Advent IV

By the Reverend Martha Frances
Year A, Advent 4
23 December 2007

Text: Matthew 1: 18-25; Other Readings:  Isaiah 7: 10-17; Romans 1: 1-7; Psalm 80: 1-7, 16-18


     Today's gospel begins with an annunciation—not the usual annunciation story when the angel Gabriel comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary to ask her to become the God-bearer, the Theotokos as the Greeks call her, & she says yes, only she says it in good Biblical language:  "Let it be with me according to your word."  No, today's annunciation, or appearance of the angel, is to Joseph—an oft-brushed-aside Matthean tale which I have learned to appreciate more & more in the past few years.  Last Sunday night our vestry explored this text in our Community Bible Study, & the men who pondered the story in small group with me gave me a whole new appreciation for Joseph's dilemma & subsequent choices.  

     Matthew says this is the way it happened.  He begins with the discovery that Joseph's fiancée Mary is pregnant though they haven't even been living together.  The focus turns immediately to Joseph as he deliberates his options in the light of such an embarrassing predicament.  After all, he's an upstanding member of the community, a "righteous man" we are told, & furthermore, much older & more mature than Mary, so he knows that proper Jewish behavior is to expose her sin to the synagogue council so she can be stoned to death & he, exonerated.  But he is a kind man & genuinely cares for this young girl, so decides to "dismiss her quietly" which probably means she would be sent to her cousin Elizabeth's in the next village until the baby is born & then would live in her father's house just like a widow, no longer be eligible for marriage.

     Fortunately for all, Joseph chooses to sleep on that decision; thus, the present annunciation is made possible. An angel also appears to him, beginning with the usual "do not be afraid" announcement, not afraid to make Mary his wife since she is  pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  For centuries, we have applauded Mary for her "yes" response, yet here in this parallel passage, we have Joseph's "Yes"— trusting that God's messenger is not just indigestion from last night's supper.  As the men last week discussed the enormity of trust required to follow through with such a responsibility, even in our enlightened society, my awe & admiration for Joseph increased markedly.  In fact, as my family has realized recently that some babies come inconveniently soon after marriage, I notice our modern enlightened & liberal society may still be neither.

     Joseph is a synagogue-going pillar of society, so he must know the prophecies about the Messiah's coming to fulfill the hope of Israel.  Still, he must have had some sleepless nights during the next several months, having supposed nothing this significant could happen so directly to him.  As we look ahead to Jesus' early years, we continue to admire Joseph the adoptive father who assures Mary's & Jesus' legitimacy by enrolling them as family in Bethlehem, fleeing with them to Egypt to protect Jesus from Herod's reign of terror, returning to Nazareth only upon Herod's death, & searching for this beloved son when 12-year-old Jesus is left behind in the Jerusalem temple.  What a remarkable model of manhood & fatherhood we find in Joseph in a day when family may take on a variety of configurations!  

     Matthew sees Jesus' birth as fulfillment of prophecies from Israel's prophets with which every educated Jewish person is familiar.  He quotes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture from Isaiah we heard today, rooting Jesus' ancestry not only in the history of Israel but from the very family of David, Israel's greatest King.  The original Hebrew says a young woman will conceive & bear a son to be called Emmanuel— God is with us—a further indication that Jesus is Son of God.  Only in the Greek translation we call the Septuagint did "young woman" become "virgin," a subtle variation which has led to a very strong belief that Jesus' mother Mary was perhaps even perpetually a virgin.  

     We modern folk, having grown up under the influence of Matthew's proof-texting & Handel's rendering such verses ever-memorable by setting them to music in the Messiah, have a hard time accepting that Isaiah's prophecy to King Ahaz of Judah related to his immediate crisis.  Ahaz was under great pressure to make alliance with Syria & Ephraim (Israel) to avoid Judah's destruction in a war against Assyria.  Ahaz had appealed to Assyria for aid, so Isaiah has come to warn Ahaz to stand firm in faith, putting his trust in God for deliverance, not in the Assyrians.  Isaiah pleads with Ahaz to ask God for a sign, & when Ahaz declares he won't put God to the test, Isaiah insists that God will give a sign anyway—a young woman, perhaps a member of Ahaz' own court, will bear a son named Emmanuel, God is with us.  Only later does Emmanuel take on Messianic significance.

     Matthew's emphasis, which we may miss if we get tangled up in how much the old prophecies do or do not apply to events of Jesus' time & after, is that Emmanual—God with us—is what the incarnation business is all about.  Incarnation literally means enfleshed—God's son comes to us also as Joseph's son—fully human, to dwell among us, to know our lives & hearts & souls, to guide us, through forgiveness of sins, to fulfill our call to behave as children of the living God, made in God's image & likeness.  It is in Jesus' coming to be among us, as well as his dying for our sins, that we are saved, thus fulfilling his given name Jesus or Yeshua which means, God saves.  

     And Joseph, in Matthew's rendition, shows all of us a lot about how to behave as God's children.  We have already noted that Joseph acted courageously & honorably, truly righteously, in treating Mary with respect instead of disgracing her.  Joseph exhibited the greatest law, that of loving God so fully that he loved as God loves, when he learned of Mary's extraordinary pregnancy.  We also see Joseph as obedient to God through the angel's message, doing as the angel commanded him.  He took Mary as his wife & didn't have marital relations with her until she had given birth to Jesus, assuring all generations that Jesus was, truly, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  All that could have threatened either the masculinity or the righteousness of a lesser man, but Joseph was obedient & followed through on the angel's command to name the child Jesus.

     Perhaps you can learn from Joseph just as I have been doing right here before the Feast of the Nativity we'll celebrate tomorrow night.  We aren't asked to do what he did but we, too, can follow the greatest law of love in our response to the Christmas angel & to the coming of our Lord Jesus.  As we have journeyed through these 4 Sundays of Advent, lighting one more candle on the Advent wreath each week, perhaps you've experienced some of the urgency, the looking-forward, to the advent of this human baby who comes once more to be the Lord of our lives, the Emmanuel—God with us—this year.

     How will Christ's entering into your live anew this Christmas make a difference in your life?  In your relations with others—in your faith community & beyond it?  To a large extent, that will be up to you, but being part of an active Christian community can help you daily make space for Christ to dwell within you & spill out in your every thought & action.  Welcome, Emmanuel!

Advent III

By the Reverend Martha Frances

Year A, Advent 3

16 December 2007

 

Text: Matthew 11: 2-11

Other Readings:  Isaiah 35: 1-10; James 5: 7-10 ; Psalm 146: 4-9

 

        I am Miriam.   I have traveled a long way today with three other disciples to question this man Jesus.  Now I am weary & confused as to what to do next.   As I rest here, on the outskirts of the crowd who listens to Jesus, I'll tell you what I'm pondering.

        For quite a while now, I've been traveling with the man called John the Baptist.   I know, you must think that I'm some sort of kook, but a while back, I journeyed from my village out to the Jordan River valley to hear the strange man named John.  You've heard of him, haven't you?

We country folk have long wished for the better life about which the rabbis have read to us from Isaiah.   We Jewish people are so weak in comparison to the powerful Romans, & Isaiah set forth a glorious vision for us.  Perhaps you've heard it recently, too.   Isaiah promised that the wilderness will be glad, the desert shall rejoice & blossom abundantly, & that even the dry land will break forth with gladness & singing.   I know all about the desert, having tried to eke a living out of this wilderness all my life. 

Further, Isaiah told us that the Messiah shall come to strengthen us as the desert is transformed.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if the blind could once again see & the deaf hear & speak, if my friend Mara who was born lame could walk for the first time in her life?  

Then, we heard about this prophet John who came baptizing in the Jordan River & preaching, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"  My friend Rebecca told me she was going to hear this John the Baptizer, to see for herself what message he had.  When she & her husband Mark invited me to go with them, I only took a minute to pack a bundle & head off.   What hope John offered us!  He told us that, if we admit our sins & turn away from them to lead a new life, the Isaiah's promises as well as those of the psalms we sing in our synagogue services will come true.   Who wouldn't want we oppressed ones to have justice & those who are hungry to have enough food?  I was swept up in the excitement of such promises so, when Rebecca & Mark offered themselves for baptism, I did also.   John's baptism was awesome!  I really did feel the sins of my whole life washing away as that river water poured from my body back into the Jordan .

Ever since, we have traveled with John & helped others envision the possibilities of new life.   All along, John has said another, greater one will come after him—that he is only a messenger preparing the way for another.  We couldn't believe that anyone could be greater than our precious John.   However, recently, Herod Antipas has imprisoned John, & his followers are having a hard time figuring out what to do.  We are allowed to visit John, who continues to preach to us, but times are hard, & his message seems so far-fetched now.   As we sit around the campfire, we've wondered about this one whom John says will come after him.  Could it be true?   Some have told us of the work of this Jesus of Nazareth.  I saw him only once, when John baptized him.  He seemed no different from others, but then, a strange peace & quiet came over him when he was baptized.   Was the glow which surrounded his coming up out of the water just my imagination?

At any rate, John has seemed pretty discouraged lately.   I guess that's what prison does to you.  Yesterday, John sent Mark & his friend Joshua to question Jesus, so Rebecca & I decided to tag along too.   We found the rabbi Jesus here in the countryside teaching his many disciples.  What a spirit of joy is present in this crowd of people!   They stay together & help each other.  Such a cooperative bunch!  Mark & Joshua finally get up close enough to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?

Jesus doesn't answer our question directly.   Instead, he tells us to go & tell John what we have seen & heard.  Whew, what a lot we've witnessed in the short time we've been here.   When I watch Jesus minister, I'm reminded both of Isaiah & of a psalm we often sing.  In just one day, we saw a blind man who can now see & a man who had lain on a rug for years get up & walk—actually, he leapt for joy as he went on his way.   It's one thing to see folks who were deaf who can now hear, but when Jesus touches lepers, they are healed.  Why, Jesus even brought a little dead girl back to life this evening!   In addition to those healings I've seen with my own eyes, it is clear that all these folks who don't have a dracma to their names now live in hope when they see Jesus in action.   What is it about this Jesus that makes everyone say he is the Messiah?

Of course, we were taught that the Messiah would come with an army, with vengeance, & clear out all the Romans so we could have abundant life again.   I don't ever remember abundance myself; my family has always been poor as far as I know.  But my grandmother used to talk about Palestine as a land of milk & honey, a promised land where everyone had enough.   Do we dare to believe that this man Jesus can bring such a time again, even without an army?

He really got to me when he asked what we went out in the wilderness to look at.   We've seen reeds blow in the breeze before so we certainly wouldn't have traveled to see that.  And we despise those in Herod's house who wear soft robes & Herod himself who has imprisoned John.   No, we traveled to listen to John, a man in camel's skin who goes barefoot & eats a strange diet.  We've believed he was a prophet.   This Jesus truly talks in riddles for he tells us that John is a prophet, a messenger   preparing the way for the Messiah.  Jesus says John the Baptist is the greatest prophet yet also that, in the Kingdom of Heaven, even the common folk will be greater than John.  How curious!

Joshua & Mark & Rebecca have returned to report to John now, but I feel compelled to stay to hear what more this Jesus has to say.   This afternoon, I sat beside Andrew whom I've known all my life.  He was one of John's disciples once, yet he now follows Jesus.   In fact, Andrew told me that he has just returned from a preaching mission that Jesus sent his closest disciples on.  Old Andrew, who was always kind of quiet & shy compared to his boisterous brother Simon, told me that even he had actually been able to cure some folks in Jesus' name.  Just at the time when I felt like hope was lost now that John is in prison, I meet Jesus, & now, I must wait & see.   I'll listen to his words, stay close to my friend Andrew, & see if this Jesus can cure me of these doubts.  I must be patient, Andrew says.   My people have waited for generations.  I will try to be patient.  Will you wait with me?

Advent II

By the Reverend Martha Frances

Year A, Advent 2

9 December 2007 

Text: Matthew 3: 1-12

Other Readings:  Isaiah 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-13; Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19 

      "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  Thus, we hear the abrupt arrival of John the Baptist in Matthew's gospel.  John the Baptist is not politically correct.  He lives out in the desert just as Elijah the prophet of old with whom many associate him.  He will never be invited to a society gala ball dressed in the animal fur & leather that probably identified him first by smell.  Can't you just picture a big hairy mountain of a man appearing out of the woods at Camp Allen?  His diet isn't that appealing either:  wild honey would be ok, but locusts—yuck!  Neither does he arrive with comforting, feel-good stories about God's kindness & care for each person.  No!  His introductory sermon begins with the admonition:  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

      John the Baptist's urgency is compelling.  He has attracted people from Jerusalem & all Judea, from throughout the region along the Jordan River where he is baptizing.  He tells the people if they don't shape up, God will give them the axe like a diseased live oak tree or toss them into an incinerator as soon as he knocks any useful stuffing out of them.  He says being a ritually pure person won't get them either a seat at a good restaurant or at the banquet table when God comes to reign.  He tells the folks who venture out into the desert to hear him that they're about as useful as a snake pit.  He goes on to say that their only hope is to clean up their behavior as if their lives depended on it—which they do—& get baptized quick-pronto to show that they are serious about the change.  Ole John doesn't beat around the bush about the spiritual life, yet he has a whole passel of people flocking out to hear his message & be baptized.

      John gets straight to the point, & that's part of the message of Advent.  We've only about 16 days until the Feast of the Nativity usually called Christmas, & by golly, John tells us we'd better get our lives in order before Jesus comes again.  We don't have time to fiddle around & get our priorities straight sometime next year.  John's call to us is not that Santa is making a list & checking it twice & that there are only 16 shopping days 'till Christmas.  John tells us God's reign is coming soon, the 2^nd coming is upon us, & we'd better practice what we preach now!

      Let's see what message John had for those awaiting the coming of the Messiah much like we prepare to commemorate Jesus' birth in another couple of weeks.  First, John told them to repent.  To the Jewish people who heard him, repentance meant to make a drastic turn in the road of life & go in the opposite direction, to reorient their lives & start over anew.  Many of us who have been on this journey for all or most of our lives might feel that a drastic turn isn't called for.  Regardless of where we are in our spiritual lives, each of us can certainly repent of those places where we have not lived up to having been created in God's image & likeness, can't we?  Advent is a time to take such inventory & resolve to be more fully the person God created us to be.

      John's baptism, unlike the regular ritual cleansings which some groups undertook in his day, occurred only once, was the recognition of the need for moral purity & conversion, & was a preparation for the reign of God when God would judge the world. 

Most of us have been baptized, many as children who were then brought up in the church.  Others were baptized later in life as your conscious choice to begin a new life.  John's baptism—as well as Jesus' which followed—was a once-is-enough immersion which signaled the person's desire to live life differently.  There may be those here who have never been baptized, & if so, we have that opportunity on Epiphany Sunday on January 6^th, so you need to visit me about it soon. 

      If we intend to lead a new life, to amend our lives, then the rite of baptism is only the beginning; it signals changed hearts & changed behavior.  That amendment of life takes a lifetime, & that's why I ask you each time we have a baptism here at Hope to reaffirm your own baptismal vows with the newly baptized.  All of us sin & fall short of the glory of God, & our baptismal promises are like roadmaps for our spiritual journey.  John is telling us not to delay, not to procrastinate any more, for the time for God's reign is near.  Our commitment to living as Christ-filled persons is not just a personal one but for our community.  In the next several months, I want us at Hope to ask how well we as a community are fulfilling those promises.  If we at Hope were doing as good a job as we should to proclaim by word & example the Good News of God in Christ, our nave would be crowded on Sunday morning & we wouldn't have a budget shortfall.  In case you need a review, the Baptismal Covenant is found on pages 304-305 in the BCP.

      John's challenge to us is to be ready not just for the joys of Christmas as the baby Jesus comes into our lives but to prepare for Christ's return as judge.  You might say, "I certainly don't have time to concentrate on turning my whole orientation in life around right now.  I've got a thousand things to do to get ready for Christmas!"  And I'd point out to you that's why we have Advent as 4 weeks of preparation before Christmas.  We read about John the Baptist during Advent because his call to us to repent & return to God IS getting ready for Christmas, the only getting ready that really matters. 

      John the Baptist isn't fooled by the in-crowd who comes out to hear him.  Those folks who expect to get a free ride on the HOV lane straight to heaven because they're the religious leaders of the synagogue might be surprised that there are no reserved spots just because they're children of Abraham.  Neither can we sit around & say "We've been Christian all our lives & we're sure to get a good seat at the heavenly banquet table."  John tells them—& us—that God can choose anyone as the promised people:  Jews or Gentiles, Anglo, Black, Brown or Yellow. 

      What is the qualification to enter into God's reign, the Kingdom of Heaven, as Matthew puts it?  John says we've got to bear fruit worthy of repentance.  John clarifies things when he says someone is coming after him whose sandals he's not even worthy to carry—in other words, even John can't qualify to be the Messiah's servant on his own merits.  We know that Jesus comes with a message of love & acceptance for all.  But John's point is clear:  baptism is only the starting point.  We have responsibilities as Christians which follow baptism & for which baptism prepares us.  He calls those duties fruit on the tree.  St. Paul also speaks of fruits of the Spirit in several places, doesn't he?

      What kinds of actions are those fruit?  Here's where we have to look into our own hearts to decide what the fruits of our lives should be.  What dark corners of our lives need fertilizer & water & light so they grow good fruit?  As I've already indicated, during Advent we can explore those places to turn around & live more healthily.  Alcoholics Anonymous & similar 12 Step programs speak of making amends & then practicing new principles in all our affairs.  Making amends means doing things differently, changing our thinking & asking God through prayer to change our feelings where appropriate. 

      Paul tells us in the Romans' passage for today that we must live in harmony with one another & must glorify God with one voice.  We are to welcome one another as Christ as welcomed us.  These directions refer to our living together in community.  We don't build community & live in harmony with one another if we hold others in suspicion & constantly criticize others' motives & actions.  I'd really like to encourage you to try the spiritual practice of pausing to pray for the next person with whom you get frustrated, trying to walk in her or his shoes, & recognizing that that person may be dealing with issues we have no knowledge of.  The murmuring & discontent which characterize some of our dealings as a parish community discourages others from being generous with their resources.  Paul points out, just as John the Baptist did, that it's not just those who think they're deserving because they are children of Abraham or because they've been around the longest who are invited to the table.  Paul tells us the Gentiles may be first & those who think they are most deserving may be last.  Hmmm, that sounds like something Jesus might have said!

      Our parish is named Hope, & hope is certainly the operative word this season.  John the Baptist's message & actions propel us to evaluate where we spend our time, our money, & our talents—another holy exercise for Advent.  As John tells us in humility, there is one greater than he, & he & his baptism are incomplete.  As we examine our lives, sweeping out cobwebs from the dark corners of our resistance, let us look forward to Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit & with fire—forward to the birth of the Christ child with anticipation rather than dread because we have loved our neighbors as ourselves & have walked the walk & not just talked the talk.  Today, I join my prayer with St. Paul as he blesses his congregation, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Amen.

Advent 1

By the Reverend Martha Frances
Year A, Advent 1
2 December 2007

Text: Matthew 24: 36-44; Romans 13: 11-14
Other Readings: Isaiah 2: 1-5; Psalm 22: 1-11


The Christian year begins with the first Sunday of Advent—today—so we can rightly say, "Happy New Year!" Advent means "coming," & now is a time of looking both backward & forward. Of course, we all look back to the birth of Jesus, God coming to earth in the flesh—"incarnate"—to live among us & teach us how to live as God created us. We also anticipate Christ's coming again, first born into our lives each day as we open ourselves to his grace & love, & then eventually coming again in glory to fulfill God's reign. As we explore each of these "comings," perhaps today's scriptures will speak more fully to us.

When I was a little girl, I hadn't heard of Advent, & we didn't change the color to blue in churches where I grew up like we do here, but nonetheless, I learned a sense of Advent from the way our family behaved. From Thanksgiving onward, our family tingled with joy & expectation in all we did. Since we always spent Christmas in Dallas at my grandparents' house, most preparations moved us toward that trip. Mother began baking in early December, admonishing us not to touch either cake or pie for it was going to Mimi & Grandaddy's. We were allowed the cinnamon & sugar rollups made from the leftover dough, but never the real dish. We didn't dare enter our parents' bedroom or closet if the door was closed. Dad was a preacher, so he spent most nights at the church, but we always found time to decorate a tree in our little house.

The real tree, however, the one that Santa visited, was at my grandparents' house, & not decorated until we arrived on Christmas Eve. The drive from wherever we lived in West Texas took all day, so after lunch, we kids started asking, "Are we there yet?" We knew, of course, we wouldn't get there 'till after dark, but as soon as we left Ft. Worth, we began watching for the Dallas skyline bathed in lights on the crisp December sky & for Pegasus the flying horse atop the Magnolia building, the tallest building downtown. Pegasus is still there, by the way, obscured from most angles by the skyscrapers towering over him in modern Dallas.

Arriving at the grandparents', we were hugged & kissed by aunts & uncles from across the street, & we tolerated the nuisance of a hot meal, eventually getting to the decorating. Grandaddy had old-fashioned bubble lights already on the tree, their bubbling a mystery to me even now. Hot chocolate & homemade fruit cake were plentiful, & each of us begged to be boosted up to place the angel on top of the tree. The manger scene rested atop the mantle with shepherds, wise men & a camel beside Mary & Joseph, but the baby Jesus would arrive only the next morning. After our tree trimming, someone would read Matthew's or Luke's Christmas story & we'd sing the verses we recalled of a few carols. Especially exciting was the year I was old enough to stay up for the midnight service at the big church downtown, returning to put Santa's gifts for my younger sister under the tree.

Such was the anticipation of myriad childhood Christmases. Christmas Day was almost an anti-climax after all the excruciating waiting. Yet we knew, even then, all this preparation was about the coming—the advent—of the Christ child. In some ways, we were then very close to my sense of Advent today.

I can remember few presents I received as a child, except for the year of the chemistry set with which my boy cousin & I emptied the house of adults until the rotten egg smell dissipated. Our family did little store shopping but made lots of gifts. Mimi stashed away treasures all year long, & each Christmas afternoon, after wrapping paper had been removed to the alley & dinner dishes washed, she would suddenly appear with a gift she'd just found, sans wrapping paper.

Advent is a time for preparation. It's not just a time for shopping & cooking & traveling kinds of preparation, but also a time to open our hearts, leaving room for the Christ child's coming to each of us anew. It's a time to listen to the Hebrew prophets like Isaiah predicting an era of peace when the Prince of Peace will return, when swords will be beat into plowshares, spears become pruning hooks, nation no longer lifting sword against nation, & the craft of making war becoming obsolete. [Our final hymn today allows us to pray collectively for just such peace-making.]

Christians have looked back to such prophecies for centuries & have seen in Jesus' birth fulfillment of these anticipatory visions. Certainly, we do well to celebrate the coming of this babe, God who turned the world upside down, establishing a new covenant in which we are called to owe no one anything except to love one another. Jesus' birth celebrates the scandal of particularity: a certain child entered the world to live as a particular human being so we can allow God to teach us to become more like God.

It's also clear the time of peace which passes all understanding is not yet here. We must still pray & work for the peace of Jerusalem as today's psalm calls us to do. Especially in a day when war seems rampant in many parts of the earth, we must yet yearn & work for peace within the walls of Jerusalem, the city which 3 world religions call a center of their faiths. We must pray for shalom to be within Jerusalem's towers.

So Advent is not just about celebrating Jesus the Messiah's sojourn on this earth 2000 years ago, as life-changing as that was for us & for the world. Advent is not just about preparing for Christmas as I did when I was a child.

Advent in this grown-up world is about looking forward as well as backward. It's about following the admonition in Matthew's gospel today to "Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day the Lord is coming." Matthew's emphasis throughout is on constant watchfulness & preparation. Noah's neighbors were certainly taken aback as the waters rose, & neither will we receive more warning. Our Advent wreaths emitting progressively more light each week as we light more candles are clear signs that the night is far gone & the day is near.

Next, Matthew assures us that the thief could not break in & steal from the householder if the owner knew the thief's schedule. All these warnings are provided to strengthen the believers to remain faithful even in difficult times, especially since many expected Christ's 2nd coming to be soon & were becoming weary. Matthew regards the "delay" of the parousia as a gift, a time of grace during which so many more have the chance to hear & accept the gospel. Here at Hope we can see the present as grace time to reach out to others to grow our church into the hospitable community where more people will be excited to come to worship with us. Our recent pledge campaign & budgeting for next year plus our dreams of building adequate facilities for the future indicate a need for each member of Hope to take seriously Jesus' admonition to share the Good News with others. Our energy can much better be spent committed to the future of this parish than in nit-picking about each problem which isn't perfect. That's why our welcoming & incorporating ministry had better be "radical hospitality," & I hope many of you will join with me in making such hospitality a reality here at Hope.

Indeed, Matthew sees this "in between" time as the opportunity for worldwide evangelism, time when the Church's duty is to usher in the reign of God. We're to live as expectant people, helping each other to be open to Christ's invitation, not so much as individuals but as a community. Advent has an urgency about it which is unrelated to whether the Christmas shopping gets done or who coaches which college or professional sports team into post-season play.

St. Paul says salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers. He says the night is far gone & the day is near. Then Paul gives us great imagery for what we should be doing. We should lay aside the works of darkness & put on the armor of light, living as honorably at night as we do in the day. What behaviors would we have to give up to be a beacon of light to others? Paul lists reveling & drunkenness, debauchery & licentiousness, quarreling & jealousy. Those activities sound a lot like holiday partying, but they are not what make a holy Advent. Advent is a time when we need to spend some effort cleaning our side of the street, paying attention to how we lead our daily lives, asking ourselves if these are the behaviors we would be proud of were our lives to end today.

We are all called to put on the armor of light, to wear Jesus Christ like a garment, to show forth Christ's love by behaving toward our neighbor as we would like to be treated ourselves. The time of Christ's return is described as a time of light when the Bridegroom comes & the marriage feast is waiting. We're all invited into the banquet; no one will be left out unless he or she refuses the invitation. Will you come? Who will you bring along with you?

My friend the author Madeleine L'Engle died this year. Years ago she penned this invitation for Christ Jesus to enter our lives. May it also serve as your call for a holy Advent:

Come, Lord Jesus! Do I dare

Cry: Lord Jesus, quickly come!

Flash the lightning in the air,

Crash the thunder on my home!

Should I speak this aweful prayer?

Come, Lord Jesus, help me dare.


Come, Lord Jesus! You I call

To come (come soon!) are not the child

Who lay once in the manger stall,

Are not the infant meek and mild.

You come in judgment on our all:

Help me to know you, whom I call.


Come, Lord Jesus! Come this night

With your purging and your power,

For the earth is dark with blight

And in sin we run and cower

Before the splendid, raging sight

Of the breaking of the night.


Come, my Lord! Our darkness end!

Break the bonds of time and space.

All the powers of evil rend

By the radiance of your face.

The laughing stars with joy attend:

Come Lord Jesus! Be my end!