Advent 3B Love in Action During Precarious Times
By The Very Rev. Ken Gray
Reading the Advent 3 texts proximate to the United Nations COP-28 meeting is unsettling to say the very least. Each and every year (with one exception) since 1992. heads of state, negotiators, and other interested parties (including faith communities from a distance) have gathered at the world’s largest climate conference in order to develop political structures and fiscal disciplines that will move our management of planetary resources and human practices in a sustainable and just direction—at least that’s the hope—the problem is that these meetings have almost totally failed. Prospects for success for this year’s meeting by any definition remain at an all-time low.
As people of faith, and as Christians in this Advent season, we turn again to our sacred texts for inspiration if not direction. Today, we see on full display the radical determination of John the Baptizer and his followers to live life differently, and faithfully. In the wilderness, they learn from and depend upon creation, a natural environment through which God shows them the way. Isaish, and Mary both enhance our view as we discover God’s wish for the upending of “normal” living standards. Finally, an Enthusiastic Paul reminds us of the place of Divine Grace in our lives, regardless of circumstance.
Commentary
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In her commentary on Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Anathea Portier-Young offers a compelling example of the popular aphorism: “A lack of specific expectations leads to a lack of concrete results.” In other words, be specific; respond to actual injustices as you experience them. Do not receive this text purely as metaphor though it does contain metaphorical language.
We know this text well from Jesus’s invocation of it in his first sermon (Luke 4:18-19), but it deserves attention in its original setting. Writing in the spirit and name of the prophet Isaiah, a later author has been anointed for a mission of radical proclamation. They speak against all odds of success, of the bringing of good news to the poor. A “preferential option for the poor” is here clearly evident.
The content of the good news the prophet has been charged to deliver is summarized in the words “joy,” “liberation,” and “release.” Their effects are characterized as healing and comfort for those who are broken-hearted and sorrowing (61:1–2).
Reading from our own time and context, we can all too easily say quietly to ourselves, “fine for you, but what about us, now?” Portier-Young challenges us to believe that such radical transformation—of social structures, of economies, of industrial practices, of troubled relationships between individuals, groups, and nations—that the envisioned transformation is grounded in material realities and truthful, physical possibilities.
As with today’s Gospel, situated in the wilderness, the prophet here draws on images from and experience within nature to make a forceful point. From the gift of creation itself, with its rhythms, boundaries, fruitfulness, and blessings, we discover the voice of God. Creation speaks—but who listens?
In the lection’s final verse, a set of similes locates in the land’s capacity to nourish and bring forth new growth an analogy for God’s own power and will to bring about justice and praise (61:11). The people who are God’s planting will bear the fruit of righteousness.
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One of three versions in the Anglican Church of Canada’s Book of Alternative Services (each requiring different musical accompaniment) of a single scriptural song, Canticle 18, the Magnificat is also known as the Canticle of Mary. It is one of the eight most ancient Catholic chants and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn. Its name is the opening word of the Vulgate (Latin) text (Lk 1: 46:55): Magnificat anima mea, Dominum (My soul doth magnify the Lord).
If God is “magnificent,” then those who live into God can be likewise accredited. For some, Mary’s own magnificence arises through her trust in a powerful God who supports her in her humility. For others, such as the late Rachel Held-Evans who argues for an unsentimental Advent, Mary is anything but timid. She lives fully into her God-given life. She is Defiant. Prophetic. Unsentimental.
We like to paint Mary in the softer hues—her robes clean, hair combed and covered, body poised in prayerful surrender—but this young woman was a fierce one, full of strength and fury. When she accepts the dangerous charge before her, (every birth was risky in those days, this one especially so), rather than reciting a maternal blessing, Mary offers a prophecy:
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
When sung in a warm, candlelit church at Advent, it can be easy to blunt these words, to imagine them as symbolic, non-specific, comforting. But I’m not feeling sentimental this Advent. I’m feeling angry, restless. And so in this season, I hear Mary’s Magnificat shouted, not sung:
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It is refreshing to read these words from Paul’s earliest letter (also the earliest New Testament book), written from Corinth to the young church in Thessalonica. Three words summarize his exhortation. Spirit; Prophets; and Peace.
This young church, and every church in every place in every time, requires a leadership of encouragement. Such leaders are persons of faith who have learned to live beyond their own abilities, comfort, and experience. Such persons are often prophets, those who speak a message that challenges what is declared “normal” and somehow, inevitable.
Thankfully, they, and we, can connect with the real presence of God, not only sacramentally, but through disciplines such as prayer “in all circumstances,” even amidst lament and despair. Indeed, our greatest awareness of God in our lives comes when we do not “quench the Spirit.” We “carry on, carrying on” as the popular phrase is sometimes stated.
Elsewhere an elder Paul will remind us that “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (1 Timothy 1:7). We find here echoes of both the Magnificat and of Isaiah 61. The typical Advent theme of steadfast faith finds deep roots in the life of the early church, and hopefully in our church today.
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Last week, the Advent 2 lection from Mark described the advent of John the Baptizer who "appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:2). Mark’s terse introduction of the character and location of John, is followed by details of his person and setting: “Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.” He was a wild person in a wild place, likely banished there, though thriving and attracting crowds, even Jesus, and living within his means with what was available. Sustainability embodied!
With these details in place, we see today through the eyes and experience of the Gospeller the meaning and significance of the Baptizer’s coming. We begin to understand the purpose and practice of his particular ministry, a prophetic witness, emerging from a long line of Jewish prophets, as one who voices what must be spoken to those who will listen. John’s role is to bear witness to The One who will follow in his paths.
A nagging question is repeatedly put to John by priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem: “Who are you?” John responds, drawing upon Isaiah: "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" (Isa 40:3). "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."
John’s ministry took place “in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.“ What is first is also last Mt 20:16). Bethany would return as a special, sacred place over and over again. It was the hometown of Jesus’ good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It will be the place where Lazarus is raised; it is the place where Mary will anoint Jesus. Finally, it is; the place from which Jesus and his disciples depart prior to entering Jerusalem.
John loves the little details, which provide the stage for bigger things. Reading John is like peeling an onion. There is always “another layer.”
Preaching, Teaching or Event Ideas
Among You Stands
Explaining his Baptizer role, John declares: “Among you stands one whom you do not know . . .” Using your imagination, when standing with congregational participants either literally or figuratively, what do you know of each other’s vocation, especially in relation to climate justice? What would a “divine presence” look like? Be playful. See what happens.
Leaders and Followers
Many wanted to make John the Baptizer a messianic leader. He steadfastly refused the title and role. What is the role of a spiritual leader, especially in justice advocacy? How do leaders and followers work together in your congregational settings?
Wild Honey
Activity: Make wild honey together. Start with a recipe and source ingredients. What are the production challenges. How does good food connect with a Holy lifestyle? What does food justice look like?
Is COP-28 a Cop-Out?
How do we respond to decisions or indecisions arising from COP-28. Here in Canada, how do they affect our vision of a transforming world?
Sources and Resources
A little scripture music
Admittedly a bit off-the-wall, folks may enjoy listening to This is the Record of John (John 1:19-23) by Orlando Gibbons sung by the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is a sumptuous choral piece that sets out the questions posed by the priests and Levites. For those tired, even downcast by the challenges of witnessing in a time of climate crisis this music is an oasis of calm and balm.
Creation speaks
For a beautiful presentation of drawing on creation as a source of divine inspiration, there is arguably no better book than Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
https://fortheloveofcreation.ca/cop28-unite-act-deliver/#Candles
https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2018/12/20/wild-lectionary-dear-elizabeth/
https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2021/12/17/wild-lectionary-holy-land/
https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2017/12/21/wild-lectionary-mary-hildegard-and-the-anawim/
Author Bio
The Very Rev. Ken Gray recently retired as Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kamloops, BC. He served in lay and ordained Anglican positions throughout BC since 1982. He has just edited and published his first book, with Deacon Maylanne Maybee: Partnership as Mission
Essays in Memory of Ellie Johnson, now available from Wipf and Stock publishing. He was the first secretary to the Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN) with which he still publishes a bi-weekly digest of Anglican environmental justice engagement worldwide. He blogs on many subjects here. He is a skilled amateur photographer. The image included with this piece is one of Ken’s photographs. He and his spouse Kathie have returned to Summerland in the BC Okanagan Valley where they live with their four year-old Labradoodle, Juno.