunday
Gaudete means REJOICE
John the Baptist, our Retro-Old-Time-Prophet, deserves a closer look
Here’s what shocks me
It’s the crowd…
They get called a BROOD OF VIPERS
They don’t get angry! And they don’t leave!?
Not only don’t they leave…they engage!
they continue the conversation
“What then should we do…kind preacher?”
This question is key to the whole unfolding of Luke’s Gospel
The question of What to do? appears in this Gospel 3x as often as the other three combined
Perhaps the crowds are like us
At least the Sunday version of us?
When we ritually confess to our sinfulness together
And we admit “I have fallen short”
…we have broken the covenant
…we have forgotten whose we are.
Perhaps they have brought their repentant Sunday selves out into the desert
And sothey listen
And stay
And ask “What then shall we do?”
And, honestly, John’s response is rejoicing worthy!
After all that fire and brimstone
His answer to the question is surprisingly ordinary
1. To the crowds---presumably rather poor, he says SHARE
2. To the tax collectors, he says BE FAIR
3. And to the soldiers, he says STOP BULLYING
It all sounds a little “Grade School”
That might just be the point???
I grew up in the shadows of many catholic catalogue statues of very heroic Saints!
(don’t get me wrong I love a good HEROIC Saint story!)
But John seems to be saying that
Being Faithful isn’t the same as being heroic
Being Faithful isn’t the same as being heroic
Being faithful means different things to different people
to tax-collectors, or soldiers, or Episcopal priests, or farmers
to New Harmony shopkeepers, orretired educators,
to welders, or artists, or musicians
Each of us has opportunities to be God’s people,
and to do God’s will
And these opportunities are Shaped
By our lives…our work…our relationships
John’s crowd is Riff-Raff
Poor folks with little to offer
Despised tax-collectors
And feared soldiers
Not only are they NOT excluded
They are singled-out as…at least potentially…fruitful
(…another consistent Lucan theme)
They are not called to sever their relationship with Rome
They are not challenged to live lives of pacifism
They are called to serve Where. They. Are.
Right now
When the news I hear continues to distress
When, with increasing frequency, I hear the warning on the radio
“this next story contains graphic images not suitable for children”
It’s hard not to shut down
It’s hard not to answer that question differently:
“What then shall we do?”
NOTHING
Pull. Up. The. Covers!
Where does hope and joy fit in?
To light a candle is an act of HOPE:
In South Africa, during the years of struggle to end Apartheid
Christians would light candles and place them in windows
They were a sign to everyone
that their’s was a home or family that believed that some day this injustice would end.
A candle burning in a window
a sign…a sacrament of hope
as well as a political statement
This simple act caught the attention of the government
and a law was passed that made it illegal to put a lit candle in a window
The severity of the offense was on par with carrying a firearm
The government knew the power of a lit candle
Quickly, though, this became a joke and the children would chant
“Our government is afraid of lit candles!*
This is the kind of hope that Paul believes in.
The movement of today’s readings, chronologically, is from
JUDGEMENT IS NEAR
to
THE LORD IS NEAR
From John the Baptist
…to St Paul
Paul is writing to his beloved Philippians
It’s a love letter
An intimate love letter from prison
Paul is shackled and locked in a cell
the outcome does not look promising
But the community has sent one of their own
They NEED to be in communion with Paul
He writes so tenderly
He writes to invite the community’s continued faithfulness
Even amid threat and uncertainty
… Paul is consumed by real joy.
He is full…
full of gratitude for the long loving relationship
he has enjoyed in the midst of the church at Philippi
Paul uses the word koinonia
The fellowship…the bond…they shared as, together, they proclaimed the gospel
Today’s short passage
Comes at the closing of the letter
Paul urges joy…
Which, for him
Isn’t dependent on circumstances
Rejoicing isn’t simple “Happy Happy”
Rejoicing is a choice…a disposition of faith
Even when it seems that some other power is in control
The vision HOLDS
The vision of God’s redemption of the whole Cosmos… HOLDS
WHY? Because…my friends
We are kin to that church in Philippi
We have had real glimpses of this redemption
We have experienced resurrection
A fresh start in ourselves and in others
over and over again
Paul reminds his friends
Whatever our present suffering
Whatever griefs burden us
THE LORD IS NEAR
REJOICE the LORD IS NEAR
Here is when I need your help.
When I say
REJOICE!
You say
THE LORD IS NEAR
REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When the fruits of my labors bear visible fruit and I feel the warm companionship of my God
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when my efforts seem to be fruitless---when they become drudgery and I feel tempted to believe that “I am not enough”
Again, I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When JOY ABOUNDS at the long-awaited arrival of new life.
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when I feel overwhelmed by violence and aggression
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When finally, after weeks of anxiety ridden waiting, I hear good news from my oncologist
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when the test results mean a near future of tough treatment and uncertain outcome
Again, I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When I am on it…when I see clearly the temptation to desire that which can never satisfy
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when when blindness creeps in and I fall for any one of my pet false Gods
Again, I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When my heart is at peace and I can echo honestly Paul’s words: “I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me”
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when I feel at war within myself, not at peace, unable to rest
Again, I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
When joy comes easily
I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
And even when joy is hard
Again, I say REJOICE!
R/ THE LORD IS NEAR
SING: In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful
In the Lord I will rejoice
Trust in God
Do not be afraid
Lift up your voices
The Lord is near
Lift up your voices,
The Lord is near!
*from Ron Rohlheiser, "The Power of a Candle" https://ronrolheiser.com/the-power-of-a-candle/#.YbZsiS1h21s
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