Do you ever get more than you expect? I mean when you expect something does it sometimes happen that you get more than you thought you would? There was a Volkswagen commercial that came out earlier this year. The little kid is dressed like Darth Vader and goes around the house trying to move things with the Force. He tries the washing machine, the family dog, he even tries a little doll—nothing happens and he is discouraged. Then his dad drives in from work and gets out of the car and walks into the house. The little boy positions himself in front of the car. He puts up his hands and concentrates and suddenly the car starts! The little guy jumps back in astonishment. The shot changes to the kitchen window where the father is showing his wife the button for the remote car start. But the little guy out on the driveway pretending to be Darth Vader is in shock! This was more than he expected.
In our gospel reading today the priests and the Levites come from Jerusalem to ask John who he was. They asked him, Are you the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one; the son of David who is going to lead Israel to world prominence; the one who will drive out the Romans and usher in a time of unprecedented prosperity? John says, “No, I am not the Christ.” Are you Elijah, the prophet who called down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel and prayed the rain to stop for three years and then prayed the rain to start again—are you he? John says, “No, I am not Elijah.” Are you the prophet? John says, “No, I am not the prophet.”
The prophet… Who is the prophet? We know who Christ is and we know who Elijah is; who is the prophet they were asking about? To understand the question one needs to go back to the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter 18 of that book God tells the Israelites that he will raise up a prophet like Moses for the Israelites. And then at the end of Deuteronomy we read “And there has not arisen a prophet since—in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt,.” And there has not risen since, a prophet in Israel like Moses.
What do we know about Moses anyway? Moses took on the world’s super power of the day, Egypt and won; he led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and out of slavery. Through Moses God instituted a covenant with Israel and through Moses God gave them the Ten Commandments and the law. Moses was their leader for 40 years in the wilderness. Through Moses God gave them manna in the wilderness and water in the desert. Moses we read in Exodus chapter 33, talked with God as a friend with a friend. Moses was quite a guy!
But the Israelites knew God would raise a prophet, a 2nd Moses, and they were waiting for him to appear. They liked the idea of a leader who would be able to take on a world power like Egypt in order to free God’s chosen people. As a matter of fact, they needed help taking on Rome and wanted their freedom. They liked the idea of a leader who would speak the very words of God—and they had a number of things they wanted to hear, things like God telling Rome and Caesar that God was going to overthrow them and punish them for their cruelty.
But their expectations were too low. God did indeed send a prophet, one who was a second Moses. This second Moses did take on powers, powers that were far greater than the powers of the Roman Empire, and defeated them. The Jews wanted to be set free from the slavery of Rome. The second Moses came and broke the slavery to sin and not only to sin but the power of death itself! The Jews were hoping for another Moses who could supply a Jewish army with manna, that is, the bread from heaven in the wilderness. This second Moses came and brought bread, the bread of his body which he gave as a sacrifice for his people. The Jews wanted another Moses that could provide water in the desert. The second Moses came and provided a well of living water that would spring up within each one who believed in him. They did not even consider setting up a new covenant with God, but the second Moses came and set up a new covenant with God and then sealed with his own blood! They could not imagine a prophet who could know God better than the first Moses, but the second Moses lived at the Father’s side, was the image of the invisible God, all things were created through him, he was God’s Son clothed in human flesh. The 2nd Moses was Jesus.
God has a way of going beyond what we can ask or think. Sometimes what God has planned is so much off the radar screen we not only don’t see it coming we can’t even imagine it coming. The life God wants us to lead is really pretty unbelievable. Because Jesus who is the 2nd Moses has defeated the powers of the evil one and has defeated the power of death, we who are the followers of Jesus can have victory over evil and sin in our lives. Jesus the 2nd Moses came and established a new covenant through his blood which we celebrate every time at Eucharist. This new covenant, this agreement between God and his people stipulates that we, who believe in his name, that is the name of Jesus, are given the power to become children of God. In the western church we talk about sanctification which is being made more holy. In the Eastern Church they talk about the same thing, but they call it deification, which is process of being made godlike—made into the children of God, made like our older brother, Jesus.
If you were the child of a god, how would you live, how would you act? If you were the child of a god, how would you deal with the problems that you encounter here on earth? Think about it, because you are the child of a God. Not just any god, but God almighty himself has made you his child; He adopted you! What kind of perspective ought you to have now? What kind of life ought you to live now? How do you deal with problems now?
How did Jesus deal it his problems? He is our example. How does someone who has divinity within himself or herself deal with life’s struggles? That’s us! We have God’s Holy Spirit living in us. God himself has made Himself part of us. This is one of those things that is more than expected; that was off the radar screen. We could not even imagine it coming.
It is rose Sunday in Advent today. We move from the more solemn Preparation and Hope, to a more joyous atmosphere of anticipation and expectancy. What can bring us more joy than the realization that God himself has adopted us as his children? May our great God and Father help us to more fully see and understand the life for which He has destined us, his adopted children, to have through Jesus Christ our Lord, a life far more wonderful than that which we could ever ask or imagine.
