Advent 2: Preparing the Way

12/10

Decorated for Christmas

A cold December morning. The first snow. The second Sunday in Advent. And I'm on my way to Good Shepherd Faith Church. I enter the church to find it lit up with lights and holiday decorations. We light the Advent candles.

Lighting the second candle

Here was my "prompting," as they call the sermon, intending  and expecting ,response... for the day: 

'Comfort Ye"

This always used to be one of my favorite Advent Sundays.  Some of my favorite Bible verses and one of my favorite characters, John the Baptist. SO many memories...like when we all got together and did "Comfort Ye" at West Park? It continues to this day at SPSA but long forgotten is the role of our friend John in creating the project. I can still hear the solo tenor voice, maybe our late friend Philip,  opening the evening in the darkened sanctuary, "Comfort Ye..." Handel's Messiah. 

"Prepare Ye"

And the times at West Park when we would  open this Sunday with Godspell's "Prepare ye the Way of the Lord..." Has it ever been done  better?  That solo voice (in the wilderness?) crying out and one by one joined by others? 

Yes....lots of memories. But here interrupting, disrupting, disturbing...comes John the Baptist...crying out..'Prepare Ye the way of the Lord.."

So...who is this guy?  This man dressed in animal skins and living on 'locusts and and wild honey?" Like a dedicated  nazirite, those ascetic prophets of the Lord. 

By tradition, Jesus' cousin.His mother Elizabeth  carrying  him as Mary carried Jesus. Son of Zechariah, a  temple priest..son of a tall steeple, 5th Avenue or Brick Presbyterian (Associate) Pastor.  One way or another, a child of privilege. Turns hippie and heads to the wilderness. 

Or like Jay Baker, son of Jim and Tammy Faye, who walked out of the PTL  Club televangelist world and eventually walked into Pete's Candy Store in the wilderness of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, tattoos and all, to start the Revolution Church....

Think about that....

Jill Duffield who writes lectionary commentaries for the Presbyterian Outlook, reminds of  us of an old story about the importance of punctuation:

Let's eat,mother
Let's eat mother.
Commas save lives

In this  case it's  the placement of a colon:
In Isaiah . 
3   A voice cries out: 
     “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, 
          make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

In Mark:
          who will prepare your way; 
3   the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 
          ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, 
          make his paths straight,’” 


Are we to hear a voice crying out in the  wilderness to prepare a way?
Or hear a voice telling us to prepare a way in the wilderness?
And does it ultimately matter?

I've got two issues for  you...
First of all, what is wilderness to you?
and second, What does preparing the way mean?

Wilderness...good or bad? Positive or negative? It's where Israel became a people...where Jesus went to be tempted, to figure himself out... a pace where thngs are stripped down, simplified, clear...

or...man does it  feel like  a wilderness now...(Duffield)
 Such wilderness wanderings are fraught with wild beasts, unexpected visitors and disorienting landscapes, but they also include manna, water and angels.

You don't have to go to the wilds of northern New York, those thick forests north of  Lake Placid on the way to Canada...there can be a wilderness right here in the city..Williamsburg or Upper West Side..

What is your wilderness? What do you hear there?

How do we prepare?  The women have called us to attention here...with the "me too"....so Al Franken's down...but  what about Roy Brown? And need i say it, the president himself?

And we can't let this issue  lead us to forget that we who are white folks have a lot of work to do to start deconstructing white privilege as well as male privilege. What have you all in this congregation experienced in your efforts to be a multicultural congregation learned? What do you have to share? What stories to tell? 

I had dinner last night with the former Dutch Human Rights Ambassador to the United Nations...He said that the diplomats he knows   want to know why we aren't rising up...filling the streets...what's going on?

I couldn't really answer that. The Revolutionary Communist Party has tried, but as could be expected, no mass uprising yet.  

Start by being honest to yourself about yourself..then  we all come together ...that's how we begin to prepare the way...

This time  there was  much conversation about what preparing the way meant, especially  in this day. Some discussion  of Jesus' anger. Knowing  time and place of our responses. The general mood of tension in our subways and buses. The power of just one kind  act. Our responsibility to lighten the world with kindness.  A good conversation. 

Over coffee downstairs there is casual conversation with the arriving members of the Korean language service. The conscious desire to connect in simple ways. 

They call this the Advent Sunday of Peace. 

Getting ready to preach

First Reading Isaiah 40:1-11

1   Comfort, O comfort my people, 
          says your God. 
2   Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, 
          and cry to her 
     that she has served her term, 
          that her penalty is paid, 
     that she has received from the Lord”s hand 
          double for all her sins.

3   A voice cries out: 
     “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, 
          make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
4   Every valley shall be lifted up, 
          and every mountain and hill be made low; 
     the uneven ground shall become level, 
          and the rough places a plain. 
5   Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, 
          and all people shall see it together, 
          for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

6   A voice says, “Cry out!” 
          And I said, “What shall I cry?” 
     All people are grass, 
          their constancy is like the flower of the field. 
7   The grass withers, the flower fades, 
          when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; 
          surely the people are grass. 

8   The grass withers, the flower fades; 
          but the word of our God will stand forever. 
9   Get you up to a high mountain, 
          O Zion, herald of good tidings; 
     lift up your voice with strength, 
          O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, 
          lift it up, do not fear; 
     say to the cities of Judah, 
          “Here is your God!” 
10  See, the Lord GOD comes with might, 
          and his arm rules for him; 
     his reward is with him, 
          and his recompense before him. 
11  He will feed his flock like a shepherd; 
          he will gather the lambs in his arms, 
     and carry them in his bosom, 
          and gently lead the mother sheep.

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

1   LORD, you were favorable to your land; 
          you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 
2   You forgave the iniquity of your people; 
          you pardoned all their sin.                                              Selah

8   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, 
          for he will speak peace to his people, 
          to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. 
9   Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, 
          that his glory may dwell in our land.

10  Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; 
          righteousness and peace will kiss each other. 
11  Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, 
          and righteousness will look down from the sky. 
12  The LORD will give what is good, 
          and our land will yield its increase. 
13  Righteousness will go before him, 
          and will make a path for his steps.



Gospel Mark 1:1-8

1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2As it is written in he prophet Isaiah, 
     “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, 
          who will prepare your way; 
3   the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 
          ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, 
          make his paths straight,’” 
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Second Sunday in Advent: ...what is best....

12/6

It is Second Sunday in Advent.  And some visitors present, like Eric from Noche, and Wayne with his beautiful voice. (He was back at Open Mic last Friday night…)…and a young woman.  And Jed Distler is our special guest musician. (http://www.jeddistler.com/pianist.html )…So lots of music.

·        We do my mash-up of Lo How a Rose e’er Blooming and the Rose, as made famous by Bette Mitler. And my version of  Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, to the tune Nettleton…and finish with Soon and Very Soon by Andrae Crouch as I miss our Andre, who’s in Florida.  And we read all four scriptures, First Malachi 3:1-4, the Canticle Luke 1:68-79 , the Epistle Philippians 1:3-11  and finally the Gospel Luke 3:1-6.  And then our reflection:

So it’s happened again.. This time it’s San Bernadino, California. And because the couple is Muslim, we’re talking  about terrorism.  The local imam had police come  to his door at night with guns drawn. (Kind of shows that terrorism works, no?) Is it strange that when a gunman opens fire on a Planned Parenthood office in Denver, killing two and wounding another r9, the New York Post does not says, Radical Christian guns down innocent…

           

And last Thursday was  the day people marched in recognition of the first anniversary of Eric Garner death at the hands of police.  

Well, there are other anniversaries , too. Last Thursday, we had the 50^th anniversary of the first public concert of the Grateful Dead. Next Tuesday is 35^th anniversary of the death of  John Lennon (12/8) . But also the 50^th anniversary of the end of Vatican II and the day Pope Francis will throw open the gates of the Vatican to begin the Papal Year of Mercy.

So…3 questions.

1.    What is our situation?

2.   What are our resources, or gifts?

3.   And what are we to do…

And what do our scriptures have to say about any of this?  First, if we had a big grand choir, today would be a great day for Messiah singing… We’ve got Malachi talking about a refiner’s fire… and John, quoting Isaiah, preaching about every valley…and rough places being  made smooth and the crooked straight and all flesh seeing it together..  Several years ago, we had a Bible Study on the Gospel according to Handel.. maybe we ought to do that again sometime..

The situation…

We’ve  got John the Baptist arriving front and center this week, but I’m going to end with Paul. We’ve got Malachi like a set up text our man John. ( written around the 5^th century BCE) The people have returned  from exile but Malachi  is protesting against corruption in the Temple. And speaking of a messenger, this is precisely the role John is to play.

Then we’ve got John’s father, Zechariah, part of the temple establishment,  in the Temple, speaking of who his son John  will be.  He is peaking to a people who are occupied by a mighty empire. And he is announcing a victory already accomplished…even before the birth of Jesus! Like Tutu declaring we have already won years before apartheid fell… a victory where we are

saved from our enemies and from the hand of

all who hate us. That we have received

 mercy ….

That we have  been  rescued from the hands of our

enemies, and can serve God without fear, …

We are not occupied…but we do want to be saved  from  our enemies…internal and external…. Can we believe that’s already been done?...and can we serve God without fear…can we live without fear?..imagine what that feels like?. and that his son  John will be the messenger… to preach repentance of sins..

So John rejects where he grew up and heads for the hills living like  a wild man…or religious ascetic hermit…or prophet…and preaching repentance…here’s what to want you to see…it’s a call to leave behind  the ways of the empire…and the biggest challenge is to call out the temple…the religious establishment for its collaboration with the temple…

What are our gifts?  Like last week, Paul in prison gives thanks for his people. Keep doing that….and try praying with joy…

And now the Papal year of mercy…Mercy…In a recent article, Donna Schaper…of Judson Memorial Church has given us some very practical advice for living the year of mercy in our own lives……here is her list (as I have adapted it for us this morning..)

1.    Read pope Francis’ declaration

2.    Be a “walking field hospital” (Francis’ words) do one act of mercy daily..

3.    If you’re old, speak well of the young. And if you are young, speak well of  the old. Refuse gossip. Question “everybody knows” and “that’s the way things are…”

4.   Forgive just one person you don’t want to

5.    And don’t worry about whether they deserve it or not. Mercy is beyond deserving.

6.   Read the Bible. Especially Advent scriptures. Ask questions.

7.   When you are judged, evaluate on a scale of 1-5 how accurate the judgment is.

8.   Reverse the “time famine”…there is more time than you think…

9.   Open the doors of language. EG, stop using lame, a condition of many people from birth or due to accident or illness, a condition, as a metaphor for something in poor taste or ill considered… and please don’t ever say, We are all crippled (or handicapped) in some way. Respect the particularity of  experience and conditionn,

10. Pray for someone not you or yours

11.Promise not to offer illusory hope, EG, don’t worry, everything is going to be OK. Sometimes it isn’t.

And to what end do we do this? To overflow with love, wise love…for what purpose? …to discern what is best…and what is best?  We have big decisions ahead…. For me, what is best is that which creates a community that which is immediately recognizable…

Those are my thoughts for this morning…

At the conclusion of our service, Wayne shares his witness in song for us, his voice sweet…and rich….

Prepare ye the way if the Lord…..

FIRST READING MALACHI 3:1-4

¹See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

CANTICLE LUKE 1:68-79

⁶⁸"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.  ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED

⁶⁹He has raised up a mighty savior for us

in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

⁷¹that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of

all who hate us.

⁷²Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,

and has remembered his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us ⁷⁴that we, being rescued from the hands of our

enemies,

might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give knowledge of salvation to his people

by the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

⁷⁹to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of

death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."

SECOND READING PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11

³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

GOSPEL LUKE 3:1-6

¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Awakening 3: the second Sunday in Advent, Comfort Ye

12/7

We’re going to try it differently this week.  Our guest artist Stephanie Johnstone will participate with us during our regular service. Her choir will join us during worship. They will join us during the service, do their special music and then we’ll all conclude together.  Our theme for this week’s Awakening is : Comfort my people

We begin our service with the words of  O COME, O COME EMMANUEL as rewritten by Barbara Lundblad.

                                                                                                                                               

 O come, O come, Immanuel                                                       

And Melt ev’ry weapon crafted for war

Bring peace upon the earth for evermore

Rejoice, rejoice! Take heart and do not fear,

God’s chosen one, Immanuel, draws near.

 O come green shoot of Jesse, free

Your people from despair and apathy

Forge justice for the poor and meek

Grant safety for the young ones and the weak.

Rejoice, rejoice! Take heart and do not fear,

God’s chosen one, Immanuel, draws near.

As we light the Advent candle this week, again, our words fit the events of the week:

One: Our brothers and sisters are not yet free. Like captives and exiles in their own land, they mourn the loss of children with inconsolable grief.

All: We light this candle in solidarity. We light this candle to light the path from lament to hope. To the day of true emancipation when all will live in freedom.

One: Words like ‘Ferguson”, names like Michael Brown, Hands Up, Don’t Shoot, I can’t breathe make our days, resound in our nights. Bridges, highways, subways close. There is pain that goes beyond words, and the unbelievable that is only all too believable.

All: In such a world, the prophet cries Comfort, comfort my people…prepare the way …a new day is coming…a new day will come….

Our first lesson is from the prophet Isaiah:

¹   Comfort, O comfort my people, 
          says your God. 
²   Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, 
          and cry to her 
     that she has served her term, 
          that her penalty is paid, 
     that she has received from the Lord”s hand 
          double for all her sins.

³   A voice cries out: 
     “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, 
          make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
⁴   Every valley shall be lifted up, 
          and every mountain and hill be made low; 
     the uneven ground shall become level, 
          and the rough places a plain. 
⁵   Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, 
          and all people shall see it together, 
          for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

⁶   A voice says, “Cry out!” 
          And I said, “What shall I cry?” 
     All people are grass, 
          their constancy is like the flower of the field. 
⁷   The grass withers, the flower fades, 
          when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; 
          surely the people are grass. 

⁸   The grass withers, the flower fades; 
          but the word of our God will stand forever. 
⁹   Get you up to a high mountain, 
          O Zion, herald of good tidings; 
     lift up your voice with strength, 
          O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, 
          lift it up, do not fear; 
     say to the cities of Judah, 
          “Here is your God!” 
¹⁰  See, the Lord GOD comes with might, 
          and his arm rules for him; 
     his reward is with him, 
          and his recompense before him. 
¹¹  He will feed his flock like a shepherd; 
          he will gather the lambs in his arms, 
     and carry them in his bosom, 
          and gently lead the mother sheep.

Jeremy follows the prophetic words with  I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff.

And Jeremy had written an new setting for a response to Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13:

O come Lord, come; restore and save us now.

The Gospel reading is Mark 1: 1-8:

¹The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in he prophet Isaiah, 
     “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, 
          who will prepare your way; 
³   the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 
          ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, 
          make his paths straight,’” 
⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And these are my reflections:

It’s been yet another  painful and difficult week. We are supposed to have a word of Comfort this week….comfort my people……There is in the scripture a sense that the people were somehow responsible for what had happened to them and that is now over…their penalty has been paid. It’s an idea not appropriate to the experience of those so in need of comfort at this time. But more it is the suffering of the innocent.

We can’t help but hear these words, Comfort ye in the clear voice of Handel’s Messiah…They were the inspiration for a project of the same name, a project begun here 20 years ago when the brightest lights of the Metropolitan and City Operas would come together in a concert to benefit the homeless.

The message of the prophets was always consistent, it was always failure to do justice that destroyed and weakened a society from the inside making defeat and exile inevitable wrought from forces from the outside.…but now this exiled people gets to come home…

What are the images we are presented with?  In the desert,  a highway….a straight road…no more detours, no curves, no delays, no roadblocks …a straight path…

Mountains laid low, valleys lifted up…if you think about it, these are images of restitution, of setting things straight, of  evening things out… of ending disparity and inequity.

I’m thinking….people need comfort after this week…but not soothing words…maybe in order to get the road cleared for real progress , to build a straight highway, we need a season of blocking roads, highways, bridges …of stopping business as usual….maybe that’s what it takes…

After the Ferguson decision, our PCUSA denominational leaders asked for calm and prayer…my son emailed me, Seriously?

A voice cries in the wilderness….cries out…not whispers, murmurs or soothing tones…cries out…

The work of comfort is the work of lifting up the valleys, taking down the mountains…dealing with the realities of mass incarceration and income inequity….

An inequality greater than South Africa at the peak of apartheit….

The very first words of the gospel of Mark…are subversive…the word evangelion, gospel before this time always announced Roman military victories…another triumph of the empire…to say that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ was an act of rebellion…an act of sedition…an announcement that an alternative order was coming into being …

That is how we give comfort…both by engaging in the struggle that is outside….highways, valleys, and all….and by building communities that become visible signs of a new order….

We are called to make that announcement…to be the voice that cries…that stops business as usual…and seek to build an outpost of a new kingdom, a new kindom, a liberated space that already exists as it comforts us and sustains us in the continuing struggle…

We make our prayers, singing: Healer of our every ill., light of each tomorrow,Give us peace beyond our fear and hope beyond our sorrow.

And for our offertory, Jeremy plays Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. Every little thing gonna be all right…

And then sing the doxology to the tune of O Come, O come, Emmanuel. Then we share a EUCHARIST. Stephanie’s choir members joining us.  And then they share their performance. The first song an extended piece where we all join in, Stephanie  and  Jeremy leading us.

Jeremy and Stephanie lead us

Their second piece shows clearly Stephanie’s theatre training as an extended parable of two women speaks to the realities of our day, spoken word story over a chorus.

We end with a reprise of last week’s CLOSING SONG: Ella’s Song, still as painfully accurate as the day it was first sung:

We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons
Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers' sons

That which touches me most is that I had a chance to work with people
Passing on to others that which was passed on to me

To me young people come first, they have the courage where we fail
And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on
Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm

Not needing to clutch for power, not needing the light just to shine on me
I need to be one in the number as we stand against tyranny

Struggling myself don't mean a whole lot, I've come to realize
That teaching others to stand up and fight is the only way my struggle survives

I'm a woman who speaks in a voice and I must be heard
At times I can be quite difficult, I'll bow to no man's word

We who believe in freedom cannot rest
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

Our closing circle

The Movement Against Mass Incarceration  has called a meeting to discuss plans for a week of expressing rage over the Eric Garner decision.  Stephanie and her choir are in the gym recording so the group begins to gather in the sanctuary. They’ve reserved Mc Alpin , Hall expecting maybe 50-75 people. When I come back from my break, the room is completely filled, with people lining the stairs up and down. Leila and I scramble around opening up new rooms for break out groups. I haven’t seen anything like this since Occupy was here. Over 200 people have answered the call. Something new is happening...