Christ Church Cathedral
3rd Sunday of Advent (Proper Year C)
December 13, 2009
What would it be like to have an Advent season which did not culminate in Christmas? This was the case for many areas of early western Christendom when this season was considered to be a preparation for the Feast of Epiphany with its special emphasis upon Baptisms. This is the source of the presence of John the Baptist in its readings..
In many ways Christmas was an interloper into the Christian calendar since it had little to do with Jesus ministry, death and resurrection upon which the Christian community took its shape. This absence is reflected in both the earliest of Gospels, Mark and the latest, John and is also followed in the extra-canonical gospels such as Thomas. Christmas itself is a consequence of the desire of the Roman church (read state) to establish an alternative to the pagan midwinter festival that occurred on December 25.
In its Roman expression, Advent was a semi-festive celebration and had little of the trappings associated with the penitential atmosphere of Lent which made perfect sense in its original preparation for Baptism context. In the Anglican Church, Advent was restructured by the creation of the Prayer Book and the familiar prayer with which it begins was a feature of the P.B. of 1549. The familiar Roman collect which marked the beginning of Advent (Stir up ...) was relegated to the Sunday Next Before Advent. The Prayer Book developed a series of themes for the remaining three Sunday retaining in the background the expectation of Jesus' second coming while in the foreground it was concerned with reading of Holy Scripture, and the ordained ministry. The BAS which developed the more elaborate scheme three year cycle of readings for Sunday has dropped the collects assigned to the last three Sundays in favor of more generic themes which may be politically correct but lack the punch of the 1549 and 1662 PBs.
The seeming lack of interest in the Christmas story by the early Church presents a particular problem for those who were putting together an Advent lectionary that required readings from both the Gospels and the Letters of the New Testament. The only thing relevant to Jesus family life was the very casual mention in maturity of his siblings. In the Letters, nothing at all. Since the reading of the prophets was a common feature of eucharistic gatherings, there was the obvious reference to the presence of God in his past relationships with His People that both they and the new Christians took as evidence of his continuing presence. So a certain amount of de-construction was required which created in effect the meaning of Christmas. That much of the Protestant world outside of North America essentially ignored Christmas as an event of significance in the life of its people suggests that there are other equally valid deconstructive approaches to Christmas. Since the majority of Christians now live outside the western world (some 60%) and the fastest growing of this number are of evangelical and Pentecostal bent - we may be left in the west with the strange situation of asking what kind of a Christmas has our Advent calendar created? It would not be too far-fetched to suggest that the frenzy of buying which begins around the 1st of December is but a secularized version of our insistence that we must get ready for Christmas. Maybe the only possible way for Christmas to survive in a secular society is as a commercial holiday.
This rant is really about the Advent lectionary and its guide to understanding the presence of God in the world and in our lives. It makes a brief excursion into the use of so-called Old Testament prophecy almost as a kind of proof text that legitimizes our understanding of Christmas. In the deconstructive mode again, let me suggest that the encounter of God's presence in the world as symbolized in the infant Jesus is absolutely inexplicable. We give it meaning by the use of these so-called prophecies. These enable us to put this moment of awe at least partially into words but circumscribed by what Luther calls the moment of God both revealed and hidden. In terms of faith, the OT does not prove but guides - we can' t read it as if the question is already answered. You can't ever get ready for Christmas. This is why in one sense the birth story was so unimportant to those who came to know Jesus. In many instances its function was replaced by the coming of the Holy Spirit.
But the preacher's dilemma is what to do with our other two readings. Briefly stated they are exhortations to be good. To begin with John the Baptist - he has just thoroughly castigated his followers - declaring that without repentance they are sure to feel the full wrath of God. Then he turns to reminding them that certain simple acts of honesty and respect are within their ability because he acknowledges that they are the stuff on which ordinary life is utterly dependent. Obviously corruption in the civil service is a threat to civil society which is made of sinners. Paul in Philippians notes that certain basic acts are an example to society in general. Here he was speaking of a multi-cultural society in which basic peace and respect was of a necessity for everyone. Harvey Cox in his recent book, THE FUTURE OF FAITH [1] argues that we are experiencing today a kind of re-creation of the religious and cultural setting which was experienced by the early Christian community and that while they obviously were led by their faith in the person of the risen Jesus, they did not discount their responsibility to the overall community. In other words - (Mine) they understood that their good depended upon a common good which was acknowledged as essential by everyone. Now there is a major difference between believing as we have done in the west that our values should be extended to others as a matter of our faith and the recognition that we all share a vision of the common good that is necessary for our common survival. Such a society does not really exist at the present time. We, however, have the challenge and opportunity to create one because other cultures, religions and races are not distant entities which we can talk about but really present in our daily lives and require talking with and not to.
The opportunities to do so are real and immediate.
1. The criticism of the new curriculum in our schools which replaces religious instruction. While we may not be happy with the centrist, detached style of the mandarins in the Education Ministry - they do not deserve the self seeking criticism of those seeking to preserve the status quo. We should be equally concerned about groups whose response is to increase the private school system as a series of enclaves separate from the problems and faults of the public system. Right now, school elections may be the most important civic duty we can exercise.
2. While the Christian community has been the instrument for establishing the values which inspire our social democracy, we need to be able to disentangle them from their religious origin into a more generic form into which other communities can discuss and develop without feeling the future of their own religious tradition is under attack. Our Provincial and Federal Rights and Freedoms need to be seen as an opportunity and not a threat to these communities. The current proposal in the National Assembly from the PQ which would establish a hierarchy of rights and freedom which is a guise to preserving particular values is a real threat to genuine inter cultural and religious dialogue.
3. New immigrants our essential to the future of our country. But how are they to be integrated into Quebec society? They will need in the first instance to find a home with those who are already here. Possibly, it may be too much to ask them to immediately affirm rights and responsibilities which are strange to them. We lack an understanding of our society which will allow for the creation of new citizens who have different baggage from those who see themselves as sole arbitrators of what constitutes citizenship. Where do we go from the Taylor-Bouchard Report?
4. Resigning ourselves to a minority status as Christians and using the challenge to develop new configurations which see this status as advantageous in proclaiming the presence of God in the word.
Those of us who have followed the Dean's preparation for his Sabbatical and have read his preliminary thoughts know that he has quite consciously taken on many of the questions and issues which have been mentioned. We wish him well and look forward to his keen and thoughtful explorations on our behalf and welcome the insights he will bring to the Diocese and the greater community. We thank him for his ministry with us and will miss his exquisite collection of jokes and stories.
[Editor's note: Dean Pitts retired as Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of Montreal at the end of 2009.]
[1] Harvey Cox, The Future of Faith, Harper, New York, 2009
