On the Threshold

From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul

On the Threshold – Breaking into new life

Advent 2 4th December 2011 The Ven Judith Hardie

• Psalm 40
• 1 Kings 22:1-28
• Romans 15:4-13

http://wellingtoncathedral.org.nz/index.php/Sermons

November is over – we are into the December weeks of the year and I find the sense of being surrounded by endings and new beginnings is inescapable. Closing events are changing lives all around us. Whether we observe the countrywide phenomena of adjustments that always accompany our triennial elections or note the significance of school year endings for the young people of our nation, we cannot avoid watching or experiencing lives on the threshold of new beginnings.

For those of us caught up in the liturgical life of the Church, Advent Sunday ushered in the beginning of yet another year of life to be lived in and through Jesus Christ. What an amazing experience the Darkness to Light service was last week as we heard the ancient scriptures unfolding God’s promise of new life, filling us with the anticipation of recalling the birth of the Christ child in just four week’s time. Liturgists and choir enhanced the atmosphere of expectation with words of worship used by some for almost a thousand years and the voice of the organ swept us up in moments of both grandeur and contrasting stillness which made me, for one, glad to be present to worship with others in this great cathedral. I left truly feeling I was at the threshold of Christmas and all it encompasses.

Now, the second Sunday in Advent is here giving us the time, the opportunity to prepare ourselves to cross the Christmas threshold and relive the wonder of God’s son born for us. The Psalmist sets us on the path as the words of Psalm 40 give thanks for God’s guidance and supportive strength through life events that threatened to be overwhelming – yet included too are words in which the Psalmist acknowledges a need for God’s help to overcome his personal sinfulness and the troubles such actions have brought. The conviction in the psalm of God’s presence never wavers however: “I am poor and needy but the Lord takes thought for me.” The Lord will hear his cry and because of this the Psalmist can go forward with his life.

This is important isn’t it? Each of us knows our particular weaknesses, the things we wish we had or had not done. Yet we too can say with conviction that through the forgiveness and the grace of God that was shown to us in Jesus Christ, we can be confident that new beginnings can be made. We can stand tall and whole to approach our particular thresholds of new life. The importance of this cannot be overemphasised. It is the first vital teaching to remember in these Advent weeks of preparation.

Next we heard the long lesson from the First Book of Kings where we meet Micaiah, the prophet of God’s word who has the courage to stand up against all the ecstatic prophets who, agreeing with the prophet Zedekiah’s prophecy, ‘go with the flow’ and join with him in proclaiming that King Ahab and the Israelites will be successful in the coming battle against the Assyrians. On the other hand, Micaiah, called upon by the Judean King Jehoshaphat to give his prophecy, foretold disaster for Israel, a prophetic word that earned him a prison sentence. If we had read on further we would have heard that Micaiah indeed conveyed the word of God. Ahab was killed and the Israelites scattered in the battle into which they entered.

But what has this to do with the theme of crossing thresholds – of making new beginnings? I believe it embodies the second of the teachings important to us tonight. At the threshold of change, seeking and obeying God’s direction in our lives may not bring us to paths of ease and comfort. In Micaiah’s prophecy King Ahab was condemned for leading a nation away from God’s ways. Micaiah confronted him with God’s truth and in so doing portrayed a transitional moment in prophetic history. He, unlike the ecstatic prophets, was not swayed by nationalism or the desire to please the King or populace. He listened, interpreted and proclaimed God’s judgement on the people and was prepared to suffer in order to bring about change in peoples’ perception and understanding of God.

It is from this action comes the second teaching to take into the coming weeks: do not be swayed by popular opinion but after taking time to prepare for the future through prayer and contemplation of God’s word to us in the scriptures, then act – even if the transition to God’s ways brings alienation from others.

As I read the second reading for tonight I realised that this is what Paul was urging the Romans to do. He knew clearly the importance of finding God’s ways through study of the ancient scriptures. The very coming of Jesus Christ, the gift of God to the world, was promised to the ancient patriarchs of Israel and Judah through the words of the prophets. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction so that by steadfastness and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”

At Christmas we can recall and relive the joy of God’s promise fulfilled, we can cross that threshold of doubt and uncertainty in the sure and certain knowledge that Jesus Christ, Son of God, was born as one of us. We may not understand how – but if, as we look back in looking forward, we may discern why and when this really happened. This is what gives us hope and assurance of God’s presence in our lives today. It is our third teaching for tonight.

Time and my ignorance of your paths in life prevent me from exploring the thresholds of daily living with which you might be faced at present. The writer and poet, John O’Donohue, had a deep understanding of such times. Those times when, whether we like it or not, we are called to step out and make new beginnings:

Looking back along life’s journey, you come to see how each of the central phases of your life began at a decisive threshold where you left one way of being and entered another. A threshold is not simply an accidental line that happens to separate one region from another. It is an intense frontier that divides a world of feeling from another. Often a threshold becomes clearly visible only once you have crossed it. Crossing it can often mean the total loss of all you enjoyed while on the other side; it becomes a dividing line between the past and the future. More often than not, the reason you cannot return to where you were is that you have changed; you are no longer the one who crossed over.

This holds the essence of the challenges of change, thresholds that may be crossed in confidence if we remember the three teachings before us tonight. The first, God’s grace is with us to bring forgiveness and strength for new beginnings. The second, the decisions we make may not always be comfortable, but if they have been worked through in the light of the experience of faith filled men and women through the centuries, the thresholds we cross will be with God. And finally, although crossing the threshold and making the decision means that life will never be the same again, we can go forward in hope in the strength of God.

As we approach the threshold of Christmas, I leave you with Paul’s words: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.