It is that time of year, busyness takes over, in the next three weeks I have fourteen services to lead, and twelve sermons to preach, some of them will be light, and others more serious. Slowly but surely the message of the incarnation is mixing with the theme of advent. Hope is beckoning those who have intentionally entered the desert, reminding us of the mystery and wonder of the God who took on flesh. As these themes mix I pray that I will not leave the Christ Child in the manger and preach a safe and domesticated message. I cringed this afternoon as folk sang again the words from Once in Royal David's City;
Was Jesus mild and obedient? Was he the almost invisible Victorian child that this carol portrays? I honestly don't know, but I hope not! I hope that he played boisterous games, and laughed with his friends. I hope that he knew the joy of running through the grass with the wind on his face, and the exhilaration of diving into a cooling stream...
But I am aware that some folk will find those thoughts shocking, that for some Jesus is as real and vibrant as an alabaster statue, something beautiful perhaps but unreal and untouchable. It is interesting that the carol goes on to acknowledge that he did know tears and smiles and cares for us because he understands us ( maybe it is not so bad after all!!!).
I believe that it is essential that we engage with the fully human fully divine Jesus without rendering him safe and comfortable, the stuff of greeting card verses. Because of this I will cling for as long as I can to the wild themes of advent, to the message that calls me to look beyond both the manger and the cross to the risen Christ who we believe WILL come again, it reminds me that the spark of life that once inhabited a virgins womb now dwells in heavenly splendor, he is not gone, he is alive over 2,000 years later!
The wonder of that should draw me to my knees to pray not only for myself but for this world and it's people who so often groan under the weight of oppression and injustice. Dave Perryquoted from John Dominic Crossnans "Jesus a revolutionary biography" today highlighting the role of John the Baptist;
“When people came to him, he kept sending them back from the wilderness, through the Jordan, which washed away their sins, and, purified and ready, into the Promised Land, there to await the imminent coming of the redeeming and avenging God. What he was forming, in other words, was a giant system of sanctified individuals, a huge web of apocalyptic expectations, a network of ticking time-bombs all over the Jewish homeland.”
I love the thought of the creation of ticking time bombs of apocalyptic expectations, there is so much power and potential in that illustration, before the people could be sent by John they had to come out to him. The Scriptures tell us that they flocked to him, and he did not simply speak to them he demanded a response, and when they responded he baptised them.
I wonder how often in our preaching and in our conversations we refrain from challenge and provocation simply to remain safe, how often we draw back from speaking the words that not only call forth the hunger in our hearers, but actually lead them to make a response. John baptised those who chose to turn from their sins and sent them back to their towns and villages as people who were filled with expectation and anticipation, as people who had caught a fresh glimpse of hope, as people who were looking for Christ's coming....
I believe that we cannot remain at the manger this Christmas time, and what better way to journey through advent than to pray that those apocalyptic expectations might be re-awakened within us, and that we might have the courage to give voice to them again!
