Katie Derksen
Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. We lit the candle of hope, and we will continue to light it as the weeks go by and we count down to Christmas. This Sunday, the candle of peace was lit, and we will see it for the next two Sundays, until we celebrate the birth of Christ. Every year we celebrate something called "advent," and we're smack dab in the middle of it right now. Advent is the time when we look toward and forwards to the coming birth of Jesus, the arrival that changed the lives of pretty much everyone in this universe. Every year, on the four Sundays before Christmas, we light four different candles, adding a candle each Sunday. As I said, we've already lit the candle of hope and of peace, and over the next two weeks we will light the candles of joy and love. We hopefully go through all of these feelings as we look towards the birth of the one who would eventually save and redeem us.
Sometimes, though, in the midst of the commercialism of our society, it's easy to get lost, to forget the reason that we celebrate. We remember when we're in here, in this building and this sanctuary, but once we step out and into our cars, we're inundated with commercials that tell us what we "need" for Christmas, or what we "need" to buy for others. Stepping into malls, we see huge set ups where children can have their picture taken with Santa, and we hear songs piped in singing about snowmen and Christmas trees. If there is a song that has to do with the true reason for Christmas, it's usually so sappy and syrupy that we can't stand to listen to it. Or, maybe that's just me.
Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. I just sometimes find it hard to get into the true spirit of it with all the commercialization that now seems to go along with the season. Just this year, I saw at least two aisles in one store dedicated to Christmas on Hallowe'en day, a full two months before Christmas even happens. There are stores that are around all year that focus on Christmas - now, I've never really been into one of them, they frankly kind of scare me, but I wonder how much is in those stores that's relevant to the true reason for Christmas. However, coming here each Sunday, and remembering to not only put up a Christmas tree, but to also put up something that reminds us of Jesus' coming birthday, helps. It helps to keep us in mind of the true reason we're celebrating, and gathering, and lighting these candles. It helps if we look closely at the season, and at what the season brings.
Look Closely
Looking closely at our reading from Isaiah, we see the characteristics that the coming king will have. And man-oh-man, is this king where it's at. Not only will he be wise, understanding, knowledgeable, respectful of God, strong in character and discernment, but, as if these were not enough, the spirit of God will be in him. Pretty stacked deck, if you ask me. This king will be able to see beyond what our eyes see, and hear beyond what our ears hear, to get to the heart of the matter, and judge people and situations as they truly should be judged. He will be just, righteous, and faithful. His reign will bring peace: so much peace that carnivores such as wolves, lions, and bears have turned into herbivores, and are calmly eating or lying with animals which before would have given them hunger pangs. Small children can play on top of the holes in which snakes live and fear no repercussions. There's an interesting line in there amongst the carnivores and herbivores, which we kind of miss out on in the NRSV translation - in fact, we also miss out on it in the New International and New King James versions that I consulted. What we heard says this: "... the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them" (Isaiah 11:6). However, if we look closely at the original text, we find that the line "...and the little child shall lead them" doesn't quite hit the mark. What we should be reading is that that line is a circumstantial clause, that these things will only happen if a little child is leading them. The child leading is not something that could or could not happen. It has to happen, and we get that if we look closely.
This child will lead creation to peace, peace that will reign over not just those that will be judged righteously and with equity, but peace that will effect even animals that have been enemies almost since the day they were created.
The picture we get of this coming king is not all sunshine and roses, though. We hear that he will judge the earth, that he will "strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked." (Isaiah 11:4) John the Baptist, one of the men predicted by Isaiah, echoes this prickly prophecy of the coming Messiah.
He'll Come with Fire
John the Baptist was someone who had a lot of importance in the pre-Jesus times. Born about 6 months before Jesus, he started his ministry before Jesus really came on the scene. John was foretold by Isaiah himself, as I mentioned, and by the time we hear of John, he's living by a river, baptizing people.
If we look closely at John and what he had to say, it's not a very pretty picture. First off, John wore clothes made out of camel hair, kept on with a leather belt. I'm guessing that camel hair wasn't very comfortable, nor that it would smell very good. He also ate locusts and wild honey. I've never tried locusts myself, and though I've been told by some people that the chocolate-dipped variety are actually somewhat tasty, I'm not so sure on that one - a diet of locusts is just not very appealing. Now the wild honey sounds better, but then again, I don't think I would want to go after honey with nothing but camel-hair clothes as protection. Some movies portray John as having matted hair and beard, and I wouldn't be too surprised if that were the case. John seemed to live fairly simply, and I get the feeling that he wasn't the type of guy to keep a comb in his back pocket, if you know what I mean.
Appearances aside, John did and said some important things. He baptized people, and he spoke often. When we baptize people, we welcome them with love and open arms, accepting them as they are while encouraging them to grow and to be transformed by the love of God and God's family. John, however, baptized for repentance, and even insulted some of the high-powered people who came to him for baptism, calling them a brood of vipers (Matthew 3:7b). He called people to repent repent repent, and to beware what they do with their lives. "Bear fruit worthy of repentance" he says (Matthew 3:8). Don't just assume that you'll get into heaven, he reprimands people, threatening them with the axe that is going to cut down trees that do not bear good fruit. He threatens them that, though he baptizes now with water for repentance, the one who comes after him is going to baptize them with fire and the Holy Spirit, and that the one John's foretelling will sort the chaff from the grain and burn the chaff up with a fire that will never go out.
This, this picture of fire and burning, is what we're anticipating today. This is what we're looking forward to, if we look closely. Joy of joys, right? However, there is joy in it. Lots of joy.
Yes, Jesus came with fire and the Holy Spirit. Yes, Jesus was tortured and killed at the end of his life. We cannot over look those things. However, Advent and Christmas is a time to look at the joys of Christ's life, and to celebrate them. There's even things to celebrate in the fire that Jesus brought.
This advent, our theme is restoration. Starting last Sunday and going right through until epiphany, the word "restored" will appear on our bulletin cover and the idea of "restoration" will be looked at. Today we are to focus on the concept of restoration to a healed creation. I think that's a concept that most of us can get behind, and in fact that most of us work towards in our own ways: recycling, biking or taking the bus, trying to heal relationships when they become broken or stressed... However, sometimes we get burned and things don't work out as we think they should. Sometimes, though not always, we need to get burned, to experience fire, before we can be healed.
Healing Fire
I remember as a child watching my mom take a needle out of her sewing kit, put the tip of it into a flame to cleanse it, and then put the needle into my skin in an attempt to get a sliver out. We've all watched the "fire" of a sunset as the sun passes below the horizon, only to know that the same "fire" burns when the sun rises the next day, bringing hope with it.
We've also all heard of forest fires, if not having actually seen one. We all know that forest fires wreak havoc, and kill many trees, animals and other parts of creation. However, there are certain trees whose seeds can only be released after a forest fire. The seeds need the heat of the fire to burst free of the cones, and to plant themselves. During a forest fire, weeds that have taken over are killed, and other plants have a chance to thrive and grow as they should.
Just as a forest fire can kill, it also brings life. We hear from John the Baptist about the fire that Jesus will bring, and it's easy to think only that fire, in that way, is bad. However, sometimes, just like the seeds that are stuck in their cones until they're released by fire, we need a bit of fire to release the seeds that are in us, the things that will bear good fruit. Upon a closer inspection, some fire can be good. When the going gets rough, as Calvin's dad would say in the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," the rough stuff "will build character," and that character will hopefully lead to healing within ourselves and that will hopefully lead to healing within creation.
Healed for Peace
This week, we're to look towards restoration to a healed creation, on the same day that we light the candle of peace. These two things are tied together tightly: to have the one, we would have the other. When all people are living in peace, then all people would be treating creation properly. Alternately, if all creation was at peace and was healed, humans would be included in that, being a part of God's creation.
We need to look closely at the true reason for Christmas, and towards the peace that will come. We need to strive to bear good fruit. Look closely at the world around you, and at the people close to you. How can you help to bring a healed creation about in your world? Look for it. Remember the candles that we have lit so far, the candles of hope and of peace. Strive to bring both into your world. As Paul said in his letter to the Romans, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing." (Romans 15:13)
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.