Jesus and Jagger…
FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
“Blessed are those who weep now...”
As I sit in these words, I hear Mick Jagger’s voice on repeat, “I can’t get no, satisfaction.”
In Jesus’ beatitudes he contrasts God’s Kingdom with the world. He flips the world standard upside down by declaring just the opposite in his own blessings. This was a cultural practice to have a standard of how one can be blessed, but Jesus comes declaring just the opposite. Sitting there, you might be taken back and possibly even disappointed because, like most people, we can be easily shaped by the dominant culture.
You might also be asking, in God’s Kingdom, why do we have to weep now? We usually shy away from weeping and embrace rejoicing. To weep is to recognize the faulty and broken conditions in this world. To weep is to feel the deep hurt that initiates an even deeper longing for resolve or peace. To weep is to, as Mick informs us, “Can’t get no satisfaction.” To weep is to embrace the reality of a broken world and let yourself be vulnerable just enough to feel the pain and suffering of others. To weep is to deny the world’s temptation to numb or ignore the suffering.
“…For they shall be comforted.”
Weeping and longing direct our heart’s yearning to a deeper restoration and satisfaction. In the gut wrenching wait and pain we find God. By no means should we use this truth to sugar coat or ignore the pain we, or others, feel in this world. The steadfast presence and promise of God, amid the longing, is the hope that we can hold on to that gives us comfort. It stirs the deeper longing for the days of Eden when humanity walked in innocence with our God and experienced wholeness. As theologians have pointed out, we ousted ourselves from the garden and have been longing for it ever since.
This is why we need Advent. We are offered permission to deliberately slow down and feel the longing. We acknowledge the hurt and longing of others while quieting ourselves just enough to feel our own longing. Advent is a season that reminds us that God is aware, even when we are not. A season that carves out space for us to weep and wait for the comfort Jesus’ return brings. We invoke Israel’s deep waiting for the Messiah while supporting others in their own waiting for restoration. A season that resonates Jesus’ blessing to “Weep now” knowing things are not right, while anticipating a great Awe as we encounter Christ’s renewing strength.
David and other Psalmists often lament with a deep hurt and longing. Yet, in the honest vulnerable longing they experience God’s unfailing love.
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” -Psalm 13
