Laying the Foundation (Advent 2, Year C)

Philippians1: 3 – 11 * Luke 1: 57 – 80

Last week, I told you a bit about my childhood home.  It is currently on the market – we’ve struggled a bit with its sale.  I mean – it is an old home, occupied for so many years by one family.  My father always said that post-World War 2 construction was kind of lackluster because builders were throwing up houses as fast as they could to meet the expanding population and the move out of cities into the suburbs. He used to mutter about the use of 2x4s instead of 2x6s for the framing. The lack of insulation. Poorly hung windows…much of which he remedied in his handy lifetime.

 

Recently an inspection turned up a problem with one of the walls in the basement.  Never in my lifetime was that basement perfectly dry.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a dry basement.  Living on the southern end of Lake Michigan, most houses are built on former swampland (not unlike Washington, DC). The heavy black soil holds moisture. In stormy seasons, there was often a trickle of water across the basement floor.

 

But it was ok for our needs. The foundation was strong enough. It held the frame of the house steady and strong.  Over time it has shown some faults. It needs repairs. It is a new era. It has worked hard since before my parents took ownership in ’63.  

 

Fingers crossed – with some repair work and revitalization in 2021, there will soon be a new occupant at 2424 Hart Street, with components of a fresh foundation.

 

This week, we’re talking about laying the foundation for what is to come – about the people who laid the foundation for the coming of Jesus and for the ongoing work today of laying the foundation for people to know Christ’s love and presence in their life.

 

In our gospel text from Luke’s first chapter, we come mid-stream into the story of Elizabeth, Zechariah and their miraculous baby boy whom they name John. 

 

It’s worth backing up a bit to remember the fullness of the story.  Zechariah is a priest, Elizabeth his wife has been unable to conceive.  They have lived a blameless life, righteous, upright and law-abiding, the text tells us.  But one day as Zechariah enters the sanctuary to perform his priestly duties, an angel of the Lord appears.

 

The angel Gabriel tells him that his wife Elizabeth will bear him a son which he is to name John.  That son will have the spirit and power of Elijah and will turn many back to God.  He will prepare people for the coming of the Messiah.  

 

And…because Zechariah has the nerve to ask how he can trust this to be true, the angel renders Zechariah mute until all the things he has explained about the baby come to pass.  

 

It turns out, Elizabeth does conceive…and while she is pregnant, she is visited by her relative Mary, a young girl who has also miraculously conceived.

 

We enter the story shortly after Mary’s announcement to Elizabeth, just as Elizabeth and Zechariah have welcomed their son and are preparing to circumcise him on his eighth day. Just as he was about to be named after for father Zechariah, Elizabeth – who hadn’t been visited by Gabriel and hadn’t been told what to name her son – announces that he will be named John, a name that is NOT a family name.  

And when all of this comes to pass, Zechariah, who has been silent since Gabriel made it so, is suddenly able to speak again. The first thing he does is to offer praise to God – and that praise includes prophecy…

 

…prophecy that includes the hope of rescue from enemies, the ability to serve God without fear, and a child who will go before the Lord – go before the Messiah to share news of salvation and forgiveness. 

 

Prophecy is not so much about future telling; it is about speaking God’s truth into the moment, into the here and now. In this story, people lay the foundation for what is to come by sharing the words given to them by God. This is their prophetic act.

 

Zechariah and Elizabeth lay a foundation for the work of their son John, the one who comes before the Messiah who is to come.

 

These words from Zechariah’s song particularly touched my spirit this week:

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the most high…you will go before to prepare the way…”

 

Next week, we’ll hear more about how John lays the foundation for Jesus’ message of God’s love and salvation.  That work of laying the foundation, of preparing the way is hard and dangerous work for John…but we get ahead of ourselves.

 

This week, will you ponder something with me?

 

Who is it that has laid the foundation for your life? For your faith? For your relationship with God?

 

And maybe, at what different points in your life was that foundation shaken? 

 

And how was it strengthened?

 

I remember sitting through confirmation classes – always a mix of learning and fun – with Rev. Glen Berg, my childhood pastor for 18 years. He always welcomed questions.

 

I remember getting to sing the third verse of Joy to the World as a solo on Christmas eve during my senior year of high school… “no more let sins or sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground…he comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found…”

 

I remember Charlie and Nan stepping up to embrace my kids as if they were their own grandchildren, being the embodiment of love in action when the confusion of divorce threatened to overwhelm all of us.

 

I remember sitting in a Hebrew bible class learning about wisdom from a wise teacher – and feeling like everything I had experienced suddenly meant so much more.

 

These are just some places where I know foundations were being formed, repaired, restored, strengthened.

 

What about you?

 

And beyond pondering those who laid the foundation for your life, for your faith, for your relationship with God, will you also ponder this?

 

How is it that you are called to be laying a foundation in others’ lives?

 

Maybe it is in your own family or on your own block.

Maybe it is right here in the community of Faith, shepherding a small group, or staying in touch with a group of people who need connection.

Maybe it is in your workplace. Or your classroom. 

Maybe it is with young people. Or maybe it is with aging folks who are tired of the race they’ve run.

 

And finally, will you ponder this: how is it that we, as the community of Faith, are called to lay aside distractions in order to lay foundations for other’s connection to God the Father, Son, Spirit?

 

The work of prophesy, the work of speaking God’s truth into the here and how – into the lives of others, lays the foundation for Christ entering in… It is work we do not do of our own will and our own knowledge, but it is work we are called to do with words and visions and ideas that are spoken into our lives when we quiet down enough to listen, when we take time to soak in God’s word – both as it is written in our scriptures and as it shows up in the lived moments of our lives.

 

As I wrote this message this week, I was reminded of my earliest understanding of my call – to help people give voice to the deepest questions of their heart.  My call has never been about answers. It has always been to drawing out curiosity and wonder and drive to know God more deeply. My call has to do with laying foundations. I suspect each of us is called into this work in some capacity. 

 

In the week to come, I pray you will think on these things. And that you will share what shows up.

 

I close with these words from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi:

 

⁶ I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰ to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹ having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

 

May it be so.

Amen.