Christmas 1

Psalm 147; Isaiah 61:10— 62:3; Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

The waiting and preparation are over. Look no more for the Lord has come. The OT readings are full of praises to God. I am consistently struck by the quality of the OT praises. They are not satisfied with the abstract and general “Praise God.” They praise God for specific things.

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly. The LORD builds up
Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars, he
gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD, and abundant in
power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the
downtrodden, he casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalm 147)

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for
he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a
bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)

How often do we take the time and energy to praise God with such specificity?

The Gospel reading provides an interesting transition from OT to NT. One of the purposes in my focusing on the Lectionary this year is to see familiar scriptures in new contexts. John 1 has long been one of my favorite portions of scripture. However, here it does something I hadn’t noticed. While the OT readings do mention God’s redemption, their focus is mainly on the power and glory of God. The Galatians reading is very much a NT document, presenting an argument of assurance to the new believers, explaining the importance of what Christ had done after he had done it. However, John gives us a bridge. He gives us a list of the qualities of Christ, much like the list of God’s qualities the OT writers provide. At the same time, John explains what it is that Christ came here to do. He very consciously compares Christ’s NT with the old covenant and reveals Christ’s deity and Christ’s new vision:

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.

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There is also an interesting parrallel between the Gospel and Galatians. Each describes the coming of Christ as the coming of a new state of mind. In John, the coming of Christ is the coming of grace and truth. In Galatians, the coming of Christ is the coming of faith. John describes Christ as a light in the darkness. Certainly, the first thing that light does is save us from darkness by removing it. But that salvation is only the beginning. Once we can see, we can do so much else. We can move about and do things we couldn’t do before. So, with Christ’s coming we not only are saved–a prerequisite for further action–but Christ also brings grace and truth and faith. He gives us the abilities to do so much more. It is with the grace and truth and faith that he brings that we will be able to greater things than what Christ did, as he promised.

Advent 4

Psalm 24; Isaiah 7:10-17; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The readings for this last week of Advent provide an interesting anomaly; while in previous weeks’ readings it was usually the Gospel reading that didn’t seem to fit the others, this week it is the Psalm that doesn’t seem to have a thematic tie to the others.

Isaiah, Romans, and Matthew all have threads of calling. In Isaiah we receive the prophecy of the virgin bearing a son. (In the RSV it is “young woman.” The NASB has it “virgin.” Strong’s lexicon has the word as ‘almah which it says can be either. However there is a notation that indicates that “There is no instance where it can be proved that this word designates a young woman who is not a virgin.”) This son is called before his birth to be called Immanuel and will choose good when he is old enough to do so. The Romans passage shows a geneology of calling, beginning with Christ, following to Paul, and continuing to “all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints.” Finally, the Gospel reading shows us the event of Joseph being told by the angel that the baby Mary is carrying is both holy and called to save the world from sin. In each case, there is this idea that individuals are called to do something by God. Isaiah and Matthew show us individuals called before birth to some great work; Romans doesn’t necessarily show pre-birth calling, but rather a calling now that something else has happened.

While it would be possible to read the Romans passage as a pre-birth calling, I think there is also a comfort in the idea that we can be called to something later in life. For the Romans, it would not have been possible to be called to be saints prior to Christ’s work on Earth. So, once that work was done, then they could (and were) called. How many times in our lives to events occur that then facilitate a calling that wasn’t there before? I’ve never really felt a specific calling to help those in Indonesia and India, but after the recent tsunami disaster, I have felt called to provide some kind of aid and to pray for those people.

The Psalm, however, is not about calling. But it does describe the one who shall ascend the holy hill and stand in the holy place.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to
what is false, and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing
from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the
generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

While this doesn’t present a calling, the description does seem to mesh with the description in Isaiah that the called one will “eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.” That is, he will choose right when he is of an age to do so.

The opening of the Psalm praises the overall power and authority of the Lord. He created all things. It is He who has the power and authority to call any He has created to do His will. So, while the other readings demonstrate the fact of being called, the Psalm shows us who does the calling.

Advent 3

Psalm 146:4-9 Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors. –James 5:7-9

While this weeks readings also contain the visions of future utopias, I was struck even more by the exhortations towards our behavior now. In fact, it was the puzzle of how the gospel reading fits in with the others that led me to focus on behavior rather than on what’s to come.

John is in prison and sends his followers out to find out if Christ was the one John had been foretelling. After answering them with what I think is an answer John would appreciate, Christ turns on the crowds and berates them. I picture some in the crowd being taken aback by his answer to John’s followers and Christ turning to them and saying “What did you think was going on here?”

But what has that to do with the rest of the readings? Christ was asking the crowd about their behavior and their attitude. He challenges the thrill seeker, the sideshow gawker. He challenges the one who is following the crowd but who doesn’t really believe. Even though the crowds were hearing the right speakers, Christ questions their motives for being there. Christ examines thier behavior while waiting for the messiah.

James also addresses behavior while waiting for the messiah, waiting for the second time. Christ has come once. Ok. We get the fact that our ideas about the first messiah were a bit off; that’s fine. But what do we do now? Be patient. Do not grumble.

Be patient. Do not grumble. Specifically, do not grumble against one another. Even more pointedly, do not grumble or you will be judged–oh and by the way I’m standing at the door; I can hear you.

Be patient. Do not grumble. Wait like the farmer waiting for harvest.

Be patient.

Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

The Old Testament reading and the Psalm once again describe a future time in which life will be better than it is now. I find two things of special interest this time through: the emphasis on the poor and the observation that it is only God who can bring these changes about. In both passages, just treatment of the poor is hailed as a hallmark of the coming age of the Lord. As if we needed any more indications that we don’t live in God’s kingdom, our government’s treatment of the poor comes to mind. Sadly, the church often does little better. Yet, the second feature of the readings should give me hope, for that is what these words written long ago should do. For the Psalmist says “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” It is a mark of our fallen nature that we do not treat the poor with justice. Only God can restore our pure selves, selves that seek right treatment for all.

It is also interesting that while the OT readings hope for a better day, the NT readings examine the behavior of believers now. In Matthew, we see John the Baptist exhorting the religious leaders to “bear fruit that befits repentence.” While John scolds the religious leaders, Paul provides gentler encouragement to the Romans. I don’t often think of Paul as gentle, but he shows a deep understanding of the Roman believers’ concerns here. Obviously one of the great revolutions of Christ’s work is opening the grace of God to non-Israelites. With revolution often comes fear. How are the old believers to treat the new? How can the newbies feel accepted? Paul grants the Romans assurance of their place in God’s plan and then builds on that foundation to encourage them to live in harmony with each other. In essence, God accepted you; accept each other.

However, the key to the fulfillment of the OT vision of a just future and to the following of Paul’s commands is the power of God. All three of the non-Gospel readings carry the message that none of these good things will come about save for the intervention of God.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.