Advent hope

The “O Antiphons” refer to the seven antiphons that are recited  in  the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas 17-23^rd December.  

Each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Each one also refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.

17^th O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied,

The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

18^th O Adonai: “O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” (11:4-5); and “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic; yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king, he it is who will save us.” (33:22).

19^th O Radix Jesse: “O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.” Isaiah had prophesied, “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” (11:1), and A On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.” (11:10). Remember also that Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:1).

20^th O Clavis David: “O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of Heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.”

Isaiah had prophesied, AI will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (22:22), and “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne, and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice, both now and forever.” (9:6).

21^st O Oriens: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1).

22ndO Rex Gentium: “O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.” Isaiah had prophesied, “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.” (9:5), and “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” (2:4) .

23rd O Emmanual

: “O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”

 

I am the bread of life

 Lately we have heard much about bread in our Sunday readings. Jesus tells us “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever”.

Bread of course is one of the oldest prepared foods.  Bread has always had great significance in most cultures from the flat breads of the Middle East, the Chapatis of Parkistan, to soda bread of Ireland and the loaves we are familiar with here in England. Today of course bread production is on an industrial scale. Techniques have been developed which enable lower protein wheat to be used. This, as in our supermarket loaves, enables bread to be produced much quicker by mechanical means and  it requires additives such as flavour enhancers, mould inhibitors and anti staling agents mmmm – delicious. As a result much of the bread we buy today lacks  flavour unlike the loaves baked at home.

 In Old Testament times however it was a different story. Bread-making was the women's work but in the palaces of kings and princes and in large households, the Artisan bakers' duties would be specialized. Bread was leavened using yeast that caused the mixture to rise in the shape of our familiar loaf.

 In the Book of Exodus we hear about the hurried departure of the Israelites from Egypt which prevented their bread being leavened as usual; the Jews today commemorate this event by eating unleavened bread on special occasions. Of course this is true during the passover unleavened bread is required by scriptural law to avoid any form of leaven during that time of year.

Roman culture too relied heavily upon bread. If you have ever been to Pompeii and other buried cities you will see public bakeries where the poorer people brought their bread to be baked, or from which they could buy ready-baked bread.  Indeed at Pompei they still have 81 carbonized loaves which were perfectly preserved in the ash of Versuvious. Bread in roman times as well as throughout history has always been an important staple of our diet.

During the second world war bread was particularly important to prisoners of Auschwitz. Those imprisoned in that terrible place survived on a tiny bread ration a day, as well as a  small bowl of grey soup which was made with rotten vegetables, rotten meat and water. Bread served as a currency substitute in the camp. Stealing a prisoner’s bread was tantamount to taking his life, and was punished by the other prisoners with death. After all the goal of the camp’s entire underground economy was to avoid starvation.

For those in these concentration camps, this bread symbolized life. Bread was a lifeline and the sustainer. Bread was traded, savored and treasured. One of the greatest tragedies of all however, is that this level of hunger is still experienced today in many Third world countries. The hunger experienced by those prisoners of Auschwitz is relived by many men, women and children everyday and often the Western world just looks on.

A small piece of bread about 4 inches by 4 inches is equivalent to one day’s  bread ration for one prisoner of Auschwitz  and  the amount of rice consumed by the hungry in the Third world is about this size.  Imagine how perhaps you could survive on such megre rations.  Later I will leave this bread on the Sanctuary steps which may be food for thought as we approach for communion.  

One particular Prisoner in Auschwitz was Maximilian Kolbe who was a Polish Franciscan Priest who died in Auschwitz in 1941. He was canonized a saint in 1982  and his feat day was celebrated last Tuesday. Having helped over 2000 Jews he was seen as a Jewish sympathizer and was therefore imprisoned. He was forced to work longer and harder than the others and was beaten and kicked savagely many times. He risked death over and over by leading prayers. He volunteered to do the work of those weaker than himself and often gave his meager portions of bread or soup to other prisoners who were sicker than he. Yet most poignantly Kolbe, despite starving to death, sacrificed his own meager bread ration to celebrate the Eucharist with the other prisoners. When the other prisoners offered to pay him back with their own bread rations he refused.   

The union brought about with Christ in the Eucharist was for Kolbe, the most important food for spiritual life; it was strength for the journey that is founded in the mutual penetration of God and the soul.   Kolbe understood and experienced this great mystery with considerable faith and continuity. It was a miracle of God’s love that he entered into profoundly and with conviction.

And here we are today – gathered as a community to break bread. Just as Kolbe, just as Christians in every age before us. And  just as the living bread sustained Kolbe and his fellow prisoners, so it continues to sustain us today.

I think it is truly profound that as we meet together to break bread it unites us with earlier worshipping generations and to the early church. Just as they met around the Lord’s table, so we too gather in fellowship for a family meal. This sense of community reconnects us each Sunday with the Eucharist of the New Testament, where worshippers were in union with each other and Christ.

The Eucharist itself is a dynamic reality in that it connects us to the past, present and future.

The past in that is points us back to the sacrifice of Jesus on Good Friday. It points to the cross where Christ was broken and his blood poured out. Indeed the symbols used by Jesus at the last supper, had at the time a resonance with history, the reshaping of the Passover. Jesus through the Last Supper assigned meanings to the traditional Passover meal of bread and wine.

The Eucharist connects us to the present,  as we share a fellowship meal in the here and now. The sharing of the one loaf and one cup uniting us not only with Christ but with one another. As we receive from the table, we encounter again and again the transformative power of Christ and the future in that it points forward to the promised kingdom of God. It is a foretaste of the banquet which God has prepared.

As we hear from our Gospel reading Jesus says “ I am the living bread which has come down from heaven”. He is no ordinary bread but the living bread. Just as he told the Samaritan woman at the well that he was the living water, so he now tells us that he is the living bread. We encounter Jesus in the living bread of Communion but also we take in Christ from reading and digesting the Scriptures.  We take in Christ from experiencing the Holy Spirit in other loving people. We take in Christ every day as we encounter scenes and situations that invite us to give ourselves in love by serving the needs of others. As we serve the needs of others, the love of Christ enters us more fully.

Jesus is never just ordinary bread that sustains the body which sustains us for our physical lives, Jesus the living bread provides us with energy and nourishment for our spiritual, emotional and moral lives. Jesus is the source of eternal life, the source of the values of our daily lives, the source of love for our daily lives. The basic food staple of the world is bread and Jesus is the basic spiritual staple of the world.

 Jesus in the gospel reading is pointing to bread as a metaphor that stands for our deepest needs, our deepest hungers and our deepest nourishment for life. However, it is not about gathering around the Lord’s table and thinking that all our work is completed. For as I said early, this is a foretaste of the  banquet which God has prepared for us.  As the bread of life, Jesus says take from me your fulfillment.  Know that every act you do testifies to the Kingdom. Every act of forgiveness and of generosity. Every act of justice and compassion. Every act of shared burdens. Every act of hope and of understanding. Every act, as Paul says, of building up each other, of building up the whole body of Christ, in love. Every such act gives life to the world.  In each of these, he who is the living bread is present; it is he, who is working. I pray we can all be nourished by this and never go hungry. Amen

A Glimpse of God's Glory

 Mark 9:2-9 

Every year at this time – in it's lectionary, the churchgoes mountain climbing. In today’s Gospel we find ourselves up a mountain with Jesus, Peter James and John on a journey which has a very unexpected turn.

Mountains have always fascinated me.  I have scaled quite a lot of mountains myself in my time. Many of which have been in the Lake District. We keep a record and we have so far reached the summit of 76 Lakeland mountains and have around another exhausting 138 to go!

There are some mountains however that are well beyond my physical capabilities and where that is the case I tend to be a bit of an arm chair mountaineer. I enjoy reading about other people’s feats of physical endurance and I have read many books about ascents of Everest and other mountains in the Himlalayas and the Alps.

The Himalayas is probably the most spectacular mountain range of them all. It is home to world’s highest peaks and the range is vast – over 1500 miles long.

Being mountain addicts my husband and I had the great fortune to visit Nepal a few years ago. Being post monsoon season we were not able to walk to the base camp of Everest so we decided to do the next best thing and fly over the top of Everest. It was quite an expensive trip and there was a huge risk that we might not see anything due to the cloud.  I confess I am not the worlds best in a plane, especially small planes with only a few seats. However I decided to be brave and off we went, up into the clouds.  The pilot circled the summit several times but the cloud just hung above it like a thick blanket.  Almost defeated he said he would circle one more time and then we would have to return to Katmandu airport. Just as he turned the plane, the summit came into sight and the veil of cloud moved away. Beneath was a most spectacular sight. A mountain which is over 29000 feet talk and it was truly breathtaking and my words today cannot adequately describe the awesome sight I had before me. I had seen many pictures of Everest previously but nothing compared to this. From this vantage point I saw things I could only have dreamed of. Being above the summit gave me a whole new perspective.   Everest is a very special mountain in the eyes of the Nepalise. It is known by them as Chomolungma meaning “Holy Mother”. In the Buddist and Hindu religions they believe the Himalayas to be the abode of the Gods. They recognise that mountains are special spiritual places where man finds God.

I can very much appreciate this myself as often I feel I encounter God when I traverse a mountain. Walking up to the top of a mountain can be exhausting but also exhilirating. On a clear day with no fog, no trees, no obstructions, on reaching the summit you can things from there which you would never see from ground level. The effort is often rewarded with an amazing view.  As you look out from the summit you see a  new persepctive on the world, you see things you have never seen or noticed before, you see the vastness of landscape and the wonder of God’s  creation. 

So today we have accompanied Jesus, Peter, James and John up a mountain. The steep journey was probably quite tiring in the heat. We are not sure which mountain it was. Some believe that the Transfiguration took place on Mount Tabor, others say it was more likely to be Mount Hermon just north of Caesarea Philippi. Peter, James and John must have been pretty terrified at what they saw before them. On their journey so far with Jesus, the disciples were slowly realizing just who Jesus was. Now on the side of the mountain they can see Jesus from a new perspective. They see for the first time the reality of God’s kingdom. Jesus is seen in another dimension. As they stare at Jesus, who became dazzling white, they can look just for a moment, into a different reality. Jesus is bathed in a wonderful light which transforms his whole being. The disciples see that Jesus isn’t just talking about God’s kingdom as if it is a figment of his imagination but that God’s kingdom is a reality. We see too, Moses and Elijah. They stand as witnesses to Jesus true identity. Moses was the supreme law giver of Israel and Elijah was the first and greatest of the prophets. Peter’s comment underlines his lack of understanding. He is honoring Jesus by putting him on a par with Moses and Elijah. But as the Gospel unfolds, we hear of the uniqueness of Jesus “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”  As Moses and Elijah met with Jesus they saw in Jesus all they had dreamed of in the past. They saw in him all that history had longed and hoped for. At this moment on the mountain the disciple’s  glimpse God’s glory which  would change them forever.  Jesus saw in stark clarity the inevitable journey to suffering and cross. At this point Jesus knew his death would only be weeks away but he was assured that he would rise from the dead in the glory of the Father.

Some of you may have read the book by CS Lewis or seen the film called The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. The story tells of children who go into a wardrobe and enter a strange land called Narnia.  The wardrobe stands in their bedroom, a familiar place yet behind a few coats and other items of clothing there is a whole new world.  A world where people and strange creatures live. A world where there is a fight between good and evil.  If you have seen the film, you may remember the scene where the evil witch can only be defeated by the sacrifice of the strong and powerful lion Aslan. Aslan saves the life of the child Edmund by giving his own life in the boy's place. In so doing he acts in accordance with the rules laid down by the Emperor.

The Lion, the Watch and the Wardrobe has many powerful messages which assist with our understanding of today’s Gospel. It points us to think beyond what we can see and that the other world is actually just a short distance away. In the story of the transfiguration, Jesus shows just how close that world is. The transfiguration is a window onto that world where those who have gone before abide in the love of God. On this mountain as we stand with Jesus and his disciples we receive a foretaste of those eternal joys to come.

At times we may be like Peter. We may be scared and get things wrong. The transformation of Jesus on the mountain side also served to transform his disciples. Witnessing this event must have changed them forever.  It must have strengthened them and gave them hope, it assured them that all would be well.

But now as we descend the mountain we return to our current reality to get on with our every day lives. Just like the disciples our daily lives may be fraught with challenges and difficulties. There may be times when we doubt our faith or are tempted to give up. But we, like the disciples can look back and remember the time we climbed the mountain and shared the vision with Peter, James and John.  A vision which was to give us the strength to face our fears and difficulties, a vision which enables us to respond to God and live a life beyond ourselves until we too can share in Christ’s glory forever. So we thank God for the opportunity to accompany Jesus on that journey up the mountain and how standing on that mountain we too as well as Peter, James and John have  gained a new perspective.