Advent Meditation: The Prophets

Here's the meditation on The Prophets that I shared during Advent Night Prayer at St Andrew's Wickford this evening:

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of Bethlehem.
Of Bethlehem of Ephrathah, one of the little clans of Judah,
from whom shall come one who is to rule in Israel,
one whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
When she who is in labour has brought forth,
then the rest of his kin shall return to the people of Israel
and he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God,
and they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of a sign that the Lord himself would give.
The sign a young woman with child.
A young woman who shall bear a son.
A young woman who shall name that son, Immanuel.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of a child.
A child born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority grows continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom
when he will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from his time onwards and for evermore.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of a shoot.
A shoot to come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch to grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord would rest on that shoot,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight would be in the fear of the Lord.
He would not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he would judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he would strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips kill the wicked.
Righteousness would be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and the little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear would graze,
their young would lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child would play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all God’s holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of a star.
They saw him, but not then;
they beheld him, but not near.
They saw a star,
a star that would come out of Jacob,
and a sceptre that would rise out of Israel.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of Egypt.
As, when Israel was a child, God loved him,
and out of Egypt he called his son.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of the Temple.
The temple to which the Lord who is sought will suddenly come.
The messenger of the covenant in whom we delight,
the messenger is coming,
coming to be like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;
to sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and to purify the descendants of Levi
and refine them like gold and silver,
until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.
Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord
as in the days of old and as in former years.

The prophets dreamed.
They dreamed of people,
people who walked in darkness
seeing a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shone.

The prophets dreamed.
They saw from a distance and greeted their dreams.
They died in faith without having received the promises.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem,
a census requiring Jesus’ birth in Joseph’s home town.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of the sign given
in the child Immanuel, God with us.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of the child born for us,
the Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of the shoot
coming from the stock of Jesse
on whom the spirit of the Lord did rest.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of the star,
the star that led the Magi to worship Israel’s star.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of Egypt,
where our Saviour fled and from where he returned.
We are those on whom light has shone;
those who know the story of the Temple,
where Simeon and Anna see salvation
in the young Christ unexpectedly come.

Therefore, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses and prophets,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,
and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
the one from of old, from ancient days,
the son who is named Immanuel,
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,
the one on whom the spirit of the Lord rests,
the sceptre that rises out of Israel,
the one God calls his son,
the one who refines like gold and silver,
until we present offerings to the Lord in righteousness,
that our offerings will be pleasing to the Lord
as in the days of old and as in former years. Amen.

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G.F.Händel - The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Searching for a kingdom yet to come

Here's the reflection I shared during today's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Micah's prayer for or prophecy of restoration for the people of Israel is set in a context of societal breakdown (Micah 7.14-15, 18-20). The chapter is headed ‘The Total Corruption of the People’ and Micah says, ‘there is no one left who is upright; … Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.’

Our newspapers essentially make similar reports on a daily basis, when we hear of Government contracts made, without tender, to companies with contacts to those who award the contracts and when the President of the United States will not state that he will leave power were he to lose the coming election.

Micah sees a society in which no one does good and where every household is divided. He says, ‘Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a loved one; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace; for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; your enemies are members of your own household.’

However, it is at that time that he says God will rescue and restore his people in a way that will amaze the nations. The God who pardons iniquity, passing over transgression and casts all our sins into the depths of the sea because he delights in showing clemency, is the one who Shepherds the people, the flock belonging to him, letting them feed in as in the days of old.

Jesus came to be the shepherd and restorer for which Micah had prayed but did so in ways that weren't anticipated. Micah prayed for a God that would show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as had been sworn to their ancestors from the days of old. His prayer was for a God of nationalism who would ensure that the nations would see and be ashamed so that they would come trembling out of their fortresses and turn in dread to the Lord, Micah’s God.

It is claimed that whereas the 20th Century was defined by the struggle between Capitalism and Communism, the 21st Century is being defined by the struggle between Nationalism and Globalism. In the 2016 presidential election the United States abandoned globalism and embraced nationalism. The UK has also sprouted new nationalist roots with our withdrawal from the European Union. As countries have begun to align under this new world order, we note the extent to which Nationalism means doing what is seen to be in a country’s self-interest, not the world’s self-interest. We are in the same place that Micah sought, where other nations stand in dread of our nation.

Jesus’ movement, however, was built not on family, tribe and nation but on pilgrims and travellers. When Jesus is told that his mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to him, he asks “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Then, pointing to his disciples, he says, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12. 46-50)

He does so in order to make clear that the basic unit of a nation, the settled family, is not the basis for his movement. Instead, his movement looks back to an earlier stage in the story of Abraham. The basis for Jesus’ people was that of Abraham the migrant, the itinerant traveller, the one who moves from one country to another, who knows no border or nation. Those who form Jesus’ family are those who travel, not those who settle, those who constantly search for a kingdom yet to come, a kingdom with no boundaries embracing Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free.

Micah’s prophecy can be interpreted in this sense as he says that Israel’s boundary shall be far extended and that, in that day they will come from Assyria to Egypt, from Egypt to the River, from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. This is the gathering of the nations in harmony and in unity for which we should unceasingly pray and which Micah’s prophecy suggests will begin to be realised at a time when society is corrupt and every household divided. As our society and world seems increasingly divided, let us pray all the more for God to rescue and restore in a way that will amaze the nations.

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John Tavener - Fragments Of A Prayer.