Sermon preached at The Church of the Holy Trinity,

Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, Sunday December 14 2014

The Reverend Alan Neale, Just for a moment, forget the script.

Truly, truly it was a stunning, invigorating performance of the

Messiah. The performance was at Ursinus College last Sunday and
the conductor was our very own redoubtable G.F. Handel aka
John French.
It was a profound joy to hear the music played with fresh and
attentive vigor, and because much of it was enhanced by music
style, what can I say, a la French it was made it all the more
special.
Errant children aside, well they moved eventually, I was distracted
by a couple of women (probably mother and daughter) to my left.
The daughter, somewhere in her forties, had brought with her a
score of Handels Messiah and was intent upon studiously
following the music throughout the performance.
It seemed to me that her focus, her attention, her preoccupation
was totally with the dry and lifeless score before her she followed
it with her finger, guiding her mothers eyes; she sang, mercifully
softly, whenever her chosen part occurred; her eyes were
generally downcast missing the lan, enthusiasm and energy of
musicians and singers alike. And she drew her mother, poor thing,
into the sam exercise.
And when the most beautiful aria (arioso?) was being sung (one I
had never heard) all she did was shake her head in consternation
and puzzlement for she could not find it in her book.
Friends, Advent is the season that calls us to lift our eyes, enlarge
our minds, to open our hearts... to look away from the script, the
score, lest we miss God doing a new work, coming even now to us
in ways that are unexpected and unscripted
Isaiah 61, todays first lesson, begins, The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me because and moves on to speak of oppressed hearing

good news, brokenhearted being made whole, captives and

prisoners set free. It is this very passage that Jesus was given in
the Nazareth synagogue he reads it and then declares that he,
the one before them, is the one of whom Isaiah had written.
The hearers response? Surely this is Josephs son, weve known
him since he was little. Their minds were so fixed on the script
that what was before them passed them by, escaped their
attention, was considered less than noteworthy.
In the season of Advent we again are strongly urged, vigorously
cajoled, maybe even gently bullied a little by God to forget the
script, just for a moment.
It is tragic if those reading the script about outreach, social care
and activism become so engrossed in the script that they overlook
the Jesus before them remember inasmuch as you did to the
least if these, you did it to me.
It is tragic if those reading the script about patterns in a
relationship, overlook the opportunity to begin afresh.
It is tragic if we are so mesmerized by the script of our own
failures, relapses, chronic setbacks that we are deaf to the call to
begin again.
It is tragic, tragic indeed, if we are seduced by the script of a God
who is mean, uncaring, distant and irrelevant that we are blind to
the authentic God of love, companionship, forgiveness and
transformation.
In todays Gospel (John 1) the inquisitors sent by the religious
leaders clearly have a script before them. Blind to Johns true
identity, they bully him with a checklist of identities to which he
must conform are you Messiah, no; are you Elijah, no; are you
the prophet, no. We must, by the grace of God, struggle, yearn,
work not to be like them. Forget the script just for a moment and
let divine and human identity be formed and experienced before
us beyond our expectations and way off script?

In todays Psalm, 126 vv.6 and7, the script reads tears but before
them is joy; the script reads weeping, but before them is joy.
Authentic Advent is be a time when we commit ourselves, in the
power of the Spirit and in the safety of community, to let go of our
scripts of worship and church, of God in Christ, of others and of
ourselves.
Oh dear lady, next time please leave that well-thumbed
music score at home and look up see and hear and
welcome Messiah. AMEN