Centuries
ago, the prophet Isaiah gave us an enduring vision for people of faith. Their
community would be a city of light, an example of universal peace and harmony
for all peoples on earth to follow. Such a vision was an unimaginable contrast
to their then current reality. At the time, Jerusalem was under siege and soon
would be destroyed. Virtually all the inhabitants, with the exception of the prophet,
were consumed in the desperate struggle for their own day-to-day survival, with
no thought of a universal outreach or greater future. The change that Isaiah introduced
implied a total shake-up of the world's foundations. What if swords were actually
made into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks! Yet Isaiah left a profound
legacy that has not been forgotten, even if it is yet to be realized. Great poetry
always transcends the circumstance and age in which it was written. Isaiah could
never have imagined his words would be carved in a great wall on the grounds of
an institution called the United Nations, in a city the entire world knows as
New York. Isaiah, nonetheless, had great faith that God's vision would not die,
but would continue to shake the world’s foundations and would continue to
inspire generations from all ends of the earth to work for justice and peace.
Jesus mentions Noah, that ancient boat builder
who understood the signs of a coming flood. Most floods, with the exception of
flash floods, give plenty of warning signs. Flood plains are usually obvious and
if you build your house on a flood plain, even if there hasn't been evidence of
a flood for years, sooner or later you will likely be flooded out. Noah heeded
the signs while his neighbors mocked him and he became an instrument of good;
a savior, not only for his family, but symbolically for all living creatures on
earth.
Jesus gives us the image
of people doing the ordinary tasks that they have always done: working in the
fields or inside the house preparing food for the table. Most are so preoccupied
in their routine that the arising of a sudden wind of change takes them by surprise
and they are utterly confounded. Lastly there is the example of a householder
who became complacent. His security had never been challenged before, why should
it now? His own laxness caused him loss. It was not because the thief was more
clever or powerful than he.
As
we enter into the season of Advent, these lessons are not used primarily for the
purpose of warning us about something bad approaching or of something completely
beyond our comprehension or ability to face. Rather Advent wants us to be open,
to be prepared for something wonderful, and for the birth of unanticipated new
light. People of faith are neither afraid nor discouraged to wait for signs of
grace. Advent prepares us to be spotters of sparks of light who remain prepared
and pay attention to the birth of God's new order in our old world, today. Advent
is primarily an underlying optimistic season of hope, not dread.
In
1927, the first modern research on worker motivation was conducted. After consulting
with workers, management installed considerably brighter lighting for workers
on the production line. Output and quality dramatically increased. Then after
consulting with workers again, management lowered the lighting and productivity
again increased. Researchers finally realized that the increased productivity
had as much to do with management listening and paying attention to the workers
on the actual production line, as the level of lighting. That
is the message of Advent. Pay attention today, and do not give up hope. Refuse
to accept terror as an inevitable condition even when we seem to live in a season
of unrelenting darkness. Be prepared, not for disappointment, but for something
new, unanticipated, something beyond our current horizons, but coming ever closer,
ever nearer.
We constantly hear,
“There is no better time than now to buy” this or that. Well in regard
to being flame spotters of God's new birth, that is true. There is no better time
to be a person of faith than in this season of Advent 2004. The world sure needs
us. There are sparks of charity, patience, forgiveness, reconciliation, and truthfulness
waiting to be fanned into flame.
In
the Ithaca winter when we are seated in a comfortable, warm lighted house some
of us have to go out in the cold blustery night and walk a dog. Advent is like
the time our bodies and eyes need to adjust to the cold before we can look up
in the sky, admire the constellations, in awe at the Milky Way and Northern lights,
and be so glad we are outside to see it. The good news is that ordinary people
in the midst of doing ordinary tasks are able to watch and prepare. There is no
indication that Noah was the smartest guy around, but he able to read the signs
and become a savior. We too, can do it. We are fully competent and able to perceive
the signs of God being born among us again. Be alert, watch and listen!
And
I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
