17th December 2023
Reflection (readings are below)
Are we as Christians, as activists for justice, acorns that God is planting in the hope that the growth we start will become as an oak tree. A mature oak tree can provide a habitat for as many as 2300 species! (Woodlands Trust). Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could create communities that could be home to so many different species? Do the words of Isaiah provide a template for such a community? It would be a place (and a space) in which the broken hearted would find respite and healing, those trapped by unjust systems would find freedom, the oppressed would find hope and new life. It would be a place of justice and empathy and compassion. A place where each and everyone could develop their true potential as creatures of God’s making. And it would become a place of joy and celebration.
The community created would perhaps echo the images of those Christmas cards that show happy families, dinner tables decked for a feast, lights gleaming in every window, peaceful landscapes (usually rural and snow covered), sheep safely grazing, smiling posties with gifts for all, choirs filling the air with songs of praise.
And such communities, such scenes of peace and joy are possible – if only we really want them, only if we have the will.
Mary’s Magnificat tells us what we have to remove or change to create such as community. We will need to overcome conceit and self-importance, and rebalance power and opportunity so that they are equally distributed. We will need to encourage the lowly and the vulnerable, to appreciate their value. We will need to redistribute resources so that those with out and those with lots all have an enough.
As the discussion at COP28 come to an end, we are reminded of how much wealth there is in the world and how unequally it is distributed. We have heard how re-distributing wealth from the richer to the vulnerable nations could transform poverty, address the threat of climate change, and create vibrant economies. We have heard how redistributing subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy could lift so many out of poverty and stall the rise in global temperatures. We have heard how developing renewable energy and green industries can create new and sustainable jobs.
This week’s gospel repeats last week’s message from Isaiah that we should make straight the path for the Lord, making smooth the way in for the of God.
Let us rejoice and pray without ceasing for the reality that God’s kingdom can come here on earth as in heaven. Let us pray and work for everything that can make the pathway smooth – whether that is in our individual actions by which we love our neighbours and our enemies, or our corporate actions as communities, or our activism in advocating for change by local and national authorities, institutions and corporations – for in so doing we follow the example of John the Baptist in bearing witness to the will of God, in testifying to the light.
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
The Song of Mary Magnificat
Luke 1:46-55
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; *
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
John 1:6-8,19-28
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptising if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptise with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptising.
The Green Tau 