December 5, 2010 - Second Sunday of Advent

Theme: Prepare the way of the Lord

Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12

NRS Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her
penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her
sins. 3 A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become
level, and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be
revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has
spoken." 9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up
your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not
fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" 10 See, the Lord GOD
comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his
recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather
the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother
sheep.

NJB Romans 15:4 And all these things which were written so long ago were
written so that we, learning perseverance and the encouragement which the
scriptures give, should have hope. 5 Now the God of perseverance and
encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ
Jesus, 6 so that you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ with one heart. 7 Accept one another, then, for the sake of God's
glory, as Christ accepted you. 8 I tell you that Christ's work was to serve the
circumcised, fulfilling the truthfulness of God by carrying out the promises made
to the fathers, 9 and his work was also for the gentiles, so that they should give
glory to God for his faithful love; as scripture says: For this I shall praise you
among the nations and sing praise to your name. 10 And in another place it
says: Nations, rejoice, with his people, 11 and in another place again: Praise the
Lord, all nations, extol him, all peoples. 12 And in Isaiah, it says: The root of
Jesse will appear, he who rises up to rule the nations, and in him the nations will
put their hope. 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your
faith, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit you may be rich in hope.
The Hopes and Fears of All the Years

Advent is a time of hope. Of course, hope is needed to overcome our

fears, to keep us moving and working and leading in a world that
disappoints us, frightens us, and seems to be headed in the wrong
direction. It is truly about hopes and fears being met in Jesus at
Christmas today and back then. This was just the world that Jesus was
sent to, was born into and did his leading.

There are those who study and write about the “historical Jesus.” They
offer this Jesus as a complement to the mythic Christ who inspires and
leads Christians. This perspective truly can help us to understand the
world at the time of Jesus. Marcus Borg, Dominic Crossan and others
do a wonderful job of weaving archaeological interpretations,
contemporaneous historical writings, scripture and sacred writings of
the time into a credible and enlightening whole. They offer a view of
the world of first Century Palestine and the state of the people of
Israel in the time of Jesus. I find helpful and I think you will too.

The people of God, the Israelites felt they were alive at a time of crisis.
Politically, they were again vassals of a vastly more powerful state,
Rome. Religiously, Rome was insisting on tribute to their Gods and
investment in their belief structure – most typified by Mars, the God of
war. Their idea of a new world order included: power by conquest,
violence, and death. A ruthless pursuit of commercial interests at the
expense of indigenous populations was the underlying theme. There
was a tip of the hat to the Greek notions of limited self-rule for
conquered nations; there was an understanding that too much
imposition of Roman values and religion disrupted the flow of
commercial goods and caused rebellion. But Roman continued the
push and broached no resistance. The Romans had not encountered
the faith and wisdom of the Israelites.

The Israelites had about 40 years in their entire history to be a

powerful nation and little chance or desire for rapacious commerce in
the shadow of Babylon, Egypt, Persia and Greece. World domination
by force and economics had little chance to seduce Israelite. As a
people they were victims of this idolatry, not the beneficiaries. The
Israelites' dedication to the temple of God and the glory of God was
unique in the Empire. This people were unlikely to be lulled by bread
and circuses. In the face of this unity of purpose and distaste for
Roman idolatry, the Romans handled the Israelites inconsistently and
some historians, say poorly.

The Israelites responded to the Roman occupation in a variety of

ways. It was a time of many new and different strands of thought and
action. Many became dedicated to many different ways to do God's
will at this trying and critical time. There were religious “orders” such
as the Pharisees. There were the Essenes and other intentional
communities. There was John the Baptist and others baptising or
calling for repentance in other ways. There were the more secular
Sadducees and other followers of Qoheleth, the writer of Ecclesiastes.
Each group had their own inspiration from scripture and other sacred
texts. Each had their own idea of how God might be followed and
God's world might be initiated. Some even considered meeting the
Romans with their own violence.

The Sadducees followed the advice of Qoheleth, the presumed writer

of Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth is believed to have lived during the Greek
conquest of the Israelites. Qoheleth suggested a practical approach –
God's people might hunker down and comply as minimally as possible
with the demands of their conquerors and remain alive for the next
age. There can be a fine line between offering token obeisance and
being seduced by the idols of one's conquerors.

The Roman lifestyle and values could be quite intrusive and

disruptive, They were much more so than during the Greek
occupation. Military garrisons assumed control of policing in cities
conquered by Rome. Commercial interests of Rome were deeply
embedded into the markets and network of producers in conquered
places. Historians write about the takeover of fishing interests in
Galilee. Peter and the fishermen that Jesus invites to his ministry may
have found the fishing business much more difficult because of the
Roman commercialization of fishing in that area. Jesus clearly believed
that this was no longer a time of Sadducean complicity. God was
calling for a different action at this time.

Most historians believe that Jesus was aware of or engaged in many of

the movements of his time. There is evidence that Jesus's adopted
rituals of the Essenes such as fasting and praying alone for long times
in the desert. From gospel accounts, Jesus appeared to incorporate
John the Baptist's style of baptism in his ministry. The knowledge that
Jesus had of the ideas of the Pharisees and their habits seems quite
astounding.

Besides the cultic groups of his time, it would appear that Isaiah was
an important inspiration for Jesus. He uses Isaiah in the
announcement of his ministry at Nazareth. He quotes it frequently in
his illustrations and makes allusions to Isaiah in his stories and
parables. The gospel writers use Isaiah liberally in writing the nativity
stories. In the first chapters, Isaiah's key message is not to surrender
to the conquerors and that Israel has brought this situation on
themselves. The path that Isaiah proposes is to repent, get right with
God, oppose the conquerors in whatever way possible and let God
handle the conquerors and overcome them. This is Jesus's message to
his people and to us.

Jesus tells us not to fall prey and bow to the idols of violence, power
and mercantilism. Jesus tells us not to be complicit with those who
would turn sacred ground into a den of thieves. Jesus encourages us
instead to bear good fruit, to share our meals at the table of God's
children openly and equally. To come to God as the least and most
humble of God's humans, like children. He tells us that our hope is in
giving up those things which entrap us and separate us from God.
Jesus tells us that our joy is in being a part of God's world. That we
should like the lilies of the field – not worry about clothing or other
outward appearances. Like the sparrow, we should not worry about
how to make ourselves important or powerful because God counts on
us as humans in God's family.

This Advent we prepare for the birth of the servant king. We make way
in our lives for a baby who is low born, from humble stock to inspire
and mentor us two thousand years later. We give up the notion that
we know who is important and unimportant. We celebrate that God
can create strength through apparent weakness. We celebrate that
God can take our fear and a mess of a world and out of it give
humanity two thousand years and more of hope and joy! Know that
God is about to give us this Christmas, yet again, the Spirit and life of
Jesus the Christ. Open your hearts, make straight the way for Jesus's
ideas. Prepare ye the way of the Lord! For the hopes and fears of all
the years will be met in Christ on Christmas. Amen.