Carriers of the Light of Peace
Isaiah 2:1-5
December 2, 2007
First Sunday in Advent
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Today is the first Sunday in the season of the church year known as Advent -a
word that literally means coming. It is that time of the year when we prepare to
celebrate the birth of Jesus -the one who is called Prince of Peace; the one who
embodied God's extravagant hospitality and prodigal love, welcoming the outcast
and the sinner, advocating for the poor and the neglected, healing the sick,
mending the broken and inviting all people to live the truth of who they are -sons
and daughters of God. Although many of us -especially the children- look forward
to the celebration of Christmas with great anticipation, most of us have lost the true
sense of anticipation that Advent embodies. According to Walt Bruggeman, "Advent
invites us to awaken from our numbed endurance of what is and our domesticated
expectations to consider life afresh in light of new gifts that God is about to give."
So imagine for a moment what if this advent peace -true peace, lasting peace is
really coming? What if this advent God really is about to break into history bringing
justice and fairness for the poor, the outcast, the strangers and aliens among us?
What if this advent the earth really will be healed and the economy transformed so
that all people have equal access to all that they need to live fully and freely. What
if this advent broken relationships between people and nations will be healed? What
if this advent abuse and violence become things of the past and hatred and fear no
longer hold sway? What if this advent the world really is about to change? What if
this advent marks not just the coming of a celebration of something that happened
some 2,000 years ago, but also the coming of the new things God is about to do
right here, right now, in the midst of our tired stressed-out, over-burdened,
somewhat skeptical lives? Wouldn't that be something to really get excited about,
something to hope for, something to get ready for? What if.....? To quote an old
song "You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Why don't you
come and join us and the world will live as one." What if...?
Isaiah 2:1-5
December 2, 2007
First Sunday in Advent
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Today is the first Sunday in the season of the church year known as Advent -a
word that literally means coming. It is that time of the year when we prepare to
celebrate the birth of Jesus -the one who is called Prince of Peace; the one who
embodied God's extravagant hospitality and prodigal love, welcoming the outcast
and the sinner, advocating for the poor and the neglected, healing the sick,
mending the broken and inviting all people to live the truth of who they are -sons
and daughters of God. Although many of us -especially the children- look forward
to the celebration of Christmas with great anticipation, most of us have lost the true
sense of anticipation that Advent embodies. According to Walt Bruggeman, "Advent
invites us to awaken from our numbed endurance of what is and our domesticated
expectations to consider life afresh in light of new gifts that God is about to give."
So imagine for a moment what if this advent peace -true peace, lasting peace is
really coming? What if this advent God really is about to break into history bringing
justice and fairness for the poor, the outcast, the strangers and aliens among us?
What if this advent the earth really will be healed and the economy transformed so
that all people have equal access to all that they need to live fully and freely. What
if this advent broken relationships between people and nations will be healed? What
if this advent abuse and violence become things of the past and hatred and fear no
longer hold sway? What if this advent the world really is about to change? What if
this advent marks not just the coming of a celebration of something that happened
some 2,000 years ago, but also the coming of the new things God is about to do
right here, right now, in the midst of our tired stressed-out, over-burdened,
somewhat skeptical lives? Wouldn't that be something to really get excited about,
something to hope for, something to get ready for? What if.....? To quote an old
song "You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Why don't you
come and join us and the world will live as one." What if...?
In the seventh century before the common era in the midst of a country torn
asunder by war, during a time of political and religious upheaval when people
seemed to care only about themselves and their own families and few if any obeyed
the mandates of the Torah to care for the poor, the outcast and the strangers in
their land, a time when the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting
poorer and the priests and the court appointed prophets were proclaiming God's
blessing on Israel and Israel alone; in the midst of such a world a young man
named Isaiah had a what if vision.
2In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established
as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all
the nations shall stream to it. 3Many peoples shall come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the
God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in
his paths."
O:\Sermons\Sermons 2007\12-2-07 Isa 2-1-5.docLast printed 1/23/2008 10:37:00 AM - 2 -
Now this "learning God's ways" is more than just an intellectual "knowledge of."
It is a deep and abiding "experience with," a kind of knowing that permeates every
fiber of our being because it has been experienced within a community of God's
people who have learned how to be carriers of God's light. It is trusting Divine
mercy and compassion because we have experienced it at the hands of God's
people. It is confidence in God's extravagant hospitality because we have received
it through the arms of God's servants. It is being sure that we are loved just as we
are, because we have felt it through the embrace of God's beloved community. It is
relying on God's wisdom and the power of God's love because we have seen it at
work overcoming brokenness and forging bounds of peace among God's faith-filled
children.
And when such community exists, when such experiential learning takes place,
when people know, really know, then they will find the desire, the will, the
commitment, to transform life-denying habits, life-depleting actions and life-robbing
implements of war into life-enhancing, life-blessing, life-affirming gifts of shalom.
And, Isaiah asserts, it will happen. I don't know when, but it will happen. So people
of Israel, House of Jacob, since you and I are already on the mountain of the Lord;
since we already know what God requires of us; since we have already tasted God's
liberating power and experienced God's graciousness, then "O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, now! Let us live what we know and do
what we can to be carriers of the light of peace, now!"
In the midst of a nation preparing for war, Isaiah sought to call his people to put
their trust in God, and "walk the talk" by doing what only they could do to create a
community where all who saw them would sense God's presence and come to
experience the power of God's love. Because, that's how this "what if" comes to be,
one person, one heart, one life at a time.
A book titled The Anatomy of Peace published by the Arbinger Institute puts it
this way:
Not all weapons are aimed at the flesh. .... Bitterness, envy,
indifference, resentment -these are hallmarks of the hot and cold wars
that fester in the hearts of family members, neighbors, colleagues, and
former friends the world over. If we can't find the way to peace in these
relationships, what hope have we for finding it between nations at war?
Rev. Fred Craddock recounts an experience when he served a small mission
church in the Appalachian Mountains in a place called Watts Bar Lake. It was the
custom of that church at Easter to have a baptismal service. Now since it was a
Disciples of Christ congregation, baptism was by full immersion, so this service was
held at sundown at the lake. As Fred tells the story, he and those who were to be
baptized walked out into the lake on a sandbar and after each person was baptized
they moved across to the other side of the lake where the congregation was
gathered singing and preparing supper around a blazing fire. As the newly baptized
followers stepped out of the water they were greeted and escorted into a little
booth made out of blankets to change their clothes and then taken to the center of
the singing circle gathered around the fire.
Once everyone, including Pastor Fred, was around the fire one of the men stood
up and introduced all the new people, gave their names and where they lived and
O:\Sermons\Sermons 2007\12-2-07 Isa 2-1-5.docLast printed 1/23/2008 10:37:00 AM - 3 -
worked. Then, each newly baptized follower would stand, look around the circle and
say "My name is... and if you ever need anyone to do washing and ironing, ..." "My
name is... and if you ever need anybody to chop wood, ...." "My name is... and if you
ever need anyone to repair your house,...." "My name is... and if you every need
someone to baby sit, ...." "My name is... and if you every need anyone to sit with
the sick, ..." On and on it went, each one offering his own special gift; each one
giving of her time and talents in some very personal way; each one adding to this
community where people could come to know, really know God.
Through the power of God alive in our midst that's what the church is called to
be and do -a community where each person is welcomed, loved, valued and
affirmed, a community where simple gifts of time and talents are offered and
received, a community where each of us learns how to turn our own personal
implements of fear and hostility, resentment and misunderstanding into acts of
loving kindness, a community where the Spirit of God is at work showing us by
example the way to overcome alienation and teaching us in word and deed how to
live in peace.
We have already begun to experience such a community, so, people of
Plainfield, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, now! Let us live what we know
and do what we can to be carriers of the light of peace, now!"
What if this advent ....?
asunder by war, during a time of political and religious upheaval when people
seemed to care only about themselves and their own families and few if any obeyed
the mandates of the Torah to care for the poor, the outcast and the strangers in
their land, a time when the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting
poorer and the priests and the court appointed prophets were proclaiming God's
blessing on Israel and Israel alone; in the midst of such a world a young man
named Isaiah had a what if vision.
2In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established
as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all
the nations shall stream to it. 3Many peoples shall come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the
God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in
his paths."
O:\Sermons\Sermons 2007\12-2-07 Isa 2-1-5.docLast printed 1/23/2008 10:37:00 AM - 2 -
Now this "learning God's ways" is more than just an intellectual "knowledge of."
It is a deep and abiding "experience with," a kind of knowing that permeates every
fiber of our being because it has been experienced within a community of God's
people who have learned how to be carriers of God's light. It is trusting Divine
mercy and compassion because we have experienced it at the hands of God's
people. It is confidence in God's extravagant hospitality because we have received
it through the arms of God's servants. It is being sure that we are loved just as we
are, because we have felt it through the embrace of God's beloved community. It is
relying on God's wisdom and the power of God's love because we have seen it at
work overcoming brokenness and forging bounds of peace among God's faith-filled
children.
And when such community exists, when such experiential learning takes place,
when people know, really know, then they will find the desire, the will, the
commitment, to transform life-denying habits, life-depleting actions and life-robbing
implements of war into life-enhancing, life-blessing, life-affirming gifts of shalom.
And, Isaiah asserts, it will happen. I don't know when, but it will happen. So people
of Israel, House of Jacob, since you and I are already on the mountain of the Lord;
since we already know what God requires of us; since we have already tasted God's
liberating power and experienced God's graciousness, then "O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, now! Let us live what we know and do
what we can to be carriers of the light of peace, now!"
In the midst of a nation preparing for war, Isaiah sought to call his people to put
their trust in God, and "walk the talk" by doing what only they could do to create a
community where all who saw them would sense God's presence and come to
experience the power of God's love. Because, that's how this "what if" comes to be,
one person, one heart, one life at a time.
A book titled The Anatomy of Peace published by the Arbinger Institute puts it
this way:
Not all weapons are aimed at the flesh. .... Bitterness, envy,
indifference, resentment -these are hallmarks of the hot and cold wars
that fester in the hearts of family members, neighbors, colleagues, and
former friends the world over. If we can't find the way to peace in these
relationships, what hope have we for finding it between nations at war?
Rev. Fred Craddock recounts an experience when he served a small mission
church in the Appalachian Mountains in a place called Watts Bar Lake. It was the
custom of that church at Easter to have a baptismal service. Now since it was a
Disciples of Christ congregation, baptism was by full immersion, so this service was
held at sundown at the lake. As Fred tells the story, he and those who were to be
baptized walked out into the lake on a sandbar and after each person was baptized
they moved across to the other side of the lake where the congregation was
gathered singing and preparing supper around a blazing fire. As the newly baptized
followers stepped out of the water they were greeted and escorted into a little
booth made out of blankets to change their clothes and then taken to the center of
the singing circle gathered around the fire.
Once everyone, including Pastor Fred, was around the fire one of the men stood
up and introduced all the new people, gave their names and where they lived and
O:\Sermons\Sermons 2007\12-2-07 Isa 2-1-5.docLast printed 1/23/2008 10:37:00 AM - 3 -
worked. Then, each newly baptized follower would stand, look around the circle and
say "My name is... and if you ever need anyone to do washing and ironing, ..." "My
name is... and if you ever need anybody to chop wood, ...." "My name is... and if you
ever need anyone to repair your house,...." "My name is... and if you every need
someone to baby sit, ...." "My name is... and if you every need anyone to sit with
the sick, ..." On and on it went, each one offering his own special gift; each one
giving of her time and talents in some very personal way; each one adding to this
community where people could come to know, really know God.
Through the power of God alive in our midst that's what the church is called to
be and do -a community where each person is welcomed, loved, valued and
affirmed, a community where simple gifts of time and talents are offered and
received, a community where each of us learns how to turn our own personal
implements of fear and hostility, resentment and misunderstanding into acts of
loving kindness, a community where the Spirit of God is at work showing us by
example the way to overcome alienation and teaching us in word and deed how to
live in peace.
We have already begun to experience such a community, so, people of
Plainfield, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord, now! Let us live what we know
and do what we can to be carriers of the light of peace, now!"
What if this advent ....?
