Angels? Really?!

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 12th 2010
Third Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Luke 1:8-20; Luke 1:26-28; 2:8-19
“Angels? Really?!”

Talking about Prophets is easy. Sure, you have to work against the popular notion that they are just fortune tellers for God. Prophets bring a message from God. That message is rooted in the law and built upon justice for all people. Underlying all messages of prophets is that society’s problems are directly related to how well people care for the poor and how equitably resources are divided in society. While that is a message not all that welcome in our own society, there is still a bit of comfort in talking about a human being with a humane message. Angels are another story all together.
When Presbyterians face talk of angels the conversation can get awkwardly silent. What do we believe about angels? What do angels do? What do angels look like? Are they for real? Most of us can equate modern people with the prophets of the bible. But equating angels with modern day people is a bit more complex. To get at this each one of us will need to come to grips with what we think angels look like and what we believe their role. In order to do this we really ought to start simply with what the bible teaches. Fortunately, the bible is not silent on such things.
But before jumping into the biblical world, I want to share a story that I heard recently. It was a conversation that a parent had with their child. It went something like this. Parent: “What do you think about angels?” Child: “I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold. Angels don’t eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows. Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who’s a very good carpenter. My guardian angel helps me with math, but he’s not much good for science.”
The truth is that most of us may have had some notion of this definition in our own lives. And, at some point, we grew up and discarded this way of thinking. Unfortunately, our discomfort, if we have any, may come out of the baggage of such beliefs that are not tempered by the biblical reality. The bible says nothing about guardian angels that walk along with us and keep us out of trouble. The basis of this belief comes from outside our faith and has been co-opted by portions of the church. But, there is much that the bible has to say about angels particularly in the birth stories of Jesus and John.
Zechariah was in the temple. He was a priest and it was his job to enter the most holy place in the temple to offer sacrifices. No one would go in except the priest on his rotation. It was a high honor and as such Zechariah was someone who had spent many hours praying and in contact with God’s presence in the temple. If ever you were to expect to find or to hear a message from God the temple and the holy of holies is the place where one might expect it. As the one chosen to serve God in this way you would expect that Zechariah could be fearful but also filled with joy.
Zechariah is neither. He is paralyzed by fear and overcome with doubt. After all, he had lived a long time. He was well educated and he knew how the world worked. Sure there were folks who talked about such spiritual experiences. And, he knew all the stories of how God had met people and spoken to them through messengers and even dreams. But, Zechariah also knew that the real world worked a certain way. And if he had not seen or heard such things by now, there was no way he was going to believe the good news. The encounter is not shock but absolute doubt.
The angel comes with absolute joyful news. The prayers that Zechariah and Elizabeth have been praying are finally going to be answered in positive ways. They will have a child who will do great things for God. And Zechariah is so trapped by his own way of seeing the world and so trapped that he knows better that such news seems foolish. As a result Zechariah is rendered unable to speak. When he goes out to meet the congregation and cannot speak those who were gathered immediately knew he had seen a vision. They didn’t have to see to believe. They could see what the priest could not.
In the birth of Jesus angels show up all around, in dreams and face to face. The message from the angels is personal for some but also world changing. The message is that God is doing a new thing and those who have had their faces grinded in the dirt by the powerful will be lifted up. God is going to bring about the leveling of society. When this message comes to the shepherds in the field or to an unmarried young woman, the response is joy and wonder. Mary says yes and ponders things in her hearts. While she wants to know how God is going to do such things she does not doubt. The message of the angels most often comes to those outside the expected circles.
Today is the feast of the virgin of Guadalupe. It is a Mexican and catholic celebration. The story is powerful in the way it shows how those inside God’s church are often least receptive to the possibility of God’s actions and message. On December 9th 1531, the peasant Juan Diego saw a vision of a young girl fifteen or sixteen, surrounded my light, on the slope of the Hill of Tepyeyac. Speaking in the local language, the Lady asked that a church be built on this site in her honor. It was then that Juan Diego recognized this was the Virgin Mary. Juan Diego had doubts because he was just a peasant. He went to the bishop who doubted the words of this peasant and said he should go back and ask for a miracle to prove this was real. Juan Diego went back, saw the Virgin again and told him of his troubles. She told him to gather flowers from the top of the mountain. It was winter and no flowers were to be growing. He took them to the bishop who finally believed because he could see. The angel and vision came to those outside so that those inside might see.
For those who are relatively comfortable with the current arrangement, news that it will be coming to an end is not welcome. Even change that will be positive is resisted by those invested in the status quo. But for shepherds, and young girls, and peasants, the message of the Angels is good news of great joy. I cannot say I have seen angels and I would like to believe that I would believe if one met me here in the midst of the sanctuary. But like most of us, I am part of the establishment and would probably come out without a voice for a while. The good news is that God is not finished with those like Zechariah. We might find out that we are called to do a lot more listening than we are used to. It means we need to start listening to the very people we think we know more than to find out that the God we worship usually doesn’t come to folks like us. We are not excluded but instead are called to listen and to look for the way God is still speaking. And when we do, we are called to ponder these things in our heart. And if we don’t, the good news is we just might get to rest our voices for a while. Amen.

What Good are Prophets?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
December 5th 2010
Communion Meditation/ Second Sunday in Advent
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Isaiah 2:1-5; 11:2-10
“What Good are Prophets?”

These visions form Isaiah come as a part of a warning and challenge to the people of Israel. Israel had fallen prey to the notion that more chariots, spears and swords would bring ultimate security. They were trapped by the belief that imitating the world powers of Egypt and Assyria would bring security to the homeland. When a people or nations are trapped by this way of thinking, there is no argument or persuasive speech that can set them free. When people are caught in the continuing cycle of violence, only strange visions and imaginative poetry will do. That may sound strange but the message from God in the bible is exactly that.
The vision and poetry in Isaiah is often lost on the very people it is intended to engage. So what is happening? In the passage Libby read for us this morning, the message points to a future time. It is Gods’ intended future that carries a message for the present time. In the future, the knowledge of God is going to be in every place and nations. When that happens, people will cease to participate in the continuing cycle of violence. On that day, the pentagon will be home to the department of agriculture. Swords and spears will be turned into tools for feeding the hungry. God wants our war technology to be used to feed people.
It is a lovely vision. But it seems remote and mostly foolish and idealistic. How could Israel even consider such a vision while the great nations are still threatening war? While that question is clearly ignored by the prophet what is clear is that the people of God cannot act as if God’s intended future has no bearing on the present. The final words of the passage make that clear: “Let us walk in the Lords way.” It is a call for the people of God to take the lead in the meantime. But when faced with this choice the leaders of Israel trusted in spears and swords. The cycle of violence continued.
The second vision of Isaiah is even stranger. It is a word to the people who are hungry for a leader who will make things right, or bring about Gods promised vision. The king in this vision is a clear contrast to the current king who favors the rich and powerful. The king to come will be one who knows justice and righteousness. This new king will be filled with the spirit of God and will treat the poor fairly. The laws for the poor and meek will be the same for the powerful. Not only will they be the same laws, but they will be enforced equally.
If this seems unusual in our time it was even more so in ancient Israel. We live in a time where drugs laws unfairly target the poor and black men. Some will even notice something is wrong when there is plenty of money for banks but nothing for the middle class and poor. Hearing the words from Isaiah can be a welcome sound in our own day in age. But in ancient Israel, a king who cared for the poor and meek is one that they had never seen. As a result, it took a radically strange image to help the hearers of the prophetic oracle to help them grasp the message.
For a people who lived in or near the wilderness, the image in the second scripture makes sense. But in their world, wolves, leopards and lions were to be feared. They were the predators. So Isaiah shows what God intends. No longer will the calves, lambs and children have to fear the hunger of the lions. A boy king will lead a new world. Predators will no longer live off the blood of their neighbors. The prey will no longer play the victim. When the knowledge of God permeates the earth, the new reality will emerge.
But even this vision is strange. It is not that we cannot grasp that the wolves and lambs represent people and nations. It is more of an issue that our society is exactly the opposite. The powerful take what they want, often at the expense of those who less likely to fight back. The meet get run over in our world and are blamed for being week. And yet, here we sit, once again on this Sunday and proclaim peace. Are we crazy? Or, have we decided this vision is simply too radical for our world of lions?
This week I asked the participants in the youth bible study what they thought about this passage. My favorite answer was that we are all the lambs. And what we need to do is joining with other lambs to stand against the lions. And in doing so we can make sure the lions get what they deserve. While I relate to the impulse I mentioned that it was partially correct. The power of this vision is that it is about ending the continuing cycle of violence. I believe it is true that the lambs of this world need to join together.
When lambs joined together India gained its independence without continuing the cycle of violence. When lambs joined together the apartheid regime in South Africa was brought down without furthering the cycle of violence. And when lambs joined together the civil rights movement brought an end to legalized segregation without continuing the cycle of violence. In fact, this vision is not foolish at all; it is simply too often dismissed as such. When the knowledge of God was brought to light in each of these instances, we saw a glimpse of that promised day.
We are indeed lambs who worship the lamb on the throne. The prince of peace who will bring this new day is the one who we are preparing for during this season. As such, we can never give ourselves over to the continuing cycle of violence. This year, let us seek to be a witness in following God’s way. Let us be counted with those who took the first steps to bring light to the new day. Let us claim the mantle of lambs in our homes, in our neighbors, our city, not as victims but as those who have chosen to end the cycle of violence. And who knows what story will be told about the people who had a hand in changing the most violent city in the nation. Amen?