The liturgical year starts today in the Christian calendar. We are now four Sundays before the celebration of the incarnation entering into a period of solemnity and waiting for the event of Christ's presence. The Advent candle wreath is lit for the first time and we are reminded that this Sunday is about the prophets who foretold the coming of the Christ child, much as Jeremiah does in the reading set for today (Jer. 33:14-16); a prophesy of hope. A prophesy that a new branch will come out of the the solid tree of David the king of ancient Israel, perhaps a new King that throws of the bondage of colonialism. This prophesy is made in a number of ways by several of the prophets in some form or another but what does it portend for us in this day and age when prophesy is no longer listened to having been fulfilled in the birth of the Christ child?
I think that we need to re-look at this purposively for ourselves and not as if it has been fulfilled but something that is constantly present as a nucleus of change in a chaotic world. It presents us with a challenge that is an invitation to prepare for something wonderful and fulfilling. All prophesy is an invitation to a new beginning and a new future as it displaces what we think is our future and introduces us to something unexpected. Perhaps what we need in the present time is to listen once more to a true prophesy from God and not the false prophets of the world of politics and entertainment. In looking forward to the incarnation we look forward to a moment of change as God's presence enters the world of creation. In the same way prophesy initiates that change by giving to us a glimpse of the future and what it could be like if we were to listen to God's voice.
Christ speaks about the idea of prophesy predicting the second coming as he turns to the parable of the fig tree (Lk. 21:29-31). The prediction of change which will interrupt our own world view so much so that we will find ourselves grasping for new life. It is always easier to see the expected changes that the world brings upon us. It is easy to see and forecast economic and changes to how government is going to work in terms of policies and the future. It is much more difficult to predict and make ready for changes in the heart of a community as these changes inevitably begin in the hearts and minds of people away from the public arena. Yet, those signs and those visions are often the first indication we have of a change in the way our lives are lived. Perhaps one such is the way we are seeing different people coming forward in local elections around the country. People we would otherwise not expect to be placed in positions of authority and trust. These are small yet definite signs of change within the political environment that may explode onto the bigger stage in the future. It is these and similar foretellings within our faith that we need to pay attention to determine God's presence and work in our communities.
In looking forward to the incarnation we are also looking forward to Christ's presence or second coming. In looking at this time to the birth of a child and the incarnation we perhaps need to realise that the signs of prophesy that were present in scripture were dismissed, in a manner of speaking, as the expectation was not the reality. For us, this is a reminder that our expectation of return is perhaps not what we conceive from our interpretations but rather what God conceives for us. We perhaps need to prepare without expectation of what we think is Christ's coming but by ensuring that our hearts and minds are filled with the love of God for each other and build our community so that we may become blameless before God's presence as Christ is made known to us (1 Thess. 3:12-13). We fully understand the way of the world and can read the winds of change within our normal processes and world but we rarely perceive the things connected to our faith in as certain a manner as we do the mundane. We rarely pay attention to the prophesies of God that tell of a future that is built on love. We cannot conceive in our world something that is simple as we look for the complex. Yet prophesy at the heart is a call to change which is small and yet makes room for a greater understanding than we have today.
No comments:
Post a Comment