The Prophet of Advent

This piece was written by Thom M. Shuman and forwarded to me by BCC. We appreciate your work, Thom..... and, whether it is convenient or not, the Church (as a whole) needs prophets in every age.

The Prophet of Advent: 4th Sunday of Advent

Read Isaiah 43:14-25

It seems to be a common human urge.
To go back: back to some storied past,
some Golden Age, those good ol' days
that we seem to miss.

If the church could only become the way
it was 40 years ago; if schools only would
reinstitute prayer; if society could only
go back to the "simple" life we all knew
as kids. Those are the refrains we sing.

Now look at the song God sings to the
Hebrews in exile in Babylon:
'do not remember the past,
don't think about the good ol' days:
watch and see the new thing I do!'

Instead of parting the sea as he did
before, God will build a highway through
Death Valley. Rather than turning a rock
into a drinking fountain, God will make
living waters readily available; instead of
freedom from slavery, God will take away
their sins.

Will they notice, or grumble that "that's
not the way we have done it in the past"?
Will they pay attention, or write another
book about the Golden Age of Babylon?
Will they sit at home waiting for God
to pass over their houses, or will they be
waiting at the station to board the trian?

We can spend a lot of time reliving
the past, or we can move into God's
future. What will we do?

Prayer

It seems that we look in the wrong place
for you, Holy One. We look backwards
into the past for a glimpse of you, but you
are out there ahead of us, moving forward,
waiting for us to catch up. Help us to set
down what we yearn for, and grasp what
you want to give us - new hopes, new life,
new joy. In Advent hope, we pray. Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman

Thom M. Shuman
Greenhills Community Church, Presbyterian
Cincinnati, Ohio