Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who sat on the United States Supreme Court for thirty years in the early 20th century was at one point asked about his career choice, and he responded, "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers."
Sometimes I feel like Advent makes me act like an undertaker, but then I remember Rose Sunday.
One year and two dead computers ago I came up with the opening conversation we're using as we light the Advent Wreath. I probably stole it from somewhere, or more likely, combined several stolen things, but honestly I have no idea where it came from. What I do know is that I really like what we remember as we light the third candle this week. "The third candle reminds us of the joy that comes with the love of God. We light a pink candle rather than the purple of penitence to show us visually that things will be different when our Lord Jesus returns to earth with power and great glory." It isn't time yet to light the most joyous candle, the white one in the middle, so we tone down the purple with as much white as we can, and light a rose colored candle because this Sunday is all about joy. Rejoicing in the restoration of Israel with Isaiah and the Psalmist. Rejoicing always with Paul. Rejoicing with John the Baptist that there is something even better on the horizon.
If I was musically inclined, I would have written a hymn for this week called "Joy to the World, the Lord is fixin' to change your life!" This Sunday we are called by word and by sign to rejoice in the promises of new life that come with the foolish abundance of God's grace and love. A promise in the midst of slavery to the scattered people of Israel that Jerusalem will again be their home because YHWH is still their God. A promise that God's plan of salvation does include a Messiah, that he is coming, and that he, the one through whom all things were made, will make all things new again. A promise that when Jesus returns it will be a time for joy and thanksgiving. Throughout history God has made promises to his people and asked that in the meantime we join his plans with a joyful heart and then share that joy with others.
Paul's strong recommendation to "rejoice always" is, I think, his nice way of saying, "you get more flies with honey than with vinegar." This Rose Sunday is another Sunday full of prophets, perhaps three of the most famous prophets, EVER. Three models of ministry for us to look to and learn from. Three prophets of God who challenge us to think about joyful things. These three guys, all known for their ability to lay down the fire and brimstone, are instead pointing toward joyful things. Even in the midst of tough times they fulfill their duty to God and point towards the light. So too are we, as followers of Jesus, called upon to point with joy toward the light that dispels all darkness; the light that fills our hearts with joy; the light that is to come.
If you watch the way Christians are characterized on TV however, it seems as though all we do is make crazy medical decision and scream about who's going to hell (because it most certainly isn't us). Unfortunately, this caricature isn't new. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. who sat on the United States Supreme Court for thirty years in the early 20th century was at one point asked about his career choice, and he responded, "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers."
I heard a story about pointing to that light that is to come even in sorrow at a funeral on Thursday. It is very Chicken Soup for the Souly, but a good story none-the-less. There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand," she told him.
The pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.
"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew something better was coming . . . like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, "What's with the fork? Then I want you to tell them, "Keep your fork . . . the best is yet to come."
The Light of the World did not come to make life boring. He didn't ask us to sing dirges the whole month of December. He didn't come with a list of don't(s) that needed to be checked over twice. No, as Luke's Gospel tells us, Jesus came to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah. "he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit."
We all know that the fact that God came to earth is good news, it is The Good News, it is The Gospel. Sometimes, thought, it seems difficult to remember that fact. We get all caught up in doctrine, discipline, and liturgical seasons and we simply lose sight of the fact that God promises us grace and calls us to rejoice. That is what this season is all about. As we wait for the center candle to be lit we rejoice in knowing that the best is yet to come. We look with confidence toward sundown on December 24th when we will once again celebrate the Good News that the Word became flesh for us. In the meantime, I offer you a new advent hymn as we look to the horizon for the return of our Lord. It is a song that I learned in Vacation Bible School when I was six. "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart to stay." Sing or hum it or at least repeat the words as you wake up, as you sit down to eat, as you sit in traffic on 59, and as you go to bed. Offer it as a song of praise to God - the source of and reason for all joy on this earth.
"What do we remember as we light the third candle of the Advent Wreath? We remember the joy that comes with the love of God. We remember his promises throughout history. We remember The Good News that God came to earth to set all things right. We remember that he will come again. Keep your fork. The best is yet to come. Amen.
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