Straight Paths and Switch-Backs
Advent 3C
Zeph. 3:14-20; Isa. 12:2-6;
Phil 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18
12/13/09
Lorraine Ljunggren
Compline is the short prayer service we Episcopalians and other liturgical churches do at the close of the day. This past week I was reflecting on a particular prayer in our Service of Compline – a prayer I have long loved. And, even though its setting is intended for nighttime, it translates into the rest of the day as well.
I realized how relevant the prayer is to my life and to our lives here at St. Mark's.
“Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (BCP 133)
The core of the prayer which leaps off the page for me is: “that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in [God's] eternal changelessness.” When I lead Compline, I always choose to include this particular prayer because it reminds me that the changes and chances of life can wear on us and that life is ever-changing, filled with chances, or opportunities, some of which we welcome and others which we resist, some of which we can anticipate and others which come upon us suddenly. But, that God is present to protect us.
We all know that life's path is rarely like a mid-Western interstate highway, stretching out beyond the horizon in a straight, unbroken line, with little we cannot see or anticipate. Life's path is more akin to the roads in the mountains of Western North Carolina, with gentle curves we can take without breaking our stride, yes, but also with sudden switch-backs which cause us to hit the brakes, slowing down in anticipation of what we cannot see around the bend.
Whether for brief times our paths are straightforward, presenting few changes or chances to challenge us, or it seems as if we constantly have to hit the brakes and slow down because all we encounter are the sharp curves that weary us with their challenges, God is in our midst. We are not the first people, nor are we the last who'll face such changes or chances. But, God is in our midst!
We are reminded of that reality by the prophet Zephaniah, writing in the time of King Josiah. Zephaniah ends his brief, only three-chapter writings on a note of joy and hope. In the first two and half chapters the prophet takes the people of Israel to task for their failure to be the people God has called and created them to be. Zephaniah rails against them for idolatry and other misdeeds. But, like other prophets of old, reminds them: God will renew God's love for the people, will bring them home, and grant them salvation. The prophet, in no uncertain terms, assures the people that, “The Lord, your God, is in your midst…” (Zeph. 3:17a)
In like manner, the Canticle we sang from Isaiah comes after the prophet points out that the people have acted in such a way that God was angry and, yet, God's anger turns away and God comforts the people. (Isa. 12:1). Isaiah assures us that God is ever-present to save us from the changes and chances of life, including those times that we make wrong choices. “Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for the great one in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa. 12:6)
“Paul is writing to the Philippians about rejoicing, but not in some idyllic way. Paul is writing from prison…He knows the way of costly discipleship. Still Paul writes of joy in God's promises. These are not lessons of cheap grace… [in each case the writers talk] of coming through to joy on the other side of a cleansing process.” (Luke Bouman in Currents in Theology & Mission, quoted in Synthesis) Paul assures the church at Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” (Phil.4:4-5)
Each of these writers knows well and recognizes that God is in our midst in all the changes and chances of life. God's love and saving grace is always in our midst – a source of strength as well as a reason for rejoicing & hope.
This all sets the stage for a glimpse into an event, recounted by the writer of Luke, prior to Jesus' baptism by his cousin John. In today's reading John the Baptist is addressing a group of people who are coming out to be baptized by him. The people who come are very different from one another. In a fiery way John tells them quite frankly that, if they don't change their ways and bear good fruit, the consequences will be dire. So, when the crowd asks him, “What then should we do?” he takes a very interesting tack. (Lk. 3:10) Rather than ask the people to leave their everyday lives behind and follow him, “…he calls people to fidelity in the very circumstances of their lives: Those who have more than they need, share with those who have less; tax collectors, be honest; soldiers, do not take advantage of the vulnerable; [we can imagine him adding,] parents, cherish your children; spouses, be faithful; neighbors, live in peace.” (Dianne Bergant in America 2003 quoted in Synthesis 12/12/09)
Like those who come out to be baptized by John, we're to be honest in our daily lives, we're to honor the vulnerable and give voice to their needs.
We are to be true to our identity as people of God in the circumstances of our lives. Those of us who have more than we need are to share with others.
There are all manner of opportunities to do so this Advent Season – our Alternative Gift Giving, the Angel Tree to which you have so generously responded, programs in our community to provide clothing and coats for those who face the cold without, food for the food pantry, your pledges which help underwrite grants to area helping-organizations.
There are chances all the year long to make better a world nearby and far away in need of reasons to rejoice. Giving of our time to one another: working with our children and youth; visiting those we know or know of who are shut-in and unable to be part of the communities they inhabited in the past; making a meal when sickness strikes a household; helping out around the church so that those who pass by and those who use our spaces feel safe and welcome; joining a commission or committee in support of our efforts to stretch our minds and hearts and hospitality as people of faith; keeping us aware of and strengthening our links to God's people in other parts of the world; working daily in ways small and large to help bring peace to our war-plagued sisters and brothers near and far; working for reconciliation in every place we find ourselves where divisions exist.
Patricia Templeton puts it well when she writes: “The type of rejoicing that we celebrate today is not a giddy, senseless joy that ignores the harsh realities of life. This is not a joy based on denial, a whistling-past-the-graveyard, 'don't-worry-be-happy' kind of joy. Instead, this is a joy based on the recognition of God's love and presence in our lives, despite the distance between God's hopes and intents for humanity and the reality of how we actually live. This is a joy, [she says,] that comes to us in the wilderness and in times of deepest darkness. John the Baptist emerges from the wilderness and enters into our Advent observance, calling us to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.” (quoted in Synthesis)
As we navigate the changes and chances of our lives, as we travel the straight paths and the switch-backs, may we do so living everyday aware of and believing that God is in our midst – that the Lord is truly near to us at all times and in all places – that we are never alone but always live in the presence of the Living and Loving God. “Cry aloud, inhabitants of [St. Mark's], ring out your joy, for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa. 12:6) “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7) Amen.
©2009
Lorraine Ljunggren