The Second Sunday of Advent - December 8, 2019
Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12
ON the first Sunday of advent, we lit the 1st candle on the advent wreath for hope…Today, we lit the 2nd candle on the advent wreath for peace.
And for some of you, you may have started using the Living Compass devotional booklet for advent that is all about practicing Peace with all your heart, soul, strength and mind…On Thursdays, all are welcome to join us in the See House from Noon-1:15pm…as we engage in conversation around the daily reflections on the theme of Peace….reflections that are meant to guide us, prayerfully, and purposefully, throughout this season of advent…in seeking a deeper understanding of what the Peace of Christ is all about…reflections that challenge us to focus on making peace with ourselves….reflections that assist us in discerning what it means to be instruments of God’s peace… and then, finally…on the 4th and final couple of days of Advent…the last reflections focus on practicing peace as a “Holy Yes”….opening the way to say Yes to God’s gift of peace on Christmas Eve, and receiving the Gift of Christ: God’s Holy gift to us…on Christmas Day…
Our initial thoughts on peace probably bring visions of calm, and quietude…simplicity and serenity….no worries…no troubles…no conflicts…
But, as we enter this 2nd week of Advent…our gospel reading today gives us a different angle and approach to what practicing peace may look like…and what practicing peace…requires of us…
John the Baptist has some pretty bold words for us when it comes to pointing out what’s needed of us to prepare our hearts and minds and our lives to open the way for us to say Yes to God’s gift of Peace on Christmas Eve, and to receive the Gift of Christ, the Prince of Peace: God’s Holy gift to us…on Christmas Day…the peace that surpasses all our understanding…the peace that only Christ can give us…
Our gospel reading begins with John the Baptist, who we are told wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey… and appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming… “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Repent…turn from your old ways…those things in your lives, that keep you from receiving the love and peace of God…Repent...of the wrongs that you have done to yourself and others…repent of the un-forgiveness of yourself… for those times you erred and strayed away… and repent of the un-forgiveness and hatred, and judgment for others, that continues to block your way forward in living a life that God has intended for you…a life built upon hope, peace, love and joy…Repent… turn around…focus your gaze once again…on the dream and the gift of the Peaceable kingdom, where the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them….the Peaceable kingdom that John the Baptist proclaims is so very near…
Repentance…as a way of practicing peace…is what John the Baptist is proclaiming to us this week…Repentance to clear a path and a way for us to begin again, by preparing our hearts and our lives to receive the love and peace of the Lord…and make us ready to greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer..
This morning…I’m going to lead us through a reflection and exercise that invites each one of us the opportunity to repent… to reflect on those things in our lives that have gotten in the way of us being at peace with God, with others…and most especially…those things that have burdened our own hearts and our own minds…and have kept us from being at peace with ourselves…
For now…just listen to this reflection, from the Living Compass advent devotional… written by The Rt. Rev. Audrey Cady Scanlan…It’s called: Practicing Peace Through a Crucible
Reflection: Practicing Peace Through a Crucible by The Rt. Rev. Audrey Cady Scanlan/Living Well Through Advent
When I think of being in a peaceful state, I do not automatically think of broods of vipers, unquenchable fire, or snacking on locusts while stepping into my camel’s hair and leather girdle. I prefer to think, rather, about scented candles and warm sunlight, ocean waves lapping softly on the shore, and whisper-traces of foam in the sand.
When I think of practicing peace, I don’t imagine a wild prophet standing waist deep in the muddy Jordan telling me that what he’s doing with water is only half the game—that the rest will be done through refining fire. I like to think, rather, about quiet, confidential conversations with friends in coffee shops; about offering an apology to someone whom I’ve hurt; or being the first one to break an estranged silence.
Yet the prophet John teaches us that sometimes reconciliation and peace are achieved by a trial or crucible. And the wisdom gleaned from this wild prophet reminds me of a crucible in my own life.
Ordained when I was 45 years old, I was also 45 years old when I made my first confession with a priest. A Franciscan friend had suggested that making a private confession might be a good idea before I was ordained.
The idea of it scared me half to death. Sit in a room with another human being and talk about my lifetime of offenses? Now, it’s not like I had criminal acts in my past (except for that lipstick shoplifting episode in 4th grade) but I was intimidated, nonetheless.
I waited until my pre-ordination retreat. The kindly monk who was serving as my spiritual director told me to go to my room and write down every sin that I had ever committed. I thought that he was joking. He was not. It took me all night as I scanned my life, year by year, season by season, relationship by relationship.
I tossed and turned all night, getting out of bed more than once to add to the list as my memory illuminated still another trespass. I skipped breakfast in the morning, too anxious to eat.
The clock dragged until my 10am appointment. Sitting in a comfortable chair in the corner of his room, the dear old monk invited my recitation of the list. He sat quietly with his thumbs rubbing the soft leather of his prayer book as he listened with the ear of his heart. Handing me a folded white handkerchief, he let me compose myself before offering God’s absolution. And when he did, it was a sweet gift of grace that brought with it a feeling of cleanness, of holiness, of peace. It wasn’t fun or easy. In fact, the whole exercise felt like refining fire, but it was, perhaps, the first time that I had ever practiced making peace with myself.
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Here’s the exercise…to give us a new start at making peace with ourselves….
It is only for you to do as you feel comfortable…and it will only be for your eyes…and from your heart…
Make a list this morning…of those things you wish to confess…those things you want to repent of…those things that have been a heavy burden on your heart and your mind…write them down…or offer them up silently in the presence of God…
I’m going to give you a few minutes to do this…while I’m playing some quiet music…
And at the end of the time, I will offer a prayer of absolution and a blessing…
Few minutes of quiet…while I play….(O Come, O Come, Emmanuel)…
After the silence/music:
(BCP 451)
May Almighty God in mercy receive your confession of sorrow and repentance…
Absolution: Our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered himself to be sacrificed for us to the Father, and who conferred power on his Church to forgive sins, absolve you through my ministry by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and restore you in the perfect peace of the Church. Amen.
And now, a blessing for the way forward, as you continue to practice peace with all your heart, soul, strength and mind…
BLESSING THE WAY
With every step you take, this blessing rises up to meet you.
It has been waiting long ages for you.
Look close and you can see the layers of it, how it has been fashioned
by those who walked this road before you, how it has been created
of nothing but their determination and their dreaming, how it has taken
its form from an ancient hope that drew them forward and made a way for them when no way could be seen.
Look closer and you will see this blessing is not finished, that you are part of the path it is preparing, that you are how this blessing means
to be a voice within the wilderness and a welcome for the way….(the way of peace…line added by Julie)
—Jan Richardson, from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska