Here in the metro New York area we woke this morning to find that two NYPD officers were executed last night by a crazed man who, before he killed himself, made statements on social media suggesting that he planned to kill police officers and was angered about the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases. This Advent has been filled with stories of school shootings, racial unrest, the violation of women on campuses and the jarring details of our country’s treatment of prisoners of war. Many are quick to measure the situation with who is right and who is wrong, which is neither my place nor intent. But the Gospel story calls us to name the names and begin dialogue…as painful as that may be. For Luke’s telling of a pregnant, unwed, teenager named Mary who will give birth to the Son of God actually sheds light on how we can better live in Advent amidst all that is happening. For during this season of watching and waiting….it is really God who is doing the waiting for us. And what is God waiting for? Well, click and see what my thoughts are….

1. 21 December 2014 4th
Sunday of Advent Princeton, NJ
In the Church’s wisdom we are given periods of time in order to prepare before
Christmas and Easter. Prior to Easter we, of course, have Lent where the focus is on
fasting, penance, repentance and almsgiving. But this space before Christmas is
something different. Pulling from the readings of these past few weeks we are told that
Advent is the time for us to stay awake, to be alert, all the while listening and waiting
and making straight our paths. Many look at it as a time to look inward – to take notice
of what needs to personally change in order to be prepared for the celebration of the
birth of the Christ.
So what has your Advent been like? Outside of marking the time by lighting the Advent
candles each week, what did you see or feel or do differently?
For me, it was similar to the Advent two years ago, where in the week leading up to
Gaudete Sunday, a time to rejoice, our attention was averted to the tragedy at Sandy
Hook Elementary school in Newtown Connecticut. For this Advent we have been
bombarded with stories of school shootings, racial unrest, the violation of women on
campuses, the jarring details of our country’s treatment of prisoners of war – and this
morning we can add the execution of two NYPD cops last night.
A voice of one crying out in the desert – Prepare the way of the Lord. This Advent has
been filled with numerous voices crying out – and many of them unpleasant. But faced
with these and other challenges, I think today’s Gospel gives us three points which may
lead us to a better understanding of what we are called to do in our Advents.
First: did you notice the amount of time names were used in this reading? Throughout
the year our Gospels have been filled with stories of Jesus healing and forgiving – but
most often nameless – like the woman at the well, the 10 lepers, etc. But in few lines of
Luke’s Gospel today we hear at least a dozen different names of people and places.
The angel Gabriel, sent by God to Nazareth in the Galilee, to Joseph, in the house of
David to a virgin whose name was Mary, who will bear a son and name him Jesus…and
so on. You see, when a story is really important, it is necessary to clearly identify the
situation and name the names. This Advent we have heard names like: Trayvon Martin,
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and now add in NYPD Officers Lu and Ramos.
We heard the video replay after replay of a man crying out, “I can’t breathe, I can’t
breathe...and I’m sure that similar cries came from those we waterboarded. So while
the last words Jesus spoke to his apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane was “Stay
awake!”…I think this Advent has shown our society, in many ways, to be silent and
asleep.
1 Deacon Jim Knipper

2. That brings me to the second nuance in the Gospel: dialogue. If you go back and
reread the Gospel you will find it is all dialogue – serious dialogue about a young
teenage girl, not married and being told she is pregnant…and will bear a son whose
kingdom will have no end. It was all face to face listening and speaking….no texting,
emailing, tweeting, istagramming. No rumors or assumptions or insinuations. It is
something I think we all need to examine in our lives and frankly as a country – if you
don’t believe me, ask the executives at Sony Pictures. We need to stop grasping at the
various media snippets and gossip and then rushing to our own communication outlets,
fanning the flames of impassionate and often inaccurate fodder.
Rather, we need to learn to have constructive dialogue, face to face with another
person, with the first step being to simply listen to the other. And we need to begin in
our own homes, with our spouse, with our kids with our parents, then in our workplaces
and expanding outward. I fear we are losing this basic skill of having meaningful, honest
conversations where both parties are safely heard. John the Baptist said he came to
testify to the Light…well the Light is shining on all these issues and we can no longer
afford to bury our heads. For on this day which provides the longest night of the year -
Advent calls us to bring new light into this darkness.
And thus lastly, Advent is not necessarily all about looking internally and focused on just
yourself – it is about actively preparing the way. For the past two weeks we heard the
Gospel accounts of John the Baptist baptizing with water as he was making straight the
path and preparing for the Lord. But the action in today’s Gospel was the few words
spoken by Mary: “Yes. Let it be done to me.” It wasn’t: “I’ll get back to you” or “I’m really
very busy” or “It’s not my problem.” Upon hearing the angel’s proclamation of her
pregnancy she had to be shocked, astonished, frightened, maybe even embarrassed.
Feelings we have all had. But she had the faith to say– yes to what was present to her.
You see – God is in it all – or as Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians – ‘God will be
all in all.’ God can and will use everything, absolutely everything. And actually…it is
God who is doing the waiting. Waiting for us to say ‘Yes’ to naming what needs to be
called out…..’Yes’ to have open and honest dialogue…’Yes’ to make the changes that
are needed in our lives…and in our society. For Advent calls us to be aware, awake,
and alert. Advent calls us to be conscious to how Christ comes to us. Advent calls for
our participation by opening our eyes to our own brokenness and that of society. Christ
is in it all - just waiting for us and wanting our active participation.
And here is the kicker…while the liturgical calendar may say that Advent ends in 3
days…Advent really never, ever ends. For Christ is always and forever coming and we
2 Deacon Jim Knipper

3. are constantly being called to cry out! - in order to straighten paths in our society and in
our lives. We must refuse to allow suffering and injustice to silence us but rather force
ourselves to reecho God’s love.
But the presence of so much pain in the world does not diminish our need to celebrate.
Actually it makes more necessary – it is how change can happen – how wounds are
healed. My friend, author and artist Jan Richardson, recently defined celebration as “a
means to practice our willingness to see the presence of love in the midst of brokenness
and to ask how God might work through us to put the broken pieces together again”
So in three days’ time we will once again celebrate what began with Mary’s – yes – the
birth of her son Jesus the Christ. And using the words from my favorite carol…let us
pray that our soul will feel its worth…that the chains within our society will be broken
and oppression will cease…and that all people joyously echo the thrill of hope that
perhaps our weary world will, indeed, rejoice!
3 Deacon Jim Knipper