The First Sunday of Advent, 1 December 2013
Isaiah
2:1-5
Psalm
122
Romans
13:11-14
St.
Matthew 24:36-44
Background: A Year of Matthew
With this First Sunday of Advent, we enter
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).
The predominant Gospel during this cycle will be the Gospel According to
Saint Matthew. Here are some background
materials on this Gospel. Until the
nineteenth century, the Gospel of Matthew enjoyed a primacy of quotation and
usage in the Church. However, with the
rediscovery of the importance of Mark to both Matthew and Luke, Matthew has
enjoyed the same critical examination that has been afforded the other
Gospels. The authorship of Matthew, once
acknowledged as Matthew – one of the Twelve – is now not so certain. These aspects, however are recognized: 1) The Gospel was written by a Jewish
Christian, who knew Hebrew. Matthew
makes deep connections between the Hebrew Scriptures and the life of
Jesus. When the author quotes the Hebrew
Scriptures the Hebrew original is quoted rather than the Greek translation
known as the Septuagint. 2) The author
is interested in the prophetic background that is, in his estimation, fulfilled
in the life of Jesus. 3) The author was
quite familiar with Jewish custom, law, and cultus.
The Gospel was probably composed sometime in
the late first century CE, between 89 and 90.
Thus the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, and perhaps the events leading
up to the Council of Jamnia (although this event is largely discredited now) would have set a
different kind of backdrop to the evangelist’s telling of the life of
Jesus. His reliance on Mark, and on the
sayings from Q would have
balanced this point of view with the realities of Jesus’ time. There is material that is unique to Matthew,
and during the course of this coming year, we will discover and discuss these
materials.
Next Week: The Audience and the
Setting.
Isaiah 2:1-5
The word that Isaiah
son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the
LORD's house
shall be established as
the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised
above the hills;
all the nations shall
stream to it.
Many peoples shall come
and say,
"Come, let us go
up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the
God of Jacob;
that he may teach us
his ways
and
that we may walk in his
paths."
For out of Zion shall
go forth instruction,
and the word of the
LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between
the nations,
and shall arbitrate for
many peoples;
they shall beat their
swords into plowshares,
and their spears into
pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift
up sword against nation,
neither shall they
learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the
LORD!
This pericope comes from a series of sayings and oracles that were made
during the time of Ahaz (1:1-12:6), ca. 740 BCE. In this
reading Isaiah looks to what Jerusalem will or perhaps should be in the times
to come. It is interesting that these
verses are stated in a different manner in Micah 4:1-5. You might
want to read them for the comparison. It
is here that we begin to see what will develop in Isaiah as a universalism that
will lift its gaze from the people of Israel and Judah to a larger theater that
would include all the nations of the earth.
We also begin to see characters develop that will be important to the rib pattern, in which Israel/Judah, God,
and Earth and Sky are seated in a courtroom to hear testimony about the people
and their behavior and faithfulness.
Here God is set us as Judge (and as Instructor
as well.) It is the Law that shall teach
and guide, and it is God who will see whether or not his ways are being
followed. The final lines describe the
messianic reality that Isaiah foresees, a realm of peace and security. The invitation to walk in the ways of the
Lord is an invitation to live under the rule and teaching of the Law.
Why was this reading chosen for the first Sunday of Advent? The Gospel for the day seems to provide a bit
of a paradox to this reading. Isaiah
describes what good might be, and Jesus describes what difficulties are to
come. Here is the nexus on which this
Sunday is formed. What kind of times can
we expect before the coming of Jesus?
Breaking
open Isaiah:
- Do you have dreams about what your community or country might
become? What are they?
- By what means does God teach you about life?
- How do you feel about the image of God as a judge?
Psalm 122 Laetatus sum
I was glad when they
said to me, *
"Let us go to the
house of the LORD."
Now our feet are
standing *
within your gates, O
Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built as a
city *
that is at unity with
itself;
To which the tribes go
up,
the tribes of the LORD,
*
the assembly of Israel,
to praise the Name of
the LORD.
For there are the
thrones of judgment, *
the thrones of the
house of David.
Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem: *
"May they prosper
who love you.
Peace be within your
walls *
and quietness within
your towers.
For my brethren and
companions' sake, *
I pray for your
prosperity
Because of the house of
the LORD our God, *
I will seek to do you
good."
If Isaiah is entertaining notions of a more universal Yahwism, then the
psalmist is clearly focused on Jerusalem as the center of the cultus, the place
of divine worship and rule. The first
line (not included in the liturgical psalter) is a description of the psalm as
a “song of ascents for David.” This,
however, is not Jerusalem seen from afar, a goal for the end of the journey,
but rather as a present reality – “our
feet were standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.”
The psalmist has arrived within the sacred precinct, but is aware of
the constant stream of pilgrims who move up to the city. (Since Jerusalem sits on a north-south ridge
that divides the coastal lowlands, from the deserts that surround the Jordan
River valley, people would naturally have to come up to the city.) It is here that not only the Temple sits, but the thrones of judgment as well. Thus the psalm reflects not only Jerusalem as
a spiritual center, but as a political center as well. The line “pray
for the peace of Jerusalem” plays on the Hebrew word shalom, which forms part of the name of the city as well. The defensive towers mentioned earlier in the
poem now become ramparts and palaces
that are governed by peace. Again, the
forecast of a messianic kingdom finds its place here as well as in the vision
of Isaiah.
Breaking
open Psalm 122:
- Is there a physical central point to your faith? If so, where is that?
- Is there a spiritual capital of America? Where?
- How do the spiritual and the political relate for you?
Romans 13:11-14
You know what time it
is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is
nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day
is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in
debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its
desires.
In the material leading up to this reading, Paul has asked his readers
to look beyond the behavior and life of the present age. His encouragement is to anticipate living
into the great Day of the Lord. In the
past prophetic tradition, this Day of the Lord was depicted with dark colors
and dismal promises. Now it becomes,
under Paul, a day to be anticipated – with joy.
The dark night of the past fear of God’s judgment is past – the reader
is protected by an “armor of light.” These are not spiritual and theological
distinctions, however. Paul sees them
(that past darkness) in a very real light, and lists them out for us: reveling, drunkenness, debauchery,
licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy.
Instead of providing a list of alternatives, Paul supplies only one thing,
one aspect with which to live in this world – the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
that anticipation that forms the theme for this day.
Breaking
open Romans:
- What might you dread about the Great Day of the Lord?
- What might you anticipate with joy about the Great Day of the
Lord?
- What do you anticipate in this season?
St. Matthew 24:36-44
Jesus said to the
disciples, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels
of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so
will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them
all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the
field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal
together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you
do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner
of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would
have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore
you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected
hour."
In
the preceding verses and chapter, Jesus has riveted his gaze and teaching on
the difficult times that are to come.
The evangelist may have known them well, as a probable witness to the
fall of Jerusalem and the crushing of the Jewish revolt. Jesus, however, does not know of these things
as things in and of themselves, but rather as signs pointing to a new era for
the earth – the coming of the Son of Man.
Here is some biblical material that can help you with the vision that
Jesus gives – Daniel 7:13, Genesis 6-8. The immediacy of this visitation is underscored
by Jesus’ examples: Noah, those taken, and those left behind. Such randomness had been experienced by
Israel in the past, during the wars and invasions from the east and the south,
which were indiscriminate in the terror that they dispensed. Another theme that resonates here is that of
the remnant – those left behind (or
taken up, depending on your point of view) who remain faithful. The point is not on the realities of what
this might be like but rather on an attitude of watchfulness and waiting. It will be difficult to cut through the
sugary sweet anticipation of Christmas in our culture to arrive at the resolute
and bare bones attitude that Jesus seems to desire.
Breaking open the Gospel:
1.
What about life in Christ do you hope to be surprised by?
2.
How do you understand the idea of “one being taken and one being left
behind”?
3.
What about the current culture’s depiction of Christmas do you need
to leave behind?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put
on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2013 Michael T. Hiller
Comments
Post a Comment