Readings for Advent 2

Take a moment to centre yourself in prayer:
O Promised One; Once again we come to this time of Advent and await your presence. Give us the patience to seek meaning in these busy days. Give us the courage to wait through times of trouble or confusion. Give us the compassion to wait for someone who is burdened or moving slower than we would move. Give us the faith to see the Messiah in everyone we meet. Give us hope that we will find in your word what we need to await your presence again, Amen.

Isaiah's Background

Unlike Jeremiah, Isaiah’s prophecy is a mixture of hope and doom right from the beginning. Today's passage is from First Isaiah, long before the destruction of Jerusalem, when Isaiah was trying to call the king of Judah (probably Ahaz) to account. Isaiah’s role may have been more “aristocratic” than our usual prophets; perhaps he was attached to the temple or the palace. He may have been married to a prophetess (or at least fathered her child) and named the child “swift the spoiling, prompt the plundering” – forecasting an invasion by the Assyrians (Isaiah 3.)

READ Isaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah being an insider, he may have written this passage for King Hezekiah’s ascent to the throne –it contains his hopes for the future of the “kingdom”, and high expectations for the king.

They wanted a Davidic king, with superhuman wisdom, who had God’s spirit in him, who listened to the prophets. This king would have the goal of justice for the poor, equity for the meek. Verse 1 begins with “And... there shall come forth” in the Hebrew – it suggests maybe something was lost. We always read Hebrew scripture with Christian perspective, and should be aware of our biases. For example, the verbs could be PRESENT not FUTURE as we suppose. It is Christian interpretation that Isaiah is speaking about a “stump” suggests kings were cut down, and the new growth is Jesus, the Messiah. The Hebrew could simply mean trunk, or stalk, and the Hebrew word for “branch” sounds very similar to “crown”.

In verse 2, the crown may not come from God, but the wisdom to rule must come from God. This arises out of the “fear of the Lord” found in verse 3, meaning reverence or awe, not scared. In verse 4, “the wicked” actually meant tyrant or bully – not someone who was sexually immoral but repressive over others. In verse 6 thhe rule of the king is not just over humanity but sets the environment for all creatures to live in peace, even a child could lead or herd them. Through the king God can even change the lion’s diet and redeem the serpent!

Verse 10 is probably part of next passage or an idependent oracle. “And in that day” is more future-oriented, universalist.

Question for Reflection: In the time of Isaiah, it was assumed the monarch would be the example of faith to the people. In our time, I like to think the roles are reversed – how do we model faithfulness and justice to our leaders?

READ Matthew 3:1-12

Nothing is known about Jesus' life from the escape to Egypt, and return to Galilee.
John the Baptist is such an important figure, he appears in all 4 gospels, and yet is he really central in Jesus’ story?
“The one who sees the signs” confirms Jesus’ importance for people who place importance on prophets. It was significant for the fulfilment of tradition. In verse 2, the “Kingdom is near” is unique to Matthew - There is dispute over whether this really was John’s message, or Jesus’ message. John’s message was largely one of repentance before judgement. In verse 3 there is a quote from Isaiah 40:3, which isn’t really a messianic passage! “The Lord” to Isaiah was YHWH, not a messiah.

John the Baptist was clothed like the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), based from Jerusalem, not Galilee. The Jordan river was significant in Hebrew scripture – Elijah/Elisha; David and the Ark of the covenant, Joshua entering the Promised Land – all signalling that baptism at Jordan a “transition” and a new chapter in living.
For the Pharisees and Saduceess, baptism was already a ritual, but because of their other conflicts, John might have felt they would render his baptism empty. They expected special protection through Abraham, but John insists it does not require biological heritage and offers the image of a tree cut off at the root – fruitfulness is the test – fire is final judgement.

In verse 11, the phrase “coming after me” is literally a play on words for a disciple who shadows the teacher – not necessarily a compliment. But the one thing he was never required to do was touch the teacher's feet, that was the work of a slave. John reverses the understanding, Jesus was known to be a disciple of John's yet would ultimately be one greater than John. John not even fit to carry his shoes!

The phrase “with fire” has been added to Mark’s original version, incorporating final judgement imagery? And verse 12 is not found in Mark or John, it is possibly from another sources called "Q" – Jesus as final judge.

Question for Reflection:
How is John the Baptist’s message for you? Helpful or hopeful or threatening?

READ Romans 15:4-13
Paul in search of strong community – privileged to help the underdog – the strong in faith should support those who are weak. The purpose of the letter to the Romans was to build the body of Christ before Paul's arrival in Rome – breaking down obstacles both physical and theological. In verse 4, the scriptures written in former days for Paul were the Hebrew law and prophets – still valued and holy from Paul’s perspective. They could be a meeting point between Gentiles and Jews. His goal was harmony – in accordance with Christ, coming to a point where they could glorify God with one voice.

In the final part, Paul uses scripture to reinforce the idea they could live in peace in the new creation. In verse 9, he quotes Psalm 19:49 “that Gentiles might glorify”, but in most translations in Psalms, it reads "nations". Your translations may have nations or Gentiles in the following references:
Verse 10 quotes Deut 32.43; verse 11 quotes Ps 117.1; verse 12 quotes Isaiah 11.10
For Paul, Jesus provided a bridge between all cultural and religious difference.

Question for Reflection:
How do you, as a Christian, living in and supporting a religiously pluralistic age, understand Jesus to be “the bridge” between our faith and other faiths?

Closing:
Creed for our Advent Pilgrimage, by barb janes
in Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2010-2011, UCRD.

I believe in the promise of Christmas
and the importance of celebrating it in the church.
I believe in the God at the centre of Christmas,
whose hope for the world was imagined by prophets.
I believe in Mary,
who sang of turning the world upside down
and who allowed her life to be disrupted by God.
I believe in Joseph,
whose broken heart broke the rules
to do the right thing.
I believe in the smell of the stable -
I believe there is no place God won't go.
I believe in the shepherds, those simple ones open to hear the angels' song.
I believe in the Magi, the ones outside the faith,
outside the community, who searched out the Holy.
I believe in Jesus, born in poverty,
soon a refugee, raised in faith, lived seeking justice,
died speaking forgiveness, rose with a love that could not be stopped.
I commit to use this season to seek out the holy
both in God among and God beyond us.
I open myself to an Advent journey of great joy
that will change my life. Amen