The First Sunday after Christmas - 30 December 2012
Isaiah
61:10-62:3
Psalm
147
Galatians
3:23-25; 4:4-7
Saint
John 1:1-18
Background: Sundays after Christmas
The Revised Common
Lectionary (RCL) faithfully reflects the readings from the Roman Ordo, which
celebrates this Sunday as “The Holy Family”. The reading from Sirach is replaced in the RCL with a
reading from I Samuel, both of which ponder the duties of a son, and the growth
in wisdom and vocation. Likewise
the second reading is shared in the RCL and the Roman Order – a reading from
Colossians that reflects on Christian life in community and family. The Gospel reading is shared as well,
relating the journey that the Holy Family takes to Jerusalem, where Jesus
astounds the elders and states that he must be about his Father’s business.
When the RCL was adopted
by the Episcopal Church, the readings for this particular Sunday were not
adopted and the theme of the Holy Family is not celebrated on this Sunday of
the year (although some parishes call it that). The Episcopal readings instead focus on the mystery of the
Incarnation. Not willing to leave
behind the wondrous deeds proclaimed at the Eve of the Nativity and on the Day,
the Episcopal lectionary remains, like Mary, to ponder even more.
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
This pericope seems to a bridge joining the ideas
of the second Isaiah, with the theology of another Isaiah. Indeed, some scholars see these verses
as a fifth Song of the Servant, while others connect it to another author. Here, however, a personified Jerusalem
speaks and rejoices in her recovery.
The vision here is not a divisive one, as in Haggai and in Nehemiah, but
rather a more inclusive one, with Jerusalem as the one saved by the nations,
“the nations shall see your vindication”. Thus Jerusalem cannot keep silent but must “greatly
rejoice.” These verses
recall some of the festivals of the Jewish liturgical year, namely the feast of
Tabernacles, when there were processions with lighted torches. How does this connect with the
Christmas witness? Perhaps we need
to think of the people who “waited in darkness…on them light has shined.” The action moves from the angels who
proclaim a good song noting what God has done, to those who are the recipients
of God’s good grace, here Jerusalem.
Like Jerusalem we rejoice in that God has visited us in the person of
Jesus Christ.
Breaking
open Isaiah:
1.
Have you ever
been returned to a place or a status that you had been lost forever?
2.
How did that
feel? Did you rejoice?
3.
Whom do you
know that need restoration in their lives?
Psalm 147 Laudate Dominum
Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
The LORD lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.
He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;
But the LORD has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor.
Worship the LORD, O Jerusalem; *
praise your God, O Zion;
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; *
he has blessed your children within you.
He has established peace on your borders; *
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth, *
and his word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool; *
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; *
who can stand against his cold?
He sends forth his word and melts them; *
he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob, *
his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
He has not done so to any other nation; *
to them he has not revealed his judgments.
Hallelujah!
This psalm connects wonderfully the sentiments and
actions of the first reading (Jerusalem rejoicing in her restoration) with the
power with which God visits God’s people.
Probably written after the return, indeed after the rebuilding of
Jerusalem (The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem), and celebrates God’s knowledge of them
and of all creation (God counts the stars). The verses also anticipate the Lucan theme of the lifting up
of the lowly. In a couple of
powerful verses, the author describes the God who is truly above it all by
describing God’s not being impressed by the “might of the horse” (the role of
the horse in a war) or even by the might of human kind, “no pleasure in the
strength of a man.” Alter
translates this phrase as, “not by a man’s thighs is He pleased”, making clear
the sexual allusion is well.
Sexual life was for Israel it’s future, as it is ours as well. God, however, is pictured here as the
true future for Israel, and indeed, all the nations.
Breaking
open Psalm 147
1.
Why is
Jerusalem rejoicing?
2.
The psalmist
sees God as not rejoicing in our powers?
What does God delight in when seeing us?
3.
What is your
future in God?
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until
faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ
came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we
are no longer subject to a disciplinarian.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so
that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God
has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba!
Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then
also an heir, through God.
Paul speaks to us about the suasion of our faith in
our lives. In the first two verses
Paul differentiates between the Law that guided us, that tended us like a nanny
or a servant assigned to us, and the faith that comes to us in Jesus
Christ. For Paul, the faith is
freedom, and we are free to move about in life without an instructor or a
nanny.
The reading then moves to the subsequent
chapter. Here Paul wants us to
understand the mission of Christ, who takes on our human nature (born of a
woman) in order to complete that for which God sent him. Thus the Christmas story is not just a
charming recounting of childbirth, but a powerful reminder that God has come to
us in time. This coming has
repercussions for us. For now is
not only Jesus the Son, but we are sons and daughters as well. We are spiritually born so that we
might recognize God as Father. So
we are not slaves, we are heirs.
It is a parallel life with and in Christ.
Breaking
open Galatians:
1.
What does
Paul mean by “the fullness of time?”
2.
How is your
faith freedom? How is it not?
3.
How would you
describe your relationship with God?
Would it be in family terms?
John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through
him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in
him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness
to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was
not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which
enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the
world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not
accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave
power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his
glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. (John
testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes
after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") From his fullness
we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God
the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
If we had doubts about what this Sunday following
Christmas is truly about, the Gospel reading quickly sets us straight. Here we have an almost rhapsodic
meditation on the WORD, the logos, the breath of God. Some think that these verses were already written when John
adopted them as the prologue to his Gospel. There powerful simplicity commends them to us regardless of
their provenance. We witness creation through new eyes, and we see the power of
God’s word (read Jesus) at the very beginning of creation. But all is not about the mystery of
Christ’s presence. It is about
Christ’s mission, and it John the Baptist who first serves as a witness to this
mission. Jesus’ mission supersedes
John’s and moves it into a new realm into a kingdom and community of grace, or
as John says, “grace upon grace.”
This is all about relationship – the relationship of the Son to the
Father, and about how our relationship to God is radically changed in God’s
word to us – Jesus.
Breaking
open the Gospel:
- Why does John want Jesus present at the moment of Creation?
- What images come to mind to you when we speak of the Word of
God? The breath of God?
- Has there been a new creation in your life?
After
breaking open the Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday.
Almighty God, you have poured
upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled
in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.
All commentary and questions are copyright © 2012
Michael T. Hiller
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