GOD, THE SUPREME AUTHORITY, has spoken since the beginning of Creation, and continues to speak, in thunder and flood, in light and darkness, in seasons of rain or drought, in war and peace. We are bound to listen to his voice, for there is no other. And because he sent us his Word, and there is no other, our ears must be open to hear it.
When God speaks the entire world must answer. Some shout, “No! I won’t!” Some complain, “I can’t. It’s too hard.” Some claim personal autonomy—their “rights.” Obeying goes against the grain for many of us—we rebel at restrictions. Yet some of us, if we are listening, recognize the voice of loving authority and answer, “Yes.”
The natural creation, in all its wildness and profusion, its rich color and inventiveness, responds to God in seasons, in cycles of birth and life and death. All creation bears the imprint of his fingers. Pattern and purpose are visible everywhere. The words “authority” and “author” have a common root and meaning—they speak of the ability to originate, to bring into being, and to order that which is thus initiated. As well as speaking the universe into being, our Creator is the author of beauty, which we might think unnecessary for practical functioning. But his attention to colorful detail, his infinite variety of plant and bird and beast, are indications of grace, as well as additional confirmation that God is always with us.
The Lord has planted within each of us the esthetic impulse that allows us to recognize and appreciate that beauty. Created in the image of a Creator, we are created to create. Who among us has not decorated a Christmas tree, or an Easter egg, or a living room? Who among us has not planted a garden, photographed scenery, whistled, sung, danced? I have been listening this afternoon to builders down our street. I hear the antiphon of two sets of hammers ringing their sharp songs as a new house is being erected on an empty lot, and I realize that such construction (rather than destruction) echoes the up-building, creative impulse of God in us. But even builders have to follow the blueprints if the house is to stand firm. God is our Architect, and we are the houses he is building, here in our own Nazareth. The season of Advent reminds us to acknowledge this.
Not only is God the only authority, the One we must acknowledge, to whom we will all bend the knee, he is the One who opens the door to salvation: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God and there is no other.” John the Baptizer and his disciples wondered of Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” All Jesus had to tell them, quite simply, was that the blind were seeing, the lame walking, the lepers healed, deaf people could hear, the dead were alive again, and the poor encouraged with good news. Who else but the Promised One in our midst, the God With Us, was capable of such miracles? Later on, Peter had a similar answer to a similar question. He said: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
~From Lucy Shaw, “Third Wednesday in Advent,” in GOD WITH US: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas, edited by Greg Pennoyer & Gregory Wolfe
