William Yagel
Grace Radford
December 11, 2022
Advent 3, Year A
Christ of the cosmos, living Word,
come to heal and save
Incognito, in our streets,
beneath the concrete,
between the cracks,
behind the curtains, within the dreams,
in ageing memories, in childhood wonder,
in secret ponds, in broken hearts,
in Bethlehem stable, still small voice,
Word of God, amongst us.
Amen.
-Iona Advent prayer
This is not the way it was supposed to go.
That is what Casper would likely tell us, if he could speak. Casper, being a dog, can’t offer that reflection, but I do wish he could. The community of farmers and dog lovers around the country who have seen Casper’s exploits could use a reminder from the mouth of the warrior himself.
This is NOT the way it was supposed to go.
Some of you might remember that I said a couple of words about our maremmas a few months back. They are the livestock guardian dogs that Eve, the kids, and I had on our farm in Nelson County. Well, Casper is a Great Pyrenees, which is the French version of the Italian maremma, from down in Decatur Georgia. He has been made famous lately from his brawl with a large number of coyotes that he encountered in early November.
It seems that a pack of about a dozen coyotes were slinking around Casper’s fence and it came to blows, well, bites. Casper was badly injured but not before killing 8 of the coyotes. An astonishing number for a single dog. As you may imagine, donations have been pouring in for Casper’s medical bills and I think he is back home now. Obviously, Casper has made the rounds in the news and every article I have read loves to portray him as a brave warrior, leading with the body count and the long odds that he faced. I am reminded of how much we celebrate battle in our culture. How much we love the underdog, literally, fighting his way through, overcoming the odds and returning the hero. But here is the thing about livestock guardian dogs, that fight represents, on some level, a failure of their system.
You see, those breeds, Great Pyrenees and Maremmas, are obviously able to fight, but only when everything else has failed. They are not really fighters by their breeding, rather they are protectors. Maybe it is a subtle difference, but once it has reached the point of violence, the dog must risk sacrificing themselves, and thus leaving the flock exposed forever. If the dog can no longer defend, they have not done their job. So, counter to what we might expect based on the sensationalized story about Casper, they are not looking for a fight.
These dogs spend their time patrolling the perimeter of their fences, marking the boundary along the way. They bark. All. The. Time. They set themselves apart from the flock and are large, imposing dogs, with thick and fluffy coats. Thus making them appear even larger to be seen as a menacing guardian by any that would try them. The implication of force is their tool. They operate with the complete trust of the herd, so when a predator does appear, they are able to hide themselves in the herd shooting through to disorient and confuse predators. The predators often can’t even tell how many dogs they are dealing with because the disorient them. In short, their instinct is to do everything they can to avoid a fight! For them success is the absence of predators, not a battle royale. Casper’s story is amazing with long odds and a gallant warrior, but:
That is not how it is supposed to go.
And when John the Baptist sends word to Jesus in our Gospel this morning asking if he is the one we can hear this same refrain:
This is not how it is supposed to go.
John’s best guess of the coming Lord does not seem to align exactly with the this man who has come. Last week, early in the book of Matthew, we heard John telling the Pharisees and the Sadducees that they were a brood of vipers! He asked them who warned them to flee from the wrath to come. Remember he told them that their ancestry from Abraham would not save them from what was to come! Clearly, John has some opinions about who is worthy and who is not! It sounds like John might even like to act as an adviser when the time for selection comes. John is ready for judgement to come to those who are wicked! In the moment of oppression by the Roman Empire John was no doubt looking for a little more energy at the very least. Likely a first century Captain Israel would have suited him fine. A hero able to put Rome in her place and burst forth issuing judgement and avenging centuries of mistreatment.
When he asks if Jesus is the one I can hear the exasperation in his voice! C’mon, man get to it! And I can imagine him being more than a little annoyed with the response that Jesus gives! “Tell him what you see.” In his response Jesus leans again on the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah. Hear the parallel images from our reading from Isaiah this morning. Isaiah says:
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
When Jesus responds he seems to speak directly to this passage of Isaiah when he says:
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.
He reminds the people of the promises he is fulfilling that was made by Isaiah. But unlike Isaiah’s prophecy, it seems that the Lord is not returning with “vengeance and terrible recompense.” Instead, Jesus is cavorting with tax collectors and sinners! He is offering grace and mercy to everyone with an open invitation to the banquet! How can this be? We can all hear John saying:
This is not how it is supposed to go.
I expect all of us can, but I surely know that I can relate to John’s response. I know exactly how he feels, wanting someone to get what is really coming to them. Punishment for their mistreatment of me or those I love. Justice for the way people have taken advantage of the system? I know how John feels, but friends, the good news?
This is not how it is was going to go.
Our version of justice is, thankfully, not what we would come to find in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. And that is not what we are waiting for today. This season of Advent we wait not for the conquering Warrior King, but the humble child to be born to a teenage mother. He is born on the bottom side of every imaginable worldly power and would offer a humble life punctuated by suffering as the way to our salvation. His work in the small acts of intimacy and grace would echo in the halls of power forever. His power was in his weakness, joining those on the margins giving them hope and mercy.
John speaks to us this advent season from a cell, where, he sits imprisoned by empire. We join John this morning in waiting for the Messiah to come, to be God with us. To remember again how we are freed from that which binds us. To celebrate the ongoing mystery of Grace, the gift of the incarnate God to us. Let us wait with joy for this coming, and celebrate how it was meant to be.
Amen