The Message On A Postcard
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
December 5, 2004
Second Sunday in Advent / Cycle A
Dear Fellow Preachers,
Examples of uncontrolled personal rage have landed on the front pages of our newspapers in recent days, and we wonder whether some of these incidents are exacerbated by the increasing experience of stress in our everyday lives.
We all experience the distinctive stress of Advent -- the pre-Christmas rush. It is no surprise that John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas found a large and receptive readership a couple of years ago.
While chronic stress can certainly be debilitating and destructive, some stress can lead to productive, positive change. With these thoughts in mind, The Immediate Word team member Carlos Wilton reflects on the "high stress" message and ministry of John the Baptist, as described in this Sunday's Gospel lection, Matthew 3:1-12. John's work had a powerful effect on his listeners, including the crowds from Judea as well as Jesus and his disciples. Can we learn to avoid the unhealthy stress imposed by our culture (or self-imposed) and instead find ways to put the tension and stress that come from a living faith to restorative and redemptive purposes?
As usual, comments, illustrations, worship resources, and a children's sermon round out this issue of The Immediate Word.
Stress on Earth
Matthew 3:1-12
The Message on a Postcard
It's Advent. Are we having stress yet? This is the time of year when shopping lists get larger and bank accounts get smaller. Calendars start filling up, and leisure time drains away. A strange way to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace, no?
Stress has been much in the news lately, with recent news stories about a brawl on an NBA basketball court, and the tragic story of one hunter shooting several others in northwest Wisconsin. In both cases, stress has been cited as a possible mitigating factor -- although most observers agree that feelings of stress in no way excuse such reprehensible acts.
This week's Gospel lection reminds us that the birth of the Messiah brings its own sort of stress. John the Baptist's message is high-stress: "Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!" The Messiah may be the Prince of Peace, but his coming is guaranteed to bring its own tensions. The very presence of Jesus Christ in the world emphasizes the discontinuities between the reign of God and "the principalities and powers."
John's message may not sound, at first, like the sort of word most of us would welcome during Advent. Yet would we really want to follow a Messiah who didn't shake things up, who quietly slipped into our sinful world and accommodated himself to it?
Advent: it's a stressful time. Thank God!
Some Words on the Word
The story of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus has unusually strong attribution, appearing in all four Gospels. John was a highly influential reformer in the world of first-century Judaism -- although Christians (following the lead of the Gospel writers) often give him less attention than he deserves, considering him as little more than a forerunner of Jesus. Herod, however, took him very seriously indeed. He considered John dangerous enough to hunt down and execute. The location of John's ministry in the wilderness suggests that Herod was not the only one who responded to his confrontational preaching with hostility.
The fact that, years after John's death, the apostles still encounter followers of the Baptist who are actively ministering (Acts 18:25; 19:3) is an indication of just how influential his movement was throughout the world of Hellenistic Judaism. Matthew here introduces John to his readers as a man who evidently needs no introduction. Matthew assumes that his audience is familiar with John already.
Christianity has strong roots in John the Baptist's movement. John's use of water baptism as a one-time initiation was apparently a new innovation in Judaism, one that the Christians would themselves later adopt. Matthew, in fact, portrays Jesus' first preaching as word-for-word identical to John's: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (3:2; 4:17).
Textual scholars B. M. Newman and P. C. Stine point out that John's blasting of the Pharisees as "a brood of vipers" is harsh to the extreme: "John addresses his audience in words that are sharper than those of any Old Testament prophet. So sharp are his words that elsewhere in Matthew's Gospel (12:34; 23:33) only Jesus himself uses them. The employment of such a figure of speech is almost without parallel ..." (A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew [New York: United Bible Societies, 1988]).
John's image of an ax "lying at the root of the trees" (v. 10) is taken from agriculture. It was common practice to cull the grapevines or trees that were not producing fruit by killing them; an ax-blow to the root would swiftly kill the plant. Afterward, the plant is thrown on the fire (a reference to judgment). The fruit God expects (and which the Pharisees are not, in John's view, delivering) is "fruit worthy of repentance" (v. 8). There is a possible parallel here to Ezekiel 15:1-8.
Verse 11 clearly establishes the subordination of John to Jesus. This would have been an important feature of the proclamation of the early church, as the apostles encountered groups of John the Baptist followers in their missionary work.
The references to "fire" in verse 11 and to the winnowing fork in verse 12 unquestionably identify Jesus with judgment. A winnowing fork was used to throw raw grain into the air so the wind could carry off the useless chaff. At the end of the winnowing operation, after the good grain has been packed away, the threshing-floor must be cleaned of the useless chaff, which is swept up and burned. This is no ordinary fire, however; the fire of which John warns is "unquenchable."
A Map of the Message
"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown, following the November 19th brawl between his team and the Indiana Pacers. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was close enough to the fight that he felt personally endangered: "I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," he remarked.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=241119008
In Northwest Wisconsin, a Hmong immigrant named Chai Vang allegedly shot six fellow hunters in an apparent dispute over hunting rights on private lands. His motives are obscure, although an apparent verbal altercation over the use of a deer stand preceded the shootings. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6597180/site/newsweek/
These two cases of uncontrolled rage -- one that resulted in the tragic loss of six lives and the other that has irreparably damaged the reputations of several professional athletes -- have set the news media buzzing with "what went wrong" discussions. While there can be no excuse for this kind of behavior, those seeing rational explanations may find themselves using the word "stress" to explain the state of mind of those whose behavior degenerated into violence.
Stress is an all-too-convenient explanation for a multitude of antisocial behaviors. "I was under stress" is a common excuse for all manner of transgressions. The psychologists remind us, however, that stress is not always bad. A basic principle of stress management is that there is good stress (sometimes called "eustress") and bad stress ("distress"). Eustress can result from happy occurrences -- the stress of moving to a new city to take an exciting job, for example. Distress, by contrast, is almost always associated with unhappiness. Both forms of stress create strain on a person's mental and physical state.
Advent -- a happy time of year for many -- brings its own unique brand of stress. Many of us complain about the stresses of the season, even as we eagerly undertake the many tasks associated with preparing for Christmas. A fight over a prime parking space at the shopping mall -- or perhaps over the last remaining trendy children's toy on the store shelf -- can result from even the generally happy form of stress.
Many of us have the mistaken idea that a godly life is a stress-free life. But that hardly follows from the life of John the Baptist, or even Jesus. John, with his confrontational talk about ax-savaged grapevines and chaff winnowed out to be burned, is clearly not fleeing stress. Rather, he's creating it. Jesus himself will later say to his disciples, "I come not to bring peace but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). Part of the prophetic task is shaking things up, so as to re-orient the world to God's purposes.
But that's not where the prophetic task ends. Walter Brueggemann, in The Prophetic Imagination, identifies two distinct foci of the prophet's work: articulating God's criticism of the world, and energizing the people with God's hope. Any prophetic message that does not embody both these elements, he teaches, is less than faithful and is likely doomed to futility.
So this Advent, let us not imagine that we can flee stress, retreating into some kind of hot-chocolate-by-the-fire holiday fantasy world (some pop-culture pundits are now abandoning the term "Advent," referring instead to "the sparkle season"). Rather, let us embrace the stress that comes of Jesus the Messiah's entry into this world of ours. The world is not going to be the same again, once Jesus is in it -- nor will we ourselves be the same, once he has entered our hearts. Jesus holds out the promise of transformation, and that's inherently stressful.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: On the dictionary table outside my study I have a copy of the second edition of Webster's unabridged New International Dictionary, published in 1954. The big old book gives the place a slightly classic look and is still very useful for many definition, etymologies, and so on. But of course there are a lot of words that have come into use in the past half-century that aren't included. One of them is the word "stressor." If you haven't heard that word, the definition in the fourth edition of the American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language (2000) is, "An agent, condition, or other stimulus that causes stress to an organism." (You can find this at http://www.bartleby.com/61/56/S0805600.html.)
The need for such a new word is a symptom of the stresses that many of us feel in life today. But it certainly doesn't mean that life didn't use to be stressful in the past. Paul Tillich pointed out in The Courage to Be (New Haven: Yale, 1952) that there seem to be three types of "anxiety" that confront humanity. Today we might talk about three stressors. They are "the anxiety of fate and death," "the anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness," and "the anxiety of guilt and condemnation."
In different periods of Christian history, one or the other of these stressors has generally been predominant. In the early centuries of the church, especially under Greek influence, the threats of death and corruption were felt with special intensity. In the Middle Ages and the time of the Reformation, guilt weighed heavily on people. And in the modern (and perhaps even more, postmodern) world, many people are unable to discern any meaning or purpose for life.
The task of the Christian church has been, and is, to make clear how each of these threats can be understood in terms of God's law, and -- most importantly -- to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way as to show how it deals with the threat that is of the greatest concern to each person. The resurrection of the crucified One means that there is hope for life in spite of, and beyond, death. The fact that Christ bore our sins makes forgiveness and acceptance by God available to sinners. And the whole Christian story, from creation through consummation, provides meaning to a world that often seems chaotic.
Of course, none of those three stressors is restricted to a particular historical period. At different points of our lives, any one of them may take center stage. And the upcoming holiday season brings opportunities for all of them.
The beginning of winter can be very depressing for people: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a reality. And now we come to the end of the year -- another year older, another year closer to the grave.
Family gatherings and the giving (and sometimes judging) of gifts sometimes remind us of how we've failed or hurt others. (Reminding people of that was one of the features of the "Festivus" holiday that George Costanza's father invented on Seinfeld. Sometimes it's a feature of real Christmas gatherings.)
And what's the point of it all? The superficiality of so much holiday hype can easily suggest that it's all superficial.
Even though there is a penitential and preparatory character to Advent, the point of preaching should not be to intensify these stressors. People don't come to church just to feel more morbid, guilty, or pointless. But preachers could do worse during Advent than to help people understand that a lot of the stress they feel is due to these classic anxieties -- and to see how the coming of Christ at the center of salvation history is God's answer to each of them. In that way people will be more ready to hear the Christmas message really as -- in the angel's words -- "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10).
Related Illustrations
From Carlos Wilton
"Burnout is a surrender. We have just so much strength in us. If we give and give and give, we have less and less and less -- and after a while, at a certain point, we're so weak and worn, we hoist up the flag of surrender. We surrender to the worst side of ourselves, and then we display that to others. We surrender to self-pity and to spite and to morose self-preoccupation. If you want to call it depression or burnout, well, all right. If you want to call it the triumph of sin -- when our goodness has been knocked out from under us, well, all right. Whatever we say or think, this is arduous duty, doing this kind of work; to live out one's idealism brings with it hazards."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.; cited by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), p. 346
***
A long list of web links on the subject of Christmas stress may be found at http://www.bestlifecoaching.net/content/coaching/christmas-stress.html
***
An article on Christmas stress from Britain's Guardian newspaper: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0%2C9865%2C861636%...
***
A list of practical tips for avoiding Christmas stress:
http://www.catholicfamily.ca/educationchristmasstress.htm
***
It is very easy to be servants of the word without disturbing the world: a very spiritualized word, a word without any commitment to history, a word that can sound in any part of the world because it belongs to no part of the world. A word like that creates no problems, starts no conflicts. What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks the genuine church, is the word that, burning like the word of the prophets, proclaims and accuses: proclaims to the people God's wonders to be believed and venerated, and accuses of sin those who oppose God's reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out of their societies, out of their laws -- out of the structures that oppress, that imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity. This is the hard service of the word. But God's Spirit goes with the prophet, with the preacher, for he is Christ, who keeps on proclaiming his reign to the people of all times.
-- Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, from a homily preached at the ordination of two priests, December 10, 1977
***
You can lock up the bold men,
Go and lock up your bold men
And hold men in tow.
You can stifle all adventure
For a century or so.
Smother hope before it's risen,
Watch it wizen like a gourd.
But you cannot imprison
The Word of the Lord.
No, you cannot imprison
The Word of the Lord.
-- Leonard Bernstein, from Mass
***
The situation of a person immersed in the prophets' words is one of being exposed to a ceaseless shattering of indifference, and one needs a skull of stone to remain callous to such blows.
-- Abraham Heschel, The Prophets
***
The theologian's job is not to make the gospel credible to the modern world, but to make the world credible to the gospel.
-- Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony
***
The poet Kathleen Norris has sometimes worked as an artist-in-residence in parochial elementary schools. During one such stint, she asked the children to compose psalms of imprecation. Here, in her own words, is something she discovered:
Children who are picked on by their big brothers and sisters can be remarkably adept when it comes to writing cursing psalms, and I believe that the writing process offers them a safe haven in which to work through their desires for vengeance in a healthy way. Once a little boy wrote a poem called "The Monster Who Was Sorry." He began by admitting that he hates it when his father yells at him; his response in the poem is to throw his sister down the stairs, and then to wreck his room, and finally to wreck the whole town. The poem concludes: "Then I sit in my messy house and say to myself, `I shouldn't have done all that.' " "My messy house" says it all. With more honesty than most adults could have mustered, the boy made a metaphor for himself that admitted the depth of his rage and also gave him a way out. If that boy had been a novice in the fourth-century monastic desert, his elders might have told him that he was well on the way toward repentance, not such a monster after all, but only human. If the house is messy, they might have said, why not clean it up, why not make it into a place where God might wish to dwell?
-- Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith (New York: Riverhead, 1998), pp. 69-70
***
From the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, November 30, 2004:
Study Links Stress and Aging
Scientists have identified the first direct link between stress and aging, a finding that could explain why intense, long-term emotional strain can make people get sick and grow old before their time. Chronic stress appears to hasten the shriveling of the tips of the bundles of genes inside cells, which shortens their life span and speeds the body's deterioration, according to a small but first-of-its-kind study. The study involved 9 women ages 20 to 50 caring for chronically ill children and 19 other very similar women whose children were healthy. "There is this deeply held belief that stress leads to premature aging, but there is no hard evidence for how this might happen," said Elissa Epel, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who helped conduct the research. "This is the first time that psychological stress has been linked to a cellular indicator of aging in healthy people."
Worship Resources
OPENING
N.b. All copyright information is given from the first cited place where found. Some copyright information may differ in other sources due to adaptations, etc.
MUSIC
Hymns
"My Soul Gives Glory To My God." WORDS: Miriam Therese Winter, 1987; MUSIC: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813; harm. Charles H. Webb, 1988. Words (c) 1978, 1987 Medical Mission Sisters; harm. (c) The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 198; Hymnal '82; LBOW 180 (different, but similar, hymn); TPH 600; TNCH 119; CH 130.
"Tell Out, My Soul." WORDS: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1961; MUSIC: Walter Greatorex, 1919. Words (c) 1962 Hope Publishing Co; music by permission of Oxford University Press. As found in UMH 200; Hymnal '82: 437, 438; LBOW.
"Hail To The Lord's Anointed." The antiphons are a wonderful addition to the singing of this traditional hymn. WORDS: James Montgomery, 1821; MUSIC: Gesangbuch der H. W. K. Hofkapelle, 1784, alt.; adapt and harm. W. H. Monk, 1868. Public domain. As found in UMH 203; Hymnal '82: 616; LBOW 87; AAHH 187; TNNBH; TNCH 104; CH 140.
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." WORDS: 9th cent. Latin, St. 1, 3, 5ab, 6cd, 7ab trans. The Hymnal, 1940; st. 2 Henry Sloane Coffin, 1916; st. 4, 5, cd, 6ab, 7cd, Laurence Hull Stookey, 1986. MUSIC: 15th cent. French; arr. and harm. Thomas Helmore, 1854; sts. 1, 3, 5ab, 6cd, 7ab (c) 1940, 1943, renews 1981 The Church Pension Fund; trans. sts. 4, 5cd, 6ab, 7cd; (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House; antiphons (c) Sisters of St. Benedict. As found in UMH 211; Hymnal '82: 56; LBOW 34; TPH 9; AAHH 188; TNNBH 82; TNCH 116; CH 119.
Songs
"Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart." WORDS and MUSIC: Henry Smith, 1978. (c) 1978 Integrity's Hosanna! As found in Renew 266.
"Prepare The Way." WORDS from Scripture; MUSIC from the Taize community. (c) Les Presses de Taize. As found in Renew 92.
"Open Our Eyes, Lord." WORDS and MUSIC: Robert Cull, 1976; arr. David Allen, 1976. (c) 1976 MARANATHA! MUSIC. As found in Renew 91.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come into God's presence and prepare.
People: Our hearts are open to receive Emmanuel.
Leader: The One who comes, calls us to repent, to change.
People: Change is scary but to not change is death.
Leader: Come and accept the life God offers.
People: With trembling we offer ourselves to God.
Leader: Bless our God who does wondrous things.
People: God's glory fills all in all.
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God, who is ever creating something wondrous and new: Grant us, your children, the courage and grace to open our lives to the new things you are doing this Christmas; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
We come to prepare ourselves for Christmas, O God. We need this time of preparation for while we anticipate eagerly the coming of the Prince of Peace, we are reluctant to enter into the time of change that his coming calls forth. Give us courageous hearts that we may with joy receive the presence gift of the Christ. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns
"Ye Who Claim The Faith Of Jesus." WORDS: Sts. 1-3 Vincent Stucky Stratton Coles; st. 4 F. Bland Tucker, 1982; MUSIC: David Hurd, 1983. St. 4 (c) 1982 Church Pension Fund; music (c) G.I.A. Publications, Inc. As found in UMH 197; Hymnal '82: 268, 269; CH.
"Rise, Shine, You People." WORDS: Ronald A. Klug, 1973; MUSIC: Dale Wood, 1973. (c) 1974 Augsburg Publishing House. As found in UMH 187; LBOW 393.
"Word Of God, Come Down On Earth." WORDS: James Quinn, 1969; MUSIC: Johann R. Ahle, 1664. Words (c) 1969 James Quinn. As found in UMH 182; Hymnal '82: 633.
Songs
"Shine, Jesus, Shine." WORDS and MUSIC: Graham Kendrick. (c) 1987 Make Way Music. As found in CCB 81.
"Jesus Is Our King." WORDS: Sherrell Prebble and Howard Clark; MUSIC: Sherrell Prebble. (c) 1978 CELEBRATION. As found in Renew 273.
"Wait For The Lord." WORDS from Scripture; MUSIC from the Taize Community. (c) Taize. As found in Renew 278.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION / PARDON
Leader: As we prepare for Christmas, we are aware that we are as reluctant to contemplate the changes that Christ's coming into our lives calls for as we are anxious to have peace on earth. Let us confess to God the state of our lives.
People: We confess, O God, that we are of two minds. We want the joy of having your presence on earth through the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ. But we know that he will shake up our complacent lives and ask us to change. We know that he is turning the world upside down and that scares us. We don't like change and especially when we are the ones who must do the changing. We have tried to make Christmas only about joy and peace and love without dealing with the Jesus who calls for repentance, change, justice, and self-sacrifice. We have made Christmas, a humbug, a sham of what it is meant to be for the world. Grant us the courage to enter into the true spirit of Christmas by embracing the radical, new reign of Christ. Amen.
Leader: Hear the Good News. God in Christ comes into the world to call us all to live in the reign of Christ. God invites you in and accepts you gladly. Live in the power of the Spirit as you continue to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We worship and adore you, O God, for, though you are far beyond our understanding, you come into our presence and offer yourself to us. Your greatness is matched only by your humility. Your constant steadfastness is matched only by ever changing encounter with your people.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess that we are not so steadfast nor so quick to adapt to change around us. We prefer things to stay the same so that we can have at least a pretense of our being in control. We want you to come among us in Jesus Christ our Lord but we are afraid to allow him to change our lives. We want things to change, just not us. Give us the courage of your Spirit that we might meet our Savior and invite him to come fully into our lives.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for the prophets, seers, and psalmists who have shared their vision of you with us. We thank you for parents, teachers, friends, and pastors who have helped us see you at work in us and among us. Most of all we thank you for Jesus and the clearness with which he presented you to us.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
There are many who experience life as less that you created it to be for them. Physical illness, ruined relationships, oppression, and violence are all around us. We know that in your love you are present with all and especially with those who suffer. Grant that we may be part of your presence of healing and hope. May the spirit of Jesus, which dwells in us, reach out and touch the lives of those we come in contact with this week.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father...."
Hymnal & Songbook Abbreviations
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, expanded 3rd ed.: Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship
A Children's Sermon
Prepare your hearts
Object: Christmas decorations
Based on Matthew 3:1-12
Good morning, boys and girls! It's the second Sunday in Advent! There are only two more weeks until Christmas! Are you getting ready? What are some things you see people doing to get ready for Christmas? (get their responses) There's a lot going on all around us as people get ready. I've brought some decorations with me today. See? (show what you brought) I'll put these around my house to help me get into the holiday mood. They help me get excited!
In the reading today we hear, "Prepare the way of the Lord." Get ready for him, because he's coming! This is what Advent is all about: waiting and getting ready. We see people getting ready in lots of different ways. We get our houses ready with decorations like the ones I have, but we also should spend time getting our hearts ready.
What do I mean by that? (listen to their ideas) Jesus lived in the world, but he also wants to live inside us. His ideas about love, his ideas about God the Father, his ideas about how to treat other people -- Jesus wants us to understand these ideas and do things like he did. When we spend time praying, learning and talking about Jesus we can become more like him. When we become more like Jesus we have made a place for him in our hearts.
Before he can live in us, though, we need to make room for him. We need to get rid of the things that make it hard to see and listen to him. We need to clean our hearts out, just like we clean our houses. What are some things we might clean out of our hearts? (get responses) As we prepare for Christmas, let's clean out our hearts and make a place for Jesus to come and live.
Prayer: Dear God, it's hard to be patient for Christmas, but the waiting will help us get ready. While we wait, create in us clean hearts. Make us ready for Jesus to come into the world and into our lives. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 5, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
Second Sunday in Advent / Cycle A
Dear Fellow Preachers,
Examples of uncontrolled personal rage have landed on the front pages of our newspapers in recent days, and we wonder whether some of these incidents are exacerbated by the increasing experience of stress in our everyday lives.
We all experience the distinctive stress of Advent -- the pre-Christmas rush. It is no surprise that John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas found a large and receptive readership a couple of years ago.
While chronic stress can certainly be debilitating and destructive, some stress can lead to productive, positive change. With these thoughts in mind, The Immediate Word team member Carlos Wilton reflects on the "high stress" message and ministry of John the Baptist, as described in this Sunday's Gospel lection, Matthew 3:1-12. John's work had a powerful effect on his listeners, including the crowds from Judea as well as Jesus and his disciples. Can we learn to avoid the unhealthy stress imposed by our culture (or self-imposed) and instead find ways to put the tension and stress that come from a living faith to restorative and redemptive purposes?
As usual, comments, illustrations, worship resources, and a children's sermon round out this issue of The Immediate Word.
Stress on Earth
Matthew 3:1-12
The Message on a Postcard
It's Advent. Are we having stress yet? This is the time of year when shopping lists get larger and bank accounts get smaller. Calendars start filling up, and leisure time drains away. A strange way to celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace, no?
Stress has been much in the news lately, with recent news stories about a brawl on an NBA basketball court, and the tragic story of one hunter shooting several others in northwest Wisconsin. In both cases, stress has been cited as a possible mitigating factor -- although most observers agree that feelings of stress in no way excuse such reprehensible acts.
This week's Gospel lection reminds us that the birth of the Messiah brings its own sort of stress. John the Baptist's message is high-stress: "Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!" The Messiah may be the Prince of Peace, but his coming is guaranteed to bring its own tensions. The very presence of Jesus Christ in the world emphasizes the discontinuities between the reign of God and "the principalities and powers."
John's message may not sound, at first, like the sort of word most of us would welcome during Advent. Yet would we really want to follow a Messiah who didn't shake things up, who quietly slipped into our sinful world and accommodated himself to it?
Advent: it's a stressful time. Thank God!
Some Words on the Word
The story of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus has unusually strong attribution, appearing in all four Gospels. John was a highly influential reformer in the world of first-century Judaism -- although Christians (following the lead of the Gospel writers) often give him less attention than he deserves, considering him as little more than a forerunner of Jesus. Herod, however, took him very seriously indeed. He considered John dangerous enough to hunt down and execute. The location of John's ministry in the wilderness suggests that Herod was not the only one who responded to his confrontational preaching with hostility.
The fact that, years after John's death, the apostles still encounter followers of the Baptist who are actively ministering (Acts 18:25; 19:3) is an indication of just how influential his movement was throughout the world of Hellenistic Judaism. Matthew here introduces John to his readers as a man who evidently needs no introduction. Matthew assumes that his audience is familiar with John already.
Christianity has strong roots in John the Baptist's movement. John's use of water baptism as a one-time initiation was apparently a new innovation in Judaism, one that the Christians would themselves later adopt. Matthew, in fact, portrays Jesus' first preaching as word-for-word identical to John's: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" (3:2; 4:17).
Textual scholars B. M. Newman and P. C. Stine point out that John's blasting of the Pharisees as "a brood of vipers" is harsh to the extreme: "John addresses his audience in words that are sharper than those of any Old Testament prophet. So sharp are his words that elsewhere in Matthew's Gospel (12:34; 23:33) only Jesus himself uses them. The employment of such a figure of speech is almost without parallel ..." (A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew [New York: United Bible Societies, 1988]).
John's image of an ax "lying at the root of the trees" (v. 10) is taken from agriculture. It was common practice to cull the grapevines or trees that were not producing fruit by killing them; an ax-blow to the root would swiftly kill the plant. Afterward, the plant is thrown on the fire (a reference to judgment). The fruit God expects (and which the Pharisees are not, in John's view, delivering) is "fruit worthy of repentance" (v. 8). There is a possible parallel here to Ezekiel 15:1-8.
Verse 11 clearly establishes the subordination of John to Jesus. This would have been an important feature of the proclamation of the early church, as the apostles encountered groups of John the Baptist followers in their missionary work.
The references to "fire" in verse 11 and to the winnowing fork in verse 12 unquestionably identify Jesus with judgment. A winnowing fork was used to throw raw grain into the air so the wind could carry off the useless chaff. At the end of the winnowing operation, after the good grain has been packed away, the threshing-floor must be cleaned of the useless chaff, which is swept up and burned. This is no ordinary fire, however; the fire of which John warns is "unquenchable."
A Map of the Message
"It's the ugliest thing I've seen as a coach or player," said Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown, following the November 19th brawl between his team and the Indiana Pacers. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was close enough to the fight that he felt personally endangered: "I felt like I was fighting for my life out there," he remarked.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=241119008
In Northwest Wisconsin, a Hmong immigrant named Chai Vang allegedly shot six fellow hunters in an apparent dispute over hunting rights on private lands. His motives are obscure, although an apparent verbal altercation over the use of a deer stand preceded the shootings. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6597180/site/newsweek/
These two cases of uncontrolled rage -- one that resulted in the tragic loss of six lives and the other that has irreparably damaged the reputations of several professional athletes -- have set the news media buzzing with "what went wrong" discussions. While there can be no excuse for this kind of behavior, those seeing rational explanations may find themselves using the word "stress" to explain the state of mind of those whose behavior degenerated into violence.
Stress is an all-too-convenient explanation for a multitude of antisocial behaviors. "I was under stress" is a common excuse for all manner of transgressions. The psychologists remind us, however, that stress is not always bad. A basic principle of stress management is that there is good stress (sometimes called "eustress") and bad stress ("distress"). Eustress can result from happy occurrences -- the stress of moving to a new city to take an exciting job, for example. Distress, by contrast, is almost always associated with unhappiness. Both forms of stress create strain on a person's mental and physical state.
Advent -- a happy time of year for many -- brings its own unique brand of stress. Many of us complain about the stresses of the season, even as we eagerly undertake the many tasks associated with preparing for Christmas. A fight over a prime parking space at the shopping mall -- or perhaps over the last remaining trendy children's toy on the store shelf -- can result from even the generally happy form of stress.
Many of us have the mistaken idea that a godly life is a stress-free life. But that hardly follows from the life of John the Baptist, or even Jesus. John, with his confrontational talk about ax-savaged grapevines and chaff winnowed out to be burned, is clearly not fleeing stress. Rather, he's creating it. Jesus himself will later say to his disciples, "I come not to bring peace but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). Part of the prophetic task is shaking things up, so as to re-orient the world to God's purposes.
But that's not where the prophetic task ends. Walter Brueggemann, in The Prophetic Imagination, identifies two distinct foci of the prophet's work: articulating God's criticism of the world, and energizing the people with God's hope. Any prophetic message that does not embody both these elements, he teaches, is less than faithful and is likely doomed to futility.
So this Advent, let us not imagine that we can flee stress, retreating into some kind of hot-chocolate-by-the-fire holiday fantasy world (some pop-culture pundits are now abandoning the term "Advent," referring instead to "the sparkle season"). Rather, let us embrace the stress that comes of Jesus the Messiah's entry into this world of ours. The world is not going to be the same again, once Jesus is in it -- nor will we ourselves be the same, once he has entered our hearts. Jesus holds out the promise of transformation, and that's inherently stressful.
Team Comments
George Murphy responds: On the dictionary table outside my study I have a copy of the second edition of Webster's unabridged New International Dictionary, published in 1954. The big old book gives the place a slightly classic look and is still very useful for many definition, etymologies, and so on. But of course there are a lot of words that have come into use in the past half-century that aren't included. One of them is the word "stressor." If you haven't heard that word, the definition in the fourth edition of the American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language (2000) is, "An agent, condition, or other stimulus that causes stress to an organism." (You can find this at http://www.bartleby.com/61/56/S0805600.html.)
The need for such a new word is a symptom of the stresses that many of us feel in life today. But it certainly doesn't mean that life didn't use to be stressful in the past. Paul Tillich pointed out in The Courage to Be (New Haven: Yale, 1952) that there seem to be three types of "anxiety" that confront humanity. Today we might talk about three stressors. They are "the anxiety of fate and death," "the anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness," and "the anxiety of guilt and condemnation."
In different periods of Christian history, one or the other of these stressors has generally been predominant. In the early centuries of the church, especially under Greek influence, the threats of death and corruption were felt with special intensity. In the Middle Ages and the time of the Reformation, guilt weighed heavily on people. And in the modern (and perhaps even more, postmodern) world, many people are unable to discern any meaning or purpose for life.
The task of the Christian church has been, and is, to make clear how each of these threats can be understood in terms of God's law, and -- most importantly -- to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way as to show how it deals with the threat that is of the greatest concern to each person. The resurrection of the crucified One means that there is hope for life in spite of, and beyond, death. The fact that Christ bore our sins makes forgiveness and acceptance by God available to sinners. And the whole Christian story, from creation through consummation, provides meaning to a world that often seems chaotic.
Of course, none of those three stressors is restricted to a particular historical period. At different points of our lives, any one of them may take center stage. And the upcoming holiday season brings opportunities for all of them.
The beginning of winter can be very depressing for people: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a reality. And now we come to the end of the year -- another year older, another year closer to the grave.
Family gatherings and the giving (and sometimes judging) of gifts sometimes remind us of how we've failed or hurt others. (Reminding people of that was one of the features of the "Festivus" holiday that George Costanza's father invented on Seinfeld. Sometimes it's a feature of real Christmas gatherings.)
And what's the point of it all? The superficiality of so much holiday hype can easily suggest that it's all superficial.
Even though there is a penitential and preparatory character to Advent, the point of preaching should not be to intensify these stressors. People don't come to church just to feel more morbid, guilty, or pointless. But preachers could do worse during Advent than to help people understand that a lot of the stress they feel is due to these classic anxieties -- and to see how the coming of Christ at the center of salvation history is God's answer to each of them. In that way people will be more ready to hear the Christmas message really as -- in the angel's words -- "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10).
Related Illustrations
From Carlos Wilton
"Burnout is a surrender. We have just so much strength in us. If we give and give and give, we have less and less and less -- and after a while, at a certain point, we're so weak and worn, we hoist up the flag of surrender. We surrender to the worst side of ourselves, and then we display that to others. We surrender to self-pity and to spite and to morose self-preoccupation. If you want to call it depression or burnout, well, all right. If you want to call it the triumph of sin -- when our goodness has been knocked out from under us, well, all right. Whatever we say or think, this is arduous duty, doing this kind of work; to live out one's idealism brings with it hazards."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.; cited by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), p. 346
***
A long list of web links on the subject of Christmas stress may be found at http://www.bestlifecoaching.net/content/coaching/christmas-stress.html
***
An article on Christmas stress from Britain's Guardian newspaper: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0%2C9865%2C861636%...
***
A list of practical tips for avoiding Christmas stress:
http://www.catholicfamily.ca/educationchristmasstress.htm
***
It is very easy to be servants of the word without disturbing the world: a very spiritualized word, a word without any commitment to history, a word that can sound in any part of the world because it belongs to no part of the world. A word like that creates no problems, starts no conflicts. What starts conflicts and persecutions, what marks the genuine church, is the word that, burning like the word of the prophets, proclaims and accuses: proclaims to the people God's wonders to be believed and venerated, and accuses of sin those who oppose God's reign, so that they may tear that sin out of their hearts, out of their societies, out of their laws -- out of the structures that oppress, that imprison, that violate the rights of God and of humanity. This is the hard service of the word. But God's Spirit goes with the prophet, with the preacher, for he is Christ, who keeps on proclaiming his reign to the people of all times.
-- Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, from a homily preached at the ordination of two priests, December 10, 1977
***
You can lock up the bold men,
Go and lock up your bold men
And hold men in tow.
You can stifle all adventure
For a century or so.
Smother hope before it's risen,
Watch it wizen like a gourd.
But you cannot imprison
The Word of the Lord.
No, you cannot imprison
The Word of the Lord.
-- Leonard Bernstein, from Mass
***
The situation of a person immersed in the prophets' words is one of being exposed to a ceaseless shattering of indifference, and one needs a skull of stone to remain callous to such blows.
-- Abraham Heschel, The Prophets
***
The theologian's job is not to make the gospel credible to the modern world, but to make the world credible to the gospel.
-- Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony
***
The poet Kathleen Norris has sometimes worked as an artist-in-residence in parochial elementary schools. During one such stint, she asked the children to compose psalms of imprecation. Here, in her own words, is something she discovered:
Children who are picked on by their big brothers and sisters can be remarkably adept when it comes to writing cursing psalms, and I believe that the writing process offers them a safe haven in which to work through their desires for vengeance in a healthy way. Once a little boy wrote a poem called "The Monster Who Was Sorry." He began by admitting that he hates it when his father yells at him; his response in the poem is to throw his sister down the stairs, and then to wreck his room, and finally to wreck the whole town. The poem concludes: "Then I sit in my messy house and say to myself, `I shouldn't have done all that.' " "My messy house" says it all. With more honesty than most adults could have mustered, the boy made a metaphor for himself that admitted the depth of his rage and also gave him a way out. If that boy had been a novice in the fourth-century monastic desert, his elders might have told him that he was well on the way toward repentance, not such a monster after all, but only human. If the house is messy, they might have said, why not clean it up, why not make it into a place where God might wish to dwell?
-- Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith (New York: Riverhead, 1998), pp. 69-70
***
From the Star Tribune, Minneapolis, November 30, 2004:
Study Links Stress and Aging
Scientists have identified the first direct link between stress and aging, a finding that could explain why intense, long-term emotional strain can make people get sick and grow old before their time. Chronic stress appears to hasten the shriveling of the tips of the bundles of genes inside cells, which shortens their life span and speeds the body's deterioration, according to a small but first-of-its-kind study. The study involved 9 women ages 20 to 50 caring for chronically ill children and 19 other very similar women whose children were healthy. "There is this deeply held belief that stress leads to premature aging, but there is no hard evidence for how this might happen," said Elissa Epel, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who helped conduct the research. "This is the first time that psychological stress has been linked to a cellular indicator of aging in healthy people."
Worship Resources
OPENING
N.b. All copyright information is given from the first cited place where found. Some copyright information may differ in other sources due to adaptations, etc.
MUSIC
Hymns
"My Soul Gives Glory To My God." WORDS: Miriam Therese Winter, 1987; MUSIC: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813; harm. Charles H. Webb, 1988. Words (c) 1978, 1987 Medical Mission Sisters; harm. (c) The United Methodist Publishing House. As found in UMH 198; Hymnal '82; LBOW 180 (different, but similar, hymn); TPH 600; TNCH 119; CH 130.
"Tell Out, My Soul." WORDS: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1961; MUSIC: Walter Greatorex, 1919. Words (c) 1962 Hope Publishing Co; music by permission of Oxford University Press. As found in UMH 200; Hymnal '82: 437, 438; LBOW.
"Hail To The Lord's Anointed." The antiphons are a wonderful addition to the singing of this traditional hymn. WORDS: James Montgomery, 1821; MUSIC: Gesangbuch der H. W. K. Hofkapelle, 1784, alt.; adapt and harm. W. H. Monk, 1868. Public domain. As found in UMH 203; Hymnal '82: 616; LBOW 87; AAHH 187; TNNBH; TNCH 104; CH 140.
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." WORDS: 9th cent. Latin, St. 1, 3, 5ab, 6cd, 7ab trans. The Hymnal, 1940; st. 2 Henry Sloane Coffin, 1916; st. 4, 5, cd, 6ab, 7cd, Laurence Hull Stookey, 1986. MUSIC: 15th cent. French; arr. and harm. Thomas Helmore, 1854; sts. 1, 3, 5ab, 6cd, 7ab (c) 1940, 1943, renews 1981 The Church Pension Fund; trans. sts. 4, 5cd, 6ab, 7cd; (c) 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House; antiphons (c) Sisters of St. Benedict. As found in UMH 211; Hymnal '82: 56; LBOW 34; TPH 9; AAHH 188; TNNBH 82; TNCH 116; CH 119.
Songs
"Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart." WORDS and MUSIC: Henry Smith, 1978. (c) 1978 Integrity's Hosanna! As found in Renew 266.
"Prepare The Way." WORDS from Scripture; MUSIC from the Taize community. (c) Les Presses de Taize. As found in Renew 92.
"Open Our Eyes, Lord." WORDS and MUSIC: Robert Cull, 1976; arr. David Allen, 1976. (c) 1976 MARANATHA! MUSIC. As found in Renew 91.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Come into God's presence and prepare.
People: Our hearts are open to receive Emmanuel.
Leader: The One who comes, calls us to repent, to change.
People: Change is scary but to not change is death.
Leader: Come and accept the life God offers.
People: With trembling we offer ourselves to God.
Leader: Bless our God who does wondrous things.
People: God's glory fills all in all.
COLLECT / OPENING PRAYER
O God, who is ever creating something wondrous and new: Grant us, your children, the courage and grace to open our lives to the new things you are doing this Christmas; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
We come to prepare ourselves for Christmas, O God. We need this time of preparation for while we anticipate eagerly the coming of the Prince of Peace, we are reluctant to enter into the time of change that his coming calls forth. Give us courageous hearts that we may with joy receive the presence gift of the Christ. Amen.
RESPONSE MUSIC
Hymns
"Ye Who Claim The Faith Of Jesus." WORDS: Sts. 1-3 Vincent Stucky Stratton Coles; st. 4 F. Bland Tucker, 1982; MUSIC: David Hurd, 1983. St. 4 (c) 1982 Church Pension Fund; music (c) G.I.A. Publications, Inc. As found in UMH 197; Hymnal '82: 268, 269; CH.
"Rise, Shine, You People." WORDS: Ronald A. Klug, 1973; MUSIC: Dale Wood, 1973. (c) 1974 Augsburg Publishing House. As found in UMH 187; LBOW 393.
"Word Of God, Come Down On Earth." WORDS: James Quinn, 1969; MUSIC: Johann R. Ahle, 1664. Words (c) 1969 James Quinn. As found in UMH 182; Hymnal '82: 633.
Songs
"Shine, Jesus, Shine." WORDS and MUSIC: Graham Kendrick. (c) 1987 Make Way Music. As found in CCB 81.
"Jesus Is Our King." WORDS: Sherrell Prebble and Howard Clark; MUSIC: Sherrell Prebble. (c) 1978 CELEBRATION. As found in Renew 273.
"Wait For The Lord." WORDS from Scripture; MUSIC from the Taize Community. (c) Taize. As found in Renew 278.
PRAYERS OF CONFESSION / PARDON
Leader: As we prepare for Christmas, we are aware that we are as reluctant to contemplate the changes that Christ's coming into our lives calls for as we are anxious to have peace on earth. Let us confess to God the state of our lives.
People: We confess, O God, that we are of two minds. We want the joy of having your presence on earth through the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ. But we know that he will shake up our complacent lives and ask us to change. We know that he is turning the world upside down and that scares us. We don't like change and especially when we are the ones who must do the changing. We have tried to make Christmas only about joy and peace and love without dealing with the Jesus who calls for repentance, change, justice, and self-sacrifice. We have made Christmas, a humbug, a sham of what it is meant to be for the world. Grant us the courage to enter into the true spirit of Christmas by embracing the radical, new reign of Christ. Amen.
Leader: Hear the Good News. God in Christ comes into the world to call us all to live in the reign of Christ. God invites you in and accepts you gladly. Live in the power of the Spirit as you continue to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.
GENERAL PRAYERS, LITANIES, ETC.
We worship and adore you, O God, for, though you are far beyond our understanding, you come into our presence and offer yourself to us. Your greatness is matched only by your humility. Your constant steadfastness is matched only by ever changing encounter with your people.
(The following paragraph is most suitable if a prayer of confession will not be used elsewhere.)
We confess that we are not so steadfast nor so quick to adapt to change around us. We prefer things to stay the same so that we can have at least a pretense of our being in control. We want you to come among us in Jesus Christ our Lord but we are afraid to allow him to change our lives. We want things to change, just not us. Give us the courage of your Spirit that we might meet our Savior and invite him to come fully into our lives.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have blessed us. We thank you for the prophets, seers, and psalmists who have shared their vision of you with us. We thank you for parents, teachers, friends, and pastors who have helped us see you at work in us and among us. Most of all we thank you for Jesus and the clearness with which he presented you to us.
(Other specific thanksgiving may be offered.)
There are many who experience life as less that you created it to be for them. Physical illness, ruined relationships, oppression, and violence are all around us. We know that in your love you are present with all and especially with those who suffer. Grant that we may be part of your presence of healing and hope. May the spirit of Jesus, which dwells in us, reach out and touch the lives of those we come in contact with this week.
(Other petitions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of Jesus who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father...."
Hymnal & Songbook Abbreviations
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
Hymnal '82: The Hymnal 1982, The Episcopal Church
LBOW: Lutheran Book of Worship
TPH: The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
TNNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
TNCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
PMMCH3: Praise. Maranatha! Music Chorus Book, expanded 3rd ed.: Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship
A Children's Sermon
Prepare your hearts
Object: Christmas decorations
Based on Matthew 3:1-12
Good morning, boys and girls! It's the second Sunday in Advent! There are only two more weeks until Christmas! Are you getting ready? What are some things you see people doing to get ready for Christmas? (get their responses) There's a lot going on all around us as people get ready. I've brought some decorations with me today. See? (show what you brought) I'll put these around my house to help me get into the holiday mood. They help me get excited!
In the reading today we hear, "Prepare the way of the Lord." Get ready for him, because he's coming! This is what Advent is all about: waiting and getting ready. We see people getting ready in lots of different ways. We get our houses ready with decorations like the ones I have, but we also should spend time getting our hearts ready.
What do I mean by that? (listen to their ideas) Jesus lived in the world, but he also wants to live inside us. His ideas about love, his ideas about God the Father, his ideas about how to treat other people -- Jesus wants us to understand these ideas and do things like he did. When we spend time praying, learning and talking about Jesus we can become more like him. When we become more like Jesus we have made a place for him in our hearts.
Before he can live in us, though, we need to make room for him. We need to get rid of the things that make it hard to see and listen to him. We need to clean our hearts out, just like we clean our houses. What are some things we might clean out of our hearts? (get responses) As we prepare for Christmas, let's clean out our hearts and make a place for Jesus to come and live.
Prayer: Dear God, it's hard to be patient for Christmas, but the waiting will help us get ready. While we wait, create in us clean hearts. Make us ready for Jesus to come into the world and into our lives. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 5, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
