Homily for a CreatureKind Advent Service

This homily was written and delivered by Ashley M. Lewis for the CreatureKind Advent Service in December 2020.

Scriptures from the Fourth Week of Advent

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 (NRSV)

7:1 Now when the king (David) was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." 3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; 9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house… 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

This is the Word of God, for the community of God. Thanks be to God. 

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Homily for a CreatureKind Advent Service

By Ashley Lewis

An angel shows up at the house of a young woman and says she will be given a son, who will be called “Son of the Most High.” This son will be given the throne of David and will reign over the house of Jacob with an everlasting kingdom.

What a terrifying, puzzling, mysterious, wonderful, beautiful promise? 

A throne. A kingdom. An everlasting reign. For nothing will be impossible with God.

Hearing these words from God’s messenger, Mary must have considered the lineage into which she was now birthing her son. The very lineage that we read about in 2 Samuel. David, the favored son of God, who was brought up out of the pasture to a palace, to become king of Israel. Whose son built the temple, the house of God. The promise God made to David, and to Jacob before him, would be fulfilled in Jesus the son of Mary.

So, perhaps she thought her royal treatment would begin promptly! Maybe she envisioned the kingdoms of the world crumbling at her feet as her son grew from boy to man. Maybe she thought that upon Jesus’s birth, the house of God would begin to overshadow the palaces of Rome and that she would come to live as a queen in a new dynasty. She might have imagined that under the rule of her son, fairness and equity and justice would prevail, and that despair, poverty, and idolatry would no longer have a place in the world. The corrupt empires that exploit humans, animals, and the earth would be abolished. She probably thought Jesus would deliver them from homelessness and wandering into an everlasting home with God, where all Creation would be at peace.

Is that the vision that made Mary say yes? If she knew what Jesus’s life would really be like, would she have said, “Let it be with me, according to your word?”

Because Jesus never occupied an earthly throne. His kingdom did not appear to break the hold Rome had over the world. In fact, he didn’t ever even stay in one place, much less have a palace. He wandered. He was a traveler. As a man, he had no place to lay his head and was not welcomed even in his hometown. As a baby, he was born in someone else’s house and given a feedbox for a bed.

The house where Jesus was born was most likely a distant relative of Joseph. And contrary to popular thought, Jesus and his parents were not made to stay in a stable, outside. Stables didn’t exist in first century Palestine. Instead, the common room of the house, on the first level, was where humans and animals lived together. It would have been preferable and much more appropriate for guests like Mary and Joseph to be given the guest room, upstairs, where they could have privacy. But all the guest rooms in town were occupied, so this family-member who welcomed Mary and Joseph gave them what they had:

A corner of the common room.

Warmth.

Bread.

Prayers.

A place to sleep. 

And when Jesus made his appearance into the world as a human child, even the animals gave up what they had for him. The manger, where they were used to seeing hay and feed, was now occupied by a baby.

Perhaps the sheep and the goats were perplexed by Jesus’s presence in their trough. Surely, they’d be wondering where their food was, staring at him, smelling him and the space all around him, pondering why he’s occupying the place where their dinner should be. Like our pets when we move their food bowl.

I’d like to think Jesus’s presence pacified them in their confusion. This child would later offer his body up for the sin of the world, breaking bread, pouring wine, shedding his own blood, and indoctrinating creation into a new covenant with God.

But, long before Jesus sat at the table and broke bread with his disciples, he laid among the animals—in place of their food.

Watching over Jesus on the night of his birth, Mary must have wondered when all these grand promises were supposed to start coming true, as the angel said? How would such a house be established? When would Jesus take the throne? How would God get them from here to there? What would it be like to be given a place all their own, planted in the presence of the Lord, and disturbed no more by the corrupt forces of the world? When would they be delivered from pasture into paradise?

Let it be, Lord, according to your word!

When we envision God's kingdom coming to life in this world, we often imagine it taking place in the grandest way. We suppose the so-called powers and principalities will crack and crumble, as a new, just ruler takes the throne.

But our God is prone to wander, from place to place, in a tent and a tabernacle, not afraid to seek shelter in someone else’s house or among the animals, taking up residence in the unlikeliest of places… in a crowded room, sharing bread and warmth and prayers, reclining at the table, or in the manger, where human and non-human alike can bear witness to this new sort-of kin-dom.   

The thing about Emmanuel—God with us—is that if God’s going to be with us, God’s gotta be able to go where we go.

Emmanuel—God with us—is at home in our hearts and at our tables. In our mess, and in the messes we make. God can’t be locked away in a palace, or a white house, or on a throne. God of Creation is at home in creation, with creation.

In the skies and in the oceans. In the cities and in the countryside. In the stars above our heads and in the earth beneath our feet.

In a manger. In a crowded family room. In the company of humans and non-humans. In the wild places and in our domestic comforts, whether welcomed or estranged.

God takes up residence where hope is needed the most. With the homeless. With the oppressed. With the depressed.

In the slaughterhouses and on the killing room floor. In the prisons and at the borders. In the fields, and in the factories.

What a terrifying, puzzling, mysterious, wonderful, beautiful promise. 

A manger. A savior. An everlasting reign. For nothing will be impossible with God.

Let it be with me according to your word.

An Advent Reflection: Instruments of Peace for All Creatures

by Tim Mascara

On December 4, 1959, Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich presented a bronze statue to the United Nations, titled Let Us Beat Our Swords into Plowshares. The sculpture is an image of a man beating a sword into a plowshare, meant to symbolize humankind's desire to end war—the desire to take the tools of violence and war and turn them into tools for peace, tools to benefit humankind rather than harm it. The statue still stands, now green from tarnish, in the northern gardens of the UN headquarters.

This transformational image of turning swords into plowshares is a recurrent theme in Scripture.

"He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning forks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." -Isaiah 2:4

"He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." -Micah 4:3

"You will laugh at violence and famine, and need not fear the wild animals. For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. -Job 5:22-23

These are prophecies of something to come. A peace that is distant, far off, not yet realized. It is a peace for which this "weary world rejoices." In light of Isaiah's prophecy, we are called to confess how we have not been peaceful in various aspects of our lives. We take the time to confess because we need to acknowledge violence was never a part of God's ideal for the world, and yet it plagues us.

…we are called to confess how we have not been peaceful in various aspects of our lives. We take the time to confess because we need to acknowledge violence was never a part of God's ideal for the world, and yet it plagues us.

Isaiah uses other metaphors to illustrate just how foreign violence and death should be to our world. In Isaiah 11, he prophecies of the wolf living with the lamb, lions with calves, leopards with goats, and lions eating straw like the ox. Even the tools that animals used for violence, claws and sharp fangs, seem to be no longer used in this way. Isaiah prophesies of a child leading these predatory animals, feeding bears and playing near cobra dens. Of course, right now, trying this might not be the best idea. But what a thought! Not only will peace reign in human affairs, but across the entirety of creation and including all God's creatures.

I cannot help but wonder what the relationship between humanity and the animal kingdom will look like. If there are no more swords, no more violence, no more death, could there be no more killing between species, too?

Some may argue peace won't reign in the animal kingdom, that predators will always be predators. I understand how faithful Christians differ on these issues, yet I struggle to see how there could have been predation before the Fall if Genesis 1:30 really means what I think it means.

"Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.' And it was so." -Genesis 1:29-30

The reign of peace and flourishing across all creation—what Hebrews call "shalom"—seems to have been God's original intention for the created order. And Christ entered into this world to begin bringing that heavenly kingdom to bear on our broken, violent, sword-wielding and war-torn world. I believe this peace will affect humans and animals alike.

I see this in other places in Scripture that point to a future peace as well. Over and over again, Scripture underscores how deeply God cares for creation:

"In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety." -Hosea 2:18

"And should I not have great concern for the city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?" -Jonah 4:11

We know that Christ has ushered in the new kingdom now, but not yet fully. This is the tension in which we now live. We celebrate Christ's first coming, yet we hope for Christ's second coming to bring the fullness of joy, love, and peace.

So where am I going with this? Even though we live in this tension, I believe we can still put into practice some of the aspects of the Kingdom of God. Even as we pray the Lord's prayer, we can remember that even now, we can begin living and acting in ways that cause small breakthroughs of peace into our world.

To pray, "…Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," is to pray that God's peaceable Kingdom will now begin to be partially realized in our world. I believe it is beginning to not only ask that Christ's peace will one day reign, but that we may become agents of Christ's peace today. If we are praying these words regularly, we must begin pondering how we are to see this in our own lives.

I think a valuable way of assessing this question is looking to Isaiah, and to symbolic ways we can live in peace rather than in violence. One suggestion might be eating a greener, more plant-based diet as a small, specific way we can practice peace today. Even as I ponder how we have not been instruments of peace, I wonder if this small act could begin, at least in part, beating our swords into plowshares.

I find it hard to believe that the images we see in Isaiah, at creation, and in the covenant God makes between man and animal are merely analogies. Could they not be glimpses of reality as it once was, and what it will one day be again? Could my choice to eat less meat be a small act of the coming peaceable kingdom?

Have you pondered how small actions and small practices can influence much larger events? Christ encourages this way of thinking by declaring that someone who can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much. This principle can be applied in many ways, one of which I believe is that small acts have the power to influence much greater acts. Perhaps choosing something different on your plate could be a small and subtle way to influence your interaction with someone else in your life. Perhaps choosing compassion for one of God's creatures could be a tool for the Holy Spirit to soften your heart toward a difficult or stressful family member. What if choosing to practice peace at the table could begin to train our hearts toward the coming peace, when the Kingdom is finally and fully realized?

What if choosing to practice peace at the table could begin to train our hearts toward the coming peace, when the Kingdom is finally and fully realized?

I understand that Christians differ on these issues, and even on their views of peace regarding the animal kingdom. I personally believe that the Garden was, and the coming Kingdom will be, a place without violence or death for all who have lifeblood. I believe that the images we see in Isaiah are glimpses of the large arc from creation through the fall and to final redemption. This affects my interpretation on how the coming kingdom is played out in my day to day life. Places like factory farms do not only harbor darkness, despair, and pain for animals, but also for fellow humans who have to work in those environments and for God's good earth. 

Finally, while I am writing that the act of eating a plant-based diet can be an act of peace, the goal for all of us who follow Christ is to ask how we might begin practicing God's Kingdom now. Whether it concerns the choices we make on our plates, our politics, how we relate to our family, or any number of the myriad decisions we make over the course of our lifetimes, the question is still: How can I be an instrument of peace?

Tim Mascara is an Associate Pastor at StoneBridge Church Community. He lives in Davidson, NC with his wife and two young boys. This article was originally published by Evangelicals for Social Action and is reprinted here with permission.