First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20
14“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. 16On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. 17The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. 18I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. 19Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Psalm 85
1You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, you have restored the good fortune of Jacob. 2You have forgiven the iniquity of your people and blotted out all their sins. 3You have withdrawn all your fury and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation. 4Restore us then, O God our Savior; let your anger depart from us. 5Will you be displeased with us forever? will you prolong your anger from age to age? 6Will you not give us life again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 8I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. 9Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. 10Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11Truth shall spring up from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, and our land will yield its increase. 13Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 7:18-35
18The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 24When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 28I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) 31“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Rejoicing Brings Peace
As I mentioned to the kids a few moments ago, Wade lit the pink candle this morning. The third candle signals a pause in the Advent season. Since Advent is one of our two penitential seasons, like we do in Lent, we pause from the disciplines of the season for reflection. As we read in our gospel lesson, this could very well have been what John the Baptist was doing when he sent his disciples to Jesus, reflecting.
In St. Luke’s “orderly account”, John at this point had been placed in prison by Herod for speaking out against his sinful, adulterous behavior. John had been called by God to prepare the way, and our fiery preacher had done just that. He called the people to repentance, he baptized those who came to him, he called the religious leaders into account, and he publicly proclaimed Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” And in Jesus’ baptism, John was witness to the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus and was there as God spoke, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” John also witnessed the miracles, heard reports from others, and could have been in attendance when Jesus gave His famous Sermon on the Mount. Having fulfilled God’s call, he now sits in prison troubled and reflecting.
John had to be wondering was all this for nothing. Is Jesus really the long-awaited Messiah who was to deliver God’s people from the hand of oppression? Jesus is doing wonderful things for the people, but He isn’t acting as John expected. Is He really the one to deliver the Jews from the Romans? John must have thought long and hard, so he calls two of his disciples to the prison and sends them to ask the question that many in this world are asking, “are you the One who is to come?” John must have anticipated that Herodias would never allow John to be on the streets again. John simply wanted the peace of knowing that Jesus was the coming Messiah and that the people would finally be delivered. But as we’ve come to understand, the deliverance John sought, and the deliverance Jesus came to bring, were two different things.
Of course, as the gospels record, John wouldn’t live to see the deliverance that Jesus provided. John wouldn’t be around to witness Jesus’ death on the cross nor His resurrection. One can only hope that the answer Jesus sent back to John gave him the peace for which he was looking. Peace, this is what the world is looking for and God’s peace is what you and I are called to show the world. We, like John, all face times when our faith is tested and we wonder, has all this been worth it. Sometimes we even question God: are you really there? Are you the One, or should I be looking for another? Will your Son ever return to save us from the corruption of this world? In times of doubt, the world needs the peace that only God can provide. The question is how?
This is why the message of God’s love in Jesus is so important, not only for the unbeliever, but the believer as well. For the unbeliever, they need to hear of God’s love and mercy shown to us in Jesus Christ. And for the believer, we need recall all God has done for us, so we can tell the world the gospel story. And we fulfill our call not just with words, but in our lives as well. It’s through the telling and showing God’s love in our lives that we show the world the peace we have that can only come from the One who came to deliver us from sin, death, and satan. The message of God’s love for us in Jesus, must heard and seen. We are living witnesses of the gospel. This reminds me of a story I read recently and one I’d like to share with you.
In the late 1800’s, in an area of Africa now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, there lived a powerful ruler named Mora Naba. As emperor in Burkina Faso, he conquered a powerful neighbor called the Kaesena. Upon seizing control of neighboring peoples, emperor Naba would then extract tribute from them once each year. One year, at tribute collecting time, the emperor made the mistake of sending his son, Nabiiga, a prince and his heir apparent. When the Kaesena people saw Nabiiga coming, with only a very small entourage of guardians, they overpowered the group and took the prince hostage. After some discussion among the leaders, they decided not to kill him. They had other plans.
Instead of simply killing the heir to the throne, they stripped him of his kingly robes and forced him to walk around in only a loincloth. As a prisoner, he only received one meal per day and was forced out into the fields each morning to work. Normally, manual labor would be beneath the dignity of royalty, so the Kaesena people made great sport of him. The women would pass by and belittle him. While he was working in the fields, the children would throw pebbles and stones at him. But, to the great surprise of all those watching from day to day, the Mossi prince would work and sing. Nabiiga sang cheerfully with a loud voice as he worked from sunup to sundown.
At first, his soft hands blistered and then bled since he was unaccustomed to using farm equipment. He lost significant weight, but he continued to be cheerful and to sing. The elders of the Kaesena were greatly troubled by his singing and buoyant attitude. “How can he possibly sing,” they would continually ask, “since we make him sleep on the ground and make sport of him each day? We give him very little food, and he is forced to labor from sunup to sundown. Our women and our children mock him, but he continues to sing!”
After a month of watching and listening, they finally brought him before their council. He stood in his loincloth straight and proud in their midst. The elder spokesperson for the Kaesena people asked the Mossi prince about his behavior: “Why do you sing?” Nabiiga answered, “It’s true. You’ve taken away my fine clothes. You have made me work, you give me very little food to eat, and you make me sleep on the ground in a common hut. You have tried to take away all my pride and all my earthly possessions. You’ve brought great shame upon me. Now you ask me why, in spite of all this, I can sing. I can sing because you cannot take away my title and who I am. I am Moro Naba’s first son. I am proud of that, and will never react to your shameful behavior!” The Kaesena people learned that they couldn’t bring shame upon the Mossi prince because he was at peace and, therefore, could continue to sing.
The peace that the prince felt inside was an active virtue manifest in his behavior; peace wasn’t simply the absence of violence and war in his life. The peace he had was knowing that he was the child of the king. And he showed the inner peace he had by his actions and attitude. For us to become peacemakers, as the story suggests, we too must proactively act and speak. As we light the third candle on the Advent wreath and know by the calendar, as well as St. Paul’s words, that Jesus is near, we must consider how we response to the challenges we face in life and rejoice, thereby, bringing God’s peace to those around us.
The Advent journey we’ve been traveling the last three weeks, a time of preparation, of expectation, and of active waiting, has concentrated on the second coming of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist. Today, however, we start to concentrate on the arrival of Jesus in time — His Incarnation. The Jews had waited many centuries for a messiah, since the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah and others. The Jews fully expected a mighty king who would restore the greatness of Israel as during the time of David. The Roman occupation of the land would end; the greatness of Israel would once again shine to all nations. And while you and I recognize that the Messiahship and kingdom that Jesus brought were far different from what the Jews expected, it’s still a time of great rejoicing that the Lord is near.
What Jesus brought is far more important than expectations of power and greatness, which dominated the thinking and hopes of the Jews. As we pause in this Advent season to reflect on all Jesus has done for us when He came the first time, and as we prepare for His return, we look to fulfill our call to share the message of the gospel and prepare for His return, even as we see signs of His first coming again all around us.
The calendar tells us that December 25 is only a few days off. As we were so fond of saying growing up, you can’t swing a dead skunk without encountering some physical manifestation of Christmas — decorations, traffic, and email advertisements announcing extended sales. We hear Christmas carols on the radio, our mailboxes are filled with cards and other greetings from friends and family, and we’re bombarded by commercials on television for all the latest things that the various stores and retailers want us to buy for our friends and loved ones.
Scripture, too, informs us of the Lord’s impending arrival. Yes, we have the words of John the Baptist who speaks of the need to prepare for this great event. And in today’s Epistle lesson, St. Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, suggests our preparation must also include great rejoicing, because the Lord’s return is near. We all know how to rejoice with great fervor when things go right, when we’re in control, when we’re on top of the situation. We know how to celebrate personal successes, or even that of an organization to which we have loyalty. We celebrate our family’s successes, and in the triumph of a friend over obstacles or disease. We rejoice when our favorite college or professional sports team wins the big game, or even a championship. But St. Paul reminds us that there’s another element of rejoicing. We’re to rejoice in all things. And Paul takes this one step further. He suggests we need to eliminate our propensity to worry.
We not only need to disregard our fears, we need to replace our anxiety with prayer and supplications to God. Now I know what you’re thinking: I wish this was as easy for us as Christians, as Paul makes it sound. You and I are sinful creatures as well as saints. And as sinful creatures, we like to worry. We want to be in charge. We want to be our own savior and not be dependent on anyone or anything. So we try and take on the worries and challenges of this world on our own. And to that end, we have a whole industry associated with coping. When we worry, we seek resolution through medications and various professionals.
Certainly, what medical science has collectively done for us, with respect to our penchant to worry, is laudable and generally helpful, but still, we worry far too much. Naturally we worry about our family: our children, our finances, our health, and our future. But, as we know, there are some people who prefer to worry; they don’t seem content under any other circumstance. We too often forget what St. Paul is saying here, instead of taking on the cares of the world on our own, Paul entreats us to cast our cares on the Lord.
Through prayer and supplications to God, we’re to place our worries and concerns in His hands. This sounds good, but we know it isn’t easy to accomplish. We want, like the Kaesena people, to find answers to our concerns, to our lack of peace on our own, but Paul suggests that if we trust God and let our prayers take the place of our worries, the elusive peace we ultimately seek will be ours. The author of Proverbs was correct when he wrote: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight” (Proverbs 3:5). St. Paul says that the peace of God, which surpasses our understanding, will guard our hearts and minds. This peace is certainly a reality we all seek — to feel at peace and know that God will guard our hearts and minds to the attainment of this goal.
Scripture and tradition have provided Jesus with numerous titles, each of which resonates with certain people at different times. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd presents the Lord as the compassionate One who seeks out the lost, even going so far as to leave the 99 to fend for themselves, while He searches for us, the one who is lost. When Jesus describes Himself as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He helps us understand that He is the guide to all that we need, all that will sustain us. Jesus’ description of Himself as the Vine and us as the branches, expresses our need to always remain connected to Him, and all this brings us both consolation and challenge.
It’s a challenge since we must follow Him and stay connected to Him, and if we do, we have the promise that where Jesus resides, we will one day be as well. The image of Jesus as the “Bread of Life” (John 6) helps us to know that He is our spiritual sustenance. We can always go to Him with any, and all, our needs. And Isaiah’s image of the Messiah as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:5), is especially relevant as we draw closer to Christmas and to Jesus’ final return.
Our troubled world, with so much hatred, violence, and armed conflict, badly needs the peace that only Christ can bring. This peace must be active, never passive. Pope Paul VI put it succinctly, “If you want peace, work for justice.” Peace will only come when we actively seek it. Thus, we must cooperate with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to assure that Christ’s peace is manifested in the world. The apostle also suggests that the way we can bring peace is by being joyful people. Rejoicing truly can bring peace.
Rejoicing must become a way of life, not simply a momentary respite from our general worrisome and sour countenance. And this brings us to the promise God made to His people in our First Lesson for today. God promised, even as the people were rejecting Him, that He would be in their midst. And because He is in their midst, they have nothing to fear. He assured them that He would save them and rejoice over them with gladness. And the promise God gave to the Hebrew people, Jesus affirmed just before He returned to the Father saying, “Lo I am with you always, to the end of the age.
As we draw closer to our Advent goal, as the signs, smells, and sounds of Christmas draw near, let us, as St. Paul suggests, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice” (v. 4a). God’s Spirit will bring us peace, and as we share the message of Jesus coming to us in a manger, that message of peace will bring us, and our world, one step closer to God and life eternal.
Amen.