The promise of a new beginning

 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.

Prophecy tells us what could be not what will be

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.

Christ's reign precludes violence

 At the end of the liturgical year we celebrate what has traditionally been known as Christ the King or more recently the coming of Christ's reign. It is perhaps strange that as we give honour to those who have suffered as a result of violence within the home we use words such as king. However, we first need to understand that archaic world views and misogynistic interpretations of scripture has created many situations in the past. Much of this has been the result of a male orientated view of faith and the representation of God in terms of male genderisation. In looking at the history of the church it can be seen that around the time of Paul and shortly thereafter there was a concerted push towards male domination of the burgeoning religious movement founded on Christ. Much of today's celebration is around Kingship because the main ruler was conceived of being a King in earthly terms. Actually. a nuanced mis-interpretation of the word basiliea. This word has been interpreted in terms of physicality of a kingdom rather than the more nuanced understanding of rule or dominion. 

This is made extremely clear in the dialogue between Herod and Christ in John's gospel (Jn. 18:33-37) which we have heard read today. In the normal translation we hear Herod asking are you the "king of the Jews" this could and perhaps should be translated as a question as to whether Christ is the "ruler of the Jews". This is a very different content as Christ goes on in the conversation to say that his 'dominion is not of this world' (Jn. 18:36). He is not talking about something physical but something much more abstract and perhaps powerful. By speaking in terms of kings and kingdoms, we are speaking in terms of physical constructs that are often associated with violence and domination within their sphere of influence. We are legitimising the use of such violence and when we intrude on that the concept of the home being the man's kingdom we beget violence and cruelty. This is an inherited and archaic way of looking at our current concept of society and one that is perpetuated through time by our acceptance and reliance on tradition.

Dance to God's rule not kingship

Let us change that as we reflect this day on the concept of rulership and the concept of Christ's dominion in our lives. This is not a Kingdom but rather an authority which guides us and gives us the direction that leads us into a new way of doing things just as new growth occurs following rain and nutrients (2 Sam. 23:4). It is something we celebrate and not hide a way in shame as it rises above our worldly concerns and reflects God's love into the world. No matter what account we read of the life and teachings of Christ there is one thing that it characterises and that is the acceptance of women as well as a concern for the status of women in a predominantly male society. This teaching is continued into much of the early writings of the burgeoning church and it is not until later that a clear misogynistic view becomes increasingly apparent changing the course and theological understanding of human relationship. God and Christ's rule is clearly one that functions in love and peace rather than in violence and war. 

Christ's reign is not here as we well know from the abuse within the community and within families from all cultures and religious denominations. Our start as Christians is within the Gospel teachings of Christ that are based on God's love for all of creation and not on later theologising influenced by human society and world view. In our celebration of Christ's reign and rule we must be open to God's love and the dictates of the Spirit that tells us to love our neighbours as our selves. We cannot see our relationships in term of conquest or violence but rather in terms of love and building. It is not easy and it is not the common way of society because it means sacrifice of self over the other. A community that is built on this form of relationship, that is one based on the concept of God's love, is a community that is strong and freed of the necessity to hide its shortcomings and poor decisions as it learns through its mistakes rather than casting blame on the other for its own detriments. Such a rule as NT Wright has said is not an optional extra for those who believe in Christ but the essence of our community.

Speaking in honesty

 I wonder if we will ever really be able to speak with honesty in this day and age. I am certain that all of you that read or hear these words will have a problem and say "But I do!". Yes, I am sure many of you do speak honestly and some even speak bluntly about what they see, hear and feel irrespective of the feelings of those that hear. However, I am also pretty sure that you do not speak honestly all the time and in fact you probably do so in order to protect someone close to you. Also we often do not speak honestly because we are afraid of upsetting someone or it is against the norms of society. Just such an issue is death. We come up with all sorts of fake well sounding euphemisms for death. I remember my mother on the death of my father being told how sorry the person was that she had lost her husband so suddenly. My mother's response was "Madam, I would be foolish to have lost him but he is dead!"; much to the horror of the speaker. It is in these ways that we have all lost the ability to speak honestly in the company of those we are. It of course becomes worse the more we rise in prominence within society as we have to watch the p's and q's of political correctness.

Speak with the voice of the Spirit

Sometimes I feel that we in the church have lost our ability to speak strongly and honestly about faith and the journey of faith. We are sent out into the world to proclaim the Good News, the Gospel and this is what Christ asks of us. So it is interesting for us to listen with our hearts to what the Spirit is saying to us when we do that because I am fairly certain that most of us when speaking about our faith utilise theology, or our ability to talk about God. I am not saying we should not do that but what I am saying is that we have to take care that we are actually allowing the Spirit to speak (Mark 13:11) and not our own faulty understanding to speak. In hearing what others say to us we are equally guilty in disbelief especially when they say something contrary to what we believe. In doing so we may miss the spark of the Holy Spirit uttering truths to us which are contrary to our pre-conceived ideals and ideas (1 Sam. 1:13-14). It is only when we allow the Spirit to speak through us and we listen for the voice of the Spirit can we begin to truly discern what God wants from us.

One of the issues for all those of the Christian faith is that we are quite muddled in what and how we speak about our faith. I suggest that most people speak about theology and not about the Gospel or rather their perceptions of what theology suggests is the Gospel. The injunction to truth telling is throughout our scriptures and the injunction about the Gospel comes prior to any theological interpretation of Christ's ministry. We to often rely on our own understanding of what the Gospel means to try to convey the message of truth that is inherent in Christ's message. Christ clearly states that it is for us not to be concerned about what we speak but to rely solely on the Spirit as the Spirit is the one that has already prepared what we say. For us the uncomfortable fact is that we are much more comfortable with our own understanding of the Gospel than that which God wishes to pass on through the words of Spirit and truth. Our frailty and our own recognition suffer if we feel we depart from the words that we think are truth and the words or doctrine or message that we wish to convey.

All this may seem heretical or not what the Gospel is about but in reality we need to start to listen to the Spirit that God sent rather than to our own spirits. In speaking about our faith we have firstly to speak with honesty, not our own honesty but the honesty of the Spirit that thrives within us. We are asked to speak about our faith and our faith journey we can only do that when we allow God's Spirit to speak for us. It may seem that what we say or do is contrary to what we think we should say or do but then we need to have sufficient faith to rely on God's presence. It is not as if we need to be timid in faith but rather bold knowing that Christ has been and is our high priest offered and offering up for us the sin which is inherent in us but is no longer (Heb. 10:11-ff). Only in faith can we be assured that God speaks through our actions. The moment we let ourselves to be without faith and rely on our own strength do we fall and not speak the Gospel.

All the Saints

 In celebrating all the saints this year it is perhaps something of an impossibility to not first understand what we mean by celebrating all saints. I am sure that most of us can rattle of the name of at least a few saints, particularly as a number of us are probably named after such saints. Also when we refer to the saints more often then not we are referring to some old or not so old stuffy people who acted in a manner that was pleasing to the church, who left a legacy for us to emulate. Perhaps that is a bit harsh but there is a whole rigmarole around the manufacture of a saint in the eyes of traditional church. Much of it is to do with the proof of miracles and wonder working in their name. Not only that but within the jurisdiction of the Catholic church it sometimes takes years before a saint is recognised. Is that what this day is about, some stuffy old folk who have had the church recognise their deeds?  Are they all dead, as seems to be implied by our readings for today from the Wisdom of Solomon and the raising of Lazarus?

We revere those who are seemingly the saints of the church and more often then not those we revere are dead. It is only on rare occasions that we seem to suggest that someone is a living saint. Those that are labelled as such are often extraordinary in our eyes. Yet, in scripture especially when we look at Paul's letters the people of the way are often referred to as saints. Paul quite often states "Give my greetings to the saints" or some similar words. What in deed does the word actually mean over and above the attribution we give to it? Well saint comes from the Latin, sanctus, which means holy, so in this case saints are holy. If we remember from scripture and elsewhere we are asked to make ourselves a holy people acceptable in God's sight. We also at the end of each eucharistic service present ourselves as living sacrifices, i.e. make us living holy people. So who actually should we be honouring today is it those who have shown us exemplary records of behaviour or is it something simpler?

We are all the saints

If, we are to believe the writings of Paul and others we have to change our way of thinking and on All Saints day actually celebrate all the saints. We are so hung up with tradition that we neglect to understand that today celebrates the lives of those who follow the path that Christ has set. Once we understand this we can begin to celebrate our own paths to Christ as the saints of the present day. This does not mean that we neglect those who have gone before but rather to understand their meaning for us as the current saints of today. The descriptions and our scriptures that celebrate those who have been described as saints let us know how to behave and how to create community so that we with all the saints can celebrate God's presence amongst us. Nothing promises an easy life and nothing promises that there will be no hardship but what is promised is that at the end of the day we will be accepted with grace and peace such that we will shine as gold (Wis. 3:3b, 7). 

Like Lazarus our bindings will be undone and we will be set free (Jn. 11.44) even when we have been abandoned as if dead and destroyed (Wis. 3:3). It is when we accept the vision of God in our hearts and bring that glory into our communities because of who we are. We are reviled for telling the truth but in our truth telling we judge the nations or at least those who assume power. In accepting the cross of Christ we also accept the burden that comes with it. That burden is the burden of truth and love something that those of the current age have abandoned as we have seen so often in the recent political past. We are too often discouraged by not appearing to make any progress or we are too easily dissuaded by those around us who have committed themselves to a modernity that discourages our own community interactions as divisive rather than bond forming. Yet, the saints continue to form bonds that are beyond the ephemeral bonds of today. Bonds that last lifetimes rather than the few minutes of popularity that is the grasping of modern society and the drug of choice, instant fame or infamity to be forgotten when the next instant appears. Our bonds are bonds that last forever and are sought not for fame but for hope and love. Let us dedicate ourselves as saints of today's church who bring hope and truth into the world around us.