Readings for Advent 2C: Is.
11:1-10; Ps. 72; Rom. 15:4-13; Mt. 3:1-12
December 9, 2001
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
" Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."(Mt. 3)
What is the final destiny of humanity and of this world? When will justice and peace reign on earth? What events need to take place in order for love to be the operating principle? What is God's vision for us? These are questions that deal with eschatology. Eschatology is that area of theology which addresses the final destiny of the world in general and humanity in particular. The Bible is not a book that reflects a systematic theology but rather is a collection of various theologies. Thus, how the world will become a new creation, reflecting God's vision, varies according to which passage you read in the Bible.
In our first reading from the Book of Isaiah and in Psalm 72, we hear a prophetic eschatology, when one day, the social, political, and economic structures will give rise to a world order of justice and peace. In this reconciled kingdom on earth, the oldest of enemies are made friends: "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid.and the nursing child shall play over the hole of [a snake]."
In our second reading from the Book of Romans and in part of today's gospel reading, we hear about sapiential eschatology. Sapiential comes from the word meaning "wisdom." In this theology, people repent (i.e. they turn their hearts toward God), they open themselves up to God's wisdom and allow God to move their hearts from a place of fear to a place of love. Once filled with this Spirit of God, humanity becomes like Christ, and the Kingdom of God is realized.
Finally, in another part of the gospel reading and in many of the lections during Advent, we hear about apocalyptic eschatology. In this scheme, good will triumph over evil after significant apocalyptic events, when in the final days, the wheat will be separated from the chaff and those who have been faithful will be swept up into a new creation.
Now which of these eschatologies is the most probable? My hunch is, that all of them will need to happen before the Kingdom of God can become a reality. My hope is, that it will not be necessary for apocalyptic events to go so far as to destroy the physical realm. Last week I focused on a prophetic eschatology dealing with peace and justice. This week, I will focus on sapiential eschatology: a time in the distant future when we will live in harmony with one another in accordance with Jesus Christ through the evolution of consciousness, wisdom, and love. Let's take a look at today's gospel which talks about a pathway to such an existence.
If a person is focused mostly on power and success, chances are he won't take time to smell the roses or to sacrifice his time to help someone in need. If a person is intensely focused on gaining wealth, chances are she will be very busy and miss the small wonders and gifts that creation presents to her each day. Where we fix our gaze, where we orient our heart, where we give of our time, talent, and treasure, will have a lot to do with how we experience life. And it will also have a lot to do with the future of humanity and the future of this world! For instance, when we are focused on justice, peace becomes a possibility. But when we are focused only on ourselves, narcissism becomes probable. When we focus on human rights, the dignity of every human being becomes possible. But when we focus our energy on excessive material consumption for ourselves, poverty can rear its ugly head for those less fortunate. As the old saying goes: We become what we worship.
Today's gospel exhorts us to focus on God. This kind of focusing is called repentance. Repentance actually means to turn around. It means to turn from a place of selfishness, self-centeredness, and fear and to refocus our gaze, our heart, and our life on God. It means to bear fruit that reflects a holy lifestyle. This focus on God is the primary orientation that Christians are to assume. If you claim to be on the spiritual path, then repentance is just as important as the other Christian principles of forgiveness, sacrifice, generosity, and works of compassion.
It is very hard for us to keep our eyes, our heart, and our life focused on God. Why is that? I think that people have gone through the various stages of life- not having some of their primary needs met. As a result, there is a void, a wound, an emptiness in the heart due to those unmet needs. And so we seek out programs for happiness to fill that void. The secular world tells us that money, power, things, alcohol, drugs, another person, and thrills will fill that void. I know that I spent much of my life seeking out programs for happiness that never quite made me happy enough. I sought out years of education in the hope that if I had right job, I would be free to make more choices and then all would be well. I sought out programs for happiness through people, believing that if I could just find the right person, then I would be happy and whole. While these are worthy pursuits, nothing can truly heal or fill that empty void except God. Friends die and disappoint us. Families break up. The world changes, jobs come and go, and life pulls us in so many directions. Is there a foundation that is unshakable? The answer is YES. When God becomes our foundation, then life comes together and a harmonic conversion results.
If you go into any large bookstore, you will notice that the self-help book section is much larger than the section on religion and spirituality. Some people believe that if they just have enough information, then they can find the path to happiness. They believe that knowledge will fill the void. The publishing world takes advantage of this belief by printing millions of books on self-help. I was looking through my own library of self-help books. They include: Recovery from Co-Dependency, Happiness is a Choice, Trauma and Recovery, Embracing Our Selves, 10 Stupid things Women do to Mess up their Lives, Healing the 8 Stages of Life, How to Survive the Loss of a Love, Growing Beyond Emotional Pain, Getting the Love You Want, Premarital Counseling, You Can Beat Depression. While all of these books have given me important insights either for myself or for those whom I pastor, none of them can truly fill the void. It is only when I first fix my gaze upon God that I can continue my journey towards wholeness, experiencing that Peace which passes all understanding.
Will God's vision for humanity (i.e. Kingdom of God) ever be realized through the evolution of consciousness, wisdom, and love? I guess it will depend on people's willingness to repent and to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Advent is the time of year for us to consider this future-this Second Advent-the coming of God's Kingdom on earth. I hope we don't let this opportunity go by for the possibilities are great.
| Updated 12/9/01 |
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