Luke 1:57-80 – The Advent of PEACE, Shalom

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Lectionary Readings for Dec. 5, 2021           2nd Sunday Of Advent, Year C
Malachi 3:1-4 The Coming Day of Judgment
Philippians 1:3-11   v3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God
Luke 1:57-80 The Birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s Prophecy
Luke 3:1-6      John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus to launch His ministry.

Weekly Meditative Exercise

Christianity includes a long and rich tradition of embracing meditative practices as a way of keeping us connected with God, ourselves, and each other. I encourage you to spend some time each week (ideally 10-30 minutes) trying each weekly exercise. You will naturally find some more appealing and effective than others. You’ll like some but not others, and after 6-12 months you’ll better understand what’s available and what helps you.

This week’s exercise focuses on Rest (pages 74-76).
From Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. InterVarsity Press, 2005.

  • Desire: to honor God and my human limitations through restful rhythms

  • Definition: Entering into rest depends on honoring our God-given limits. By paying attention to the physical, mental and spiritual needs of the body, we learn when and how to rest.

  • Scripture: “My soul finds rest in God alone.” (Psalm 62:1)

As you engage with this exercise, I encourage you to pay attention to your levels of energy, joy, peace, and patience during these weeks leading up to Christmas. Make time to rest you minds and your souls so that you can more fully experience and share the true meaning of Christmas – God’s love for humanity.

Peace through Leadership Quotes

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.”  ~ Thomas S. Monson

“I don’t think Christmas is necessarily about things. It’s about being good to one another, it’s about the Christian ethic, it’s about kindness.”  ~ Carrie Fisher

When we focus more on others than ourselves, we’re more likely to create peace. This isn’t just a nice idea; there is solid neuroscience that proves that when we make an effort to genuinely, sincerely care about other people, we become happier, healthier people. When we extend compassion and concern toward others, our adult brains immediately and automatically begin to rewire themselves (neuroplasticity) in ways that help us be more at peace with whatever is happening in our own lives which helps us be more at peace with others. None of us can create peace for all of the world, but each of us can create some amount of peace for others, and that will mean the world to them.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

This week we’ll hear the story of John’s birth, and next week we’ll hear the story of Jesus’ birth. As I’ve mentioned in the past, artwork informs us and shapes what we believe. Here’s a painting of Mary meeting Elizabeth. Notice that the architecture is 15th century French provincial – NOT first century Palestine. The painting DOES show Mary as pregnant, but at this point in the Bible story, Elizabeth is six months more pregnant than Mary, but not in this painting. Also, Elizabeth is dressed like a peasant, which is not what I’d expect considering she and Zechariah came from Jewish nobility (he was a priest and she was a descendant of Aaron).

Artwork aside, “The characters in the Gospel of Luke can be described as vacillating between joy and fear. Let’s [recap], for example, [today’s] story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Luke tells us that Elizabeth is barren and getting on in years [sad awwww]. Then the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah to announce that Elizabeth will bear a son named John, who will be the forerunner of the coming savior of Israel [yeah!]. At this news, Zechariah is terrified with disbelief, and so the angel renders him mute [sad awwww]. Then Elizabeth conceives and bears a son [yeah!]. When it comes to naming the child, everybody questions Elizabeth’s naming him John [sad awwww]. Then Zechariah confirms this name for his son, his mouth is freed, and he is able to speak [yeah!], but the people are terrified [sad awwww]” (David L. Bartlett; Barbara Brown Taylor. Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Transfiguration. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle 1222).

As you hear today’s verses, notice that Zechariah begins by praising God, and ends with a pronouncement over his son’s life as he looks to the advent of a new age of freedom and prosperity for the Israelites. Listen for how much Zechariah’s words sound like how we might describe Jesus. Does this change how you think of John? Did John live up to his dad’s hopes and dreams?  

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts to the birth of hope, light, and salvation.

 

Read Luke 1:57-80 and the rest of chapter 1 this week when you can.

When I was growing up, Erma Bombeck was a popular and humorous author. No matter the topic, she possessed the precious talent of finding both a lesson and a laugh in any situation. One of her popular books was titled The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. I remember my grandfather chuckling as he explained to me why that was true. Farmers and home gardeners sometimes have to separate the flavor of fresh produce from the smell of what helped grow the food. Hold that thought.

Coming on the heels of last week’s theme of hope, you would think that peace would be an easy topic for a Sunday worship message during Advent. “Peace on Earth, goodwill... Fa La La La La” and all that jazz. But 2021 has been a tough year for peace. Politics is a mess; no peace there. We spent most of our summer monitoring evacuation warnings; no peace there. And for the past 18 month, this gosh-darn virus has disrupted our lives in new ways every stinkin’ week; no peace there. And that’s on top of life’s typical issues.

2021 has had plenty of septic tank moments AND has also produced plenty of green grass, new growth that signals life is renewing and regenerating around us. Our church and our food pantry welcome new faces each week; that’s green grass. We continue to receive new donations each week, generosity abounds; that’s green grass. Our Bible Study and our Faith in Conversation groups have produced countless brilliant insights and heart-moving experiences; that’s green grass.

Yes, this has been an especially challenging year, AND we continue to find our way forward. Our brains are hard-wired to notice contrast, and peace contrasts with stress, fear, and anxiety. Wherever we notice a lack of peace, we are also noticing opportunities to find or create peace. Somedays that can be hard work. But it’s good work; it’s necessary work.

More and more frequently, our Friday afternoon guests are asking me, inviting me, to pray with them. During the past month, I’ve become increasingly aware of the stresses our local high school and college students are experiencing. Local leaders are telling me in their own words, “Charles, there’s a huge and unmet need for spiritual care in our community.” At the same time, so many of you have come to me saying, “Charles, let us know what else we can do for people who are struggling.”

When I hear all of this, I can’t help but ask, “God, where are you leading me? And where are you leading our community of faith?”

Today’s reading presses us to ask what may be tough but much needed questions as we consider how our faith guides our lives.

  • What people groups today anxiously await the advent of freedom and prosperity? Are they our neighbors?

  • What role(s) do we Christians have in helping birth hope and healing for others?

  • Thinking of Elizabeth and Mary, are we – individually and collectively – willing to patiently carry the weight of God growing something new and miraculous within us?

  • Are we willing to nurture new birth and give it time to grow and mature?

  • Can we find and share peace in the midst of challenges, disappointments, and successes as we explore new ministries?

Christmas is truly the season of looking forward to new additions to our lives that arrive as unearned gifts from others. In a nation torn apart by politics, in a community still staggering from the blows of economic challenges and wildfire recovery, in a culture that tells us we always need to have more and be more... Peace, Shalom, may be the greatest gift of all this year.

Remember, the word peace we’re using today is our translation of the Hebrew word Shalom – a word that includes the concepts of being in a state of wholeness, completeness in our relationships with God, with ourselves, and with each other. This is far deeper, far more encompassing than “have a nice day.”

Thankfully, God offers us a never-ending supply of peace, shalom, if we simply accept and participate in that gift of peace. Every day, we have opportunities to re-gift that shalom to others so they can benefit as well. During this Christmas / Advent season, I encourage you to gift and re-gift shalom freely and with wild abandon... to yourself, your families, your coworkers, your classmates, and anyone else you meet.

When Jesus gifted peace, shalom, to thousands of people during His life, the Kingdom of God grew in new and beautiful ways. NOT all the problems of His time were solved. But real people experienced a new sense of peace, a new sense of wholeness and acceptance, and that made a profound and lasting difference to them, to their families, and to people they met.

When we gift shalom to others through kind, healing words and actions, we organically extend the Kingdom of God. Through this process of receiving and sharing shalom, we slowly and surely transform our lives and our communities in all the best ways. And that is a Christmas present that we can all enjoy throughout the year.

Amen? Amen!