December 9, 2012
© 2012
I.
Jesus’ birth has inspired amazing music. With the choir cantata, next
Sunday’s worship will be almost all music. Mary’s Song, The Magnificat, has inspired exquisite female solos. We’ll get to
that the fourth Sunday of Advent.
A.
Zechariah’s Song, The Benedictus,
is not as well-known but is also powerful poetry. Zechariah and Elizabeth were
an old couple with no children, though they had prayed for a child. Zechariah
was a priest, and when he was on duty in the Temple, the Angel Gabriel appeared
to him and said his prayers were answered, and they would have a son. Despite
their prayers, Zechariah doesn’t believe it, so Gabriel tells him he will be
unable to speak until the child is born. In those 9 months of silence,
Zechariah ponders the redemption of God, and when the child is born and
Zechariah confirms that his name is John, his silence is broken and he exclaims:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked
favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a
mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he
spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71that we
would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72Thus
he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy
covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant
us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might
serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him
all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the
Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to
give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78By
the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to
give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the way of peace.”
B.
On this second Sunday of Advent, Peace Sunday, Zechariah’s Song
celebrates the light of God’s dawn that guides our feet into the way of peace.
Starting with One Candle Is Lit,
peace is woven into today’s hymns.
1.
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed: v. 3 “Before him on the
mountains, shall peace, the herald go.”
2.
It Came upon the Midnight
Clear: v. 1
“Peace on the earth, good will to all, from heaven’s all gracious King” v. 4 “Shall
come the time foretold; when peace shall over all the earth its ancient
splendors fling.”
3.
God’s Love Made Visible!: v. 1 “Joyfully pray for
peace and good will.”
4.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel: v. 4 “Fill the whole world
with heaven’s peace.”
C.
During Advent we prepare for the appearing of Jesus by permitting him
to purify us to become people of peace.
II.
In slightly different ways, all four Gospels identify John the Baptizer
as the voice crying out in the wilderness from Isaiah 40:3, and without naming
Malachi, they imply John was the messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord.
A.
John’s ministry calling for repentance matched the tone of Malachi’s
prophecy in contrast with the exuberance of Zechariah’s Song. Zechariah looked
ahead to the completion of God’s redemptive purpose. John preached in the midst
of preparing for it by rigorous purification.
B.
Zechariah looked forward to serving God without fear in holiness and
righteousness. For a millennium the people of Israel had lived in fear of
foreign oppressors who often restricted, diluted or prohibited their worship. John
the Baptizer was fearless in the face of the criticism of the religious
leaders, the hostility of the wealthy and powerful, and the violent threats of
King Herod.
C.
For the Hebrews, holiness was about character, righteousness about justice.
John said “bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Luke 3:8)
Those with 2 coats were to give to someone with none, and to do the same with
food. (v. 11). People who had power, such
as tax collectors and soldiers, were not to extort but to be content with their
wages. (vv. 13-14) Compassion and justice together.
III. What emotions did you feel
reading aloud the strong words of Malachi at the beginning of the service? How
do Malachi’s words help us prepare for the appearing of Jesus this Advent, permitting
him to purify us to become people of peace?
A.
Malachi may not be the prophet’s name. Malachi means “my messenger.” He may have been a priest who was very
concerned that so soon after returning from exile and reestablishing Temple
worship, it had become corrupted. But Malachi was not the last of God’s
messengers. The Gospels see John the Baptizer as the messenger to whom Malachi
was pointing. Zechariah’s Song distinguished between the prophet who would “go
before the Lord to prepare his way” (1:76)
and the “mighty
savior” (1:69) raised up in the house of
David. When John baptized Jesus (3:21-22), God confirmed that Jesus
was this mighty savior.
B.
Zechariah saw a day of serving God in holiness. Similarly, Malachi called
for purifying worship in the rebuilt Temple, so their offerings could be
pleasing to the Lord. Malachi called people to be faithful to God’s covenant.
Zechariah saw God keeping the covenant with his people. When he wrote of
sorcerers and adulterers, he addressed the tendency to add pagan practices and
sometimes even pagan gods to Temple worship.
C.
Zechariah also saw a day of serving God in righteousness. Typically
Hebrew, Malachi defined that righteousness as justice in relationships. He
sharply criticized those who were dishonest, who took advantage of daily
laborers, of widows and orphans, those who were poor and weak. He equated
mistreating foreigners with disrespect for God.
IV. I would not attempt to
explain how or why, but my experience tells me the details of life connect. Back
in the middle of November, I mapped out the hymns for Advent, Christmas and
Epiphany. I wanted the music to work with the Scripture selections for a
progression from anticipation to celebration that got in all the standards (you’ll
have to come Christmas Eve to get some of these) and mixed the familiar with
the less known. I picked Dave and Iola Brubeck’s God’s Love Made Visible for today, having no way of knowing that
Dave Brubeck would die this week. Dave Brubeck may be best known for performing
Paul Desmond’s
jazz classic Take Five, written in 5/4 time. Remember that when we sing God’s Love Made Visible as our communion
hymn.
A.
Dave Brubeck’s personal journey also connects to the Peace theme of
this 2nd Sunday of Advent. As a young man he was deeply disturbed by
the violence of World War II. This prompted a spiritual awakening that
eventually led him to Jesus as the source of real peace. Though the words were written
by his wife Iola, that focus on Jesus and peace is clear in God’s Love Made Visible. Eventually, he
joined the Catholic Church but said, “I didn’t convert because I wasn’t
anything to convert from.” (Rediscovering Dave Brubeck, PBS) I think many of today’s
spiritually hungry people would say the same thing.
B.
Our society is caught up in preparing for Christmas: shopping,
decorating, baking, mailing, partying. Christmas Eve at church may even be part
of preparing for opening gifts on Christmas morning. Then it’s all over, with a
week’s respite before New Year’s parties and football games and income tax. The
Church’s rhythm is dramatically different. Advent: four weeks of intensifying
spiritual preparation and anticipation. Christmastide: 12 days of joyous
celebration of God entering our human experience of birth, life and death to
give us hope of resurrection to eternal life. Epiphany caps this off on January
6 as we join the Magi in awe at the glory of God revealed to us in Jesus.
C.
We’ve got 2 weeks until Christmas starts. Will you be ready? O, I don’t
mean will your Christmas cards all arrive before Christmas. And I don’t mean
will you have all your gifts wrapped so you don’t have to make a mad-dash
shopping trip on Christmas Eve. I mean, are you prepared for the appearing of
Jesus? Yes, his appearing in our Christmas worship, his appearing in the
gatherings of your family and friends, his appearing as you grow in holiness in
the year ahead, his appearing in your relationships with the weak and wounded people
God brings across your path, his appearing as this congregation anticipates a
new era a ministry with a new pastor. That requires preparation. If you haven’t
taken advantage of the Advent devotionals prepared by our Worship Department,
you still have time. They are a good starting place for this spiritual
preparation.
1.
Use Advent for some personal evaluation. What does God want you to
leave behind or what venture to embrace in the coming year?
2.
During Advent, release to God whatever threatens your inner peace, and
watch for the dawn from on high to guide you into the way of peace? We prepare
for the appearing of Jesus this Advent, permitting him to purify us to become
people of peace.
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