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Unforced rhythms of grace
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Third Sunday of Advent
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The third week of Advent opens with brilliant lectionary texts. John the Baptist takes center stage today. Hear the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
The relationship between Jesus and John was mysterious and complicated from the first. While still in the womb, John leaped with joy at the approach of Jesus.
Preaching in the desert John told his followers he wasn’t worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals. But Jesus untied the sandals of his disciples, and washed their feet.
John promised the one who was to come would bring confusion, conflict and finally holiness into all their lives. Then on a blue-sky, white-dove day, John baptized Jesus with the water of the Jordan River. Soon after, John was taken prisoner, toyed with in spite of Herod’s fear, and finally beheaded. John truly was baptized into death by the Holy Spirit and by fire.
Let your gentleness be evident to all, John. The Lord is near.
“Gentle” and John don’t seem to fit together. In an early poem, Thomas Merton paraphrased John’s message to those he called a “ brood of vipers”: “You who have weighed and measured every sin/ and have so clearly analyzed the prophecies/ as to be blinded on the day of their fulfillment:/ Your might shall crumble and fall down before him like a wall,/ and all the needy and poor shall enter in,/ pass through your ruins and possess your kingdom.”
Still, the people asked John what they should do and he replied, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person w
ho has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Prepare the way of the Lord. Not then but now. Let your gentleness be evident to all.
This preparation, Lord, levels me and empties me of what I’ve known. This word “prepare” falls off my lips, and suddenly I wonder at its sweetness, like honey that finds its way into the hunger I had not known was there.* Bless this mystery in our souls, and let us quiet ourselves so we can hear your coming.
* from a poem by Jan Richardson
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1409
