A Poem/ Reflection for IV Advent St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Gatesville, NC
December 18, 2022 Thomas E Wilson, Guest Presider
Love Means Living Into Hard Promises
Isaiah 7:10-16 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
We begin with a look at the Hebrew Testament lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The King of Judah, Ahaz, who was 20 years old when he became King is in trouble with two of the Neighboring Kings from Damascus, Syria and Samaria who are urging him to join a coalition of defense against the Assyrian Empire.
The Prophet Isaiah tells Ahaz to call upon God for help in what to do. Ahaz refuses to ask, and makes it sound noble “I will not put God to the test.” Isaiah points to a young woman who he says will bear a child who will, be called “Immanuel”, God is with us. Immanuel (or Emmanuel) means living into hard promises, but we are not alone.
Ahaz does not believe that having Immanuel- God with him, is of any value, because Ahaz basically has already made up his mind to trust Tiglath-Pileser III the King of Assyria. Ahaz trusts himself and Assyria grows even stronger by destroying the Syrian Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ahaz will try to appease the Assyrians by adapting some of the practices of the worship of the God of Assyria for the Temple in Jerusalem. His plan to depend on his own “wisdom” . When Ahaz dies, his son Hezekiah, under the tutelage of the Prophet Isaiah understands “Immanuel” - God is with us and it gives him strength to cleanse the worship in the Temple and stand firm against the military siege of Jerusalem by the Grandson of Tiglath-Pileser, Sennacherib. Hezekiah knows first hand what Immanuel means in his life.
This is the 4th Week of Advent. Each Week in Advent has a theme Faith, Hope, Joy and Love. A couple weeks ago, I got Pat to sit down to watch a movie “Love Story”, a 1970 film based on the Erich Segal's novel of the same name. I had seen it decades before I ever met Pat and I thought it might be fun. It is not a great movie but it has a line: “ Love means never having to say, “You're sorry!” The reality is that for me, Love means that always having to say I'm sorry. That is Pat's problem; she is married to a fallible human being who keeps messing up. The line should be “Love means that forgiveness begins before you ask for it.”
Oswald Chambers wrote “God and love are synonymous Love is not an attribute of God, it is God; whatever God is, love is.” The Gospel story for today of Joseph and his love for Mary is a story about God filling hearts with love. If we hear the word Immanuel- God is with us- we can hear that the power of God's love can can help us overcome so many difficulties,
Luke 's story of Mary begins in Nazareth where Mary lives and is focuses on Mary's love for God. However, Matthew begins with another story, and the way he tells it, the story begins in Bethlehem where Mary and Joseph both live and with Joseph's love of Mary and obedience to God. Matthew has the Wise Men come to the House in Bethlehem, Luke has the Shepherds come to the stable by the Inn. After the visits Matthew has the Family flee to Egypt, Luke has the Family go up to Jerusalem for a Purification Ceremony. So which is the true story? The answer of course is “Yes”. They are written decades after the earthly ministry of Jesus by two different communities of Christians, both passing on different traditions with different emphasis, where facts are much less important than love. The Gospels are not rigid histories, Gospels (Good News) are statements of faith and love. Matthew's Community is interested in helping Jewish followers of God to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of Faith in God. Luke's Community is interested in Gentiles being open to whole new way of looking at the world.
Reconciling two stories reminds me of the song “I Remember It Well” from the Lerner and Lowe musical. GIGI, when two old lovers sing about their first encounter:
We met at nine, we met at eight, I was on time, no, you were late Ah, yes, I remember it well We dined with friends, we dined alone, a tenor sang, a baritone Ah, yes, I remember it well
In Matthew's Joseph story, Joseph is a righteous man and is engaged to Mary. He finds out that she might be pregnant,. In Matthew's story, Joseph is a devout man and and realizes that his duty is to call the engagement off. He is also a loving man and want to spare the woman he loves any scandal; indeed she could be accused of Adultery and thereby be sentenced to be stoned to death.
God comes to Jospeh in a dream and I think that God is always speaking to us in dreams. In our dream states, the left side of the brain which does all the words, technical stuff and calculations, goes off line, our ego is put to sleep and we are open to seeing the world without looking at the world as something to exploit. However, the right side of the brain, which can deal with symbols, emotions, insight, images, memory and imagination, is free to be open to the pre- and un conscious where the spiritual lies.
Joseph's dream tells him Immanuel- God is with us. Here Joseph is able to take strength and knowing he is not alone, he is to be able to face the shame and blame for Mary's pregnancy. That is the way of love: you do what you need to do to help the other. Immanuel- love, God , is with us. Mary and Joseph are two ordinary people doing extraordinary things for God and with God.
Dorothy Day a 20th Century Catholic Activist, wrote:
If everyone were holy and handsome, with “alter Christus” shining in neon lighting from them, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. If Mary had appeared in Bethlehem clothed, as Saint John says, with the sun, a crown of twelve stars on her head, and the moon under her feet, then people would have fought to make room for her. But that was not God’s way for her, nor is it Christ’s way for himself, now when he is disguised under every type of humanity that treads the earth.
On this day God is present. One of the things we will do later in the service is to exchange the Peace.The Peace of the Lord be always with you- or to say it another way “Immanuel- God is with us, in the space between us”. It does not mean that you like that person, or approve of what they have done, But it means that you see them as an Image of God, beloved by God, as one for whom Christ died, of one who Joseph would have forgiven and Mary would have given birth for. Any act of love between people living together, or love shared with strangers, or of a caring for any part of God's creation, or of forgiveness means that God has made God's self visible to the eyes of faith. Immanuel- God is with us.
Love Means Living Into Hard Promises
Joseph heard Mary hadn't been to the Red Tent,
in several months, meaning new life is growing.
He had to make a decision before she's showing,
otherwise they'd be saying he gave sin an assent.
Nightly dreams came telling him to suck it up,
what he thought as sin, is a much higher promise,
if he could trust the One whose words are honest,
meant publicly drinking deeply from a bitter cup.
Making the promise to Love, Honor and Cherish.
Love's more than “having hots” for each other.,
and this is that “long as both shall live” bother,
which means daily promises for them to nourish.
Immanuel, God is with us, power behind love
gives strength to live into promises from above.
No comments:
Post a Comment