Something to shout about
Commentary
We had part of this text for our lesson on the third Sunday in Advent. The effect of hearing this song of praise both before and after Christmas is to embrace the event of the incarnation on both sides with grand hymns of thanksgiving. There is in these words of Isaiah the sense that praise and thanksgiving are irrepressible. Joy cannot be contained. "I will not keep silence" (62:1). Praise must burst forth.
We remind ourselves again, as we did on the third Sunday in Advent, that the circumstances in which Isaiah lived did not warrant such expressions of celebration. He had heard complaints about the silence of God. The people wondered if God had abandoned them. There seemed to be no clear and certain word from God. But that is the point Isaiah wants to make. God's people celebrate, not because the immediate situation calls for it, but because God has promised to be with us in all circumstances, including those times when there seems to be no word from God.
The giving of a "new name" (62:2) is significant. We recall that "Abraham" and "Jacob" were new names, given to them to signify that a new stage of their lives had come. When Moses needs a way to tell the Israelites about God, he is given a Name for God. Now that idea is applied to the nation as a whole. If we look just beyond our lesson, to 62:4-5, we see the point. Names related to contempt -- "forsaken" and "desolate" -- names like Hosea gave to his children, will be replaced by names that connote a close, personal relationship with God: "My Delight Is In Her" and "Married." When God acts it will mean the dawn of a new name. All of this also relates to the events of the birth of Christ where the name of Jesus and his cousin John take on special meaning.
The symbol of marriage also plays a large role in this text. This is common in the Old Testament. Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all use it. All the joy and spirit of celebration that surrounds the anticipation of marriage and the ceremony itself in any culture are appropriate ways of thinking about how God promises to be with us. At such a time we let out all the stops. It is no time to repress our feelings. It is a time to remember, to sing, to dance, to laugh, to embrace, and to celebrate. Just what we should do after what we have heard this past week!
Galatians 4:4-7
As with the lesson from Isaiah, this word from Paul is set in a spirit of celebration. The verb "crying" in verse 6 could be rendered literally, "shouting" or even "screaming." We have something to shout and scream about, says Paul. And what is it? To get at this text one needs to look at its full context. In this part of his letter to the Galatians Paul is trying to help these inconsistent and unreliable believers to understand how dramatic the change has been. "There is no longer Jew or Greek" -- all ethnic barriers are gone. "There is no longer slave or free" -- all economic differences are gone. "There is no longer male or female" -- all sexual distinctions are gone. God has done something so dramatic that one can only describe the change as whole and complete.
How has this change come about"? It is by an act of God who "in the fullness of time" sent Jesus. To underscore that this is purely God's initiative, Paul uses the image of adoption. Even those not directly involved as an adoptee or as an adoptive parent can understand the illustration. There can be no adoption unless and until someone says, "I want this to happen. I want to adopt a child." Because survival of the family was so crucial in Paul's world -- as well as in other cultures at other times -- it was not unusual for a childless couple even to adopt another adult to carry on the family name and traditions and to own property. But everything depended on the initiative and good will of the one who did the adopting.
The coming of Christ was such a time, says Paul. God entered into a direct, personal relationship with the human family through the life, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we are able to shout, yes, to scream like a delighted child -- "Abba! Father!" "Abba!" was the everyday Aramaic word a child used to say "Daddy!"
Paul is continuing the pattern of affectionate address that Jesus taught the disciples when he urged them to pray with confidence, "Our Father," as well as his own intimate prayer in Gethsemane, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible ..." (Mark 14:36). "How could the High Majesty become humbler," asks Luther, "than by honoring this sorry flesh and blood and exalting it through His divine honor and authority? He descends to the level of our nature and becomes a member of the human race!" (Martin Luther, Luther's Works, St. Louis: Concordia, 1956, Vol. 13, p. 243.)
Luke 2:22-40
Simeon's judgment that the coming of Christ was an event which God had "prepared in the presence of all people" is a reference to the wise counsel of a God who has waited until this very moment to bring about something that had been planned through the ages. While the lesson focuses on Simeon and Anna and their readiness for this revelation, the overall impression is that it is the initiative of God -- and that alone -- which matters.
Having said that, we are struck by the ordinariness of the elements of the text. Joseph and Mary are doing what every mother and father had been doing from time immemorial. I can't recall the number of baptisms I've performed over nearly four decades of ministry. It's a very ordinary part of church life. Yes, it was special for the one baptized and for the family. But it was also a very commonplace happening in the weekly schedule of the parish. And so it was with purification and circumcision for the Jews. Just another rite. Special to Joseph and Mary and a few relatives, but hardly expected to be special for anyone else.
This makes the response of Simeon and Anna the more remarkable. How many babies had they seen circumcised in their long years of service? Probably thousands. Why was this one so special? We can only attribute it to the work of God in their hearts and to their own particular readiness and sensitivity to the work of the Spirit of God. The adjective "devout" (v. 25) implies caution and careful attention to religious duty. Another priest may have missed this moment. But not Simeon. His gift to the church can hardly be described. Since the fifth century the Nunc Dimittis has been used for the evening services and, of course, is an essential element in the eucharistic meal as believers share his gratitude for the incarnation of Christ.
Simeon's difficult word to Mary that this joyful event would evolve into a time of sorrow for her and that her child was "destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel" casts a dark pall over this moment. Yet, Simeon stands in the mainstream of all true prophets when he recognizes that the coming of God at any time and into any event brings division. Sharply differing attitudes toward Christ still result when his call to discipleship is clearly proclaimed.
And then there is Anna. "This old widow exemplifies true piety," writes James Price, "which is not discouraged though long years of faithful service, deferred hope, and unanswered prayer." (James L. Price, Proclamation, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975, p. 39.) She had experienced enough tragedy to lose hope. By grace she has hung on. Now, with Simeon, she is blessed with seeing the promise fulfilled. It is not only the young who dance and scream for joy. When long years of persistent waiting are rewarded with a new insight, a moment of revelation, a time of affirmation, there is a joy and satisfaction that could never have been known earlier in life.
Suggestions For Preaching
Attendance is likely to be down on this Sunday. In fact, in many congregations it marks a low point in the church year. "Christmas is over. Take down the tree. Put away the decorations. Stock up on groceries for a week of football and parades." That's the mentality we have to deal with.
This may be a day when we preach to the Simeons and Annas in the congregation. They will be there. Their habits do not change with the seasons. They know that the Christmas season has only begun. So rather than grouse and complain over those who aren't there on this day, why not pull out the stops and celebrate with those who are? They deserve a word of commendation for their faithful attention to the kind of life that leads to those moments when God blesses them with fresh revelations of God's goodness. Give your Simeons and Annas the attention and credit they deserve on this day. Like Simeon and Anna, they have kept on growing, even in old age. They may not be able to skip and jump like their grandchildren, but in mind and spirit they are as sharp and alert as any of the generations that follow. The Gospel is a revolutionary word. It cuts through styles and fashions and vocabularies and age differences to make us one in Christ.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By James A. Nestingen
Isaiah 61:1--62:3
There is a subtle difference between the verbs in the opening verses of this lesson, another of Isaiah's ecstatic outpourings. Sufficient to elicit some more of an old controversy, it also serves to set forth the promise that is Christmas.
The opening set of verbs describing God's work are all either passive or extrinsic. "Has clothed" and "has covered" describe work that has been done unto another, here Isaiah is once more speaking of himself as though he was Zion. "Deckings" and "adornments," like the lights that hang on houses, the tuxedo on the groom, or Grandma's jewelry on the bride, are all show -- they bear no necessary relationship to what is happening inside.
Going by the passive and the extrinsic, God's righteousness would be something done to us regardless of what we actually are in and of ourselves. Clothed in righteousness by God's sheer goodness, the sinner wears the garments of salvation in spite of himself or herself.
The other set of verbs, in verse 11, are both active and intrinsic: the earth "brings forth" its shoots, a garden "causes" its seeds to grow and provide a harvest. In both cases, there is enough going on to speak of them as cause; similarly, in either case the results are consistent, good soil being necessary to produce a decent harvest.
Going by the later verbs, it would be possible to turn Isaiah's words into an appeal or summons. Bearing fruit is something that we should do, cultivating our wills to this purpose. And there ought to be some real evidence of change for the better, so that grace and the will, working together, result in improvement.
This, of course, is enough fuel to perpetuate a controversy that has gone on all the way back through the church's history, especially around the time of Augustine and later, the Reformation. But both sides have to contend with what follows, "... so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations" (v. 11). Passive or active, extrinsic or intrinsic, the good Lord is the one who causes it all.
Such is the promise that drove Isaiah into his ecstatic cry in spite of the detritus of his nation's history gathered around him. And such is the promise of Christmas, a word that makes it possible to rejoice even when thoughts of brides and grooms and gardens blooming once more seem impossibly abstract and far away, God raises the dead: let the merriment continue.
We remind ourselves again, as we did on the third Sunday in Advent, that the circumstances in which Isaiah lived did not warrant such expressions of celebration. He had heard complaints about the silence of God. The people wondered if God had abandoned them. There seemed to be no clear and certain word from God. But that is the point Isaiah wants to make. God's people celebrate, not because the immediate situation calls for it, but because God has promised to be with us in all circumstances, including those times when there seems to be no word from God.
The giving of a "new name" (62:2) is significant. We recall that "Abraham" and "Jacob" were new names, given to them to signify that a new stage of their lives had come. When Moses needs a way to tell the Israelites about God, he is given a Name for God. Now that idea is applied to the nation as a whole. If we look just beyond our lesson, to 62:4-5, we see the point. Names related to contempt -- "forsaken" and "desolate" -- names like Hosea gave to his children, will be replaced by names that connote a close, personal relationship with God: "My Delight Is In Her" and "Married." When God acts it will mean the dawn of a new name. All of this also relates to the events of the birth of Christ where the name of Jesus and his cousin John take on special meaning.
The symbol of marriage also plays a large role in this text. This is common in the Old Testament. Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all use it. All the joy and spirit of celebration that surrounds the anticipation of marriage and the ceremony itself in any culture are appropriate ways of thinking about how God promises to be with us. At such a time we let out all the stops. It is no time to repress our feelings. It is a time to remember, to sing, to dance, to laugh, to embrace, and to celebrate. Just what we should do after what we have heard this past week!
Galatians 4:4-7
As with the lesson from Isaiah, this word from Paul is set in a spirit of celebration. The verb "crying" in verse 6 could be rendered literally, "shouting" or even "screaming." We have something to shout and scream about, says Paul. And what is it? To get at this text one needs to look at its full context. In this part of his letter to the Galatians Paul is trying to help these inconsistent and unreliable believers to understand how dramatic the change has been. "There is no longer Jew or Greek" -- all ethnic barriers are gone. "There is no longer slave or free" -- all economic differences are gone. "There is no longer male or female" -- all sexual distinctions are gone. God has done something so dramatic that one can only describe the change as whole and complete.
How has this change come about"? It is by an act of God who "in the fullness of time" sent Jesus. To underscore that this is purely God's initiative, Paul uses the image of adoption. Even those not directly involved as an adoptee or as an adoptive parent can understand the illustration. There can be no adoption unless and until someone says, "I want this to happen. I want to adopt a child." Because survival of the family was so crucial in Paul's world -- as well as in other cultures at other times -- it was not unusual for a childless couple even to adopt another adult to carry on the family name and traditions and to own property. But everything depended on the initiative and good will of the one who did the adopting.
The coming of Christ was such a time, says Paul. God entered into a direct, personal relationship with the human family through the life, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we are able to shout, yes, to scream like a delighted child -- "Abba! Father!" "Abba!" was the everyday Aramaic word a child used to say "Daddy!"
Paul is continuing the pattern of affectionate address that Jesus taught the disciples when he urged them to pray with confidence, "Our Father," as well as his own intimate prayer in Gethsemane, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible ..." (Mark 14:36). "How could the High Majesty become humbler," asks Luther, "than by honoring this sorry flesh and blood and exalting it through His divine honor and authority? He descends to the level of our nature and becomes a member of the human race!" (Martin Luther, Luther's Works, St. Louis: Concordia, 1956, Vol. 13, p. 243.)
Luke 2:22-40
Simeon's judgment that the coming of Christ was an event which God had "prepared in the presence of all people" is a reference to the wise counsel of a God who has waited until this very moment to bring about something that had been planned through the ages. While the lesson focuses on Simeon and Anna and their readiness for this revelation, the overall impression is that it is the initiative of God -- and that alone -- which matters.
Having said that, we are struck by the ordinariness of the elements of the text. Joseph and Mary are doing what every mother and father had been doing from time immemorial. I can't recall the number of baptisms I've performed over nearly four decades of ministry. It's a very ordinary part of church life. Yes, it was special for the one baptized and for the family. But it was also a very commonplace happening in the weekly schedule of the parish. And so it was with purification and circumcision for the Jews. Just another rite. Special to Joseph and Mary and a few relatives, but hardly expected to be special for anyone else.
This makes the response of Simeon and Anna the more remarkable. How many babies had they seen circumcised in their long years of service? Probably thousands. Why was this one so special? We can only attribute it to the work of God in their hearts and to their own particular readiness and sensitivity to the work of the Spirit of God. The adjective "devout" (v. 25) implies caution and careful attention to religious duty. Another priest may have missed this moment. But not Simeon. His gift to the church can hardly be described. Since the fifth century the Nunc Dimittis has been used for the evening services and, of course, is an essential element in the eucharistic meal as believers share his gratitude for the incarnation of Christ.
Simeon's difficult word to Mary that this joyful event would evolve into a time of sorrow for her and that her child was "destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel" casts a dark pall over this moment. Yet, Simeon stands in the mainstream of all true prophets when he recognizes that the coming of God at any time and into any event brings division. Sharply differing attitudes toward Christ still result when his call to discipleship is clearly proclaimed.
And then there is Anna. "This old widow exemplifies true piety," writes James Price, "which is not discouraged though long years of faithful service, deferred hope, and unanswered prayer." (James L. Price, Proclamation, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975, p. 39.) She had experienced enough tragedy to lose hope. By grace she has hung on. Now, with Simeon, she is blessed with seeing the promise fulfilled. It is not only the young who dance and scream for joy. When long years of persistent waiting are rewarded with a new insight, a moment of revelation, a time of affirmation, there is a joy and satisfaction that could never have been known earlier in life.
Suggestions For Preaching
Attendance is likely to be down on this Sunday. In fact, in many congregations it marks a low point in the church year. "Christmas is over. Take down the tree. Put away the decorations. Stock up on groceries for a week of football and parades." That's the mentality we have to deal with.
This may be a day when we preach to the Simeons and Annas in the congregation. They will be there. Their habits do not change with the seasons. They know that the Christmas season has only begun. So rather than grouse and complain over those who aren't there on this day, why not pull out the stops and celebrate with those who are? They deserve a word of commendation for their faithful attention to the kind of life that leads to those moments when God blesses them with fresh revelations of God's goodness. Give your Simeons and Annas the attention and credit they deserve on this day. Like Simeon and Anna, they have kept on growing, even in old age. They may not be able to skip and jump like their grandchildren, but in mind and spirit they are as sharp and alert as any of the generations that follow. The Gospel is a revolutionary word. It cuts through styles and fashions and vocabularies and age differences to make us one in Christ.
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
By James A. Nestingen
Isaiah 61:1--62:3
There is a subtle difference between the verbs in the opening verses of this lesson, another of Isaiah's ecstatic outpourings. Sufficient to elicit some more of an old controversy, it also serves to set forth the promise that is Christmas.
The opening set of verbs describing God's work are all either passive or extrinsic. "Has clothed" and "has covered" describe work that has been done unto another, here Isaiah is once more speaking of himself as though he was Zion. "Deckings" and "adornments," like the lights that hang on houses, the tuxedo on the groom, or Grandma's jewelry on the bride, are all show -- they bear no necessary relationship to what is happening inside.
Going by the passive and the extrinsic, God's righteousness would be something done to us regardless of what we actually are in and of ourselves. Clothed in righteousness by God's sheer goodness, the sinner wears the garments of salvation in spite of himself or herself.
The other set of verbs, in verse 11, are both active and intrinsic: the earth "brings forth" its shoots, a garden "causes" its seeds to grow and provide a harvest. In both cases, there is enough going on to speak of them as cause; similarly, in either case the results are consistent, good soil being necessary to produce a decent harvest.
Going by the later verbs, it would be possible to turn Isaiah's words into an appeal or summons. Bearing fruit is something that we should do, cultivating our wills to this purpose. And there ought to be some real evidence of change for the better, so that grace and the will, working together, result in improvement.
This, of course, is enough fuel to perpetuate a controversy that has gone on all the way back through the church's history, especially around the time of Augustine and later, the Reformation. But both sides have to contend with what follows, "... so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations" (v. 11). Passive or active, extrinsic or intrinsic, the good Lord is the one who causes it all.
Such is the promise that drove Isaiah into his ecstatic cry in spite of the detritus of his nation's history gathered around him. And such is the promise of Christmas, a word that makes it possible to rejoice even when thoughts of brides and grooms and gardens blooming once more seem impossibly abstract and far away, God raises the dead: let the merriment continue.
