Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 1, 2019

First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5

Advent begins, and with it a new Lectionary year. We have completed our year with the Gospel of Luke, and now turn to Matthew’s Gospel for the next 12 months. Advent begins the church year as a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus.

As we look forward to Christmas Day, our readings foresee a bright Messianic future. In verses of poetic beauty in the first reading, the prophet Isaiah foresees Jerusalem and its Temple restored. It will be the highest of the mountains, the center of a world that recognizes it as the house of God. It will be a world of peace, a time when swords have been beaten into plowshares and there is no more war.

Psalm: Psalm 122

This Psalm, attributed by legend to King David, sings counterpoint to our Isaiah reading. It looks toward a glorious future, too, a time of triumph and peace for Jerusalem, the city of God, the throne of the new King David, the Messiah. The house of David is a city at peace, a city on a mountain where all the tribes of Israel go up with gladness to praise God’s name. At David’s throne, all the people can expect fair judgment; there the love of God is rewarded with security, prosperity and peace.

Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14

We will read Paul’s letter to the Romans in three of the four Sundays of Advent. His last letter, written to introduce himself to the young church in Rome just before he sailed there some 25 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. In this passage we hear Paul exhorting the people to be prepared for the return of Jesus, an event that Christians of that time expected to come very soon. “The night is far gone, the day is near,” Paul assures his flock. In the meantime, he calls on them to “put on the armor of light” by behaving well, living abstemiously, and avoiding quarrels and jealousy.

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44

In this passage from Matthew’s Gospel, we see Jesus talking with the apostles on a hillside on the Mount of Olives, looking across a small valley toward the Temple. In preceding verses Jesus has told them – in words similar to those told by Luke two weeks ago – that the temple will be torn down amid a time of war and great suffering, before Christ comes to usher in a new age. Now, in Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus warns them that only God knows when the last days will come, just as sinful humans in Noah’s time had no warning of the coming flood. This frames a simple Advent message: Be ready. Be prepared. Live as if Christ might return at any hour.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Nov. 27, 2016

First Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5

Advent begins! It is a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus. As we look forward to Christmas Day, our readings look forward to a bright Messianic future. In verses of poetic beauty, the prophet Isaiah foresees Jerusalem and its Temple restored. It will be the highest of the mountains, the center of a world that recognizes it as the house of God. It will be a world of peace, a time when swords have been beaten into plowshares and there is no more war.

Psalm 122

This Psalm closely mirrors the Isaiah reading’s hope for a future of triumph and peace for Jerusalem, the city of God, the throne of the new King David, the Messiah. The house of David is a city at peace, a city on a mountain where all the tribes of Israel go up with gladness to praise God’s name. At David’s throne, all the people can expect fair judgment; there the love of God is rewarded with security, prosperity and peace.

Second Reading: Romans 13:11-14

Advent is the time to wake up, to watch and wait, enduring the darkness as we look for the coming of a new dawn. Paul urges the people of the young church in Rome to prepare for the return of Jesus, an eagerly anticipated event that first century Christians believed and prayed would come very soon. “The night is far gone, the day is near,” he assures his flock. In the verses just preceding, Paul had advised the Romans to obey the commandments and love their neighbors as themselves. Then, to prepare for the day of the Lord, Paul invites them to “put on the armor of light” by living honorably, behaving well, living abstemiously, and avoiding quarrels and jealousy.

Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44

The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new liturgical year and a new year of Sunday readings. We have spent the last 12 months focusing our attention on Luke’s gospel; now we turn to a year with Matthew. Today’s verses complete today’s cycle of readings that foretell the last days and a Messianic future. Looking at the Temple from a nearby hillside in they days just before his passion and death, Jesus reminds his followers that only God knows when the last days will come, just as careless humans in Noah’s time had no warning of the Flood. The Advent message here is clear and simple: Be ready. Be prepared. Live as if Christ might come back at any hour.

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

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?