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Readings (click here for the readings): Are you ready for what is to come? Children think Advent is too long. Adults always want a little more time to get ready. Our culture would have us believe that there are just 6 shopping days left till Christmas, and that’s counting today. Actually, there are 18 if you count to the end of the Christmas season…And if we are trying to hold on to Advent as a season of quiet reflection or preparation or expectation, can we do that amid all the hub-bub? Can we wait joyfully and hopefully, for Immanuel, for the Word made flesh, for the coming of the kingdom of God, for what is to come? Centuries ago, those who compiled our Lectionary, linked the Isaiah prophecy with the Matthew birth narrative. Such linkage was a no-brainer. For Matthew, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, reiterated throughout that Gospel. Today’s passage introduces the quotation from Isaiah with the words “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet”. Again and again, Jesus, his life, his ministry, his teachings, and his death, are explained as fulfilling the intent of the Hebrew Scriptures. This Gospel opened with a recitation of the genealogy of Jesus, tracing his lineage through Joseph to David, and finally, to Abraham. According to Matthew, Isaiah said, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emanuel.” So, Isaiah foretold the birth of Christ? That is what Matthew would like us to remember. Only that is not what Isaiah said. That is not what Isaiah meant. In your bulletin are some of the verses of Isaiah, readings past and present. Take them home and compare them to the NRSV. Later. Those verses are taken from the TANAKH, the newest translations of the Hebrew Holy Scriptures. The TANAKH relies on the traditional Hebrew text. It uses commentary from medieval scholars and early rabbis, but avoids obsolete phrasing and honors the ancient intent and vernacular. The TANAKH verses referring to Emmanuel are: “Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son. Let her name him Immanuel.” Where Christians have used the word ‘virgin’, the correct translation is ‘young woman’, and actually a young woman of marriageable age. While Matthew uses the future tense to quote from Isaiah, the prophet used the present tense. Like most of the prophets, Isaiah addressed the immediate future, not the centuries to come. Isaiah prophesied in latter part of the 8th century before the birth of Christ. Isaiah does not refer to Mary. He is not naming Jesus. Isaiah’s young woman is typical of women everywhere, in every generation, who await delivery. So, what is Isaiah describing? At that time, the southern kingdom of Judah was under siege from the north and from Syria. The king of Judah, Ahaz, was intimidated by the invaders and was considering alliances with pagans and idolaters. It was not unusual to ask for a sign to confirm God’s intent. Although the prophet, who may actually been part of the king’s council, encouraged, actually ordered, the king to ask God for a sign of deliverance, the king could not and would not do so. Lack of trust in God’s ability to deliver was explained by an inability to ask, an unwillingness to put God to the test. The prophet was not impressed, and told the king so. The immediate threat to the Davidic dynasty would dissipate on its own. And the beloved text, one we hear at least once every three years? Isaiah’s young woman was somewhere in Judah at that time, would give birth, and in thanksgiving for safe delivery and for the elimination of the threat of invasion, would name that child “God is with us”, Immanuel. The final threat, the one which Ahaz could not envision, would bring the end of the kingdom of Judah. It would be catastrophic and cataclysmic. Jerusalem would be leveled, but that was still years away. Scholar and professor of Old Testament, Walter Brueggeman, wrote of prophetic imagination, of hopeful imagination. With stinging, searing force, the prophets urged, demanded, implored, and cajoled. They painted vivid pictures of the dire consequences of the continued abuse and neglect of the poor and the overindulgences of the rich. Abraham Heschel, scholar, professor of ethics and mysticism, believed that “to us, injustice is injurious to the welfare of the people; to the prophets, it is a deathblow to existence: to us, an episode; to them, a threat to the world.” (Heschel, Prophets, p. 4) Although only a few might be guilty of turning from the Lord, all were responsible for the catastrophes to follow. The prophets begged Israel to repent and once again trust in God. It was the prophet’s gifts that allowed him to discern new actions that might be unfathomable to others. The prophets had the insight to look at past events in a new way, and they had the courage, the call, the drive, to speak both of loss and a new world. The words of the prophets engage the community in discernment of a new vision, just when it appeared that all was lost. It is one of life’s ironies that in losing what we hold most important and dear, we may find something far more precious. Jesus gave hope to the blind, the deaf, the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the captives of his time. He urged his listeners to let go of past history; to let go of the present occupation from Rome, and look with longing and hope toward the future. He encouraged them, with hearts and minds liberated from the restrictions of the Law, to embrace what was to come. Jesus spoke of change. He spoke of loss. All change is loss, and in our endings is our beginning. And on the Sermon on the Mount, he told us that those who mourn shall be comforted. Society does not usually associate a long-term care facility with new beginnings, with a new life. A nurse I know calls such facilities “God’s waiting room.” For many, they are. But waiting does not have to be passive. Waiting can be a time of boisterous activity and great creativity, both outwardly and within the soul and the body. Look at Isaiah. Look at Mary. Consider my friends, all residents in long term care. Their ages vary, but Bea, Walter, Lester, and Ed have been in the military, on the farms, in healthcare, and on the roads. They have labored with their hands and loved their families. They are people of deep and differing faiths, Protestant and Catholic. They had accepted that life, as they knew it was over, and they had let go. In some cases, they expected to die shortly after their arrival. Bea and Walter were married last August in the garden at the nursing home, in a ceremony reported in the Addison Independent. They advocate for others at monthly Resident’s Council meetings. Taking turns calling at Bingo, the other serves as a “helper” for those who have trouble hearing or seeing the numbers. A photographer, Walter’s pictures have won prizes at Field Days, as have his gladiolas. He is an active and enthusiastic planner in the courtyard garden, a haven for residents and families. Bea always is working on a puzzle—500 pieces or more—and visitors and residents watch and chat and place a piece or two with her. She is the first to wheel over to a resident to hold a hand, to speak softly to someone in distress, to call for help, to adjust a shawl over shivering shoulders. Lester has been a volunteer for years, and was recently referred to as the deacon by a visiting minister, who noticed the way he directs traffic and knows residents’ needs during the ecumenical services. In recent months, he has guided a volunteer chaplain whose sight has diminished. One morning a week, the chaplain takes hold of the handles of the wheelchair, Bible under his arm, and Lester leads him slowly around the facility. Faces light up as the two friends enter rooms for a time of reflection and prayer for many who are bed bound. All three were honored at the Annual Volunteer luncheon at Porter Hospital last week. Ed died this fall. Known to and beloved by every resident and staff member, Ed made friends easily and sought out those who had no visitors. He crooned to all of us, and his repertoire included hymns, children’s nursery rhymes, sea chanties, and Frank Sinatra. Once I hurried into a room where a resident had been very anxious and calling out for family. Ed’s walker leaned against the wall, and he had dragged a heavy chair close to the bed so that he could hold the resident’s hand as he slept. He told our Bishop that he knew he had been sent to Helen Porter to visit and comfort the lost and the lonely. Through him, through Les and Bea and Walter, the lonely have been befriended. The abandoned feel cherished. The captives have been liberated from an ending. Through these four, many have had glimpses of the divine. While a nursing home may be about endings, it is full of life, and life is lived as fully as mind, body and spirit will allow. Isaiah spoke of the uninterrupted, eternal NOW, as the coming of the Kingdom. The prophets urged change NOW. Jesus offered us liberation. Jesus spoke of the love of God and liberation rather than fear of God and subjugation to the Law. Whether we treasure a reading for reasons we can’t explain, the season is ending when we prepare for the coming of the Son of God. He is with us NOW. In letting go of the past, in surrendering to the hopes for our future, we can have new life. Into our darkness enters His light, offering us new ways to be human in this world. The story of Immanuel will continue to be told, by Jews and Christians. It is a story of deliverance, of change, of hope, of trust in God. It is a time for responding with love and hope to Immanuel.
Readings from the TANAKH
Isaiah 2: 1-5 In the days to come,
Isaiah 7:13-15 “Listen, House of David,” Isaiah retorted, “is it not enough for you to treat men as helpless that you also treat my God as helpless? Assuredly, my Lord will give you a sign of His own accord! Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son. Let her name him Immanuel.
Isaiah 11:5-6 Justice shall be the girdle of his loins,
Isaiah 35:1-2 The arid desert shall be glad, |
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