Sometimes, when I read our lessons for the week, I think… there is nothing I can say here… the scripture says it all… and that’s how I feel whenever I read something from Isaiah. If you’re still looking for a Advent devotional, I recommend reading a chapter or more of Isaiah a day. You won’t regret it. Some of the most beautiful language in the bible is in that book and it’s a wonderful way to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus….
This wonderful prophesy of the kingdom where there is no fear and where even lion’s graze with their prey… a beautiful image of peace for God’s people and God’s creation. It is certainly something for us to meditate on and something for us to hope for…
Here’s something else from our readings that I want to highlight… first that God’s Spirit will rest on his anointed… a Spirit of wisdom and understanding and knowledge… we know that this prophecy is fulfilled for us in the life of Jesus… when we read our gospel for today, John the baptist, brings that prophecy to the present by speaking about Jesus and the baptism he shall bring; a baptism in this same Spirit….
Can we take that in for a minute… I know I am guilty of not really thinking about it too much, but when you and I are baptized… God’s Spirit of wisdom, understanding and knowledge is given to each of us… As Paul talks about in his letters, our bodies literally become temples of God’s holy and life giving spirit….
For me, the most powerful moment in the liturgy of baptism is when the priest takes holy oil and says to the one being baptised… “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever…”
Again, that’s one of those places in our worship that defies words or explanation… the questions that I have, are… what does it mean for the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of God to rest in us… how might our lives be lived differently if we really thought about that?
When I was in seminary, one of my professors said something that has always stuck with me… he spoke of prayer and how when we pray, when you and I really pray, it is God’s Holy Spirit deep within us that prays through us… That makes us active agents of the Holy Spirit… a bit mind boggling, don’t you think? One of the things all of this means is, I think… is that Jesus has given us everything we need to be people of the kingdom… over and over again he tells us not to be afraid; all of the fear mongering that goes on in our world does not and should not have an effect on us; in fact, as agents, as temples of the Holy Spirit what you and I are supposed to do is to help alleviate the fear that is around us; the prophets knew this… over and over again they spoke against the manipulation and fear that the empire spread…our psalm today speaks of giving God’s wisdom to the king: wisdom that brings hope as well as relief to the poor and suffering.
Even in the darkest moments on the cross, Jesus spoke words of light and comfort to the criminals who were executed with him; John’s gospel tells us that he even comforted his mother… all of this in the darkest, most painful moments for him, he reached beyond his own fear and suffering to offer wisdom, understanding and comfort to others…
That’s a pretty tall order friends; but that too is that call that you and I have been baptized into. Baptism is certainly a gift… it is a difficult gift; one that brings us into the community of faith; but as members of that greater community, we are always working on the transformation of that very same community… as I always say, the problem with the church is that it is full of people… frail, broken, self centered people… people who get it wrong a lot of the time… but we also get it right a lot of the time. You and I are anointed with the very Spirit of God… the Spirit that moved over the earth in creation; the Spirit that still moves over the earth to help bring about the kingdom of God… we are temples, keepers, caregivers, for that same Spirit that moves within us prompting us to act as agents of God in God’s world…
We speak of hope being one of the themes of Advent… light that is brought into the darkness… a hope that is holy, God given… a hope that casts away all fear… God’s Holy Spirit is the wisdom and understanding that casts away fear… the implication then…. Is that you and I are a few of the agents that cast away fear not just for ourselves… but for others as well. It’s a hard thing to move beyond fear.. Fear has a way of paralyzing us so that we cannot move into action, or fear distracts us by moving us into the wrong action. Being bearers of the Spirit, being bearers of light and hope… we must let the Spirit lead us into the light, even when it seems like it’s too dark; we must be bearers of Jesus’ hope to others… not just those whom we would choose, but those whom Jesus has chosen… and who has he chosen? Well… since God so loved the world… it seems to me that those he has chosen are all… even those whom we might not choose…
This advent we are called to bring God’s kingdom to earth… lions grazing with lambs isn’t just an image for our Christmas cards; it’s a goal; it’s something that we believe is possible… it’s a radical vision of peace in a world that always seems to act against peace… being temples of the Spirit means that we are revolutionaries who believe that peace and a world without fear is possible… that my friends is Advent hope… we are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever; we are called to bring about a revolution that is guided by wisdom and peace… and that is perhaps a different revolution than society would have us believe in… but that’s kind of the point. I pray that in this holy season, we might let the Spirit pray and work through us and help us to see where we it is we might act to bring about the kingdom of God… when we ask God to come and be with us, we might be asked to go into some very dark places… but God is with us… light and hope will always be with us…. Come O come… Emmanuel, God with us.