December 20, 2020 Advent 4
Isaiah 9: 2-7 (CEB)
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.
You have made the nation great;
you have increased its joy.
They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest,
as those who divide plunder rejoice.
As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them,
the staff on their shoulders,
and the rod of their oppressor.
Because every boot of the thundering warriors,
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned, fuel for the fire.
A child is born to us, a son is given to us,
and authority will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be vast authority and endless peace
for David’s throne and for his kingdom,
establishing and sustaining it
with justice and righteousness
now and forever.
John 1: 1-18 (CEB)
In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word,
and without the Word
nothing came into being.
What came into being
through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light.
The true light that shines on all people
was coming into the world.
The light was in the world,
and the world came into being through the light,
but the world didn’t recognize the light.
The light came to his own people,
and his own people didn’t welcome him.
But those who did welcome him,
those who believed in his name,
he authorized to become God’s children,
born not from blood
nor from human desire or passion,
but born from God.
The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
as the Law was given through Moses,
so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
God the only Son,
who is at the Father’s side,
has made God known.
Parker asked me this week if I get a twinge in my neck when doing fine motor skills. I said no, but I do know that I carry my tension in my neck, in my shoulders. I discovered that in my twenties when someone asked me where in my body, I carry my tension. So, I ask you where do you carry your tension, your stress? Some people get headaches, some have stomach concerns, others might hold stress in their muscles. With all that is going on right now with COVID I think we all might need a few more neck rubs or Tylenol. We are seeking a sense of peace amid this prolonged stressful time.
This is the Sunday of Peace when we heard the promise of the Prince of Peace and the arrival of the Word made flesh whose light shines in the darkness. I love both passages, the hope, joy and promise they hold. Isaiah tells how God multiplied the nation and increased its joy, but then talks of the dark days of Midian. One commentator writes, “Now Midian is a reference which means nothing to us, but it would have meant something special to the Israelites. Midian was the national and religious equivalent of something like Independence Day and the Emancipation Proclamation rolled into one” (Working Preacher 2019, Rachel Wrenn). So, I explored that to find that Midian refers to the bullies, the neighbors who took Israel’s crops and food. Scripture declares, “Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian” (Judges 6:6). God then calls on Gideon to help the people. This is the same Gideon who cast his fleece, before defeating his enemy. God makes a promise to Gideon, “Peace be to you, do not fear, you shall not die.” Gideon then builds an alter and called it, “The Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:23-24). Right there, with all that we are going through, I love being referred to a time when God promises peace, addresses our fear, and declares you shall not die. We need to hear that. We need help carrying the weight we bear. Maybe rather than build an alter to God, we are to dwell in God’s peace.
Isaiah gives a clue about how to do that. He writes about the burden as a yoke on their back, a bar on their shoulders, a rod of an oppressor. But then did you notice with the promise of the child, authority is given that rests on HIS shoulders. Shoulders bore the burdens of oppressors, but now Jesus will bear authority on his shoulders. Our burdens are met with God’s authority, God’s power, God’s strength. The weight we carry around with us, our worries and fears, rob us of peace, steal our good nights sleep. The best remedy for all those burdens is to rest in God’s peace. Just imagining God’s peace on my shoulders instead of the rod of my worries, grants a sign of relief. Isaiah continues, “His authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace…” Now I realize this is for national peace, but I believe the promise holds of us as individual Christians as well. Jesus’ authority grows every time we surrender to God’s will. Every time we give our fears and concerns over to Jesus. Every time we trust in God’s authority.
John also speaks of authority when discussing Jesus as the light. “those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he gave authority to become children of God” (v. 12). Our faith gives us the ability to become God’s children, beloved and nurtured. So not only does God take our worries and fears, but God also wraps us in God’s grace and showers us with love.
I once did a mediation where I was asked to imagine a place, safe, happy and I could create it as I wanted. I created a house in my mind, with many rooms. But the room I loved the most was one where you walked in and this warm, inviting and beautiful light poured over me. It was a place of love and acceptance, a place of warmth and peace. When I look back now, I realized was standing in the light of God, the love and perfection of the divine being. That is God’s love and light that John speaks of. But it is not one we create. No. It was created before time, before creation because it emanates from God. God sent Jesus into the world to be that light for us. To help us experience that light, to live in that light.
Today Carolyn sang about that light as a culmination of all that we have been exploring with the song, I Believe. I believe in the sun even when its not shining, I believe in love even when I can’t feel it, I believe in God, even when God is silent. I believe in the light, God’s light, that has come and is coming. John declares, “The true light that shines on all people was coming into the world.” The light of Jesus is still coming, shining on each one of us today. Bathing us with God’s peace, inviting us to let God’s authority carry our burdens.
But we are not simply to be bathed in light, to only be receivers of God’s light. God asks us to shine light on others, to bear witness to the light of Christ. We are people who have walked in darkness AND we have seen a great light, the light of Jesus. So when your burdens feel heavy, when your shoulders are weighed down, turn to the light. Hear this promise of Scripture, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it” (v. 5). The darkness does not overpower the light. Not Jesus’ light. Jesus has the authority to vanquish our darkness.
But we also might need a little help reframing our circumstances to be able to abide in Christ’s light, Christ’s peace. I have just returned to physical therapy because I hurt my shoulder over the summer. It was on the mend, but I needed to understand what I was doing that was hindering my full recovery. So, I returned to PT. Trina is helping me to understand, to comprehend, what is happening with my shoulder. She gave me new exercises and I have hope of healing and peace in those muscles.
How we understand or comprehend something effects the way we live. I discovered this week that the word overcome in the Greek, means both to overcome or to comprehend (Working Preacher, Judith Jones). What a different meaning. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. I thought of all the ways we limit our understanding of the world because we do not comprehend it. I believe God’s light is shining on the darkness of racial injustice. We have seen the protests and the cry for action and equity in our nation. But I think we are often trapped in the darkness of old ways of thinking and we cannot comprehend the light of God’s love striving to change the power dynamic in our society. But we are the ones who have the authority to do something about it because of our place in this world. For God’s peace to fully come, we will need to comprehend the darkness of racial injustice. We need to work for racial darkness to be overcome with equality. We get to help to shine the light of Christ into the lives of our sisters and brothers of color.
Our closing hymn asks us to proclaim Christ’s love, to declare Christ’s birth. But let’s remember that “it was one of the songs created by people who endured brutal hardships as the result of African colonization and North American slavery. Of course the safest thing for oppressed peoples to sing about was the religious beliefs that, first forced upon them by their oppressors, later gave many hope in the midst of suffering. “Go Tell It On The Mountain” is probably the best-known African American Christmas song and the words “seeker” and “watchman” are thought by some to have been code words for those seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. It was made popular by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the 19th century as these college students–themselves freed slaves–traveled the country to raise money and awareness. They were turned away from hotels, railway waiting rooms, and even some churches because of their color. As we sing, let us honor them, honor all who have endured slavery and the continued systemic racism caused by slavery. Let us…
“Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere.
Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.”
… indeed that the Prince of Peace that calls us
to break the chains of oppression… is born!” Amen. (Marcia McFee, Worship Design Studio)
