clayton faulkner

Who do you see in this image?

This one may be easier:

Both of these images show Jesus (center), Mary the mother of Jesus (left), and John the Baptizer (right).

Orthodox churches have an iconostasis: a wall of icons and religious paintings that links together the nave from the sanctuary in a church. The door (called the Beautiful Gates) that the priest uses to move between the sanctuary and the nave is flanked by icons.

The bottom tier of icons is called the Sovereign. On the right side of the Beautiful Gates is an icon of Christ (often called Pantocrator –which means Almighty, Omnipotent, Lord of the Hosts). This image of Jesus symbolizes his Second Coming. On the left side is an icon of Mary the mother of Jesus, symbolizing Christ’s incarnation and entrance into this world. There is a theology behind these images. One side is Christ’s first incarnation, the other side is Christ’s second coming. All movement that takes place in the sanctuary during worship happens between Christ’s first and second coming.

John the Baptizer and Mary the mother of Jesus take their places beside Jesus as the primary examples of proclaiming and bearing the presence of Christ in the world. How do John and Mary strengthen our faith? One said, “I am not worthy to untie his sandals.” The other said, “I am the servant of the Lord, use me.” They model for us humility and service to the Messiah.

Advent is the season when we reflect on living between the first incarnation of Christ and his second coming. We remember his first coming into the world as a baby. And as we prepare for the coming of the infant Jesus, we are actually preparing for his second coming as the Ruler for all eternity.

from TheWorkofthePeople.com

If you’re a worship/liturgy leader, you probably know the name Stuart Townend.

If you’re not a worship/liturgy leader, let me explain…

From his bio at http://www.stuarttownend.co.uk:

Stuart is known and respected around the world as one of the leading worship songwriters of his generation. The depth of lyrical and theological content in songs such as In Christ alone, How deep the Father’s love, The power of the cross and Beautiful Saviour have caused some to draw comparisons with the greats of previous generations such as Watts and Wesley; while the marriage of great lyrics with wonderfully accessible melodies (largely through his successful writing partnership with Keith Getty) means his songs bridge different musical and cultural genres, and reach into every corner of the globe.

In other words, he’s a worship music stud. Two of those songs mentioned in the bio are in the top 50 songs of CCLI currently. He is obviously blessed with some wonderful gifts, and millions of people sing his songs across the world.

But I had a problem with one line of his, in one song, and I changed it, and I think its a better song now.

Now let me say that song writing is hard. I consider myself an amateur at best. Songs are rarely perfected. They often have to be revised repeatedly, and even the final product sometimes needs more work. I respect Stuart. My songs stink compared to his. I’m not trying to be overly critical. But I do care about the words that churches sing. I think it’s extremely important to give congregation’s the best texts possible (both theologically and artistically). What we sing in church is as important as what is preached in church, if not more important.

The song in question is called Immanuel (or as I call it, “From the Squalor of a Borrowed Stable”). It’s one of my favorite songs. I have put it into regular rotation every Advent for years. The lyric in question comes from stanza 4, the original quoted here:

Now He’s standing in the place of honor,
Crowned with glory on the highest throne,
Interceding for His own beloved
Till His Father calls to bring them home!
Then the skies will part as the trumpet sounds
Hope of heaven or the fear of hell,
But the Bride will run to her Lover’s arms,
Giving glory to Immanuel!

Here is the part I changed:

Then the skies will part as the trumpet sounds.
Heav’n joins earth where God will dwell,
And the Bride will run to her Lover’s arms,
Giving glory to Immanuel!

Here are some reasons why I changed it:

• Fear is never a good motivating factor. Just ask any person who has lived under a dictatorship throughout history.
• I don’t feel like God ever intended for a fear of hell to be the driving factor in His relationship to humanity. I vaguely remember Jesus saying some stuff about love.
• A more biblical picture of the consummation of history is the collision of heaven and earth and the establishment of a New Jerusalem where God is present with us forever.
• It’s also interesting that this “fear of hell” seems to be contradicted in another lyric from a different song by Stuart – the 4th stanza from “In Christ Alone:”

No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and the rest of the chapter is pretty good too.

Zephaniah 3:14-20:

¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!

¹⁵The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,

he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

you shall fear disaster no more.

¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands grow weak.

¹⁷The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

he will renew you in his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing

¹⁸as on a day of festival.

I will remove disaster from you,

so that you will not bear reproach for it.

¹⁹I will deal with all your oppressors

at that time.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

²⁰At that time I will bring you home,

at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes, says the LORD.

Luke 3:7-18:

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even 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.”
¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Introduction – Already but not yet

Advent is the season of waiting. It is rich with symbolism. The season is marked by the color blue, which represents the color of the sky, just before the hopeful light of dawn breaks. The paraments on the altar table depict a crown and an olive branch, which reminds us that the One for whom we wait is the “Prince of Peace.” There is also the Advent wreath, its circular nature, with no beginning and no end, is reminiscent of God’s infinite nature and the eternal life found through faith in Christ. The branches of the evergreen are symbolic of the promise of new life that comes with the spring. The color of each of the candles holds special meaning as well. Purple symbolizes expectation, royalty, and penitence. Today we light the pink candle, which symbolizes joy. White symbolizes the purity of Christ’s light to the world.

This is also the season of “already, but not yet.” Call it a paradox, or an oxymoron, or whatever, but Advent tells us simultaneously that we are both “there” and “not quite there.” We experience the “already” because Bethlehem happened; Jesus has already been born. But we simultaneously experience the “not yet” because we await His coming again and the consummation of history. Through faith in Christ we experience the “already” because we are saved and made holy. But we simultaneously experience the “not yet” because we are still bound by our sinful flesh. We experience the “already” because Christ established His kingdom with His first advent. But we wait in the “not yet” for Christ to return to complete His promise and make all Believers co-reigners in His real, eternal kingdom.

C.S. Lewis quote

“When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade all right. But what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe, melting away like a dream, and something else, something it never entered your head to conceive comes crashing in. Something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left. For this time it will be God without disguise. Something so overwhelming, that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you could choose to lie down when it is become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing. It will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen. Whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment is our chance to choose the right side.
God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.” (Mere Christianity)

The Gospel

Cutting down trees, and sweeping out the chaff, and being thrown in the fire, and name-calling: where is the good news? Today’s Gospel from Luke ends a bit abruptly: “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” Being referred to as a “snake” by John the Baptizer doesn’t sound like good news to me.

John the Baptizer has earned his reputation for fiery and provocative preaching, partly because of his startling message to those who came to be baptized: “YOU BROOD OF VIPERS!” Comparing one’s own congregation—the same people who came to hear him preach and be baptized! — to a hissing and writhing mess of poisonous snakes probably doesn’t earn too many fans. John continues to antagonize the people by dismissing their claims to entitlement from having been born into a faith community. “Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants.”

And so we ask with the crowds that day, “What then should we do?” This is the same question that the crowd asked on Pentecost after Peter’s sermon.

Here is the good news. Here is the heart of the Gospel today: we are all snakes, we are all children of Abraham, and our lives are both wheat and chaff. And then we hear John tell the crowd about the coming kingdom. We get a glimpse of what the rules will be in the kingdom of the One who is on His way. God’s new kingdom is available to them where they are, requiring only enough faith to perceive the sacred in the midst of the ordinary.  It is entirely within their reach. It’s doable: “Share. Be generous. Be fair.  Be honest. Don’t bully. Strive for simplicity.”

The God Who Sings

We’re familiar with the image of God described in today’s Gospel. We’re familiar with the God who throws in the fire those who don’t produce good fruit. But there is another image of God. A powerful image comes from the first reading in Zephaniah. On this Sunday devoted to joy, we hear the words that depict God as the one who bursts into song with joy over God’s beloved: “He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival” (3:17-18).

Such joy is not subdued; it is not quiet or dignified. The Hebrew words used in verse 17 are used elsewhere in the Bible to describe great jubilation – leaping for JOY! The Lord rejoices over his beloved, over Judah and Jerusalem, as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (Isaiah 62:5). As David danced in front of the Ark of the Covenant, in exultation, so God rejoices over God’s people (2 Samuel 6). As the morning stars sang at the creation of the world, so God sings with elation over God’s beloved (Job 38:7).

We’re familiar with images of God as judge. But how often do we imagine God as one who rejoices? One who sings? Yet here, in Zephaniah, God and God’s people alike are caught up in a joy that overflows into song, a joy that springs from love renewed, and relationship restored.

This joy is not one-sided. It is not only God’s people who rejoice because of the forgiveness and restoration that God provides. That is an understandable reaction to God’s redemption. But God’s people aren’t the only ones rejoicing. God also sings and shouts with joy over this love restored. The divine heart overflows with jubilation!

So when you picture God, and you see the angry parent, finger on the zap button, ready to pound us for our sins, then look again.  Or if your image of God is that of a distant and remote creator, who sets everything in motion and forgets to check in or intervene, then look again.

No, the God mentioned in Zephaniah is moved, is deeply affected, by human attitudes and actions. This God does not watch from a distance, but enters into the life of the world. This God “moved into the neighborhood,” in that mysterious and wonderful event we call the Incarnation. Because of the Incarnation, we experience redemption and reconciliation with God both now and in the world to come. And now we, the rescued ones, get to live our entire lives as an expression of God’s redemption. We get to spread this joy of recreation to all people. What then should we do? We who have two get to share one. We who have been healed can help the sick. We who have been provided for get to welcome the outsiders. We get to bear fruit worthy of repentance. It’s about your life. God cares about how you live your life.

Conclusion

Today is about joy, the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also the joy of a God who is deeply invested in setting the world back in order. God sings. God shouts. God rejoices. And we, we who are gloriously and inexplicably chosen as God’s beloved, join in the celebration.

Resources:

• WorkingPreacher.org
• Textweek.com
• EkklesiaProject

From Chad Brooks Flickr.

(HT: JD Walt)

Advent reflection from Christine Sine.

(HT: Jonny Baker)