Third Sunday in Advent: December 16, 2007.

Isaiah 35:1-10

Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55 James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

First Reading--Why we can't wait

To people in mortal fear, whose mouths are dry and whose stomachs are clenched, Isaiah articulates a vision of the new climate that's coming. Instead of dry land there will be blossoms. Instead of fear, manifest in weak hands and feeble knees, there will be new strength, joy, and singing. All will be walking together along the Holy Way. No traveler, not even fools, will go astray. All kinds of incredible things happen, not only restoring humans to health and abilities that they had lost (or never had) but restoring the dryness of earth to a swamp.

Don't we all long for this? Can't you almost taste it--a day when sorrow and sighing shall flee away? With my eight-year-old twin niece and nephew, I whisper with excitement and longing, "I can't wait!"

Both Psalm 146 and Luke 1 take us even further along the road, proclaiming that the LORD sets prisoners free, lifts up those who are bowed down, watches over strangers, upholds orphan and widow, but the way of the wicked God brings to ruin. The righting of all unjust systems, the restoration of prisoners or proud folks to their communities, the healing of physical and spiritual disabilities are all within the scope of God's transforming power and plan. And Mary sings in response to her pregnancy that God has done great things not only for her personally but for generation to generation. We might join in singing with Mary, "It's happening! We can't wait."

Then James joins in with a word for the wise. Be patient, especially with each other, while you wait--the coming of the LORD is near. It's hard to wait. We've been singing for years now. Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king. Alleluia, alleluia, we're going to see the king. And still we wait. Grumbling begins. We begin to doubt and fear. James encourages us with an agricultural metaphor: Like farmers, beloved, wait for the precious crop from the earth. We're trying to wait, but we can't wait to feast together on the gifts of the earth, shared at God's table.

Then, in Matthew, we ask Jesus with John who is in prison, "Are you the one?" Jesus says, "Yes. Be assured"--and points to the things that are happening. Then he speaks to the crowds about all the good that John has done and yet also describes his limits: "the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Could it be that Jesus says this so that the crowd doesn't feel intimidated, so that they see the kingdom of heaven as accessible? John's imprisonment casts a foreboding shadow over this text. John is the messenger who goes ahead of Jesus, preparing the way. Jesus takes on the preaching role and words of John and will follow John to death, but on the way Jesus gives hope that the promises of God are coming to pass. Again, it's happening in very tangible ways: Those who are blind see, those who are lame walk, people with leprosy are cleansed, people who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them, and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at Jesus. And even though we might feel afraid about going where John, then Jesus, are going, we begin to see why we can't wait.

Pastoral Reflection

"We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive." (6)

Today's texts are both joyful and tension-filled. Of course, we want all of these visions to come to be--freedom, strength, health, nourishment, ability, access for all--or do we? In the U.S.A., we incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other of the world's wealthiest nations. In many states, we incarcerate more black men than we send to college. So, what does it mean for us that we have a God that sets prisoners free?

We actually have the resources to end world hunger. It's not that we don't have enough food, we have unjust distribution of the abundance that God provides. We have the power to be God's people together and end starvation, the most dire poverty, the basic lack of health care--we simply lack the will to do it. So, what does it mean for us that we have a God who gives food to the hungry, who watches over strangers, orphans, and widows? What does it mean for us that God brings the way of the wicked to ruin? Could we be the wicked? Maybe.

John's question for Jesus might be a good question for the body of Christ on this day. "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" This seems very similar to Mahatma Gandhi's challenge, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (7) We are not alone in this work of transforming our communities and world to reflect God's holy way. Jesus has already been in this work for a long, long time. Jesus goes before us.

Among worshippers this day are also those who are hungry, scattered, blind, deaf, poor, foolish, impatient, suffering, empty, and oppressed. You might consider offering a midweek Advent healing service this week or include the order for healing within Holy Communion (see ELW, p. 27).

"Jesus is the reason for the season." We'll see this slogan in numerous places this Advent. Consider how it is both true and false. The earliest Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ, not his birth. Jesus' nativity was not celebrated until the fourth century and was created as a counter-festival to pagan celebrations going on at the same time. Throughout history, Advent has been preparation for Epiphany or for the second coming of Christ. Often today it's a major marketing time and time for holiday parties and children's programs. There was and is tension around the question of whether Advent is a season of preparation for God's judgment and God's coming reign or a festive time of singing happy birthday to Jesus. This tension still remains because this is and always has been a season influenced by both surrounding cultural norms and counter-cultural themes.

In congregations that continue to use the Advent wreath with three purple or blue candles and one pink candle, this third Sunday of Advent we light three including the pink one. Pink is the liturgical color for joy, and reading these texts, you can see why. Joy, that gift of hope and delight that is deeper than happiness, keeps bubbling up in the visions of this week. Here are a few words of wisdom from the small book On Joy (8) by H. Jackson Brown Jr.:

"Great joy, especially after a sudden change of circumstances, is apt to be silent, and dwells rather in the heart than on the tongue."--Henry Fielding

"'On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined' is my motto, whether there's any dance to dance or any joy to unconfine."--Mark Twain

"Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart."--The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. JLMC 

6. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," in Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics, [1963] 2000). The full text of King's letter is at www.thekingcenter.org/prog/non/letter.html.

7. www.quotationspage.com/quote/27184. html.

8. H. Jackson Brown Jr., On Joy (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 1994).