Second Sunday in Advent: December 9, 2007.

Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

First Reading--Signaling hope

In Isaiah, we see signs of hope. First we learn about someone who is coming who will have a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might. This one will be a righteous judge restoring equity for the meek and removing wicked exploitation. In this restored earth a wolf and lamb are together; a leopard and kid are together; a calf, a lion, and fatling are together; and a little child leads this motley crew of "natural" enemies. Everyone is eating grass and straw--there's no more killing to eat. There is no fear of death by snakebite or poison. No hurt exists, no destruction. All destructive power relationships are ended. No one is preying on another. All the fighting people, tribes, and factions come together. The psalmist continues this restorative image in a song that the king's son will be the one under whose rule righteousness will flourish and peace will abound.

In Romans, these signals are articulated again--all this is written for the people's instruction, encouragement, and hope. The writer of Romans points to Christ specifically as the one who fulfills the vision of Isaiah. Jesus is the root, or the shoot/offshoot, (4) of Jesse, David's father. Jesus' resurrection fulfills the hope not only of those people of God already waiting for righteous leaders but also of Gentiles, "outsider" nations who also need hope.

In Matthew's description of John the Baptist, we have a contrasting vision of who is coming soon. Not only is John himself a fiery preacher, but he preaches that wrath is coming. The one who is coming, according to John the Baptist, is coming with an axe of judgment. John's baptism is with water, but the baptism that is coming is one of the Holy Spirit and fire. This expected one is cleansing the threshing floor and dividing the wheat from the chaff.

So, who is coming this Advent? Which Jesus? Is it Jesus the shoot from the stump, signal of hope and transformation into peace, or is it Jesus the one bearing the axe, the winnowing fork, the bringer of fire? The answer is Yes--both. At the same time, the answer is Neither. Jesus surprises people by what he does not do--Jesus does not conquer the earth with military force, become king, bring absolute order. Jesus also surprises people by what he does do--Jesus does bring diverse people together into one community, lead by going to the cross to suffer and die, send people out to transform the world through preaching.

Jesus did say things that separated people. Some people followed; others went away sadly. People very different from one another were brought together. If we need evidence of these major differences, we could consider all the fighting among the earliest churches. Sworn enemies, like Peter and Paul, had to come into a room together and work out an arrangement for how to go forward together. This is probably a good image of work we might do as a church in this Advent season. But it's not just about our work. It's about the work God is doing among us.

It is not just that Jesus came once upon a time and these things happened. Jesus comes among us today, once again, and these things happen. We get to witness them--to see, talk about, and share these things. Again this week we have three verses that appear to fit together somewhat and then a bizarrely different Gospel message. Maybe this is an opportunity to not force everything to fit together but just allow the tensions. This is a season when incongruous things are happening because of the layers and layers of life coming together at once. Proclaim the layers.

Pastoral Reflection

There was a storm that went through Hyde Park in Chicago this past year, and it left remarkable damage. It was not a tornado but a series of bursts so intense that many of the mighty cottonwoods that follow the underground streams through this neighborhood were uprooted. Many lost major limbs, and some lost all of their limbs. The pattern was very much like the reading from Matthew last week. One was taken; one was left. After all was over and the pruning crews had finished removing broken branches, the trees outside our window had nothing left but trunks. We were reassured that foliage would grow again, but it was hard to believe. Could anything grow from those bare, dead-looking trunks? Nevertheless, as summer passed, the foliage did return. It was amazing to watch the bare trunks sprout tiny branches and leaves and become covered in green once more.

How much more amazing to see a shoot sprout from the stump of the tree. Life springs from death; hope is born in spite of the bleakness of our current situation.

This is a season where many people are looking for signs. Jewelry stores invite lovers to show a sign of their love with a diamond--and certain members of this society begin to wonder, Will I receive that gift? In spite of films like Blood Diamond, raising awareness and exploring the injustice and human pain that can surround the diamond industry, these and other expensive gifts still hold incredible power over people as a sign of things we all long for from others--love, desire, commitment, high regard.

Children of many ages wonder what a parent or parents will give them this year. Will it be my heart's desire? Will it show that parents have been listening? Do they know me? In Expecting Adam, Martha Beck tells the story of her pregnancy and early life with her son born with Down syndrome. She describes the gift of Adam. One Christmas, her young daughters Katie and Lizzy struggled to get over their disappointment when their gifts were not quite what they hoped for. Then, they all watched Adam's pure joy at receiving a package of batteries. Martha describes how she tried to correct her son, "Oh, honey, that's not the real present. The real present is--" But Adam didn't hear her as he began running around the house babbling with excitement about all the things he could do with this fabulous, fabulous gift. Beck sums it up: "Something about Adam always manages to see straight past the outward ordinariness of a thing to any magic it may hold inside." (5) She describes how much life with Adam has taught her about rejoicing in the gift. What does this mean in light of Isaiah's vision of a child leading us?

Another story like this comes from a child at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, our urban partner congregation, whom I watched as he received an "inappropriate" gift, a gift that I was afraid might have embarrassed him because it was for a much younger child. His incredibly generous response to my question "Is it okay? Would you like to choose another gift?" was "No, this is good. I'll give it to my nephew. He will really like it."

People wonder this week if Christmas this year will be just the same, filled with the same happiness or disappointments as last year, or if there will be something different, some unexpected sign of love and joy and presence and peace. What will be the sign that Jesus has come among us? In proclaiming the good news, encourage people to come and see. The meal is a time when Jesus comes ... but don't close your eyes as you go out into this week. We have heard Isaiah announce that "the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." Because we have prayed with the psalmist this week, "may God's glory fill the whole earth," we are reminded that the presence of God is both hidden and revealed far beyond this meal.... Watch for it. JLMC 

4. Leander E. Keck, The Harper Collins Study Bible (SanFrancisco: Harper Collins, 1989), 2136.

5. Martha Beck, Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic (New York: Berkley Books, 1999), 190.