It’s Advent: Let’s go back to the beginning

In my faith journey nothing has given me more pleasure than singing in the choir. Choir rehearsal was a highlight of every week. I have never directed a choir. I was a happy choir member who worked hard at getting his part right. In a choir rehearsal, there are no more oft-spoken words than those of the director: “Let’s go back to the beginning.”

We are now in Advent season. It is the time in the Church calendar when Christians say with one voice, “Let’s go back to the beginning.” The hope is that this is the year we will get it right. (Does this remind you of the movie “Groundhog Day?”)

I was born to Christian parents. They took their faith seriously. They gave me a faith that I have never left. I have never considered leaving Christian faith. When things in my life have not been right, I never questioned the basics of the faith given by my parents. The real issues have been my understanding of Christian faith and my willingness to live that faith every day. Over and over again I have found that I am missing notes and singing off key. And the choir director keeps saying, “Let’s go back to the beginning.”

In the spirit of Advent, I offer this challenge: Let’s go back to the beginning.

The roots of Christian faith are found in two words. They are essential to all reading of the literature that we call the Old Testament. The two words are shalom and mishpat. Without these two words Christian faith has no foundation.

Shalom is a fascinating word. We commonly translate this Hebrew word into English as peace. Peace in English has a variety of meanings, and our uses of the word peace often have clouded the intended meaning of shalom. My best short definition of shalom is “the way things ought to be.” In Western civilization, most people have a strong sense of the way things ought to be. We may argue about how that sense of “oughtness” came to be. Some would say that it is in human beings by divine imprint. Others would insist that it has been imprinted by civilization in the process of evolution. For the purpose of this column, I would claim that no matter how it happened, this sense of the way things ought to be is almost a universal part of human experience. It is this universal experience of oughtness that makes it possible for us to hold one another accountable for our behavior. The word shalom attempts to capture this experience of oughtness.

In the tradition represented by the Bible writings, the best-known image of the way things ought to be is found in the myth of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the Eden myth a man and a woman walked in partnership with God and had open communication with the God of their creation. That is the great Bible snapshot of shalom. It is the way things ought to be.

According to the Eden story, Adam and Eve violated the rules of the Garden and were assigned to living “east of Eden” outside the Garden. The entire story of the Bible is about people attempting to regain the life that was lost and yet somehow ought to be.

The Bible reports a long history of failure in regaining Eden. People tried to attain a land of promise by war. That did not work. They tried to achieve the ideal by ritual. It did not work. They tried to get life right by making and keeping rules. It did not work. They tried creating holy temples and holy places. Did not work. They tried pilgrimages and the designation of holy days. Those did not work. Israelites as a nation experienced many ups and downs. In the midst of one of their downs, a poet/prophet named Micah put things into perspective. He asked the key question, “What does the Lord require of us?” He answered his own question: “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God.”

The word mishpat, which we translate into English as justice, has been even more misunderstood than shalom. The kind of justice of which Micah spoke treats people according to their needs, not according to what they have done. The kind of justice of which Micah spoke knows nothing of punishment and leaves no losers behind. Justice is about restoration. The goal of justice is for all people to live life fully, equitably, harmoniously and profoundly in right relationships with others and with God.

I love Advent season. It is the time each year that the great director says, “Let’s go back to the beginning.” When I go back to the beginning, I am greeted with “peace on earth” and “good will toward all human kind.” I am greeted with shalom and mishpat.

Jesus from Nazareth was the heir of the Micah message. He challenges us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. God made us for life in a garden. Why should we settle for less?

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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