Luke 1: The Deceptive Cadence of Christmas

Deceptive cadence is when a deceptive resolution happens, in other words, the dominant is followed by any chord which not the tonic. This cadence has the “surprise effect” and not the conclusive. - www.simplifyingtheory.com

Recently I was returning from Taiwan and the long, tiring flight was about touch down in San Francisco when suddenly the jet's engines fired up and the plane accelerated and started to climb. After circling once or twice, the plane descended again and this time it landed and pulled into the gate.

The Christmas story feels a bit like that to me. Anticipation has been building in the people of Israel for 400 years. You only have to read Simeon's prayer "waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:285-32) and Mary's song (Luke 1:54-55) to sense the unresolved tension and the expectations of resolution and restoration centered on Jesus' birth.

Then there's John the Baptist, whose father Zechariah is told that he will be the forerunner of God's next big move:

And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. - Luke 1:17

The shepherds hear that the Messiah had arrived. The Messiah is supposed to bring everything under his dominion and resolve everything, right? Everyone is amazed and rejoices at the good news.

The magi show up, stirring up Jerusalem with their star, dreams and expectations of finding a king. 

So much excitement generated but then things seem to go quiet. The magi find their toddler and go home/ Shepherds go back to work. Jesus and his family disappear into Egypt and then work as laborers in northern Israel. Elizabeth and Zechariah try to keep up with their precocious baptist baby in their old age.

The deceptive cadence of Christmas ratcheted up expectations. It seemed that the time was so close for seeing God's resolution of the whole kingdom situation. Then it didn't happen, the silence of God seemed to return and meanwhile the discordant melody returned to lead us on for another 30 years.

Suddenly, in the wilderness, John leads the reprisal of the redemption theme, reintroducing the Messiah theme, which builds and builds, driving us inexorably (it seems) towards a triumphant conclusion with Lazarus' resurrection and the Palm Sunday entrance. But again, on Good Friday, the deceptive cadence takes us to a dark, melancholy chord and, worse, it is followed by God's silence once again, leading us to think that it is all over and the tune has come to some sort of disturbing ending.

Sunday, the Messiah theme returns, triumphant, for forty days. Surely, these are the days when the kingdom will be established! Then Jesus leaves them! He has done it again! Resolved some but leaving vast, unanswered and unresolved questions. We live in the times of the deceptive cadence, awaiting Christ's resolution of all history.

Acts 16:9-10: Dig In, Eyes Up

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. - Acts 16:9-10

Sections of the Bible like this can be frustrating. Wouldn't it be nice to have dreams that gave clear directions? Three times in five verses, Paul is given direct, clear guidance: avoid Asia, avoid Bythnia, go to Macedonia. My dreams tend to be more mundane, more confusing and certainly never mention the Mediterranean.

• I wish my calling was clear. Instead I am left wondering whether my nudges from the Holy Spirit are genuine or else the result of my own wishful, selfish thinking. The upside is, I have to think about it a lot. 
• I wish my calling was dramatic. Instead I am usually guided to reconcile with my wife, support someone in need or even do a U-turn to help push a car into a parking lot.
• I wish my calling were more "spiritual". Paul got guidance to "preach the gospel to them". My calling usually brings me into tough work situations or caring about what my neighbor is telling me of his life.

I have concluded that the reason that I haven't heard God's voice or dreamed God's dream is not because I am blind or insensitive, but because-through a thousand hints and nudges-he is calling me to stay, grow, wait and watch. There seems to be this pattern: flourish where you are planted, but be ready to move when God moves. Sometimes, we are not digging in, sometimes we don't have our eyes up in expectation. There is a balance.

Jesus' parable in Luke 12 shows the foolish manager who was running the master's estate while hte master is on other business. This manager expects nothing will ever change-that the master will never return-and abuses his position of trust and "the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of." (vs. 46) The manager was not expecting anything to change, which led him (or her) to be lax in the day-to-day responsibilities.

When talking to the Thessalonian church, Paul tells believers who are caught up in God's next big move to settle down and flourish. The believers eyes were up-watchful for Christ's return-leading them to not dig in with their day-to-day calling. So Paul had to say:

...make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

So my calling is clear: I'm called to dig in and keep my eyes up. My calling is dramatic: but it is in the part of the story that occurs between chapters or after the period but before the start of the next sentence. My calling is spiritual-but I am not always the one with a speaking role. Sometimes I'm earning the respect and living God's hope and provoking questions by the way I follow Jesus.