Category Archives: Advent

Advent 3A

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

Facsimile of a Renaissance illumination of Mary, with text in Latin from the Magnificat, from “Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry”

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

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

Edward Hicks, American, 1780-1849, The Peaceable Kingdom, about 1833,

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.

Advent 1A

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013.

“For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

“For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
The book of Isaiah begins with a description of God’s anger against Jerusalem for its sins; but now, in Chapter 2, the prophet pens verses of poetic beauty, envisioning a future time when the city is restored as the Lord’s house, center of a world in which swords have been beaten into plowshares and there is no more war. Actually, most scholars think that the book of Isaiah was actually the work of three great Old Testament prophets: One who wrote before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple; one during the people’s exile in Babylon, and one who told of their eventual return and the hard work of rebuilding.

Psalm: Psalm 122
This Psalm, attributed by legend to King David’s authorship, sings counterpoint to our Isaiah reading, looking toward a glorious future, too, as it praises and prays for Jerusalem as the city of God, future home for David’s throne and a place where security, prosperity and peace will prevail.

Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14
Paul exhorts the people of the young church in Rome to be prepared for the return of Jesus, an event that Christians of that time believed and prayed would come very soon. “The night is far gone, the day is near,” he writes his flock. In the meantime, behave well, live abstemiously, avoid quarrels and jealousy. These verses follow immediately after Paul’s urgent reminder to follow God’s commandments and love our neighbors as ourselves, a way of life that prepares us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44
“Eschatology,” a long word having to do with humanity’s expectation of Earth’s final days and Christ’s return, will run through our Advent readings, as our Sunday Lectionary selections now move from Luke’s gospel to Matthew. We have seen hints of this today as each reading peers into the future for signs of God’s activity. Now Matthew turns up the heat, reminding us that only God knows when the last days will come, just as sinful humans in Noah’s time had no warning of the Flood. We needn’t take literally what some might interpret as Matthew foretelling a “Rapture” event. The essential Advent message is simple and true: Be ready. If God were to come to you now and ask what you’ve been up to, would you have a good answer?

Advent 4C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012.

These readings are scheduled for the 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eucharist services at St. Matthew’s. At the 10 a.m. Eucharist, we will have a traditional service of Lessons and Carols. Come, join us at any service: Everyone is welcome here, no matter who you are or where you are on your spiritual journey.

The Magnificat, the Song of Mary.

The Magnificat, the Song of Mary.

First Reading: Micah 5:2-5a
Micah, one of the earliest Old Testament prophets, warned the people of Jerusalem that their injustices against the weak and the poor would bring down God’s wrath. Having foretold the destruction of the city by the Assyrians, he promises that a new ruler would come from the village of Bethlehem – the birthplace of King David – to restore peace to the surviving remnant. Christians read this as a promise of Jesus as Messiah, but its broader message tells us that God desires justice and will reward righteousness with peace.

Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46b-55)
Today we sing the Magnificat, the song of Mary, who celebrates her coming child, Jesus, the son of a powerful and merciful God who loves us and calls us to acts of mercy and justice.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10
The Letter to the Hebrews, modern biblical scholars say, probably originates from the early 100s, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., when Christianity was separating from rabbinical Judaism. Perhaps intended to reach backsliding Christian Jews, it seems to suggest that God abolished the “empty” sacrifices of the Jewish Temple, replacing them with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. In modern times, especially after the Holocaust, we should try to avoid this view of Judaism as “abolished,” hearing instead the hopeful message that God’s promise to Israel at Sinai continues in us, the body of Christ, through Jesus’ incarnation, the Christmas miracle.

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
This lovely short reading in Luke comes immediately before the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, which we heard earlier. Here we are told of Mary’s visit to her much older cousin Elizabeth. Both women are pregnant – Elizabeth with John, Mary with Jesus – and both conceived in miraculous ways, visited by angels with the news that they would give birth. When the women meet, Elizabeth feels her child leap in her womb with what she perceives as joy. Can we leap with joy as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas time?

Advent 3C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012.

A medieval rendering of the Prophet Zephaniah

A medieval rendering of the Prophet Zephaniah

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-20
This week we light the pink candle on our Advent wreath, marking Rose Sunday or Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday. Today’s readings call us to be joyful. Zephanaiah, a minor prophet who came before Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied of Jerusalem’s coming destruction, but now he promises that God will bring the righteous people home from the coming exile. God will restore their fortunes and their joy.

Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6)
Remember last summer’s drought that stunted corn crops and frightened farmers? Drought is serious business, even nowadays. In biblical times, drought meant life or death. Isaiah, the major prophet of Israel’s destruction, exile and return, knowing that water is one of the most important things that God gives us, tells us to thank God with joy when we draw precious, life-giving water from the springs of salvation. For what are we grateful today?

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
In this short reading, Paul tells the people of Philippi to rejoice, for the Lord is near. Pray and give thanks, he advises, even in a difficult time, and “the peace of God, which passes all understanding” will fill their hearts and minds. In our world of stress and tension, what a blessing it is to enjoy a moment of peace. Can we imagine God’s peace, so wonderful that we can’t even comprehend it?

Gospel: Luke 3:7-18
Our Advent Gospel continues today with John the Baptist. The long-haired, ranting prophet, preaching and baptizing in the desert, declares that he is not the Messiah but prophesies that one more powerful (Jesus, even if John doesn’t know it yet, and who is also, according to Luke, John’s cousin) is coming to baptize with the Holy Spirit. The people ask what they should do, and John tells them: Share your clothing and your food with those who have none. Don’t cheat. Don’t be selfish! Soon Jesus will call us in a similar way: “I was hungry, and you gave me food … “

Advent 2C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012.

Dedication of the Temple in ancient Jerusalem

Dedication of the Temple in ancient Jerusalem

First Reading: Baruch 5:1-9
We don’t often hear readings from Baruch, which is one of the “Apocryphal” or “Deuterocanonical books” found at the back of the Old Testament. Martin Luther dropped these books from the Protestant Bible, but we’re glad that Anglicans (and Catholics) chose to keep them. Legend holds that Baruch, who is mentioned briefly in Jeremiah, was a friend and scribe of the prophet. Here, Baruch speaks to Israel in exile, calling on the people to stop mourning and prepare to celebrate God’s glory in a promised return to Jerusalem. As Christmas nears, we prepare to celebrate the glory of the Incarnation.

Psalm 126
Baruch’s prophetic promise has been fulfilled, and this Psalm honors the occasion with shouts of joy. Historically, the emperor Cyrus of Persia, ruler of what was then the world’s most powerful empire, had taken power over Babylon and, in an act that would gain him a reputation for enlightened tolerance, allowed the Israelites in exile to return home to Mount Zion – Jerusalem – and rebuild the Temple. It was a dream fulfilled, and the people gave loud thanks to God. When our dreams are realized, do we remember to give thanks?

Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
In the formal style of Greek correspondence, Paul begins his letter to the people of Philippi in Greece with greetings, love, thanks for their friendship and prayers for their well-being. Recalling their eager acceptance of the Gospel, Paul prays for his Philippian congregation’s continued spiritual growth and insight, which he prays will lead them to a harvest of righteousness and justice in God’s love through Christ.

Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
Luke continues the story of John the Baptist, now grown and beginning his public life as a prophet “crying out in the wilderness.” He begins with a detailed roster of Roman and Jewish leaders of the time, perhaps as a way to underscore the reality of this prophet to his contemporary readers. Then he utters a prophecy of Isaiah, interpreting it as his call to “Prepare the way of the Lord … make his paths straight.” What can we do in our time to prepare the way for the message of Jesus?

Advent 1C

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Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012.

The Fig Tree

The Fig Tree

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
It’s Advent now, and we start our journey toward Bethlehem and the Incarnation with a prophecy from Jeremiah. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the Israelites understood its promises of justice, righteousness and living in safety as assurance that they would return from exile to a restored city under God’s protection. For Christians, it becomes a metaphor for the justice and safety that we find in Christ.

Psalm 25:1-9
Just as the Jeremiah reading is a call for hope and trust in a time of pain, so does today’s Psalm ask us to put our faith in God’s love. The psalmist repeatedly calls for God’s compassion, using the Hebrew chesed, an emotion-laden word that may also be translated “faithfulness,” “kindness,” “mercy” or “grace.” It is reassuring to place our hope in God’s compassion when things look dark.

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
In so many of the letters attributed to Paul, he writes to a beloved community from afar, expressing hope that they will be reunited, and calling God’s blessing on their lives. With God’s help, he urges the people of Thessalonika, love each other and love everyone! He prays that God will strengthen their hearts in holiness. This is good advice for us, too: love each other and our neighbors as we await the coming of God’s kingdom.

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36
When I was young, growing up in an era when we feared that Russian missiles bearing mass destruction just might come flying over the polar darkness some night, the apocalyptic Gospels of Advent used to scare the daylights out of me; maybe that’s what they were intended to do. As adults, we can smile wisely and say we understand these scary stories as mere first century science fiction and fantasy, meant to underscore a point by exaggeration. But let’s not lose sight of that point: The kingdom of heaven, in cosmic terms, is drawing near. Are we ready? When events like 9/11 or Hurricane Sandy scare us, remember then that Jesus’s words stay with us.