A news article in Saturday’s Register-Herald had
the headline of “Shoppers get in Christmas spirit on Black Friday” – “Black Friday,” of course,
being the day after Thanksgiving when the stores put many items on sale. The article told of people at the Crossroads Mall with newly purchased packages, cups
of coffee, talking on cell phones, and taking pictures of the crowd. All this shopping is in anticipation of Christmas Day.
Well, it is only 26 shopping days until Christmas and counting! The anticipation of Christmas gets so intense by Christmas Eve, that children and sometimes adults have
trouble sleeping that night in anticipation of Christmas Day. School teachers
also tell me that the children in their classrooms get so excited about Christmas that they have trouble focusing on their
school work.
I must admit that as a child, I too had such a high expectations of Christmas Day—expectations that never could
be met. Therefore, after the presents had been unwrapped and the turkey
eaten, I would feel a “let-down.” I would say to myself, “Is
that all there is?” Perhaps that feeling likely is a common feeling that
many of us have experienced in our lives. Anticipation can be a positive force
and a negative force in our lives. It can give us energy to focus on an
upcoming event, but we also need to be sure that our anticipation of the event is realistic.
My current
dog, “Jack,” is an inside dog and constantly is demanding our attention. However,
my former dog, “Poochie,” was an outside dog. She only came into the house at night or on special occasions. “Poochie”
was a very ‘laid-back’ dog. She
was content to chase the occasional squirrel that wandered too close to her. However,
“Poochie” did have one high expectation in her life. Her expectation was not about Christmas or New Year’s
Day, although she did feast on the turkey skins that we added to her bowl. Her
expectations were simpler and more regular in her life. She expected to have her daily walk with us throughout the neighborhood. Her
whole day seemed focused about her daily walk. She thought about it all
day long. Once we attached the leash to her collar, she would lurch and pull
me with all of her power. As she was pulling me down the street, I would
wonder just who was walking who? Poochie
had anticipation.
In today’s lectionary reading, the Prophet Jeremiah has been speaking of anticipation. In the Hebrew text, the first word in the passage is the word “SEE”—“SEE, THE DAYS
ARE COMING’, DECLARES THE LORD, WHEN I WILL FULFILL THE PROMISE I MADE CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND THE
HOUSE OF JUDAH!” Like one catching sight of
a powerful storm on the horizon, Jeremiah strained his spiritual eyes, and in excitement, he declared God’s coming presence.
He wanted everyone else to see that which he was seeking. Therefore, he
was saying, “SEE”—look—do you see what I am seeing?
It was hard for most people
to see God’s coming presence in those days. In fact, most people
thought that God had gotten mad and had deserted Judah. Following an uprising against the Babylonian dominance yoke, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 587 BC had unleashed the overwhelming
power of his nation against Judah. As a result, the city of Jerusalem fell. Further, the two institutions
that had shaped Judah’s daily life—the Temple and the Davidic Kingship—they also had been destroyed. The
walls of the city had been torn down, the city had been looted—and even worse, and the palace and temple had been burned
to the ground. The “movers
and grinders” within the city, as well as the King, had been carried off in chains. A
puppet governor was then appointed to oversee what little was left of the nation.
In
the “Rijksmuseum” in Amsterdam, there is a painting by Rembrandt titled “Jeremiah.” The
prophet is portrayed sitting, his head in his hands, in tears over the destruction of Jerusalem which is seen in the background of the painting.
The mood of the painting is downcast and the message is clear. God had destroyed their city due to their wickedness. Jeremiah
was downcast.
Yet, Jeremiah did not remain
downcast. Sensing God’s presence, Jeremiah spoke a word of hope for the future—“SEE, THE DAYS ARE COMING—DECLARES
THE LORD—WHEN I WILL FULFILL THE PROMISE I MADE CONCERNING THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND THE HOUSE OF JUDAH….”
I am certain that some of the people thought that he had lost his mind, for he declared his words of hope in the midst of
the ashes of the Temple’s ruins—six months after its destruction. In the face
of the nation’s grief, Jeremiah sought to rally his people into seeing that God is greater than any temple made of stone,
that God is greater than any earthly kingship.
He further declared, “IN
THOSE DAYS AND AT THAT TIME, I WILL RAISE UP A TRUE BRANCH OF DAVID’S LINE.”
The Hebrew verb that is used here is “EKAMTI” which literally means, “to germinate”—such as a seed germinating within the soil. Jeremiah
declared, “I WILL CAUSE TO GERMINATE A TRUE BRANCH OF DAVID’S LINE.”
This new king would be one of David’s heirs. He would once again bring justice and righteousness in the land, and the nation would once again know
the security of God’s presence. His words, “JUSTICE”
and “RIGHTEOUSNESS” spoke of the total reordering of society—the
government, family relationships, the care of the poor, and the weakest members within the society.
Jeremiah knew that this total reordering of life seemed like an impossible dream. He
knew that it would take a radical transformation of human relationships. People
would have to begin loving one another as they loved themselves. They would
have to begin being peacemakers in the midst of a society characterized by suspicion and estrangement. He knew that his vision was too much for sinful human being
to accomplish. Therefore, Jeremiah declared that God alone simply would
have to bring it about. The God who in creation had brought forth order
out of chaos, and who had set the patterns of day and night—this God would have to bring about this new order.
Especially note that God’s promise of restoration was an unconditional promise.
God alone made the promise. The
people did not promise anything. Further, nothing could remove God’s commitment to the people.
Jeremiah never lived to see the fulfillment of God’s promise of a new world order. Within a few months, the Governor
was assassinated. Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch would have to flee to
Egypt for safety. There in Egypt, Jeremiah died, still looking forward to the fulfillment of that promise.
In his letter of First Thessalonians, which was one of the lectionary readings for today, Paul was writing an
infant church that had faced mob violence. He was concerned whether these
new Christians would be able to stand up to the social and political pressures that they were facing. He had sent Timothy on a fact-finding mission to assess the health of that congregation. Timothy had
then reported to Paul that the church was being faithful in its witness. Therefore,
Paul wrote to them, encouraging them in the faith and praying that they might “BE BLAMELESS BEFORE OUR GOD AND FATHER
AT THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS WITH ALL OF HIS SAINTS.” Paul knew that
because of their expectation of Christ’s Second Coming, that expectation gave the Church its Christian mission to the
world. They therefore would work toward establishing a world order consistent
with that new world order that Christ would establish.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the house in Alabama where Helen
Keller had grown up. Her story has been told through the movie “The
Miracle Worker.” Helen Keller had been born blind, deaf, and speechless.
She lived in a world of her own, and was unable to communicate with any other human being.
Her parents had tried everything.
Finally, in desperation they employed Annie Sullivan, a newly trained
teacher, to work with Helen. Years later, Helen Keller wrote…
“The most important day in all my life is the one on which my teacher came to me. On the afternoon of that eventful
day, I stood on the porch, dumb and expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mother’s
signs, and from the hurrying to and fro, that something unusual was about to happen.
So I went to the door and waited on the steps. I did not know what the
future held; anger and bitterness had preyed upon me constantly and left me in a great struggle. I felt approaching footsteps. I stretched out my hand, as
I supposed it to be my mother. Someone took it …and I was caught up and
held close in the arms of someone who had come to reveal all things to me; and more than all else, to love me.”
Helen Keller’s words struck me: “…AND I WAS HELD CLOSE IN THE ARMS OF SOMEONE WHO HAD COME TO REVEAL
ALL THINGS TO ME; AND MORE THAN ALL ELSE, TO LOVE ME.” Such is the promise
of Advent. God comes to us amidst the toils, the conflicts, the sorrows, the
betrayals, the challenges, and the sufferings that we all pass through. God comes
to us as silently as the flight of a dove, he calls us by name, he embraces us, and most of all he unconditionally loves us.
Moreover, through his fellowship called the Church, we learn his name—it
is Jesus Christ.
Dr. William dePrater
