One of the difficult things about being a pastor is making sure that your own view of Christian theology does not prevent you from giving voice to the whole of Christian theology. While we each have our personal interpretations, in order to be a respectable teacher we must also speak of differing interpretations.
I thought of this as I reflected on last night’s discussion of the Advent 1 lessons. A student raised the feeling that the lessons had some very scary images associated with the coming of Messiah.
Was it my influence, or would the conversation have moved on its own to a more hopeful interpretation of those images? For this is what it did. Moved toward the thought that these scary images are but reminders that nothing can possibly stand in the way of God. Moved away from any suggestion that these images ought to instill fear in us.
There is a part of Christian theology which speaks very openly about being fearful. It is the fear associated with God’s demand for righteousness. It is a fear of being made aware of how distant we are from that righteousness.
Advent is a time to anticipate God’s arrival in our lives. This does not mean that is to be completely void of any examination of our sinfulness. As we celebrate the abundance of God’s gifts in the giving and receiving of presents we must avoid the temptation to ignore the needs of others.
There is a scary side of Messiah’s coming. It is the realization that Messiah will reveal all things – including our abandonment of God’s call to share our bread and offer care to our neighbor.
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