WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 10th 2006
Second Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Captivity and Hope”
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6
The season of Advent is getting squeezed out. There is no doubt that one cause of this squeeze or loss of advent has to do with the retail holiday called ‘christmas.’ Now days, even before Halloween, the signs of ‘christmas’ begin to appear in all the stores. However, it would be unfair and dishonest to give all the credit to the creative and zealous retail establishments. I think the greater responsibility lies with those of us inside the communities of faith who are uncomfortable with the message of advent. As a result, we willingly jump right to Christmas. After all what sounds more festive? Joy to the world! Or “Repent, who can endure the day of God’s coming?!” Or, for that matter, what image will sell more cards: A jolly white guy in a red suit eating cookies and saying: ‘Ho, Ho, Ho.’ Or, An impassioned Middle Eastern man who wears camel hair, eats bugs, and says: Repent?
Whether it sells cards or not, the message of advent is not always so comforting. The message of John is one which calls us all to acknowledge and turn from the places in our lives where we are captive to the powers of this world. Given the option between these messages and the work of preparation, is it any wonder that we would rather skip the work of advent and get right to the celebration of Christmas?
The massage of advent becomes clear only when we unearth it from under the clutter of the “season.” The message is this: We live in an in-between time. This is the time between when God first entered into history in the person of Jesus and the time when all people will see the salvation of God. It is a message of waiting – active waiting – in the midst of a world that is drenched in chaos, war, suffering, and death. It is not an easy spiritual disciple but the good news is that we have a wealth of resources at our disposal. In order to wait, actively, we must reach back to the stories of our faith which are full of reminders that we do not wait in vain – that we are not alone – and that God is faithful and can be trusted.
The time in which the prophet Malachi spoke was at time of turmoil. Unlike other prophets, Malachi was part of the very establishment we was criticizing. Malachi was an insider when it came to the temple and he had a vested interest. He was trying to make change from the inside. That sort of work is fraught with dangers. The risks of burnout, or accommodation or even selling out, were quite high. But, this was the work to which God had called Malachi.
The message of Malachi “…prepare the way…” was one which would not have been foreign to the religious folk of Jerusalem. However, these religious words had lost their power. They no longer had the ability to inspire a community which had become overly comfortable with the life of faith. The worship practices had become a cover for injustice and the life of faith had become ritualistic and hollow.
It is why Malachi speaks these rather frightening words – in an attempt to get people’s attention – “Who can endure the day of God’s coming, who can stand when God appears?” This is a stark message for those overly comfortable in the life of faith. It is a message that God’s advent means nothing will ever be the same. It is a timely message for all of us who are at risk of becoming too comfortable with our religious traditions, because so much of what we take for granted is not intended to last. Everything we know and love – everything to which we cling so tightly is fleeting in the face of the call to “…prepare the way…”
Though Luke is writing to a broader audience than Malachi, he issues the same sort of challenge to the established order. Luke is the only gospel writer who tells the story of John the Baptist’s appearance in this way. However, the most illuminating part of this passage is the part which I often skip over. It is the portion which reads:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
Luke includes references to these historical figures, the political and religious leaders, and contrasts it with the arrival of the word of God to John. It is a powerful statement of faith. It is making the claim that in the mist of the well defined political and religious order that God choose to speak and act and move outside of the established order – in the wilderness. It means that God is going to mess it all up and turn the world upside down. The salvation of God is not going to come through these well defined and well ordered political and religious traditions – no matter how invested we might be.
These political and religious leaders frame the life and ministry of Jesus in the gospel of Luke. At the end of the gospel, Jesus will be hauled in front of these very same leaders. They are the ones who will conspire to have Jesus executed for his message of repentance and salvation for all. So, the call to prepare the way is a choice laid before all who hear. Will we follow the ways of the political and religious leadership who ultimately crucify Jesus to protect their power and to ensure the status quo? Or, will we prepare ourselves to follow the way of John and of Jesus?
The answer to that question is found in the lifelong journey of turning from all the things, beliefs and practices which keep us captive to power and to status quo. This is at the heart of the season of advent. The hope in this season is the hope that we will acknowledge and be set free from the places of our captivity – in ourselves, this community and God’s world. While being prepared or preparing the way of the Lord may not be all that marketable, it is the hope of the world.
It is my prayer that God will continue to reveal the places of our captivity and set us free so that each one of us will become voices in the wilderness of our time proclaiming this good news message:
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Amen.
December 10th 2006
Second Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Captivity and Hope”
Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6
The season of Advent is getting squeezed out. There is no doubt that one cause of this squeeze or loss of advent has to do with the retail holiday called ‘christmas.’ Now days, even before Halloween, the signs of ‘christmas’ begin to appear in all the stores. However, it would be unfair and dishonest to give all the credit to the creative and zealous retail establishments. I think the greater responsibility lies with those of us inside the communities of faith who are uncomfortable with the message of advent. As a result, we willingly jump right to Christmas. After all what sounds more festive? Joy to the world! Or “Repent, who can endure the day of God’s coming?!” Or, for that matter, what image will sell more cards: A jolly white guy in a red suit eating cookies and saying: ‘Ho, Ho, Ho.’ Or, An impassioned Middle Eastern man who wears camel hair, eats bugs, and says: Repent?
Whether it sells cards or not, the message of advent is not always so comforting. The message of John is one which calls us all to acknowledge and turn from the places in our lives where we are captive to the powers of this world. Given the option between these messages and the work of preparation, is it any wonder that we would rather skip the work of advent and get right to the celebration of Christmas?
The massage of advent becomes clear only when we unearth it from under the clutter of the “season.” The message is this: We live in an in-between time. This is the time between when God first entered into history in the person of Jesus and the time when all people will see the salvation of God. It is a message of waiting – active waiting – in the midst of a world that is drenched in chaos, war, suffering, and death. It is not an easy spiritual disciple but the good news is that we have a wealth of resources at our disposal. In order to wait, actively, we must reach back to the stories of our faith which are full of reminders that we do not wait in vain – that we are not alone – and that God is faithful and can be trusted.
The time in which the prophet Malachi spoke was at time of turmoil. Unlike other prophets, Malachi was part of the very establishment we was criticizing. Malachi was an insider when it came to the temple and he had a vested interest. He was trying to make change from the inside. That sort of work is fraught with dangers. The risks of burnout, or accommodation or even selling out, were quite high. But, this was the work to which God had called Malachi.
The message of Malachi “…prepare the way…” was one which would not have been foreign to the religious folk of Jerusalem. However, these religious words had lost their power. They no longer had the ability to inspire a community which had become overly comfortable with the life of faith. The worship practices had become a cover for injustice and the life of faith had become ritualistic and hollow.
It is why Malachi speaks these rather frightening words – in an attempt to get people’s attention – “Who can endure the day of God’s coming, who can stand when God appears?” This is a stark message for those overly comfortable in the life of faith. It is a message that God’s advent means nothing will ever be the same. It is a timely message for all of us who are at risk of becoming too comfortable with our religious traditions, because so much of what we take for granted is not intended to last. Everything we know and love – everything to which we cling so tightly is fleeting in the face of the call to “…prepare the way…”
Though Luke is writing to a broader audience than Malachi, he issues the same sort of challenge to the established order. Luke is the only gospel writer who tells the story of John the Baptist’s appearance in this way. However, the most illuminating part of this passage is the part which I often skip over. It is the portion which reads:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
Luke includes references to these historical figures, the political and religious leaders, and contrasts it with the arrival of the word of God to John. It is a powerful statement of faith. It is making the claim that in the mist of the well defined political and religious order that God choose to speak and act and move outside of the established order – in the wilderness. It means that God is going to mess it all up and turn the world upside down. The salvation of God is not going to come through these well defined and well ordered political and religious traditions – no matter how invested we might be.
These political and religious leaders frame the life and ministry of Jesus in the gospel of Luke. At the end of the gospel, Jesus will be hauled in front of these very same leaders. They are the ones who will conspire to have Jesus executed for his message of repentance and salvation for all. So, the call to prepare the way is a choice laid before all who hear. Will we follow the ways of the political and religious leadership who ultimately crucify Jesus to protect their power and to ensure the status quo? Or, will we prepare ourselves to follow the way of John and of Jesus?
The answer to that question is found in the lifelong journey of turning from all the things, beliefs and practices which keep us captive to power and to status quo. This is at the heart of the season of advent. The hope in this season is the hope that we will acknowledge and be set free from the places of our captivity – in ourselves, this community and God’s world. While being prepared or preparing the way of the Lord may not be all that marketable, it is the hope of the world.
It is my prayer that God will continue to reveal the places of our captivity and set us free so that each one of us will become voices in the wilderness of our time proclaiming this good news message:
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Amen.
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