Hope, peace, joy, love - and truth

Stir up your power, we pray - and with great might come among us. And he does, but that power is not evident at first. At first, he comes as a baby…

But the psalmist warns us, put not your trust in princes. 

2 Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *
    for there is no help in them.
 3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *
    and in that day their thoughts perish.
 4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! *
    whose hope is in the LORD their God; 
5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *
    who keeps his promise for ever;
 6 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 really means to be king. 

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 go out into the desert to see? What did you see?

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.

What was old news, that the day of the Lord would arrive, is new again; he is coming indeed, and in his 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.

Various people have asked me, what do you celebrate this season? Joy. Hope, peace, joy, love. And truth. And, therefore, justice.

For he is coming, and there is judgment. The word of the Lord, embodied in a baby, is the terror of kings. And more than that: as an old song says,

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)

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” 

She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Mary. God is honoring you. Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over Jacob’s house forever, and there will be no end to his kingdom.

Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. Nothing is impossible for God.

Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

(Luke 1:26-35, 37-38. Common English Bible) 

“Hail Mary, full of grace: the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

This Sunday we sing Mary’s response to the news:

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)

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.

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. 

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 that was 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.

● Isaiah 35:1-10
● Canticle 15  
● James 5:7-10
● Matthew 11:2-11

Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent 2025 (10:30 AM)
Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew, Tucson (https://stmatthewtucson.org/)
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWI48qhKGZc5dZVf5elsRPw

© John Leech 2025 

Tell out my soul

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

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Advent/AAdv3_RCL.html

Thanks to the Rev. Colby Roberts for his sermon last Sunday at St Timothy's, Yakima. 

https://www.facebook.com/StTimothysEpiscopalChurchYakima

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/community-q-a-new-rector-at-st-timothys-episcopal-church-brings-enthusiasm-spectacular-singing-voice/article_f4f3e7d6-e523-505d-a16b-02ca41fe2eb8.html

Patronato Christmas concert at Mission San Xavier, December 10, 2025, at 7:45 p.m. 

What did you see?

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.

 

• Isaiah 35:1-10
• James 5:7-10
• Matthew 11:2-11
• Psalm 146:4-9

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Advent/AAdv3_RCL.html

Thanks to the Rev. Colby Roberts for his sermon last Sunday at St Timothy's, Yakima. https://www.facebook.com/StTimothysEpiscopalChurchYakima

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/community-q-a-new-rector-at-st-timothys-episcopal-church-brings-enthusiasm-spectacular-singing-voice/article_f4f3e7d6-e523-505d-a16b-02ca41fe2eb8.html

 

Psalms 146 (Book of Common Prayer psalter, Coverdale/1662)

1  Praise the Lord, O my soul; while I live will I praise the Lord *

 yea, as long as I have any being, I will sing praises unto my God.

2  O put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man *

 for there is no help in them.

3  For when the breath of man goeth forth he shall turn again to his earth *

 and then all his thoughts perish.

4  Blessed is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help *

 and whose hope is in the Lord his God;

5  Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is *

 who keepeth his promise for ever.

6  Who helpeth them to right that suffer wrong *

 who feedeth the hungry.

7  The Lord looseth men out of prison *

 the Lord giveth sight to the blind.

8  The Lord helpeth them that are fallen *

 the Lord careth for the righteous.

9  The Lord careth for the strangers; he defendeth the fatherless and widow *

 as for the way of the ungodly, he turneth it upside down.

10  The Lord thy God, O Sion, shall be King for evermore *

 and throughout all generations.

https://bible.oremus.org/

in the waiting room

Last Tuesday I made a mistake: I went to Urgent Care without my copy of War and Peace. I had a long wait. I am not sure I used it as well as I could.

Waiting for the Christ to come may feel a bit like waiting to be treated in Urgent Care. You get a few promises up front, and are told to wait.

Hours go by. What is going on? When will I be seen? Have I been forgotten? When will I be treated? When will I be whole again?

But that’s not it. There is more to the story.

Waiting for the Christ to come may feel even more like reading War and Peace. While you are in it, it is totally absorbing. Then eventually you finish the book.

All those characters, all those people you have met, even friends you have made among them, now disappear into a past memory, only a haze. You are no longer in the world of the novel: now you are in the “real world.”

Of course characters in a novel are merely shadows in a play. But we might feel like that ourselves, sometimes. This world may seem a brief and transitory place. Real life lies ahead, as well as all around us (though hidden), in the mystery of Christ and of the Resurrection.

And this is like Paul’s comment, “now we see as through a glass darkly: then we shall see face to face.” Imagine what it will be like to see Christ in person.

Every week when we take communion, and at holiday times like Christmas when we remember loved ones, we put ourselves in touch with not only those who like us see through a glass darkly, those who are living, but also with those who have gone on before us to see God face to face. We ourselves are not ready, we protest, for such a blessing. Just a little bit more time, please.

In his mercy God is preparing us so that when we do meet him face to face, in the life to come, we will be able to stand it. That “glass darkly” is a little like the smoked glass you used to watch an eclipse through; it kept you from being dazzled by too much light.

These eyes, that dazzled now and weak,
At glancing motes in sunshine wink,
Shall see the King’s full glory break,
Nor from the blissful vision shrink:

In fearless love and hope uncloyed
For ever on that ocean bright
Empowered to gaze; and undestroyed
Deeper and deeper plunge in light.

(John Keble, “Fourth Sunday in Advent”, The Christian Year)

We need to be prepared, so that—not on our own merits but by the grace of Christ—when we see God face to face we will be able to stand it.

A foretaste of that glory is ours today, in the mystery of the coming of Christ. And a foretaste of that mercy is ours as well, for God came to us not in the form of a ruler or a man of power (much as we might have hoped for that) but in the form of a helpless baby. He comes as prince of peace.

As Luther said, “Divinity may terrify us. Inexpressible mystery will crush us. That is why Christ took on our humanity, save for sin, that he should not terrify us but rather that with love and favor he should console and confirm. …he is come, not to judge you, but to save.”

(Roland H. Bainton, ed., The Martin Luther Christmas Book, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1948, p. 40)

Salvation, however, does not wait. The message of Jesus, and the joy of life with him, is not postponed until some later time, after death or the second coming. It is present with us here and now, brought forth for us first in the tiny manger-dweller we meet on Christmas morning.

In this humble and innocent form comes to us the majesty of God. In other words, we find God not in inaccessible realms of glory but in day-to-day, even humble, form.

And we continue to find him, in practical terms, in loving God in our neighbor.

“You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself.” (Luther, p. 38)

Even as we place our neighbor in the place of Christ, serving God in our neighbor, we begin to take on the characteristics Christ showed for us on Christmas morning.

He, the Son of God, being above all angels, did not take equality with God as a thing to be grasped onto, but allowed himself to be emptied into the form of a child, a helpless human infant. And then he began to serve.

“For unto you is born this day—that is, unto us. For our sakes he has taken flesh and blood from a woman, [so] that his birth might become our birth. I too may boast that I am a son of Mary. This is the way to observe this feast—that Christ be formed in us.” (Luther, p. 44)

And this is the secret: Christ in you, the hope of Glory. This is the season of a new birth—not only the birth of the Messiah 2000 years ago but also his emergence within our lives, as we become formed into the people God has called us to be.


JRL+

December 23, 2007
Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church
Edmonds, Washington

first cousins, once removed

John came like Elijah through the wilderness, calling the people to turn away from falsehood, to turn back to their true allegiance, to Almighty God. He called them to repent: to start clean, to be washed in the waters of the Jordan as their spiritual forefathers had when first they walked into the land of the promise.

He called them. He was a “voice crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” He was the herald, the fore-runner: coming before, bearing glad tidings. The message he brought, to prepare the way of the Lord, is a message of impending – JOY.

And his joy is to be made complete in the coming of the Christ. “Are you the one we have been waiting for?” he asks Jesus; and the answer is YES! Look around you: see what is going on, what is happening. It is just beginning, but it is beginning to break through: the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

We look ahead this Sunday from the midst of Advent’s expectation to its fulfillment in the joy of Christmas. We light the pink candle. Today is “Gaudete Sunday”; “guadete” means REJOICE! Rejoice in the coming of the Savior. In the words of the 14th Century hymn:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Christ is born of the Virgin Mary: rejoice!

The time of grace has come for which we have prayed; let us devoutly sing songs of joy.

God is made man while nature wonders; the world is renewed by Christ the King.

Therefore let our assembly sing praises now; at this time of preparation, let it bless the Lord. Greetings to our King!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Christ is born of the Virgin Mary: rejoice!

And so we have a messenger who calls on us to prepare the way, to make room in our hearts and in our lives for the coming of the true King.

Let me read you a story. It is a story of some people, a boy and two girls, and some animals – beavers – who are traveling through a winter-bitten frozen landscape, running from the evil witch who has cast a spell on the land, where now it is “always winter and never Christmas!”

They run, and they hide, and they spend the night in a lonely cave, and even in their dreams they are pursued by the White Witch in her sledge drawn by tiny reindeer the color of snow.

They wake, and they do hear the bells of a sleigh. Mr. Beaver goes out to investigate. The children, and Mrs. Beaver, hear voices. They are alarmed. Is it the White Witch? Then comes Mr. Beaver’s reassuring voice:

[The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, chapter 10]

And so you see Santa Claus came to Narnia. And he brought presents: TOOLS NOT TOYS – to equip the humans for the tasks ahead.

John the Baptist, as he called on people to prepare the way, provided a gift of a different sort: a clearing out, a ‘re-set’, and a readiness to start over and start fresh. Then the gifts become real. They become necessary – as the Savior comes.

Jesus, when he approached, began with the working of healing: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and this last: the poor are gladdened. They are glad because the Kingdom is coming, the reign of God on earth when all will be put to rights.

If you know your Narnia you know this is Aslan’s job: to overthrow the false reign of the White Witch, to set everything to rights, to release captives, to warm the frozen, to restore the lost, and to protect the innocent.

This is indeed the Day of the Lord that John proclaimed.

Son of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, John grew up as one set apart, with a duty to perform. He was the one to prepare the way: and to herald the coming of the Messiah.

And this is what Mary was expecting Jesus to do: in her magnificent song of expectation and of triumph, she proclaims the greatness of God, who looks with favor on his lowly servant, and who brings to her and through her – in the bearing of the Christ Child – the time of grace for which we have prayed.

Therefore let our assembly sing praises now at this time of preparation; let us bless the Lord: Greetings to our King!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Christ is born of the Virgin Mary; rejoice!


______________

C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Macmillan, 1950) Chapter Ten: The Spell Begins to Break.

The Shorter New Oxford Book of Carols, edited by Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott (Oxford University Press, 1993), Carol 24, Gaudete!

David Adam, Clouds and Glory (SPCK, 2001) 3rd Sunday of Advent.

Isaiah 35:1-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11, Canticle 15