Some of you might have chuckled when you saw this heading - well you might I am very late Advent 2020 has been and gone and we are into the first week of the Christmas season. I wondered if I should simply scrap the idea and give it another shot next year, but I did have something to share, so here is my thought for Advent Four - better late than never.
My intention in these blogs has been to look at the Scriptures in the lectionary prescribed for reading on each of the Advent Sundays, and to draw something from them that speaks to me and I would like to share with you. One of the reasons that this blog has been so slow in coming is that when I looked at the texts for Advent Four I knew what it was that had gripped my attention right off the bat, but it is such a huge thing it was hard and took time for me to get it to together. I cannot promise that I will manage to do so but I will do my best.
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from[a] faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
The Letter to the Romans is divided into two sections. The first eleven chapters are full of doctrine, teaching about God and our relationship with God. The last five chapters are about how as we as Christians need to live, in light of those truths taught in the first part. At the end of the first part, as he does here at the end of the second part, Paul, pretty much puts in writing what he must have done when He was writing the letter - He "explodes" in a proclamation of praise to God. The technical term for these sections is called a doxology. A doxology is defined as 'a liturgical formula of praise to God' - seems a bit clinical and restrained to my mind - I actually think that I would rather call it a song of praise.
Let's look at the Song of Praise at the end of that first part:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?"
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
To be honest I don't think I can add much to what appears in both of those songs, so I shan't.
There are way too many of these in the Bible to look at and study every one, but as this is the Christmas season, I would like to look at one of the songs of praise that is associated with the Christmas story. We are told in the Gospel of Luke that a host of angels, that simply means a whole lot of them, like a squadron or a huge choir, appeared to some shepherds who were on the hillside near Bethlehem, and they heard the Angels sing this song:
Glory to God in the highest
And on earth,
Peace to men (people) on who His favour rests.
This is where the Christmas Carol Gloria in Excelsis Deo comes from.
Psalm 29:1-2 I think, helps me unpack the idea of what it means to praise God.
Here it is: Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.
The word "Ascribe" means to give a reason for something. I ascribe the pain in my foot to the pebble in my shoe (not really - just an example)
So what does it mean to ascribe glory and strength to the Lord? We cannot, in one sense give ANYTHING to God, much less Glory or strength God has all the glory, God has all the strength, we cannot improve God - that is for sure.
To ascribe glory means to give Him what He alone deserves. We don’t add a measure to His glory, but we reflect back to Him the glory that He inherently has - Sean Cole
.https://wcww.southplattesentinel.com/2018/10/16/ascribe-to-the-lord-the-glory-due-his-name/
Some people struggle with the idea that God expects us to worship Him. They think that that is very egotistical to require us to worship Him. Surely, they reason, if he was that great, he would not need us to worship Him. It is not so much that God needs us to praise Him, so much as we need to praise God, our praising God benefits us. As Sean Cole, we reflect back to Him, the Glory that he inherently has. God cannot be improved upon, but we certainly can be and there is something in this worshipping of God that builds us up.
To think of God as egotistical is to think of God as a human. Yes, people who demand to be praised, who admit to no failing or imperfection, who regard themselves as superior to everyone else, who are arrogant and self-centred are indeed egotistical - and much of the sycophantic praise is either because the people are being fake - and the object of their fake-praise has no idea of what they say when they are out of earshot, or it is genuine praise from sadly deluded individuals - the world has seen many such individuals - some who openly claimed to be gods, Like Nero and a cluster of other Roman Emperors, or put themselves forward as God's man of the hour - either in politics as a national leader, or as a religious leader. Hitler was such a person, so I believe was Stalin. I could name people I think fall into that category in the religious sector, but I shall hold my peace on that. And I think we can think of contemporary politicians who fit the egotistical bill, but again, for the sake of neutrality, I will refrain from mentioning names.
However those people are human with human failings - very many of them, and 99% of what is said to or about them is not Friday all.
This is why God is different. Both the Roman doxologies express this truth very clearly. God is above and way beyond anything we can visualise or imagine. God literally IS perfect in every way. God truly is the most wondrous being that exists, and his existence is even more perfect than everything because God is eternal.
To end off this blog I want to share with you a sung version of the Romans 11 doxology.
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