Opposite equals

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings & Summary

The Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5:13b-24 (25-28)

Paul encourages believers to be kindhearted to one another; to rejoice, pray, and be thankful ceaselessly; to hold on to the good; and that our whole selves “be preserved blameless” when Christ comes.

The Gospel—Luke 1:39-45

An expectant Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, who herself is pregnant with John the Baptist.  John leaps for joy in his mother’s womb at Mary’s greeting.  Elizabeth blesses both Mary and her unborn child, Jesus.

Reflection

We’re at the Sunday before Christmas, the last Sunday of Advent, and today we have a little bit of a rewind.  Whereas last week we encountered a grown-up (and imprisoned) John, unsure as to whether Jesus is the Messiah, this week we go way back, even before his birth.  According to the mythic story, the unborn John hears Mary’s greeting, and he leaps for joy inside his mother’s womb, somehow certain that the Redeemer is near.

It seems like John has always been quite the fiery character.  When we next meet him, he’s in the desert, eating locusts and wild honey, shouting at the top of his lungs for people to repent and prepare the way of the Lord.  He’s not afraid to call his own people out on their corruption, and certainly not afraid to confront King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife.  This is in stark contrast to Mary who, while actually bearing God’s Word inside her own womb, says not a word in today’s Gospel reading.

Mary is, for the most part, the exact opposite of John the Baptist.  Whereas John points outward to the Coming One, Mary receives him inward.  John is loud and boisterous.  Mary is humble and quiet.  John cries out, curse after warning, after criticism.  Mary is certainly not afraid to speak or ask questions, but mostly she listens, using her words wisely.  And yet, these two opposites were the first to accept and to proclaim the good news—equally.  Mary received and bore the Word to the world, and John paved the way for others to receive him.  They worked together, doing different things for the same divine goal.

There isn’t only one way to receive the Christ-child into our hearts.  There isn’t only one way to bring good news to others.  What we learn from John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary—and indeed the overall narrative of the Bible—is that God uses our innate character, our unique talents, and even our shortcomings, and transforms them, according to God’s greater purpose.

Questions

These questions are intended for all—people of faith, of a different faith, or even no faith.

In the story, God worked through the distinct personalities of John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary.

What are your unique talents?  What can you do, that no one else can?

How can you use your unique talents for the good of others?  For the good of yourself?

John and Mary, despite being the first to receive the good news, never share a face-to-face scene together.

Do you think they would’ve gotten along?  Why or why not?

How do you get along with others whose personalities differ from yours?

Can you still work together for the common good?  Or is it better to collaborate from a distance?

Prayer of the Day

Purify our conscience, Almighty God,

by your daily visitation,

that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming,

may find in us a mansion prepared for himself;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect for the “Sunday before Advent” from the Gallican Sacramentary; used for Advent 4 in the Book of Common Prayer, 1979

O Lord our God,

we pray that we all may rejoice with upright hearts,

assembled in the unity of faith,

so that at the coming of your Son our Savior,

we may, unblemished,

run to meet him in the company of his saints;

through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

—Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, from the Gelasian Sacramentary

Hymn: “People, look east,” Eleanor Farjeon, 1928

Worship song: “O come, O come, Emmanuel,” Enya, 2008

Grateful

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings & Summary

The Epistle: Colossians 4:2-6

An imprisoned Paul (or someone writing in his name) asks believers to continue in prayer, walk in wisdom, speak gracefully, and make the most of their time.

The Gospel—Luke 7:18-28

John the Baptist—from prison, according to Matthew—asks if Jesus is the Coming One.  Jesus responds with all the miracles and healings he has done, and confirms that the Baptist is the prophet spoken of in Hebrew Scripture. 

Reflection

Twenty years ago, a driver picked up a hitchhiker in Virginia, but a car accident claimed the lives of both young men.  The driver was identified, but the passenger had nothing on him except a mysterious note, which possibly named him as “Jason”, and two tickets to a nearby Grateful Dead concert.  So began the case of “Grateful Doe”.

I heard of this case about a decade ago, and was mystified by its bizarre story.  Time passed, leads were exhausted, and hundreds of missing men had been ruled out.  Websleuths.com had dozens of pages of people devoted to solving this case—but to no avail.  Then last January, a post on Imgur.com led a man to share photos of a “Jason” he had befriended around 1994—photos which strikingly resembled the sketch of “Grateful Doe.”  In April, a woman saw those pictures and believed them to be of her missing half-brother.  She was shocked to discover an entire online community searching possibly for the same person she’d been trying to find for years.  After submitting DNA samples, her family could do nothing else but wait for the results.

What is it like to wait for something like that?  To have to wait for a life-changing answer for months, even years?  John the Baptist certainly knew that type of waiting.  Indeed, so did all of Israel.  After centuries under foreign rule—including decades under Rome—Israel longed for redemption, freedom, and peace.  John the Baptist thought he’d once found the Liberator, but today he asks, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?”  Luke doesn’t set this scene in prison, as Matthew does, but it’s clear that John has returned to the familiar prison of doubt, fear, and despondency.

Are we much different from John, 2,000 years later?  With everything going on in the world lately, how can we not question everything we’ve been taught?  Many have decided that Jesus’ way is not enough, and so they now look for another.  I can’t blame them.  I certainly don’t feel redemption, freedom, and peace when I hear of yet another mass shooting or terrorist attack.  But Advent gives us room to honor all of these valid feelings—even as it points forward to the Christ-child, reminding us that his way of selfless love, humility, and peace is possible.  That reminder doesn’t banish all doubt and fear from me—but it balances my perspective, and brings me comfort.

For Jason’s family, the waiting is over.  Last week, DNA results confirmed that “Grateful Doe” is indeed Jason—Jason Patrick Callahan.  My heart and my prayers go out to them in this difficult time—and yet, I feel relieved for them too.  They know now that Jason’s suffering is over.  It ended twenty years ago.  He has not been angry or resentful towards his loved ones this whole time.  He hasn’t been in danger, nor lost, nor hurt, nor unaware of who he is, or any number of dreadful things.  He has been at peace.  He is at peace.  There is closure now; they are free from prison, and on the path towards healing and comfort.

Questions

These questions are intended for all—people of faith, of a different faith, or even no faith.

Advent is typically observed as a season of joyful anticipation—so “prison talk” may seem a little out of place here.

What, if anything, do you feel imprisons you?

What is your jail cell like? Your daily routine as a prisoner?

How would you feel, knowing that freedom was on its way?

The Reflection focused more on John’s prison of doubt and disheartenment—but Paul has a different attitude in his prison.

How do you act in your own prison?

Do you allow yourself room to be honest with your feelings?

Can you, even in shackles, still reach out to others in hope and inspiration?

Prayer of the Day

Arise in your might, O Lord, we pray you, and come.

Summon your strength, hasten to our rescue,

and assist us with your grace,

for we are immersed in sin without escape.

Look gently upon us in your forbearance,

so that once again we can live, move, and have our being;

through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect #3 for the Third Sunday of Advent in the Lund Missal (1514)

Hymn: “Savior of the nations, come,” Ambrose (4^th cent.), Martin Luther (16^th cent.)

Worship song: “Everlasting God,” Brenton Brown

Watching for signs

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings & Summary

The Epistle: James 5:7-9

We must be patient and strong-hearted as we wait for the coming of the Lord.

The Gospel—Mark 13:24-37

Signs in the heavens will foretell the coming of the Son of Man.  No one knows the day or the hour, so we must keep watch.

Reflection

It seems incredible that we begin the Advent Season here in the United States with two mass shootings in the United States, one at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs on November 27, and the second at San Bernardino on December 2.  In the span of six days, 17 people lost their lives.  I’m also reminded of another Advent mass shooting, the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, in which one man killed 28 people, many of them children, before finally killing himself.  I can’t believe that happened almost three years ago.  I could’ve sworn it was last year, or maybe the year before that—so burned it became in my memory.

Jesus in today’s Gospel talks about signs of the End Times.  There are some who point to the current rise in violence and terrorism as other signs of the End.  I don’t subscribe to that belief, but with the shootings here, and the recent attacks in Paris, Lebanon, Nigeria, and others, I have to say there’s a part of me that wishes the End would just come.  In my heart, I don’t think God is finished with us yet.  I still believe that there is more good in the world than bad.  We see it in the ensuing outpouring of support and compassion.  But what do we do when the brutality and the senselessness of these killings is just too overwhelming?

The Gospel cautions us to “watch, keep alert.”  What does that mean?  Are we supposed to sit still, eyes fixed in one direction, just waiting?  I don’t think so.  To do that would mean we’d let most of our lives—and the world—just pass us by.  No, Jesus does not call us to inertia.  I think keeping alert—keeping awake—means being mindful, living in the present, aware of the moment.  It’s also a call to action.  If we accept mass shootings and terrorist attacks as simply the way things are; that there’s nothing we can do about them, or learn from them; or that we’re not part of a system that facilitates violence, then we’re no longer “awake” to the lessons—the signs—they have to teach us.  We become like those who are caught “sleeping” when the Lord comes, caught by surprise when the day of reckoning comes.

Knowing that we can’t right the wrongs of the world by ourselves should not be discouraging.  We’re also called to be patient and strong-hearted.  To do that, we have to realize what’s in our power and what is not.  But if we discern the signs closely enough, I think we’ll all find that there’s more we can do while we wait for justice and redemption.

Questions

These questions are intended for all—people of faith, of a different faith, or even no faith.

Mindfulness and living in the present are central themes in Buddhism.  Knowing what’s in our power and what’s not is the foundation of Stoic philosophy.

How can ideas from other traditions shed insight into our own path?

How can we use that knowledge to bridge the gaps between us? To quell aggression and foster understanding?

The Gospel talks about watching for signs in the heavens.

Do you believe in signs?

What message or meaning do you read behind certain events or occurrences?

Do you take a moment to appreciate the various coincidences or synchronicities you encounter in your life?

Prayer of the Day

Keep us, O Lord our God, we pray you,

ever watchful and eager for the coming of your Son,

so that when he knocks,

he may not find us asleep in our sins,

but watching and rejoicing in his praises;

through the same Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect #2 for the First Sunday of Advent in the Book of Common Worship (1993)

Waken our hearts, O Lord,

so that we may prepare the way for your only-begotten Son.

Graciously keep us in your service,

and cleanse our hearts for his arrival;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

—Collect for Advent 2 in the Lund Missal, 1514; ultimately from the Collect for the “Sunday before Advent” in the 5^th-century Gelasian Sacramentary

Hymn: “Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding”, Latin traditional, 5th-century

Worship song: “You'll come”, Hillsong