December 14, 2003

Luke 1:39-56, John 12: 20, 21

Our first reading from the Gospel of Saint Luke this morning was the Magnificat, of which the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:
 "This song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn."

It is the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung.  This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings.  This is the passionate Mary who speaks out here.  The song has none of the sweet, nostalgic tone of some of our Christmas carols.  It is instead a hard, strong song about collapsing thrones and humbled rulers of this world, about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind.
These are the tones of the women prophets of the Old Testament that now come to life in Mary's mouth.

Our second reading from the Gospel of Saint John is our sermon text for this third Sunday of Advent.

"Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
They came to Philip and said to him...'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.'"

Let us pray:
Startle us with your truth, O God.  May your tenderheartedness be turned in
our direction and may your word shine as a light to illumine our way.
In the spirit of Emmanuel, we pray.  Amen.

Years ago the King of Sweden went to church on a Sunday morning.  The pastor spent quite a bit of time welcoming and praising the King.  A few days later a package arrived.  It contained a plaque, along with a note from the King, "Display this plaque in a prominent place where anyone standing in the pulpit will be able to read it."  On the plaque were the words of our text: "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
Over the years of my ministry I have on occasion preached from a pulpit where those words were posted:  "We wish to see Jesus."  They are a reminder to those privileged to preach that folks do not come of a Sunday morning to hear a book report, or a film or a play reviewed, or to listen to a story, now that preaching a story has become popular.

People come hungry, longing to see Jesus. We gather here Sunday after Sunday to worship God and to see Jesus who is for us the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

As in the hymn, "On Jesus Christ the rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
We wish to see Jesus!

We wish to see Jesus!  Jesus Christ is the center of our faith.  One of the defining characteristics of Christianity is that we encounter the revelation of God primarily in a person.  This is an affirmation which is unique among the major religions of the world.
For Judaism and Islam, though Moses and Muhammed are receivers of revelation, God is not revealed in them as persons, but in the words of the Torah and the Qu'ran.  Also, in Buddhism, the Buddha as a person is not the revelation of God; rather, the Buddha's teachings disclose the path to enlightenment and compassion.

But Christianity finds the primary revelation of God in a person, Jesus of Nazareth. This does not make Christianity superior, but it does make it different. As Saint John writes: "The Word became flesh and lived among us."  Emmanuel, God with us.  If you want to know what God looks like, then consider Jesus.  For in Jesus we catch at least a glimpse of the face of God.  In Jesus God shows both God's heart and God's hands; in Jesus we see that God is love and grace and justice; in Jesus we see God's purpose and plan.

And because Christians find the ultimate revelation of God in a person and not in a book, and although we know Jesus primarily through the Bible, Jesus is more central than the Bible. When there is a difference between a particular verse of the Bible and the teaching and spirit of Jesus, Jesus prevails.  To put it plainly, Jesus wins.

The Bible is not a club to be used, as do so any, to beat folk into submission.  No wonder the world seems weary of traditional religion.  So for example, from my faith perspective those half dozen passages in the Bible which condemn homosexuality and once supported slavery are nullified by Jesus' commitment to love and grace and inclusivity.  Along with the verse from Leviticus which states that anyone working on the Sabbath shall be stoned to death - if you are charitable enough to consider preaching work - then I trust you will recognize that Jesus' spirit of love and grace also trumps that verse.  The Bible is the authority of the church.  The spirit of Jesus is the ultimate authority.

Jesus Christ is the center of our faith.  People through the centuries have had different perceptions of Jesus. Some have said he is the second person of the Trinity.  Others, such as Rudolf Bultman, have thought of Jesus as a mythological Christ. Some have proclaimed Jesus as the ethical liberator.  Deitrich Bonhoeffer stressed Jesus as the man for others.  Henri Nouwmen knew Jesus as the wounded healer.  Countless others have known Jesus as a personal friend, Savior, the light of the world and the bread of life.

I find it helpful, as do many New Testament scholars, to distinguish between the pre-Easter Jesus and the post-Easter Jesus.  The pre-Easter Jesus was a Galilean Jew born in the year four BCE (Before the Common Era) and died in the year 30 of the Common Era.
The post-Easter Jesus is what Jesus became after his death and resurrection, and refers to how we continue to experience the Risen Christ as individuals and as a faith community.

It is essential we begin by seeing clearly the pre-Easter Jesus. For as one scholar has written: "Jesus is a much underrated man. To deprive him of his humanity is to deprive him of his greatness."  We will consider the post-Easter Jesus another day. Today we will look at the pre-Easter Jesus.

So what was Jesus like during his historical lifetime? Scholars are not unanimous, yet there is an emerging consensus among New Testament scholars such as Marcus Borg and his colleagues in what has come to be known as the "Jesus Seminar."

There are five things we can say about the pre-Easter Jesus:  First, the pre-Easter Jesus was a spirit person.  Jesus had a deep and profound experience of the sacred.  Jesus did not simply know about God - Jesus knew God.  Jesus fasted, spent long hours in prayer, spoke of God in intimate terms, taught the immediacy of access to God.  Jesus lived a life radically centered in God. This was the foundation of his life. Those who knew Jesus most fully and shared in his ministry knew Jesus as a spirit person.  If you long to become a more spiritual person and move deeper into the life of faith, then keep your eye on Jesus.  Learn from Jesus.

Second, they knew Jesus as a healer.  Saint Luke is especially interested in the healings of Jesus.  Naturally enough, as Luke was a physician.  Even non-religious scholars agree that Jesus performed paranormal healings and exorcisms.  More healing stories are told about Jesus than any other figure in the Jewish tradition.  If there is a brokenness in your life this morning, then you do well when you look to Jesus for healing and wholeness.  Those who knew him best knew him as a remarkable healer.

Third, Jesus was a wisdom teacher, flowing out of his experience with the sacred.  Jesus taught in parables and in memorable short sayings.  Jesus spoke differently, because he saw differently.  As a teacher of wisdom, Jesus taught a way, a path of life. The narrow way of which Jesus spoke led beyond the broad way of convention and tradition.  It involved transformation and change, becoming a new woman or a new man in Christ.

The call to follow Jesus, the invitation to discipleship, is a call to see the world differently.  When you choose to stand next to Jesus you are given a new perspective, a fresh vantage point.  You are challenged to look at your own life and the world around you with new eyes -- to see differently, as Jesus saw differently.  If you are confused about the meaning and purpose of life, then accept the invitation to draw closer to Jesus.

Fourth, Jesus was also a social prophet, standing in the tradition of the great Hebrew prophets:  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Micah.  Something he may have learned from his mother, as in the Magnificat.  Jesus was a prophet of the Kingdom of God.  His was a call to justice and compassion.  Jesus envisioned an inclusive community where all are welcome.  Jesus lived this out in what is called "Open Table Fellowship."  Jesus hosted a table where there were no restrictions save the love of God.  Jesus would be appalled at any system of a closed communion.  Jesus challenged the domination system of his day that channeled wealth to the few and poverty to the many. This cost Jesus his life.

If you are weary of violence and hatred, the injustice and cruelty that threatens to destroy our common life, then take your stand with Jesus and his call for justice and compassion.

Fifth, Jesus was also what scholars term a movement initiator.  A movement came into existence around him during his lifetime.  It was a deeply Jewish movement, one which was remarkably inclusive.  It subverted the sharp social boundaries of his day.  Jesus constantly associated with the marginalized and the outcasts. This movement was carried on after his death by his disciples, carried into the Greek and Roman world by Saint Paul, and became the Church - another story for another day.

From the first century to the twenty-first century this is what women and men have found when they brought their spiritual hunger and longing to Jesus.

A spirit person
A healer
A wisdom teacher
A social prophet
A movement initiator.
We wish to see Jesus.
We wish to see Jesus.

Once I taught a course in a church, after which I received a gracious note from a man who was in the class. He said that for the first time he realized who Jesus was.  He wrote, "I realize now that Jesus is not just a figure from the past, but he's someone present with me today: getting to know Jesus has changed my life, and I thank you."  I admit I felt pretty good about that note, took it home and showed it to Della, until I realized there were others who came to one or two sessions and never came back. There were others in the class who dozed off and took little naps.

Pastors and preachers do the very best they can with the limitations of words and their own limitations to present Jesus Christ clearly, challengingly, compellingly and with conviction.  Then each of you must decide who Jesus Christ is for you and your life, and what difference that will make.  In your deciding and choosing these days of Advent may you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In closing, I want to share with you a little prayer.  I have no idea of its origin.  In Glastonbury we called it "the faith line prayer."   I prepared a meditation each day and you could call on the phone and listen.  In fact, it was Randy Steere who suggested we call it "Faith Line" and this became the Faith Line prayer.

It goes like this:

Take my hand, Lord Jesus, take my hand.
Take my hand, Lord Jesus, take my hand.
There's a race to be run
There's a victory to be won
Every hour give me power to go on.
Will you pray that prayer with me now, and if you feel comfortable doing it, hold the hand of the person sitting next to you:
Take my hand, Lord Jesus, take my hand.
Take my hand, Lord Jesus, take my hand.
There's a race to be run
There's a victory to be won
Every hour give me power to go on.
In Jesus' strong spirit, Amen.