An Extraordinary Proclamation

Today we begin the season of Advent, a time of watching and waiting for the coming of God as a human person.  It is the time for commemorating God’s Incarnation, the Word becoming flesh, born as we are into life on earth, to live, grow, love, suffer and die just as we all do.  During these next four weeks we look forward to this Incarnation of God.  We watch, wait and hurriedly prepare for Christ's birth with a sense of joyful anticipation.

The Prophet Isaiah calls us to be prepared for something great – something extraordinary.  Isaiah predicts that people will gather from nations far and wide for something revolutionary and exciting. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” Peace, nonviolence, and justice will reign.

It is a surprising proclamation.  The world in the time of Isaiah and the world today is replete with divisions, secular and religious, social and economic, so that any possibility of peace and justice seems remote and unlikely.  God taking the form of a human being was and is an audacious and revolutionary claim.

Isaiah presented an ideal image of the days to come.  Days filled with hope and peace, kindness and justice, days that are indeed God's days.  Jerusalem, the city of God, is to be established not only as a mountain -- the home of a god and the place of revelation -- but as the highest mountain and therefore the home of the highest God.  All the nations are to be drawn to this mountain. They will come streaming like a river.  “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.... Let us walk in the light of the Lord.“

 

The voice of the prophet rings out from the scroll of Isaiah with an image of light and heat for the work of the morning: "As when fire kindles brushwood and causes water to boil, make your name known, O Lord."  Darkness, heat and light, endings and beginnings, fear and hope, death and rebirth, are not only reflected in the sun, the moon and the stars.  They are the rhythms of life here and now.

These rhythms of life are meant to suggest a connection with all creation.  They imply that every day is a kind of Advent, wherein we are called to become vehicles for God's healing, redemptive grace.  The Canadian priest, Herbert O'Driscoll said, "Living in our time is to walk on the beach of history after a great tide has ebbed." He felt that we must look for the great time of God and search for the signs of that incoming tide.

In the early morning during this season of Advent take a walk in your mind’s eye along the beach in the hour before dawn; drink in the darkness and confront the cold light of the fading moon and stars.  And then see, rising in the east from the ocean's limit, the sun of a new day, great and red and warming, bringing light to a world whose hope for it was all but extinguished.

Advent prepares us for the coming of the light of the world.  The Christmas story with its guiding star and angels in the night sky is an evening myth that is filled with truth.  A Medieval preacher described Advent as the "dawn of grace because it brings to light the one on whom we fix our faith, at the beginning and in the end."

We can ponder the events of this time of the year and reflect upon the source of reconciliation between God and humanity.  The possibility for reconciliation is always present, and Isaiah's time-honored instruction transcends time and space. We can hope for justice right here in Rhode Island as we allocate funds for education, health care, and the welfare of the working poor and the unemployed citizens in our midst.  We are to be ever vigilant, watchful, and continue our forward look to the days to come.

May the God of this Advent season fill us with hope, joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Anxiety and Anticipation

Today is the last Sunday in the Christian calendar.  It is also referred to as an observance of Christ the King.  Next week we begin the season of Advent, the four weeks of preparation for the birth of Jesus.  Our readings from the Prophet Jeremiah and the gospel of Luke can enable us to imagine the anxiety and anticipation of the people of God in Israel and Palestine. 

And today, for us as citizens of the United States it is also a time of anxiety and anticipation.  Our country is divided and in need of healing and reconciliation.  Many people who count on government services like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps or shelter, and those who are immigrants seeking security and a hospitable path to citizenship are particularly anxious.

The observance of Christ the King dates to 1925 during the time of Pope Pius XI.  Following World War I he deplored the rise of class divisions and unbridled nationalism, and held that true peace can only be found under the Kingship of Christ as "Prince of Peace."  The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden, however, had a different designation; they called it the “Sunday of Doom.”  

So, here we are at the beginning of the week anticipating the celebration of Thanksgiving.  It will be a day of parades, a festival meal of turkey and an afternoon of football. The daylight hours are shorter as Christmas lights are turned on in stores across the country and holiday shoppers are backoned.  In our appointed scripture lessons we read about a time of anticipation from the prophet Jeremiah and a gospel account about the crucifixion of Jesus.  What does this day represent for you, is it a celebration of Christ the King or “Sunday of Doom”?

The prophet Jeremiah announced: “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”  The people of ancient Israel longed for a new sense of security and a place they could call home.  For a long time they had the idea that the reign of God was something very different from all the governments they had known. 

God’s reign would be characterized by total concern for the common welfare of the people.  There would be special consideration for the rights and needs of the poor and powerless, the homeless, the widows, orphans and strangers, the people who had to mortgage their lands, and those who had been sold into slavery.  God’s reign would cure every kind of oppression and mend the problems of injustice and suffering.

In the new age God will carry out his will among the people through a new person in the lineage of David.  Unlike many of the past kings of Israel and Judah, the new leader will behave in accord with God’s will.  A harmonious and responsible pattern of relationships will be created.  The king will uphold the ideals of Israelite society as set forth in the Law, but not yet realized.  The justice he administers will affect human relationships that are characterized by responsibility, peace, mutual concern, compassion and kindness.

A few hundred years later the Gospel of Luke told about the end of the life of Jesus.  Jesus and two criminals were executed.  “The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God.’...One of the criminals who were hanged [with him] ...said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’  He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

Luke portrayed Jesus as one who proclaimed God’s justice and righteousness.  Jesus was concerned for the poor, people who were marginalized and Gentiles, those outside the Jewish community.  The outreach of the gospel was to women and men of all nations and all conditions. 

In Luke’s account of Jesus’ death there is a deep sadness.  Jesus’ kingship, the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews” was a betrayal of human hope.  Only a criminal, crushed, despised and executed along with Jesus, recognized in him the ultimate source of reconciliation.

Imagine a world free of all fear and tyranny, free of being victimized by the rich and powerful, free of anxiety over family and property, free of violence, free of the loss of sons and daughters to drugs, suicide, and war.  The name of a leader who will ensure this possibility according to Jeremiah is “the Lord is our righteousness.”

God is forever seeking to enter our lives with peace and reconciling love.  We are to be alert, to light our candles in the darkness, to make ready and to watch that we might respond in joy and with thankful hearts when the new day comes. 

When we present our offerings this morning we shall sing a hymn written by Walter Russell Bowie.  It speaks to the pathos of the cross and hope for a new creation.  One of the hymn’s verses says:

O awful Love, which found no room in life where sin denied thee,/ and, doomed to death, must bring to doom the powers which crucified thee,/ till not a stone was left on stone, and all those nations; pride, o'er-thrown,/ went down to dust beside thee!

As though in response to Jeremiah and Luke our epistle reading from the Letter to the Colossians provides a word of hope and encouragement for the early Christian community and for all of us: “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light…. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”  Amen.

Passion for a New Earth

This past Tuesday night many people stayed up very late to watch the election returns.  As the night progressed it became increasingly clear that pollsters had it all wrong.  The media pundits made false assumptions and so did anyone else who made advance predictions of election results.  As votes were counted across the nation people were stunned.  About half of the voters were pleased with the results while the other half were dismayed and saddened.  What happened?  How is it that the election of a president for our country ended as it did? 

It is certainly clear that the coming months will be filled with uncertainty and a lot of soul searching in both the Republican and Democratic parties.  Polling as we have known it is no longer a viable method for predicting results.  Political parties are challenged to respond to the voters’ anger about government and the media as we have known them.  As a result of this election we do not know what will happen, how our lives will be affected, or how our fellow citizens will fare during the next four years.  All of this remains to be seen.

On Wednesday morning I turned to our Scripture readings appointed for today and found a message of hope for all of us within religious communities.  The prophet Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke tell us about how people of faith can live in the midst of anxiety and uncertainty and also maintain a sense of hope for the future.

Isaiah said, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.”

Then Luke, in writing his gospel, looked back to the time of Jesus and focused on the prediction that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. “The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down."  Then, in predicting an apocalyptic future he said, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.  But before all this occurs, [you will have] an opportunity to testify.” 

 

Living in times of uncertainty, anxiety and wonder about the future is not at all unusual.  The people of Israel needed a word of hope.  Jesus’ disciples and followers needed to know that their relationships were important, especially in the midst of trying circumstances.  They were to tell their stories, to testify about coping with what was happening all around them.

 

How are we to cope in our time of uncertainty, a time of transition in our national leadership when we have no clear idea about the future?  What do you do?  What story do you tell at the dinner table with your family and friends?  One of the ways for all of us who gather for worship as part of the family of God is to know that we have hope for the future in the midst of whatever happens in the present.  In Isaiah God said, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth…. So be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.”

 

Last Sunday we heard a story from Dan Mechnig about what All Saints’ Church has meant for him for the past 60 years that he has worshipped here. His story is a testimony to the importance of our congregation and the relationships we share.  It is also an invitation to contribute toward a  sustainable financial future.

 

And, this past Tuesday in our confirmation course we talked about Jesus and what he was passionate about.  Jesus was passionate about God, and he was passionate about the Kingdom of God.  He prayed and taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus’ passion was God’s dream of justice, non-violence, and peace centering on the transformation of the world. 

 

The meaning for us is clear.  First, we are to trust in God by loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves.  Second, we are to strive for a new earth where resources are shared, justice reigns. and our planet earth is maintained for future generation.

 

I asked the members of our class to think about their passions.  We know what Jesus was passionate about.  What are you passionate about?

Tell us your story.  Tell the story of your relationship with God, and tell the story about your dream, your passion for a new earth.

 

Our baptismal covenant is a good place to begin.  As Christians, members of God’s family, we are to “continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. “  We are to “persevere in resisting evil,… to repent and return to the Lord.”  We are to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.”  We are “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” 

 

These are not just words; they are our commitment to action as ministers of reconciliation. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.  Our mission is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. To the extent we are passionate about the covenant we made in baptism and renew every time we baptize another person, we participate in God’s creation of a new earth.  Amen.

 

 

Examples of God’s Grace

All Saints’ Sunday is a special day for all of us.  Our All Saints’ Memorial Church dates to the time of its building 144 years ago.  As we celebrate our founding it is important to note that All Saints brings to mind the size and solidarity of God’s people.  The people of God comprise a vast community that spreads beyond the boundaries of race, language, religion, and condition; beyond time and space, and across the divide of death.  In each faithful person the Christian proclamation of hope and promise for eternal life is a concrete reality. 

When we sing praise to the saints and the faithful of every age we praise God who has triumphed through them and whose bountiful grace and mercy we see in their lives.  They are examples of God’s grace.

Today’s gospel reading from Luke provides the basis of Christian ethics.  It is an ethic of God’s grace, and it is about how we are to act in relation to each other and to all the people of God.  Jesus spoke to the disciples and others in the hill country of Galilee about those who are blessed in God’s eyes, and the religious duties of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. 

“Blessed are you,” said Jesus, and then he matched each blessing with a woe, a statement of anguish or misery.  Luke stressed the need for social change and transformation.  Blessings and woes are the prophetic words intended to bring to pass the things to which they give promise or warning.

“Blessed are you who are poor” reflects God’s vindication of the poor and those in need, and the government authority that had responsibility for them.  In the time of Luke, in first century Palestine, a large class of destitute, unemployed, and landless peasants lived side by side with wealthy farmers, landed proprietors, and rich bankers. 

“Blessed are you who are hungry now” reflects God’s readiness to relieve not only physical, but spiritual, hunger.  Jesus shared meals with the disciples, he ate with sinners and tax collectors, he fed the multitudes; and in his teachings he told the story of someone who gave a great banquet, or he told of bringing a fatted calf and killing it so there could have a feast.  In these events both the spiritual and literal senses of being hungry are held together.

“Blessed are you who weep now” is a beatitude that must be seen against the actual distress of an occupied country.  Its roots are in the prophecy of Isaiah who proclaimed the promise of a new Jerusalem: “To proclaim the year of God’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”  The meaning is inclusive and goes beyond individual or personal bereavement.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you.”  This beatitude reflects the suffering the disciples will have to endure.  Those who suffer and are persecuted because of their faithfulness share the kingdom of God.

These four blessings are addressed to people who are poor, hungry, miserable, and who expect to be treated harshly.  The kingdom of heaven is promised to them and it will be their happiness and satisfaction.  Both the physical and the spiritual are included in these promises; and all of them form a revolutionary proclamation.  The gospel has been called an ethic of grace.

How does this relate to us who are Christians in the 21^st century?  When I look around our state and see the vast number of food pantries, soup kitchens, and meal sites that feed thousands of people every week, I am overwhelmed by the level of poverty in Rhode Island.  Last week, writing in the New York Times (October 28, 2016), Nicholas Kristof stated, “What many Americans don’t understand about poverty is that it’s perhaps less about a lack of money than about not seeing any path out…..

“Too many American kids are set up for failure when they are born into what might be called the “broken class,” where violence, mental illness, drugs and sexual abuse infuse childhood.… As a society, we fail them long before they fail us….

“What we lack most is not means but political will.  The main public response to American poverty has been a great big national shrug — and that is why … the public and the media [need to demand] that politicians address the issue…. Struggling, despairing people sometimes compound their misfortune by self-medicating or engaging in irresponsible, self-destructive behavior..… Child poverty is an open sore on the American body politic.  It is a moral failing for our nation that one-fifth of our children live in poverty.”

The gospel ethic of grace is to “love your enemies, to do good, and to lend expecting nothing in return.... Be merciful, even as God is merciful.”  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  “Blessed are you” who live in this way.

The beatitudes and woes provide us with the real meaning of sainthood.  The saints are those who possess and demonstrate the love and grace of God.  We celebrate the great women and men of the Bible and all through the centuries as examples of God’s grace.  They lived and continue to live this ethic of grace because they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, build houses for the homeless, free those in prison and those who are oppressed, comfort the broken-hearted, and work for justice and peace.  As members of All Saints Memorial Church, blessed are you in everything you do by living this ethic of grace. You are also numbered among the saints.  Amen.