The Adventurous Lectionary for December 15, 2013 (Advent 3)

Last updated on: December 10, 2013 at 1:04 pm by Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary for December 15, 2013 (Advent 3) 2013-12-10T13:04:50-05:00 Bruce Epperly

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Lectionary Reflections for the Third Sunday in Advent

December 15, 2013

Isaiah 35:1-10
Luke 1:46b-55a
James 5:7-10
Matthew 2:1-11

Healing the World

Advent is a time for hopeful transformation. Creation and humankind lean toward wholeness; creation groans and so do we. God is at world in all things, restoring the broken, healing the sick, and welcoming the outcast.

Isaiah sings the glad songs of restoration. “The wilderness and dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom,” the blind shall see, the deaf hear, the lame dance, and the speechless sing. The whole world, which once groaned in pain and desolation, is now bursting forth in liberation. What happens to humankind shapes the non-human world, and God’s salvation includes the non-human as well as the human. All things are joined in a fabric of interdependence: as one part is healed, all share in healing. As Paul was to note in Romans 8, the whole creation groans, and the groaning of creation reflects our own inner quest for healing. Global climate change, species destruction, and humanity’s oppression and injustice mirror each other. When we mistreat the non-human world, we discover that this same violence spills over into our human relationships. Harming other humans leads to the destruction of the environment. Conversely, the healing of nations and nature are intertwined. Isaiah describes a healing incarnation, embodied in Mary’s womb and Jesus’ birth.

Mary’s song of praise expresses the interplay of her unexpected pregnancy and the liberation of humankind. God’s movement in Mary’s womb and God’s transformation of governments and economic systems are of one piece. Inspiring the message and mission of today’s liberation theologians, Mary shouts out God’s preferential option for the poor and dispossessed. God hears the cries of the poor and responds with liberating intentionality. God’s joy and our well-being are interconnected. The divine pathos, as Abraham Joshua Heschel asserts, reflects God’s care for the smallest details of life; our pain is God’s pain, our joy is God’s joy. But, given the increasing gap between rich and poor in the USA and throughout the globe, Mary’s words leave us speechless and impatient. When will the mighty let go of their largesse for the simple survival of millions? When will our nation place the health and welfare of the multitudes above a preferential tax and legal option for the wealthy and powerful? When will we focus more on the entitlements given to wealthy corporations and individuals than modest entitlements given to unemployed single parents?

The Letter of James counsels patience. Yet, in light of the whole message of James, patience does not imply passivity. James is an epistle of ethical activism and care for the downtrodden. We must be patient with the movements of God’s moral arc of history; we must not give up hope nor should we polarize in times of challenge. God’s nearness challenges us to justice-seeking, grounded in care for those whose power we confront. They too are God’s children, and as they seek to gain the world, their souls may be in jeopardy.

Jesus’ response to John the Baptist echoes the hopeful vision of Isaiah 35. The Messiah is known by the appearance of good news at every level of life. Good news is lived as well as spoken. Bodies are healed, outcasts welcomed, and impoverished given hope. Jesus’ gospel is holistic and life-changing, and gives preferential care for those at the fringes of life.

Jesus’ apparent dig at John – “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” – is, in fact, a word of affirmation and call to agency. John’s prophetic ministry and call to repentance invites us to do great things ourselves. John prepares the way for Jesus and for us as well. We have a calling to bring good news to our world – to heal, welcome, and restore.

Advent reminds us that another world is possible. New life can emerge from the ruins; the dessert can bloom; and lives restored. This is the result of patient partnership. God takes the initiative and invites us to be innovative as well. Our agency enhances the incarnation of God’s vision of Shalom in our world.

The adventurous pastor challenges us to be God’s partners in planetary and personal healing. Where does our church need to embody spiritual horticulture? Where do we need claim our vocation as healers? What great things do we need to embody God’s realm in our community’s work in the world?

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