[Propertalk] 3 Advent c rcl

[Robert P Morrison]

For the editing table - 

I wish you joy with John! 8 - )

Bob

THE EPISCOPAL PARISH OF ST. JAMES, LINCOLN CITY  3 ADVENT C RCL
ZEPHANIAH 3:14-20                                                   	13th DECEMBER, 2009
PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7			CANTICLE 9
LUKE3:7-18					           

	Some people REALLY dislike waiting.
	Think of all the statements we’ve heard, at one time or another in our lives, either said TO us, or said BY us, things that make us unsettled:
	Why the rush to get a driver’s licence?
	Why the rush to get married?
	Why the rush to buy something at a certain date?
	Why the rush to get marriage equality recognised by State legislatures? – oops, maybe that one’s OK to ignore – NOT!
	AND you can say the same about ANY social justice issue. If your hand is getting burned you pull it away from the source of pain and danger. Right? That’s the problem when people have no sensitivity in their hands or feet. They don’t get the warning signals the body is sending out, so they risk destroying or impairing their ability to function fully.
	Yes, there are so many things which may annoy us when we see people wanting instant gratification, instant music, instant oatmeal, instant – whatever! Too often we DON’T take time to think, to savour, to value, to “smell the roses” as the old saying goes.
	But even so – why NOT rush? That’s this morning’s Advent question.
	There are some things that simply have been painful, and destructive, and unjust, and unlovely, etc for WAY too long. No matter how uncomfortable it may make us to admit that the status quo is simply wrong, we need to set things right, whenever we see it, wherever we find it, whomever it may affect. The point is, human beings DO develop as a species. Pray God that they do! That’s what John prayed for.
	Our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as a society; our understanding of who God is and how we relate to God; our understanding of how God communicates, and how we receive God’s communications; ALL of these change and develop through time. That’s we’re here, in this building, in this city, as part of The Episcopal Church. That’s why our secular counterpart – and I’ve never totally been comfortable making a huge separation between what we call secular and what we call sacred – that’s why our counterpart in the world, the three branches of the government in these United States, are as they are.
	Time has a way of forcing us to look back at where we’ve been, and at where we stand right now. Time has a way of forcing us to ask how we’ve interacted with one another and with God. Time has a way of asking us to examine everything and to question everything, and I really mean everything, not to be iconoclastic, to be destructive for destruction’s sake, but to discover wonder in the worth of an idea and the existence of policies and procedures. 
	Forty years ago a good friend in theological studies with me in Scotland, someone now retired and living in San Bernardino, wrote,
		“Liberal, yea
		through thick and fast.
		But call me not
		Iconoclast.” 1
	Tearing something down just because it can be done is as bad as letting something stand, simply because we don’t want to force the comfort issue. Even so, how one tears down, or maintains or builds up is as important as that actual event itself. Care, thought, reason, compassion, understanding, sympathy – all of these MUST come into play in all our behavioural patterns, else we seem to be nothing but spoiled brats, or vengeful vandals, or (dare I say it) ignorant idiots!
	It seems to me that the whole point of our relationship with God is that we have to learn what builds up the WHOLE people of God, no matter how uncomfortable that may make us.
	Case in point – your friend and mine, John the Baptist. Last week he didn’t seem half bad. He was content to listen until he was sure he’d heard and analysed God’s word to him. But this week, this week initially, at any rate, he’s dropped way to the bottom of the guest list I may have drawn up. Even if he’s right, do I want someone sitting at table, in mixed company, letting loose with energetic epithets? Even if I DO wish I’d the guts to say some of these things myself, to call people on the carpet, to point out what’s happening to societies and communities, possibly as a direct result of my dining companions’ own actions. Is John our friend?
	But John wasn’t running for anything, so he could afford to use the “V” word.
	One of the things I notice, and, more and more, admire about John, is his sense of immediacy. Tomorrow doesn’t work for him. It doesn’t matter how big or how small the task; it doesn’t matter how high up the social ladder or how far down a person is being held, it needs to be tackled now.  I think the reason for this is that humans have always to face the temptation to stall, to put off till the next day, figuring that there’ll me more time then to take care of the item we’re not in the mood to deal with today.
	John was lucky, though - he didn't have a Church or congregation, with all its accompanying trappings, and responsibilities, and hang-ups, and concerns, to hold him back. 
 	Of course, he got beheaded. 
 	But he didn't think about that. Even if he knew, I doubt if it would have 
changed much. 
	So what was it that got him so worked up? How is the message of joy and hope, and anticipation contained in Zephaniah’s prophecy supposed to be brought to pass? And the broad smiles contained in the Canticle – Isaiah’s prophecy – where do we find them? How DO we satisfy not merely humans, albeit on a mission from God, how do we satisfy God?
	There’s an horrendous question with which to come to grips because, of course, everyone may have a different answer. However, I don’t in the least count it a luxury that we Episcopalians, along with some others, give people credit for thinking about Scripture and coming to different, even contradictory, conclusions. I think this is a necessity – something Scripture itself exemplifies from the way that diverse social conditions and historical situations bring forth prophetic and evangelistic comments in tune with these times, even if they DO make one question why the opposite advice was given by some other. I might go so far as to say that the last thing that’s expected of us – whether we’re talking about a small Bible Study group, or this one congregation, or all the congregations of every denomination in Lincoln City – and so on farther out in the circle of Christian belief and practice … I would go so far as to say that God has no problem with the fact that two people can come to different conclusions.
	BUT – and this is an enormous qualifier – BUT there seems to be one thing which Gods’ messengers want to get across to us before everything else, and that is the imperative to act right away. The last thing that God’s prophets look for from any generation is someone who’s “luke-warm” to use the terminology of the Revelation to John. The Baptist – along with all his predecessors and successors who’re faithful – The Baptist says two things about how we face God’s Messiah. Do it NOW; RIGHT NOW, without hesitation. And here’s the kicker. Face God by facing your neighbor. How many coats do you have? Do you have an extra? Then take it along to the coat rack in the East Room and hang it there so someone who has none can collect it. Do you have the ability to eat out with any degree of frequency? Then cut back and give the money to the Meal Programme, or the Food Bank. Have you been sleeping soundly this past week because you have not only enough blankets on your bed, but several others in your closet? Then what are you doing about those who’re sleeping outside in the shadow of buildings? When did you last ask a law-enforcement officer how many folk they discovered in the past seven days shivering, half-frozen, wrapped in newspaper?
	The wonder about what we’re gearing up to celebrate in a couple of weeks is that there’s an unlimited supply of God’s love, and that God engages us right where we are – not only in the nicely polished pews in this warm room, but also in leaf-strewn paths, or stores, while surfing the internet or chatting on the phone. God is there for you and me. But where are you and I for the folk who have inadequate supplies of clothing, or food, or – don’t forget this one – stimulation for that prize of all human beings – our minds and spirits? Where do we care? How do we care?
	Put your hand in your pockets or your purses – mentally, if you wish. What’s in there? A checkbook? A pen or pencil with which to communicate? A cell phone? Some coins and bills? Even a smattering of coins can help someone else.
	The horrendous challenge of preparation that we face through this set of Advent Scripture readings is that the hope, the anticipation, the encouragement, the peace of mind and reassurance for which we ALL long in these times of uncertainty and confusion; the horrendous challenge is that everything which helps us is absolutely and inextricably bound up with the way we treat others.
	THAT’S the Gospel, not just for today, but for eternity. To quote Lane Denson of Tennessee: “	John was furious with the religious establishment of his day for claiming descent from Abraham and otherwise living in blithe disregard of God. Bloodline isn't faith. Heritage isn't faith. Tribal identity isn't faith. Political party isn't faith. Denomination certainly isn't faith. It isn't that easy. For faith has to do with deciding, committing, acting, willing. Faith bears fruit not only because of what it is, but because of what it does. But so does sin bear fruit and disbelief bear fruit. Injustice bears fruit. Cruelty bears fruit.
	“The perceptive poet Maya Angelou tells of a woman in her audience taking offense with her and claiming, ‘But madam, I am a Christian!’ only to hear Angelou answer, ‘Already?’
	“Christian identity is an evolving process. We build our faith as we go. We can always give thanks for whoever started shaping us. But if we don't take up the mantle ourselves and make our own fresh approach to the throne of grace in the ways we make daily decisions, we have nothing.” 2
	One of the composers to whose work I’m drawn again and again is Dmitri Shostakovich, and I think what draws me to his work is the fact that he faced critics all through his life. He had to deal with powerful intellectuals who tried to stifle his voice; he had to live through incredible repression, if not completely crippling on himself, then on those next door, and down the street, and across town, and throughout his own country. He was forced to find ways to keep himself alive. And this, to me, shows through every note in the way that he wrote compositions which provide a draining intensity on both the performer and the listener. You can leave a performance feeling, at one and the same time, completely empty yet totally exhilarated. That’s how I imagine I’d have been if I’d visited one of John’s outdoor worship functions.
	So if you get any encouragement from the readings this morning; if the Feast at the altar warms and nourishes you; take every ounce of it you can. It’s there for you, as God’s beloved. But then you MUST – hear that again – you MUST give it to others. Jesus, said John, won’t REALLY come if you don’t. That’s probably why John got beheaded. But what’s the matter of losing one’s head, compared to receiving and fulfilling God’s joy?

NOTES:

1 	The Rev’d.  James T. Huffstutler, Retired Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, San Bernardino, CA.
2	The Rev’d. Lane Denson: “Out of Nowhere”  oon at covpubs.org 10th December, 2009. Advent 3C / Lk 3.7-18

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Robert P. Morrison
The Episcopal Parish of St James,
PO Box 789
Lincoln City, Oregon, 97367

541-994-2426 (Church)