Advent

Third Sunday in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

“Stir up thy power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, …let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord…”(160)

The above prayer comes from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. It is a common yearning that we find in the Scriptures, and in the liturgy. We are praying to be delivered, and that the delivery might come speedily! Oh how often we forget the words of the 23rd Psalm. David reminds us that our delivery comes through the valleys, not from them. And it seems somehow unfair to read the 23rd psalm without first reading the 22nd, whose powerful words of painful longing were spoken by Christ on the cross.

I love the Psalms. Every human emotion can be found there. If we are bold enough to read all of the psalms, and not just the pretty ones used in most churches, then we can be surprised. The full breadth of the Psalter shows more of our humanness than it does our holiness. And in my life I can be disappointingly human. I can be petty and angry, I can be depressed and lonely, I can even be lustful and covetous; I am only human. Often the prison atmosphere seems to intensify our worst and least attractive traits.

But Jesus didn’t come to give us a life suddenly free of all suffering, or free from all hardships. Jesus did come to endure them with us, to bring us comfort, to direct our gaze again towards the eternal God, and to bring hope. God’s incarnation into flesh shows us not a freedom from life, but a new and joyful existence in this very life. Jesus comes to us, to be with us, and to guide us into this new existence in God. That’s what Christmas is all about.

Come, O Father saving Son, who o’er sin the victory won. Boundless shall your kingdom be; grant that we it’s glories see. (Hymn 54)

Saturday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

O Lord my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me. (Psalm 30:2)

There is great pain in the Hebrew Bible, in the laments, in the prophets, and in the psalms. Throughout all of the pain is a sure confidence in the deliverance of the Lord. But not all of our hopes will be realized on this side of heaven. That is a true and painful reality. Yet we live in hope. We cannot give up on hope because it is not enough just to survive.

In prison you cannot even try to do God’s work preaching a message of mere survival and morality. We must preach, teach, live, and show forth hope. And this hope cannot simply be an empty hope of freedom or material things. The hope that guides us and gives direction is a hope that comes only through, and from, God.

I daydream of blue waters and open seas, but even more I daydream of living my life over again, living it better. And it is a painful truth I must live with that my crimes can never be undone; they can never be satisfied; there will never be complete healing, and I may never see freedom. I have watched too many men in here die, old and forgotten, to be able to deny that possible reality.

But the hope endures. Hope has been called the most dangerous thing in prison, and it is. It is also the most liberating.

In God all our hopes and dreams will find fulfillment

No eye has known the sight, no ear has heard such delight: Alleluia! Therefore we sing to greet our king; forever let our praises ring. (Hymn 61)

Friday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

Thus you witness against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. (Matthew 23:31-32)

If God were to hold the full measure of our wrongdoing against us, who could possibly stand? And if the sins of our ancestors were added to that tally, we would be condemned indeed. These words of Christ do not sound much like a welcome, and come instead as a warning. It is a common expression in here that if we were to be sentenced for every crime we had committed, then we would all be serving multiple life sentences.

During this time of year we like to throw parties. As a free man my family often threw big and wonderful parties during the holidays. Before each party we spent days cleaning the house, polishing the furniture , and washing the crystal. Preparing our house was a way to honor the coming guests.

Unfortunately many men in here recognize the honor and majesty of Christ, without recognizing the loving mercy. They know very well their crimes and sins, and insist that their lives would need serious spiritual housecleaning before Christ would be willing to enter in. But Christ loves us so much that he enters our lives when they are broken and messy. He comes to the site of the party weeks in advance, when the dirty laundry is on the floor and the dishes have spots. He loves us so much that he comes, and then he helps clean up the mess we have made of our lives.

These words of warning are also words of invitation. There is no cleaning that we could do to clean up our sins, or the ‘measure of our fathers.’ In the midst of brokenness and strife, God speaks warning, but brings healing.

Lo! The Lamb, so expected, comes with pardon down from heaven; let us haste, with tears of sorrow, one and all to be forgiven; (Hymn 59)

Thursday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested. (Revelation 2:10)

Prison is horrible. Prison is a deeply and profoundly negative experience that wounds and damages people. But not all people. As much as it is difficult, for some people prison is a test, and an opportunity. Prison can be a chance for society to seek healing and punishment for the penitent, and for the penitent to seek wholeness.

But that does not happen without the presence of God. Prison has often been likened to a church or monastery, but it isn’t. Church lifts you up and directs your gaze towards heaven; prison crushes you down, and grinds you to the depths of pain and longing. But yet, when God is present, it can be transforming.

In this barren desert a highway can be formed. In the barrenness of a concrete cell, on the arid stone of a human heart, something blooms. When nothing else works, where nothing else can go, then we notice God’s presence.

Each of us must discover on our own who Christ is. Each of us must be willing to meet Christ, and if we are willing to invite God in then we must be ready to accept what God is offering. C. S. Lewis once said that God accepts us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us as we are. When Christ is here, then everything is different.

Any time can be a test, and God is here with us. With God’s constant presence then every moment and circumstance can be transformed. This simple presence is the greatest gift we could imagine. In prison the presence of God, and the presence of loved ones, is the greatest Christmas gift there is.

Give the transforming gift of your presence this year.

The King shall come when morning dawns and light triumphant breaks: when beauty gilds the eastern hills and life to joy awakes. (Hymn 73)

Wednesday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

When I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one:” (Revelation 1:17-18)

I have feared the courts, the judges, and the authorities. I have feared the condemnation of my friends and family. I have feared the pain of my victims, not just the direct victims of my crimes; but also so many collateral victims. Everybody who has been touched by my crimes, even police, judges, and the prison guards are victims. When I first saw the movie ‘The Passion” I was captivated not just by the graphic portrayal of what Christ endured, but by the unspeakable pain on the faces of the two Mary’s. I see the pain on Jesus’ mother’s face, and I think to the painful cries from my mother and fiancé on the day that I was sentenced. I think of what my parents endure everyday that I am in prison. They are my victims in new ways on every missed holiday, on every missed birthday, on every day.

The pain of Mary before the cross was not just the pain of a mother seeing the torture of her son. She, better than any of us, knows the amazing divine identity of Jesus. She sees not just the infant she nursed and raised, but she also sees her God abused and crucified. It is her faith, her hope, and her God that is hung on the cross and killed.

But it was allowed by God, and only for a time. Fear not. Christ is the Living One. Holy. Eternal. Resurrected Savior. The Christ born this Christmas is beyond time, before it and after it, eternally reigning with the Father; he died and conquered death.

Christ hung on the cross for all the crimes that I have done, but Christ came down to live with all of the victims, and to bring healing to them and to me. Fear not Mary; Fear not us, Christ is here.

Herald, sound the note of judgment, warning us of right and wrong, turning us from sin and sadness till once more we sing the song. (Hymn 70)

Tuesday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

…Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is He?” (Matthew 22:41-42)

Whom do you say that Christ is? That seems like an easy question, but what do you secretly expect or long for in God?

There are so very many people who become Christians expecting an easy life. They suddenly expect their worldly troubles to disappear and for life to be easy. Unfortunately there are many preachers out there who are preaching a ‘health and wealth’ gospel that tells this lie.

Such a faith will not cut it in here. Men who become Christians and expect the court decision to suddenly go their way are often disappointed and fall away. They expect Christianity to be an easy life, and then must ask where is their faith when the parole board turns them down, or their children and spouse leave, or a family member dies? Where is God when our prayers go unanswered? Where was God when I committed my crimes?

It is the great gift that Jesus is the Messiah who has come to us, but following Christ does not make our lives easy or pain free. Emmanuel, Christ is with us, is a Christ who does not free us from hard times, but rather dwells with us in them. Where is God when it hurts and doesn’t make sense? God is right here. And in our longing and barrenness a faith is born that changes everything. In the midst of that need, great joy can be experienced and lived. It may not change the hardship of our lives, but God’s comfort brings hope. It brings peace, and it makes a path for us to return to God.

Who do you say Christ is? I say Christ is here.

Savior of the nations come! Virgin’s Son, make here your home. Marvel now, both heaven and earth, that the Lord choose such a birth. (Hymn 54)

Monday, Second Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

Grace to you and Peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come. (Revelation 1:4)

When was the last time that you had a concrete chance to minister the Gospel in your actions? I once had a chance that I will always remember.

At the Fairfax Jail the chaplain came to our bible study with the story of David. He was in jail, probably for a few months, and he was destitute. He didn’t even have any underwear (it had been confiscated for ‘security reasons’) and had no friend to help him out. I called my mother and fiancé, and the next day they went shopping and dropped off some things for David.

A week later, as I was moving cells to another part of the jail, I met a man standing by the elevators with a small sheet wrapped around his few possessions. Even from a distance I could feel the pain and hurt radiating from him. I saw a bible in his hand, and we talked briefly. He was being moved to the Christian pod, (I had been banned from it because of my crime and sentence) and he was testifying to the anonymous blessing he had received in some clothes and underwear. But he was crying as he talked to me, saying that in the whole world he had not a single friend, at least not one that cared that he was in jail. “Well” I told him “you’ve got one now,” and I gave him a hug.

David only stayed in jail for a few months, and he still cried a lot during that time. But he was looked out for by many of the Christians, and left a much stronger man than he had been when he arrived. I did what little I could to help him, and we stayed friends during that time. I heard from him a few times once he got out, and he was doing well. It has been years now, but sometimes I still pray for him.

Every day is an opportunity for ministry. In every time and every place we can show the love of God. Today is your chance.

See that your lamps are burning, replenish them with oil; look now for your salvation, the end of sin and toil. (Hymn 68)

Second Sunday in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed His people.” (Luke 1:68)

Redemption, for a prisoner, is often seen only as what happens when we are set free from these bars and fences. The world beyond these walls is idealized, and often idolized. After years of separation and deprivation it is easy to think that redemption will come when you get out and are able to experience the ‘good life’ once again.

When people are released from prison, and are able to realize some of their goals and lusts, they often find themselves just as empty as they were when they were in prison. Many of them come back to prison not because they wanted too much, but because they wanted too little. The ‘good life’ wasn’t very satisfying. We dreamt small dreams, and when we seize the dream we are often just as empty as when we began.

The things of our world are ultimately not enough to satisfy the deepest longings in our hearts. We are finite creatures, and we are made to know and commune with an infinite God. There is nothing in this world that satisfies that need, and there is nothing that is supposed to. God made us to yearn and long for communion with God.

Prisoners, crime victims, combat soldiers, victims of serious illnesses… all people who have been through extreme life changing experiences often realize how empty life is without God.

God is right here in our midst, and God envisions dreams for us that are so much greater then anything we could ever dream on our own. God does not require us to be good enough, or holy enough, only for us to be willing enough. When we seek our fulfillment in this world, we will always be empty, and when we seek our wholeness in God, we will always be filled.

Prepare the way, O Zion, your Christ is drawing near! Let every hill and valley a level way appear. Greet one who comes in glory, foretold in sacred story. (Hymn 65)

Saturday, First Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

And Jesus said to them…, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:20-21)

When Mary accepted God’s call to her, I don’t think that she had any idea what was coming. She risked so much, and lost so much, all for God. Being pregnant and unmarried she risked being rejected by Joseph and her family, she risked being stoned for adultery, she risked being condemned. When Mary traveled to Bethlehem she left her friends and family behind. There would be no midwife to deliver her baby, no family to welcome it, and no village to celebrate, rejoice, and bring gifts.

In all that Mary lost, she willingly gave it up for God. And God, in turn, blessed her so overwhelmingly. With no midwife to announce the birth, God sent the choirs of heavenly angels. With no family to gather, God sent the shepherds. With no village gifts for the child, God sent the wise men bearing gifts for a king. Mary offered up to God what little she had, and God gave it back to her with divine abundance.

We get so caught up in stuff this time of year. We get so focused on things. And I love stuff, I love things. But these things are so incidental to our faith. In my life I have lost so much. And not just lost, I have thrown away, wasted, squandered and destroyed so much. And I think that to some degree we all have. We offer to God what little we have left. And God blesses us, God restores with divine abundance in ways we could never have foreseen.

God restored to Mary, and through Mary’s offering God blessed all of humanity beyond compare. Our God is a loving God of restoration. God restores, and God continues to restore to us.

Born thy people to deliver, born a child, and yet a king, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. (Hymn 66)

Friday, First Week in Advent

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by Matthew B. Harper

Then he said to his servants, ‘the wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find. (Matthew 22:8-9)

The shocking thing about this parable of Christ’s is that we are the latecomers to the banquet. The ones who were out and about in the alleyways and poorhouses that night; those that were brought to the wedding feast and clothed with the festal garments, they are us.

It is humbling to think of ourselves in this context. But it is in this capacity that Christ comes to us, and that God offers us so much. I would rather think that God somehow needs me, but God doesn’t. It is that God wants me! I might think that I can do God’s work, but I can’t. It is the amazing and nearly unspeakable miracle that God wants to do some of God’s work through me!

And just this month as children sit and hope for the gifts of Santa, we must be ready to accept the gifts of God. We must be willing to come before Christ humbled and ready to receive the commissioning that God has for us. If we have talents and skills, then they were only given to us for a purpose. Jesus talks in this parable of giving the guests the wedding garments to wear. What garment has Christ given you? Do you have the humility to accept it? Do you have the courage to wear it?

The poor and destitute are always more ready to receive God’s love. We already know that we cannot make it on our own. All too often we think we can do it ourselves, and we are so wrong. So today I dare you to climb onto the lap of you divine father, and when you are done telling him what you want for Christmas, I dare you to receive and accept what God brings you.

He comes, the prisoners to release – He comes, the broken hearted to bind, the bleeding soul to cure; – let every heart prepare a throne, and every voice a song. (Hymn 71)