Advent 1a – Prophets, New Beginnings

From,Cassi Alexandra 

Be vigilant. You have no idea when the Human One is going to show up. Matthew 24:44

Happy New Year!

What? You didn’t know this was the new year? Well, it isn’t on the calendar, of course, but as far as the Church is concerned, today is the first day of the year.

I’ve long been one to celebrate new beginnings – the New Year, the beginning of the school year in September, and this, the first Sunday of Advent, the start of the Christian calendar.

This is a day of new beginnings,

time to remember, and move on,

time to believe what love is bringing,

laying to rest the pain that's gone. [1]

Yes, I like new beginnings. (I regularly make enough mistakes that the idea of fresh starts – each day, even – appeals to me.) I also really like Advent. I not really drawn to the Second Coming of Christ focus that the Church has traditionally used in early Advent. For me, reading and talking about the words of the Hebrew prophets is always a plus, something we need and don’t get enough of today.

Now just to clarify, Hebrew prophets weren’t seers or oracles. Their job wasn’t to foretell anything, although we Christians have worked hard to co-opt as much as we could from their prophecies. I don’t mean these prophetic words have no place in our Christian understanding. It's just that when we spend so much effort pointing them at Jesus, we can miss the point of what the prophet was initially conveying. And we need to hear that, today as much as at anytime in history.

Hebrew prophets spoke God’s hard word to a people who weren’t interested in hearing it. I say “hard word” because so much of what they conveyed was, "You people need to shape up – or else!" Who wants to hear that, especially if the current system works for you? (This is why the prophet's life was/is so tough.)

And while

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

seems like it was written for an event 700 years later, we might wonder what the original meaning was.

If we had an old-time prophet here in Appleton, or in the place where you live, what would they have to say about the ways people are living today? (And yes, I’m using “they” on purpose. I’ve long had issue with the overuse of male pronouns. Now that some people are identifying as “they” we finally have a non-gendered way to speak of unknown individuals, or – dare I say it? – God.) But, back to my question, what “hard word” might an early-21st century prophet have to say to us?

Wait, we do! Some of them are individuals, maybe Bono, maybe Jean Vanier. Some of them are groups, maybe Futures Without Violence, maybe the folks at Standing Rock.

Are we listening?

[1] Brian Wren, “This Is a Day of New Beginnings”