Great David's greater son
Commentary
The trio of readings today are traditional in many communions. The gospel lesson presents Jesus as the ancestor of David and heir to his throne and so links up with the promise articulated in the reading from 2 Samuel. The preacher has options.
David and his reign were idealized and enshrined in the memory of Israel. Many looked back in nostalgia to the good old days of the warrior king and in hope they prayed for future restoration. Luke's account employs the language of the traditional expectation, but there are subtleties in the account that point to the coming of a new and totally different age. The preacher can build on this contrast between who was expected and who came by focusing on the name of Jesus. This is another form of the name Joshua which means God will save. The name conjures up the memory of leadership by warriors.
In biblical tradition when God gives a name God will make that person what the name means. The heir of David whose journey from Nazareth Luke will trace does not come as a warrior savior. He comes not to deliver from the enemies without but from the enemy within. He comes not to reestablish the frontiers of an old kingdom but to extend the frontiers of a new and inclusive kingdom beyond ethnic identity. The doxology that concludes Romans and provides the day's epistle reading celebrates the transcending of ethnic barriers so prominent in the epistle.
The preacher can opt to focus on Mary. The passage has the familiar format of a biblical call story. The fact that God chooses Mary, a poor girl in a small place, indicates something unexpected is afoot. Mary is the mother of Jesus. But in the sophisticated artistry of Luke she is much more. She is our sister in the faith. She is the model disciple. She is the Maid of Zion, the prophetic personification of Zion. (Zephaniah 3:14) She is, as Luther called her, The Mother of all Christians. She is a symbol of the church and the end time community where God will be at home with his people.
OUTLINE I
A house for God and a house for David
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
A. vv. 1-2. One reacts in two ways to these introductory verses. As a pastor I can cheer for David. While he is now traveling first class he doesn't want God to ride the rails, so to speak. On the other hand it sounds like our all too human propensity to package God in the wrappings of our prevailing values. At any rate, Nathan thinks it is a good idea of which God would heartily approve.
B. vv. 4-7. God sends a word through Nathan nixing the proposal. God prefers a tent where he can be with and accompany his people. God does not have an "edifice" complex.
C. vv. 8-11. God informs David that he will make a house for David. Here house is understood in terms of a uniquely biblical usage. A house is a community, a family. To be of the house of David is to be part of a family that shares the purposes and vocation of David. Jesus used the word house in this sense. "In my Father's house are many dwelling places." (John 14:2) The Father's house is the community that shares the Father's purpose. It is a diverse family.
D. vv. 12-15. These verses represent an insertion by another hand. Verse 16 gives voice to the promise that from the lineage of David will come a royal family established forever. As it stands this is a nationalist dream. The ancient writer could certainly not imagine the new house of David Jesus would establish, a diverse family beyond ethnic, racial, gender or caste identity. (Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21, Matthew 12:46-50)
OUTLINE II
Glory to God
Romans 16:25-26
A. Whether from Paul or added by another hand this doxology is a fitting conclusion to Romans, the epistle in which a major theme is the destiny of Jew and Gentile in the providence of God. It is also a fitting companion to the two other readings for this day. A creative way to use it would be to use it as a concluding doxology in the worship service immediately following the benediction.
OUTLINE III
His name is Jesus
Luke 1:26-38
The comments below are intended as grist for the sermon mill for sermons following either of the two options noted above.
A. v. 26. The annunciation of the birth of Jesus starts on a militant note. The archangel, Gabriel, is an awesome figure. (Daniel 8:16-17) In biblical and non-Jewish literature he is often the war angel. Compare this representation with the cute little winged cherubs who will play angels in countless Sunday school pageants this Advent season. The gospel is in the nativity stories and when we make them cute we trivialize them. That Gabriel is sent to Nazareth in Galilee raises both eyebrows and expectancy. John Dominic Crossan in The Historical Jesus argues persuasively that Nazareth was not quite the hick place we think. While somewhat isolated, the village was part of a larger urban/rural complex, close to both a major trade route and the important administrative center of Sepphoris.
B. vv. 27-28. We are introduced to Mary. Hers was a popular name at this time in Palestine. Advent is a fitting time for a sermon on Mary. Many churches have introduced the use of blue paraments at Advent. Blue is the color associated with her. In Luke's gospel we meet her as peasant sister to the poor, our disciple sister in the faith, the Daughter of Zion and as the personification of the church, the new family of the end time. Preaching has not really coped with the sophisticated and powerful artistry of Luke.
Mary's encounter with Gabriel is framed as a traditional biblical call story. Compare it to the call of Gideon in Judges 6:12-18.
C. vv. 29-30. Mary is addressed not because of any virtue in her but because God is acting graciously toward her. Gideon, whose knees were knocking, was addressed as "A mighty man of valor." God's call envisions what with him we will become.
D. vv. 31-33. The name Jesus is given to him by God. What would our names be if God gave them to us instead of our parents? God's naming means that the character of Jesus and his ministry will show forth the way of salvation. Many will be disappointed by the style of this new Joshua, a savior without a sword. Yet he will be the Son of the Most High.
Verses 32-33 are a direct link to 2 Samuel 16 and may well represent an ancient Christology of the earliest Christian community in Palestine.
E. vv. 34-37. Mary's question is like Moses' question in Exodus 3:11. Who are any of us to be called by God? Yet he calls us. Who are any of us to become more than we are? Yet, with God all things are possible. Verse 35 does not deal with biology. The stress is on the origin of Jesus. He comes from God.
F. v. 38. Mary takes the disciple's posture and utters the disciple's prayer.
David and his reign were idealized and enshrined in the memory of Israel. Many looked back in nostalgia to the good old days of the warrior king and in hope they prayed for future restoration. Luke's account employs the language of the traditional expectation, but there are subtleties in the account that point to the coming of a new and totally different age. The preacher can build on this contrast between who was expected and who came by focusing on the name of Jesus. This is another form of the name Joshua which means God will save. The name conjures up the memory of leadership by warriors.
In biblical tradition when God gives a name God will make that person what the name means. The heir of David whose journey from Nazareth Luke will trace does not come as a warrior savior. He comes not to deliver from the enemies without but from the enemy within. He comes not to reestablish the frontiers of an old kingdom but to extend the frontiers of a new and inclusive kingdom beyond ethnic identity. The doxology that concludes Romans and provides the day's epistle reading celebrates the transcending of ethnic barriers so prominent in the epistle.
The preacher can opt to focus on Mary. The passage has the familiar format of a biblical call story. The fact that God chooses Mary, a poor girl in a small place, indicates something unexpected is afoot. Mary is the mother of Jesus. But in the sophisticated artistry of Luke she is much more. She is our sister in the faith. She is the model disciple. She is the Maid of Zion, the prophetic personification of Zion. (Zephaniah 3:14) She is, as Luther called her, The Mother of all Christians. She is a symbol of the church and the end time community where God will be at home with his people.
OUTLINE I
A house for God and a house for David
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
A. vv. 1-2. One reacts in two ways to these introductory verses. As a pastor I can cheer for David. While he is now traveling first class he doesn't want God to ride the rails, so to speak. On the other hand it sounds like our all too human propensity to package God in the wrappings of our prevailing values. At any rate, Nathan thinks it is a good idea of which God would heartily approve.
B. vv. 4-7. God sends a word through Nathan nixing the proposal. God prefers a tent where he can be with and accompany his people. God does not have an "edifice" complex.
C. vv. 8-11. God informs David that he will make a house for David. Here house is understood in terms of a uniquely biblical usage. A house is a community, a family. To be of the house of David is to be part of a family that shares the purposes and vocation of David. Jesus used the word house in this sense. "In my Father's house are many dwelling places." (John 14:2) The Father's house is the community that shares the Father's purpose. It is a diverse family.
D. vv. 12-15. These verses represent an insertion by another hand. Verse 16 gives voice to the promise that from the lineage of David will come a royal family established forever. As it stands this is a nationalist dream. The ancient writer could certainly not imagine the new house of David Jesus would establish, a diverse family beyond ethnic, racial, gender or caste identity. (Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21, Matthew 12:46-50)
OUTLINE II
Glory to God
Romans 16:25-26
A. Whether from Paul or added by another hand this doxology is a fitting conclusion to Romans, the epistle in which a major theme is the destiny of Jew and Gentile in the providence of God. It is also a fitting companion to the two other readings for this day. A creative way to use it would be to use it as a concluding doxology in the worship service immediately following the benediction.
OUTLINE III
His name is Jesus
Luke 1:26-38
The comments below are intended as grist for the sermon mill for sermons following either of the two options noted above.
A. v. 26. The annunciation of the birth of Jesus starts on a militant note. The archangel, Gabriel, is an awesome figure. (Daniel 8:16-17) In biblical and non-Jewish literature he is often the war angel. Compare this representation with the cute little winged cherubs who will play angels in countless Sunday school pageants this Advent season. The gospel is in the nativity stories and when we make them cute we trivialize them. That Gabriel is sent to Nazareth in Galilee raises both eyebrows and expectancy. John Dominic Crossan in The Historical Jesus argues persuasively that Nazareth was not quite the hick place we think. While somewhat isolated, the village was part of a larger urban/rural complex, close to both a major trade route and the important administrative center of Sepphoris.
B. vv. 27-28. We are introduced to Mary. Hers was a popular name at this time in Palestine. Advent is a fitting time for a sermon on Mary. Many churches have introduced the use of blue paraments at Advent. Blue is the color associated with her. In Luke's gospel we meet her as peasant sister to the poor, our disciple sister in the faith, the Daughter of Zion and as the personification of the church, the new family of the end time. Preaching has not really coped with the sophisticated and powerful artistry of Luke.
Mary's encounter with Gabriel is framed as a traditional biblical call story. Compare it to the call of Gideon in Judges 6:12-18.
C. vv. 29-30. Mary is addressed not because of any virtue in her but because God is acting graciously toward her. Gideon, whose knees were knocking, was addressed as "A mighty man of valor." God's call envisions what with him we will become.
D. vv. 31-33. The name Jesus is given to him by God. What would our names be if God gave them to us instead of our parents? God's naming means that the character of Jesus and his ministry will show forth the way of salvation. Many will be disappointed by the style of this new Joshua, a savior without a sword. Yet he will be the Son of the Most High.
Verses 32-33 are a direct link to 2 Samuel 16 and may well represent an ancient Christology of the earliest Christian community in Palestine.
E. vv. 34-37. Mary's question is like Moses' question in Exodus 3:11. Who are any of us to be called by God? Yet he calls us. Who are any of us to become more than we are? Yet, with God all things are possible. Verse 35 does not deal with biology. The stress is on the origin of Jesus. He comes from God.
F. v. 38. Mary takes the disciple's posture and utters the disciple's prayer.
