Advent 3C

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 13, 2015

Good Shepherd, mosaic, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, c.425-426 CE.

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20

On this, the Third Sunday of Advent, traditionally known as Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday, our readings call us to rejoice. Much of the short book of Zephaniah prophesies Israel’s violent destruction, amid scornful threats of Israel’s enemies’ destruction. These verses, though, anticipate a joyous time when God will restore Israel, rejoicing with its people in gladness and love. It declares God’s favor for the oppressed, a theme of liberation that John the Baptist will echo.

Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6)

“Surely it is God who saves us. We will trust in God and not be afraid.” These familiar verses offer us joy and comfort in knowing that we are safe under God’s protection. The prophet Isaiah likens salvation to drawing water, a meaningful metaphor for people in arid lands. Isaiah calls the people to raise their voices in joy and praise. Make God’s deeds known among all the people. Cry aloud! Ring out your joy! Rejoice!

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

Last Sunday in the opening verses of Philippians we heard Paul express his love. Now, near the end of this affectionate letter from prison in Rome to this little church in Greece that he had founded years before, he urges them to be gentle and kind: Rejoice in God’s love and trust in God’s mercy and peace. We often repeat his words, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” as a blessing at the end of our Eucharist.

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18

The long-haired, ranting prophet yells at the crowds. He calls them “a brood of vipers” and warns that God might chop them down and burn them up if they don’t repent. This does not sound like rejoicing! But John’s message is urgent: Prepare the way for Jesus, whose sandals John is not worthy to untie. Prepare for Jesus’ coming: Share your clothing and your food with those who have none. Don’t cheat. Don’t be selfish! Jesus’ mother, Mary, also sang of filling up the hungry with good things; and Jesus himself will remind us, “When I was hungry, you gave me food …” This is Jesus’ way. We are called to make it our way.

Advent 2C

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 6, 2015

Saint John The Baptist Preaching In The Wilderness

First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

As we move into Advent, today’s readings tell of a Messenger who makes the way ready for the Messiah’s coming. Malachi, whose name in Hebrew actually means “my messenger,” warns that God’s Messenger will cleanse the rebuilt Temple with fire. The people must be made pure and pleasing to God. If you love Handel’s “Messiah,” you may feel like singing along with Malachi: “Who can endure the day of his coming?” he asks. “He is like a refiner’s fire!”

Canticle 16 (Luke 1: 68-79)

In place of a Psalm today we sing a Canticle taken from Luke’s Gospel. These verses tell the story of John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, a priest of the Temple. When Zechariah had refused to believe that his elderly wife, Elizabeth, had really become pregnant after an angelic visitation, God struck him mute. But his voice returned when he held the infant and named him John. This child, Zechariah declares, is to be a prophet like Abraham, the Messenger who will “go before the Lord to prepare his way.”

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

Paul begins his letter to the people of Philippi in Greece in formal “epistolary” fashion, offering greetings, love and thanks for their friendship and prayers for their well-being. Paul remembers with gladness how eagerly they had accepted and shared the message of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. He prays for this little congregation’s continued spiritual growth and insight, which he hopes will yield them a harvest of righteousness in God’s love through Christ.

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6

A bit later in Luke’s Gospel, John is grown up now, beginning his public life as a prophet “crying out in the wilderness.” Notice how much detail Luke gives to naming the Roman and Jewish leaders of the time, including Zechariah, John’s father. Perhaps this is Luke’s way of emphasizing that John was a real person, a real prophet who existed at a specific time. Then the narrative shifts as John utters the words of Isaiah, naming himself as the Messenger who will “Prepare the way of the Lord … make his paths straight.”

Advent 1C

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Nov. 29, 2015

Christ Pantocrator Mosaic, Duomo, Cefalu, Sicily. (12th Century)

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The wheel of the seasons has come around to Advent, and a new liturgical year begins. As Advent moves toward the Incarnation, our readings look toward the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity and our desire for forgiveness as we hope for salvation. Israel in exile understood the prophet Jeremiah’s words to be a promise that the people would return safely to Jerusalem, protected by God’s righteous justice. Christians honor that understanding, while also seeing in the prophet’s words an image of Jesus as our righteous king and savior.

Psalm: Psalm 25:1-9

Echoing the prophet’s promises to Israel, today’s Psalm imagines humanity – personified as King David – facing threats of humiliation and defeat. Trusting fully in God for our salvation, relying on God’s everlasting compassion and love, we ask God to forgive our youthful errors and wrong turnings while showing us the right path; we ask God to remember us instead with all God’s compassion and love.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

After reading through several New Testament letters during Pentecost, we now take only a one-week peek into Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonika in Northern Greece. It’s an attractive excerpt, though, showing Paul on his caring, pastoral side as he writes to a beloved church community from far away, keeping them in his prayers, thanking God for their love, and hoping that they will be reunited. In the meantime, he urges them to hold one another in love and be strong while awaiting Jesus’ return.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36

In this excerpt from Luke’s version of the Last Supper, we hear Jesus giving the disciples dire warnings, in apocalyptic language, of hard times to come. The Temple will be destroyed and Jerusalem fallen to its foes, but these signs will signal that Jesus’ return and the world’s redemption is drawing near. Luke makes Jesus’ coming sound scary, and perhaps that is his point: The people of God should live good lives and be ready, so Jesus’ coming won’t take us by surprise.

Advent 4B

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 21, 2014

Magnificat e Visitação, the Visitation and the Magnificat.

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Does God need a house? King David, consolidating his earthly kingdom, was dissatisfied with the people’s custom of keeping the Ark of the Covenant in a mere tent. David wanted to build a great temple for God to live in. But God, speaking through the Prophet Nathan, dismisses this idea. God lives with the people. God’s home, David hears, is with the House of David, the dynasty of God’s people, the family that Christians would understand as the “family tree” of Jesus. As we hear in today’s Gospel, God gives Jesus “the throne of his ancestor David.”

Psalm: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

The Psalmist celebrates God’s covenant with David, a royal lineage that God established to last forever. Even through the devastation of war and the pain of exile, when Israel and Judah might have wondered if God’s promise had been revoked because of their failure of righteousness, the prophets continued to foretell a new King David, who Christians would recognize in Christ, the Messiah.

Psalm: Canticle 15

In place of a Psalm today we sing the Magnificat, the beautiful words from Luke’s Gospel that we often hear in Morning and Evening Prayer. As we hear in today’s Gospel, the Angel Gabriel has told Mary that she will give birth to King David’s heir, the Messiah. When she feels the infant move in her womb, she rejoices in a poetic celebration that echoes the words of the prophets: thoughts that, perhaps, her son Jesus would hear from his mother: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.”

Second Reading: Romans 16: 25-27

Throughout his letter to the Romans, Paul has encouraged Rome’s Gentile and Jewish Christian communities to heal their differences and get along. Now, in a ringing doxology that concludes the epistle, he emphasizes that God’s covenant with the people, expressed through the prophets, is given for all humanity. Through Jesus we all live forever in glory!

Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38

As Advent draws to a close and the joy of Christmas and the birth of Jesus draws near, we hear Luke tell the familiar story of the Angel Gabriel’s visit to a young Palestinian woman named Mary. Through God’s Holy Spirit this young virgin will give birth to a son named Jesus, who will inherit King David’s throne and rule over an eternal kingdom. She responds to this amazing news with simple, trusting acceptance: “Let it be with me according to your word.” And then, in following verses, she will go on to utter the poetic, prophetic words of the Magnificat, the Song of Mary.

Advent 3B

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 14, 2014

John the Baptist in the Wilderness

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

It’s Rose Sunday! Today we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath, and our Advent readings start to turn from the hope and fear of end times and Judgement Day to thoughts of the Incarnation, the Messiah, the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. The Prophet Isaiah speaks to the people returning from exile to a devastated Jerusalem, assuring them that God’s good news comes to the poor, the oppressed, captives and prisoners. Later, according to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus will read these same verses in the synagogue at Nazareth, declaring that this scripture was fulfilled on that day.

Psalm: Psalm 126

Today’s Psalm sings the people’s joy at God’s promise through Isaiah having been fulfilled for the people, as it joyfully exults that God did, indeed, restore Jerusalem’s fortunes. God has been good. God has turned the people’s tears into songs of joy; their weeping into a bountiful harvest.

Psalm: Canticle 15

In place of a Psalm today we sing the the Magnificat, the beautiful words from Luke’s Gospel that we often include in Morning and Evening Prayer. The Angel Gabriel has told Mary, a virgin, that she will give birth to the Messiah, the heir of King David. When she feels the infant move in her womb, she rejoices in a poetic celebration that echoes Isaiah and that, perhaps, her son Jesus would hear from his mother: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly.”

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Closing his short first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul builds on his prior verses that had urged the people to be prepared in prayer and rejoicing for Christ’s return. He encourages them to be faithful and filled with the Spirit, seeking to do good and avoid evil so as to be ready – “sound and blameless” – when Jesus Christ returns.

Gospel: John 1:6-8,19-28

The Advent readings weave together in a pattern as this week’s Gospel shows us John the Baptist quoting the verses from Isaiah that we had heard in last week’s First Reading. Now, says John, he is in fact the voice crying out in the wilderness, calling on the people to make straight the way of the Lord. This is to be done not for his own sake, says John, but to make way for the one who is coming after him – Jesus – who is so much greater that John is unworthy to untie his sandals.

Advent 2B

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 7, 2014

Baptism of Jesus, Mosaic, Arian Baptistry in Ravenna, 500s

First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

God is coming, so make the way ready. God is coming, so make ourselves ready. This Advent theme, following on last week’s readings, comes full circle in today’s Lectionary, beginning with the Prophet Isaiah and returning in the opening verses of the Gospel according to Mark. Last week’s Isaiah reading took us to the end of the book, when the people have come home to a devastated Jerusalem, filled with fear and hope. Today’s verses – familiar through their use in Handel’s “Messiah” – look forward to their return from exile. The prophet prays that God will comfort us, lead us like a shepherd, gather us like lambs in God’s protecting arms.

Psalm: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Today’s Psalm echoes Isaiah’s message, remembering the time of exile and rejoicing that God’s comfort, indeed, did come to the people. Yes, the people behaved badly. They sinned. But God has forgiven our iniquity, blotted out our sins, and returned us to the land in righteousness and peace. The straight highway that Isaiah foretold has become a path for God’s feet.

Second Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-15a

The latest letter included in the New Testament, this second letter in Peter’s name was likely written down a century or more after the crucifixion. After so many years, Christ’s expected return had surely become a concern for the early church. What did this delay mean? Perhaps God’s time is not like our time: “One day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” Still, be patient, the author urges God’s people. Live holy and godly lives. Be at peace, and wait for God.

Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

Think about this: These are the first words of the first Gospel written, set down perhaps 30 or 40 years after Jesus died on the cross. Mark begins not with the birth of Jesus nor his death and resurrection, but by declaring the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark portrays John the Baptist proclaiming the words of Isaiah. John stands as God’s messenger preparing the way for Jesus, the one so powerful that John is not worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals. Jesus is coming to baptize us with the Holy Spirit!

Advent 1B

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Nov. 30, 2014

The Prophet Isaiah, Lorenzo Monaco, 1405-10

First Reading: Isaiah 64:1-9 

One clear idea rings through today’s readings as Advent begins: God is coming. God may come quietly, quickly; God may come amid fire and upheaval. We had better be ready. Near the end of this great Old Testament book of prophecy, Isaiah speaks while the people are returning home to Jerusalem from exile at last. They must face up to harsh reality: This is not the city they knew, but a devastated landscape with a destroyed Temple and a remnant of defeated people. Oh, God, the prophet cries, come down! Show your might, restore your people. Form us into something new … and please forgive our sins.

Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18

The Psalm, too, calls on God to hear the people’s prayers, set aside God’s anger, and restore Israel. The people have suffered. God’s punishment has forced them to endure their enemies’ derision and laughter. They have eaten and drunk their tears like bread and water. Please, God, the Psalmist pleads: Shine the light of your countenance upon us, save us, and we will never turn from you again.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Paul opens his first letter to the Corinthians in the formal style of ancient Greek correspondence. He greets and thanks the people of this church, and in doing so reassures them that Jesus Christ will soon return and find them strong and free of sin. Thanks to the grace and peace that God has given them, they will reflect God’s faithfulness in the fellowship of Christ.

Gospel: Mark 13:24-37

The Prophet Isaiah spoke of his hope for God to come and bring justice after the first destruction of Jerusalem. Now, while the Romans are destroying the city and the temple again, the Evangelist Mark hopes for Jesus’ return in power and glory. It is no wonder that Mark uses apocalyptic language as he imagines Jesus speaking of the signs and portents that will accompany his return. In three quick images, Jesus warns of a tumultuous time; advises his followers to watch for signs of his return; and urges them to be on the watch. Like the wise bridesmaids with their oil-filled lamps, we are wise to be ready, be awake, be alert.

Advent 4A

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013

The Apparition of the Angel to St. Joseph

First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-16
The joy of Christmas is drawing near, but we still have another week of Advent to reflect on the Incarnation, God becoming human in Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah foresaw the Messiah as a good king, the successor to King David. He spoke of current times when he warned King Ahaz that by the time the child was weaned (“eating curds and honey”), the king’s land would be conquered. Christians would later look back and see Jesus in Isaiah’s prophecy about a child named Immanuel (“God with us”) born to a “young woman,” the Hebrew word “almah,” which the Greek Old Testament that the Evangelists knew would later translate as “parthenos” or “virgin.”

Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
A Psalm of lament over Israel’s exile, this song, too, expresses hope that God will free the people and come with power to restore the kingdom and the Covenant. Early Christians surely took hope from reading these ancient verses as speaking of Jesus, “the one at God’s right hand whom God makes strong.”

Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7
The opening verses of Paul’s letters follow formal patterns set in Greco-Roman culture, like the “To whom it may concern, I hope this letter finds you well” that we might see in modern formal correspondence. Still, even these formulaic verses tell of Paul’s pastoral concerns for the Romans. Paul emphasizes that he is an apostle of Jesus, and that Jesus is the son of God, the descendant of David prophesied in Scripture – such as the Isaiah verses we read today. Paul assures Rome’s Christians that he comes in Jesus’s name to the Gentiles, who are God’s beloved, called to be saints.

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25
Now we come to the brink of Christmas! Imagine Joseph, a man of an ancient, patriarchal culture, discovering that his sweet young fiancee is pregnant, and not with his child! Who wouldn’t decide to call the whole thing off? But Joseph is righteous and prefers to end the engagement quietly, without scandal or gossip. And then an angel comes to assure Joseph that Mary is bearing God’s son. And the angel repeats Isaiah’s prophecy! “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” And then, as in an exciting movie serial, we must breathlessly wait for Christmas Day and the birth of Jesus.

Advent 3A

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013

Facsimile of a Renaissance illumination of Mary, with text in Latin from the Magnificat.

First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10
The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday, a pause in the quiet anticipation of Advent to feel joy at the coming celebration of Jesus’s birth. Today’s readings share themes of joy and service, beginning with Isaiah’s prophetic voice of hope for return from exile: “The desert shall rejoice and blossom … rejoice with joy and singing.” This hope of joy is offered specifically to the oppressed, the weak, those who suffer pain … all those who Jesus would call us to serve.

Canticle 15: Luke 1:47-55
Today in place of a Psalm we sing Luke’s Song of Mary. If you think of the mother of Jesus as a sweet, submissive figure, take a closer look at the words this teen-aged Palestinian woman sang when the angel tells her she would be the mother of God: “ … he has scattered the proud … brought down the powerful … lifted up the lowly … filled the hungry with good things … sent the rich away empty.” This divine command links Torah and the Gospels. It is the command that Jesus explicitly asks of those who follow his way.

Second Reading: James 5:7-10
“Be patient, therefore”? What an odd way to begin a reading! Look back a few verses to see what led to this, and we find James – like Mary in the Canticle – excoriating the rich, or more exactly, the selfish rich. “… you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. … You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” Then we get James’s command: Love each other, and be generous with one another, lest we be judged.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
Matthew’s Gospel consistently emphasizes that Jesus is Messiah, the lord and savior whom the prophets foretold. Here he narrates a conversation between Jesus and John the Baptist in prison, invoking an Isaiah prophecy to declare John God’s messenger making straight the way for Jesus. Then Jesus sets out his priorities, which echo his mother’s song: “… the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”

Advent 2A

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Robin Garr

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec.8, 2013.

The Peaceable Kingdom

First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
These verses inspired the 19th century American artist Edward Hick to make more than 100 versions of his famous work, “The Peaceable Kingdom,” a memorable portrait of wild and domestic animals living in peace. surrounded by children in white. This is a beautiful image, and it portrays a peaceful life that surely appeals to us all. Isaiah prophesies this happy state as the glorious home of King David’s royal descendant on Zion’s holy mountain. It’s surely easy for Christians to read it as foreshadowing the reign of Christ, who the Gospels also declare a shoot from Jesse’s stock, a descendant of David the king.

Psalm: Psalm 72
Subtitled “Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King” in our New Revised Standard Edition Bible translation, this Psalm – perhaps originally intended to be sung at a royal coronation – offers support and counterpoint to the Isaiah reading. It hammers home the Old Testament’s consistent call for justice and righteousness for all the people, including the poor, the needy and the oppressed. Rabbi Jesus surely knew these verses, too, and proclaimed them in his commands to love our neighbors, shun riches, and bring good news to the poor.

Second Reading: Romans 15:4-13
At the time of Paul’s beautiful letter to the Romans, the city’s Jews – including Jewish Christians – had been banished to exile for years. Now the Roman Jews are coming back home, but there was tension between the Jewish and Gentile Christian communities. Paul turns to Isaiah and holds up the Root of Jesse, understanding the verses as Isaiah’s explicit prophecy of Christ as king over all humanity. His ultimate advice is universal: Live in harmony with Jesus and each other and glorify God.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
We met John, Jesus’s cousin, as an infant in a recent reading in which his father, the temple priest Zechariah, foretold that the boy would become a great prophet. Now we meet John again as a loud, wild prophet, urging people to repent and baptizing them in the Jordan river. Matthew tells us that John is the fulfillment of another verse, Isaiah 40, promising that a prophet would come to make way for the Messiah. That figure is coming, says John, speaking of Jesus; and he will baptize not with mere water but with the Holy Spirit.

Illuminations

Welcome to Illuminations. We hope these brief reflections on Sunday's readings will help you prepare thoughtfully for worship.

Category Archives: Advent