Homily preached on the Vigil of the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Revelation in reverse.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Today, the eve of the fourth, the last Sunday of Advent, is a good time to review what we have heard in the Sunday readings for the season. There is a repeated proclamation of the Lord's coming, repeated calls to prepare, and finally, in tonight's and tomorrow's readings, the near approach of the Lord.
On the first Sunday of Advent, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims, "Says the Lord...I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." And the Apostle prays, in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, that the Lord "so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." Paul is talking about the Second Coming, the Parousia, stating right at the beginning one of the themes of the season. Another theme of course is the approach of the Incarnation, the First Coming or Advent of the Lord. The righteous Branch of David, the coming of Israel's King in the flesh, is proclaimed by Jeremiah, and Paul states the second theme, the Second Advent. The readings for Advent pursue these parallel expectations.
All the Gospel readings for this season are from Luke. The first Sunday Gospel comes from toward the end of Luke, the 21st chapter, in which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Son of Man. Again the emphasis on the Second Coming.
On the 2nd Sunday of Advent, in the book of the prophet Malachi, the Lord of Hosts says, "See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple." While Jeremiah proclaims the coming of a king to Israel, Malachi proclaims that the Lord will come to his Temple, like a priest. And Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, expects, in the future, the Day of Jesus Christ. Paul expects his people to be pure, blameless, righteous, in preparation for that day.
In Luke's Gospel, in the third chapter this time, for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist, who quotes Isaiah, proclaiming that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Again the emphasis on preparation: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
Zephania, the prophet whom we read on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, says "Sing aloud, O Daughter of Zion, shout O Israel, rejoice and exult with all your heart, O Jerusalem!" This is something of a change in tone in the prophetic readings -- not a warning, not just an announcement of an impending change -- but a command to get out and party, and to do that as loudly as possible. This fits well with the Apostle's exhortation in his Letter to the Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice...do not worry about anything...the Lord is near."
The Gospel for the 3rd Sunday, however, reverts to a sterner tone. John the Baptist says, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance." Again, a warning, an exhortation to John's hearers to change their ways, in preparation for the arrival of "one who is more powerful than I."
So far, on the first three Sundays, we have heard the proclamation of the Lord's arrival as king, priest, and judge. We have been exhorted to "clean up our act" -- to be blameless, pure, to bear the fruits of repentance, to deal with each other honestly, all in preparation for the great day. And, last Sunday, we are commanded to "sing aloud," "rejoice," "exult."
And we arrive at the 4th Sunday of Advent, with these proclamations and exhortations and commands ringing in our ears. From the prophet Micah we hear, "But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah...from you shall come forth...one who is to rule Israel." The proclamation of the One who is to come, the Branch of David, the Lord, the King of Israel, has become particular, local, centered on a particular place. And from tonight's Gospel, which is also the Gospel for the Feast of the Visitation, we hear that the birth of the promised one is imminent. Now we know from where, and when, the promised one is to come.
It seems to me that the Gospels for this season have presented 'revelation in reverse!' We heard Jesus proclaiming his Second Advent at the beginning of the season, then John the Baptist proclaiming the Lord's near approach. John the Baptist does not sound like he's expecting the Lord to arrive in the form of a baby. And tonight's Gospel takes us back even further in time, before the birth of either John or Jesus. It is interesting that this season of Advent, a season of anticipation of future events, actually moves backward through time, from the promise of the Second Coming, to a time before the First Coming.
We move backwards, as it were, from the general to the particular, from a long term view of events, to a particular, local event. We move from grand, sometimes alarming, statements about future events, and what we must do to prepare for them, to a very local, individual event, the First Advent of the Lord. This particularity, this localism, is important to understanding this season, it seems to me.
Our faith and worship are not merely about grand generalities and the glorious future that awaits us. Our faith and worship are also about one Person, our Lord, and our relationship to him in the here and now. Today's Gospel, about the approaching births of John the Baptist and Jesus, bring us to earth in a very real, personal, local event. Our anticipation of the Second Coming is grounded in the realism, the localism, if you will, of the First Coming. The Gospel does not allow us to get lost in anticipation of a possibly remote future event, but requires us to focus on the imminence of an event in the world we know -- now, for us, an event in the historical past whose consequences still affect the world we live in. The Epistle for today, from the Letter to the Hebrews, reinforces this by bringing to mind the sacrifice of Christ, also a very real this-world event, also, historically speaking, an event in our past, with this-world consequences. As Christians, we live between the two Advents of our Lord, understanding the sacrificial nature of the life which gives meaning to them. We pray in the holy eucharist to be united to Christ in his sacrifice, that, at his Second Coming, all things will be subject to him.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Today, the eve of the fourth, the last Sunday of Advent, is a good time to review what we have heard in the Sunday readings for the season. There is a repeated proclamation of the Lord's coming, repeated calls to prepare, and finally, in tonight's and tomorrow's readings, the near approach of the Lord.
On the first Sunday of Advent, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims, "Says the Lord...I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." And the Apostle prays, in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, that the Lord "so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." Paul is talking about the Second Coming, the Parousia, stating right at the beginning one of the themes of the season. Another theme of course is the approach of the Incarnation, the First Coming or Advent of the Lord. The righteous Branch of David, the coming of Israel's King in the flesh, is proclaimed by Jeremiah, and Paul states the second theme, the Second Advent. The readings for Advent pursue these parallel expectations.
All the Gospel readings for this season are from Luke. The first Sunday Gospel comes from toward the end of Luke, the 21st chapter, in which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Son of Man. Again the emphasis on the Second Coming.
On the 2nd Sunday of Advent, in the book of the prophet Malachi, the Lord of Hosts says, "See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple." While Jeremiah proclaims the coming of a king to Israel, Malachi proclaims that the Lord will come to his Temple, like a priest. And Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, expects, in the future, the Day of Jesus Christ. Paul expects his people to be pure, blameless, righteous, in preparation for that day.
In Luke's Gospel, in the third chapter this time, for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist, who quotes Isaiah, proclaiming that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Again the emphasis on preparation: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
Zephania, the prophet whom we read on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, says "Sing aloud, O Daughter of Zion, shout O Israel, rejoice and exult with all your heart, O Jerusalem!" This is something of a change in tone in the prophetic readings -- not a warning, not just an announcement of an impending change -- but a command to get out and party, and to do that as loudly as possible. This fits well with the Apostle's exhortation in his Letter to the Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice...do not worry about anything...the Lord is near."
The Gospel for the 3rd Sunday, however, reverts to a sterner tone. John the Baptist says, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance." Again, a warning, an exhortation to John's hearers to change their ways, in preparation for the arrival of "one who is more powerful than I."
So far, on the first three Sundays, we have heard the proclamation of the Lord's arrival as king, priest, and judge. We have been exhorted to "clean up our act" -- to be blameless, pure, to bear the fruits of repentance, to deal with each other honestly, all in preparation for the great day. And, last Sunday, we are commanded to "sing aloud," "rejoice," "exult."
And we arrive at the 4th Sunday of Advent, with these proclamations and exhortations and commands ringing in our ears. From the prophet Micah we hear, "But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah...from you shall come forth...one who is to rule Israel." The proclamation of the One who is to come, the Branch of David, the Lord, the King of Israel, has become particular, local, centered on a particular place. And from tonight's Gospel, which is also the Gospel for the Feast of the Visitation, we hear that the birth of the promised one is imminent. Now we know from where, and when, the promised one is to come.
It seems to me that the Gospels for this season have presented 'revelation in reverse!' We heard Jesus proclaiming his Second Advent at the beginning of the season, then John the Baptist proclaiming the Lord's near approach. John the Baptist does not sound like he's expecting the Lord to arrive in the form of a baby. And tonight's Gospel takes us back even further in time, before the birth of either John or Jesus. It is interesting that this season of Advent, a season of anticipation of future events, actually moves backward through time, from the promise of the Second Coming, to a time before the First Coming.
We move backwards, as it were, from the general to the particular, from a long term view of events, to a particular, local event. We move from grand, sometimes alarming, statements about future events, and what we must do to prepare for them, to a very local, individual event, the First Advent of the Lord. This particularity, this localism, is important to understanding this season, it seems to me.
Our faith and worship are not merely about grand generalities and the glorious future that awaits us. Our faith and worship are also about one Person, our Lord, and our relationship to him in the here and now. Today's Gospel, about the approaching births of John the Baptist and Jesus, bring us to earth in a very real, personal, local event. Our anticipation of the Second Coming is grounded in the realism, the localism, if you will, of the First Coming. The Gospel does not allow us to get lost in anticipation of a possibly remote future event, but requires us to focus on the imminence of an event in the world we know -- now, for us, an event in the historical past whose consequences still affect the world we live in. The Epistle for today, from the Letter to the Hebrews, reinforces this by bringing to mind the sacrifice of Christ, also a very real this-world event, also, historically speaking, an event in our past, with this-world consequences. As Christians, we live between the two Advents of our Lord, understanding the sacrificial nature of the life which gives meaning to them. We pray in the holy eucharist to be united to Christ in his sacrifice, that, at his Second Coming, all things will be subject to him.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment