St. Blogory’s— The internet café d’un prêtre à la retraite ac o offeiriad wedi ymddeol.

Quiet Momentum Day 19: Friday, December 16

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder

We have spent a few days thinking about what it means to live in the meantime, the time between the First and Second Advents.

It's not often we spot the word "advent" outside of religious circles, so I took notice when I discovered it while reading an article that speaks of a really important, indeed crucial challenge, for our in-between time.

To read the article, please click here.

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 18: Thursday, December 15

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder

We ended yesterday's post with this challenge:

"Any guesses as to why the metaphor of a thief had such resonance among the earliest Christians?"

Before I hazard my answer, this thieving metaphor is also used— twice— in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation to St. John.

(Please note: Revelation is singular. St. John received one Revelation, not many. That revelation was multi-faceted, and singular in both meanings of the word!)

In the first section of Revelation, John is told to write to seven churches, and each church receives a message from Jesus specific to its predicament and spiritual vitality.

Here's part of the message to the church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1b-3):

"I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you."

More than half-way through John's Revelation, and in an entirely different section, we read this warning (16:15):

"See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame."

All of these passages use the same Greek word for thief—kleptos, from which we get the word kleptomaniac— so perhaps the answer to our question "why did the metaphor of thief have such resonance for the first Christians, is this:

First, because Jesus himself used it of himself during his ministry, and that kind of startling self-characterization made a vivid impression;

Second, because Jesus was crucified between two thieves, fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah 600 years earlier:

"Therefore I [God] will allot him [my Suffering Servant] a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death [on the Cross], and was numbered with the transgressors [crucified with them]; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors [including you and me]" (53:12).

As we continue to meditate— think about— the First Advent and the Second Advent, let us remember that the thief who is coming is the one who loves us and numbers himself with us.

What do you make of that?

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

Quiet Momentum Day 17: Wednesday, December 14

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder (continued)

Today we continue our look at our in-between time, our time between Jesus' First Advent and his Second, with this passage from Paul's First Letter to the Church in Thessalonica.

This is the earliest letter we have from Paul's hand, and he wrote it in the early 30s, within 20 years of Jesus' death and resurrection— which shows us that the challenge of living in the Already/Not Yet in-between time was already front and center in the Church's life.

As you read this passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, see if you can spot a word that you may have noticed yesterday because it grabbed our attention at the beginning of our Quiet Momentum series.

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you.

"For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

"When they say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!

"But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

" So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.

"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

"For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.

"Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."

Did you notice the word?

. . .

Thief!

We unpacked the use of that word in Days 2, 3, 4, and 5, when we looked at these two passages from Matthew (24:42-44 and 12:29, respectively):

"Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour" (24:42-44).

"Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered."

and again, yesterday, Day 16, with this passage:

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed" (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10).

Paul's and Peter's use of the thief symbol recalls Jesus' use in the Gospels.

Any guesses as to why the metaphor of a thief had such resonance among the earliest Christians?

Stay tuned!

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 16: Tuesday, December 13

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder (continued)

Yesterday we began to look at the challenge of living between the First Advent and the Second Advent.

We looked at Paul's straightforward challenge to the Christian church in Rome:

"Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep— for salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers— the night is far gone, the day is near.

"Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and let us live honorably as in the day "(Romans 13:11-13).

A generation later, Peter addressed an added challenge to living honorably— the challenge of understanding why the Second Advent hadn't yet happened:

"First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, . . . saying, 'Where is the promise of Jesus' second coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!' . . .

To which Peter responded:

"But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

"The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed" (2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10).

Central to the challenge of living in the "between times" is the "Already/Not Yet" quality of the Christian Faith— it is true that Jesus has Already saved us and our world, and Already healed us and our world, and Already embraced us and our world with his undying love. . . .

. . . and yet is also true that we and our world are Not Yet without sin, Not Yet without wounds, and not yet without hate.

Here's how Paul described our Already/Not Yet reality:

"For once you were darkness, but now [Already] in the Lord you are light.

"Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found [Already] in all that is good and right and true.

"Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; [Not Yet] but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:8-14).

In your own life, what is Already accomplished? What is Not Yet accomplished?

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 15: Monday, December 12

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder

Advent is a Two-Fold Season—

— we look back to the First Advent when Jesus "came to visit us in great humility" as Jesus of Nazareth, and

— we look forward to the Second Advent when Jesus "will come again in his glorious majesty" as the Crucified and Risen Savior.

And because there is a First Advent and a Second Advent, it may not surprise us to discover. . .

a First Adam and a Second Adam; and

a First Elijah and a Second Elijah.

Today, let's begin with the Two-Fold Advent.

Here are passages from the New Testament that summarize the difference between the First and Second Advents:

First Advent: "For God so loved the world that God gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Jesus may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3:16-17).

Second Advent: "Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:28).

To talk of the First Advent which has already happened, while looking forward to the Second Advent which will happen, confronts us with a challenge:

How do we understand this present time, this meantime, this "between the times" in which we live?

And how do we live our daily, practical, lives in the tension between what has already happened and what will happen?

It's the challenge that even the first Christians faced.

Here's how Paul challenged the Christians in Rome about it:

"Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep— for salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers— the night is far gone, the day is near.

"Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and let us live honorably as in the day "(Romans 13:11-13).

What is your biggest challenge as you try to "live honorably as in the day?"

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 14: Sunday, December 11

   To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder

On this Third Sunday of Advent, here's a meditation by the 20th century Anglican theologian Austin Farrer:

 

Advent is a coming, not our coming to God, but his to us.

We cannot come to God for he is beyond our reach;

            but he can come to us, for we are not beneath his mercy.

He descends to us and dwells humanly among human creatures

            in the glorious man Jesus Christ,

                            our God-with-us,

                                    our Emmanuel.

He will so come, but he is come already, he comes always:

            in our fellow-Christians,

                                in his word,

                                            invisibly in our souls,

                                                        more visibly in the sacrament.

Opening ourselves to him we call him in:

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

Quiet Momentum Day 13: Saturday, December 10

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder (continued)

As we saw yesterday, John the Baptist wanted the People of Israel to turn around and change their direction in life.

When John saw some Pharisees and Sadducees, who were honored members of the Jewish establishment, he cried out to them in a pastorally sensitive way (Matthew 3:7):

"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

What is this "wrath to come?"

To the Jews of the first century the world was in such terrible shape there could be only one explanation― that the world had fallen into the hands of Satan and demonic forces.

Only this pervasive evil could explain their political captivity to the Roman Empire, their spiritual captivity to sin, and their physical captivity to sickness.

So "the wrath to come" that John the Baptist proclaimed was the coming judgment when the kingdom of God would do final battle with the kingdom of Satan.

And for John the Baptist, the only way to escape "the wrath to come," the only way to escape the final judgment and join forces with the kingdom of God, was by baptism― not a baptism of feeling sorry, or a baptism of regret, but a baptism of turning to Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God.

Near the end of this passage from Matthew's Gospel, John the Baptist draws a contrast between Jesus' ministry and his own (3:11-12:

"I baptize you with water for returning, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

"His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

As John the Baptist understands it, his role is to prepare the people for the coming judgment with a baptism of water, and then Jesus will execute the judgment with a baptism of Holy Spirit and fire.

But John the Baptist got it wrong.

Here's what Jesus says in John's Gospel:

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (12:31-32).

By his death on the cross, Jesus took upon himself the judgment of the world and won the victory over Satan, sin, and evil.

And when we were baptized by water and the Spirit, we were identified with what Jesus did for us, once in time for all people, upon the cross, and given the Holy Spirit to empower us to "persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, to repent and return to the Lord."

And so as we draw this Second Week of Advent to a close, we make St. Paul's prayer for the disciples in Rome our own prayer:

"May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 12: Friday, December 9

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder

Last Sunday's Gospel from St. Matthew begins at chapter 3, verse 1:

"In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

Just off the top of your head, what do you think the word "Repent" means?

. . .

Many people think that "repent" means "to feel sorry," or "to regret."

Let's substitute those meanings for the word "repent," beginning with "to feel sorry":

"In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Feel sorry, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

Hmmm. Sounds a little odd, does it?

Let's try this "regret":

"In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Be full of regret, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

That's not any better, is it?

In fact, the original Greek word literally means "to change one's mind."

And beyond its literal meaning, "repent" encompasses a change of heart, a change of feelings, a change of viewpoint, and a change of purpose.

And behind the original Greek word is a Hebrew word which captures all of those meanings in a single word: "turn" or "return."

When I was in seminary, one of my mentors, Father Shahan, put it this way: "All roads lead to heaven; all you have to do is turn around."

So here's what John the Baptist is really saying: "Turn, turn around, change direction, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

This understanding of "repent" is found in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.

On page 302 of The Book of Common Prayer, the person being baptized (or the person's parents) are asked six questions.

The first three ask the person to renounce evil in its cosmic, corporate, and personal dimensions.

Here's the fourth question:

"Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?"

There it is! The verb of turning, turning to Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Whenever we baptize someone, we also renew our own Baptismal Covenant, and here's the second question we are asked:

"Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?"

There are two things to notice here. First, that the question isn't "if you fall into sin," but "whenever you fall into sin!"

It's not a question of if, but when, because it's in our human nature to mess things up and sin from time to time.

The second thing to notice are the words "repent" and "return."

Of course it's appropriate to feel sorry for and regret our sins― our sins of omission as well as our sins of commission, but repentance without returning won't get us very far on "the way of the Lord."

Is there a road in your life where you need to turn around?

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 11: Thursday, December 8

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder (continued)

We ended our last post with St. Paul's ringing affirmation— "Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

Then Paul continues to elaborate on his overarching theme of hope:

"Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."

"For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised"— that is, of the Jews— "on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

"As it is written"— and here Paul turns to the encouragement of the scriptures—

"'Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name" — a quote from Psalm 18—

"and again he says, 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people'"— from Deuteronomy 32:43—

"and again, 'Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him'"— from Psalm 117—

"and again Isaiah says"— and now Paul quotes last Sunday's lesson from Isaiah— 'The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope."

Paul ends this string of scriptures with Isaiah because Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah's high hopes:

Jesus, who is the root of Jesse, has come; Jesus is the one who has risen— from the dead— to rule the Gentiles; and Jesus is the hope of the Gentiles.

There are many things for which we hope— Christmas presents, college admissions, good marriages, good jobs— and sometimes these hopes are fulfilled beyond our imaginings and sometimes they are dashed.

What all these hopes have in common is that their fulfillment depends on other human beings— so sometimes we get the presents we want, sometimes not; sometimes we get into the schools we want, sometimes not; sometimes we marry successfully, sometimes not; sometimes we get good jobs, sometimes not.

But there are other things we hope for that do not depend on other human beings, things that Isaiah and Paul also hoped for, things like the hope of new beginnings and the hope of peace, the hope of reconciliation and the hope of resurrection, the hope of eternal life and the hope of glory, the hope of heaven and the hope of salvation.

These hopes do not depend on other human beings for their fulfillment; these hopes depend on God. And because they depend on God for their fulfillment we can be sure, we can be confident, that they will be fulfilled.

Now some people may have trouble believing that these hopes will be fulfilled, but wouldn't life be so much more joyful and peaceful if you did believe it?!

Paul thought so, and so he finishes this passage with one more prayer:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Hope— now that's a Christmas present worth asking for!

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711

 

 

Quiet Momentum Day 10: Wednesday, December 7

To see the explanation for this Advent series, please click here.

 

Opening Verse

If in your heart you make a manger for his birth

Then God will once again become a child on earth.

 

Opening Prayer

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Something to Ponder (continued)

We ended our last post with St. Paul's ringing affirmation— "Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

Then Paul continues to elaborate on his overarching theme of hope:

"Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."

"For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised"— that is, of the Jews— "on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.

"As it is written"— and here Paul turns to the encouragement of the scriptures—

"'Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name" — a quote from Psalm 18—

"and again he says, 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people'"— from Deuteronomy 32:43—

"and again, 'Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him'"— from Psalm 117—

"and again Isaiah says"— and now Paul quotes last Sunday's lesson from Isaiah— 'The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope."

Paul ends this string of scriptures with Isaiah because Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah's high hopes:

Jesus, who is the root of Jesse, has come; Jesus is the one who has risen— from the dead— to rule the Gentiles; and Jesus is the hope of the Gentiles.

There are many things for which we hope— Christmas presents, college admissions, good marriages, good jobs— and sometimes these hopes are fulfilled beyond our imaginings and sometimes they are dashed.

What all these hopes have in common is that their fulfillment depends on other human beings— so sometimes we get the presents we want, sometimes not; sometimes we get into the schools we want, sometimes not; sometimes we marry successfully, sometimes not; sometimes we get good jobs, sometimes not.

But there are other things we hope for that do not depend on other human beings, things that Isaiah and Paul also hoped for, things like the hope of new beginnings and the hope of peace, the hope of reconciliation and the hope of resurrection, the hope of eternal life and the hope of glory, the hope of heaven and the hope of salvation.

These hopes do not depend on other human beings for their fulfillment; these hopes depend on God. And because they depend on God for their fulfillment we can be sure, we can be confident, that they will be fulfilled.

Now some people may have trouble believing that these hopes will be fulfilled, but wouldn't life be so much more joyful and peaceful if you did believe it?!

Paul thought so, and so he finishes this passage with one more prayer:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Hope— now that's a Christmas present worth asking for!

 

Closing Prayer

O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711