Advent 3 Joy and the Big Scene

To think about:  Luke 2:8-20

 It would’ve been chaos. 

Sheep falling over, dogs barking, bright lights, snoring shepherds stretching and yelling, angels singing.   It has all the makings of a rock concert gone horribly wrong. One angel voice tries to get a message across and it seems the heavenly sound system isn’t working; the shepherds are still running all over the place, scared by the lights.   Who knows what’s going on with the terrified animals?! Maybe it wasn’t just the sheep hiding behind the plants….

And out of this chaos comes some instructions:

Not “Please proceed to the nearest exit”. 

Not “You are doomed!”

Not “You’ve won the lottery!”

Just “Don’t be afraid.   I’ve got good news.”

How long do you think it took for that to sink in?

And while it did, what’s happening to the sheep, their livelihood?  The animals probably didn’t even belong to them–usually shepherds cared for the animals of rich landowners, and if an animal was lost, they would have to pay back the owner with their own wages or go into debt.  The animals had to be protected. But the shepherds weren’t always the most reliable characters in those days. 

But the angels still speaks. 

Don’t be afraid. 

How often, when we are in the middle of chaos, or stress, or a multitude of choices, do we hear “Don’t be afraid” but just keep going and ignore what’s said after because we believe what we have going on in the moment can’t wait?

The instructions continue:  Here is the next part in your story.   Here’s  where to find the baby, here’s the way you’ll recognize him.   What’s interesting is the angel never says to the shepherds, “You have to go!”  The angel never says “Stop what you’re doing, leave the sheep and listen to this!”  The angel comes to the shepherds while they are working, and gives them information.  The shepherds hear the angel chorus, all of heaven so pent up with excitement that they send the whole group to sing for the shepherds–and now the shepherds are listening. 

They aren’t afraid. But they do need to talk about it.  

I love the line “The shepherds said to one another”.   They haven’t been told what to do with this good news—only how to recognize Christ.    The invitation to meet Jesus in this kind of unrestrained joy isn’t a command.  It’s an invitation.   As we talked about  in the first devotion with Philip and Nathaniel, God invites first. Come and see.  And in this case, for the shepherds: Here’s what you’re looking for to find this news of great joy. 

This week, we light the Advent candle of joy.   A light that says joy is here, and joy is coming.    Christian joy does not stop and gaze, and shut out what is going on in the world. Joy is given, but what we do with that joy is a choice.  It’s the same for the shepherds. What happens next is one of the greatest moments in the story, I think.  The shepherds choose what to do with God’s offered joy. 

Welcome to shepherd strategic planning 101. 

• First, they agree on a plan. Let’s go.   (Apparently, they believe the sheep are going to be ok on their own. Or maybe the sheep are no longer a priority.)
• Second, they act on the plan.  They go to see Jesus–to make sure that what they have been told about is real.
• Third, they talk about it. Market it. Share it. Unashamedly, enthusiastically, making the whole town buzz with the news, spreading it around the other shepherds. 

And so the joy God sent grows. 

I wonder what we would do. 

Would we say “We’ll get to it tomorrow, have to take care of the sheep tonight. “

Would we want to stay out on the hills because whatever is going on in that manger is so weird we’ll have no part of it?

Would we just keep the joy to ourselves, knowing that the angel message is good, and we’re past fear, but there’s no rush?    The kid is just a baby.  We can see him later. 

Would we go, and see the baby, and go back home? Or would we run, see, go and tell because this is just too good not to share?

The thing is, God often comes in the middle of our work, in the middle of everyday life, and sometimes that coming causes chaos before we settle into the joy.   Sometimes God has to tell us, I’m interrupting, but  look, don’t be afraid. This is good news. I need your attention here. I’m going to tell you what to look for that will bring you more joy. 

Then we need to decide what to do with the joy that’s offered. 

This week, may you be blessed with surprising moments of God’s joy in the middle of your work.   And may you have the courage to share those moments with someone else. 

Peace in Christ, 

Rev. Susan

Photo and content © Susan Kerr 2024.  Shepherd and Sheep  finger puppets by Peruvian artist, unknown, Ten Thousand Villages.  May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author.

Advent 2 An Old Word

Isaiah 9:6-7

Ok, I’ll admit it.   There are quests that send me down internet rabbit holes.   Coming from a background in language, words are one of those quests. I love looking at old manuscripts, reading the Hebrew on the pages of Esther at the Royal Ontario Museum, having the privilege to look at pages of the Book of Kells, and declaring battle on Google translate’s work on French idioms. 

Lots of words. 

This week, we light the candle of peace.  We have beautiful symbols around this time of year of peaceful scenes, starry nights, quiet mangers (that’s another story!).  There are quotes that abound about peace and how we can ‘get it”.  Then there are images of those who can’t even go to buy bread without fearing drone strikes, or those for whom mental health struggles mean that days and nights are full of visions of anything but peace. 

So let’s take a look at that word.  An ancient word, in many writings.  A word we want to be true but it’s so, so hard to hold on to or make it last.   Our own human history, no matter what culture or identity we hold, tells that struggle pretty clearly. 

Peace.

We see the closest thing to the English word peace in Latin in the first century, though older words for peace exist in other languages and cultures.    Regardless of the origin, almost all of the words for peace mean ‘freedom from war’.   Not just the absence of war.   Freedom from it–which means that policies and procedures and powers were in place so people didn’t have to worry about it. They would have time to rebuild, grow, laugh, eat, harvest, sleep. 

Someone had to hold the peace for them, had to hold them in a state of freedom from war, while they did all that good, ordinary, day to day growth and life. 

In that understanding of peace, we need someone powerful holding the peace intact.  There are various ways through history that people did that, and do that today.  Some good ways, some not so good. What is curious is, in that in older definitions of peace, peace was not something one could give oneself.   Peace was a gift. Peace was held for you. 

One of the most interesting twists of the word is in the English language.   In Old English, the Latin word for peace (pax) actually replaced the word for happiness in a number of manuscripts in the 1500’s (Online Etymology Dictionary, complied by Douglas Harper )    What brought one happiness was the same power that brought one peace (which, given the culture in northern Europe in the 1500’s, made a lot of sense).   And that equation works–how many moments of joy or happiness can we experience when we are worried about struggle or war?

When we wait and see how God’s peace works in the world, (and there are days when I wonder how long that will take, but I see glimmers here and there) we know that peace is rooted in all the things we see in those words of Isaiah’s: wisdom, justice, counsel (which would imply listening to all sides), knowledge about God.  A peace that lets the world breathe again. A peace that lets people buy bread without fear, or go to school above ground rather than in tunnels because they are hiding from explosions above. A peace that lets a child sleep without fear that there will still be a safe roof over their head the next night.   If we accept God’s peace, it is as a gift to be shared, not something to say, “this is just for me and I don’t have to worry if anyone else has some”.   Peace does not come without struggle: we have the example of a Chrsit who suffered and died for us so we could have peace with God and work for God’s peace in the world. Still, even in the working, God offers peace, and keeps us going. 

So when I think of this old word, this word that talks about freedom, I have to ask: who holds  and gives peace for me?  As we accept that gift, we can extend that peace to others – moment by moment, step by step.  If we try to do it ourselves, we’re not big enough to hold that peace for everyone. 

To think about this week:

• Who holds our peace? Who or what is offering you peace and  is strong enough to make that offer real?

• Who holds and gives freedom from struggle for you–freedom for mental hurt, painful memories, struggles that you think you can’t handle all by yourself?

Who holds that kind of power to give peace?

For me, I can only think of one kid in a manger who can do that. 

Also known as the (most ancient) Word made flesh.  

Or the Prince of Peace. 

May you know God’s peace deeply and fully this week, and may you have moments to share that peace with others. 

 Peace in Christ,

Susan

Photo and content © Susan Kerr 2024. Crocheted “Peace” ornament created by Deborah McVean.   May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author.

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