Year B
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s Advent 7\u2026 and our waiting is almost over\u2026 and I wonder what we’ve been waiting for\u2026 are we\u2026 in spite of our seven-week Advent\u2026 still waiting only for Christmas morning\u2026 are we waiting for an end to 2020\u2026 for a new presidency to begin\u2026 for our COVID vaccines and an end to the pandemic\u2026 are we waiting for a return to normal and an end to change\u2026 for change\u2026 less\u2026 ness\u2026 I can tell you\u2026 if we’re waiting for that\u2026 that’s going to be a lot like waiting for Godot\u2026 because the universe is in constant motion\u2026 and constant change\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I just read an astronomy article which told how researchers have created computer simulations\u2026 called E-MOSAICS\u2026 which are able to simulate the paths that some smaller galaxies have taken\u2026 before they merged with our own galaxy\u2026 the Milky Way\u2026 and about how the giant… spiral galaxy\u2026 Andromeda\u2026 which is about 2.2 million light years away\u2026 is on a collision course with ours too\u2026 but not for about another four billion years\u2026 astronomers have even picked out a new name for what that new galaxy will be\u2026 Milkomeda\u2026 so what does this ever-changing nature of the cosmos mean for humanity\u2026 I think it emphasizes that change is inevitable\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the most poetic<\/em> reminder of this change\u2026 is in Percy Shelley’s sonnet\u2026 Ozymandias\u2026 which describes the fall of kings\u2026 but Shelley’s sonnet is a metaphor for a king who never expected things to change\u2026 in his time and down to our own\u2026 and if you’ve never heard it\u2026 here’s the sonnet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I met a traveller from an antique land\u2026 <\/em> In the sonnet\u2026 the speaker recalls having met a traveler… who told him a story about the ruins of a statue in the desert of his native country\u2026 two vast legs of stone stand without a body\u2026 and near them\u2026 a massive crumbling stone head… lies half sunk in the sand\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The traveler told the speaker\u2026 that the frown\u2026 and sneer of cold command on the statue\u2019s face\u2026 indicate that the sculptor understood well\u2026 the emotions of the statue\u2019s subject\u2026 the memory of those emotions survives\u2026 carved into the lifeless statue\u2026 even though the sculptor and his subject are both now dead\u2026 on the pedestal of the statue appear the words\u2026 My name is Ozymandias\u2026 king of kings\u2026 look on my works\u2026 ye Mighty\u2026 and despair!<\/em>\u2026 but around the decaying ruin of the statue\u2026 nothing remains\u2026 only the lone and level sands\u2026 which stretch out around it\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many\u2026 like Ozymandias\u2026 seek lasting fame\u2026 but in the Book of Sirach (44:1-14)\u2026 while its readers are asked to sing the praises of famous men\u2026 those who ruled their kingdoms\u2026 and made a name for themselves by their valor\u2026 their intelligent counsel\u2026 and those who spoke in prophetic oracles\u2026 while the author asks us to remember these men\u2026 the author also reminds us that there are those of whom there is no memory\u2026 who have perished as though they never existed\u2026 but these were godly men and women\u2026 whose righteous deeds are remembered by God\u2026 and that inheritance will remain in their children’s house\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our reading from 2 Samuel\u2026 we hear the story about who will build the house for God\u2026 the Temple\u2026 David thinks it’s his to do\u2026 but in a dream\u2026 God tells the prophet Nathan\u2026 that from the day God brought the people of Israel up from Egypt\u2026 God had been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle\u2026 and has not asked for a Temple to be built\u2026 and that it’s God who will turn David into a house\u2026 and a kingdom\u2026 and a throne\u2026 which shall be made sure\u2026 and which shall be established forever\u2026 it’s David’s son Solomon\u2026 who will build the Temple\u2026 so who’s building a house\u2026 for whom\u2026 and what is a house\u2026 is it a Temple\u2026 is it a building\u2026 is it a home where the heart is\u2026 or can it be a womb\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today’s Gospel\u2026 the angel Gabriel was sent by God to bring good tidings to Mary\u2026 and he said\u2026 Greetings favored one<\/em>\u2026 but Mary did not earn this status because of something she did or said\u2026 or because she was without sin\u2026 this status was bestowed upon her because God is God\u2026 and Gabriel told her that she would bear a son who would inherit David’s throne\u2026 and Mary was bold enough to question an angel\u2026 how can this be<\/em>\u2026 how could it be that she… would give birth to such a child\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n We can imagine God saying in that still silent voice that God has\u2026 All I need for you to say\u2026 is Yes to me\u2026 so I can be born in your midst<\/em>\u2026 and we’ve said before that Mary could have said “No”\u2026 and we’ve wondered before how many other young women may have said “No” before her\u2026 but Mary did not\u2026 she said\u2026 Let it be with me according to your word<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the physical realm of human time\u2026 permanence is an illusion\u2026 and one pervasive truth\u2026 is that there’s change\u2026 and we\u2026 like the galaxies… may be pushed and pulled by unseen forces\u2026 forces which may merge new ideas into our old ideas\u2026 adjust our direction\u2026 challenge our notions about how things are\u2026 or could be\u2026 and in the spiritual realm of God’s time\u2026 love is not an illusion\u2026 it is the most real and permanent thing there is\u2026 it’s what brought the universe into being in the first place\u2026 and we are not pushed and pulled\u2026 but are invited\u2026 into ever increasing love\u2026 and into that permanent place we call home\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greetings favored one<\/em>\u2026 is how God greets each and every one of us\u2026 and I think the faintest impulse of God’s breath is saying to each and everyone one of us\u2026 All I need for you to say\u2026 is Yes to me\u2026 so I can grow within you\u2026 to be born in your midst<\/em>\u2026 we certainly have the right to say No\u2026 but we also have a long and well-established history of saying No\u2026 though I’m certain God is wanting each and every one of us to answer\u2026 Let it be with me according to your word<\/em>\u2026 the world needs our Yes\u2026 perhaps more now than ever\u2026 the world needs God’s people to say Yes\u2026 the world needs those things to happen that we think can’t possibly happen\u2026 about which we say\u2026 how can this be\u2026 since these ways are unknown to me\u2026 <\/em> perhaps we too\u2026 need to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Advent is almost over\u2026 and in many ways\u2026 the world is much the same as it was when Gabriel came to Mary\u2026 in a state of expectancy\u2026 parts of our lives have been put on hold\u2026 or disrupted\u2026 or taken from us\u2026 but the Good News is that we’re living into the experience that God does not dwell only in churches\u2026 synagogues\u2026 and mosques\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humanity may not have a choice about whether the Andromeda galaxy will crash into our own\u2026 our willful heel-digging cannot prevent that\u2026 but we can become more and more willing\u2026 to invite God’s word into our lives\u2026 and let it overshadow us\u2026 so that the Christ-child will grow in the Temple… in the womb of our hearts\u2026 God’s been patiently waiting for the right time\u2026 and we can ask\u2026 is now the time\u2026 will I allow\u2026 will I invite God to do the impossible though me\u2026 only some of those\u2026 who strive for power\u2026 like Ozymandias will be remembered by mortals\u2026 but God will remember the all righteous\u2026 and in the words of a hymn\u2026 and there’s not any reason\u2026 no not in the least\u2026 why we shouldn’t be righteous too\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026 It’s Advent 7\u2026 and our waiting is almost over\u2026 and I wonder what we’ve been waiting for\u2026 are we\u2026 in spite of our seven-week Advent\u2026 still waiting only for Christmas morning\u2026 are we waiting for an end to 2020\u2026 for a new presidency to begin\u2026 for our COVID vaccines and an end to the pandemic\u2026 are we waiting for a return to normal and an end to change\u2026 for change\u2026 less\u2026 ness\u2026 I can tell you\u2026 if we’re waiting for that\u2026 that’s going to be a lot like waiting for Godot\u2026 because the universe is in constant motion\u2026 and constant change\u2026 I just read an astronomy article which told how researchers have created computer simulations\u2026 called E-MOSAICS\u2026 which are able to simulate the paths that some smaller galaxies have taken\u2026 before they merged with our own galaxy\u2026 the Milky Way\u2026 and about how the giant… spiral galaxy\u2026 Andromeda\u2026 which is about 2.2 million light years away\u2026 is on a collision course with ours too\u2026 but not for about another four billion years\u2026 astronomers have even picked out a new name for what that new galaxy will be\u2026 Milkomeda\u2026 so what does this ever-changing nature of the cosmos mean for humanity\u2026 I think it emphasizes that change is inevitable\u2026 Perhaps the most poetic reminder of this change\u2026 is in Percy Shelley’s sonnet\u2026 Ozymandias\u2026 which describes the fall of kings\u2026 but Shelley’s sonnet is a metaphor for a king who never expected things to change\u2026 in his time and down to our own\u2026 and if you’ve never heard it\u2026 here’s the sonnet\u2026 I met a traveller from an antique land\u2026 Who said \u2014 Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert\u2026 Near them\u2026 on the sand\u2026 Half sunk… a shattered visage lies\u2026 whose frown\u2026 and wrinkled lip\u2026 and sneer of cold commandtell that its sculptor\u2026 well those passions readwhich yet survive… stamped on these lifeless things\u2026 The hand that mocked them… and the heart that fed\u2026 And on the pedestal\u2026 these words appear\u2026 My name is Ozymandias\u2026 King of Kings… Look on my Works\u2026 ye Mighty\u2026 and despair!Nothing beside remains\u2026 Round the decay\u2026 Of that colossal Wreck\u2026 boundless and bare\u2026 The lone and level sands stretch far away\u2026 In the sonnet\u2026 the speaker recalls having met a traveler… who told him a story about the ruins of a statue in the desert of his native country\u2026 two vast legs of stone stand without a body\u2026 and near them\u2026 a massive crumbling stone head… lies half sunk in the sand\u2026 The traveler told the speaker\u2026 that the frown\u2026 and sneer of cold command on the statue\u2019s face\u2026 indicate that the sculptor understood well\u2026 the emotions of the statue\u2019s subject\u2026 the memory of those emotions survives\u2026 carved into the lifeless statue\u2026 even though the sculptor and his subject are both now dead\u2026 on the pedestal of the statue appear the words\u2026 My name is Ozymandias\u2026 king of kings\u2026 look on my works\u2026 ye Mighty\u2026 and despair!\u2026 but around the decaying ruin of the statue\u2026 nothing remains\u2026 only the lone and level sands\u2026 which stretch out around it\u2026 Many\u2026 like Ozymandias\u2026 seek lasting fame\u2026 but in the Book of Sirach (44:1-14)\u2026 while its readers are asked to sing the praises of famous men\u2026 those who ruled their kingdoms\u2026 and made a name for themselves by their valor\u2026 their intelligent counsel\u2026 and those who spoke in prophetic oracles\u2026 while the author asks us to remember these men\u2026 the author also reminds us that there are those of whom there is no memory\u2026 who have perished as though they never existed\u2026 but these were godly men and women\u2026 whose righteous deeds are remembered by God\u2026 and that inheritance will remain in their children’s house\u2026 In our reading from 2 Samuel\u2026 we hear the story about who will build the house for God\u2026 the Temple\u2026 David thinks it’s his to do\u2026 but in a dream\u2026 God tells the prophet Nathan\u2026 that from the day God brought the people of Israel up from Egypt\u2026 God had been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle\u2026 and has not asked for a Temple to be built\u2026 and that it’s God who will turn David into a house\u2026 and a kingdom\u2026 and a throne\u2026 which shall be made sure\u2026 and which shall be established forever\u2026 it’s David’s son Solomon\u2026 who will build the Temple\u2026 so who’s building a house\u2026 for whom\u2026 and what is a house\u2026 is it a Temple\u2026 is it a building\u2026 is it a home where the heart is\u2026 or can it be a womb\u2026 In today’s Gospel\u2026 the angel Gabriel was sent by God to bring good tidings to Mary\u2026 and he said\u2026 Greetings favored one\u2026 but Mary did not earn this status because of something she did or said\u2026 or because she was without sin\u2026 this status was bestowed upon her because God is God\u2026 and Gabriel told her that she would bear a son who would inherit David’s throne\u2026 and Mary was bold enough to question an angel\u2026 how can this be\u2026 how could it be that she… would give birth to such a child\u2026 We can imagine God saying in that still silent voice that God has\u2026 All I need for you to say\u2026 is Yes to me\u2026 so I can be born in your midst\u2026 and we’ve said before that Mary could have said “No”\u2026 and we’ve wondered before how many other young women may have said “No” before her\u2026 but Mary did not\u2026 she said\u2026 Let it be with me according to your word\u2026 In the physical realm of human time\u2026 permanence is an illusion\u2026 and one pervasive truth\u2026 is that there’s change\u2026 and we\u2026 like the galaxies… may be pushed and pulled by unseen forces\u2026 forces which may merge new ideas into our old ideas\u2026 adjust our direction\u2026 challenge our notions about 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Who said \u2014 Two vast and trunkless legs of stone<\/em>
Stand in the desert\u2026 Near them\u2026 on the sand\u2026 <\/em>
Half sunk… a shattered visage lies\u2026 whose frown\u2026 <\/em>
and wrinkled lip\u2026 and sneer of cold command<\/em>
tell that its sculptor\u2026 well those passions read<\/em>
which yet survive… stamped on these lifeless things\u2026 <\/em>
The hand that mocked them… and the heart that fed\u2026 <\/em>
And on the pedestal\u2026 these words appear\u2026 <\/em>
My name is Ozymandias\u2026 King of Kings… <\/em>
Look on my Works\u2026 ye Mighty\u2026 and despair!<\/em>
Nothing beside remains\u2026 Round the decay\u2026 <\/em>
Of that colossal Wreck\u2026 boundless and bare\u2026 <\/em>
The lone and level sands stretch far away\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n