Do we want the world to change???

Luke paints a much larger picture of Mary than Matthew does.  Luke, tells us about the conversation between Gabriel and Mary, the journey to Elizabeth in the hill country and the wonderful song of praise that Mary sings. Luke also includes the Shepherds. Luke’s nativity story is much more focussed on the poor, the lowly, the female and the powerless.

I’ll come back to the song, but to touch on a few other points,

©       This passage resonates with female solidarity, these two women who are pregnant, one older than usual and one younger. At a time when Elizabeth’s husband was unable to speak, she had someone to share her excitement with, and Mary had someone to confide in.

©       The place of extended family, and the support that family can offer in times when we need breathing and thinking space.

©       God communicated with Mary. I wonder how we hear God speak to us today. While Mary was perplexed and shocked at what the angel told her, we have nothing to suggest she doubted that this was a messenger from God. How do we hear God speaking to us today?

©       And when we do sense God speaking to us, in whatever form that is, how do we respond? Do we respond as Mary did, trusting in God as she embraced the message of the angel?

Back to Mary’s song

Mary sings of a world changed,

• a world where people are not poor,
• a world where people are not oppressed,
• a world where God’s mercy is evident.

Mary’s song is a protest song.

a song that speaks of Gods faithfulness

a song that speaks of a new future

and the new future is spoken of as if it already exists.

I wondered about other protest songs, growing up in the seventies there were lots of them.

Songs like:  “Little boxes on the hillside” about the rise of suburbia

“Blowin’ in the wind” about peace and war and freedom

“And the band played Waltzing Matilda” about war

Songs of protest against war, police brutality, environmental destruction

Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Yothu Yindi’s Treaty (1991)

Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s From Little Things Big Things Grow (1991)

Redgum I Was Only Nineteen - Vietnam

Here is an African American song:

Ella’s Song

Composed by Bernice Johnson Reagon, copyright: Songtalk Publishing Co.

Refrain:

We who believe in freedom cannot rest

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes

http://www.bernicejohnsonreagon.com/ella.shtml

There is a saying that seeing is believing, a very western, rational saying. Seeing is believing. There are people who ask me how I can believe in a God I can’t see. It is easy to believe that this is a piano, we can see it, touch it and make a sound with it.

Seeing is believing.

Well I think Mary’s song reminds us that in matters of faith,
believing is seeing.

Mary didn’t wait for the world to change before she sang.
She sang about how blessed she is, blessed to be an unmarried pregnant girl, at a time when she could be stoned to death – Yeah!?
she sang of the way that God was making the world a more just place: “ he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Had that happened before Mary sang – I don’t think so; has it happened yet, no!

Mary sang a song of faith.

Believing is seeing.

Mary sang from the depths of her being, sang about the world as God dreamed it to be, sang about a new world where justice and righteousness and mercy reign, not power and wealth.

Believing is seeing, -- we see what we look for.

At times we talk about God transforming the world, and Mary sang of that transformation.

When we look at our families,
when we look at the local community,
when we look at the nation and the world,
and it can be easy to see places where things are not the way God intended.  

Self-interest, broken relationships, pushing and shoving at national borders, a reliance on shame to control people, oppression, slavery, addictions.

But I wonder:

Do we really want a new world?

Do we really want the kingdom of God to reign?

What would it mean to us, who are by world standards privileged?

What would it mean if workers in clothing factories in Bangladesh and other places were paid fairly and had safe working conditions? Would we be prepared to pay extra for our clothes?

There are countries where children are not in school because they are working – are we prepared to pay more for coffee, chocolate and tea, so that workers are paid fairly and their children can get an education?

Mary’s sings of a world where people matter,
a world where a young pregnant woman can sing of being blessed,
a world where all are fed,
all are treated with dignity and no-one is left out,
a world of justice and mercy.

......

What does it mean to sing Mary’s song today?

Mary’s song is about the world being turned right-side-up. What in your life needs to be turned right-side-up?

If you have some space in your life this week: rewrite Mary’s song for modern times. I would love to see what you write.

Where is the Good news?

“With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.” Luke 3: 18

The good news?

being called a snake,
threatened with unquenchable fire
judgement

Where is the good news in this?

When people were coming to John, to listen, to be baptised, the country was close to a crisis situation.

The people of Israel had been in slavery to Rome for many years. They remembered the stories of the exodus, the liberation from slavery to Egypt. But this time there was not to be an exodus, they were slaves in their own land.

The people were looking for one who would lead them to freedom, freedom to worship God, freedom from oppression and poverty.

When we look at what is happening in many places around the world at the moment, including on Australia, there is still poverty, oppression and fear. With the advances in communication and social media, we know a lot more about what is happening in other parts of the world.

While statistics reported on websites vary, and the number varies each year, something like 50 - 80 woman are killed in Australia each year by a current or former partner.

At a meeting on Friday we heard about some of the consequences for people who had been victims of sexual abuse while attending church schools. Another session we heard about some of the consequences for indigenous people who were in children’s homes. They were not pretty stories.   

Where is the Good news?
Where is good news in times of violence, war and addiction?
Where is good news for the lonely, the grieving and those living with chronic pain?
What is the good news we are looking for?

I doubt it is being called a snake!

John is reminding people that you can’t just say that you worship God, belong to God or believe in God – whichever way you want to express being in relationship with God. Faith isn’t just about words, faith is about action.

The good news is that the judgement separates the chaff from the grain – both from the one stalk. Judgement in this sense is not that a person is good or bad – both reside within each of us. The grain, the fruit is kept, the chaff, the refuse is destroyed.

The judgement here isn’t about your status as baptised or member or born again. The judgement is how you live.

“Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act.” [Luke 3:8 GNB]

And of course the crowd asked: how do we do that?

Basically share what you have. If you have more than you need, share.

Tax collectors and soldiers are two groups who were outcasts in Jewish society. They were collaborators with Rome, and so despised. Tax collectors and soldiers also had the opportunity to charge extra, to ask for bribes or favours.

John doesn’t tell them to quit their jobs, but tax collectors should only take collect is required; and soldiers be content with their wages, which meant no more extortion.

I can remember when I was much younger, and very new Christian, it seemed that all that mattered was saying the ‘right’ prayer to commit my life to Jesus, and then getting other people to pray that prayer. If I could manage that, everything would be great.

The gospel however tells us that being a follower of Jesus is more than saying the ‘right’ prayer. Being true to our name of Christian is about living in a way that shows the fruit of the spirit in our lives.

I came across this quote this week:

“Religion says God will love us if we change
The Gospel says: God’s love changes us”

Are you trying to change so that you will be acceptable to God? That is a waste of time and energy. Allow God’s love to seep into your life, to wash through you, to shine in your life. Then your life will change.

Still looking for the good news in this passage?

If you have no coat and someone gives you one; that might be good news. Remembering that in this time this was written, a coat meant warmth at night as well as protection during the day.

If you have no food and someone shares their food with you; that would be good news. And there were no freezers for long term storage.

This part of the reading, about sharing our excess, reminds me of the judgement at the end of Matthews’s gospel, the story of the sheep and the goats. Jesus comes to us in other people. Would you give Jesus your spare coat if he was cold?
Give it to someone without a coat.

Just as in the time when John was preaching and Baptising, our world needs to be turned right-side-up.

Advent, the time of anticipation and expectation, a time of waiting, is also a time of renewal. A time to reconsider what is important in our lives. A time to think about where peace and joy and hope come from in our lives.

The third Sunday of advent we think about joy. Joy is no happiness quick fix; joy comes from deep within us. Paul is writing from prison when he tells the people of Philippi to rejoice.

In the midst of a world that seems bent on destruction,
where people vie for power,
where violence is the first response to every problem
where home is not a safe place for many people
where life is devalued
we have a different story to tell.

We have a story about God who decided to come in human form
to usher in a new kingdom:
where life is valued
where everyone can feel safe
where power is shared
where peace reigns

During Advent we re-hear the stories of John the Baptist,
the speech of Zechariah,
the song of Mary,
the words of the prophets.
We re-imagine a world turned right-side-up
where no-one is hungry
or cold
or living in fear.

REFLECTION:

Where do you find joy in life?

What is the good news you are longing to hear? 

are we ready?

Malachi, a short book at the end of our Old Testament, is thought to have been written about 430 BC. It is one long speech, full of warnings for the people of Israel. Malachi, as with the other prophets, calls the people of Israel to account for their sinfulness,

for despising God,
for offering less than their best,
for marrying foreign wives.

And then the section we heard read this morning:

“… my messenger is coming
to prepare the way before me
The Lord who you seek will come to his temple.”

We are in the season of Advent, a time of preparation and waiting.

In the media there is lots of help in preparing for Christmas,

the number of shopping days left,
how to cook a wonderful turkey,
or what the latest trends in festive food and clothes are.

But we are not preparing for, or waiting for, Christmas Day. We are waiting for the coming of the Lord. During Advent, we prepare for the coming of Jesus – the first coming, over 2,000 years ago; and what is usually referred to as the second coming – the time when the kingdom of God will be fulfilled.

When I talk with couples preparing for marriage, I try to move beyond the wedding day. So much attention goes on dresses and cars and flowers and photos and food. But the wedding day is one day, yes it is an important day, but a wedding day does not make a marriage.

We can prepare for Christmas Day with gifts and food and family and friends and cards and decorations; there is nothing wrong with any of that. But it isn’t preparing for Christmas, for the coming of Jesus. It isn’t preparing us to make space in our lives for the Baby Jesus. It isn’t encouraging us to reflect on the place of Jesus in our lives.

Just as with a wedding, Christmas celebrations are wonderful. But it is only the start.

Christmas is when God says to us, I am searching for you. Like a cosmic game of hide and seek, where people say they can’t see God or know God. God replies, Here I am!

Prophets spoke warnings and promises. It isn’t the way we use the word prophecy in our day, when it can refer to people trying to predict the future. Biblical prophets warned people about the consequences of their action, or inaction. Prophets also reminded people of the promises of God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God who led you out of Egypt; the God who led you through the wilderness; are all common phrases, reminding the people of the faithfulness and presence of God throughout their history.

Prophets also reminded the people about the covenant of God, the promise of the rainbow, the desire for God to offer salvation for all people.

Prophets spoke warnings and promises.

The role of the messenger, which we hear about in Malachi, and in the words of Isaiah quoted by Luke, is about preparing the way.

Preparing the way for the Lord
Calling people to repentance
Cleaning and cleansing
Making the paths straight
             And smooth
                       And even
And all flesh will see the salvation of God.

Luke’s gospel from beginning to end, takes salvation for all the world – not just a few - seriously. It is a thread running through the whole gospel. “And all flesh will see the salvation of God.”

How do we prepare?

Are we ready?

Many years ago I worked for a mining company. Many of the metals we have are refined by heat and or fire. That is what smelters do, they melt metal so the impurities can be removed. If you watch a silversmith making jewellery, you may notice them burning the metal, removing any contamination.

Sin is what we call contamination in our lives. The judgement of God is about preparation, not punishment. [Anne Stewart, https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2699]

What is it that contaminates our life with God?

Being too busy to build relationships with God and Gods people?
ignoring our neighbours in need?
being self-focussed?
offering God less than our best
          selves
           time
            attitudes

What is it that contaminates our life with God?

What needs to change for us to be ready?

When we know a visitor is coming, we might clean the house, make up the bed in the spare room, set the table.

But this isn’t someone coming for a visit. God incarnate, God in the person of Jesus is moving in forever. We can’t just hide our rubbish for an hour or a few days.

Are we ready?

What do we need to do to prepare for the coming of the Lord?

I know we think of Lent as a time to think about where we need to pull our socks up and follow the example of Jesus in living sacrificially, in being better disciples.

But Advent is also a time to slow a bit, to stop and look at our lives.

Is there space for Jesus, have we crowded Jesus out of our lives with a lot of being busy? Even with church activities?

Have we become complacent, or arrogant?

Are we so used to the warnings and promises that the words wash over us?

In Malachi we hear about the one who will come as a messenger, calling people to repentance, he talks of cleaning and cleansing.

What needs to be cleaned in our lives, purges, refined?

John the Baptist is saying to us:

Get ready,
the world is about to change
the Lord is coming!

Don’t just sit there!
Be prepared to meet the one who can see through you

The one who will transform you.

Are you ready for that kind of change?

Are you ready for the cleansing?

The transformation?

Newsletter question: In what ways are you preparing for Jesus to be born anew in your life this Christmas?