Second Sunday Of Advent
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle A
Object:
Theme For The Day
In the popular Harry Potter stories we can see symbolism that echoes the biblical hope of a savior who will achieve victory over evil.
Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 11:1-10
A Shoot From The Stump Of Jesse
Writing in the chaotic days of the Assyrian invaders' pillaging of the northern kingdom of Israel, Isaiah conjures up the prophetic image of a tree stump. What more hopeless image could there be for an agricultural people than that of a fruit-bearing tree -- an olive or a pomegranate -- cut off just above the ground? Yet, there is hope: for out of that gray, lifeless wood there emerges a fresh, green shoot. The orchard-keeper knows what this means: One day, there will be another tree on this spot. Future generations will find shelter in its shade and be sustained by its fruit. Clearly, this tender, green shoot is the Messiah, emerging from the ruins of a faithless Israel. Verses 2-5 describe the qualities of this coming Savior, who embodies all the hopes Israel had once placed in the Davidic dynasty -- which, by Isaiah's day, has all but petered out in a succession of corrupt and ineffectual rulers. In verses 6-10, however, the prophet's imagery moves into the realm of the fantastic. Fierce beasts -- natural predators -- peacefully lying down beside farm animals? A child reaching its hand, without anxiety or fear, into a den swarming with poisonous snakes? The coming of Israel's Messiah has dimensions beyond the merely political: His advent will transform the very earth itself (v. 9).
New Testament Lesson
Romans 15:4-13
Christ, The Root Of Jesse
This passage has undoubtedly been chosen for this week's lection because of its link with today's first lesson. It describes Jesus as "the root of Jesse" (v. 12, referring to Isaiah 11:10). The passage begins and ends with benedictions: verses 5-6 and verse 13. It closes the theological section of Romans, serving as a transition to Paul's more situational closing greetings and personal messages. Possible preaching points include verse 4, emphasizing that the goal of the scriptures -- even the troubling, eschatological passages -- is that "we might have hope"; verse 7, "welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you" (perhaps providing a different take on the meaning of that lukewarm phrase, "season's greetings," or on the practice of sending Christmas cards); verse 12, the Messiah as "the root of Jesse"; and the closing benediction in verse 13, which includes rich words -- like "hope," "joy," and "peace" -- that, while often gold-stamped onto our Christmas cards, are easily lost amidst the pressures of "the holiday shopping season." Here, Paul explicitly grounds these words in faith.
The Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12
John The Baptist Calls For Repentance
Unlike the synoptic parallel passages in Mark and Luke, Matthew presents the ministry of John the Baptist primarily in terms of his harsh judgment of the scribes and Pharisees -- "You brood of vipers!" (v. 7). (Luke also reports John using the "brood of vipers" epithet, but has him directing it not against the religious authorities, but more generally against the crowds who come out to be baptized.) For Matthew, the Baptist's prophetic ministry (and, by extension, Jesus' prophetic ministry as well) is, first and foremost, a reform of Judaism -- a prophetic challenge to the entrenched religious leadership. For Mark and Luke, John's ministry has a more universal dimension. John the Baptist was both a source of pride for early Christianity and a problem. On the one hand, Christianity grew out of the Baptist's reform of Judaism; some of Jesus' earliest disciples began as followers of John (see John 1:35-37). Later, the Baptist's followers provided fertile ground for the post-resurrection church's evangelism (Acts 19:1-6). In Matthew 16:14, Jesus' disciples rank John among some of the greatest prophets of Israel. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus singles him out as the most faithful human being who ever lived. Yet, John the Baptist also presents a certain problem for the gospel writers, for they have to find a way to subordinate him to Jesus. Matthew accomplishes this in verse 14 -- his account of Jesus' baptism -- as a flummoxed John objects to Jesus: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" John the Baptist is a difficult figure for many Christians in the weeks leading up to Christmas, for his prophetic anger seems to strike a discordant note amongst all the feel-good sentiments of the secular holiday. Yet, John's voice very much needs to be heard -- for it reminds us that Jesus' entry into the world brings not only peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).
Preaching Possibilities
Plenty of families in America and around the world have paid a visit to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They've done so every time they waited in line at a bookstore for the latest Harry Potter book or went to a local movie theater and saw one of the films based on those books.
A few Christian leaders have protested the Harry Potter phenomenon. Because the stories are all about witchcraft and magic, they fear they may encourage America's youth to dabble in potions, spells, and enchantments -- to go over to the Dark Side. There's been quite a debate going on for years, within conservative Christianity, about these wildly popular books. On the one side are those who believe that witchcraft and wizardry are entertaining fiction; they see nothing wrong with the Harry Potter books. On the other are those who are convinced that magical powers are real -- and that they're tools of Satan, dangerous deceptions that can seduce the weak or unwary.
Can fantasy stories like these actually lead believers astray? Not likely, if we take the resurrection seriously. If we truly are Easter people, then we believe that, on the cross, the powers of evil were beaten, once and for all. Some remnants of evil are still active in the world, but they're fighting what is, essentially, a last-ditch, rear-guard action. God's victory is near.
The great Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton had a similar view. In a chapter in his famous book, Orthodoxy, called "The Ethics of Elfland," Chesterton claims that his own journey to Christian faith began with his childhood fascination with fairy tales. As one commentator has summed up Chesterton's views on the subject:
"From fairy tales he learned that the world is precious but puzzling, coherent but mysterious, full of unseen connections and decisive truths. The fantasy tales taught him that the world is 'a wild and startling place, which might have been quite different, but which is quite delightful.' "
In their own way, the Harry Potter books are teaching that lesson, too. Much the same thing could be said of C.S. Lewis. His fantasy stories in the six-volume Chronicles of Narnia likewise use magic to present important truths about God's power in the world.
The values of the Harry Potter stories, while not overtly Christian, are highly consistent with Christian values. There is good and evil... there is temptation... there is loyalty... there is the calling to serve. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, Harry learns how to care more fully for other people, how to be true to his friends, and he learns true compassion.
Maybe the most important parallel to the Christian story is the situation of Harry himself. Here, we do well to turn to this morning's Old Testament Lesson, from Isaiah:
"A shoot shall grow out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."
When Harry Potter's parents die, it is as though a verdant and fruitful tree has been cut off at the roots. All that remains is an ugly stump, sunk deep into the ground, to all appearances dead.
Then one day, months or even years after the tree has been felled, something surprising happens. From out of the gray, dried-out wood of the tree-stump there emerges a tender green shoot. In time, it will grow into a tree as mighty as its predecessor.
Harry Potter's quest, throughout the first four volumes J.K. Rowling wrote, was to discover who he is, by discovering who his parents were. Truly he is a chip off the old wizarding block: or, if you will, a shoot emerging from the stump of his murdered mother and father.
Isaiah tells us the Messiah is the one who will grow forth, as a shoot emerging from dead wood. Later generations have, of course, identified this messianic figure as Jesus Christ. Yet this power extends beyond the life of Jesus of Nazareth, twenty centuries ago. By the power of the Holy Spirit, this divine life-force continues its saving and renewing work, even today.
Where is there sadness or mourning, pain or grief? Look to the stump: A shoot is emerging. Where is there sickness or trouble, doubt or despair? Again, look: New life is bursting forth. There is no situation, in life or in death, so hopeless that the power of God in Christ cannot reach it and transform it for the good.
As Paul has written in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29:
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
What could be more foolish, weak, low, or despised than eleven-year-old Harry Potter, living in the cupboard under the stairs in the home of his aunt and uncle? Again and again, the Dursleys have let the boy know how little eagerness they feel to have him in their home. Yet the forces of magic -- good magic -- in J.K. Rowling's book seek out none other than the foolish, weak, low, and despised Harry Potter to learn the craft of wizardry and then perform some vitally important work.
J.K. Rowling has announced that there will never be another Harry Potter book. That means we'll never see the title, Harry Potter and the Prince of Peace. Yet, we who read the books through Christian spectacles can pick out in them echoes of a greater story we have come to know.
It's a story found in the original bestseller: dating from long before there even was a New York Times bestseller list (or even a New York Times). It's a story you and I can truly claim as our own: a story that will carry us along, if we but let go and allow it to lead us.
Prayer For The Day
Around us, O God, is death:
the dead wood of a stump
that will never live again.
Or will it?
For, here is a shoot,
a green shoot,
pushing ostentatiously up,
up of the gray, lifeless matter,
reaching for the sun.
Let us be alert, Lord,
to signs of life you give us,
signs of new life all around us!
To Illustrate
Far from being mere innocent entertainment, a number of features of the Harry Potter stories can be used to teach the Christian faith.
The first of these is Platform 9¾. That's the platform in a London train station where Harry is to meet the special train, pulled by a steam locomotive, that will take him and all the other students to Hogwarts. The only problem is, the station has Platforms 9 and 10, but nothing in between.
The entrance to Platform 9¾ is located in the middle of a solid brick wall between the other two platforms. To get to the Hogwart's train, Harry has to push his luggage cart directly into the wall -- where, instead of colliding with bricks and mortar, he passes through a secret portal into the world of magic.
Christianity has always taught that there's another world that parallels this one, a spiritual world. Call it the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, it has, as Jesus says in Matthew 3:2, "come near" to this world that we know. For us to come into contact with this spiritual world, we have to take what some have called a "leap of faith." That's not unlike charging toward a brick wall, pushing a fully loaded luggage cart. Up until the last minute, faith can seem like a very bad idea -- until the barriers we'd perceived turn out to be nothing, and you and I find ourselves in a new and fascinating world. Paul says God has "rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). We are privileged at certain times of life to sense the presence of this parallel world -- and indeed, at death, we hope by God's grace to have our "transfer" processed.
***
Earlier on, Harry has to visit Diagon Alley, a secret London street known only to wizards and other magical folk. There, in one of the quirky old shops, he buys himself the most essential item of wizarding equipment: a magic wand.
The proprietor of the wand store is old and wise. He's sold his wares to many a young wizard in years past. This ancient shopkeeper tells Harry, "The wand chooses the wizard." Then he hands him a couple of different specimens to try out: "Give it a flick," he says.
Well, the results are disastrous -- until Harry happens upon the one wand he's supposed to have. With this instrument of power in his hand, he will do great things.
This is similar, in some ways, to the Christian idea of spiritual gifts. You and I don't choose our spiritual gifts; they choose us. Getting in touch with our giftedness -- trying out each possibility in turn, until we find the one that feels right -- is a process we call "discernment." It, too, is a matter of trial and error (at times, it seems, more error than trials).
***
Later in the story, we learn what it is that saved Harry, as a baby, from the evil spell of Lord Voldemort. This detail provides another touchstone for Christianity. The infant Harry survives, with no injury more serious than a scar on his forehead, because of another sort of magic: a very old and ancient magic. Harry's mother was, just then, in the process of giving her own life so her son might be saved. Her motivation in doing so is love -- and love, says the wise Professor Dumbledore, in explaining things to the orphaned Harry, is a force mighty indeed, mightier than any other force.
"For as all die in Adam," writes the apostle Paul, "all will be made alive in Christ."
-- 1 Corinthians 15:22
***
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
***
Simone Weil said imaginary evil, such as that portrayed in books, television shows, and movies, "is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating."
-- Philip Yancey
***
There is an old rabbinic story of Rabbi Joshua, walking along the street one day, when he suddenly met Elijah. Thinking fast, he asked Elijah the question he'd been asking all his life: "When is the Messiah coming?"
Elijah responded, "Why are you asking me? The Messiah this day is at the gate of the city. Go ask him."
So, Rabbi Joshua did as Elijah had told him. And, sure enough, there at the gates of the city was the Messiah: healing the sick, bandaging the wounded, loving the children.
"Master," the rabbi asked, "when are you coming? We have been waiting so long."
The Messiah replied: "Today, my son, I am coming."
Rabbi Joshua ran into town and proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!" But, at the end of the day, the Messiah had not appeared. Everyone made fun of Rabbi Joshua. He never made such a mistake again.
One day, years later, the rabbi stumbled upon the prophet Elijah again. "You tricked me, Elijah!" the rabbi cried out. "You said the Messiah was here. But he never came."
Elijah said, "You are a rabbi. Surely you ought to know that the Messiah comes only when we hearken to the voice of God."
-- from The Babylonian Talmud
In the popular Harry Potter stories we can see symbolism that echoes the biblical hope of a savior who will achieve victory over evil.
Old Testament Lesson
Isaiah 11:1-10
A Shoot From The Stump Of Jesse
Writing in the chaotic days of the Assyrian invaders' pillaging of the northern kingdom of Israel, Isaiah conjures up the prophetic image of a tree stump. What more hopeless image could there be for an agricultural people than that of a fruit-bearing tree -- an olive or a pomegranate -- cut off just above the ground? Yet, there is hope: for out of that gray, lifeless wood there emerges a fresh, green shoot. The orchard-keeper knows what this means: One day, there will be another tree on this spot. Future generations will find shelter in its shade and be sustained by its fruit. Clearly, this tender, green shoot is the Messiah, emerging from the ruins of a faithless Israel. Verses 2-5 describe the qualities of this coming Savior, who embodies all the hopes Israel had once placed in the Davidic dynasty -- which, by Isaiah's day, has all but petered out in a succession of corrupt and ineffectual rulers. In verses 6-10, however, the prophet's imagery moves into the realm of the fantastic. Fierce beasts -- natural predators -- peacefully lying down beside farm animals? A child reaching its hand, without anxiety or fear, into a den swarming with poisonous snakes? The coming of Israel's Messiah has dimensions beyond the merely political: His advent will transform the very earth itself (v. 9).
New Testament Lesson
Romans 15:4-13
Christ, The Root Of Jesse
This passage has undoubtedly been chosen for this week's lection because of its link with today's first lesson. It describes Jesus as "the root of Jesse" (v. 12, referring to Isaiah 11:10). The passage begins and ends with benedictions: verses 5-6 and verse 13. It closes the theological section of Romans, serving as a transition to Paul's more situational closing greetings and personal messages. Possible preaching points include verse 4, emphasizing that the goal of the scriptures -- even the troubling, eschatological passages -- is that "we might have hope"; verse 7, "welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you" (perhaps providing a different take on the meaning of that lukewarm phrase, "season's greetings," or on the practice of sending Christmas cards); verse 12, the Messiah as "the root of Jesse"; and the closing benediction in verse 13, which includes rich words -- like "hope," "joy," and "peace" -- that, while often gold-stamped onto our Christmas cards, are easily lost amidst the pressures of "the holiday shopping season." Here, Paul explicitly grounds these words in faith.
The Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12
John The Baptist Calls For Repentance
Unlike the synoptic parallel passages in Mark and Luke, Matthew presents the ministry of John the Baptist primarily in terms of his harsh judgment of the scribes and Pharisees -- "You brood of vipers!" (v. 7). (Luke also reports John using the "brood of vipers" epithet, but has him directing it not against the religious authorities, but more generally against the crowds who come out to be baptized.) For Matthew, the Baptist's prophetic ministry (and, by extension, Jesus' prophetic ministry as well) is, first and foremost, a reform of Judaism -- a prophetic challenge to the entrenched religious leadership. For Mark and Luke, John's ministry has a more universal dimension. John the Baptist was both a source of pride for early Christianity and a problem. On the one hand, Christianity grew out of the Baptist's reform of Judaism; some of Jesus' earliest disciples began as followers of John (see John 1:35-37). Later, the Baptist's followers provided fertile ground for the post-resurrection church's evangelism (Acts 19:1-6). In Matthew 16:14, Jesus' disciples rank John among some of the greatest prophets of Israel. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus singles him out as the most faithful human being who ever lived. Yet, John the Baptist also presents a certain problem for the gospel writers, for they have to find a way to subordinate him to Jesus. Matthew accomplishes this in verse 14 -- his account of Jesus' baptism -- as a flummoxed John objects to Jesus: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" John the Baptist is a difficult figure for many Christians in the weeks leading up to Christmas, for his prophetic anger seems to strike a discordant note amongst all the feel-good sentiments of the secular holiday. Yet, John's voice very much needs to be heard -- for it reminds us that Jesus' entry into the world brings not only peace but a sword (Matthew 10:34).
Preaching Possibilities
Plenty of families in America and around the world have paid a visit to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They've done so every time they waited in line at a bookstore for the latest Harry Potter book or went to a local movie theater and saw one of the films based on those books.
A few Christian leaders have protested the Harry Potter phenomenon. Because the stories are all about witchcraft and magic, they fear they may encourage America's youth to dabble in potions, spells, and enchantments -- to go over to the Dark Side. There's been quite a debate going on for years, within conservative Christianity, about these wildly popular books. On the one side are those who believe that witchcraft and wizardry are entertaining fiction; they see nothing wrong with the Harry Potter books. On the other are those who are convinced that magical powers are real -- and that they're tools of Satan, dangerous deceptions that can seduce the weak or unwary.
Can fantasy stories like these actually lead believers astray? Not likely, if we take the resurrection seriously. If we truly are Easter people, then we believe that, on the cross, the powers of evil were beaten, once and for all. Some remnants of evil are still active in the world, but they're fighting what is, essentially, a last-ditch, rear-guard action. God's victory is near.
The great Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton had a similar view. In a chapter in his famous book, Orthodoxy, called "The Ethics of Elfland," Chesterton claims that his own journey to Christian faith began with his childhood fascination with fairy tales. As one commentator has summed up Chesterton's views on the subject:
"From fairy tales he learned that the world is precious but puzzling, coherent but mysterious, full of unseen connections and decisive truths. The fantasy tales taught him that the world is 'a wild and startling place, which might have been quite different, but which is quite delightful.' "
In their own way, the Harry Potter books are teaching that lesson, too. Much the same thing could be said of C.S. Lewis. His fantasy stories in the six-volume Chronicles of Narnia likewise use magic to present important truths about God's power in the world.
The values of the Harry Potter stories, while not overtly Christian, are highly consistent with Christian values. There is good and evil... there is temptation... there is loyalty... there is the calling to serve. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, Harry learns how to care more fully for other people, how to be true to his friends, and he learns true compassion.
Maybe the most important parallel to the Christian story is the situation of Harry himself. Here, we do well to turn to this morning's Old Testament Lesson, from Isaiah:
"A shoot shall grow out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."
When Harry Potter's parents die, it is as though a verdant and fruitful tree has been cut off at the roots. All that remains is an ugly stump, sunk deep into the ground, to all appearances dead.
Then one day, months or even years after the tree has been felled, something surprising happens. From out of the gray, dried-out wood of the tree-stump there emerges a tender green shoot. In time, it will grow into a tree as mighty as its predecessor.
Harry Potter's quest, throughout the first four volumes J.K. Rowling wrote, was to discover who he is, by discovering who his parents were. Truly he is a chip off the old wizarding block: or, if you will, a shoot emerging from the stump of his murdered mother and father.
Isaiah tells us the Messiah is the one who will grow forth, as a shoot emerging from dead wood. Later generations have, of course, identified this messianic figure as Jesus Christ. Yet this power extends beyond the life of Jesus of Nazareth, twenty centuries ago. By the power of the Holy Spirit, this divine life-force continues its saving and renewing work, even today.
Where is there sadness or mourning, pain or grief? Look to the stump: A shoot is emerging. Where is there sickness or trouble, doubt or despair? Again, look: New life is bursting forth. There is no situation, in life or in death, so hopeless that the power of God in Christ cannot reach it and transform it for the good.
As Paul has written in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29:
Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
What could be more foolish, weak, low, or despised than eleven-year-old Harry Potter, living in the cupboard under the stairs in the home of his aunt and uncle? Again and again, the Dursleys have let the boy know how little eagerness they feel to have him in their home. Yet the forces of magic -- good magic -- in J.K. Rowling's book seek out none other than the foolish, weak, low, and despised Harry Potter to learn the craft of wizardry and then perform some vitally important work.
J.K. Rowling has announced that there will never be another Harry Potter book. That means we'll never see the title, Harry Potter and the Prince of Peace. Yet, we who read the books through Christian spectacles can pick out in them echoes of a greater story we have come to know.
It's a story found in the original bestseller: dating from long before there even was a New York Times bestseller list (or even a New York Times). It's a story you and I can truly claim as our own: a story that will carry us along, if we but let go and allow it to lead us.
Prayer For The Day
Around us, O God, is death:
the dead wood of a stump
that will never live again.
Or will it?
For, here is a shoot,
a green shoot,
pushing ostentatiously up,
up of the gray, lifeless matter,
reaching for the sun.
Let us be alert, Lord,
to signs of life you give us,
signs of new life all around us!
To Illustrate
Far from being mere innocent entertainment, a number of features of the Harry Potter stories can be used to teach the Christian faith.
The first of these is Platform 9¾. That's the platform in a London train station where Harry is to meet the special train, pulled by a steam locomotive, that will take him and all the other students to Hogwarts. The only problem is, the station has Platforms 9 and 10, but nothing in between.
The entrance to Platform 9¾ is located in the middle of a solid brick wall between the other two platforms. To get to the Hogwart's train, Harry has to push his luggage cart directly into the wall -- where, instead of colliding with bricks and mortar, he passes through a secret portal into the world of magic.
Christianity has always taught that there's another world that parallels this one, a spiritual world. Call it the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, it has, as Jesus says in Matthew 3:2, "come near" to this world that we know. For us to come into contact with this spiritual world, we have to take what some have called a "leap of faith." That's not unlike charging toward a brick wall, pushing a fully loaded luggage cart. Up until the last minute, faith can seem like a very bad idea -- until the barriers we'd perceived turn out to be nothing, and you and I find ourselves in a new and fascinating world. Paul says God has "rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). We are privileged at certain times of life to sense the presence of this parallel world -- and indeed, at death, we hope by God's grace to have our "transfer" processed.
***
Earlier on, Harry has to visit Diagon Alley, a secret London street known only to wizards and other magical folk. There, in one of the quirky old shops, he buys himself the most essential item of wizarding equipment: a magic wand.
The proprietor of the wand store is old and wise. He's sold his wares to many a young wizard in years past. This ancient shopkeeper tells Harry, "The wand chooses the wizard." Then he hands him a couple of different specimens to try out: "Give it a flick," he says.
Well, the results are disastrous -- until Harry happens upon the one wand he's supposed to have. With this instrument of power in his hand, he will do great things.
This is similar, in some ways, to the Christian idea of spiritual gifts. You and I don't choose our spiritual gifts; they choose us. Getting in touch with our giftedness -- trying out each possibility in turn, until we find the one that feels right -- is a process we call "discernment." It, too, is a matter of trial and error (at times, it seems, more error than trials).
***
Later in the story, we learn what it is that saved Harry, as a baby, from the evil spell of Lord Voldemort. This detail provides another touchstone for Christianity. The infant Harry survives, with no injury more serious than a scar on his forehead, because of another sort of magic: a very old and ancient magic. Harry's mother was, just then, in the process of giving her own life so her son might be saved. Her motivation in doing so is love -- and love, says the wise Professor Dumbledore, in explaining things to the orphaned Harry, is a force mighty indeed, mightier than any other force.
"For as all die in Adam," writes the apostle Paul, "all will be made alive in Christ."
-- 1 Corinthians 15:22
***
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
***
Simone Weil said imaginary evil, such as that portrayed in books, television shows, and movies, "is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating."
-- Philip Yancey
***
There is an old rabbinic story of Rabbi Joshua, walking along the street one day, when he suddenly met Elijah. Thinking fast, he asked Elijah the question he'd been asking all his life: "When is the Messiah coming?"
Elijah responded, "Why are you asking me? The Messiah this day is at the gate of the city. Go ask him."
So, Rabbi Joshua did as Elijah had told him. And, sure enough, there at the gates of the city was the Messiah: healing the sick, bandaging the wounded, loving the children.
"Master," the rabbi asked, "when are you coming? We have been waiting so long."
The Messiah replied: "Today, my son, I am coming."
Rabbi Joshua ran into town and proclaimed at the top of his lungs, "The Messiah is coming! The Messiah is coming!" But, at the end of the day, the Messiah had not appeared. Everyone made fun of Rabbi Joshua. He never made such a mistake again.
One day, years later, the rabbi stumbled upon the prophet Elijah again. "You tricked me, Elijah!" the rabbi cried out. "You said the Messiah was here. But he never came."
Elijah said, "You are a rabbi. Surely you ought to know that the Messiah comes only when we hearken to the voice of God."
-- from The Babylonian Talmud
