December 12, 2019
Sermon Notes for Worship on December 15, 2019
By Rev. Anne J. Scalfaro
On this third Sunday of Advent, we meet Cyrus, the king of Persia. He arrives in Babylon with a very different concept of empire; he gives great freedom to his vassals. His policies were welcomed by the exiled Judeans, who, according to the first part of Ezra, were eager to return home, to restore their community, and to rebuild.
And – believe it or not - Cyrus makes the proclamation they’ve all been waiting for! He tells them to go home (with great blessings) and to rebuild; this is something refugees don’t even dare to dream about! Has Christmas come early? Is this too good to be true? Well, no – it’s not too good to be true. It’s real. But with reality comes complexity, of course.
As the people return home and begin to rebuild the Temple it is an emotional scene. It’s a joyous festival of celebration, quite fitting on this Sunday of JOY in Advent. And yet, along with the people who are rejoicing at what has come to pass, there are people who are mourning too – those who remember and grieve what was lost. It is a very human moment that we can relate too. Often we simplify joy as happiness and celebration, but it can be an ambiguous emotion at times – holding both hope and grief in the same moment.
Join us on Sunday as explore the complex emotions of what it means to be a people of Joy during Advent; we’ll honor the pain of what has been lost in the past year even as we await the fulfillment of the Messiah with Joy and Hope.