Today’s Advent word, “HIGHWAY”, is also taken from the Isaiah lesson for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Isaiah 35 includes this verse: 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.

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty glad “fools shall not go astray”. It’s sometimes hard to figure out the way God wants us to trod. Often it makes no sense or not what “we” want, actually most often this is so. We resist cause we know better – am I right? Yet Isaiah insists there is a “holy way” for God’s people and on it we cannot go astray.

I often tell people I believe God honors our direction, our choices, our decisions if we enter into them prayerfully and carefully. I will leave you with a quote from Thomas Merton who says this far better than I can:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
― Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Our word for December 16th is “recompense”, taken from the Isaiah 35 lesson for the 3rd Sunday of Advent: 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.”

Isaiah 35 is a message of hope to the Hebrews exiled in Babylon. God will come and make it right, will judge all, will bring them home. During this season will sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” each Sunday. Verse one says: “O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here.” The message is one of God’s covenant promise to Israel and all God’s people, we are never ever exiled from God, those who are fearful, the prophet reminds them to be strong, God will come and save you.

The Advent word for December 15 is taken from the Old Testament lesson on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 35: 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 singing

Jesus tells us in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John:   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”. I am not sure if any thing Jesus says in the gospels has been used more inaccurately than this one. Prosperity preachers abound in our culture, attracting huge crowds and lots of money, primarily because they tell people what they want to hear – that following Jesus will give you material wealth and protect you from illness or accident or sorrow of any kind. Instead, the abundant life is not about protecting us from difficult times, it is about living a discipled life in Christ where our spiritual life is uplifted, our prayers are deeper, our understanding of The Way Jesus wants us to trod. Giving ourself to Christ in every aspect of our lives is what makes our life abundant – filled to overflowing with grace, love and comfort especially when times get tough.

Our Advent Word for the 3rd Sunday of Advent is Honor. It is taken from the Epistle reading for 1st Sunday of Advent, from Romans chapter 13: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day.

Honor in a Biblical sense usually refers to reverence, respect, and obedience. We Honor our parents, according to the 10 commandments, we are to live honorably as in the light of Christ which illuminates all. We honor God in worship, praise, and obedience.

Honor can also mean living a life with the knowledge of the honor you have been given. Today is the 23rd anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood. It certainly has been an incredible honor to serve along side all six congregations and 3 dioceses I have worked in, as well as my work at General Convention, and also leading retreats, leading stewardship programs for other churches, serving as a camp director for 5th and 6th graders, staffing spiritual retreat weekends like Cursillo and Vocare and men’s group retreats, all of it has been humbling, uplifting, and challenging, and in all that it has been an honor to be blessed by so many people in these 23 years. I have learned a lot, laughed a lot, cried some, wondered often about my worthiness or gifts, while always being blessed by the support of a loving, supportive and beautiful in every way wife, along with all my family. Thank you all, I have been richly blessed far more than I deserve. What an honor!

Today’s word comes from the gospel of the 2nd Sunday of Advent from Matthew Chapter 3: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The separation of those who are truly following Christ and those who are not – either because they pretend to or because they intentionally oppose the Messiah and his teachings, is a theme in the gospel of Matthew. In chapter 25 it is Jesus who separates the sheep from the goats, and the goats will include a lot who called Jesus their savior but who were not honest or earnest about being disciples, to the point where Jesus says some who called him Lord he does not recognize. This fire which cannot be quenched awaits, metaphorically, those who oppose the message, love, grace, and redemption of Christ in order to protect their own earthly power, power which is short lived vs the eternity of fire or glory with God.