2 Advent/Year A

December 4, 2022

(Sermon by Rev Julie Platson)                              

Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

 

2nd advent candle: PEACE

We come to prepare the way;

The way for Christ –

the hope of Christ, the peace of Christ –

to enter our world,

to enter our hearts.

We cry out together in the wilderness:

The kingdom of heaven has come near.

We come to be part of the light– the light of peace…

the light that shines in the darkness.

~ written by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith. http://spaciousfaith.com/

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent…and it stirs up a lot more questions…and shakes up the quiet start to our season, just a short week ago…

Last Sunday, we began the season of Advent with an invitation to ponder the old, but new questions that come up every year as we begin Advent…What time is it? How much longer? How will we know? What signs should we watch for? How many more days until we can celebrate once again the beloved stories of Jesus’ birth shared during our Christmas celebrations? How much longer must we watch and wait until Christ comes again?

We were encouraged to use the advent calendar, to help us slow down, be quiet, prayerfully watch and wait, as we ponder the meaning, once again, of both the 1st and 2nd comings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to consider what it means for us, in this time of our lives…

The readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent provide for some beautiful visual imagery and some harsh sounding words that proclaim a sense of urgency… as we watch and wait and ponder anew…the 1st and 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…

We listened to these words from Isaiah…giving us a vision of peace among all creatures…

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 cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

In our psalm today, the words painted a beautiful picture of the coming of this new kind of king and kingdom…a kingdom where justice and peace shall flourish…

He shall defend the needy among the people; *he shall rescue the poor and crush the oppressor.

He shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, *from one generation to another.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown field, *like showers that water the earth.

In his time shall the righteous flourish; *there shall be abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, we were reminded once again…

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.  And the reading concludes with the familiar and beautiful words from the end of our morning prayer services:

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our gospel reading is a pretty familiar story…we hear some version of the story about John the Baptist, every year during the Advent season… This year’s version begins with John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” We listened to the description of John the Baptist, who wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and whose food was locusts and wild honey. We listened to his bold and harsh words for the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were coming to him to be baptized… questioning their motive perhaps?

And we heard his urgent and straightforward words, once again,  that point to the One who is more powerful coming after him…

Sometimes, the messages that come through the scriptures seem pretty subtle…they seem to come through to us, in a faint whisper…stay awake, watch and wait, pray, be quiet, be still…but there are other times in the reading of the scriptures, where the words jump off of the page in loud and bold letters…

This Sunday…is one of those Sundays.

I like to think that maybe they seem louder today, because I am one week into my advent discipline of a more prayerful, contemplative journey throughout Advent…slowing down, finding time to be quiet, and using the advent calendar to help me focus on “being ready”, spiritually ready, as I watch and wait for the coming of Christ again...and as I turn my heart and my attention towards Jesus, once again, remembering to keep him at the center of all my holiday preparations, and celebrations at Christmas, and beyond…

But then, I truthfully examine my journey thus far…and realize I have strayed off course already, I am failing miserably in my first week…

So perhaps the loudness today isn’t really loud at all because I am focusing more on quietness…but maybe it seems likes its getting progressively louder, and more persistent because I keep getting distracted and fail to pay attention to the words of wisdom, and the urgent messages being proclaimed by the messengers, the prophets, that I’ve heard more than once…I’ve heard them many times…and every time, I think I’ll pay attention, and try to make some small change in my life… and spiritual practice, because of the good news that I heard…

I often wonder if God ever becomes impatient with us, as we do with others in our lives, when we are trying to teach them something…something urgent, something wonderful, something we know will transform their lives in a hopeful way, in a peaceful way, in a joyful way, in a loving way…

Anyone who has raised children, teenagers, or those who work as any kind of caregiver or teacher in some capacity…knows how difficult it is to get our words of wisdom and urgent messages across to someone we love and care for…we often raise our voices, in desperation and exhaustion, as we strive to get our message across…

What we usually find out though, is that it’s not really how loudly we speak that makes them to listen…but instead, with the persistence of our loving intentions, words and visions of hope for them to hang on to, and with the intervention of the holy spirit, there is an opening of their own minds and hearts, and a willingness to hear something new for themselves, that prompts them to “turn around”, change direction, and begin again… It is in this turning around…where new life begins to flourish…

John the Baptist is the urgent and persistent voice of love and hope calling us, to turn around…and watch for the more powerful One that is surely coming…

In this season of Advent, as we are urged to slow down, be quiet, watch and wait, together…we will hear quiet voices, and urgent and persistent voices…calling our attention to turn around…to focus on the One, Jesus Christ, who the prophets proclaim boldly, will come again…the One whose life, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, is where new life begins in us, and where the seeds of hope, peace, joy and love begin to grow and flourish among all of God’s people and all of creation…

 

Let us pray:  HYMN after sermon: (VF) 33 -The grain is ripe

 

1        The grain is ripe: the harvest comes!

          good seed of hope, your time is now

          justice will stream from hill and river,

          more than you dream and running over.

 

2        The righteous God gives this and more:

          grace is the mode, mercy the key,

          God comes in truth, the sharpest laser

          to scan the earth, to take our measure.

 

3        The work of peace is all for all,

          face turned to face in open trust,

          all famine gone and thirst and bleeding,

          the harvest comes from love’s good seeding.