Watch, Wait, and Wonder: A Midweek Series for Advent

Watch, Wait, and Wonder: A Midweek Series for Advent

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances.

Hymn - Oracles by Steve Bell

        Listen Here

Let us pray.

Stir up our hearts in wonder, O God.

May we wear a mantle of praise

as we delight in your gift of salvation,

in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Readings

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

    we were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

    and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

    “The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us,

    and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

    like the watercourses in the Negeb.

May those who sow in tears

    reap with shouts of joy.

Those who go out weeping,

    bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

    carrying their sheaves. 

Faithful God, like a grain of wheat falling into the earth your Son went into death, so that after three days the earth might bloom with the joy of his rising. Let the seeds of justice, which we plant with tears, bring forth the power of the resurrection in the places of death and despair, and gather us at last into the joyful harvest of the saints; through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.

A reading from the book of Isaiah (61:1-3; 10-11)

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

    because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

    to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

    and release to the prisoners;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

    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.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

    my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,

    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,

    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

    to spring up before all the nations.

Reflection

From Steve Bell's Pilgrim Year Series "Advent", Chapter 5

I recently stumbled across an online essay reflecting on the Advent Oracles of Isaiah. I was immediately intrigued by the use of the word "oracle" - first, because it sounds somewhat pagan and New Age, and therefore out of place in a Christian context. Second, because of Hollywood, I was intrigued because mention of an oracle evokes feelings darkly subterranean and mysterious.

Quick research revealed the word to be disappointingly harmless. An oracle, it turns out, is merely a prophetic utterance, which is a standard feature of the Judeo-Christian tradition. I found the Isaiah oracles themselves to be familiar and safe enough:

In days to come

    the mountain of the Lord’s house

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

    and shall be raised above the hills;

all the nations shall stream to it.

    Many peoples shall come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

    to the house of the God of Jacob;

that he may teach us his ways

    and that we may walk in his paths.”

(Isaiah 2:2-3)

He shall judge between the nations,

    and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

    and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

    neither shall they learn war any more.

(Isaiah 2:4)

but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,

    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

    and a little child shall lead them.

(Isaiah 11:4, 6)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

(Isaiah7:14)

Together, these oracles suggest that there will come a day when:

 - nations in search of wisdom will stream to the mountain of the Lord

 - warriors will beat their weapons into gardening tools

 - the wolf will lie down (in peace) with the lamb

 - a virgin will give birth to a child who will lead us

At first glance, the oracles are comforting at best and quaint at worst. But, given a second glance, they suggest a radical and challenging reversal of wisdom as we often perceive it.

Nations Will Stream to the Mountain of the Lord

There's a trip switch hidden in the relationship between the words "stream" and "mountain". The first oracle claims that nations (in search of wisdom) will stream to the mountain. But there's a stumbling block here: as a rule, things don't stream towards a mountain; they stream away.

This oracle speaks of a radical reversal of nature - not only nature "out there", but our inner logic as well. Consider humanity's reasonable fears and need for security and order. Then, consider the counter-intuitive gospel (good news) account of the long-awaited Messiah who entered history as a vulnerable child under morally dubious circumstances. Shortly after his birth, he had to flee for his life as a political refugee; and after thirty-three years, he was able to muster only a handful of followers, who quickly abandoned him when things got rough. Eventually, he suffered a terrible and humiliating death at the order of a brutal tyrant.

This message of radical reversal is a hard sell.

They Will Beat Their Weapons into Ploughshares

The second oracle contains the unlikely prediction that people will turn weapons into pruning shears. this aspiration is all well and good, except that throughout history, the world's largest economies are almost always based on the assumption of war and the opportunities for wealth created through its engagement. it is hard to imagine that the radical shift in worldview necessary for the abandonment or arms could ever gain much traction in a fallen world - even among Christians, who are gifted with a vision of a God who willingly gives of his beloved own for the sake of the antagonistic other.

We're too invested in fallen-ness to take redemptive witness seriously.

Again, another tough sell.

The Wolf will Lie Down with the Lamb

If understood figuratively, it is difficult to consider this oracle without judging who are the wolves and who are the lambs of history. Much of modern society could be summarized as an overall culture of individuals and groups clamouring for lamb status. Indeed, few claim wolf status.

For example, I am a reasonably nice Christian man committed to the betterment of my fellows through the exercise of the gifts God bestowed on me for the sake of the gospel. Surely, if there is a continuum, I lean towards the lamb side.

And yet, i am aware that I am also a white middle-class privileged consumer. If I look at my investments, my buying habits, my eating habits, my lifestyle and leisure choices, my excesses and prejudices, it doesn't take a great sleuth to uncover where I am woefully complicit in systems of oppression and injustice.

I participate in and benefit from systemic injustice every day - feeding like a wolf on the labours of others. I can try to justify this behaviour, nut I don't think my defences would stand long before the steely gaze of the "Lamb who is on the throne."

A Virgin Will Bear a Son; A Child Will Lead Them

One can't miss the irony of how God chose to enter the human story. If we consider an account of history from an adult, male-dominated perspective, it is hard to predict that the best and wisest of things would be ushered into the world through a woman and child. Yet, this is the ultimate example of the counter-intuitive nature of the gospel. The truth of th is oracle (along with the others) suggests a radical reordering of everything we know, including the institutional and social assumptions that we have constructed and now take for granted as given goods.

This reordering would also require a willingness to relinquish power and prestige. Such relinquishments, and their attendant vulnerabilities, could only be sustained by an ardent love of God and all God loves - and a profound longing for the community of God, the shape and culture of which these oracle suggest. Yet these oracles, read and understood together, indicate a reality that we may not realize is already at hand.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you and among you" (Luke 21:17). One of the invitations of Advent is to attend to the heart of things...to come to know that what we need the most - indeed, what we profoundly desire - though veiled, is already given as a deposit against what is to come. The joy of the Christian is to give witness, in faith and deed, to what was, what is, and what most certainly will be.

Hymn - The Lord Has Done Great Things by Steve Bell

        Listen Here

Prayers

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God,

and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise,

let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the health of the creation, for abundant harvests that all may share,

and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For public servants, the government, and those who protect us;

for those who work to bring peace, justice, healing, and protection

in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For those who travel, for those who are sick and suffering,

and for those who are in captivity, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For deliverance in the time of affliction, wrath, danger, and need,

let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For all servants of the church, for this assembly,

and for all people who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy,

let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

Guide us waking, O Lord,

and guard us sleeping;

that awake we may watch with Christ

and asleep we may rest in peace.

Amen.

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power, and the glory,

forever and ever. Amen.

Blessing

Even as we wait, watch, and wonder,

God is with us.