December 5, 2021: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
I don’t know if you noticed the turn. You know, the turn our gospel just took for us today? We are now on our 5th Sunday of the original 7 week Advent, and Advent always begins, whether 4 weeks or 7 weeks, with the second coming of Jesus. We have heard these revealing passages these past several weeks, but today…something has changed, hasn’t it. Today, we are not hearing about the second Advent, but the first. After weeks of his return, we are heading into weeks of preparing the way for his birth. We have made a turn toward Bethlehem.
So enter in our “wild and crazy guy” John – son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, cousin of Jesus, and one truly unique character. Now Zach, his dad, is who we heard from in the Canticle chanted this morning. To understand what is going on here, we need to be reminded a bit of the back story.
Zach, a priest, and his wife Liz, who by the way is a descendent of Aaron (the famous brother of Moses) – they were a faithful and devout couple in their twilight years. They had no children, which in the bible meant it was the woman’s fault – she is barren. Yup, couldn’t possibly have anything to do with her partner. Anyway, Zach is in the temple serving in the sanctuary when an angel, actually Gabriel himself, appeared to him, and Zach was scared.
Now, I have said this before, but really – Have you noticed that whenever angels appear the first thing they say is “Do not fear” or “Do not be afraid?” It’s true – whether to Zach, or to the shepherds, or for that matter, to Mary the mother of Jesus. I wonder sometimes what they must look like to warrant this reaction. Do they come all ablaze like the character in Dogma, played by the late and beloved actor Alan Rickman (aka. Professor Snape)? ‘Cause THAT would be scary, right? Or, maybe they appear flying high and about 10 times larger than any human. Maybe. But perhaps it is because whenever one of these angels appears, it means things are going to change. Change can be good…but it also means that we don’t know how it will all turn out. We can’t control it, and that can make one fear it. It would be so much easier if things would just go exactly as we planned, or wanted, or prayed for, right?
So, there is old Zach, fearing whatever this messenger of God is about to tell him. And here is what Gabe told our beloved Zach – that his wife would bear a son, that he would be named John, and that he will be filled with the Spirit of Elijah the great prophet. Zach pushed back on this, reminding Gabe that he and his wife had just signed up for their AARP membership cards and Medicare gap insurance. Gabe was not happy, explained that this was God’s doing, and because Zach didn’t believe him, he would lose the ability to speak until the birth.
Now, that’s gotta hurt. We priests – we love to talk…a lot. Still, perhaps more than one prayer was answered that day – for a child, but I suspect Liz’s prayer was to get her husband Zach to shut up once in awhile. We will hear more about Liz and her cousin Mary (who really are the most important figures in Advent) two weeks from now, but for now let’s get back to Zach.
After the birth of John, Zach’s voice was restored, and Liz went to have a drink, because Zach couldn’t stop talking – rejoicing really – and that is his song we heard this morning – one of them anyway. It is The Song of Zechariah, or in church Latin Lingo – Benedictus Dominus Deus. He begins with “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David. And after a lot more talking, ends with this: “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
In fairness to old Zach – that is good news, isn’t it?
God has come to set us free – and in God’s tender compassion, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death will have God’s light shine upon them, and they will be guided in the path of peace.” This is the good news we await in Advent, and in case we don’t understand it, John, son of Liz and Zach, shouts the message we need to hear in the wilderness.
And so we turn to the gospel today where John is all grown up now, and he is preaching to anyone who will listen. Not for nothing, not only is John all grown up, but so is Jesus. Remember, John is only a few months older than his Messiah cousin. This passage comes AFTER the birth narrative, so we have jumped forward this week and next, only to jump back again to our Lord’s nativity later this month.
Turning back to today’s passage (or is it forward???), we need to pay close attention to what the author of this gospel wants us to know. The passage begins with all those strange bible names of people and places: “In 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, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.” Okay, let’s fix that last part – it is “John son of Elizabeth and Zachariah,” because we know it wasn’t Zach dealing with morning sickness, bloating, and pushing out that baby in pain, was it.
Now why would this author put all this information there before telling us all that important stuff John was saying? I mean, as one commentator put it: The names are “…an A-list of Earthly Powers: an emperor, a governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests [and a partridge in a pear tree – kidding, the commentator did not say that]. Together they represent rulers of the known world, the regional lands, and the religious, political, and economic complex that stands at the heart of Jerusalem. Collectively they hold all the authority and might that wealth, military prowess, or ancestry can command.”[1]
Wow! That’s an impressive list, right? Yet reading on, where did the Spirit of God come and to whom? Where is John prophesying? Is it to these rulers and high priests? Is it in those cities of the powerful? No.
We hear instead that, “the word of God came to John … in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan…” God chose this man out in the wilderness to proclaim the coming of Christ. And the author draws from that most important prophet of the people, Isaiah, to describe the call of John:
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every 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;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
The coming of God into the world as one of us, Emmanuel, God among us, is proclaimed by a locust eating, camel hair wearing, miracle child, John, and given not to the powerful, but to others on the margins – to those who are seeking, to those who will listen – the ones in the wilderness – telling them all to prepare themselves for all will see the salvation of God!
Think about that – the least, the last, the lonely, the lost – they are the first to receive this good news. The proclamation of the incarnation, of God’s coming into the world, is given not to the powerful, but to the powerless, not to the rich, but to the poor, not to the well connected, but to the disconnected!
And just as important are those words of Isaiah – that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” That is the promise of Advent – that is the promise of our God – that God’s salvation is for everybody. It doesn’t matter what walls we humans build, who we try to push aside, who we desire to exclude – because it isn’t about us. God will not be boxed in by our smallness, but destroys those very walls and replaces them with bridges of love – unconditional love. All people shall see! All people!!!
The word of God is coming to unexpected people and unexpected places, and that Word of grace and love is for everyone – no matter how much money you have, who you love, what language you speak, what gender you claim, or what faith you profess – everyone – all flesh – all of humanity – but most especially to those others have cast aside. Or, in the words of John’s dad Zach ““In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
“Live in the moment that anticipates such a promise. Be in the moment that believes such promise is possible.”[2] That, my friends, is the preparation we are being called to make in Advent. To open our hearts to God’s promise, to what the world would find absurd – this flipping of the world order, this light overcoming darkness – how crazy is that? And yet, even as we stand amidst the horrors of this world, we not only know it to be true, but we are to be the very ones crying out in the wilderness proclaiming it.
Okay, you don’t have to eat locusts or wear camel hair, but it is for us to prepare the way now – for ourselves and for others – and that means we have some prophesying to do ourselves, for the world does indeed dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, does it not? And we, who are baptized into him whose birth we await, we know that the promise of Advent does indeed become the reality of the Word made flesh – we know the good news and the power of God’s love. And we are called to prepare the way – by being the way for others.
And our prophesying must be more than words. We must be the very people of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, that we were born to be. We must be the unexpected and the chosen, the ordinary called to do the extraordinary.
What does that look like?
Well, begin with the exhortation of John to repent. Now, you might hear that and think it means to beat yourself up, but no. It means to change, to turn back toward God – to see our own fragility, our own human weakness that has led us to neglect and abuse any part of God’s creation – other children of God, the earth and the creatures who dwell within it, even ourselves. For we cannot prepare others, if we are not prepared ourselves. We return into the fullness of relationship with God by setting our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus, whose birth we await anew.
That is the preparation we are called to do – for we cannot only wait for Jesus, we must be the body of Christ we are called to be – then we can prepare others, then we can share the good news to a broken world. Advent is not to be rushed through, but is both a journey and a destination.
I am reminded of this story “about a group of tourists visiting the Vatican. Their tour guide had told them about the famed Sistine Chapel: the place where the College of Cardinals meets to choose a new pope, the room whose ornate painted ceiling is Michelangelo’s masterpiece. [Now, I have been there, and it is truly amazing, but] one aspect of the Sistine Chapel comes as a surprise to most first-time visitors: its size. It’s a rather small room. One young man was so eager to see Michelangelo’s painted ceiling, he dashed in one end of the Sistine Chapel and out the other. He mistook the Chapel for some kind of antechamber. The tour guide had to chase after him, saying: “Come back, you missed it — and this time, remember to look up!” It’s the sort of mistake that’s so easy to make during Advent. It’s so easy to confuse Advent with a waiting room: to dash through these…weeks, arms laden with packages, eyes cast downward. Advent is a destination in its own right.”[3]
Advent is our journey to prepare, and our destination to return to God. So how do we begin? How do we start this journey, this Christ filled destination of our lives begun in baptism?
We begin here…” In the twenty-first year of the twenty-first century, when Joseph Biden was President of the United States, and Philip Murphy was governor of New Jersey, and Michael Venezia was mayor of Bloomfield & Stuart Patrick was mayor of Glen Ridge (geez, where are the women????), oh…and Carlye J. Hughes was bishop of the Diocese of Newark – finally, at least the church has a woman – in that time, the word of the Lord came to Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge!
Think this a bit crazy? Well, believe it, because that is what we celebrate here – every single Sunday, every single day. God’s great love breaking into the world in the birth of Jesus isn’t some story of long ago – it happens here every single minute of every single hour of every day. It is happening now. And the journey of Advent isn’t limited to 7 or even 4 weeks – it is more like the Boy Scouts – we must always be prepared, or at least in the act of preparing – to have our hearts open to receive him anew – each and every day.
And by our willingness to receive him whom we await, by our returning to God in heart and mind and soul, we will be vessels of “the tender compassion of our God” whose light will shine through our own brokenness “on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Then, by God’s grace, we and all “the world will be guided “into the way of peace, “and ALL flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
Amen.
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[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/second-sunday-of-advent-3/commentary-on-luke-31-6-5
[2] Karoline Lewis.
[3] Homileticsonline.com
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
December 5, 2021
Advent 5 – Year C
1st Reading – Malachi 3:1-4
Canticle 16
2nd Reading – Philippians 1:3-11
Gospel – Luke 3:1-6
