LOVE AND PRAISE!!

Advent Four, in which the Love Candle is lit, has passed, and so has the official celebration of the Birth itself (which, of course, didn’t happen anywhere near this time of year, but it's meaningful, certainly--light in the darkness!) I was out of commission, sick with a particularly virulent flu, so I couldn't say much about it, but I can't begin to express my appreciation of it!

Love is born on earth!

This week's lectionary texts are overflowing with praise. 

Isaiah 61 starts off fairly quivering with excitement:

            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.

Then Psalm 147 chimes in:

Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!

The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.

The Epistle (Gal. 3) proclaims:

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

Finally, the Gospel (John 1) rounds out the joy with a passage that is featured in most people’s Favorites List:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

And these are just snippets. If you want to fill out your own praises (especially if you are also finding some darkness and difficulties in your holidays) I encourage you to read the entire recommended passages for this week. One place to find them is lectionarypage.net.

Christ is born!

Advent Three: Joy!

Traditionally, the third candle of the Advent wreath, instead of being blue or purple as the others are, is pink or red. It is also known as the Shepherd candle, reflecting the joy the shepherds felt after their initial fear and confusion.

Try to imagine what it might have been like. It's difficult to divest the story of all the meanings our life and experience have given it, but let's try.

We are on a quiet hill near Bethlehem. It's our turn to stay up with the sheep. They, woolly and warm, have long since settled down in fluffy, greasy-smelling bundles to sleep. The highest ranking sheep are on the inside of the bunch if it's a chilly night, while the lower ranking ones huddle on the outskirts, sometimes shoving inward for more warmth.

We humans huddle, too, in cloaks spun and woven of the wool of these very animals. But we have a fire, too, and in the firelight our faces are strange and shadowed. Perhaps someone is singing or playing a pipe or harp quietly. Perhaps another brings up the prophecies of Messiah and the friendly but hot discussion/debate dear to Jewish (and Adventist) hearts has begun.

Suddenly an alien being flashes into existence right next to us, and our hearts just about stop. Gasps, cries, and grabbing of rods creates a moment of chaos that disturbs the sheep, whose heads pop up nervously. But the being says, "Don't be afraid. I'm bringing you amazing news!" And we can tell, just by the look on the strange, shining face, that he is nearly bursting with excitement himself as he proceeds to announce that Messiah is here! Now! In Bethlehem! In a . . . what??

We look blankly at each other. Did he say in a feed rack? Seriously?

Then, just as our nerves are thinking about beginning to settle, there's a flash that makes our eyes see purple splotches for an hour afterward, and we hear singing such as we have never heard before. Nor will again, in this life.

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HEAVENLY HEIGHTS! PEACE TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN ON EARTH WHO PLEASE HIM!!


It's just about deafening. It's terrifying, and exciting, and joyful, and . . . then it's gone. We blink, and try to catch our breath, and turn to each other. "Did you--? Was it a dream? I-I--" We are incoherent. "You saw it too? And heard it?"

Well, let's go see!!

Stumbling over each other, still half-blind and half-deaf, maybe remembering to leave someone with the sheep and maybe not, we tumble down the hill toward the sleeping village. How could anybody still be asleep? We stumble even more when we reach the streets, which are half-full of travelers who never did find places to stay, and who don't appreciate being stepped on in their sleep. But, still incoherent, we just say, "Oh, sorry! Excuse me! He's here! Messiah's here! Didn't you hear the angels?"

We check every barn, stable, and cave that could possibly house animals. Perhaps we hear a baby's cries and see a couple of women bustling in and out with buckets and blankets. Then . . . here we are. Clumsy, embarrassed, we feel like intruders on a very intimate family scene, but the man lets us in, and the young mother smiles tiredly, and . . . there he is. Impossibly tiny, wrinkly, snuggled into linen wrappings, and only interested in his dinner.

Messiah? Really??

Advent Two--Preparation

The second candle in the Advent wreath is called the Bethlehem Candle and the Preparation Candle. I find that intriguing. How does Bethlehem connect with preparation? Several answers come to mind.

How did Joseph and Mary prepare for the trip? It seems to me that they'd be so overwhelmed with the beauty and majesty and excitement of the angel's proclamation about Who this Baby Would Really Be that they could hardly think to pack! But. . . I've been overwhelmed by God's beauty and majesty and excitement    quite a few times in my life, and I have to honestly admit, the glory fades in the face of day-to-day life. Or, as Jack Kornfeld (Ph. D., Buddhist monk, spiritual writer) puts it, "After the ecstasy, the laundry." So maybe they were more concerned with donkey feed and warm shoes and food for the journey (and worrying about backache, at 8 1/2 months along) than with Preparation for the Blessed Event. Still, when Mary tucked in the linen swaddling bands she'd spun and woven so carefully, I know she thought about that baby. I know she did!

How did Bethlehem prepare for the Visitation? Or did they, at all? The hostels and inns certainly bought extra food and hired extra hands, but that was because of the tax thing. I've often wondered, did the one who loaned them his stable say crossly, "Oh, fine, go to the cave, then! Share with the animals!" Or "Oh, dear, I wish I did have room! We have to do something! What about--well, we have the cave. . .? Will that do? I'm so sorry!" and offer help with the birthing? And in either case, what was the attitude afterwards, after the shepherds and their wild story?

How did the shepherds prepare? Were they really sitting around discussing the prophecies and wishing? What would it have been like to actually see and hear those angels? (I think I would have fainted.) And then, the journey, and the baby, who I'm sure looked just as wrinkly and unfinished and maybe funny-skulled as any other newborn. How strange! But they never forgot. I'm sure of that.

How did the angels prepare? Were they practicing their Hallelujahs? Eagerly hanging on God's words, waiting for the signal? How many were getting in each other's way hovering around that donkey and then over the stable? (Do angels get in each other's way? Or can a zillion really dance on the head of a pin?)

The Priceless Question:
How am I preparing today? For the celebration of Advent One: Which is higher on my radar--presents and parties and cookies (all good things, mind you) or devotion and caring and compassion and repentance? For Advent Two: Well, come to think of it, the comparisons are the same. Maybe not as many cookies or presents (though I don't know why) but the need for repentance and compassion and Hallelujahs is even greater, it seems to me.

He's coming! Pass it on!