Isaiah 11: 1-10 + Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 + Romans 15: 4-13 + Matthew 3: 1-12
Give us ears to listen for your word, O God, and to welcome your coming among us. Amen.
This week I had a conversation with one of you about how it’s become necessary to manage the news we watch, in order to not lose hope. Hope for the future. Hope that following Jesus, the Messiah for whom we wait, will make a difference in the world. There is, in these days, a certain fatalism among us. A pervasive sense that nothing we do will, in the end, make a difference. That somehow goodness might not be stronger than evil. What we need, then, is not the 24 hour Christmas carol radio station or the Hallmark Christmas movies that all have basically the same plot elements. Although I enjoy those things in this season. But what we need in the midst of this Advent season, is the hope that the coming of Jesus among us has and will change the world. We may also think that what we DON’T need more of, for heaven’s sake, is politics. But friends, for the actual sake of heaven and God’s reign, politics is exactly what we get in our readings for this day. We get politics and dirty tricksters and leaders in desperate need of repentance. Sound at all familiar? Very often, we read our assigned Scripture texts with an eye to what they have to say to US. We listen for God’s word to us in 21st century America, and forget that these texts are first specific to their own time and to their original hearers. But it’s worth looking through that lens first, which often leads us to hear what the Word is saying to us today. In the reading from Isaiah today, the prophet is bringing word to the people of the coming ruler. Israel has lost power and standing in the world and they are in the midst of the rule and reign of an ineffective and disappointing King, Ahaz. So Isaiah paints the picture of a more effective ruler, like King David had been. The prophet describes how such a ruler would govern rightly. By obeying YHWH, by not making decisions too hastily or by listening to hearsay, and by making decisions based on what is just and right for the poor and oppressed. It is in this sort of ruler, says Isaiah, that righteousness or right living will dwell and this sort of ruler will have the strength to turn back enemies and bring the plans for a flourishing society to completion. Do you see how reading this, intended for ancient Israel, might also speak a word to us, if we were to listen? Isaiah goes on to paint a picture about what a world governed with such justice would look like The wolf and the lamb dwelling together. The leopard and the goat, who would be enemies in any other world, lie down together. The same for the calf and the lion, the cow and the bear. Children play without fear of snakes or shooters in their schools. And those who show us the way are the children. Then, says Isaiah, nations will look to such a leader for guidance and their home will be a place of honor. Isaiah is clear about how just rulers lead their people. Oh, but….we say. But this doesn’t apply to us. We’re dealing with times that have never before been seen. We need 21st century solutions to our 21st century challenges. To this, Paul writes to the church at Rome: “Everything written before our time was written for our instruction, that we might derive hope from the lessons of patience and the words of encouragement in the scriptures.” Hear this again. Paul, in about 58 A.D. writes this: “Everything written before our time was written for our instruction, that we might derive hope from the lessons of patience and the words of encouragement in the scriptures.” Now, I want to go on record as saying that I don’t always agree with the Apostle Paul. In order to really understand what he wrote, we must look closely at the context and his motivation and the community to whom he was writing. Paul wrote some real interesting things arguing against marriage and telling women to be quiet in church. Go figure. But in this case, I believe Paul was onto something. That everything that has been written in the past can be useful for future generations in some way. That we can learn from it, for good or ill. And that ultimately we can find patience, encouragement, and hope in the words of Scripture. That I can get on board with. If, then, the task for us today, on the cusp of a new decade and in the 21st century, is to answer the questions of this time in history by leaning on the lessons of Scripture….what can we say on this second Sunday in Advent? How can the coming of Jesus among us and in the world make a difference? Why does any of this matter? First, it’s helpful and necessary to remember that the entire canon of Scripture is a library of stories that make up the narrative of God in the world. As Lutherans we believe that all Scripture is inspired by God. But these stories contradict themselves too often, and are often simply impossible to imagine that they are without human error. It’s why there’s the little footnote that says “some manuscripts read” at the bottom of the page. Because there are more than one “original” manuscripts. Or the word looks one way in one manuscript and a different way in another. None of this lessens the power and impact of Scripture. None of this means that Scripture isn’t God’s word to us, but it does mean that because it comes from the hand of humanity, it has some problematic places and we do well not to ignore that. What, then, does the presence of Jesus in the world, the Chosen One, God’s own self, Immanuel, mean? How does it make a difference? Why does he matter? Today’s readings from Isaiah and the Psalms teach us clearly and without question that a ruler who follows God’s righteousness acts in a certain way. Regardless of party or persuasion, a just ruler considers the poor and oppressed, makes decisions, not on what people are saying or how the political winds are blowing, but on what they know to be right. The just ruler creates a land of peace, where all are safe….not just the people of their country, but all people, and all animals, and the children. And remember, we are quick to make a leap here to Isaiah speaking of the Messiah. But Isaiah is speaking of just earthly rulers. And against the unjust rulers. So the next time someone says politics have no place in the Church, please point them to the prophets first. And what shall we make of today’s Gospel reading? Of John the Baptizer, who actually was heralding the coming of Jesus as Messiah so long awaited? John is a character unto himself, isn’t he? Clothed in camels hair and eating bugs and yelling at the church leaders, calling them a pack of snakes! What useful thing can we learn from his story? I suggest we learn boldness from John. We are so timid in sharing our faith. If we can’t say with certainty who we follow, that we are Christians, how can we possibly say why he matters? Last week, I was meeting one of you at Diva Espresso just up the street. I was early and there were no tables to be had, so I do what I always do, I asked a single person occupying an entire table if we could share his when my coffee companion arrived. He agreed and I sat and we struck up a conversation and then he asked what I did for a living. Do you know, I always preface my answer with: “Before I tell you , you should know I’m not the crazy, fundamentalist, non-inclusive kind….but I’m a progressive Lutheran pastor.” “Oh”, he responded. “I’m glad you didn’t say you were Evangelical.” And I had to re-claim that word that is in the title of our denomination by saying that it means “those who tell good news.” “What good news do you have?” he asked. And I was sitting face to face with answering the question I’ve posed to you today. I took a deep breath and said that I believed that following Jesus means we follow after hope and love, no matter if we believe the times are terrible or not. He nodded. Then he asked if I knew what the real definition of prodigal was. And seriously, in that moment, I couldn’t come up with it! In my pause, he said “it’s a person who squanders their money.” Yes, yes, I said. That’s it! (Whew!) Then he showed me a picture of his little boy and left. Beloved, if I may mis-use that word a bit let us not be prodigal with the hope that Jesus gives us. Let us not squander that good news. Because a world full of prophets and crazy looking people dressed in camels hair and strangers sitting at the coffee shop are waiting to hear of that hope and participate in it with us.
Thanks be to God and let the Church say…Amen.