(prayer)
Today is the third (of four) Sundays in this year's pre-christmas church
season of Advent.
As has been the case for the last two weeks, our Hebrew Bible reading
came from the prophetic book of Isaiah.
Please forgive my redundancy - I have mentioned every week this month: the book of Isaiah has three distinct sections that speak to three distinct periods of
Judean history… defined by their proximity to the the 6th
century BCE exile, when the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah, occupied
Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and deported a significant portion of the
city’s occupants.
●
Chapters 1-39: pre-exile… actually about 200
years before (8c BCE): The height of Judean
development and independence: sure, the successionist northern tribes were
losing autonomy to their Assyrian neighbours but Judah remained strong. Judah obviously enjoys God's special favour.
●
Chapters 40-55: during exile… early to mid 6c
BCE; How can this be? Where is God, now that God’s
house is gone?
●
Chapters 56-66: post-exile… late 6c BCE; We persisted - we endured the time of exile - but now we
have to start over and it is not going to be easy.
//
As is always true with good
bible study, the social-political-&-religious context of the original
audience matters... in helping us listen to what the text can say to us today.
//
Imagine yourself one of the returnees to Judah: You were born in exile. As an adult, you chose to leave the only home
you had ever known; you took your family on a 1000km journey across the
wilderness to the place you had only heard about in legends.
Your grandmother had told you stories of a grand city with a magnificent
temple, but... all you see are broken walls.
Your grandfather had spoken of how they believed that the Ruah Elohim
(the spirit of god) literally existed in a special room (first in the tent
tabernacle and then in the stone temple) called the inner sanctuary (or The Holy of Holies), but… that sacred space (like all of the rooms of Solomon’s temple)
is now nothing more than rubble.
But, you also remember preachers from your youth who proposed that the
ruah elohim was not defeated when Jerusalem fell but rose up from the ruins and
journeyed to be with the people by the rivers of Babylon.
And… exile prophets imagined God would one day create a path back to
Judah for the people. This fresh
understanding of the nature of God is what sustained the exiles… it is the
source of what you believe today.
You made that journey.
You are a fulfilment of that promise.
//
Imagine yourself one of the returnees to Judah, when someone get up to
speak and says…
The
spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; sent me to
bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who
mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead
of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Imagine (as one of those returnees to Jerusalem) how those words would
make you feel… the spirit of god is here
to build up ancient ruins, bring liberty to the captives and replace grief with
gladness.
//
//
To use a modern phrase: the words
passed on to us (as Isaiah chapter sixty-one) are an ancient pep-talk. They are words to encourage the work of
restoration; words to motivate action… and they do this by highlighting the
people’s new context. The last part of
‘verse three’ basically says: The Lord
has planted you in Judah; here you will grow.
//
[with reference to the advent wreath]
I imagine that (in the ears of the returnees) these were words of hope
(things will get better); words of peace (we are now safe after decades of
oppression).
But... I’m not sure that Isaiah 61 gets us around to today’s pink
candle. If I were a returned exile
listening to the fiery sermon by the ruins of the temple, I'm not sure that joy
would be my natural reaction: at least not a very deep joy.
The motivational speech might rile me up (like a hockey coach pumping up
the team between periods). I might be
excited. I might be on an adrenaline
high. I might even be so caught up in
the moment that I’d volunteer to be on the building committee.
I’d be feeling something real and powerful… but I'm not sure that I
could call it joy.
//
No matter how good the preacher is, I don't think she or he can make me feel joy. Joy must well up from inside me; it cannot be put
inside me.
It is one thing to express
joy.
It is quite another to feel
joy or to know joy.
//
The prophet, Jeremiah, wrote (just before the exile) that a time was coming when no one will have to
be told to “know the Lord"
because “the torah will be written on their hearts". It is one thing to hear the law, to read the
law, even to understand the law (at an intellectual level); it is another to
have the life-changing intent of the law
so ingrained within you that it is simply part of who you are. Jeremiah imagined a time when sermons were
lived out, not preached.
//
//
Another illustration: imagine I
work at a job in a store where I am dealing with customers all day. I know that my boss believes that a happy customer is a repeat customer. I accept the adage that the customer is always right (even, especially, when they are wrong).
And so I am always kind and respectful to my customers when I am out front in
the store… but later in the lunch room…?
//
I can understand kindness.
I can express kindness.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that I am a kind person (deep down in
my heart).
Hey, not everyone has the gift of kindness.
//
//
The Apostle Paul shared instructions with the early Christians in
Thessalonica: Give thanks... Pray... Rejoice.
More so, they were told that they were to do these things constantly
●
Give thanks (in all circumstances);
●
Pray (without
ceasing);
●
Rejoice (always).
To add some weight to these instructions, Paul told the Thessalonians
that God (in Jesus Christ) wills this for them.
Of course - at least when someone
was watching - it would be possible to take actions that meet the letter of
this law: they could force themselves to say “thank you"... to say
prayers… even to express joy. But… does
that mean that they are really
connecting with their god; are they really
(in the depths of who they are) grateful and joyful?
Being truly grateful means
that we are honestly in awe of what we have in our lives.
Being honestly prayful is an
willingness to be changed by allowing the mystery and wonder of the spirit to
influence us.
And we know that we are being authentically
joyful when we can't hold it inside.
Real joyfulness is that tingling in the stomach that makes us shudder
and smile... resisting any efforts to be quashed.
Joyfulness is almost an unconscious reaction to what we experience in
life.
//
In order to react to life with joy, it is essential that we allow
overselves to appreciate that - even in the darkest time - there is light.
The apostle Paul knew this.
As we heard this morning, he wrote: hold
fast to what is good. He is not
suggesting that everything about our context (at any given time) will be good,
but that there will be some good to
hold on to… always, without ceasing, and in all circumstances. And - in that - lies the possibility for
gratefulness, prayerfulness and joyfulness.
//
//
Paul wants the church to practice those things that open up the
possibility to honest, inner joy.
The preacher in post-exile Jerusalem wanted the returnees to build on
the fact that they had turned a corner on a dark part of their history… they
were a fresh planting with a fresh hope for a bountiful harvest.
//
//
So… what can we be practising within our lives (in this world today) to improve the possibilities that joy will be
known and felt?
Where is the guiding light?
Where is the good on which we can hold fast?
//
//
For us to have ingrained joy deep within us, we can start by making room
for that joy to take root.
//
The apostle Paul invited the church to “hold fast to what is good”. What are we holding onto that gets in the way
of goodness and joy?
So… what is taking up space within us that we could do well without?
//
The pre-exile Judean prophet Micah spoke about what should be at the
heart of a faithful life. Micah preached
that all we really need is “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
Justice, kindness and humility.
The three life-attitudes (promoted by Micah more than 100 years before
the babylonian exile) can shed some light on what inhibits joy today.
Each of these three has a shadow side that can fill us with anti-joy.
Justice … vengeance, greed
Kindness … envy, anger
Humility … selfishness, pride
//
I think that most people would agree that wollowing in selfishness and
pride can drain a person of joy.
And so, I hope that it makes sense that accepting - no matter how
skilled or prepared we are - that there are circumstances beyond our control
and wisdom beyond our means. Honouring
the value of humility can seed the soil where joy can grow,
Justice is about fairness - seeking justice is often a matter of
righting wrongs. But, that does not have
to be about retribution. No one deserves
to be on the wrong side injustice, but focusing our response on obsessive
vengeance will not build joy in our lives.
Even victims of injustice have the capacity for joy if they release
themselves from the self-imposed burdens of greed and vengeance.
But… in my mind, the key to allowing joy to grow lies
with kindness… with a basic compassion that accepts the worthiness of every
human soul.
Kindness is most possible when we believe what the ancient Hebrew storyteller believed: that God created
humankind in the divine image and that it was good. We are invited to be kind because we believe
that a spark of God’s spirit is alight in everyone.
Jesus’ ministry was all about kindness (compassion and love).
I am convinced that knowing real joy becomes more possible in our lives
(and in the world) as our practice of kindness increases.
//
//
When I work on reducing the influence of my own selfishness and pride,
humility will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.
//
When I work on reducing the influence of my own vengeance and greed,
justice will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.
//
When I work on reducing the influence of my own anger and envious
nature, kindness will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.
//
LET JOY SHINE!
//
Let us
pray:
Holy
Giver of Joy,
Thank
you for everything that lightens our hearts, that creates laughter, and that
invites us bring happiness into the lives of others.
Amen.
#79VU
“Spirit, Open My Heart”
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