The Third Sunday of Advent - December 14

Come; And I Will Go
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
John 1:6-8, 19-28

This year we began the Advent season, as we always do, with the iconic hymn of Advent: O Come, O Come, Immanuel. You probably heard reference to it today, too, in the organ prelude. It expresses the essence of Advent. Come.

Come. The Advent season is about anticipating the coming of Jesus. Immanuel. Which in Hebrew means literally:  God with us. Come.  Come, God, be with us. Enter our hearts, our homes.

Come. To us. Come. Be with us.

But I want to add another refrain to Advent this year.

At the same time we say and sing: Come, God with us, let us pray: Go. Go there, Jesus. Go. Go be with him, or her, or them. You are needed there, Jesus. Go. Be God with them.

Where would you send Jesus to be born this year?

There seems to be so much trouble in the world, it’s easy to sigh in exasperation and say… He’s needed everywhere! And, of course, Jesus is needed everywhere. But the task I’ve set myself this Advent, and encourage you to pursue is to be specific. Go, Jesus. To him who needs you, whom I name by name. Go to her, my neighbor three houses down. Go to that street corner I know (I can give you the GPS coordinates) where poverty fuels violence. Go to that community which struggles to establish justice. Go. To them.

The passage we heard this morning from Isaiah tells us what Jesus brings when he comes. And remember, this is the passage that Jesus himself quotes later in his ministry.

He comes to “bring good news to the oppressed.” Jesus comes to “bind up the brokenhearted” and to “proclaim liberty to the captives.” He will “comfort all who mourn” and “repair the ruined cities.” The Lord loves justice and righteousness and will cause what is sown in the garden to spring up.

To bind up the broken hearted, to provide for those who mourn. Later in this service we will pray for four, known to this parish, among the faithful departed. Go, Jesus, to those who mourn. Or think of others known to you who are brokenhearted. Go, Jesus, be with them.

Go, Jesus, proclaim liberty to the captives; and release to the prisoners of our world. Poverty imprisons many around us. Other things enslave. Who do you know who is enslaved? What face do you picture? Wealth, ambition, anxiety can be captivity, too. And there are places in our world where human beings are still, literally, enslaved. Who do you care about who is enslaved? Go, Jesus, Go to them. Be born there.

Where do you see injustice? We are all challenged now to face the deep ongoing reality of racial division and injustice in our society. Where does that intersect your life? Go, Jesus. Go, God be with them who work for justice.

Isaiah also talks about restoration and growth. Restoration, rebuilding of whatever is broken or destroyed. Who do you know who is broken? What in your world is destroyed? Go. Jesus. There. Restore and rebuild. And for that which is young or dormant, give life, Jesus. Bring life there.

Go. Jesus. Go there. What is the point of this prayer? God doesn’t need our directions, of course, to find the people and the places that are in need of him.. But it is a prayer worth praying. Go. Jesus. Go; be born there.

I’m reminded of words about prayer attributed to Mother Theresa: I used to think the purpose of prayer was to change God; now I know it is to change me.

So as we pray this Advent for Jesus to GO THERE, it is not mostly about telling God something God already knows, it is about transforming our hearts and wills. It is about changing us from people who pray that God will “Go there,” to people who say, “I will go there.” I will go.

In the Gospel reading for today, John calls Jesus the light.

Whenever a Christian is baptized these words are either said or implied, as the baptismal candle is given to the newly baptized: “Receive the light of Christ as a sign that you have passed from darkness into light. Shine as his light in the world to the glory of God the Father.”

For all of us who are baptized, we bear the light of Christ. It is our call to shine as that light in the world.

So, for all of those faces... all of those individuals whom you have named in need of Christ. All of those street corners or communities where you seek for Jesus to be born... you are the bearer of the light of Christ.

So this Advent, as I pray for Jesus to come, I also say… I will go. Come, Immanuel, to me, and I will go to others.

To those who grieve and are brokenhearted, I will offer the oil of gladness.

To those who are broken and destroyed, I will go and help rebuild and restore.

And where there is injustice, I will go and work for justice and righteousness.

O come, O come, Immanuel, and I will go.