Second Sunday of Advent

December 7                NOTES FOR REFLECTION             Second Sunday of Advent

Texts: Isaiah 40:1-11; 2 Peter 3:8:15a; Mark 1:1-8

Theme:  It's hard to go past "A Voice Crying in the Wilderness", or some variation thereof.  Perhaps "All Change" has a nostalgic appeal for those who lament the passing of the age of railways.  I rather like "Saying Yes to Freedom", or "Freedom is Only One Click Away."  Then there's St Mark's opening line, "The Beginning of the Good News", which would be quite a good theme for this Sunday.

Introduction.  We begin with these haunting words of Isaiah, "Comfort, comfort my people", which so wonderfully set the tone for this Season of Advent.  God is not coming to punish his people, but to comfort them, to bring them balm, to heal and restore them.  That's good news, made all the more reassuring after some of the dark forebodings we have had over the last few weeks as we have reflected on the Day of the Lord.  There is still a hint of all that in our second lesson this week, with the vision of all things being "dissolved with fire" (an interesting example of a mixed metaphor, now I come to think of it).  And we finish with a characteristically terse passage from St Mark who has never believed in wasting (or mincing) words.  He's got a great story to tell, and he can't wait to start telling it.

Background.  I'm reading a new book by the great biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann called Sabbath as Resistance.  He argues that to understand the importance of the Fourth Commandment, we need to place it in the context of the life of slavery in Egypt, and he draws some striking parallels with the economic structures of today.  He reminds us how the Egyptian overlords tightened the screws every time the slaves protested: instead of being provided with the straw and other materials required for the making of bricks, the slaves are told that in future they are responsible for gathering those materials themselves but without any reduction in the quota of bricks they are to produce.  Today we would call that a requirement to increase productivity, or "to do more with less", and justify it on the ground that it is necessary to "remain  competitive".

Sabbath rest is not just an antidote to forced labour; it is a repudiation of the whole attitude that says human beings only have value as labour units or consumers.  And, he argues, it is an affirmation of the principle of neighbourliness – Sabbath rest is to be enjoyed together:  on one day a week there are no bosses and servants, no citizens and migrant workers: even the distinction between the farmer and his team of oxen is set aside:  Sabbath rest is for all.

How easily the people of Israel, the direct beneficiaries of the Exodus and all that God's great act of deliverance should have meant for them, turned this great Sabbath gift into a tiresome burden: see, for example, Amos 8:5.  And we only have to think of the annual fiasco over the Easter trading hours to know that we are once again caught up in a slavery of our own creation.   How have we got from celebrating the institution of the forty-hour week to insisting on the right to "cash in" our statutory holidays and even annual leave?  Why have we created for ourselves a 24/7 world in the name of freedom?

There have been a number of items in the news media recently that highlight our human propensity to take something that is good and stretch it to the point that it becomes part of a new evil.  In my youth I was often sent by my mother to a small shop to pick up some necessary "supplies".  We knew the shopkeepers and they knew us.  We even knew most of our fellow customers.  We did not have much money and the shops did not have a large range of goods; but we and they always had enough to meet our needs, and shop hours would not usually exceed 8 hours a day.  Few were open on Saturdays, and none on Sundays.  Somehow we have got from that state to the scenes we saw on the TV news this week of "Black Friday Sales" in the USA and Britain, where customers were literally wrestling one another to the floor in a bid to grab some bargain or other, to the extent that in many instances the police had to be called to try to restore some form of order.  Needless to say, these were not people fighting to get the necessaries of life: these "feeding frenzies" had nothing to do with survival, or providing for their young.

Sport provides a whole range of examples, culminating this week in the tragic death of Phil Hughes, struck by a "perfectly legitimate" bowl that was aimed at him rather than at the wicket.  And, oh, the humbug that has followed!  No one in cricket ever wants to see an opponent hurt, we are assured.  So what is the purpose of a bouncer?  What is the purpose of sledging?  Oh, all that stuff – it shouldn't be taken too seriously – it's a natural part of being competitive.  It's designed to "unsettle" or (slightly nearer the truth) to "intimidate" the batsman.  And, of course, we can't do anything about it because it is part of the game.  As one commentator from Australia put it, "There's nothing more exciting in test cricket than the sight of a big fast-bowler pounding up to the wicket with the crowd baying for blood with every stride he takes!"  Pardon?

Even charities have been infected with this attitude.  So long as they are raising money for a good cause, nothing is off-limits.  Perhaps the most obscene example is "The Fight for Life" circus: but when our own diocesan school thinks it's okay to have a lingerie parade in the school chapel because some of the proceeds are to go towards breast cancer research...

Back to Brueggemann.  It is, he says, time for resistance.  To observe Sabbath is to resist the idea that everything is a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder.  It is to be reminded that in the kingdom of God there are different principles in play: that every human being has a value that has nothing to do with productivity.  That there IS such a thing as a free lunch wherever there is a will to provide it and a hungry person in need of it.   The kingdom of God stands as the opposite of the kingdom of Egypt.  It stands for freedom, not slavery.  It says there is a better way.  That way has nothing to do with competition: there are no rivals in the kingdom of heaven.  Only neighbours to help and to be helped by.

And John the Baptist has come to announce that this better way is now open to all of us.  All we have to do is to click on the freedom button and follow the instructions.

Isaiah 40:1-11.  What better passage could there be to herald a fresh start!  It draws a line under all that has been wrong in our past – the penalty has been paid.  It is time once again to start listening to a prophet's voice – which, of course, means to listen to God.  How often that is where restoration and wholeness begin – in listening to the voice of God.  And here the message is clear – God is drawing close – a way must be prepared for him.  As I read verses 4 and 5 the phrase "a level playing field" came to me, reinforced by those words in verse 5 "and all people shall see it (the glory of the Lord) together".   Think about that for a moment: there are no privileged viewing platforms; no one has a better view of God than anyone else.   We shall all see God together.  But first – there is a message to heed – and notice here that the voice crying in the wilderness is disembodied; it is a voice not a man we hear.  And the message is clear: "Here is your God!"

Taking It Personally.

• Review your past week.  Have you been living a life of freedom or one of constraints?
•  Are you able to completely relax from time to time, or is there always something that needs attending to? 
• Do you consider yourself "time poor"?  Is that largely because of the choices you make, or just the way things are these days?
• Is shopping a necessity or a pleasure for you?  In general do you have more stuff, less stuff, or about the same amount of stuff than you did 5 years ago?  How would you feel if shops were closed on one day a week?
• Reflect on the inquest into the death of the young man in prison.  How have you felt about that case?   Was he entitled to the same respect and care that he might have had if he were not a convicted criminal, a gang member, and a "drug mule", or did he bring it on himself and deserve what he got?
• In what respects (if any) do you consciously resist social or commercial pressures to "keep up with the Jones"?  Are you careful to meet the expectations of others or do you generally march to the beat of your own drum?
• When was the last time your local community of faith reflected together on these sorts of issues?

 

2 Peter 3:8-15a.  The writer starts with the issue of time.  God works to a different timescale from ours.  This presumably addresses some of the concerns we have recently found in St Paul's correspondence with the Thessalonians.  We humans are not very good with large numbers, whether in relation to space or to time.  Surely of all the startling discoveries our species has made in the last 150-200 years none has so stretched our minds than those relating to the age and vastness of creation.  [How right that this passage should come between the promise in Isaiah and its fulfilment 700 years or so later in the arrival on the scene of John the Baptist.]  And the story of God goes on, of course, for yet more time as we wait for the end of the age.  But we must do more than passively wait: we must do what we can to hasten its coming, which we can do by spreading the Good News and inviting people to click on the freedom button, too.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

• Reflect on the growing understanding we have of the age of the universe (about 13.7 billion years), the age of the earth (about 4.5 billion years) and the age of our species (about 50,000 years).  What do you make of numbers like that?  Do they make you marvel all the more at the creative genius of God, or do they tend to turn you off?
• Spend some time meditating on verse 13.  What would such a new earth be like "where righteousness is at home"?  What would have to change for that to happen?  What changes could you make as your contribution?

 

Mark 1:1-8.  In one brief sentence St Mark affirms that Jesus is the Christ and is the Son of God; and that the story begins with the ministry of John the Baptist.  But that beginning has to be understood in its historical and religious context:  John the Baptist is the embodiment of the voice of which Isaiah spoke about 700 years ago.  John's message was as simple as it was profoundly challenging:  "Change direction.  You are on the wrong track.  You are heading for disaster.  You are facing the wrong way.  Turn around and see what is about to happen – the Anointed One of God is coming among you."  We are told what John was wearing: he was dressed like Elijah.  There was no mistaking that sign.  And the response of the crowd was astonishing.  They came from city and countryside in droves.  This strange man's strange message awakened a hunger within them.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

• Imagine that you are interviewing John for radio or television.  Does his appearance put you off?  (Or his smell?)  What does his voice sound like?  What is your immediate reaction to him?  Do you warm to him?
• What would you like to ask him?  Are you more interested in his life story or his message?
• Suppose he tells you that you must repent of your sins; how would you respond to him?
• Now imagine taking him to your local church.  What sort of reception do you think he would receive?