Thought for Today
Isaiah 9:6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
Yesterday, during worship, we lit the Candle of Joy on our Advent Wreath. This morning, I am fascinated by ironic nature of the joy we anticipate during this Advent season.
Everything we learn as children in Sunday School seems a bit contrary to the world around us. Do the meek really inherit the world? Most days it seems that the meek merely get pushed aside by the more assertive, aggressive types.
Especially this time of year, as I read those verses from Isaiah, as I ponder on the puzzling message of the angel in Luke, I wonder what happened? The world around us suggests most often that the lamb gets eaten by the wolf, the lion eats the calf and the idea of a little child leading any nation or group outside of a nursery school seems wildly improbable.
This year, as we began Advent, we also followed the news reports from the war in Ukraine and the fighting in Gaza. The leaders of the combatants, of Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Hamas are not children . . . although sometimes they do act like petulant children. In all of those conflicts, the children are the ones most suffering the devastations and depredations from mankind’s cruelty to mankind.
Prior to Christianity, all of the stories told in all of the pagan religions about gods interacting with humanity portrayed a very different idea. The stories in Greek and Roman mythologies well demonstrate that truth. First and maybe most important, in those myths, gods never actually took on the reality of being human. Those gods merely disguised themselves as humans. When they did so, almost without exception, the results did not bode well for the humans involved. Those pagan gods behaved in a capricious, often cruel manner complicating the lives of the humans involved.
The same is true of Norse mythology. Thor, Loki and the other Aesir behaved in much the same fashion as did the Greek and Roman gods. All of those gods exhibited cruel, angry behavior. All of the adherents of those gods feared their gods and tried to placate them.
Look at the message given the shepherds in the fields in Luke’s gospel. "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” I often reflect that among the first words of Greek I encountered in seminary were μὴ φοβεῖσθε, in English, ‘do not be afraid.’ The verb is 2nd person plural in the imperative mood, i.e., it is given as a command. Why? Why should those shepherds, why should we not be afraid? Because, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” Good news of great joy!
Those shepherds were tending sheep that were grazing in fields. Those fields were part of an occupied territory. A territory occupied by the armies of the greatest military power at that time, Rome. The occupying Roman troops were not known for their kindness, mercy or tolerance. Had I been one of those shepherds, I wonder how comforted I would have been to hear, “to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
How comforted were they, how comforted are we today, with the idea of a small, helpless newborn leading the world? How insanely ridiculous is the idea of the Creator of all Creation becoming fully human in a totally vulnerable infant? Yet, that is the truth of this season. That is exactly what did happen. And, that child did lead them and us. Ultimately, that child conquered the mighty Roman Empire, not through war and might, but through love and hope. Therein lies the joy of our faith and of this season. What a radical idea! What a radical reality! Love and hope triumphing over guns and ammo!
Stay safe, thank God for unmerited grace, trust God,
Pastor Ray