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. 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 drawn before him, and for all drawn to his throne, forgiveness of sins. Sin, yes, exists: but beyond it, grace.
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, ho hum, is coming and in its coming is splendor.
And so in the midst of Advent, our 'little Lent' of blue, we have a Sunday of rose. We have a day of joy.
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.
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 nake 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.
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