Pictures

The young man’s eyes shine with the light of a new dawn in spring. He is standing, trembling, at the head of an aisle, watching as a vision of shimmering loveliness floats up the aisle toward him. Can it possibly be true that she has chosen him? Forever? Will she ever regret it? Will she always reflect back the glow of his eyes as she does now, or will she turn away? In his heart is a steadfast, unbreakable determination that it won’t be because he fails her in any way. Ever.

That’s God’s face, looking at you. Isaiah 62:1-5.

The hen has black-and-white speckles on her feathers, and is always pretty, but today she is fluffed up, her wings slightly extended, and the black and white are more vivid than usual. She is making a low sound in her throat, an encouraging muk-muk-muk, and bobbing her head slightly. Around her dash and dart little black fluffballs with bits of yellowish white on them. When she gives her little call, they spread their ridiculous little dabs of winglet and run under the outstretched wings almost too quickly to see. Some peek out from under her breast. One pops through a wing feather and looks at the world from there. If you could ask them if they think they’re safe, they’d look at you uncomprehendingly. It doesn’t even occur to them to fear. Mother is here! What danger could possibly threaten?

Those are God’s wings, spread over you. Psalm 36:5-10.

The dancer sways and floats in the currents of music as if there were almost no gravity at all. Her head turns with a grace that brings a catch to the throat. Her hands float out to her sides, one higher, one lower, her fingers moving like leaves on the surface of a quiet brook. One leg bends, the other straightens, a toe points, a foot pirouettes, her neck turns with apparent effortlessness, a look  of almost angelic serenity hallows her face. All the parts of her body function as God must have originally created them to do. . . but if you asked her you’d learn of the hundreds of hours of sweat and soreness, tears and trying again.

This is the body of Christ, moved together by His great heart and mind. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.

The wedding is over, but the bridegroom is still gazing unceasingly at the shyly downturned face of his new wife. Sometimes she looks up at him, and their eyes seem to ignite a spark that is almost visible to all in the room. They probably have no idea that the wine has run out, or what quality they are drinking, but at some point the steward hands the groom a cup and, his attention caught, the groom tastes and raises his eyebrows in surprise. The steward gestures to a quiet Man on the other side of the room and the bride and groom both look. This time the three-way eye contact is a living, vibrant thing. Stillness slides over all the guests for a moment, and the bride’s and groom’s hands meet and cling. Something—a promise, a blessing—something washes over them. They will never forget this moment.

Jesus announced His power and presence at a wedding, as if to say that’s one of the best earthly pictures of His love. John 2:1-11.

No human picture of the love of God is ever big enough, glorious enough, or unbelievable enough. But every one shines like one tiny facet on a diamond. These four are from the lectionary readings for this week.

Water in My Eyes

Luke 3:15-17,21-22
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Well, you know me. I like to imagine.
What if you'd been there? Close your eyes, get comfortable, and try to use all your senses to make the scene real. Can you feel the push and crowd of bodies? Taste the breeze? Smell the river? Hear the throng? Can you see John (and do you imagine him as the scruffy, hairy semi-savage all the movies portray him as, or different?)
Listen to him saying to you, "Another One is coming--someone greater, someone incredible." You notice that John is quoting from Old Testament prophecies that portray the Messiah as king and judge, a common and completely understandable misconception of the times. You can only say after the fact which parts of the prophecies relate to Now and which to Later. The first Advent wasn't of the king and judge, or at least not in that capacity. It was the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. But John doesn't seem to have known that yet.

But we're in first century Palestine, so just listen, and ignore my editorializing. (I'm sure I would have done the same then. I think lots of AT readers would have loved the rabbinical debates in the synagogues!)

This particular passage does not describe the baptism of Jesus, but you can imagine it from other passages if you like. See Jesus coming, listen and watch while John argues. "Are you kidding me? I should be baptized by you!"
See him give in.
See Jesus going under, rising up--honestly, the fabulous art on the cover of Messiah, by Jerry D. Thomas, is what comes to my mind, the past few years. See Jesus gazing joyfully upward, water streaming from his face, and watch the Dove descend. Shiver with awe as the voice of God thunders, "You are my beloved one! I am so pleased with you!"

How do you feel?

Now try something harder. Imagine you are the one being baptized. You may relive your own real baptism, or you may put yourself in the Jordan and try to imagine what it might have been like to be baptized by "the baptizer."
And then---
Hear the voice of God thundering, "You--yes, you!-- are my beloved one! I am so pleased with you!

How do you feel now?

Wow.

Epiphany/Theophany

I learned something today. (Any day is a good day if you learn something new!) I learned that Epiphany and Theophany mean the same thing. Almost. That is to say, Theophany, which I learned years ago in college Bible classes, means the miraculous appearance specifically of a deity--Theos. In the Old Testament, the places where someone is visited not just by "an angel," but by "the angel of the Lord" are traditionally referred to as "Theophanies," or visitations of the pre-incarnate Christ. The word Epiphany doesn't have "Theos" in it, denoting a deity, but does mean a miraculous or sudden appearing.

I tend to think of Epiphany in relation to the visit of the magi from the east, though of course, we have no idea when they appeared, except that Jesus was probably at least a year old at the time. But here's what I find so fascinating--In 2 Timothy 1:9, 10, Paul says that God "has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (Italics supplied.) That word "appearing"? That's "epiphany." Five more times, it's used in the New Testament to refer to the Second Coming.

I love this because of the way Paul points out that this has always been true--"granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity," but now it's appeared. It's here! And I love it even more because just as the people of God in that day were looking anxiously for the appearing of the Messiah--and he came!--so we, today, are looking anxiously for his appearing again--and he will come! I have to admit, I sometimes wonder. But he did it before, and he said he would do it again.

I believe him. I just hate waiting, that's all. But in the meantime, I celebrate the fact that he came the first time,  "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light."

One more cool thing about the Epiphany--traditionally in lots of places, it especially celebrates the Messiah's appearing to the Gentiles. Thank goodness!

I've said it before and I'll say it again--EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS!!

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! 

The Story of Creation-before-Creation

Psalm 104:1-8

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
O LORD my God, how excellent is your greatness!
you are clothed with majesty and splendor.

2

You wrap yourself with light as with a cloak
and spread out the heavens like a curtain.

3

You lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above;
you make the clouds your chariot;
you ride on the wings of the wind.

4

You make the winds your messengers
and flames of fire your servants.

5

You have set the earth upon its foundations,
so that it never shall move at any time.

6

You covered it with the Deep as with a mantle;
the waters stood higher than the mountains.

7

At your rebuke they fled;
at the voice of your thunder they hastened away.

8

They went up into the hills and down to the valleys beneath,
to the places you had appointed for them.

I have always loved this Psalm—who doesn’t? It gives powerful words and images to the concept of God as mighty Creator. A few years ago, I realized something new in it.

I think this is the story of creation before Genesis 1. God creates “God’s chambers,” then the angels, then the planet itself, and covers it with water. Then God begins creating the biosphere by “appointing places” for the waters. It could be said, of course, that this is a reference to the Great Flood, and perhaps it is. Or both. But I love the image of the Creation Prequel.

A few years ago I got curious about what the Bible might say about earth, water, wind, and fire, and did a complete study on each of these topics. For the sake of space, I’ll just say here that IT WAS AMAZING!

Overall, in the Bible, water, wind, and fire are used as symbols for God. Overall, in the Bible, earth and stone are us. But consider this—God created us from earth and water, breathed into us the Wind of God, and then stood us upright to look to the warmth, the light, the blessing, the purifying fire that is the presence of the Spirit.

And look! All four are explicitly visible in this passage.