The Book of Life - Advent 3

He’s making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out whose naughty and nice…..do-do-do-do-do-do-do

He sees you when your sleeping, he knows if your awake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake…oh…you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, ---do-do—do--- is coming to town.

In my rendition of this Christmas song you will have noticed that I left out who “he” is referring to.  The song of course is a Santa song --- but, is this not how many Christians have been taught to understand God?

God is making a list; a list of names written in a book that determines whether or not a person goes to heaven or hell. Those who are righteous and faithful and good, bearing good fruit, will have their names recorded in the Book of Life – and this means eternal life in paradise. That’s how you remember the teaching of the church, right?

The readings for today skirt around the topic of “what next.” The texts –other than the John the Baptist narrative where he is quite curt and does speak of the separation of the repentant who become fruit bearers and those who bear no fruit and are to thrown to the fire or as chaff in the wind --- are very happy.  The words from Zephaniah, Isaiah, and Philippians concentrate on rejoicing, praise, joy, and restoration. 

What we miss are previous chapters that tell of struggles, the people having gone astray and returning to God.

This morning I am going to rewind the Philippians passage to examine whence the rejoicing and peace of God comes.

Reading from Philippians:

 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³ Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion,^[b] help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice^[c] in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.^[d]

The “Book of Life” is generally understood from later reading in the book of Revelation, where it is written:

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Early Christian literature had a very matter of fact way of understanding judgement and the end of days. This understanding carried on into the writings of early church fathers.   It carried through the Reformation, as seen in the summary of Lutheran understanding  --- found in the Book of Concord---- here the Book of Life is expanded and used in broader definitions  as in meaning Jesus and at other times the Gospels, the Good News that points to Christ.

Yet, the Hebraic way of hearing the “Book of Life,” has a different connotation; one that I feel illuminates a deeper understanding.

The first mention of the Book of Life takes us back to the Exodus: Exodus 32: 31-32, which flows the narrative of the people of Israel making a golden calf to worship when Moses was gone a long time, up the mountain talking with God.  When Moses comes down from the mountain he is furious.

Exodus continues:

 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. ³² But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” ³³ But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. ³⁴ But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.”  

Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.

Notice how Moses referred to God’s book, blot me out of the book; from this understanding names are not added to the book --- everyone’s name is already there.

The Psalmist reiterates the same theology.  Psalm 139 says:

When I was made in secret,/And embroidered in the depths of the earth . . .
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance,/And in your Book they were all written:
The days that were crafted for me.

I heard a rabbi once speak about the Book of Life – that the book is not just a holding of names, it is pages that get written as one lives their lives; it’s not a name, it’s the essence, the character, of the person that is inscribed- so that nothing good in a person’s life is lost.

It is not a book where names are added based on merit or good works ---- the book begins full.

Does it change how you think about the book, to think that everyone’s name is already there – not added, but, rather only a potential to get removed?

The Exodus story of the calf says something about removal –the blotting out--- as well.  Although the people had made and worshiped a golden image, their names were not blotted out, rather judgement according to the narrative came as a plague.  The narrative from Exodus alludes to the compassion of God, judgement in this case – was not the blotting out of names.

In my studies over the years I have had occasion to delve into manuscripts. Ancient manuscripts – the kind that are ink on papyrus--- are unique.  Papyrus reeds are cut into strips, soaked, and then placed horizontally side by side to the desired size, another layer of papyrus is placed on top of the first layer- strips placed vertically.  Writing is put on the papyrus with ink --- papyrus is not an easy surface to write on as the reeds have a texture to them- little ridges and bumps. This type of paper was in short supply and there are instances where it is reused for writing other texts. Sometimes this is done by writing on the reverse side – which is more difficult because the grain of the paper is not conducive to taking ink in the direction the pen moves; then there are instances where the papyrus has been scraped or washed and another texted placed over top.  Blotting out the first text, so as never to be seen again, is impossible; the letters left an indelible mark on the papyrus.  Many ancient texts have been recovered as “ghost or shadow” writing, found preserved under new text.  Blotting out is very very difficult.

How would we live if we understood that from the beginning of time everyone’s name was written in the book of life? How would we live if we understood that the book of life is not a list of names –determining the naughty and nice- but a record of life; of one’s life; of the goodness and fruit found therein? In the end if there is nothing written – it is because there was nothing worth recording.

There is a prayer that I use at funerals, taken from the Anglican Book of Alternative services:

God of grace and glory, we thank you for N, who was so near and dear to us…

We thank you for the friendship (he/she) gave and for the strength and peace (he/she) brought.

We thank you for the love (he/she) offered and received while (he/she) was with us on earth.

We pray that nothing good in this (man's/woman's) life will be lost, but will be of benefit to the world; that all that was important to (him/her) will be respected by those who follow' and that everything in which (he/she) was great will continue to mean much to us now that (he/she) is dead.

We ask you that (he/she) go on living in (his/her) children, (his/her) family, and (his/her) friends; in their hearts and minds, in their courage and their consciences

The prayer is a reminder to us of the book of life, written during a person’s lifetime.  It is also a reminder of God’s grace and glory, first and foremost --- a God who wrote the names knowing the difficulty it would be to blot names out after the fact.  The list of fruits in the prayer – friendship, strength, peace, love, goodness- bring us back to the Philippians passage.  They read like the words of Paul.  In this letter he has expounded on the book of life being written by the Philippian’ lives through the way they follow the incarnate Christ; embodying Christ and God’s grace to spread the Good News to each other and the wider world.

Paul doesn’t spend time focusing on whose name is and isn’t in the book of life.  He speaks about living Christ in the world--- writing God’s grace and love and light and life with every breath one takes.

Paul continues to commend the Philippians to their task as baptized Christians whose names have always been written in the book ---

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

Four Stones

Space is marked this morning with four stones.  These stones are not new.  They didn’t just arrive for today. These stones have been here for an entire year--- bearing witness --- to our confessions, our hopes, our dreams, our praises, and our laments.

Last Advent the stones marked the lighting of the candles leading to Christmas.

They were to be “Stones of Reconciliation” – symbolizing our commitment to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.  We were asked to reflect on the example that Jesus set for us  - Jesus kingship—a reign of confronting the unjust use of power and building right relationships with the whole of creation.   With the end of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we were encouraged to build relationship with First Nations peoples and the land.

We were reminded that Jesus said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Have we been markers of reconciliation, truth, and right relationship? Or are the stones about to shout? 

This past week I attended clergy cluster with the other Lutheran pastors in the province.  We took time to share communion together and as part of the sermon – so not one person had to prepare the sermon – we talked about the readings for Sunday, to help us prepare for today.

In our conversation there were 4 thoughts – 4 words – that were clearly articulated; the words are the Word that these stones have heard and whisper to us to carry on. The words are standing stones, pillars of what God’s kingdom and Jesus reign are all about. That means the very core of what we are to believe and be about.

These are stones to live by. The stones are:  Time. Truth. Silence. Love.

Time.          

            I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

            The texts sound crazy this morning: an Ancient One, hair as white as snow, a stream of fire flowed from his presence, one like a human being coming in the clouds.  How crazy is that? Perhaps not so crazy! I would say timely. Currently on television Marvel comics are being brought to life with all kinds of characters just as spectacular as those from Daniel and Revelation.  The Flash, Arrow, Marvels of Shield, Super Girl, Agent Carter, Gotham ---- all about super-human or alien DNA combined with time warping and movement through different plains of time and various spectrums of timelines.  Life goes on here,  there, everywhere ---- all timelines fighting to either bring on the end or frustrate those trying to get to the end, or those trying to make the world some form of “righteous kingdom” – where sin and darkness no longer fights to snuff out light and goodness;  instead the world is complete - the reign of God with justice and peace for all.

            Time. Human beings are stuck in time; remembering past time, in the present wasting time, and re-visioning future time. 

This stone speaks.  Time is God’s.  The beginning, the end – who is, was, and is to come. Time is not for us to worry about, it is space to dream of the crazy, the marvelous – to hope that being faithful in time and in the present, God’s kingdom can become a reality. 

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… God, through Jesus became incarnate, a human being in time and place.  Jesus sanctified time. Time is God’s. Time is holy.  Time --- our time can be filled with the kingdom, when we allow Christ to be incarnate in and through us.

Truth.

            John’s Gospel shares the encounter of Jesus and Pilate before Jesus is sentenced to death. The next line following the text we heard has Pilate ask, “What is truth?” Jesus doesn’t respond. There simply was no answer to that question.  It was the wrong question.   The question isn’t “What is truth?”  The question is “who?”  “Who is truth?”  Now that question can be answered. Throughout the year sermons have pointed to truth – the truth as God incarnate – Jesus. Have you heard this truth, born witness to by these stones.

The stone representing truth shouts to us ---- the truth is Jesus--- and the truth is about relationship; yes – that is one of the words I use in pretty much every sermon.  Relationship is not a what, as if truth can be owned; but, a who, as in it is a conversation, relationship, intimacy.  It is here where truth is continually discovered, learned, and honed.  It is never entirely known or held, and it continually changes and is experienced. Truth is living and breathing. Jesus is resurrected through relationship with truth.

Silence.

The stone that speaks not. This gets tricky.  Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate’s question, “What is truth?”  Jesus remains silent.  And silence has Jesus ending up dead.

The silence was profound.  

The silence lasted for three days, until, at sunrise the garden tomb was discovered empty. The silence of death was filled with life.

 It begs the question of when is it that we are to remain silent; when it is that we let death lie, and when is it that the sunrises and we are to speak out and raise life?  When is the world silent, and voices are to be raised to counter injustice. And if we miss the sun rising will as Jesus said, The very stones will cry out

Love.

            And the greatest of these is love. The love stone is a Word of how it is that we are to call out in the silence:  to respond to death, lack of hope, and in recent days – how we choose to respond to hate. This past week the most beautiful story was that of a Syrian father who spoke of his response to terror, the death of his wife at the hand of terrorists. –He said, “I will not throw stones. I will not teach my son revenge, or anger. I will not teach him to hate. Hate has not won.  Love has.” In the end, this really is what, or I should say who, every sermon this year has been about; LOVE.

Sundays with readings like todays have grand images and hopes for the future, super-fantastical-happenings, and crazy-scary ideas that sometimes distract from the simple message.  Time. Truth. Silence. Love. –and the greatest of these is love.

The stones bear witness that we are church, a people who marks time.  We relive the life and death and life of Jesus – every year.  Through the year we heard over and over that God’s kingdom comes in the past, present, and into the future.  We need not worry about time as God is in all time.  Through us God can be made more present.  The truth is Jesus incarnate living in our midst, as we live in relationship with each other, with all creation.  Silence is profound for in it death dies and new life arises--- it comes about when love affects every action, every word, every molecule of our being.  The kingdom comes – God reigns- when you can say, “I will not hate” and mean it to the depths of your being.  The kingdom grows when your neighbour also says, “I will not hate.”  When all can wail, “I will not hate” – whether wailing through sadness or wailing in joy.

It is time for the world to change.  It has been for a very long time!  Since the beginning of time – to the end of time. And then to begin again.  The message as heard a million times and held by these stones … Choose not to hate; resurrect truth in the present.  Love --- for in love comes the reign of Christ.