An interesting selection of scripture readings for this second Sunday of Advent. From the OT, a beautifully descriptive passage, a poem from the prophet Isaiah; next a psalm of praise; from the NT, Paul is welcoming Gentiles into the family of Christ; and then from Matthew’s gospel, fire and brimstone from John the Baptist. We’ve run the gamut of emotions today. Each Advent we begin a new liturgical year, this is Year A, the year in which most of our gospel readings will come from Matthew. And throughout this Advent season, we read from the early chapters of Isaiah, the time before the Babylonian invasion totally destroyed Judah. However, this was also a time ripe with tensions, wars and foreign occupation for both Israel and Judah. Israel decided to go to war against the Assyrian army and lost terribly. Judah instead of fighting the Assyrians opted to negotiate with them and let them into their country, deciding occupation was preferable to the destruction they witnessed in Israel. Judah then, became a country under control of a foreign power. And so now, their king was deposed -- this then was the end of the monarchy from the lineage of the great King David. No longer would they be ruled by a King from the bloodline of David, the shepherd son of Jesse. So now the promised land given to their ancestors by God was lost to an occupying force, the Assyrians. And the people felt totally bereft; they were grieving the loss of their God-given land, and their God-chosen rulers. They had lost their identity as a people. Trying to come up with a comparator to help us understand their situation, I think it might be a little bit like what the people in Ukraine are feeling, as they fight against Russia’s desire to take over their country and impose changes they don’t want. And in the midst of this turmoil, the prophet Isaiah brings the people of Judah a message of hope and peace for the future -- “a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots” (11.1). Literally, from the line that was thought to be destroyed, new life will come. A new leader will come from the family of King David’s line, stemming from Jesse, King David’s father. What will this new King be like? Isaiah says “the spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (11.2) So, a new King of David’s line, and he will also be sent by God, a righteous King—empowered by God’s spirit. What a message of hope for these people. And the prophet word paints for them the reign this King will bring forth -- beautiful imagery of a peaceable kingdom, when the wolf and lamb will live together and the lion will eat hay, and children will be safe while playing near a den of snakes. What incredible visual images: a time of peace and safety for God’s people, a time when the stronger powers will not devour or dominate and all God’s people will be safe, in the land God had given them; a time when a new ruler of David’s bloodline, filled with the spirit of God will come bringing a time of peaceful co-existence with previously vicious, stronger and deadly enemies. This new King will be the saviour to God’s people. The people of Isaiah’s time were looking for a Messiah, someone to save them from their enemies, their life of hard scrabble survival. The Messiah, their Saviour King would come – like a fresh branch shooting out from the stump of a tree that was long thought dead. This was good news for the people of Judah—and still is good news for us today. God comes to us, even when all hope seems lost. God creates new growth, can bring new life even in that which seems dead. Our faith is in that hope. Ok, so now, we fast forward to the time of another prophet, John, who came to be known as the Baptizer -- a cousin of Jesus’ actually, through their mothers. People today think baptism is a Christian rite, and yes it is, but it has roots in ancient Jewish tradition. And again, this is a time of oppression and occupation for the Jewish people; the Roman Empire was at full strength, forcibly taking nation after nation, right across the entire then-known world. And there was again a sense of expectation within the Jewish community for a Messiah—someone to come and save them from this oppression, from Roman tyranny. And, as we know, John’s primary prophetic calling was to announce the coming of the expected Messiah. A prophet’s job is also to call people to repentance for sin, to help people to acknowledge that they are not living as holy people, as God’s people, and they need to repent and return to the Lord. John baptized those who wanted to be cleansed of their sins; those things they did—or didn’t do, that went counter to the ways of the Lord. Now, the religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees said they wanted to be baptized too. But John sees through them. He knows their hearts aren’t really in it and they’re just hiding behind their “religiosity”. And he calls them out. Here it is from The Message translation of the Bible: “When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It’s your life that must change, not your skin!” John’s telling them to stop showing off how righteous they pretended to be and in essence, put their money where their mouths were, because true repentance actually changes who you are, and how you are living. That’s what the old fashioned term ‘bearing fruits of repentance’ means. Here’s the Message’s version: “What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.” John is threatening them with burning in unquenchable fire if they don’t truly change their ways. So, this week, another not so happy sounding message for Advent! Why do we hear this kind of stuff in Advent? Well, for centuries, Advent has been considered a time of repentence; a time to prepare oneself spiritually for the coming of the Christ Child—opening your heart and soul to God in Christ. Advent was almost like a mini-Lent; which is why traditionally the hangings in the church were purple for Advent too. It is only in the last century or so that the purple hangings in most protestant churches have changed to blue. We’ve lost the sense of Advent, in all the self-indulgent commercialized Christmas media messaging. I think coming to church to hear an entirely different message provides us with some balance, an acknowledgement that God in Christ still is the focus of Christian living--especially this time of year! So is there really any good news in John’s repent or die in the fires of hell message? Yes, if we stop and consider it for a wee bit, it’s actually in the repentance itself. True repentance is more than just about saying I’m sorry, promise not to do it again and feeling guilty about whatever you did—or didn’t do. That’s an apology, but not true repentance. Repentance is more about a genuine and true desire to make a change in our behavior, towards ourselves or others—and then to do, a transformative change of heart, a spiritual conversion: which, we all know, is anything but easy. Repentance is “about a re-orientation, a change of perspective and direction, a commitment to turn and live differently.”[1] Let me end with some insights from the Rt. Rev. Susan Bell, Bishop of Niagara, which I had tucked away. Advent is a time of waiting, but our waiting is a little different: it’s pregnant with meaning. It’s active, filled with hope and most of all, it’s formative. Very early on in the life of the church, Christians made their own calendar, based on the life of Jesus - one that offers a different rhythm of life and reminds us of the Gospel. It’s a powerful tool of discipleship, because it runs alongside our lives – forming us and reminding us that we are in the world, but not of it. It speaks the language of heaven into our ordinary days. So, while the rest of the world gets their retail on, Christians seek to unplug and try and do this different thing. We get out the beautiful ... Advent blue which signifies hope – and as we read lessons full of warnings to be ready for the second coming of Jesus, we remind ourselves that just as we had no idea when and how God would send us a solution to our disorder and disconnection the first time, the Lord will do it again, in God’s own time and in God’s own way. This time is active because, during Advent, we enter an intentional time of introspection and preparation and examination: a time to mull over and renew our commitment to the One who is coming: Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. It’s important for us to be reminded, from time to time, of who we are and to whom we belong. It also reminds us to loosen our conformity with the world. As disciples, we are to further God’s mission, to be the hearts and hands of Jesus Christ, and to do our best to work for transformation in this world by loving each other as we would be loved.[2] And to that, I say Amen [1] David Lose, from his weekly blog via www.workingpreacher.org, for Advent 2 Year A 2013 [2] https://niagaraanglican.ca/news/the-bishops-advent-message?utm_source=Anglican+Church+of+Canada&utm_campaign=80a6b21577-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_02_07_52&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6285aca377-80a6b21577-243861029 accessed Dec. 2. 19