Advent 3 (B) + Clarity + 12.17.17

-
(Titian, "St. John the Baptist")
M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11; Ps. 126; 1 Thess. 5:16–24; John 1:6–8, 19–28)
John the Baptist, standing in the desert with the sands swirling at his feet. Standing for truth, for clarity, in a world of confusion, living under an empire of tyranny. John the Baptizer, inviting people into their own truth, but clear about who he is in the midst of it all. Clarity.
Advent is a time in the church for introspection, for reflection. We light candles and try to get quiet and listen to God. But the reality is that it is also a time of busy schedules and hurriedly preparing for the holidays, finding ways to occupy children and prepare for worship. I don’t know about you, but this is the week when I start to stress if I haven’t bought all the presents I intended to buy or at least started writing cards. And this past couple of weeks have doubled the stress with the effects of the fires on our communities as we endeavor to support those who have lost homes and as we simply attempt to live healthily with the poor air quality.
During my Advent retreat time this week – and thank you all for that blessing – I was reminded about the reasonable limits of self. I was meditating with the theme of prioritization and the guide suggested that many of us set unreasonable expectations for ourselves and others and that makes prioritization hard.[1] Bearing this in mind, I used my retreat time to partially develop my plan for the next three months, trying to be realistic about what my priorities are for this season and also for what I cannot do. This being said, God often blesses us with the ability to do more than we had hoped, especially in serving others, but I find it helpful to plan realistically so that I leave more space for God to do that rather than for me to plan it.
This clarity can be so helpful for us this time of year. I spoke of this same clarity in Monday’s service in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, speaking of Mary and how when she said yes! A certain author described it as if on her encounter with the angel, a wave of light clarity ran through her being, settling her in peace even in uncertainty of the way it would turn out.[2]
In today’s gospel, we see John the Baptizer being clear:
First off, he is not the Messiah. He says “I am not,” a clear riff on the references in the gospel of John to Jesus’ “I am statements” affirming that he is divine.[3] But he is also clear what he is, and uses scripture to affirm that. “’I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’’ as the prophet Isaiah said. (John 1:23)’”
One commentator describes it thus:
1.      He clarifies what he is not
2.      He uses a Hebrew scripture to show what he’s about
3.      And owns what exactly he can do.[4]
In the same way, we can use John’s example to own both our limitations and strengths as Christians:
We can own what we are not – whether it is claiming that we are not God, the Messiah, or other people’s expectations -- it can free us to look to scripture to see who we truly are.
For me, a scripture that helps me affirm my place in the world is Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (NRSV)?”
This scripture reminds me that what I am about is being a priest and a family member who cares for others—I am human and have limits, and so I must walk humbly with that. But in what I can do, I will do something, as we Daughters of the King say. I will do my best to do justice and love kindness by sharing God’s love, beauty and joy with those whom I meet as best I can in every moment.
The Living Compass practice this week encourages us not to get too caught up in the buying of gifts for others but instead to look for an unexpected gift to give, if possible without money but instead in giving of our presence to others. Our guide suggests that we give of our time, or a word of gratitude, or in praying for someone and letting them know we are praying for them. The idea is to look less to the tyranny of a list and more for the joy of giving an unexpected gift.[5]
It is less about presents and more about being present. Not that there isn’t a lot of joy in presents and all that! But when we are present to others and to ourselves, we gain something precious.
What unexpected gift can we give another today? And in a way, how can finding some clarity about who we truly are as children of God, and what we are about as we live out being followers of Christ, be a gift to us this Advent season and always?


[1] “Headspace” app, “Prioritization” pack.
[2] Taylor Caldwell, Medico de cuerpos y almas, (Kindle: Maeva, 2012), locación 11631-11657.
[3] Karoline Lewis, as mentioned in “Sermon Brainwave #574 - Third Sunday of Advent,” for December 17, 2017, found at: https://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=952.
[4] Jan Schnell Rippentop, “Commentary on John 1:6-8, 19-28,” for December 17, 2017, found at: https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3494.
[5] Gregory Rickel and others, Living Well Through Advent 2017: Practicing Wonder with all your Heart, Soul, Strength and Mind, (Living Compass, 2017), 27-29.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faith or Fear? Advent 1C

-
Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard Year C + Advent 1 (Jeremiah 33:14–16; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36) So… what are you going to do when you stand before the man with the holes in his hands? Now that may seem like a strange question to ask this first Sunday in December.  Surely, Pastor Melissa, we’re gearing up for jollity, not getting ready to meet our maker? But in a sense we are, always, all the time, waiting for Jesus, and I think that’s what Advent is really all about.  Reminding us that we are always waiting not just for the Christ Child to come and be born in our midst, but that we are also waiting for that awesome, if slightly scary Second Coming of Christ. And it is true that this passage talks about distress and the roaring of the waves.  And many looked at the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, that iconic image of the ocean-side theme park, including a Ferris Wheel, in the waves, and many said, this is something w...
Read more

Proper 20 (B) + A community of power + 9.23.18

-
Image
M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Proverbs 31:10–31; Ps. 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8ª; St. Mark 9:30–37) Take a moment and think of the most powerful positive woman figure you know – in your life or in your favorite movie, show or book. Who is the woman who has most inspired you? Keep that image of that woman in mind as we look at this passage from Proverbs Chapter 31. Now here we see the verse “A capable wife who can find?” And all the feminists amongst us will be relieved to hear that a better translation from the Hebrew would be: “a woman of power” instead of a “capable wife.” [1] That changes things, doesn’t it? Then when we hear about this ideal ancient Hebrew woman’s exploits – her buying of lands, her trading prowess, her physical strength, even her domestic abilities such as weaving, and perhaps especially her kindness to the poor, we see strength and power in all of these. Of course, looking at this passage, this is not one woman but a concept of the most...
Read more

Proper21BAcceptingourownwounds29sept24

-
  Accepting our own and other’s wounds Mark 9: 38-50   St Michael’s, Isla Vista / All Saints Oxnard The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell; MCL additions   May I just start this morning by acknowledging that our Gospel reading is complex.   The images are startling (horrifying?) and the metaphors come almost too quickly to catch.   What is clear is that something serious is going on between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus is using every means possible, including some pretty harsh language, to try to course correct.   To even begin to understand this passage, we need to back up to last week’s reading from Mark.   In that reading, the disciples are arguing with each other about who is the greatest and best disciple.   In response, Jesus gets a little kid, some commentators say “toddler,” and holds this child in his arms during the rest of the conversation.    The other part of the scene to keep in mind is that Jesus has just told...
Read more