Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 16, 2021 - 3rd Week of Advent - Thurs
[Isa 54:1-10 and Luke 7:24-30]All the people who listened, including the tax collectors, who were baptized with the baptism of John, acknowledged the righteousness of God; but the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who were not baptized by him, rejected the plan of God for themselves. [Luke]
There is an old expression, "There are none so blind as those who will not see." The Gospel According to Luke portrays Jesus as announcing a whole new era in God's plan for humanity. John the Baptist was the herald of this new era. When the Pharisees and "scholars of the law" (scribes) rejected John the Baptist, they signaled that they would not listen to Jesus either. The destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD, not long before this gospel was composed, left Judaism in confusion. (Ironically, it would be the Pharisees who would save it by reorienting Jewish worship and Torah to synagogue expression.)
When we gaze on the nativity scene in this season, our thoughts may be personal and sentimental, which is not unusual. But that birth had "cosmic" consequences for the relationship between not only God and humanity but between God and all creation. The gospels speak of the "fullness of time" - the moment in which God intervened in the person of Jesus Christ. It would be with the Pentecost event that humans would be entrusted with proclaiming God's plan all over our planet. That vision requires bigger thoughts than the simple nativity scene might inspire at first, but the scriptures, especially the prophetic words, can alert us to this. Isaiah today urges us to "enlarge the space for your tent..." Something very grand is being celebrated and we are part of the plan. AMEN