Epistle: Philippians 1:1-11
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
Our Gospel today is about power: the power of God to transform the even the landscape under our feet; power with the strength of an earthquake. The words from Isaiah are like old friends - Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Familiar and poetic words spoken by John the Baptist as he proclaims the coming of the salvation of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have heard them every Advent season and they are our old friends. What we don’t often hear when we listen to these words is the extreme radical transformation that they contain – a reordering of the Way of World and our hearts in earthquake-scale language. Think of what the landscape would look like if all the valleys of the bay area were filled in – Mill Valley, Grass Valley, Scotts Valley, Portola Valley, Castro Valley, The Valley of the Sun, the Valley of the Moon – What kind of power would it take to make that happen? Isaiah also says when Salvation comes the mountains and hills will be made low – picture Mount Diablo, Mount Tamalpais, Mission Peak, Mount Hamilton, the Berkeley Hills and San Leandro Hills – all made low by the kind of strength our savior brings: the force of a very powerful earthquake, indeed. That is the scale of transformation that John is announcing to the world to prepare the people for Jesus’ coming. A power so strong that everything in the landscape of our lives changes.
In this reading Luke has also gone to some lengths to describe the political and historical context of John’s proclamations. Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip and Lysanias were rulers in the region, one of whom later had John executed and another who later presided over Jesus’ crucifixion. Annas and Caiaphas were important religious figures. By contrast, John’s own father, Zechariah, was a small town priest and John himself was living in the wilderness in a rather rough state. Though it seems counterintuitive for such a world-changing event, this is the perfect setting for the prophecy – a cry out of the empty wilderness where something completely new is discovered and proclaimed – a cry is heard in the wilderness where the Word of God has come to John and he must leave his hermit’s home and come into the civilized world to advise the people to Repent of their sins and be baptized – to prepare themselves for something greater that their lives are becoming. The Word of God comes to someone like John who is outside, way outside, the political and religious hierarchy, someone not quite socially acceptable, a fellow who might in our day be labeled as crazy or psychotic, delusional. The Jewish people, hungry for change and hope, flock to John, as their lives are intolerably bound to the hated Roman oppressors. They are looking for a Savior to change the political landscape. But John preaches about a transformation to the interior landscape: prepare, repent and your faith will save you. The kind of repentance John advises is not like being sorry for having said something to hurt someone else’s’ feelings. The Repentance John is talking about is a complete turning away from an old way of being to a new way of looking at life – and he points to Jesus as the one who will help us make this transformation.
John stands in a pivotal moment in history – he is the last of the prophets in the style of the Old Testament. John’s story ends the religious chapter of the rule of law and proclamations of the prophets and ushers in the Age of Redemption and Salvation through Christ Jesus: the rule of love and compassion. Today we are looking back at that moment in time knowing that in our own lives we must prepare for the radical transformation that the coming of Christ represents to us as well. We, too, live in a world structured around political, economic and social systems that create mountains and valleys of justice and injustice. Like the world Jesus was born into we live in a time when some people have a lot more money and power than others – some have more food than they can eat and others literally starve. We have not seen the complete fulfillment of John’s prophecy about Jesus here on earth yet, have we?
Or have we?
Let’s look back to the first chapter of Luke, where he describes Mary’s reaction to the news that she would have a very special baby, where we hear more very familiar and beautiful words which we know as the Magnificat:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: * the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, * he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our forebears, * to Abraham and Sarah and their children for ever.
What strikes me powerfully about these words is that they are in the present tense. Mary does not say Jesus will cast down the mighty, or will fill the hungry, or will come to the help of Israel as Isaiah says– but that he HAS. In Jesus God has remembered his promise of mercy; he has come to Israel’s help; he has cast down the mighty from their thrones. All that was promised by the prophets is already accomplished by the embryonic presence of Christ in the world. And what I feel and know when I read Mary’s words are that we are also to be SURE that all God’s promises have been fulfilled for us, just because Jesus IS. We live in a world where God’s promises are fulfilled, even though the evidence is often to the contrary. What can this all mean? How are we to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ Child? What kind of transformation are we preparing for?
If we believe what John the Baptist and Isaiah say, it is nothing less than a mighty earthquake in power, something to change the landscape of our souls. How hard is that when all around we see poverty, corruption, injustice and violence? How can it be that the fulfillment of the promises of prophets are here today? John the Baptist says that if you can’t imagine a future different than the life you have now you are a prisoner of the present. John says that repentance, that is Repentance with a capital R, meaning a change of paradigm or a transformation in the way we see the world around us; this repentance will release the power to transform – even mountains, hills and valley. The change comes from within – knowing Jesus IS makes us different today. Knowing Jesus IS IN THE WORLD TODAY transforms us, makes the playing field level.
So what is that earthquake strength transformative power? It is the power of love. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment he said, “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One. You should love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” As simple as that and as powerful: Love your neighbor as yourself.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about being to the mountaintop he was imagining and living into a world different from the racist world he lived in – and his vision transformed the world. Seeing the world through the heart of Jesus is to live in a transformed state of love and compassion where all differences are between people are made level. Instead of being mired in the darkness of fear and frustration at the state of the world, we can be in the mind of Christ now and own in our hearts the power transformation. We can be Christ for the world just as John proclaimed his coming and Mary knew that because Jesus lived in her the transformation of the world had already taken place. Because Jesus lives in us, the world IS transformed. Our preparation for the coming of Christ is to allow the transformation to happen.
When I was at the School for Deacons, I read a book that transformed my idea of the love of Jesus, called Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. It is a book that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., carried with him on his travels and was an influence in his spiritual life. Thurman says it takes dedication and discipline to overcome – make level – the prejudices and fears that create injustice in our world. Jesus was able to look beyond the outside of a person – whatever they might have done or become in their lives. Jesus looked into the heart of the individual and found someone to love. We remember the Syrophoenician woman who Jesus called a dog – and his own heart was changed by her faith and love – and in compassion he healed her child. We remember the Roman soldier who, although he was of the ruling class, came humbly to Jesus when all his other resources were exhausted, and begged Jesus to heal his dying servant. Jesus saw past the uniform of the oppressor, was impressed by the faith of the soldier, and had mercy on him. Jesus ate with hated tax collectors who survived the oppressors by selling out their own people. Jesus saw past the exterior and loved them all.
That radical and transformative love is what I believe we are called to this Advent. We are called to Repent, that is turn from misunderstanding and fear, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We are called to the deep compassion and love of Christ to look beyond the ethic, social, political, religious and physical differences of the people in the next house, or in on our block, or in Antioch or California or the United States or the world. We are to love one person at a time. This is the discipline and dedication of a life in Christ – to see the other as ourselves and love them. Now that Christ is with us we are called to prepare for our own transformation at the birth of his love in our hearts. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
Our Gospel today is about power: the power of God to transform the even the landscape under our feet; power with the strength of an earthquake. The words from Isaiah are like old friends - Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” Familiar and poetic words spoken by John the Baptist as he proclaims the coming of the salvation of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have heard them every Advent season and they are our old friends. What we don’t often hear when we listen to these words is the extreme radical transformation that they contain – a reordering of the Way of World and our hearts in earthquake-scale language. Think of what the landscape would look like if all the valleys of the bay area were filled in – Mill Valley, Grass Valley, Scotts Valley, Portola Valley, Castro Valley, The Valley of the Sun, the Valley of the Moon – What kind of power would it take to make that happen? Isaiah also says when Salvation comes the mountains and hills will be made low – picture Mount Diablo, Mount Tamalpais, Mission Peak, Mount Hamilton, the Berkeley Hills and San Leandro Hills – all made low by the kind of strength our savior brings: the force of a very powerful earthquake, indeed. That is the scale of transformation that John is announcing to the world to prepare the people for Jesus’ coming. A power so strong that everything in the landscape of our lives changes.
In this reading Luke has also gone to some lengths to describe the political and historical context of John’s proclamations. Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip and Lysanias were rulers in the region, one of whom later had John executed and another who later presided over Jesus’ crucifixion. Annas and Caiaphas were important religious figures. By contrast, John’s own father, Zechariah, was a small town priest and John himself was living in the wilderness in a rather rough state. Though it seems counterintuitive for such a world-changing event, this is the perfect setting for the prophecy – a cry out of the empty wilderness where something completely new is discovered and proclaimed – a cry is heard in the wilderness where the Word of God has come to John and he must leave his hermit’s home and come into the civilized world to advise the people to Repent of their sins and be baptized – to prepare themselves for something greater that their lives are becoming. The Word of God comes to someone like John who is outside, way outside, the political and religious hierarchy, someone not quite socially acceptable, a fellow who might in our day be labeled as crazy or psychotic, delusional. The Jewish people, hungry for change and hope, flock to John, as their lives are intolerably bound to the hated Roman oppressors. They are looking for a Savior to change the political landscape. But John preaches about a transformation to the interior landscape: prepare, repent and your faith will save you. The kind of repentance John advises is not like being sorry for having said something to hurt someone else’s’ feelings. The Repentance John is talking about is a complete turning away from an old way of being to a new way of looking at life – and he points to Jesus as the one who will help us make this transformation.
John stands in a pivotal moment in history – he is the last of the prophets in the style of the Old Testament. John’s story ends the religious chapter of the rule of law and proclamations of the prophets and ushers in the Age of Redemption and Salvation through Christ Jesus: the rule of love and compassion. Today we are looking back at that moment in time knowing that in our own lives we must prepare for the radical transformation that the coming of Christ represents to us as well. We, too, live in a world structured around political, economic and social systems that create mountains and valleys of justice and injustice. Like the world Jesus was born into we live in a time when some people have a lot more money and power than others – some have more food than they can eat and others literally starve. We have not seen the complete fulfillment of John’s prophecy about Jesus here on earth yet, have we?
Or have we?
Let’s look back to the first chapter of Luke, where he describes Mary’s reaction to the news that she would have a very special baby, where we hear more very familiar and beautiful words which we know as the Magnificat:
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; * for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: * the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him * in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, * he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, * and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, * and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel, * for he has remembered his promise of mercy, The promise he made to our forebears, * to Abraham and Sarah and their children for ever.
What strikes me powerfully about these words is that they are in the present tense. Mary does not say Jesus will cast down the mighty, or will fill the hungry, or will come to the help of Israel as Isaiah says– but that he HAS. In Jesus God has remembered his promise of mercy; he has come to Israel’s help; he has cast down the mighty from their thrones. All that was promised by the prophets is already accomplished by the embryonic presence of Christ in the world. And what I feel and know when I read Mary’s words are that we are also to be SURE that all God’s promises have been fulfilled for us, just because Jesus IS. We live in a world where God’s promises are fulfilled, even though the evidence is often to the contrary. What can this all mean? How are we to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Christ Child? What kind of transformation are we preparing for?
If we believe what John the Baptist and Isaiah say, it is nothing less than a mighty earthquake in power, something to change the landscape of our souls. How hard is that when all around we see poverty, corruption, injustice and violence? How can it be that the fulfillment of the promises of prophets are here today? John the Baptist says that if you can’t imagine a future different than the life you have now you are a prisoner of the present. John says that repentance, that is Repentance with a capital R, meaning a change of paradigm or a transformation in the way we see the world around us; this repentance will release the power to transform – even mountains, hills and valley. The change comes from within – knowing Jesus IS makes us different today. Knowing Jesus IS IN THE WORLD TODAY transforms us, makes the playing field level.
So what is that earthquake strength transformative power? It is the power of love. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment he said, “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One. You should love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” As simple as that and as powerful: Love your neighbor as yourself.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about being to the mountaintop he was imagining and living into a world different from the racist world he lived in – and his vision transformed the world. Seeing the world through the heart of Jesus is to live in a transformed state of love and compassion where all differences are between people are made level. Instead of being mired in the darkness of fear and frustration at the state of the world, we can be in the mind of Christ now and own in our hearts the power transformation. We can be Christ for the world just as John proclaimed his coming and Mary knew that because Jesus lived in her the transformation of the world had already taken place. Because Jesus lives in us, the world IS transformed. Our preparation for the coming of Christ is to allow the transformation to happen.
When I was at the School for Deacons, I read a book that transformed my idea of the love of Jesus, called Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. It is a book that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., carried with him on his travels and was an influence in his spiritual life. Thurman says it takes dedication and discipline to overcome – make level – the prejudices and fears that create injustice in our world. Jesus was able to look beyond the outside of a person – whatever they might have done or become in their lives. Jesus looked into the heart of the individual and found someone to love. We remember the Syrophoenician woman who Jesus called a dog – and his own heart was changed by her faith and love – and in compassion he healed her child. We remember the Roman soldier who, although he was of the ruling class, came humbly to Jesus when all his other resources were exhausted, and begged Jesus to heal his dying servant. Jesus saw past the uniform of the oppressor, was impressed by the faith of the soldier, and had mercy on him. Jesus ate with hated tax collectors who survived the oppressors by selling out their own people. Jesus saw past the exterior and loved them all.
That radical and transformative love is what I believe we are called to this Advent. We are called to Repent, that is turn from misunderstanding and fear, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We are called to the deep compassion and love of Christ to look beyond the ethic, social, political, religious and physical differences of the people in the next house, or in on our block, or in Antioch or California or the United States or the world. We are to love one person at a time. This is the discipline and dedication of a life in Christ – to see the other as ourselves and love them. Now that Christ is with us we are called to prepare for our own transformation at the birth of his love in our hearts. Amen.
