A
Reflection for I Advent All Saints’ Church, Southern Shores, NC
December 1, 2013 Thomas E. Wilson, Rector
I
have returned to my winter habit and have grown a beard. I first grew
a beard so I would look older when I was 17 and a college freshman at
Chapel Hill. If the sun hit it just right, you might be able to see
some fuzz. The next year, when I got a summer job at an Outdoor Drama
in Florida, I was cast as a Spanish Conquistador and I was able to
grow a full red beard. It indeed made me look older, but dang!! - a
beard can be hot in Florida summers. So I decided that I would only
grow one during the winter. The problem now is that the red is gone
from my hair and beard and they are both snow white. I went to visit
a parishioner last week who had a toddler grandson visiting, and when
I rang the doorbell, he came to the door, his eyes full of
astonishment, and he cried out “Santa Claus is at the door!” Our
parishioner grew in the estimation of his grandson who believed that
his grandfather was close friends with Santa Claus. I tried to
dissuade him, but he stubbornly held on to the illusion. However, as
he grows up, he will realize that I am not Santa Claus, and he will
see the truth that I am a friend of his grandfather and then grow
into his own dreams. That is what life is about - getting rid of
illusions by seeing the truth and then living into one’s dreams.
The
Hebrew Testament lesson is from the 2nd
chapter of the Book of the prophet Isaiah. A prophet is a “seer”-
one who sees things and tells the truth about them, and then sees the
dreams God has and point us in the direction of the fulfillment of
those dreams. The first thing Isaiah does is to strip away the
illusions and speak the truth as God sees things, and he starts
chapter one of the Book by pointing out to the people the truth
behind their facades when they come to worship. Listen to how the
translation of The Message reflects what Isaiah says that God sees:
“Quit
your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act (12-17). . . . (and)
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act (12-17). . . . (and)
Oh!
Can you believe it? The chaste city
has become a whore!
She was once all justice,
everyone living as good neighbors,
And now they’re all
at one another’s throats.
Your coins are all counterfeits.
Your wine is watered down.
Your leaders are turncoats
who keep company with crooks.
They sell themselves to the highest bidder
and grab anything not nailed down.
They never stand up for the homeless,
never stick up for the defenseless. (21-23)
has become a whore!
She was once all justice,
everyone living as good neighbors,
And now they’re all
at one another’s throats.
Your coins are all counterfeits.
Your wine is watered down.
Your leaders are turncoats
who keep company with crooks.
They sell themselves to the highest bidder
and grab anything not nailed down.
They never stand up for the homeless,
never stick up for the defenseless. (21-23)
Any
of that vision of the truth sounds familiar to you? Isaiah is
speaking the truth in the 8th
Century BC, and here we are in the 21st
Century and it sure sounds like the here and now with our love of
violence as we tear people apart with words or weapons, our
inequality of wealth brought about by greed and the exploitation of
the poor and marginalized, and the sale of our leaders to the highest
bidders.
The
second job of the prophet after stripping us of our illusions is to
paint a vision of how God would like to see us, and here in the
second chapter we see those who follow God beating swords into
plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, and people no longer studying
war. The prophet is a see-er who sees the truth behind the lies we
live and also sees the dreams God has for us. Two weeks ago I woke up
from a dream with an old 1950’s song written by Ed McCurdy rattling
around in my head, and I realized why this week when I looked at the
lessons. You may have heard the song (we used to sing it in peace
demonstrations back when I had a red beard) “Last
Night I Had The Strangest Dream”:
Last night I had the
strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
And when the papers
all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the
strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
How many lies we
tell ourselves and others to justify war. Wars end when we rid
ourselves of our greed to possess what our neighbor has. The
beginning of the end of war is me renouncing greed on a daily basis.
Wars end when we stop glorifying violence. The beginning of the end
of war is me renouncing violence on a daily basis. How many hours are
we watching movies, television, and playing video games which teach
us the joy of killing people for our own advantage? The beginning of
the end of war is me renouncing the learning of war on a daily basis.
How much money do we spend on weapons both as a nation and as
individuals? In two weeks we remember the one-year anniversary of a
disturbed young man, who spent hours on end playing
violence-glorifying games, arming himself with weapons of mass
destruction and going forth to live into his fantasy by slaughtering
little children. We were appalled - and then we lost our nerve for we
did not want to divorce ourselves from violence and weapons. Wars end
when we give up our love affair with weapons. The beginning of the
end of war is me renouncing weapons on a daily basis. How many times
do we brood about revenge? Wars end when we rid ourselves of the
desire to get even. The beginning of the end of war is me renouncing
revenge on a daily basis.
The means for
achieving turning swords into plowshares is simple, not easy but
simple; we just lack the will to try to live into God’s dream for
us. Living into the peace of God which was proclaimed was not
attempted and found impossible; it was just found difficult and not
attempted. Every week we proclaim in the Creed that we expect the
return of Christ. This Advent I invite you to be a see-er and ask for
the Risen Christ to return and give us the will to do what he asks.
As the Gospel reminds us: “Therefore you also must be ready, for
the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
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