Living in love, peace and harmony – led by our Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ

Living in love, peace and harmony – led by our Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ 

Sermon the 2^nd Sunday of Advent, 8^th December 2019, preached at St. John's Hills Road, Cambridge. 

Today's Bible readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12.     C.f. Matthew 11; John 1. 

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and redeemer. Amen. Please be seated. 

I am an animal lover. My family in Oxfordshire has the most adorable little cat, called Nelson. (Actually, he's not so little really). I always love to see him (and my family) when I go on my travels in the vacation, and when I'm with Nelson I often get sidetracked from whatever I'm doing – by feeding him when he pretends not to have been fed, cuddling him, being followed around by him, supervising him when he decides to take a walk across my computer keyboard with the Word Processor open, or taking photos of him. He's doing rather well for a cat who's in his late teens – and he's certainly well loved by us all. 

Putting Nelson within the context of the zoo seen in today's first reading therefore might seem like a somewhat horrific idea, which neither myself nor my family would entertain at face value. I couldn't possibly imagine putting him with a wolf, a leopard, a lion or even a cow. But, of course, that's not what the reading is getting at; Nelson is quite safe. Rather, it is a vision of peace, harmony and unity within diversity – and diversity in unity – that this reading points us towards. It might seem at best idealistic, and almost utopian; but this is something we ought to pray for and help foster, as we seek to bring about the Kingdom of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

Advent presents us with a perfect opportunity to think about these things. It is a time of repentance and expectation, as we prepare to greet Jesus Christ at His birth. Throughout the season of Advent, we remember those who prophesied and prepared the way for our Lord; on Advent Sunday, we remembered the Patriarchs, and over the next two weeks we will remember John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and their roles in preparing the way for the Messiah. On this, the Second Sunday of Advent, we particularly remember the Prophets. 

Advent also marks the start of the Church's new liturgical year. In this year's Lectionary, in our cycle of readings we will hear much from St. Matthew's Gospel throughout the year. St. Matthew was a Jewish Christian, who was particularly familiar with the teachings and prophecies of Judaism; one of his crucial aims was to remind the readers of his Gospel that Jesus is indeed the fulfilment of all of these prophecies. In our Gospel reading today, we meet John the Baptist and hear some of his testimony. Can we think of him as a Prophet? He actually denies being a Prophet in St. John's Gospel; but in Matthew, Jesus affirms John the Baptist as a Prophet. And functionally yes, he is indeed a Prophet; he was the immediate forerunner to Jesus, and points us directly towards Him. 

John the Baptist comes preaching a message of repentance; a call to repentance, in preparation for the coming of Christ. For many, Advent presents us with an opportunity for self-examination and fasting – in a similar way to Lent. Are we doing our best to love God? Are we doing our best to love our neighbours as ourselves, to help those less fortunate than ourselves, even when it might not be all that easy? And are we loving ourselves, as dearly beloved children of God? 

Sometimes, we are very successful in some or even all of these areas; other times, maybe less so. And it may come more naturally at some times than at others. But we are still called to - and God is infinitely understanding and patient with us, even if our understanding and patience is limited. For it is God who loved us first, and is the source of all love so that we might love ourselves and others, as well as loving God. How well do we welcome our neighbours? How might we do better? Wherever we may be in this, Christ Himself is before all things, and all things hold together in Him. 

We are of course not perfect; for only God is perfect. Yet, we are called to try as best we can. The Holy Spirit, which has resided within each and every one of us since our Baptism, leads and guides us; we just have to remain open to the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

We are called to live in peace, and to celebrate our diversity in unity - and our unity in diversity. John the Baptist's call is that of Jesus Christ, who universally calls all people to Himself – for all people are created in the image of God, and through Christ. It is a call of repentance, and a call to love. 

Let us again consider that seemingly unlikely zoo from our reading from the Prophet Isaiah. We are called to proclaim, practise and enact equality – one of our country's greatest values – and standing up for the weak and defenceless. We have much more in common than not; and how powerful we can be when we all come together, work together, flourish together, and live together as best we can. 

But I also recognise that – whatever our political beliefs are – it can sometimes seem almost impossible to imagine exactly what this utopian scene of peace, unity and universal celebration of diversity looks like. Many things are possible for us; yet, some things still prove impossible, even when we try our hardest. But who is it who leads all the animals in the Isaiaic zoo? And who is it who leads all of us today? 

It's the little child. 

It is this very little child who becomes Incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who comes into our world and leads us, who holds our unique, diverse, divided, united, pained, delighted communities together. Jesus, who is fully divine, now becomes fully human; and even when we cannot find a way to bring about this perfect peace and unity that we ought to strive for, we can rejoice in how nothing is impossible for God. 

Let us rejoice. Let us prepare to greet Him at His Nativity, and here today when we behold the very Lamb of God, as we meet with Him in the Eucharist. In the name of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.