2018 Advent 3: The Song of the Messiah

Luke’s Gospel records the first songs of Christmas which are called the Canticles of Christmas.  A canticle is a song in the bible that is not a psalm.  Luke records four songs that present a powerful pathway into the beauty of the Christmas story.  The songs are poetic stories belonging to Mary who was the mother of Jesus, Zechariah who was a temple priest and the husband of her cousin Elizabeth, Angels who announced the birth of Jesus first to the shepherds in prayerful song, and Simeon who was a righteous and devout man of God who met Mary and Joseph with Jesus in the temple.  You may want to read Luke 1:5-2:40 for a view of the whole within which these pieces fit.  I am changing my plan somewhat, inserting the Song of the Messiah between the 2nd and 3rd canticles so that you can hear Isaiah’s prophecy before experiencing the Angels on the 4th Sunday of Advent &/or Christmas Eve and end with the prophecies of Simeon and Anna during the Christmas week. 

One of the fascinating things about God and life are “interruptions.”  I’m not saying that God is always the great interrupter, but our lives ARE sometimes interrupted by circumstances beyond our control.  We are walking along minding our own business and suddenly we are invited to move in a different direction.  Interruptions can simply be life handing us pomegranates and lemons OR an interruption may be the invitation of God to see something or do something or BE something different.  

And here I am! whether at God’s invitation or my own sense of the way the story is unfolding, I’m drawn this week to the prophet Isaiah and his “prophecy” of the coming Messiah.  A prophet is a man or a woman who is chosen as a spokesman for God, one who speaks to the people on God's behalf to convey a message or teaching.  Prophets are role models of holiness, scholarship, and closeness to God.  

I invite you to take a moment to read Isaiah 9:2-7 at this LINK where you can choose your favorite version.  You could also read it in your own favorite bible.

As we prepare our heart to receive God’s message for us, if music is a pathway to God for you, I invite you to listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing For Unto us a Child is Born via YouTube video LINK.  Although he used over 20 verses from Isaiah in this composition, Handel illuminates verse 9:6 through this song. As an alternative, if you are feeling open to a contemporary arrangement with a twist, here is a song performed by Point of Grace LINK.

 

12th Century Byzantine Icon "Mother of God of Vladimir

This week’s image is from my own collection of icons, it’s one I purchased in Chartres, France from some French nuns.  If you would like to try “praying with an icon” as a spiritual practice take this link to my website for information and instructions LINK.

In the arc of our interrupted Advent/Christmas story, we sit with the prophet Isaiah.  As Christians, through the “lens” of our tradition, we clearly see Jesus as the messiah about which Isaiah wrote.  However, he was writing to encourage the suffering people of his time, who were under the threat of real violence and captivity from invading Assyrians, that one day a new Davidic king would rescue them from their struggles.  Many biblical scholars believe that child/king was Hezekiah in their time.  

What is most important for us as we read this week is to note that this IS the way God acts--through circumstance often as simple as the birth of a child—to fulfill a gracious purpose for humanity.  How has God been moving in your circumstances this year to fulfill a gracious, grace-filled purpose for your life?

You can simply say “Amen” now but if you would like to continue your journey with Isaiah, I invite you to engage in the spiritual practices of Breath Prayer and/or Lectio Divina by reading the passage again, or you can read just a few focus verses. 
Here are the verses I’ve chosen for myself:  Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 (©CEV)

Those who walked in the dark
    have seen a bright light.
And it shines upon everyone
who lives in the land
    of darkest shadows.
A child has been born for us.
We have been given a son
    who will be our ruler.
His names will be
Wonderful Advisor
    and Mighty God,
Eternal Father
    and Prince of Peace. 

His power will never end;
    peace will last forever.
He will rule David’s kingdom
    and make it grow strong.
He will always rule
    with honesty and justice.
The LORD All-Powerful
will make certain
    that all of this is done.

Breath Prayer:  Take a deep breath and gently read over the verses with a prayerful heart.  As you craft your breath prayer, on your inbreath: what Name of God is calling me?  On your outbreath: what is the desire of my heart inspired by the words of the text?  6-8 syllables is an optimal prayer for breathing your prayers but make the prayer your own in whatever way works for you.  If you desire you may pray this breath prayer:

IN Breath … prince of peace
OUT Breath … guide my life 

Lectio Divina:  Allow your breath prayer to envelop you in God’s presence as you begin to prayerfully consider the text in the four prayerful movements of Lectio Divina.  

1) Lectio: reading.
Slowly read the passage and immerse yourself in the beauty of the text. There may be a word, phrase or image that bubbles up into your consciousness, the words may "shimmer," calling your attention.  You might want to read the ©CEV verses above, open your own favorite bible (online or otherwise) to Isaiah 9:2-7.

2) Meditatio: meditation.
Read the passage again, slowly. Allow your word, phrase or image to come alive and deepen in your consciousness. How does your word illuminate your life right now? What is God saying to you through your word, phrase or image? 

3) Oratio: prayer.
When it feels time to move on, read the passage again, slowly. How do you respond to what God is saying to you about your life ... in words, in deepen emotion, conviction or another way that may be more creative?

4) Contemplatio: contemplation.
When your time of encountering the scripture feels finished, it is time to rest. Allow all of the words and images and emotions to fall away until you are immersed in Silence, the God who holds you ... for as long as you can. Make an embodied gesture to close your time of prayerful reading.  Amen.

Spiritual Practice for your Advent "waiting:" As you journey through this week, take something with you.  Take time to pause, breath and allow something of God to shimmer up into your consciousness.  It may be your breath prayer or it may be a word or phrase from our passage.  It may be the image for this week, the image of angels.  It may simply be an emotion that was evoked.  It may even be something you found somewhere else.  

Remember:  What you choose or what chooses you is not really as important as who you are ... one who turns toward God with an open heart, often.

This series is a companion to prepare for the Advent Worship/Sermon Series at Holy Covenant UMC in Katy, TX which you can live stream around 11:15 on Sunday morning via facebook @holycovenantkaty or listen to it on the website:   https://www.hckaty.org/sermon-archive/ where you can even subscribe to our podcast! 

However, this week on Advent 3 (December 16) Holy Covenant is celebrating it's Cantata so that will be streaming instead of a sermon.