What did you go out into the desert to see? What did you see?
Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Stir up your power, we pray - and with great might come among us. And, the psalmist warns us, put not your trust in princes.
Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
for there is no help in them.
When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
and in that day their thoughts perish.
Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
who keeps his promise for ever;
Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *
and food to those who hunger.
(Psalm 146: 2-6, BCP)
The help Jesus gives is the help of Christ the King, a king unlike any other, in fact subversive of the dominant paradigm of monarchy. If he is king, we have missed the meaning of "king" -- Jesus does not come among us like Saul, a mighty warrior, or David, a comely and pious and witty man.
Jesus does come among us, as healer, savior, and thus king beyond kings. Jesus comes among us and we behold what it means to be king, what it means to be a man; in fact, what it means to be human.
Remember when he wrote with his finger in the dust? "Neither do I condemn you," he said. Judgement, but judgment in the sense of establishing righteousness. And that meant for the woman accused and brought before him, and for all drawn to his throne, forgiveness of sins. Sin, yes, exists: but beyond it, grace.
“My grace is enough for you, [says the Lord] because power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Today we return once again to the image of the fore-runner, of John the Baptizer, who, having proclaimed that the one who was to come has come, sends for reassurance that Jesus really is that one.
What did you see? What did you hear? Testify to that, tell John that, says the Lord.
And the signs he cites say who he is. And who he will be. And what his kingdom, call it that, will be.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
We anticipate what has already arrived. We have outlived our obsolescence. What was old news, that the day of the Lord would arrive, is coming indeed, and in its coming is splendor.
And so today in the midst of Advent, our 'little Lent' of blue, we have a Sunday of rose. We have a day of joy.
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)
Various people have asked me, what do you celebrate this season? Hope, peace, joy, love. And truth.
For he is coming, and there is judgment. The word of the Lord, embodied in a baby, is the terror of kings.
This little Babe so few days old
is come to rifle Satan's fold;
all hell doth at his presence quake
though he himself for cold do shake;
for in this weak unarmèd wise
the gates of hell he will surprise.
Robert Southwell (1561? - 1595)
***
This past week I was blessed to attend a holiday concert that featured three versions of Ave Maria and three of Silent Night. Sounds like overkill? Nah. Not when this Sunday we sing Mary’s response to the holy messenger who greeted her “Ave Maria” - Hail Mary. “Hail Mary, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
Blessed. And then we celebrate the night she gave birth. She does not complain about pain, not focus on the travails she could expect; her attention is on what the Lord is doing, for her and through her.
Mary said,
“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
because the mighty one has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.
He shows mercy to everyone,
from one generation to the next,
who honors him as God.
(Luke 1:46-50, Common English Bible)
Into the world is coming the kingdom of God, that was and is and is to come. In her womb she carries the paradox of salvation.
How can this be? How can all this holiness, all this grace, all this power, be so fragile and frail in its arrival? The fate of the world, found in a small small thing.
***
In Bethlehem there is a place to think about all this, in a small room under the altar of the church of the Nativity. There is the place, you are told, where she laid the newborn child: the manger.
And soon the vulnerable child and new mother and her husband will be on the road, following the path of Jacob into exile in Egypt.
Soon the powers that be, from Herod Antipas, client-king of the occupying empire, to the quislings whose interest lies with holding the people down, will be searching and seeking to destroy the small hope of humanity.
But as we have been reminded this season, in psalm and lesson, the powers of the earth are nothing next to the power perfected in weakness, the power kept in a cradle, then spread across the earth.
***
Wait till you see how Herod reacts, when he hears the Messiah is born.
Wait till you see how Rome responds, when they hear the words, Jesus is Lord (and Caesar is not).
Wait until you hear the words, I follow Jesus, and so I must show compassion to the poor, clothe the naked and feed the hungry, speak for the voiceless and innocent, and do justice in my daily life.
Wait until you see that, you see the hand of God at work in the people around you, the world about you.
Then you will know he is come; for he is certainly near.
Come, Lord Jesus. Maranatha: O come, Emmanuel. Come among us.
And let what we wish to see and hear be what is seen and heard of us: the presence of redeeming grace.
Hope, peace, joy, love - and truth.
* * *
Hasten, O Father, the coming of thy kingdom; and grant that we thy servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold thy Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
Make a place for God in your hearts and in your lives, for he comes to you this day and always; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
(David Adam, Clouds of Glory. Prayers for the Church Year, Year A. SPCK, 2000, 11.)
- Isaiah 35:1-10
- James 5:7-10
- Matthew 11:2-11
- Canticle 15 The Song of Mary: Magnificat. Luke 1:46-55
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