Advent is a wonderful time to read the writings of the prophets. Those chosen men, frail human instruments of God, kept their hearts stretched out in expectation, even amidst woes, tears, and lament. Their provocative imagery opens up a vast horizon of Hope. Led by the Holy Spirit, they allowed the depths of their human imagination and emotion to be tapped as they plied their pen to describe God\u2019s desire to come and save us. Many times they offer promises of his salvation that will somehow simultaneously bring a fiery intensity AND a tender gentleness. Justice and Mercy. Love and Truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Advent my heart has been captivated by the final four\nchapters of Zechariah, which are apocalyptic in nature. Unfortunately, \u201capocalyptic\u201d\ntends to mean \u201ceasily hijacked.\u201d The final book of the Bible, the Apocalypse\n(a.k.a. \u201cRevelation\u201d) is the most frequently butchered book, plundered by\nmisguided Christians as they sound alarm bells about the end of the world and claim\nto have all the answers. Never mind that Jesus told us clearly that no one\nexcept the Father knows when the end will actually come (Matthew 24:36), and that\nwe ought not chase after these messianic alarmists (Mark 13:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who read apocalyptic writings in a way that is unduly\nfascinated with foretelling the future are largely missing the point. Whether\nthe Book of Revelation or certain passages in Daniel or Zechariah, the\napocalyptic writings in Scripture have genuine meaning and relevance for all\nwho read the text \u2013 including the original audience; including the many\nmillions of men and women who never saw the second coming of Jesus; including\nyou and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApocalypse\u201d literally means \u201cunveiling.\u201d The prophetic promises point to an ultimate unveiling that is \u201calready but not yet.\u201d We are meant to enjoy a true taste of them here and now, yet always with a sense that more is yet to come, and we are not yet ready for the fullness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coming realities, sharing as they do in God\u2019s infinity,\nnecessarily elude the full comprehension of our present finite experience. It\nreminds me of a famous episode of The\nTwilight Zone<\/em> in which a little girl in her bed somehow stumbles through\nthe wall into a fourth dimension, and her family frantically seeks to rescue\nher. Her limited human mind cannot process the newness of a fourth dimension.\nIt is overwhelming and disorienting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As great as human logic is, it can only bring us so far. Every wise theologian has understood this point. Thomas Aquinas described doctrinal propositions as tending towards the Truth, and reminded us that our Faith is not directed towards the propositions of our creed, but rather towards the Truth itself that is pointed to in those statements. God’s Truth radically transcends our expressions of it. Towards the end of Thomas’ earthly life, he had a deep mystical experience of God, after which he expressed that all the allegedly wise words he had written now seemed to him \u201clike so much straw\u201d in comparison to the glory he had glimpsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that \u201calready but not yet\u201d perspective in mind, we can allow the powerful imagery of the prophet Zechariah to captivate our hearts and minds, to speak to our experience and pour blessings upon us here and now, while opening our hearts in Hope, reaching out receptively to the greater realities yet to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zechariah paints a picture of lament and loss. He describes\nthe trees grieving over the felling of many mighty and beautiful cedars,\ncypresses, and oaks. He describes the weeping of the shepherds over the loss of\ntheir glory, the betrayal wrought by shepherds forsaking their flock, and the\nconfusion and woes of a flock that goes unshepherded. As a result, Zechariah\nforetells that two thirds of the people will fall away. The one third that\nremains will pass through fire like silver and gold that is tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Got your attention yet? To me, it is as though he is\ndescribing our present-day experience in the Church. But the point is not to be\nalarmist about the end of the world. Instead, we can allow the imagery to disrupt\nus in a way that opens up space for Hope, which is by far the deeper message of\nthese chapters. Hope is also the reason why we read from the prophets every\nAdvent. Again, let us remember that these words of Scripture speak to believers\nin all centuries, not merely our own. The point is to let them speak to us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zechariah proceeds to describe all the nations of the world rising up against God\u2019s people and fighting Jerusalem. Even Judah will rise up against Jerusalem. But they will only injure themselves, like those who try to move an immovable rock. God will fight those who fight her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amidst these scenes of strife and loss, Zechariah offers vivid\nimages of Hope, ones that connect closely with Jesus in John\u2019s Gospel and with\nJohn\u2019s promises in the Book of Revelation. Zechariah promises a fountain\nwelling up within the house of David. Fresh water will flow from Jerusalem,\nduring both summer and winter, to the East and the West. There will be no more\ndarkness or cold, but only the Day. He promises the restoration of Jerusalem\nand the inclusion of all the survivors of these great trials \u2013 both the Jews\nand the Gentiles who had rebelled against Jerusalem but now repent. Cleansed by\nthe fountain, they will gather year after year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles,\nbowing down to the King, the Lord\nof Hosts. On that day, each household in their own tent will find their cooking\npot to be sacred to the Lord. No\nlonger shall the Temple be a marketplace, in which people attempt to purchase\nholiness. Each and every vessel will receive and be filled as from the altar\nitself; each household will be truly holy to the Lord of Hosts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A marketplace no more. Intellectually we understand that\nGod\u2019s holiness cannot be bought, and that no amount of magic or manipulation\ncan bend Him to our will. Yet we still try. One way or another, our prayers\ntend to be varied attempts at praying, \u201cMy will be done!\u201d \u2013 or more subtly,\n\u201cThis is what you have to do for me, God.\u201d Much more elusive to us is the\nexperience of freely receiving, gently abiding, and humbly depending. We have a\ntendency to keep grasping at a God we can control and bend to our will.\nIdolatry dies hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus breaks into our brokenness with a newness that flips\nour paradigms upside down. John\u2019s writings illustrate this point powerfully\nwith the image of \u201ctabernacles\u201d (tents). John begins his Gospel telling us that\nJesus, the Eternal Word of God, became flesh and made his dwelling among us.\nLiterally, he pitched his tent in our midst. In the Old Testament, autumn after\nautumn, God\u2019s people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles by bringing their\nharvest fruits to the Temple and constructing their tents around the Temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In John 7 and Revelation 7, this imagery is flipped around,\nin a way that evokes Zechariah\u2019s promises. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem during\nthe Feast of Tabernacles and proclaims, \u201cWhoever believes in me, as Scripture\nsays: \u2018Rivers of living water will flow from within him.\u2019 He said this in\nreference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive.\u201d\nRevelation 7 describes a living fountain issuing forth from the Lamb once\nslain, and an endless Day shining forth from the Temple. The white-robed army\nthat has endured the time of trial will be sheltered (\u201ctented\u201d) by God himself,\nday and night. Revelation 21 re-echoes that God will dwell (\u201ctent\u201d) with his\npeople day and night, and will wipe every tear away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our tendency from the Fall until now is one of pride and\nself-protection. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God and cover their nakedness.\nWe, their descendants, spend much of our lives constructing our own versions of\nholiness and try to become good enough so that God has to give us what we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mercifully, God allows our false props to be stripped away \u2013\nyes, even by means of harsh trials. They are of our own making \u2013 not his \u2013 but\nhe turns all things to the good for his beloved children. To those not yet\nready to receive and abide and depend, it feels terrifying and seems like\npunishment \u2013 much like the imagery at the end of Zechariah. It is then we can\ntake great assurance in the Hope he promises: \u201cThe city will be inhabited;\nnever again will it be doomed. Jerusalem will dwell securely\u201d (Zechariah\n14:11). When we remember that the living fountain of the Holy Spirit is always\nthere within our hearts, that the light of the Risen Christ shines brightly,\nand that the Father himself will extend his shelter over us, then we can begin\nto take him up on his invitation to abide in his presence in Hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Advent is a wonderful time to read the writings of the prophets. Those chosen men, frail human instruments of God, kept their hearts stretched out in expectation, even amidst woes, tears, and lament. Their provocative imagery opens up a vast horizon of Hope. Led by the Holy Spirit, they allowed the depths of their human … <\/p>\n