First Sunday of Advent
Scripture: Isaiah 64:1-9; Mark 13:24-37
I wonder if today Isaiah's thoughts would be considered lament or rant. And what about Mark, has he recorded Jesus offering a rant or a lament? Or is it a prophetic word about the conditions of life today?
I find myself thinking about the difference between a rant and a lament. The dictionary says this: a) to rant—to speak in loud, violent or extravagant language; declaim vehemently; rave; b) to lament—to feel or express sorrow over; to feel remorse or regret over. Based on these definitions, I think Isaiah and Jesus both offered lament. Rants, too, though, have their place.
I have to confess that both Mark and Isaiah invited me to lament. I think lament is important in our lives; we need to give expression to our grief, to our regret. We need to express our sorrow at losses we have experienced or at the way things seem to be in the world. To hold our griefs and disappointments inside is to boil and stew and leads to health disruptions and the occasional boiling over, which does no one any good. That is why we have ritualized lament; it is good to gather with others and offer our lament to God and to one another. In the offering, we can learn to let go; we can accept. And so, if you will, let me take you on a journey of lament.
I lament the fact that 22 years ago last Thursday, November 24th, 1989, to be exact, our Canadian Parliament unanimously passed a resolution that child poverty would be eliminated by the year 2000. On another November 24th, this time in 2009, the House passed another unanimous motion to create a plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for everyone. Exactly one year ago, a House committee called for measurable targets and timelines to eliminate poverty for the nearly 3.2 million Canadians who live in poverty. BC has a terrible track record with respect to poverty. While suggestions and proposals have been made, nothing has been implemented. Because there aren't the supports for families, the Food Cupboard and our office receive requests for assistance. It is hard for working families to come to ask for help, but when you have children in your home, what do you do? We do what we can, but it is a drop in the bucket to what is needed. There will be a petition supporting a private member's bill to require the federal government to create timelines and targets with respect to reducing poverty; it will be downstairs after church if you should choose to sign.
I lament the state of affairs in Egypt, where we all had such hope for a democracy and change. When you are used to absolute authority, it is so very difficult to leave behind that mindset and establish new patterns of freedom and justice. I lament the deaths and killings and the intransigence of the governments of Syria, Burma, North Korea, Zimbabwe, and many other nations where repression and aggression are normative. I lament the production of arms and the military-industrial complex that gets rich off the proceeds of violent clashes. I lament the discord that exists between the nations of Palestine and Israel. I lament the increasingly restrictive refugee policies of our Western countries, including Canada, where it is becoming harder and harder to come here to escape death and torture for simply calling the government to account or speaking for freedom, human rights or the equality of women. I lament the fact that Uganda is trying to force a law that will require the death penalty for those who are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender. I lament the fact that greed seems to fuel our need to acquire more and that greed is the motive for companies to pillage the earth. I lament that we can't seem to escape our dependency on fossil fuel and thereby work to clean up the environment. I lament the state of the world and pray God, "when, dear God, when will justice flow down like mighty waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream? When, dear God, when?"
"Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, dear God. Oh that you would!" (Isaiah 64:1)
Do I feel better? Well, truth be told, yes and no. I've said what I've said and there could have been more. It feels good to articulate with you my griefs and disappointments at the state of the world. But my lament isn't finished. Isaiah went on to say: "Yet you are our mother and father, O God; we are the clay and you are the potter, we are the work of your hands." (Isaiah 64:8)
If I didn't believe in the power of Christmas and presence of the holy in all life, I would say that my lament is simply a rant. But because I believe that God has not abandoned us, but dwells within usÑthe Christ light is in each of us and in the life of the worldÑI live in hope. I live in hope that all that I have lamented will be overturned, that death will be swallowed up in life, that the shadows of grief will give way to the open promise of light, that the power of love and compassion and the call of human community is stronger than other forces that would tear us apart. I have hope that we can name those struggles in our world and that we can come together to address them with others to create new life for all. I have hope that we can sing and dance and know the beauty, wonder and awesomeness of life. We light this Advent candle as a light to remind us that hope exists and that our creativity, our energy, and our gifts can be part of the creative energy of God to bring to birth a new reality that is already dawning among and within us!
Today we begin the Advent journey to Christmas, to the affirmation that we are not alone, that God dwells with us. We begin with lament with its curious combination of expressing grief and hope. Advent is our invitation to be mindful and intentional about life. It is our invitation to share the Christ-light in us with others in working with God to create a new world. Advent is our opportunity again to pray, to advocate, to bless, to invite, to be, to live compassion as our Advent discipline and as a means for changing our habits of the heart from rant to lament where hope is rekindled and love renewed. With such energy and with God, we CAN change the world; we can eliminate poverty and create communities and nations of peace, well-being, love and neighbourly grace.
I leave you with a hopeful interpretation of Psalm 80 by Nan Merrill that is my hope for the world this Advent and indeed, all year:
Eternal Listener, give heed to your people,
You, who are our Guide and Light!
You, who dwell amidst the angels, shine forth into the heart of all nations!
Enliven your people with compassion that peace and justice might flourish.
Restore us, O Holy One, let your face shine upon us, and teach us to love!
Gentle Teacher, help us to turn to you in prayer, fasting from our negative thoughts.
In your steadfast love, you weep with our tears, tears that rise from fear, doubt, and illusion.
You uphold us when we feel the sting of pride, when our anxiety threatens to paralyze us.
Restore us, O Holy One, let your face shine upon us, and teach us again to love! Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment