A Fertile Hope
Isaiah 40:1.-11; Psalm 85.1-2, 8-13; Mark 1.1-8
Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender
“Wait For It: Love!!!” Advent 2
What would it be like for your valleys to be raised up? Your mountains laid low? Your crooked roads made straight? The uneven ground of your life’s path smoothed? Can you even imagine it?
Some have given up on hope. Bent by heavy loads, weary from struggle, descent into the madness of the world generated by empire, convinced by the great lie that oppression will never cease. It will never get better. The shadow of winter gray is thick.
We are alive in a Pandemic that is taking 1,000’s of lives every day. Who can get excited about Christmas this year? We cannot make sense of it. We scramble to work, teach our kids in remote ways, share what we can with the millions who are without. The wilderness of disease is all around us. We have yet to be able to grieve collectively, the 260,000 dead in this country and the #’s rising; to have a national day of mourning, maybe even a week, businesses & government shut down, flags at 1/2 staff, for all the fallen. Our leaders have failed us.
We are weary, health care workers exhausted and sick; political machinations leave millions in fear of eviction come December 26, the day after we celebrate the birth of the newborn king, Messiah, the Holy One, the only Begotten, Emmanuel. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and rescue captive ________________ oh, wait a minute - the song says Israel. We are all Israel now.
It begins with repentance and forgiveness. Up on the high mountain, that is, the Advent Horizon opens up a world not yet fully visible. We want to see again, we want to have hope again, we want to live with joy and grace and mercy and justice, again. We want a world framed in the language of love.
The poet’s first words:
“Comfort, comfort my people. Whatever sin, whatever political diaspora is in place, nonetheless you will be saved.” God’s judgment always serves God’s greater good, redemption. God is patient with our penitence.
“Get up to the mountain, Zion”. Lift your voice Jerusalem; speak these words: DO NOT FEAR. Look, here is Your GOD!” The Herald shouts the good news far and wide, Her message streams across the plains, and the mountains in reply, echo the joyous refrain, “glory”.
Exquisite poetry, penned by anonymous second Isaiah, a 6th century BCE writer. His words generate a life-giving, healing song. He offers terra firma, theological ground for the defeated to stand on, regain their strength and most importantly, their vision. He offers us the same earth.
SO what the temple is destroyed, the monarchy dispersed, the covenant diminished by disobedience. This prophetic word is strong, never failing. See? Smooth out the highway, level the mountain, raise up the valley, make a clear way. The Glory of the Lord, Shekinah, will appear. Remember Mary’s Magnificat?
“His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.
Hie has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones;
He has lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things;
He has sent the rich away empty.
And what an appearance! Not some boot stomping army devoted to Herod, rather a strong and graceful Shepherd. Barely comprehensible, this power of gentleness, tender, intimate. This One will carry the wounded, the sick and the dying. A Fertile Hope.
There is real mystery here. Like Israel’s dispossessed, the Divine comes to dwell IN US, in our particularity, within the confines of our specificity--our own stories, our own limitations, our own needs, our own desires. Our Christian life is about integration: our deep and abiding longing for God, coupled with our realization of how sin has distorted even our vision. We are so twisted we cannot even see how twisted we are! We want to be the focal point, the center, the one in control. There is no reward when you say, “It’s not me, I have a great team and we work well together.” That is not headline news. No, the claim, “I’m the only one. To save this country, turn this company around, a self-made man, musician, media star - the pinnacle of idol worship.” Or what about our own petty envies, we measure our well-being at the expense of others. How does sin distort your world view?
This fallen world - this is the place God chooses to be made real - Emmanuel - God With Us. Born like us, lives like us, suffers like us, dies like us. But, with resurrection in store. A shared Advent horizon, built on the ancient covenants with Sarah & Abraham and the holy nation of Israel.
To teach us about the current presence of God, Mark looks back - to Isaiah & Elijah - raises up their prophetic words from 600 years before. The prophets look toward John the Baptist, who gazes on Jesus, who SHOWS US , by His very life, God. A Fertile Hope.
In the words of Psalm 85, “Restore us again (like You did then...), let us hear what Adonai will speak, in the future tense. To Her faithful people, to those who turn to Her in their hearts, which in ancient Hebrew is the center of being human, what we call soul. Surely Her salvation is at hand..
That Her Shekinah, Her Glory, may dwell in our land.
This fragment tells us all we need to know about who God is and what God is doing in the world and what God wants from us. God offers Restoration, forgiveness, pardon, peace, salvation, steadfast love, and commitment to the literal land! When we move our vision off Shekinah, God withdraws Her glory. There is some kind of reciprocal connection God requires. Righteousness or right relations - with God, with others, with our families or among nations. This hard work of repentance, a deep act of obedience, to cling to this dim Advent light, is not only for ourselves, but for them. They who are buried under the struggles of white supremacy, economic inequality, the burden of the unfair distribution of goods and services. Witness the discussions around vaccine accessibility. For as we are strengthened in our own forgiveness and the transmutation of righteousness mediated through Jesus Christ, we become the Heralds of Good News.
Today, you are commissioned, again, to speak loud and clear, from the mountain top, good tidings, lift up your heads, do not be afraid: Here is Your God! In every way imaginable, offer yourselves as the prophets of our day. Fight against the despair when you look around you. If nothing else, go outside and see the beauty of God dwelling in our land! Speak words of comfort and hope. Your family members, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, everyone needs a a word of uplift, of love dare I say, in this wilderness time of pandemic.
We know we are heading into a forlorn time as winter closes in - vaccines not yet ready, disease spreading beyond capacity to contain it. The impacts on other health concerns so real and so deadly. A small gesture of grace might seem foolish - and it is. Depending on who decides what is worthy.
If you believe you are forgiven, then there is no reason not to be foolish.
A Fertile Hope.