A Mantle of Peace
Our CEO, Scott Sanders introduces our "Being Present" Advent series with a reflection from Isaiah on what it means to pursue peace during this season.
Cass Langton, Creative Pastor at Hillsong Church, reflects on the promise of a Just King and the calling for the Church to creatively reflect God's redemptive plan.
The first Saturday in December is 'Christmas Tree Day' in our family. There's a local farm run by a family in our community who patiently grow and groom the most fragrant fir trees all year in preparation for the four Saturdays in December. Come December 1st, they open their gates (imagine Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and slowly and steadily the cars stream in. Families joyfully select a tree that is then netted up and secured to roof racks or crammed into cars that are already crowded with children. The sausage sizzle man wipes sweat from his brow as he manages the hungry hordes. And we - the Langton family - find themselves amongst it all!
There's something special about the tradition and the expectation of the day. This year preparations to get ourselves out the door, though, caused me to reflect differently on Advent. Tom is our youngest son - he is 11. This year, at the mere mention of heading out to meet our extended family and collect the tree, Tom quickly sorted himself out then went to wait in the car. He waited there passively, not thinking about anyone but himself, well before it was time to leave. The rest of us wrote lists of all that needed to happen, washed the dishes, gave the house a quick tidy, gathered all the things we would need to help bring the tree home, as we waited for the appointed time to draw near. There was much activity - labor, if you will - in expectation of the wait being over and the time coming.
This time of year brings such mixed responses from people. For many of us though, it's a season filled with much activity as we await and prepare for the family, the tree, the meal, in the hope that our romantic expectations of Hollywood movie style Christmas don't give way to the reality of family tensions, awkward interactions, overcooked turkey and coloured plastic decorations.
But of course there's the deeper reality to awaiting and preparing for Christmas for Christians, as we take our place in an ancient faith community that is characterised by awaiting and preparing for something that both is and yet isn't, at the same time. At this time of year, we are reminded of Israel's own waiting in hope and expectation that "YHWH would rescue them and take them into an age of wine and perfection". This is outlined incredibly and poetically in Isaiah 42.1-9:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens,
who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.””
As I've reflected on this passage of scripture personally, one beautiful thing has struck me that I just haven't been able to shake. In this passage the people of God are trying to give voice and expression to the magnitude of YHWH's redemptive plan. That the author, in the midst of awaiting what they hope for, yet attempts to give expression to what is to come. Scholars consider verses 1-4 of this passage to be best described as a song, with verses 5-9 considered to be some type of dramatic or artistic expression. So profound are the thoughts that the author is attempting to communicate about this magnificent redemptive plan, that the author needs more than just words to express their ideas.
As the Creative Pastor at Hillsong Church, I do life in a community that constantly wrestles with the same thing, overseeing many creatives who see the beauty of Jesus Christ, and try to give expression to his redemptive plan. They wrestle to communicate their joy at forgiveness from sin alongside their personal experience of the glaring reality that all with the world is not as it should be. We are a community that is very much aware that, whilst Jesus has proclaimed "it is finished", we are caught in the tension of still awaiting our future hope, and grappling with what that context means for us as people commissioned to bring light into the darkness.
And I have seen this creative community labor intently to bring the Church a song to sing in the season of waiting. To bring songs that provide a way of passing on our common faith, that mobilise believers towards executing justice and extending God's mercy, and that glorify Him so that others see the One to whom all our worship is directed.
Ian Cron says that "the arts help others to see clearly what we all feel vaguely". Maybe in Israel's waiting, like in my own creative community, there was more activity, more music, more singing, more feeling than we might imagine. Maybe the author understood that to help Israel navigate their 'now and not yet' reality - to cultivate the hope required to endure - it would take songs and poetry, art and imagination. That their vision for the future of the servant king needed to be deeply rooted in their hearts and in their song.
It's not clear who Israel thought fulfilled the expectations of "The Servant of the Lord". Yet in our Christmas reflections, we see that this passage seems to point forward to Jesus, the Christ child who's birth we anticipate during Advent, who grew in favour with God and man, shaping his ministry around Israel's Old Testament expectation, and then fulfilling it as the embodiment of their hope and the true and faithful servant that Israel had never succeeded in been.
During Advent, we, the Church, take our direction from the Christmas child, and pause to wonder if there could ever be a time when humanity was more longing for Jesus, the One whom Israel so eagerly awaited and whose song they sung. We make time to ask if the world has ever been more in need of a Church that has Jesus at its head and that reflects his nature and character as our Just King. To hope for a Church that is truly present in a waiting world - embodying his justice by extending compassion to the bruised and light to those in darkness - to the marginalised, broken, affluent and famous alike - whether they are found in Aleppo or in refugee camps, in detention centres, or homes caught in the horror of domestic violence.
As Shane Claiborne writes in his Common Prayer, "this waiting is not a passive waiting. It is an active waiting. As any expectant mother knows, this waiting also involves preparation, exercise, nutrition, care, prayer, work; and birth involves pain, blood, tears, joy, release, community. It is called labor for a reason. Likewise, we are in a world pregnant with hope, and we live in the expectation of the coming of God’s kingdom on earth. As we wait, we also work, cry, pray, ache; we are the midwives of another world."
Therefore, if we are to be the midwives of another world that we await and hope for, may this season find us not merely consumed by consumerism, or passively waiting in the car to get a Christmas tree whilst others labour and prepare. Instead, may we be found this Advent, to be truly present in our world - consumed by compassion, actively waiting, prayerful, and generous. And might we be found to be singing songs of redemption that bring light into the darkness, declaring that this is Christmas and Hope has come.
Cass Langton is the Creative Director for Hillsong Church. Image credit: Maria Shanina
42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
Our CEO, Scott Sanders introduces our "Being Present" Advent series with a reflection from Isaiah on what it means to pursue peace during this season.
Shane Fenwick, a Case Manager with Mission Australia and postgraduate theological student, reflects on his time in Jerusalem and the importance of making space for others this Christmas.
Bella Beach, a 17 year old student at Pacific Hills Christian School, reminds us in the midst of our Christmas planning to remember God's master plan.
Cass Langton, Creative Pastor at Hillsong Church, reflects on the promise of a Just King and the calling for the Church to creatively reflect God's redemptive plan.
Jane Kennedy from UnitingWorld reflects on her recent time in Indonesia and points us to hope and anticipation in the midst of pain and suffering.
Erin Sessions, writer and lecturer at Morling Theological College, challenges us to break down walls of exclusion this Christmas.
Waka Waka woman and Common Grace's Aboriginal Spokesperson, Brooke Prentis, exchanges the bitterness of 2016 for God's hope and love this Advent, and invites us all to do likewise
Mike Gore, CEO of Open Doors Australia, invites us to be present with the persecuted church and challenges us to share the most precious gift we have.
Jacob Sarkodee from St Jude's, Melbourne and Anglican Overseas Aid reflects on the reality of God's presence during this season.
Tim Costello from World Vision Australia, reflects on how we can learn from John the Baptist, and become non-conforming heralds of an unconventional, gracious and present God.
Byron Smith - Ecological Ethicist and Anglican Assistant Minister - reflects on his battle with cancer, the fear that accompanies living in the shadow of death, and God's peace that breaks with the dawn.
Susan Sohn - Host of GetRealLive Radio and the co-host of Real Talk Radio - reflects on her year of discovering the presence of God in quietness, and the challenges that families face in the Christmas season.
Kristyn Crossfield, Director ACTU Leadership Programs and Common Grace Board Member, reflects on Mary's song from her own perspective as a mother.
Julie McCrossin - journalist, broadcaster and Elder at South Sydney Uniting Church - reflects on the women of Christmas and what we can learn about being open to the incomprehensible; emotionally engaged in the practical; and responsive to our powerful, trinitarian God.
Dr Mick Pope from Ethos explores what a first century Jewish teen girl can teach a 21st century middled aged white male.
Rachel Neary - who works in Community Development and Training at Alice Springs Women's Shelter and is a key member of Common Grace's Domestic and Family Violence Justice Team - writes about being present in the mess of life this Advent.
Good Samaritan Sister Elizabeth Delaney, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), reflects on witnessing to the love and mercy of Jesus, the Incarnate Word.
Joel Houston, Worship Leader in Hillsong UNITED and Lead Pastor at Hillsong NYC, reflects on Advent, Jesus and Batman.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist Safina Stewart, together with Brooke Prentis, contemplates the spiritual art of welcome this advent.
River Bennett & Bel Pangburn - birth photographers at 'The First Hello' - reflect on being present to the wonder of the night when Jesus was born.
Jarrod McKenna, the Teaching Pastor at Westcity Church and Co-Founder of First Home Project, reflects on the agony and the holiness of real hope this Christmas.
Father Shenouda Mansour - General Secretary for the NSW Ecumenical Council, and a Priest in the Coptic Orthodox Church - considers our common calling to live a life of grace, as Christ is born in our hearts.
Tamie Davis - a missionary in Tanzania with CMS Australia, partnering with the Tanzanian Fellowship of Evangelical students - reflects on the heartache of being away from her Aussie homeland at Christmas, and determines to be truly present in her Tanzanian community.
Kylie Beach, Common Grace's Communications Director, closes our Advent Series with a celebration of Christ's birth as good news for all. Even animals.