"Teaching With Authority" January 29, 2012

Teaching With Authority

Rev. Lee Ann Bryce
Community Christian Church
January 29, 2012

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.  ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”  ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”  ²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.  ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”  ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.                                                    Mark 1:21-28

A couple of years ago, my father had open heart surgery.  Though I’m too far away to have been with him during his surgery, I went to Texas a few weeks later when he was at home recovering.  My dad’s not really the best patient in the world.  He has a bit of a stubborn streak and is not the type to carefully implement doctor’s orders.  (Some of you know people like that.)  It’s not that he doesn’t want to get better.  It’s just that he usually thinks he knows better how to do it.  He is just not the sort of person who is particularly receptive to the authority of others. 

And so, I was surprised when I went with him to a post-operative appointment to observe that for whatever reason, the heart surgeon had earned my father’s respect.  In my father’s eyes, the doctor spoke with authority and Dad listened to him.  He paid attention to what he said.  And as I sat in the office that day, I wondered exactly how that had come to be.  Why precisely did this doctor have such authority with my Dad? 

 For starters, the waiting room was very crowded.  Was it the fact that we waited for some time before we were called back?  This was a doctor with lots of patients.  Maybe it was the various diplomas and awards that hung on the walls.   Was it the fact that the doctor had identified himself as a Christian?  I know that carries a lot of weight with my father.  And later when I met the doctor he had excellent interpersonal skills, a warm demeanor, he listened attentively, maintained eye contact, and spoke concisely in direct response to the questions he was asked.  Was it the doctor’s communication style that prompted my father’s respect? 

Who knows why my father felt as he did toward his doctor and it was likely a combination of all of these factors that contributed, but when I read today’s scripture passage I began to wonder – what do you suppose the people in the synagogue saw or heard that led them to conclude that Jesus “taught with authority”?  Exactly what was it that had them leaning in closer to listen?

Was it the exorcism they witnessed that led them to find Jesus authoritative?  It couldn’t be that because the story clearly says that they were impressed with Jesus’ authority even before the exorcism took place.  They might have had a history with Jesus.  Maybe Jesus’ reputation had preceded him or some had even heard him speak before but we don’t know that.  Was it Jesus’ unique giftedness as a teacher that blew them away.  We can’t be certain.  As often happens in gospel stories, we are left to fill in some of the blanks.  However it was they came to know it, Jesus had authority in their eyes.  Only it’s not the kind that comes with degrees or uniforms or titles.  Jesus doesn’t hold any office.  He’s not a member of the Sanhedrin.  Not a judge or a priest.  Jesus is a nobody and yet he speaks truth and they recognize it.  Sometimes we say something “rings true.”  Maybe that’s how the crowd felt when Jesus spoke. 

In our text, Jesus is preaching along and the crowd is leaning forward in their seats in rapt attention when “just then” (Mark loves to add suspense to his stories by saying things like "just then" or “suddenly”); "just then"a man with an unclean spirit enters.  I wonder what he was doing in the temple.  Had he come to disrupt Jesus’ teaching or challenge his ministry?  This spirit recognizes Jesus immediately, calls him Jesus of Nazareth and asks, “Have you come here to destroy us?”  Jesus commands the spirit to be silent and to come out of the man.

This part of the story sounds a little strange to us.  It’s hard to know what is meant by “demon possession.”  Many think that what is described as demon possession was usually some type of mental or physical illness that was not understood at the time.  Others say that demon possession still happens today though I’m not convinced.  (The only demon possession I’ve ever seen was Linda Blair spewing out green pea soup in “The Exorcist” many years ago and I don’t think that’s what Mark’s talking about.)   In any event, the encounter wows the crowd and reinforces their impression of Jesus’ authority. 

This little gospel vignette gives us a picture of Jesus that is consistent with many gospel stories.  Again and again we see Jesus walking the talk, claiming authority and speaking truth that transforms people’s lives.  He offers words that reflect God’s vision for humankind.  We don’t know the nature of the spirit, but we can assume it had rendered the man an outcast until Jesus saw him and addressed his situation.  And once again, Jesus’ authority leads from sickness to healing; woundedness to wholeness; exclusion to inclusion.

Of course, the task of a sermon is not merely to tell the story, but to help us locate ourselves within it.  How is this story relevant for us today?

Even though demon possession sounds strange to us, if we are honest and look closely at ourselves, many of us are possessed to some degree.  It’s not too far a stretch to consider addiction, particularly in its extreme forms, as possession.  I’ve seen people who are so consumed by drugs or alcohol that it’s impossible to carry on a conversation with them; times when they seem like a completely different person than who they really are.

But possession has more subtle forms.  Many people are possessed by things like jealousy, worry, grief.  I’ve known people who seem trapped because of their unforgiving spirit, others who are so excessively self-centered that they are isolated from true community.  These kinds of issues need to be exorcized from our lives if we are to live as God intended, with purpose, so joy-filled and free.  Mark’s story shows that when an unhealthy spirit animates or possesses us, it is in opposition to the spirit of Christ, the spirit of a healthy and whole life. 

Are there negative traits that animate your being?  That possess or consume you?  The road toward a healthier, happier live begins with looking within ourselves and having the courage to name, to call out the things we’d like to work on. 

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to consider - how can we all cleanse ourselves and be released from the unhealthy things that claim us and instead fill our lives with habits and activities that will lead us to a more positive focus, more joy, more connection with others, more contentment in ourselves, more commitment to the world, more love in our lives?

It starts with being clear about whose authority we recognize and making decisions that are consistent with that authority.  And if the authority we recognize is Jesus and his teachings; if we live our lives consistent with the values he lived, then we will become more and more possessed by a thirst for justice and a deep and abiding love for the world God loves. 

May God be powerfully present in our lives.  May the example of Jesus stir and inspire us to claim our own authority.  And may love be the primary authority under which we live.  Amen.

On Difference January 15, 2012

Reflections on Difference

Rev. Lee Ann Bryce

Community Christian Church

Are you racist?  I’m not going to ask you to respond out loud, but I do want you to look inside yourself thoughtfully and consider the question – are you racist? 

In all fairness, I should come clean and tell you that was a trick question because I believe we are all, to some degree, racist.  And I’m referring to everyone present here today and I dare say, everyone living in the United States embodies some type of racism.  Our backgrounds are all different, but growing up in our shared culture cannot help but produce citizens that are racist.

A more interesting question might be:  what were your early experiences that have impacted your views on race?  I’ll tell you a bit about mine.  I was born and raised in Texas.  Every single person in my church, school, family, and circle of friends was white.  My parents never had black, Asian, or Hispanic friends and occasionally, I recall hearing racist jokes.  I don’t recall if I laughed at them, but I probably did.  Everyone else seemed to be laughing, except my mother, whose disapproval was apparent when someone offered a racist joke.  My brother had a friend from school who was black named Keith Clay.  Of all the friends that my brothers had during our childhood, I don’t really remember any of their names except for Keith.  You might say he stood out in my young mind because of his particularity. 

And I shouldn’t say that every single person I knew was white.  There was Alice, the black woman who took care of me when my parents were working and my older brothers were at school.  I was quite young and though she worked for our family for a couple of years, I didn’t really think of her as a person in the same way my parents were people.  Like a child might do, I more identified her with the role she played.

As I got older I began to notice that not everyone was white like me.  As I grew up and my little world began to broaden, I began to notice more African American people and Hispanic people.  I would not see people of color as teachers or church members or business associates of my parents, but as the young men who would bus the table or work in the kitchen in the restaurants we frequented or maybe pump gas into our car.  People of color were, without exception, at least in my recollection, in subservient roles.

 I have a distinct memory of sitting with my Grandmother and watching TV.  I was probably 12 or 13 and we were watching “The Dating Game.”  An African American couple were contestants and at one point in the show I commented that I thought the husband was “cute.”  My grandmother gasped as if I had said a terrible thing.  She put her hand to her mouth and said, “Lee Ann, he’s a…” and she used a word that I will not repeat. 

These are my early experiences, some of the influences that have shaped who I am and how I relate to the world.  I’m not proud of them neither do I apologize for them.  My grandmother was a wonderful person and I loved her dearly - and she was a product of her context.  I was born into a certain context and my early childhood experiences shaped me.  And thanks to later experiences, education, exposure, and friendships, that have also shaped me, I am happy that I have grown.  I am, however, always on the lookout for those little threads from my early life to manifest in some kind of snap judgment or visceral bias with another person.  I’m mature enough to know that there are people in this world who are raging racists.  And there are people who are blind to their own racial bias.  And one is just as dangerous as the other.

What about you?  Think for a moment about your early experiences regarding race.  How do you locate yourself in the ongoing story of racism?   

Sometimes people think of racism as a black problem rather than an issue that affects all people, though differently.  For Native Americans, the issue of racism is shaped by the reality that they are a colonized people.  For African Americans the issue is around their past status as slaves.  When white people begin to confront the effects of their power and privilege, we must begin to accept the full history and legacy of colonial America. 

The term “White privilege” refers to a way to think about racial inequality that focuses on the advantages that white people accrue from society as much as the disadvantages that people of color experience.  In my experience, overt racism or prejudice, in which a dominant group actively seeks to oppress or suppress other racial groups for its own advantage; that brand of racism is pretty rare.  At least in the people I talk to.  What’s much more common is the assumption by people who are white that their experience is the norm that everyone should experience.  Racism is not all about slavery.  There have been many institutionalized racist practices in the history and present reality of the United States.  Indeed, all people who are white reap tremendous benefits from the legacy of slavery and segregation.  It’s important to acknowledge that all people who are white benefit from this legacy of racism, even if they were not alive during the time of US slavery. 

 An awareness of white privilege begins with noticing.  If you are a white person in our present context, you can generally count on the following conditions that a person of color cannot count on.  A white person could say:

·         I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only white person.

·         Whether I use checks, credit cards or cast, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

·         If I want to, I can arrange to be surrounded by people of my race most of the time.

·         If I need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing whatever home I can afford.

·         I can be sure that my children will be given materials in school that testify to the existence of their race.

·         If I have a cut on my hand, I can easily find “flesh” colored bandaids that more or less match the color of my skin.

·         I can generally arrange to protect my children from people who might not like them because of their race.

·         My chief worries about my children do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race.

·         I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

·         I can be pretty sure that if I ask to speak to “the person in charge” I will be facing a person of my own race.

·         I can easily buy postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

·         I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

·         I feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of public life.

 White privilege is real and it’s vital that people who are white, first, understand it.  It’s only then that something can be done about it.  And there are tangible, concrete practices that people who are white can embrace.  For example:

·         Stop allowing yourself to be brainwashed into believing stereotypes.  Acknowledge and examine society’s stereotypes about people of color.  Assume you’ve been influenced by them.  What are they?  Make a list.  Know what you are working to change.

·         Don’t assume that everyone is either a person of color or a white person.  (This paradigm assumes white is normative and all other races can be lumped together.)

·         Start turning things around.  Instead of wondering why no people of color attend an event or join a group, ask why the group only attracts white people.

·         Be willing to be uncomfortable.  Understand that race and racism presents complexities and contradictions.  Be patient and do not try to reduce or simplify.

·         Learn about other cultures, not by asking questions, but by spending time with people (without interrogating them.)

·         Put yourself in environments predominantly attended by people of color.  Notice how it feels to be the only white person present.

·         Stop passing down racist prejudices to your children.  Expose them to differences early on.  Actively encourage your children and all children to develop relationships with people of color, both adults and children.

·         Come to the MOJO film series on Tuesday to watch “Gran Torino” and discuss.

It’s so easy to talk about diversity and inclusivity without really ever doing anything to make those concepts real.  (Churches are very good at this.)  The truth is, diversity and inclusivity are terribly hard realities to achieve, so few communities achieve them because it’s uncomfortable, unsettling, and frustrating.  Learning the language of diversity, walking the talk is the work of a lifetime because it’s hard to accept people who are not like you, who do not talk the way you do, or believe the things you believe, or dress or vote as you do.  It is even harder to appreciate them for the things about them that are not like you, to find them interesting and fun, and to enjoy the learning that is part of the experience.

Overcoming racism is not a quick fix, in our own lives or in our communities.  And so the question becomes, can we get beyond our need to fix everything quickly and simply begin a process that will last a lifetime?  I’m not sure, but I hope so.  In any event, all we can do is choose to walk down that road toward affirmation of all people.  And for today, maybe it’s enough just to start the journey.

 

Reflections on a New Year

Reflection for a New Year

Rev. Lee Ann Bryce

Community Christian Church

December 31, 2011

Bronnie Ware worked for many years in palliative care with those who were terminally ill.  And like many hospice workers, she writes that she shared some extraordinary times with people who were preparing for their own deaths.  People usually grow when they are faced with their own mortality.  It depends on the person, of course.  Some grow a lot and with others it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on.  Ware observed some phenomenal changes in people and found that each person experienced a variety of emotions - denial, fear, anger, remorse, and at least with the patients she worked with, eventually acceptance. 

She asked every patient if they had any regrets about their lives or if there was anything they would do differently.  Some common themes surfaced again and again.  Specifically, she identified five regrets commonly held by people who knew they were about to die. 

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all and it’s not surprising.  I think we all tend to think of our lives in the short term.  There are things we want to do or ways we want to be that we never seem to get to because there’s always something else that’s more pressing, that we think is more important.  But when people realize their lives are almost over, all those unfulfilled dreams are easier to see.  Some dreams are difficult to make happen, but many of them can become reality if we set our minds to it and if we make certain choices to make them happen.  It’s very important to try and honor at least some of our dreams along the way because from the moment you lose your health, it is too late.  Health brings a freedom that very few of us realize and appreciate until it’s too late.

What dreams for your life could become a priority for you in 2012?

I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

Ware reports that every male patient that she nursed had this regret, as well as some female patients.  They said they missed much of their children’s youth or the companionship of people they cared about.  The Bible speaks to this in the book of Ecclesiastes, found in the middle of the Old Testament.  It essentially is one person’s account, a man probably, of an experiment he conducted in honesty.  He looked over every aspect of life, all human endeavor, attempting to discern what endures, what lasts.  His experiment in honesty yielded a somber result.  “I considered all that my hands had done and toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Eccl. 2:11).  Ecclesiastes goes on to say that even though little of what we accomplish lasts, we shouldn’t quit working.  On the contrary, we should vigorously engage in everything we do, including our work.  The work of our hands is one of the gracious things that can add meaning to our lives.  If our work is something we do to get to something else, this can lead to frustration and despair.  But if we are fortunate enough to have work that we enjoy as an end in itself, our work will add meaning to our lives.  Let’s face it, most of the trouble we get into with the work of our hands is when we fail to keep work in its place.  We become obsessive or we try to secure ourselves through our work.  As far as Ecclesiastes is concerned, all of this is merely striving after the wind and it comes to nothing.  How much better to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, the day-to-day routines, the rhythm of it all. 

Do you need to pursue more balance in your work life?

I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many of Ware’s patients said that they had suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others.  As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became the unique individuals they were capable of becoming.  They were so busy trying to please others that they sold themselves out.  Many developed illnesses that Ware felt related to the bitterness and resentment they carried.  It’s not easy to speak honestly and truthfully to another person, especially if you expect that what you have to say will be upsetting.  And it won’t always go smoothly when you do get the courage to speak.  The other person might react out of anger or some kind of pain, but often this passes.  When we’re able to change the pattern of interaction and speak honestly, in the end it can raise the relationship to a new and healthier level.  Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life.  Either way, you win.

Do you express your feelings honestly and respectfully to the people in your life?

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 

Often Ware’s patients would not truly realize the full benefits of friendships until their dying weeks when it was not always possible to track them down.  Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip away over the years.  Indeed, it seems that everyone who researches happiness from contemporary scientists to ancient philosophers agrees that having strong social bonds is probably the most meaningful contributor to happiness.  It’s common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip.  Ware writes that though her patients often wanted to get their financial affairs in order, this was more for the benefit of those they were leaving behind.  Ultimately it wasn’t money or status that held true importance for her patients.  It all came down to love and relationships in the end.  That is all that remained in their final weeks, love and relationships. 

Would your life be better if you made it a priority to nurture friendships?

I wish I had let myself be happier.

Many of Ware’s patients didn’t realize until the end that, to a great extent, happiness is a choice.  They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits.  Fear of change led them into complacency where they pretended, to others and to themselves, that they were content, when really they longed for more laughter and joy and happiness in their lives.  Gretchen Walsh talks about this in her book, The Happiness Project.  The “set-point” theory of happiness holds that a person’s basic level of happiness doesn’t fluctuate much, except briefly. Walsh, however, concluded that it was absolutely possible to improve one’s level of happiness.  According to current research, in the determination of a person’s level of happiness, genetics accounts for about 50 percent; life circumstances, such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, income, health, occupation, and religious affiliation, account for about 10 to 20 percent; and the remainder is a product of how a person things and acts.  In other words, people have an inborn disposition that’s set within a certain range, but they can boost themselves to the top of their happiness range or push themselves down to the bottom of their happiness range by their actions.  Some people are more naturally ebullient or melancholy than others, but people’s decision about how they want to lead their lives greatly affects their happiness.

Could you make decisions that would increase your happiness?

We are like all the patients that Bronnie Ware worked with in hospice.  At some point, we will all die.  I don’t know of any of us who knows whether or not it will be soon, but given that we are on the cusp of a new year, looking back at 2011 and toward 2012, it is interesting to consider these top five regrets of the dying.  After all, one year is dying, with just a few hours left, and a brand new year stretches out in front of us in boundless possibility.  What do you want your life in 2012 to look like?  Human beings are capable of making enormous change if we desire.  Don’t wait for a crisis to happen before you make the changes that will lead you to a more vital, satisfying, meaningful, happy life.  ‘Tis the season to celebrate the incarnation, the Word made flesh, the coming of Jesus into our lives.  In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”  Pursuing our own abundant life is not a selfish act.  It is a gift that we give ourselves and everyone around us.  Give it to yourself this year.

(Read silently, then read aloud, softly and at your own pace.)

Many: Creative God, you make all things new in heaven and on earth. 

We come to you in this new year with new desires and old fears,

new decisions and old controversies,

new dreams and old weaknesses. 

Because you are a God of hope,

we know that you create all the possibilities of the future. 

Because you are a God of love,

we know that you accept all the mistakes of the past. 

Because you are the God of our faith,

we enter your gates with thanksgiving and praise,

and we serve and bless you.  Amen.

Longing November 27, 2011

Longing

Rev. Lee Ann Bryce

Community Christian Church

November 27, 2011

The First Sunday of Advent

                                                                                                            Text:  Isaiah 54:1-9

A few weeks ago I dropped our dog, Denver, off at the groomer.  As I prepared to leave, she led him into the back with some difficulty since he kept turning his head to look back at me and planting his feet so as to resist.  A few hours later I went to pick him up and the groomer met me at the counter and we stood chatting.  I assumed that Denver was in the back, but after several minutes, I heard this soft whine of longing coming from under the counter and I realized that Denver was in a crate, waiting for me, just within arm’s distance of where I stood.  He had done his best to wait patiently, but after I didn’t acknowledge him for several minutes, he just couldn’t take it anymore. 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures invites us to remember the times of longing in our lives; times when we have believed deeply and have felt the assurance of God in our lives, as well as times of doubt when we have felt, perhaps acutely, the apparent absence of God.  When have you experienced God’s presence most clearly?  And when have you longed for God to appear?

Our ancestors in the faith, the ancient Hebrew people had first-hand experience both with feeling God’s presence and with feeling God’s absence.  Around 587 BCE, the devastation of the Babylonian exile took place.  The brightest and best of Jewish leadership was removed from their homeland of Judah and taken into Babylon where they served the courts and the needs of the Babylonians for centuries.  This was not only a political defeat for the Jews, but also a crisis of faith.  Babylon’s victory was perceived as a defeat of Yahweh, the God of the Israelites by the Babylonian God, Marduk.

Life went on for the exiles in Babylon, generation after generation.  They longed for the places they loved, the trappings of Temple and Promised Land.  Today if we’re not able to go to our own church, we might just find another one.  It was completely different for ancient Jews.  They had one temple, in Jerusalem, far away.  So they began to write down their stories of faith in order to prevent assimilation into the Babylonian culture.  Think of it as a resistance movement and the literature that came from this time voiced the Jews’ hope that Marduk’s apparent victory was not the last word and that their captivity would come to an end.  

It’s important to address the historical context of ancient Israel before we read today’s passage from Isaiah because to our ears, the language sounds strange and difficult to relate to.  People today are sometimes put off by the images and language used in some biblical passages.  I’ve heard people comment, I don’t have any use for the Bible because God just sounds so punitive or the God described is like some kind of primitive caricature.  Who can take the Bible seriously?  When you read this passage, indeed the entire Bible, and first take into account the circumstances that the writers were experiencing when they wrote it then it usually makes sense.  We, in our modern mindset, can translate the pre-scientific understandings of an ancient people and often find commonality with what they felt or experienced.  First, as I read this passage, listen for how it relates to ancient Israel.  Then we’ll consider what wisdom it has for us.   

This passage from Isaiah speaks to an exiled people who were disheartened and disillusioned.  They thought their god, Yahweh, was the most powerful god of all.  Though they can’t understand why Yahweh had chosen to disappear, they were confident that Yahweh was still mighty and was fully capable of showing up and saving them.  And so, in this passage, they reference times in the past that they had known Yahweh’s strength, in order to remind themselves that Yahweh really is powerful.   Also, listen for them speculating about a reason why Yahweh had gone away.  They think that God had been mad at them because they had sinned.  And so they acknowledge their wrongdoing and state their dependence on Yahweh who has shaped and formed them as a potter makes a vessel. 

Isaiah 64:1-9:

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence—²as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence!  ³When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.  ⁴From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for you.  ⁵You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed.

⁶We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  ⁷There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.  ⁸Yet, O Lord, you are our Creator and our Provider; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.  ⁹Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Perhaps this passage could be summed up like this:  God, you are the strongest greatest god of all.  What is happening?  You’re nowhere to be found and it must be because of the things we’ve done wrong.  We’re really sorry now.  Please come back to us.  We are the people you created and formed.

There might be some barriers to us finding meaning in this passage.  We don’t really think of the battle between good and evil like the ancient Israelites did, as some sort of like a high-stakes boxing match in which Yahweh had been outmatched by Marduk.  And the concrete language that’s used in this passage evokes a sense of God up in the sky, tearing open the heavens and coming down to earth to rescue them.

This expression is foreign to us, but perhaps we can find similarity in the experience of longing.  And when I say longing, I mean something different than wishing.  A very trivial example of longing - think of my dog Denver’s soft whine.  In his little doggie brain… I’m locked in this crate.  She’s been gone a long time.  Now she’s back, she’s right here but she’s just talking away.  Doesn’t she notice me?  Doesn’t she care? 

Denver’s whine is a trivial parallel to the heartbreaking oppression of the ancient Jews.  In their laments they voice question that remain in our hearts today:  where is God?   And why have things turned out so differently than we expected.  Isaiah prays, "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!" If only the heavens would open wide and we would see God’s overriding majesty, God’s justice and grace revealed to us and to all in this pain-filled world. If only the firmament were rent and goodness poured down into the midst of our lives. If only all that is wrong in our lives could be righted and restored.

But the heavens do not open. Not that way. Beneath the firmament, history continues to play out its recurrent ancient tragedies.  Poverty, violence, injustice abound.  Maybe we aren’t so very different from Isaiah, the prophet of old.  There are times that we, too, address the silent heavens and call on the distant Lord whom we cannot see.  We urge on the God who seems so slow to act.

And now it is Advent.  Faithfully, like those before us, we enter once again into the drama of longing and waiting.  In Advent we take care to note the shape of the darkness in which our candles burn.  What is your longing?  What is the need for which you need God to come?  What hurt do you need God to heal?  Where is the light most needed?  If the heavens do open at Christmas, where and with whom will you hear the angels sing? 

How will you respond this Advent?  Will you find yourself joining Isaiah in longing for the heavens to open, for justice to come for the living? 

I hope so.  I hope you stand with Isaiah in expectant longing.  I hope so because the alternative is to choose indifference or resignation.  I want to be among those who watch and hope, even when our hopes seem far from realized. 

We wait because Christ always comes.  “The arc of the universe is long and it bends toward justice.”  (King)  Love is stronger than hate.  The light comes to the darkness and the darkness does not overwhelm it.  This Advent, may our waiting be active, not passive; alert and looking for the light, not resigned to the darkness.  May we feel the stirring of God in our own hearts, just as the child stirs in the womb.  Amen.