Christ Is In Control
Commentary
Jeremiah 31:7-14
The First Lesson is in a book of prophecies of the late seventh — early sixth centuries BC Prophet of Judah. It was dictated to his aid Baruch. The prophet frequently offers criticism of David’s heirs and the temple leadership, giving more attention to the Sinai covenant (to ways of serving Yahweh pre-dating the temple cult). This may be related to the fact that Jeremiah was an ancestor of one of David’s high priests, Abiathar, who had lost control of the temple and was finally banished (2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 2:26-27).
The lesson is part of a section in Jeremiah called the Book of Consolation (30:1-31:40). These verses are comprised of oracles and poetry speaking of a future restoration of Israel and Judah. Consequently, it is likely that this literature dates from a period after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 587 BC. However, this text and others in this section refer to Ephraim (v.9), one of the northern tribes after their secession from the Davidic king of Judah in 922 BC. Consequently, Old Testament scholars conclude that parts of the oracles (including the one we now consider) were originally addressed to the northern kingdom and then expanded by the prophet or an editor to apply to Judah. Rather than being a troubling insight, this loosening of the promises in our text from their original historical context entails that God’s promises are not the result of last-minute feeling of passion on God’s part, but have been part of the divine plan from the outset, and are unconditional (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, pp.351-352).
These themes are evident in the lesson’s rejoicing over the salvation [yasha, or “giving safety to”] of the remnant of Israel from all over the world (vv.7-8). The Lord is identified as Israel’s Father [ab] (v.9; Hosea 11:1) and as a shepherd [raah] (v.10). Yahweh is prophesied as ransoming [gaal, also translated “to fee”] Jacob redeeming/feeing the people (v.11), leading them to become radiant over Yahweh’s goodness (v.12). As a result, his goodness will be praised, leading to rejoicing and to bounty in the restored homeland (vv.13-14).
In a 2016 poll conducted by Wrangler, long before the pandemic, 80% of Americans claimed they felt stuck in routines. It has not gotten better with the pandemic. We all feel trapped. Consider how much more trapped African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jews now feel, trapped by the prejudices and violence directed against them. Some are also trapped by social isolation, the sort that preceded the pandemic. An earlier 2020 report by the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 28% of American households were made up of just one person, a staggering percentage increase in the last several decades.
What we need is some love, a lot of love. The lesson proclaims this clearly, and so sermons on the amazing love of God are most appropriate. He is revealed as a God who is a shepherd of his people, who gives safety, and sets free. Sermons on the freedom for life which God’s love affords are also appropriate. The lesson also invites sermons on God’s providence and his continuity in caring for his people. The praise and joy expressed at the end of the lesson clearly links to the themes of the lesson and are most appropriate for the fresh start the new year and God’s love can provide.
Sirach 24:1-12
The alternative First Lesson is drawn from an apocryphal book of wisdom literature attributed to Jesus the son of Sir, a collection of teachings in Jerusalem sometime in the early 2nd century BC, just before the Maccabean Revolt. In this era, the Hebrews were dominated by the Selucid dynasty which was threatening the Jewish social system and threatened the temple system as well. The author seeks to proclaim the wisdom of the Mosaic Law with wisdom traditions of the region. As such the book resembles Proverbs, though the individual proverbs in this book are not set apart.
This lesson is a Praise of Lady Wisdom (note wisdom is identified with the feminine). She is portrayed as of divine origin, coming from the mouth of the Most High (perhaps a reference of creation [Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,1420,24,26]), dwelling in heaven (vv.3-4). She is said to travel the depths, holding sway over all things seeking a resting place (vv.5-7). She is commanded by God to live in the land of Jacob, ministering to the Lord in Jerusalem/Zion (vv.8-11). Lady Wisdom refers to it as her beloved city (v.12).
The text affords an excellent opportunity to preach on the biblical meaning of wisdom and its relationship to Christ. The lesson’s reference to wisdom as being of divine origin suggests that a Christian reading of the lesson refers to Christ (Christ is associated with wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1:24). Given that the Greek term for wisdom is Sophia, it is interesting to note how wisdom is here identified as in the female gender, much as in Proverbs (1:20ff.). Sermons on the female aspect of God’s nature are then certainly suggested. Linked with this commitment can be sermons on God’s moving in the depths of life with us, functioning as a resting place, and regarding us as his beloved. This is a sermon for proclaiming the comforting assurance that Christ is in us and is with us everywhere, ever in control.
Ephesians 1:3-14
The Second Lesson is a thanksgiving for blessings showered on the whole created order, offered in a circular letter written by Paul from prison late in his career or by one of his followers who had a hand in assembling a collection of his epistles. The latter prospect is made likely by the fact that the epistle includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the indisputably Pauline writings.
Employing an ancient Jewish prayer form, thanks are offered to God the Father of Christ for blessings showered on us in heavenly places (v.3). Reference is made to our election [proorizo, predestination] in Christ before the foundation of the world, an election to holiness and blessedness. Reference is also made to the praise of God’s glorious grace bestowed on us in the beloved [the one who is loved — Christ] (vv.6,12). In him redemption [apolutrosis, literally “loosing away,” also connoting “buying back”] through his blood is given by grace (vv.8b-9). With wisdom God is said to have made known to the faithful the mystery of his will set forth in Christ (vv.8b-9). This will is that in the fullness of time all things in heaven and earth will be gathered up in Christ, that in him we obtain an inheritance (vv.10-11). They could refer to the church as the Body of Christ or to all the world being redeemed in him, and it could refer to a cosmic Christ where all created realities are understood to be absorbed in his deity. The Holy Spirit is said to be given to seal or as a pledge of our redemptions and seems to be given with faith in Christ (vv.13-14).
One possibility for a sermon on this text is to reflect on the cosmic Christ, how the whole universe embodies the exalted Christ and so reflects his love and his presence. It could be noted how some physicists and chemists are contending that the universe itself is rational, mind-like (Lothar Schäfer, In Search of Divine Reality, pp.7,88,97,101111ff.). This explains the presence of the laws of nature in the universe. And since Christ may be deemed as reason itself (the logos as per John 1:1), it follows that Christ is clearly in control of the cosmos. Its components reflect his agenda. The lesson also seems to affirm single predestination — the belief that God has predestined all to salvation, that damnation is not God’s doing, but merely the consequence of throwing away the gift. Thus, a sermon on this theme and the assurance it provides is also appropriate.
John 1:(1-9) 10-18
The gospel is part of the prologue of the last of the four gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century. It is probably based on the first three gospels. Though often identified with the disciple John, most scholars claim it was written by a disciple of John. Its main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (20:31). Recently some scholars appealing to the writings of an early Bishop Papias are more inclined to see the book as an authentic historical testimony to Jesus (Ronald Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, esp. pp.423ff.; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, pp.154-155).
The gospel’s emphasis on the incarnation is made evident in that this is a theme in the prologue. These verses have no real parallels. The logos is said to have been in the beginning with God, identifying God and the word (vv.1-2). All things are said to come into being through the word, and that he is the light which the darkness cannot overcome (vv.3-5). (The term for darkness, skotia, may correspond to its Hebraic equivalent choshek, which connotes “oppression.”)
Reference is made to John the Baptist, who came as a witness to the light, but is said himself not to be light (vv.6-9). This point may have been made to mitigate competition that existed between followers of John and the Christian community. The text reports that the word came into the world, but that the world did not know him, that he was not accepted, but that to all who received him he gave power to become children of God who are born of God (vv.10-13). Then it is proclaimed that the word became flesh and lived among us, full of truth and grace. In
testifying to him, John said that the word was the one whom he said ranks ahead of him (vv.14-15). From the fullness of the word, it is reported that grace upon grace was received (v.16). The law is said to have been given through Moses, but truth and grace come through Christ (v.17). No one has seen God, the Johannine author notes. But his only son who is in the bosom of the Father (in complete communion with him) has made him known (v.18).
The lesson also offers opportunities to proclaim the cosmic Christ (see the discussion of this theme in the exposition of the Second Lesson) or what it means like John to subordinate ourselves to him. The message is also given that Christ embodies salvation by grace. Other possible sermons might be to emphasize the implications that Christ assumed a human body. It entails how precious we and our bodies must be to God. Another possibility is to focus on how wrong-headed our ideas of God are, that he can only be known in Jesus Christ.
All the lessons testify to Christ being in control of the universe and our lives — a most appropriate assurance as we enter the new year. Sermons on any of the lessons should seek to convey that theme.
The First Lesson is in a book of prophecies of the late seventh — early sixth centuries BC Prophet of Judah. It was dictated to his aid Baruch. The prophet frequently offers criticism of David’s heirs and the temple leadership, giving more attention to the Sinai covenant (to ways of serving Yahweh pre-dating the temple cult). This may be related to the fact that Jeremiah was an ancestor of one of David’s high priests, Abiathar, who had lost control of the temple and was finally banished (2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 2:26-27).
The lesson is part of a section in Jeremiah called the Book of Consolation (30:1-31:40). These verses are comprised of oracles and poetry speaking of a future restoration of Israel and Judah. Consequently, it is likely that this literature dates from a period after the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 587 BC. However, this text and others in this section refer to Ephraim (v.9), one of the northern tribes after their secession from the Davidic king of Judah in 922 BC. Consequently, Old Testament scholars conclude that parts of the oracles (including the one we now consider) were originally addressed to the northern kingdom and then expanded by the prophet or an editor to apply to Judah. Rather than being a troubling insight, this loosening of the promises in our text from their original historical context entails that God’s promises are not the result of last-minute feeling of passion on God’s part, but have been part of the divine plan from the outset, and are unconditional (Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, pp.351-352).
These themes are evident in the lesson’s rejoicing over the salvation [yasha, or “giving safety to”] of the remnant of Israel from all over the world (vv.7-8). The Lord is identified as Israel’s Father [ab] (v.9; Hosea 11:1) and as a shepherd [raah] (v.10). Yahweh is prophesied as ransoming [gaal, also translated “to fee”] Jacob redeeming/feeing the people (v.11), leading them to become radiant over Yahweh’s goodness (v.12). As a result, his goodness will be praised, leading to rejoicing and to bounty in the restored homeland (vv.13-14).
In a 2016 poll conducted by Wrangler, long before the pandemic, 80% of Americans claimed they felt stuck in routines. It has not gotten better with the pandemic. We all feel trapped. Consider how much more trapped African Americans, Asian Americans, and Jews now feel, trapped by the prejudices and violence directed against them. Some are also trapped by social isolation, the sort that preceded the pandemic. An earlier 2020 report by the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 28% of American households were made up of just one person, a staggering percentage increase in the last several decades.
What we need is some love, a lot of love. The lesson proclaims this clearly, and so sermons on the amazing love of God are most appropriate. He is revealed as a God who is a shepherd of his people, who gives safety, and sets free. Sermons on the freedom for life which God’s love affords are also appropriate. The lesson also invites sermons on God’s providence and his continuity in caring for his people. The praise and joy expressed at the end of the lesson clearly links to the themes of the lesson and are most appropriate for the fresh start the new year and God’s love can provide.
Sirach 24:1-12
The alternative First Lesson is drawn from an apocryphal book of wisdom literature attributed to Jesus the son of Sir, a collection of teachings in Jerusalem sometime in the early 2nd century BC, just before the Maccabean Revolt. In this era, the Hebrews were dominated by the Selucid dynasty which was threatening the Jewish social system and threatened the temple system as well. The author seeks to proclaim the wisdom of the Mosaic Law with wisdom traditions of the region. As such the book resembles Proverbs, though the individual proverbs in this book are not set apart.
This lesson is a Praise of Lady Wisdom (note wisdom is identified with the feminine). She is portrayed as of divine origin, coming from the mouth of the Most High (perhaps a reference of creation [Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,1420,24,26]), dwelling in heaven (vv.3-4). She is said to travel the depths, holding sway over all things seeking a resting place (vv.5-7). She is commanded by God to live in the land of Jacob, ministering to the Lord in Jerusalem/Zion (vv.8-11). Lady Wisdom refers to it as her beloved city (v.12).
The text affords an excellent opportunity to preach on the biblical meaning of wisdom and its relationship to Christ. The lesson’s reference to wisdom as being of divine origin suggests that a Christian reading of the lesson refers to Christ (Christ is associated with wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1:24). Given that the Greek term for wisdom is Sophia, it is interesting to note how wisdom is here identified as in the female gender, much as in Proverbs (1:20ff.). Sermons on the female aspect of God’s nature are then certainly suggested. Linked with this commitment can be sermons on God’s moving in the depths of life with us, functioning as a resting place, and regarding us as his beloved. This is a sermon for proclaiming the comforting assurance that Christ is in us and is with us everywhere, ever in control.
Ephesians 1:3-14
The Second Lesson is a thanksgiving for blessings showered on the whole created order, offered in a circular letter written by Paul from prison late in his career or by one of his followers who had a hand in assembling a collection of his epistles. The latter prospect is made likely by the fact that the epistle includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the indisputably Pauline writings.
Employing an ancient Jewish prayer form, thanks are offered to God the Father of Christ for blessings showered on us in heavenly places (v.3). Reference is made to our election [proorizo, predestination] in Christ before the foundation of the world, an election to holiness and blessedness. Reference is also made to the praise of God’s glorious grace bestowed on us in the beloved [the one who is loved — Christ] (vv.6,12). In him redemption [apolutrosis, literally “loosing away,” also connoting “buying back”] through his blood is given by grace (vv.8b-9). With wisdom God is said to have made known to the faithful the mystery of his will set forth in Christ (vv.8b-9). This will is that in the fullness of time all things in heaven and earth will be gathered up in Christ, that in him we obtain an inheritance (vv.10-11). They could refer to the church as the Body of Christ or to all the world being redeemed in him, and it could refer to a cosmic Christ where all created realities are understood to be absorbed in his deity. The Holy Spirit is said to be given to seal or as a pledge of our redemptions and seems to be given with faith in Christ (vv.13-14).
One possibility for a sermon on this text is to reflect on the cosmic Christ, how the whole universe embodies the exalted Christ and so reflects his love and his presence. It could be noted how some physicists and chemists are contending that the universe itself is rational, mind-like (Lothar Schäfer, In Search of Divine Reality, pp.7,88,97,101111ff.). This explains the presence of the laws of nature in the universe. And since Christ may be deemed as reason itself (the logos as per John 1:1), it follows that Christ is clearly in control of the cosmos. Its components reflect his agenda. The lesson also seems to affirm single predestination — the belief that God has predestined all to salvation, that damnation is not God’s doing, but merely the consequence of throwing away the gift. Thus, a sermon on this theme and the assurance it provides is also appropriate.
John 1:(1-9) 10-18
The gospel is part of the prologue of the last of the four gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century. It is probably based on the first three gospels. Though often identified with the disciple John, most scholars claim it was written by a disciple of John. Its main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah (20:31). Recently some scholars appealing to the writings of an early Bishop Papias are more inclined to see the book as an authentic historical testimony to Jesus (Ronald Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, esp. pp.423ff.; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, pp.154-155).
The gospel’s emphasis on the incarnation is made evident in that this is a theme in the prologue. These verses have no real parallels. The logos is said to have been in the beginning with God, identifying God and the word (vv.1-2). All things are said to come into being through the word, and that he is the light which the darkness cannot overcome (vv.3-5). (The term for darkness, skotia, may correspond to its Hebraic equivalent choshek, which connotes “oppression.”)
Reference is made to John the Baptist, who came as a witness to the light, but is said himself not to be light (vv.6-9). This point may have been made to mitigate competition that existed between followers of John and the Christian community. The text reports that the word came into the world, but that the world did not know him, that he was not accepted, but that to all who received him he gave power to become children of God who are born of God (vv.10-13). Then it is proclaimed that the word became flesh and lived among us, full of truth and grace. In
testifying to him, John said that the word was the one whom he said ranks ahead of him (vv.14-15). From the fullness of the word, it is reported that grace upon grace was received (v.16). The law is said to have been given through Moses, but truth and grace come through Christ (v.17). No one has seen God, the Johannine author notes. But his only son who is in the bosom of the Father (in complete communion with him) has made him known (v.18).
The lesson also offers opportunities to proclaim the cosmic Christ (see the discussion of this theme in the exposition of the Second Lesson) or what it means like John to subordinate ourselves to him. The message is also given that Christ embodies salvation by grace. Other possible sermons might be to emphasize the implications that Christ assumed a human body. It entails how precious we and our bodies must be to God. Another possibility is to focus on how wrong-headed our ideas of God are, that he can only be known in Jesus Christ.
All the lessons testify to Christ being in control of the universe and our lives — a most appropriate assurance as we enter the new year. Sermons on any of the lessons should seek to convey that theme.
