Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Dec. 15, 2019

First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10

When the Messiah comes, when the Kingdom draws near, those days of glory will be filled with righteousness and justice, joy and abundance, with healing and good news for the poor. This is the message that we hear in the readings for the third Sunday of Advent.

This Sunday the readings shift focus from quiet expectation toward anticipatory joy, a change in pitch that many like to mark by wearing something pink to church. The first reading offers Isaiah’s vision of the people’s return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, a homeward journey when the desert itself shall rejoice and blossom with joy and singing.

Psalm: Psalm 146:4-9

In Psalm 146 we sing praise for God our creator – who made heaven, earth, the seas and all that is in them – by seeing the happiness of those who have received God’s assistance. The oppressed receive justice from God; God feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free, cares for strangers, orphans and widows, and gives sight to the blind. All this foreshadows the words that Mary will sing in the Magnificat (which is also available as an alternate Psalm on this Sunday); and we hear them echo again when Jesus describes God’s Kingdom on earth.

Alternate Psalm: Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46-55)

Tradition has come to show us Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a sweet, submissive figure. But the Magnificat, the Song of Mary from Luke’s Gospel, shows a very different Mary, a brave Palestinian teen-ager. Shouting out when she first feels the baby Jesus moving within her, she thanks God for this gift in a song about God’s righteousness and justice. In words that we will later hear again from Jesus, she sings that God has “scattered the proud … brought down the powerful … lifted up the lowly … filled the hungry with good things … and sent the rich away empty.”

Second Reading: James 5:7-10

“Be patient, therefore”? What an odd way to begin a reading! Turn back a page in your New Testament to see what led to this, and you’ll find James 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.” But we don’t hear that this Sunday; we begin with the next verses, in which James reminds us to must love each other and be generous with one another, lest we be judged.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

As we move through Matthew’s Gospel in this new Lectionary year, we will hear frequent reminders that Jesus is Messiah, the lord and savior that the prophets foretold. Today we hear a conversation between Jesus and messengers from John the Baptist in prison, asking outright whether Jesus is the Messiah or if they must wait for another. In response Jesus sets out his priorities, which echo Isaiah’s prophecies and 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.”

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Dec. 11, 2016

First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10

When the Messiah comes, when the Kingdom draws near, those days of glory will be filled with righteousness and justice, joy and abundance, and healing and good news for the poor. This is the message that we hear today, the third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday, historically called Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday, shifts focus from quiet expectation toward anticipatory joy, a change in tone that many like to mark by wearing something pink to church on this day. Our first reading offers Isaiah’s vision of the return from exile, a homeward journey when the desert itself shall rejoice and blossom with joy and singing as the weak become strong.

Psalm 146:4-9

This is the third time this year that we hear part of Psalm 146, “Praise the Lord, O My Soul.” This resounding hymn of praise fits well on the Third Sunday of Advent with its beautiful poetry of praise for our Creator, the God eternal who made heaven, earth, the seas and all that is in them. Its words of promise seem to foreshadow the Song of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as well as Jesus’ own promise to feed the hungry, give sight to the blind, set prisoners free and bring good news to the poor.

Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46-55, The Song of Mary – Magnificat)

Tradition has come to show us Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a sweet, submissive figure. But this image is a far cry from the brave Palestinian teen-ager that we see in Luke’s Gospel when she first feels the baby Jesus moving within her. Thanking God for this gift, she shouts a song of God’s righteousness and justice, a theme that unites the message of Torah and the message of Jesus: God has “scattered the proud … brought down the powerful … lifted up the lowly … filled the hungry with good things … and sent the rich away empty.”

Second Reading: James 5:7-10

Doesn’t “Be patient, therefore,” seem a strange way to begin a reading? It almost compels us to page back and see what led up to it. Indeed, the preceding verses show us James (who traditionally is understood as the brother of Jesus) sounding very much like Jesus’ mother, Mary, and like Jesus himself. In those verses James, in words much like Mary’s Magnificat and Jesus’ first sermon, warns that the selfish rich will weep and wail in misery because they laid up treasure by defrauding the workers who tilled their fields. Then, in the short verses that we hear today, James urges a different way: Love and be generous with each other, while we wait for the Lord’s coming.

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12

As we move through Matthew’s Gospel in this new Lectionary year, we will hear frequent reminders that Jesus is Messiah, the lord and savior that the prophets foretold. Today we hear a conversation between Jesus and messengers from John the Baptist in prison, asking outright whether Jesus is the Messiah or if they must wait for another. Then Jesus sets out his priorities, which echo Isaiah’s prophecies and 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.”

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

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.”