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We join a new Christian Year with the coming of the First Sunday in Advent. “The coming of Advent jolts the Church out of Ordinary Time with the invasive news that it’s time to think about fresh possibilities for deliverance and human wholeness”, says Patricia deJong (FEASTING on the WORD, B 1:4). Some will see Advent as merely a preparation for Christmas; bring on those wise men, angels and donkeys. But there’s more: a promise of God to keep interfering in our sordid world, as we search longingly for News beyond Business as Usual.

ISAIAH 64:1-9 was probably heard after the People returned from Babylonian Exile, yet before the Temple was rebuilt. Most of the Exiles were too young to remember the old traditions; they were firmly enmeshed in the urban culture of Mesopotamia, and had returned to the Promised Land only to please Grandma. Third Isaiah whined, “There is no one who calls on your name”, and in the margin an earlier version of myself has written “ain’t it the truth!” All that was left was a two-pronged hope: first, that YHWH was there; and second, that God cared enough to break in. Isaiah calls people of faith to watch with eyes of Hope.

St. Paul opens his FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHANS in a graceful manner, knowing that he would eventually lay some pretty heavy stuff on them. “…as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, he will also strengthen you to the end.” Paul believed in the immanent coming of Christ, so these verses (1:3-9) attempt to cheer those who waver between worldly living and a more holy lifestyle. Expecting this Advent, he celebrates that which already shows in congregational life: the passage invites us to be thankful not only for material gifts, but for the spiritual ones as well.

MARK is the first known Gospel to be written: unaware of the Christmas stories, his idea of Advent dwells especially on the wait for Jesus to appear. In 13:24-37, he remembers (?) Jesus speaking about Final Things–the great darkness, the falling stars, and Jesus himself appearing in the clouds. No one knows when this Day of the Lord will come upon us, so Be Alert! How does this contrast with our own Advent waiting?

Holly and mistletoe are very nice! I enjoy my neighbors’ festive lights already marking our streets! Who doesn’t like Christmas trees? But the Words of the Church call us deeper into the anticipation of a Living Christ, who comes into our midst often to remind us that there’s Something else than glitter and glitz. The Lord is near!!

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join in the conversation every Tuesday, as we together contemplate texts assigned to the upcoming weekend.

Literature, from Bugs Bunny to Martin the Cobbler, has many stories about not recognizing the Good in others. Why not? One of our dearest nightmares has been passing by the Friendly–the Holy–on our way to our personal agendas. On this weekend, often called the Reign of Christ, we’re called to the pinnacle of the Christian Year when we celebrate the omnipotence of Jesus as God places all Creation under Christ’s control. Scriptural lessons to be read emphasize this ultimate Lordship.

EZEKIEL 34:11-16 illuminates the prophet’s constant message about how YHWH wishes to care for the People, the “sheep of God’s Pasture”. And our part of this care involves seeing the Holy in all things, binding up the wounded and feeding the hungry, providing a safe place and sheltering the vulnerable. These are creatures being rescued from the Valley of the Shadow of Death each day, by Divine command. Those claiming the Name of God are called to embrace a discipline of justice, treating all with equity and ensuring that this equity is realized within the System.

Who wrote the Letter to the EPHESIANS, and does it matter? Verses 1:15-23 speak about the power ascribed to Christ as he was seated at God’s right hand, “far above any rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named…” As Jesus is progenitor of the Church, it’s thereby expected that this sacred community would maintain an aura of justice and equity, even though most of “culture” doesn’t recognize the living Christ among them… Church members have been joined to Christ’s body to enter into the world and its brokenness with reconciliation and wholeness.

MATTHEW 25:31-40 is one of those familiar parables that everyone quotes but does nothing about. N.B.–this ISN’T about who are sheep and who are goats!! Not for us to judge. But it IS about recognizing the Christ in the homeless, naked, hungry or imprisoned! Most of us fall into the group that says with amazement, “WHEN did we see you in need, and helped you?” and then, under our breath, “Oh! That was YOU?” Attempting to follow these acts of love, we exult in the knowledge that now, even now, God’s Church is in charge “though the Wrong seems oft so strong.” Who’s that knocking at my door?

We’re reminded by Karyn L. Wiseman (in FEASTING on the WORD, A 4:319) that these passages “are ripe with images of compassion and accountability to show not only how we are loved by God, but also what immense responsibilities we have to share that gracious gift of care and compassion with others of the flock, whether in distant places or our immediate neighborhood.” Just a minute, just a minute, I’ll be right there.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join us every Tuesday as we’re examined by scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com

But I’m really busy today. Can’t this wait until Saturday? That’ll be a lot better for me. Can’t God postpone the Day of the Lord to meet my schedule? I suspect we’re all in this dilemma: we’ll welcome God, but we’d prefer that God would stay out of sight for a while. Yet here we are in Church, hoping that Divinity will pass us by and get to those awful neighbors. Scripture to be heard this weekend reminds us that the Day of the Lord will come, ready or not…

ZEPHANIAH 1:7, 12-18 reminds us in no uncertain terms that God is very much present: “the day of the Lord is at hand”! We like our habits and our stuff, and God is welcome as long as there’s not much required as far as involvement. The prophet blasts those who are complacent in their worship, we who prefer to keep God caged until needed. And if we can’t do that, well, we’re gonna fry! “But God is a GOOD God,” they/we say. YHWH won’t hurt us…much.

I THESSALONIANS 5:1-11 speaks to this: “You yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night”. When we least expect it, God’s gonna show. Paul reminds his people that they’re special, that their knowledge and experience have taught them that their faith will be adequate to stand against calamity and tragedy. They need to be strengthened in the fact that they are indeed citizens of the Things to Come, that their total embrace of the heavenly will tame the roars of God’s coming. Implied here is that the presence of Christ in daily life saves us from the anxieties of worry about how yet to live.

MATTHEW 25:14-30 is–what else?–a parable of Jesus during his last days before crucifixion. He tells about a very rich man who goes off for a bit, leaving his three trusted stewards in charge of his money. To the first he gives five “talents”, to the second he gives two, and the last guy gets one. As you probably remember, the two invest in world commerce, while the last fella buries his money in the ground. Needless to say, when the rich man finally returns, he’s not pleased with the one who buried his talent. We’re presented with extreme generosity, still with the expectations that some risk is involved. The Kingdom of God is based upon the question, “What shall we do until the Master gets here?”

There used to be a bulletin board that read, “Don’t make me come down there!–God”. And a bumper sticker that advertised, “Jesus is coming again–and is he mad!” Some of our more liturgical friends have sung, “Dies Irae, dies magnus calamitatus et miserie” (Day of God’s wrath, day of great calamity and misery). Although the Last Things may be delayed, they’re bound to come–and blessed are they who use the time wisely in serving God.

In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King

Please join the conversation every Tuesday as we examine texts to be read on the upcoming weekend; at horacebrownking.com

I don’t like to wait. Check-out lines at food markets, red lights at intersections… Most of us are impatient for Something To Happen. Scripture to be read on the upcoming weekend talks about “the Day of the Lord” when history as we know it will be complete and we’ll see God face to face. Please remember that these are HUMAN expressions uttered in a specific context, and give us a glimpse only off what God’s up to at that time.

Our Old Testament encounter is with the prophet AMOS 5:18-24. He tells the People of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) that their worship traditions don’t matter nearly as much as their ethical conduct does. These are strong words by which he stresses God’s anger at the “proper” worship and the neglect of justice and righteousness. Get your act together before wishing it all to end! “Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”

The Day of the Lord didn’t come then, but Paul thinks that it’ll happen during his lifetime (I THESSALONIANS 4:13-18. In the meantime, says he, act courteously to each other and encourage each other even about death. These folks evidently didn’t sell their belongings and gather on the mountain-top to await Christ; they carried on with their daily work and relationships, moving from crisis to crisis. Our physical death doesn’t yield a hopeless ending; it is but a doorway to Life as it should be, Life as God has planned it from the first.

Everyone wants to know what Heaven/the Kingdom of God will be like. Jesus tried to paint pictures in earthly words to approximate the indescribable. MATTHEW 25:1-13 is one of these teaching parables: 5 wise maidens who made provision for a delay, and 5 who did not. The bridegroom is arriving when you least expect it: the Day of the Lord will dawn in a surprising revelation. The message is about keeping ready and waiting in a meaningful pose. As the old Welsh preacher once asked his flock, “Which would you rather do? Keep awake with the wise maidens, or sleep with the foolish ones?”

WAITING FOR GODOT is a two-person play featuring Vladimir and Estragon: they live through their life-crises and shared experiences while waiting for Godot to show up. He never does, but life continues. Will he eventually come? Or has he already, several times? “Where have you seen God at work?”