Identity Crisis
Commentary
Advent in Cycle A means Isaiah, Romans, and Matthew. Isaiah is so rich and musical. His imagery is the source of so many hymns. This week’s passage uses the images of the world coming alive again to sing about the revival of God’s people, and the restoration of their true identity.
This is the only letter text not taken from Romans – and James reminds us to take on the identity of farmers and prophets and think like them, prepared to endure suffering, disappointment, and tribulation, so that we might not grumble like the people of Israel in the desert, but reap a great harvest.
In Matthew, Jesus calls upon the words of Isaiah to define his own identity in response to John the Baptist’s query from prison, then uses Malachi’s iconic words to define John’s identity to his own listeners.
Isaiah 35:1-10
If you’ve ever traveled through the dry Southwest of the United States, you may be surprised to see so many dry channels that look like they ought to be rivers. Well, when the rains finally come and the desert springs back to life they indeed run with rushing water, even dangerous waters that threaten to carry away everything with them. The desert ecology gives way to startlingly brilliant blooms spring from seeds that long lay dormant for years, even decades. That’s some of the joy celebrated here in this passage. The hidden seeds spring to life as faith comes alive again!
This passage, appearing in a section of Isaiah when everything is falling apart reminds people of Second Isaiah, the prophet of the return. The agricultural images of renewal are combined with other images of healing and hope to suggest the story of God’s people, despite all appearances, is not over. There is a highway of return, which means that the people have not hit the point of no return. This is God’s doing, not our own, hence the term “the ransomed of the Lord.” God has set us free, and therefore deserves the credit. Our identity comes from God, not from our own doing, and we are defined not by naysayers or our enemies, but by the God who made us, and continues to guide our destinies.
James 5:7-10
The other three passages of the middle reading come from Romans, Paul’s great manifesto of grace over works. This week’s passage comes from James (Jacob), the brother of Jesus, which is far more concerned with what we do, and how that truly represents what we say we believe.
Farmers are doers. They long to act, to get started with the planting, and the harvesting, but if the weather does not cooperate they must wait – patiently – not an easy thing for farmers. Farmers deal with potential disaster each year, and each year the roadblocks vary greatly. One year there is no rain. Another year there is too much. Or they might be plentifully adequate rain that comes in the wrong season.
But the longer one farms, the more one develops a long view. You’re not surprised by setbacks. Patience is derived from long experience. This is the identity we are encouraged to don, in contrast to the grumblers who leave themselves open to judgment. True patience is practiced by God’s prophets who must e aware that vindication and glorification may not happen in this lifetime if one is faithful to God’s work. That’s the point Jesus will make as well in describing the Baptist as no reed blowing in the wind, but a prophet and more than a prophet.
Matthew 11:2-11
What would a Nativity set be like if we only had Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus. No shepherds, no angelic choir, no sheep, no cows, no stable, no manger, no Annunciation, no Elizabeth, no Mary running off to Elizabeth – and we wouldn’t have the origin story for John the Baptist. It’s a pretty bare stage.
The bare stage is what we find in this passage as John’s disciples come to ask Jesus about his identity, and Jesus in turn tells the people John’s identity. Jesus quotes Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1 (note that the first passage is part of this week’s lections) so that these disciples can tell John he is the one who will lead the ransomed od God back to their homeland in joy. He is the one prophesized in Isaiah. He is the Suffering Servant, and he is the one upon whom the Spirit of God rests—a crucial passage for this is the one he reads from in his hometown synagogue (see Luke 4:16-21) to indicate he will bring in the Jubilee! This journey of return and rejoicing is a message the poor, sick, and struggling should rejoice in. This is the hope upon which this season of Advent is built.
Turning to his listeners, Jesus uses Malachi 3:1, which speaks of one who goes before and prepares the way to instruct them about John’s identity. At its heart is one of the great paradoxes of the Kingdom – the greatest is the least, the least is the greatest. The last is the first, the first is the last. In talking about John, Jesus is also talking about, and inviting us to step onto this bare stage to take part in the great drama of salvation.
This is the only letter text not taken from Romans – and James reminds us to take on the identity of farmers and prophets and think like them, prepared to endure suffering, disappointment, and tribulation, so that we might not grumble like the people of Israel in the desert, but reap a great harvest.
In Matthew, Jesus calls upon the words of Isaiah to define his own identity in response to John the Baptist’s query from prison, then uses Malachi’s iconic words to define John’s identity to his own listeners.
Isaiah 35:1-10
If you’ve ever traveled through the dry Southwest of the United States, you may be surprised to see so many dry channels that look like they ought to be rivers. Well, when the rains finally come and the desert springs back to life they indeed run with rushing water, even dangerous waters that threaten to carry away everything with them. The desert ecology gives way to startlingly brilliant blooms spring from seeds that long lay dormant for years, even decades. That’s some of the joy celebrated here in this passage. The hidden seeds spring to life as faith comes alive again!
This passage, appearing in a section of Isaiah when everything is falling apart reminds people of Second Isaiah, the prophet of the return. The agricultural images of renewal are combined with other images of healing and hope to suggest the story of God’s people, despite all appearances, is not over. There is a highway of return, which means that the people have not hit the point of no return. This is God’s doing, not our own, hence the term “the ransomed of the Lord.” God has set us free, and therefore deserves the credit. Our identity comes from God, not from our own doing, and we are defined not by naysayers or our enemies, but by the God who made us, and continues to guide our destinies.
James 5:7-10
The other three passages of the middle reading come from Romans, Paul’s great manifesto of grace over works. This week’s passage comes from James (Jacob), the brother of Jesus, which is far more concerned with what we do, and how that truly represents what we say we believe.
Farmers are doers. They long to act, to get started with the planting, and the harvesting, but if the weather does not cooperate they must wait – patiently – not an easy thing for farmers. Farmers deal with potential disaster each year, and each year the roadblocks vary greatly. One year there is no rain. Another year there is too much. Or they might be plentifully adequate rain that comes in the wrong season.
But the longer one farms, the more one develops a long view. You’re not surprised by setbacks. Patience is derived from long experience. This is the identity we are encouraged to don, in contrast to the grumblers who leave themselves open to judgment. True patience is practiced by God’s prophets who must e aware that vindication and glorification may not happen in this lifetime if one is faithful to God’s work. That’s the point Jesus will make as well in describing the Baptist as no reed blowing in the wind, but a prophet and more than a prophet.
Matthew 11:2-11
What would a Nativity set be like if we only had Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus. No shepherds, no angelic choir, no sheep, no cows, no stable, no manger, no Annunciation, no Elizabeth, no Mary running off to Elizabeth – and we wouldn’t have the origin story for John the Baptist. It’s a pretty bare stage.
The bare stage is what we find in this passage as John’s disciples come to ask Jesus about his identity, and Jesus in turn tells the people John’s identity. Jesus quotes Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1 (note that the first passage is part of this week’s lections) so that these disciples can tell John he is the one who will lead the ransomed od God back to their homeland in joy. He is the one prophesized in Isaiah. He is the Suffering Servant, and he is the one upon whom the Spirit of God rests—a crucial passage for this is the one he reads from in his hometown synagogue (see Luke 4:16-21) to indicate he will bring in the Jubilee! This journey of return and rejoicing is a message the poor, sick, and struggling should rejoice in. This is the hope upon which this season of Advent is built.
Turning to his listeners, Jesus uses Malachi 3:1, which speaks of one who goes before and prepares the way to instruct them about John’s identity. At its heart is one of the great paradoxes of the Kingdom – the greatest is the least, the least is the greatest. The last is the first, the first is the last. In talking about John, Jesus is also talking about, and inviting us to step onto this bare stage to take part in the great drama of salvation.
