Isaiah 35:1-10

 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp; the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’  “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Layers of the Cake

This morning we continue our discussion of Advent; what it is and what it means, so that we can understand the many layers of this tradition. Advent is a complex layering of traditions. So let’s continue to explore these layers of meanings and traditions.

Advent refers to two different arrivals, the arrival of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, and the arrival of Christ in the future, in the “Second Coming.” And, I’d like to suggest a third arrival, a more mystical arrival, that is, Christ’s arrival right now, in the present moment, the mystical arrival in the devotional heart. This is where we watch for the living Christ to be present to us and with us, here and now. The living Christ is present when we remember Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, ²⁰ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,^[f] who loved me and gave himself for me.”

So there is a kind of paradox in Advent. We look to future events, and these give us hope for the future. And at the same time, we can experience the Presence of God right now, the divine Presence that we invite into the spiritual heart, our heart of devotion. For example, in our Psalm this morning, the Psalmist praises God. In fact, the last five Psalms in the Book of Psalms are all praise psalms. And this praise is not in the future, but it is now. We praise God now, even as we look for God and wait for God to be with us in the future. So during Advent, we are looking for the Divine to arrive in the future, even as we experience the Divine right here, right now, in the present.

A few weeks ago, I promised you that I would explore the origin of the Advent Wreath and Candles. Well, it comes from the Lutherans. In the 16^th century, German Lutherans used candles to mark the days of Advent. But more specifically, the Advent wreath as we know it was invented by a Lutheran pastor in 1839.

The First Advent Wreath

Johann Hinrich Wichern was born in 1808 in Hamburg Germany. He grew up in a poor family, one of seven children. He became a teacher, the head teacher at a Sunday school. From there, at age 25, he went on to open his own school for poor and neglected children in Hamburg, called Rauhes Hous. Rauhes Hous was a successful school and launched Wichern into a career helping people for the rest of his life. He was the founder of the German Home Mission movement. He ministered to the urban poor, the disabled, and the incarcerated.

It was during his work with children at Rauhes Hous that Johann Wichern got the idea for an Advent Wreath. Every year, as Christmas approached, the children at the school would ask him, “Is it here? Is it today? Is today Christmas Day?” I imagine he got tired of answering this question five hundred times a day. (Remember family vacations? “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”) And so Pastor Wichern he found an old cartwheel, a wooden wheel, turned it sideways, drilled some holes in it to hold candles, and made a wheel calendar with the candles. There were 24 red candles in the circle, and 4 white candles. 6 Red candles for weekdays and Saturdays, followed by 1 white candle for Sundays. So during Advent, they would light a new candle every day. And that way, the kids could see how close they were to Christmas Day.

Word got out about this candle calendar wreath, and the custom spread. Later, there were additional meanings and symbols added, such as naming the Sundays: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, but the initial wooden cartwheel wreath began as a children’s calendar invented by this Lutheran pastor in Germany.

Advent and the Hope for Spring

Let’s look at some more meanings. In a more secular, less religious sense, Advent is connected to the cycle of the seasons and to the science of astronomy. During Advent, we look forward to Christ’s arrival. And during winter, we look forward to spring. Advent is similar to looking forward to spring and the hope that spring offers. During dark winter months, we look forward to the days getting longer, when there’s more daylight, when the ground will thaw, and flowers will grow again.

In winter, we look forward to spring. We wait for the arrival of spring. Now, it just so happens that next Sunday, December 21^st is the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere. Winter solstice marks the shortest day, the day with the least sunshine. And, yes, that means that next Sunday will be the first day of winter! But we know that here in Maine, we are already in winter. Next Sunday is the first day of official winter according to the astronomical calendar. It’s the winter solstice, the day the sun stops moving lower in the sky.

This word, “solstice” comes from the Latin, sol (sun) and sistere (stops, or stands still). Solstice literally means the sun stops. It’s the day the sun stops moving lower in the sky. The sun reaches its minimum declension, and then it goes the other way. After the winter solstice, the sun will move a little higher in the sky each day, and the days will get longer and longer until March 20^th, the spring solstice, or “vernal equinox,” the first day of spring, when the sun stops at its maximum declension. But of course, that is according to astronomy, the position of Earth relative to the sun. We know from our experience that here in Maine, March 20^th is still winter.

In winter, we look forward to spring. You can even track this online, for example, there’s a website called “Countdown to Spring.” (Are we there yet?) No, according to “countdown to spring” there are 95 days until the vernal equinox.

Something to Look Forward to

What I’m getting at here is the idea that we human beings need something to look forward to. This need is expressed in scripture, too. Let’s take a look at Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is divided into three sections, that is, scholars think that there were three different writers, writing at three different times. Our reading this morning is by the anonymous prophet called “Second Isaiah.” He wrote this text around 540BC, 45 years after Babylon destroyed Judah and Jerusalem. Second Isaiah is writing to the captives in Babylon, to give them hope, to give them something to look forward to. He wants them to think about the day they will return to Jerusalem, and so, he describes how wonderful that day will be: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and shouting.”

Now, here in Maine, we can relate to this, can’t we? Right now, with the ground frozen solid, it’s like we live in a desert. We can’t plant any vegetables or flowers, nothing’s growing. And so we wait and look forward to the first crocuses blooming next spring. We need something to look forward to.

Second Isaiah tells the people that God will come and save them. “Then, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be opened…waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert…” These are words of hope. The prophet wants the captives in Babylon to visualize that day in the future when they will go home. They will walk through the desert from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that desert will be blossoming with flowers. There will be healing and abundance. “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and singing shall flee away.”

Do you see why this is an Advent text? Advent is the anticipation of salvation. Salvation is the end sorrow and sighing. The captives in Babylon were looking for salvation from their plight. They looked forward to their return to Jerusalem.

Now let’s look at our Gospel reading. In our reading from Matthew, we jump ahead to chapter 11. This is not the Christmas story. It is a story about John the Baptist. John asks Jesus, “Are you the one? Are you the Messiah?”

John is in prison, and he is looking for hope. He wants reassurance. At this point, in Matthew 11, we don’t know why John is in prison. Later, in Matthew 14, we learn the sordid details. But in today’s reading, Jesus reveals his identity as the Messiah. John asks, “Are you the one we have hoped for all these years?” And Jesus answers by quoting ancient scripture.

“Go and tell John,” he says, “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk.” Here we have Jesus quoting Isaiah directly. And, of course, John would have known the reference to ancient scripture

Then, quoting Malachi 3, Jesus further identifies himself as the Messiah. And he does this in such a brilliant way. He doesn’t simply say, “Yes, I am the Messiah.” Rather, he talks about John the Baptist, and he describes John the Baptist as the one about whom it is written in Malachi, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” So Jesus describes John the Baptist as the “the one who will prepare the way,” in other words, the one who will prepare the way for the Messiah.

So there is a great deal to think about here, and you can reflect on these layers of meaning this week, all the things that Advent means, while you are out there doing your Christmas shopping. I have only touched on a small part of it. But the great thing about our faith is that there is always something to learn. We can always go deeper into the meaning because it is a rich faith tradition, a faith tradition that rewards both study and devotion.

Next week, we celebrate the birth in Bethlehem, and I will begin to explore the background of Matthew’s Gospel. That will carry us into the New Year, as we continue reading Matthew’s Gospel together this year.

Amen? Amen.