Morning after thoughts, Advent 3

Good morning!

Well, it's interesting to me that here on Monday morning THE part of the reading that is still percolating around in my brain is the part that was left OUT of the official lectionary, but that I incorporated yesterday, vs 9 of John chapter 1:

"The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world."

What does this mean? What does it look like when the True (or genuine) Light enlightens someone? I won't lie....my thoughts on this have been influenced by the prayer-book "Liturgy of the Hours" which has been my devotional book throughout this Advent. This is a very involved devotional resource that specifically directs the reader's attention to the dominant themes of the week. I was therefore not surprised to read today's (Monday of Advent 3) intercessions. Note the talk of "light" and also note how it ends:

"Light that never fades, rise to dispel the mists about us.
--awaken our faith from sleep.
Guard us from all harm today,
--may your glory fill us with joy.
Give us unfailing gentleness at all times,
--toward everyone we meet.
Come to create a new earth for us,
--where there will be justice and peace."

In addition to these prayers, I am also touched by the prophet Amos--the topic of our adult Sunday morning class. Yesterday we read in Amos 5:15: "Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."

One of the things that seems clear to me is that the God of the Universe has a profound interest in justice (and peace). In moments of weak faith, we perhaps wonder why God is so lax in establishing a greater degree of justice in the world. Yet even in moments of great faith--especially in this country--the topic often plays second fiddle to matters of personal piety, by which I mean an extremely narrow focus on our own "personal salvation" to the exclusion of everything else.

One of the things I take from John 1:9 is that when the True Light enlightens us, our eyes are either opened (or should be opened) to the areas crying out for justice in our communities and in our world. For if God is lax in establishing justice, it can only be because the **means** through which God works--those who claim to follow him--are, themselves, being lax.

Being enlightened.....following the one True Light....is about MUCH more than just going to heaven when we die. It's about doing God's work now.

Cheers,

TM

Advent 2 morning after thoughts...

Good morning:

Well, as I ponder Mark 1:1-8 this morning and the things we covered yesterday, about the only thing that sticks in my mind as something worth mentioning is the way the passage begins:

"The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah..."

In very few words (Greek or English), the Evangelist is communicating something profound to us. On the one hand, we are to sit up and take notice that something new and dramatic has taken place--the evangellion ("good news") of Jesus has begun. Scholars point out that this use of the word evangellion--we could almost say this 'appropriation' of the word--was new for the Church. The word had had more of a political meaning...typically being part of the propaganda machine of the day. An announcement that the emperor was coming to visit; an announcement that a rebel province had been subdued; an announcement that an heir to the throne had been born; THESE were typically phrased in terms of 'evangelion' ("good news"). "GOOD," in other words, was basically in the eye of the beholder, and typically from the perspective of the ruling empire.

But when that word is applied to the coming of Jesus the Messiah, the goodness of the evangelion is NOT subjective. It is truly good news, both from the perspective of God....who longs to save His people, and from the perspective of humanity...who is incapable of saving itself.

The other fascinating thing about this little 1.5 verse section is that Mark wants us to understand that while this evangelion has BEGUN....it's nothing new. For no sooner does he tell us that the good news is off & running than he mentions the prophet Isaiah. The point being that TIME is in the hands of God. The plan of redemption is nothing new. It unfolds throughout human history according to the design of the Creator.

Cheers,

TM

December newsletter article

THINKING ABOUT ADVENT

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come. Protect us by your strength and save us from the threatening dangers of our sins, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (collect, 1st Sun. of Advent)

By the time this article is printed and the newsletter hits your mailbox (or inbox), Advent will have begun. Advent—a time of wreaths, lighting colored candles, and sweating the few remaining “shopping days” till Christmas. But is that all it’s about? Have you ever wondered what the purpose of Advent is, or why we bother?
As it happens, the season of Advent has meant various things at various times throughout the course of Church history. The scholar Francis X. Weiser, S.J., for instance, tells us that initially it had a penitential nature. He says: “Since it [Christmas] was one of the main feasts of the Christian year, a spiritual preparation soon began to be held. From the Church in Gaul comes the first news about a definite period prescribed for this preparation. Bishop Perpetuus of Tours (490) issued the regulation that a fast should be held on three days of every week from the Feast of St. Martin (Nov 11th) to Christmas. [Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs]” And while this preparatory period was not yet called Advent, it certainly constitutes something of a ‘proto-Advent’ period in the life of the Church.
Over time, however, the penitential nature of the season has given way to other themes. The Catholic scholar Adrian Nocent concentrates heavily on the theme of “hope” during Advent, saying: “The Church realizes full well how difficult Christian hope is. That is why over the centuries she has fashioned a special liturgy that, beyond other liturgies, is a liturgy of hope, of waiting IN hope [The Liturgical Year].” The Lutheran liturgical scholar Philip Pfatteicher agrees, stating: “The traditional color of Advent is purple…but the preferred color in the LBW is blue. Blue suggests hope, a primary theme of Advent [Manual on the Liturgy].”
The point of these citations has merely been to illustrate that Advent has had various themes and concentrations over time. One lasting theme, however, and the theme I’d like to concentrate on at this point is the theme of the Lord’s coming--as the collect for the 1st Sunday of Advent began: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come. The theme of the Lord’s coming is also taken up by the traditional Advent hymns. The 10th century office hymn Verbum supernum prodiens is a perfect example. Note that as the hymn progresses through the first three verses, each of the three ‘comings’ of the Lord are highlighted:

Verse 1, The Lord’s coming in history 2,000 years ago:
O heavenly Word of God on high,
Whose love has brought salvation nigh,
And from the Father’s heart didst come
To save a race by sin undone.

Verse 2, The Lord’s coming into our hearts by faith:
Our minds enlighten from above,
And kindle with the fire of love,
That as we hear thy gospel read,
All sinful thoughts may flee in dread.

Verse 3, The Lord’s coming as Judge at the end of time:
So, when thou comest at the last,
And earth’s long history is past,
May we be set at thy right hand,
And with thine own glory stand.
[Translation from New English Hymnal]

In other words, as tempting as it is for each of us to become slightly sentimental during this season, there’s really some pretty deep stuff at work. Those images of baby Jesus in the manger may not be quite as omnipresent as they were thirty, forty or fifty years ago, but they’re still out there. WHEN we see them, our minds should be stirred by the fact that since the Lord has come, there is a call to respond. Each person is called to open the manger of his or her own heart, that the Lord may come to them personally by grace through faith. And this call of response is urgent, pressing, for in confessing that he came once in history, we also confess that he is coming again to judge the living and the dead.
So, as you’re making your list and checking it twice, as you’re hanging the lights on your house and in your shrubs, as you’re noting that the blue paraments are up in church, as you’re trying hard not to become a victim of “parking-lot rage” at the mall, hopefully you’ll also take a little time to concentrate on the wonderful Advent theme of the Lord’s coming.
He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20).
In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Pastor Manwell

More sermons to come...

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've had a sermon to listen to online. That's because we've had 3 weeks in a row of "special" events. November 16th our Bishop, the Rev'd Dr. David Stechholz was guest preacher; last week while I was vacationing, the Rev'd Dr. Roger Pittelko was guest preacher; and finally, in honor of our 50th anniversary our founding pastor the Rev'd Dr. Martin Marty was our guest preacher.

Rest assured, now that vacations & special events are a thing of the past, I'll be back "on the air" regularly posting my Sunday sermons from LCHS.

Cheers,

TM