Prayer to begin:
God of joy and exultation,
you strengthen what is weak;
you enrich the poor
and give hope to those who live in fear.
Look upon our needs this day.
Make us grateful for the good news of salvation
and keep us faithful in your service
until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives for ever and ever. Amen.
This passage was probably written after the people of Israel returned from Exile. It foretells the total salvation of God’s people: bodily, spiritually, individually and socially. The prophet says that God has empowered him to act on God’s behalf; God has “anointed” him, commissioned him to preach and to hear the Word of faith, to understand God’s word, and to be strengthened in following it. (Vv. 1b-2 are Jesus’ text when he preaches the good news in the synagogue in Nazareth: see Luke 4:18-19.) This is a message of rescue for God’s people, in all ways.
“The year of the Lord’s favour” (v. 2) is mentioned in Leviticus 25:10: in a jubilee year, a year dedicated to God, one of liberty, all shall return home to their families. It is a year of rest in which the land produces without being sown. (The word translated as “vengeance” can be rendered as rescue.) In 60:21, God promises the people righteousness, oneness with God. Calling them “oaks of righteousness” here (v. 3) indicates the strength of their bond with God. They will show God’s majesty and power (“glory”), as intermediaries (“priests”, v. 6) between God and other nations. Vv. 4-7 tell us that strangers, foreigners, from all nations will contribute to the restoration of righteousness on earth. They will be greatly (“double”) blessed, and have eternal joy. The promises to Abraham made in Haran are finally to be fulfilled (v. 9). “They” (probably Israel, but possibly the foreigners too) will be rewarded (“recompense”, v. 8); God’s agreement with them will last for ever. In vv. 10-11, the prophet speaks as the renewed Jerusalem. All will rejoice because God has provided salvation and has healed their rift with God. Just as seeds grow into plants that can be seen, so God will cause people to be joined with him, to grow in him, and to praise him as an example for “all the nations”.
Reflection:
- "bind up the brokenhearted" -Where do we see this happening? When has your broken heart been bound up/healed? This passage gets at the heart of why we want to share Jesus - he's good news for those who've heard none.Do we not want others to find healing?
- "I the Lord love justice." Do you love justice? What does it mean to love justice for those who are oppressed?What does loving justice look like?
Luke 1:46b-55
This is known as the Magnificat, from the first word of the Latin translation. Mary is visiting Elizabeth and Zechariah. God’s messenger, Gabriel, has told her that she will bear Jesus, “Son of God” (v. 35), successor to David and founder of an eternal kingdom. Now she thanks God. Speaking today, she might begin: I, from the depth of my heart, declare the Lord’s greatness and rejoice in God my Saviour. Vv. 48-50 extol the fruits of the earth and of lowly dependence on God’s mercy; vv. 51-53 speak of the great reversals God has, and will, achieve through all ages; vv. 54-55 recall that he has fulfilled, and continues to fulfill, his promises to God's people.
Reflection:
This one scene has created art and music, poetry and prose.
Frederick Buechner writes of Gabriel:
As he said it he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great wings he himself was
trembling with fear to think that the whole future of creation hung now on the answer of a girl.
W. B. Yeats writes from Mary's point of view:
The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare
Through the hollow of an ear,
Wings beating about the room;
The terror of all terrors that I bore
The heavens in my womb.
Had I not found content among the shows
Every common woman knows
Chimney corner garden walk
Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes
And gather all the talk?
What is this flesh I purchased with my pains
This fallen star my milk sustains
This love that makes my heart’s blood stop
Or strikes a sudden chill into my bones
And bids my hair stand up?
In this scene Mary shows great faith, trust and courage. She risks much. She takes a great chance. She says yes to God in a remarkable way.
What meaning, inspiration or strength can you draw from this story?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Paul is drawing toward the conclusion of his letter. He has just exhorted the Thessalonian Christians regarding their personal conduct and their relations within the community. Now he turns to spiritual matters. God’s plan for them, realized in Christ, is to “rejoice always”, to make their lives a continual prayer, a working in unison with God, and to be thankful to God for his freely-given gifts, whatever may happen to them (vv. 16-18). Do not, he says in v. 19, suppress manifestations of the Holy Spirit as he works through members of the community; do not despise “the words of prophets” (v. 20), i.e. preaching inspired by God, words of consolation and warning spoken by members who receive messages from God, and predictions of future events, but be aware that there are true and false prophets; there are those who authentically speak God’s word, but others who do not, who are false, “evil” (v. 22). Take care to discern, in the context of the community, all supposed manifestations of the Spirit (“test everything”, v. 21).
Finally, in vv. 23-24, Paul prays that God, who brings peace (shalom) in the community now and promises eternal peace in his kingdom, may bring them into union with him (“sanctify”). Also, may every aspect of each one of them – their relationship to God (“spirit”), their personal vitality (“soul”), and their physical bodies – be found godly, worthy of the kingdom, when Christ comes again. God, who calls them to the Christian way, in his fidelity will sanctify them and make them worthy of the kingdom.
Reflection:- Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances." Really? Always? Without ceasing? In all circumstances? Can you do this? Always remember how blessed you are? its good to recall that Paul wrote much of his words in difficult circumstances.He wrote from prison, awaiting trial. Yet his words call us to rejoice always.
- "the one who calls you is faithful" - Jesus is faithful, even when we are not. Beth Quick writes: "Sometimes I think we expect God to let us down because we let God down. We're setting our standard the wrong way. We should take our standard from God, who is always faithful to us."
John 1:6-8, 19-28
In the opening verses of the book, the evangelist has told us, that the Word, the logos, (i.e. what God says, God in action, creating, revealing and redeeming) existed before all time. He is the force behind all that exists; he causes physical and spiritual life to be; life, goodness, light, overcomes all evil. Jesus, the “light” (v. 7), took on being human through God, and is a force for goodness, light, godliness, for all people. Now he tells of John the baptizer, who is sent, commissioned by God, to point to Jesus, to “testify to the light” (v. 7). He is the lamp that illuminates the way, but Christ is the light (v. 8). When the religious authorities (“Jews”, v. 19) send emissaries (“priests and Levites”) to assess the authenticity of this religious figure, John tells them that he is neither of those whom they are expecting to come to earth: neither “the Messiah” (v. 20) nor the returned “Elijah” (v. 21). (Jews believed that one or both would establish a kingdom on earth free from Roman domination.) Neither is he “the prophet” who was expected (by some) to be instrumental in establishing the Messiah’s kingdom. John says simply that he is the one who prepares “the way of the Lord” (v. 23), who announces the Messiah’s coming, fulfilling Isaiah 40:3. Representatives of the Pharisees (who enforced traditional Jewish law and practice) ask in v. 25: why are you performing an official rite without official status? (Jews baptized proselytes at the time.) John tells them that the one to whom he points is already on earth (v. 27); he is so great that I am not even worthy to be his slave.
Reflection
- Compare John's poetic introduction of John the Baptist to that found in the Synoptic gospels. John's writing is almost poetry, like he's setting a stage of characters, all of them getting ready for the appearance of Jesus.
- John's gospel is the only one where John the Baptist self-identifies as speaking from Isaiah. John portrays a very self-aware John the Baptist, who knows who he is. What do you think? How do you think John the Baptist saw himself?
- John describes Jesus as the light, and John the Baptist, not the light, testifying to the light. In Matthew, we read of Jesus saying that we are the light of the world. Do you think Matthew and John disagree, or show us different perspectives? Are you the light of the world? Do you testify to the light? Do you, like John the Baptist, know your role in this story?
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