Fourth Sunday of Advent - B

We live in a pluralized world where all opinions seem valid, and the only perspective about which we are intolerant is intolerance itself. So, when we compare our views of reality, few of us dare to back all the way into the ultimate questions of origins and worldviews.

Yet it is impossible to read the Bible without admitting that it has a definite opinion about these things. Atheism is not an option from the biblical point of view, nor are several other ideas about values and gods in our world.

Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13), Psalm 138
One of the consistent elements in the ancient mythologies is conflict in the heavens. In the Greek pantheon, Gaia and Kronos are supplanted by the Titans, who in turn are overthrown by the Olympian gods that we are familiar with through the Iliad, Odyssey, and other ancient stories. There is conflict between the gods, grudges that are nursed, and revenge that wreaks havoc in the heavens that like ripples from a stone thrown in a pond create upheaval on earth.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her... (vv. 3-4b)

"I'm never going to get married," declared Molly. Her parents had divorced the previous year, and her mum was now living with a new boyfriend. Molly didn't like him, and he made it fairly clear he didn't like Molly either. It was fine when her mum was around, he was all sweetness and light then. But whenever her mum was absent, he was quite nasty to Molly.

For those who like to preach from all three lectionary texts, the stated readings for this Sunday could cause a preacher great perplexity. How on earth do they all fit together? The Epistle lesson deals with the variety of gifts given by the Spirit to the church. The Gospel lesson recounts Jesus' first "sign" at the wedding at Cana, when the water turned into wine, became the symbol of his blood poured out for us all. Our Isaiah text concerns the eschatological future of Jerusalem. Other than the reference to a wedding in John and here in Isaiah, the texts seem to have nothing in common.

Recently on a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, a middle-aged and apparently quite wealthy South African woman found herself sitting next to a black man. As the passengers were filing in and taking their seats she called a member of the cabin crew to ask about her seating. "What seems to be the matter, madam?" asked the attendant.