SING A NEW SONG

 SING A NEW SONG

As Advent gathers momentum the theme of joy dominates. All this Sunday’s

readings announce it. Zephaniah: ‘Shout for joy ... have no fear. Paul: ‘I want

you to be happy’ and Luke, ‘a feeling of expectancy had grown among the

people.’

Just this past week the people of Syria breathed freedom again after more than

seventy years of oppression. Hopefully they can build on it. And there was

another moment of hope to raise our spirits last week. The first stone was laid

for the building of the Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady) in Paris in 1163,

that is 861 years ago. The huge cathedral that rose on that island in the River

Seine which runs through Paris, became the symbolic heart of the nation.

And today, when many French people are paying little attention to the liturgical

practice of their faith, Notre Dame remains a sign of pride and cultural identity

such that when it almost burned down five years ago, it was like a death in the

family. People wept in unbelief.

The President of the Republic promised it would be rebuilt in five years and so

it was. It was revealed to us in renewed splendour last week such as it must

have been eight hundred years ago, before the candle wax and smoke of

centuries cased it in grime.

Watching the re-opening, one could not but wonder! First at the joy of rebirth,

this time enhanced by modern lighting from floor to distant ceiling. Then by the

organ peeling out in an abandonment of triumph. But then also, by the coming

together, for once, of people of varied views. For the active Christians of France

it was a thrill they will never forget. For the retired Christians it was a moment

awe, they will surely ponder. And even for the politicians, who perhaps looked

for a little leverage from the occasion, it must have made their rivalries seem

trivial.

But in the Christian tradition, cathedrals only have the role of a memorial.

Ultimately, they are not where God dwells. However beautiful, they cannot

compare with the human person, the true residence of our God. ‘He came to

dwell among us’, says St John, and it is the hearts and lives of his people that

the Lord has made his home. This is why, the Church shouts, ‘Gaudete!’

‘Rejoice!’ ‘Your servitude is at an end.’ The long imprisoned in Syria have

stepped out into the sunlight, blinded by it for a moment, yet hopefully ready to

begin a new life. In all sorts of ways, this is also our joy.

15 December 2024 Advent 3C Zeph 3:14-18 Phil 4:4-7 Lk 3:10-18

 

A DOSE OF HOPE

 

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

 

W. B. Yeats wrote these words a hundred years ago and it seems each generation feels the same about the times in which they live! The poem continues:

 

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned; 

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

 

That fits our time, we say; only today I heard these sentiments applied to our country and the speaker added they could be said of the whole world. There are good reasons why someone might lose all hope as they see wars and famines, droughts and floods, migrations and abuse. Each generation thinks their parents’ generation has made a mess of things and they will do better.

 

Advent is the season of hope. The varied images of Isaiah flood into out consciousness. ‘Every mountain shall be levelled, every valley filled and all humankind will see the salvation of God.’ Are these all false promises, fake news? Our faith tells us the opposite. God is at work. We may not see the results but we are on the way – despite appearances - to build a better world. Take just one event in the twentieth century: the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Much work has been done – and continues – to realise this ideal.

 

A friend sent me the first of the BBC Reith lectures this week. The speaker, Dr Gwen Adshead, spends her life in studying violence. She is able to help victims and perpetrators of violence to understand and she is helping us all to move beyond blanket punishment, like imprisonment, to building new relationships and harmony in the community. When we talk about ‘seeing the salvation of God’ we are not talking about God sending an angel from heaven to restore a broken bond between people, we are talking about people like Adshead – and they are many like her working quietly day in and day out – who painstakingly pick up the broken pieces and make something new.  

 

Remember, the cry of Advent is above all, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’. We are on the way and, like seamen navigating the oceans, we do not see ‘the distant scene; one step enough for me’ (J. H. Newman, 1801-90). ‘I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare, not for evil (Jer 29:11). So can we see this time as one where we all receive a ‘dose of hope.’                                                                                                                       8 Dec 2024.        Advent 2C               Bar 5:1-9                Phil 1:4…11            Lk 3:1-6