Wannabes
Commentary
Peter Nichols' most recent book, A Voyage For Madmen, traces the journeys of nine men who, in 1968, entered a race to be the first to sail solo, nonstop around the world. Of the nine a few had extensive sailing experience -- a couple of them had practically no sailing experience. One of the nine, Donald Crowhurst, mortgaged everything he owned to prepare for the race, but soon after setting out realized that he did not have the "stuff" or the boat to make the journey.
Crowhurst was faced with a dilemma. To turn back so soon would have meant humiliation, not to mention financial ruin. To go forward was suicidal. Presented with these options Crowhurst decided to prepare a duplicate ship's log indicating dates and locations of an imagined trip around the world, while he actually spent his time sailing in the South Atlantic. With the falsified log he planned to return home, after sufficient time had elapsed, as a hero. Unfortunately, Crowhurst's plan ended disastrously. Faced with the certain discovery of his duplicity and driven to the point of insanity by this charade, Crowhurst simply stepped from his boat into the deep Atlantic. The boat was found sometime later drifting aimlessly off the coast of Brazil with detailed accounts of Crowhurst's plan still on board.
Donald Crowhurst represents that part of each one of us that seeks the gain without the pain; that yearns for glory without having to pay the price. Fortunately, most of us do not act on these urges -- deceptively or otherwise. But the urge still remains. Many of us are Wannabes of one sort or another who find it difficult to muster the will or ability to fulfill our wishes and dreams, while, as Nichols states, those who do act are seen as heroes.
Isaiah 11:1-10
Hebrew poetry, of which this passage is an example, is known for its parallelisms -- restating in a second strophe or stanza the thought of the first stanza. There are different forms of parallelism. In some, the idea is simply repeated in different words. In others, the idea of the second stanza completes the thought of the first. And in still others, the idea of one stanza is contrasted with the idea of the other. The interpreter's task is to be aware of these parallelisms and to decide which type of parallelism is being used.
For instance, in verse 2 are the couplets -- wisdom/understanding, counsel/might and knowledge/fear -- complementary, contrasting or synonymous? I would argue for them being complementary when taken together, but contrasting when considered as couplets. For example, wisdom is different than understanding, just as counsel is different than might. Each speaks to a different approach in differing contexts, yet together they round out the personality of the Messiah. The interpreter can mine a treasure trove of ideas by giving attention to the parallelisms of this passage.
Romans 15:4-13
The Christian community at Rome was one that the Apostle Paul did not establish, indeed was one he had not even visited. He hoped, however, soon to change that state of affairs with a visit to Rome. Thus the purpose of this letter, which served not only as an introduction of the man, Paul, but also as a statement of his theology, especially as it concerned the triangular relationship between Gentile Christians, Jewish Christians and Jewish non-Christians. The difficulty for the interpreter of this letter is in knowing which of these relationships Paul is addressing at any one time. Because of this uncertainty, Paul's letter to the Romans is probably the most misunderstood of all of his writings.
The initial task for the interpreter, then, is to decide which of this triad of relationships Paul has in mind in this passage. Thankfully, we are not left totally clueless. In verse 5 Paul is appealing for harmony among his readers, so we can assume that for some reason some level of disharmony was present. Also, this disharmony existed within the church (note: "in accordance with Christ") rather than between the church and outsiders. This disharmony seemed to have something to do with the inclusion of Gentile believers as is evident by the quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. Taken together these clues argue for Paul addressing in this passage primarily Jewish Christians and secondarily Gentile Christians, encouraging the former to accept the latter as validly included in God's redemptive purposes.
Paul's argument runs something like this: We Jewish Christians know from our Scripture how God's promise to the Patriarchs was for a dual blessing -- first to Abraham and his descendants and through them to the Gentiles. This dual blessing had a dual purpose -- hope and encouragement for us Jews and instructions to us concerning others. Now Christ has come to work on our behalf ("a servant of the circumcised") in order that the Gentiles could become members of the household of faith. Since this is God's doing, let us live together, Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian alike, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God.
In general, the issue with Gentile Christians in the second third of the first century was whether or not the route to Christianity was through Judaism. In other words, must a Gentile convert to Judaism (or at least observe certain forms of Judaism) in order to become Christian? Some Jewish leaders of the Jerusalem church took the Gentile-through-Judaism-to-Christianity position; Paul insisted on a Gentile-directly-to-Christianity position. Even after an accommodation between Paul and the Jerusalem church leadership, the issue dogged Paul in his various Asia Minor journeys.
Matthew 3:1-12
One of the most challenging tasks for the preacher is to find a fresh word in a well-known and well-worn passage. The Gospel Lesson for this week is a good example of that challenge. The mental image painted by this text is of a stern, hair-shirted, take-no-prisoners, give-'em-hell-Harry type of preacher who does not exactly exude warm-fuzzies. While we celebrate John the Baptizer's preparatory work for Jesus, he is not the type of person we would elect as president of the Pastor's Conference. For that reason we seldom take time to get to know the man behind the message.
Attempts have been made to locate John within the Essene community, that group of people usually identified with the Dead Sea Scrolls. As an Essene evangelist (or more likely an ex-Essene) John is seen as carrying the call for purification to a wider audience. Others are quick to place him in the line of Hebrew prophets known through the Hebrew Scriptures, even though the dissimilarities are as stark as the similarities. Regardless of where one places John, it is clear that the immediacy of his message is the reason for the seriousness of his demeanor.
Apart from his Mr. Blackwell wardrobe and his Ewell Gibbons diet, what does this text tell us about John the Baptizer? For starters, John was burdened by the discrepancy between God's ideal and social reality. His call to "repent" was a call to teshuva, that content-laden Jewish concept meaning "return." A former reality (faithfulness to God through allegiance to Torah) had been eclipsed by a pale reflection characterized by a casualness of faith. John's was a call to return to that former reality. The return was not for return's sake, but because John intensely believed that God's history-ending reign was dawning on the horizon. His was as much a positive call for spiritual preparation as it was a negative warning of impending doom.
John was also more interested in sincere response than popular appeal. A public relations bonanza fell into his lap when representatives of the Jewish religious and secular establishment, the Pharisees and Sadducees, presented themselves in response to his message. The legitimization of his ministry offered by these groups would have placed John on the Jerusalem social register. What self-respecting self-promoter would turn away an opportunity like this? But John was not a self-promoter. He was, in fact, a promoter of the One coming after him, God's anointed. Therefore, John was not interested in what others could offer to him; only what God could offer to those who came with a sincere heart -- the absence of which was a mockery to God and unacceptable to John.
Application
Today's texts provide a prism through which we might view various aspects of a Wannabe. Some Wannabes don't reach their desired goal because others stand in their way. In the Roman passage, we see Gentile believers in Jesus who want to be fully included in the local Christian community, but who are kept back by a segment of the Jewish Christian members. What they wanted to be, the Gentiles could not be because of the attitude of others. How often in our congregations are those who are Wanna-be participants kept back because we are less forgiving of their past failures than God is?
When I was high-school aged, my Sunday school teacher was the involved, deeply-committed role model that I would later have paid good money for in my own pastoral experience. He took young boys struggling through their rebellious years and helped us appreciate the value of faith. Tom wanted deeply to serve his church as a deacon, but because he had been divorced, the congregation disqualified him from that opportunity. Few of the current deacons had the commitment of faith or depth of relationship with God that Tom enjoyed, but that did not matter. For our congregation at that time, divorce was the unforgivable sin.
Some Wannabes are kept back by others, and still other Wannabes approach their goal with insincere motives. In the Matthew text, John recognized something in the motives of the Sadducees and Pharisees that prompted a stern warning. Perhaps they were joining John's movement as undercover agents; perhaps they were just hedging their bets in the event that John was proclaiming the truth. Whatever their motives, John was not going to admit these leaders without first reading them the fine print. Note that the text does not say that John turned them away, simply that he warned them about what they were getting into. Initially, one's motives may be sincere, but with time, like Donald Crowhurst, one may decide to seek the reward without paying the price. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reminder of the cost of discipleship needs to be heard today as much as when it was written.
Finally, there are those whose Wannabe-ness comes not from personal desire, but from the will and purpose of God. The Isaiah text speaks of one who does not seek fame and glory for one's own advancement. Rather the Spirit of God so overwhelms, so infuses that it is not the individual's will, but the will of God that is most important. What the individual wants is in accord with what God wants. What the individual does carries forth the message of God. The consequences of the individual's actions bring a measure of God's peaceable kingdom. Who other than Jesus Christ fulfills this role so completely? In whom other than Jesus Christ can the Wannabe of God be brought so near? On this Advent Sunday may our Wannabes be transformed by the incarnate Wannabe of God.
Alternative Applications
1) Isaiah: We rightly attribute the fulfillment of Isaiah 11 to Jesus Christ, but we often do so at the cost of our co-humanity with Jesus. In Christ, the dreams of Isaiah find their fullest expression, but that does not mean that lesser expressions of this dream cannot be fulfilled within us. Along with Christ as fulfillment, the preacher may want to address the extent to which these same attributes reside within us. What is our delight (v. 3)? By what criteria do we decide and judge (vv. 3-4)? What is our measure of faithfulness and right relationships (v. 5)? What are we doing to help or hinder localized expressions of peace (vv. 6-9)?
2) Romans: As discussed earlier in this article, congregations sometimes set up barriers, intentionally or unintentionally, to the full inclusion and/or participation of others. Some of these barriers reflect local history ("that's the way we've always done it"), some reflect denominational practice, and others represent nothing more than personal prejudice. If we stand today in the place of the Jewish Christians in the early church, who are today's Gentiles? What for us are "unforgivable sins"? What is the modern equivalent of the Judaizing heresy? In what ways is Christ our servant (v. 8) to those on the periphery?
3) Matthew: John, the person, raises important issues for us moderns. Do we judge the truth of a message by the appearance of the messenger? For example, would a well-dressed, articulate presenter of untruth be accepted and believed more that a poorly-dressed, inarticulate presenter of truth? This text lends itself to an examination of how we moderns, postmoderns and neomoderns judge and discern truth. What can we learn from the way products are presented to us through the media? How much does the cult of personality or our affiliations (political and religious) affect how we perceive truth?
Other important questions are: Do we limit the concept of "repent" to first-time respondents to the Gospel or is there a message of "returning" which we more established believers need to hear? Are we as interested in filling our congregations with the down-and-outs as we are in attracting the up-and-ins?
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
Isaiah 11:1-10
The prophet Isaiah lived in a turbulent time in eighth century B.C. Judah. The ten northern tribes of Israel fell victim to the Assyrian Empire in 721 B.C. and disappeared from history. Only Judah (including Benjamin) was left, and both of its Davidic kings, Ahaz and Hezekiah, finally bowed to Assyria's might. Indeed, following the reign of Hezekiah, King Manasseh of Judah was nothing more than a vassal of the Assyrian Empire. So the line of Jesse, the line of David, was a very problematic rule in Isaiah's time.
Yet, Isaiah knew the promises of the Lord. He knew that God had promised David that there would never be lacking a Davidic heir to sit upon the throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7). And given a prophet's revelation from God, Isaiah saw into God's future to portray the true Davidic heir, the mashiach, the anointed one, the Messiah, whom God would raise up to govern not only Israel but all the peoples.
On this Second Sunday in Advent, we inevitably connect Isaiah's portrayal of the coming Messiah with the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is instructive, therefore, to lay out the details of Isaiah's announcement. What is the character of the Messiah, and therefore of Christ, and what will he do?
He is, of course, from the line of David and of Jesse, David's father. And his character is determined by the fact that he is given a sixfold gift of God's Spirit, that Spirit which Jesus received at his baptism (cf. Matthew 3:16; John 1:32). God's Holy Spirit always brings with it gifts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12-13). So first of all, the Messiah is given the two gifts of wisdom and understanding. He knows what to do in his reign, apart from any royal counselors such as those who led the kings of Israel astray, and apart from any influence or political correctness, which so leads our leaders and populace astray these days.
Second, the Messiah is given, by the Spirit of God, the gifts of counsel and might. He has wisdom, contrary to our terrible lack of it at times (cf. Isaiah 5:21; 29:14), but he also has the power to put his thought into action. A leader may be wise and good, dreaming great dreams and making marvelous plans. He may even be loving, but if he cannot implement his love, it is a helpless emotion.
Third, by the gift of God's Spirit, the Messiah has knowledge of the Lord. But "knowledge" in the scriptures is far more than just rote memory or surface understanding. Knowledge of the Lord is inmost knowing of God's nature and will and actions. To know the Lord means to live with him in intimate communion every day. Hosea and Jeremiah compare such knowledge to that of a loving wife for her husband, or to that of an adoring son for his father. The Messiah knows God through and through, because he lives with him continually. And, says our text, in that living, the Messiah possesses the fear of the Lord, which means he stands in awe and reverence of God. He knows who God is (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12), and he lovingly and reverently adores him.
And then the sixth gift. The Messiah delights in the fear of the Lord. And here the word "fear" has its second biblical meaning. It connotes obedience. The Davidic Messiah is the one who loves to do God's will. He has joy in his life with the Lord, no matter what that life brings upon him (cf. Hebrews 12:2), a joy that every true Christian knows who lives in daily communion with God.
All of these gifts the true Davidic Messiah has from the Spirit of God. And because he has them, our text goes on to describe how the Messiah will act. He will not judge by outward appearances, by what his eyes see and his ears hear, but by the inner nature of persons and events (cf. John 2:25; 7:24). After all, the working of God in this world is not often evident to our senses, but the Messiah knows what is really going on.
This world usually ignores or looks down on the poor and the meek. Indeed, they are often persecuted. But the Messiah, in his discerning judgment, will give the helpless their proper place in society, and they will be equal to all (cf. the Royal Psalm 72:12-14; Matthew 5:5). Such a concern for the weaker members of society runs throughout the Bible, of course, and it is prominent in many of Isaiah's prophecies (Isaiah 1:17, 23; 5:23; 10:1-2). Further, those who oppress the helpless will be judged for their iniquity. But the Messiah's judgments will be worked, not by violence, but by his powerful word. The thought is that the Word of God has effective power to do that of which it speaks. And the Messiah's word will bring judgment on the ruthless and proud, the wicked and indifferent.
Righteousness and faithfulness to God will be so integral to the Messiah's personality that they will cling to him like the clothing on his body (cf. Ephesians 6:14-17). "To be righteous," according to the Bible, is to fulfill the demands of a relationship. And the Messiah will be so faithful in his relationship with God that all of his actions will be righteous.
So the Messiah will set all things right in the world, but that will also include the world of nature, because the biblical writers know that there is pain in the natural world too. Nature is "red of tooth and claw," and as Paul writes, the whole creation groans in travail, waiting for redemption (Romans. 8:22). The natural world has fallen with humanity's fall (cf. Genesis 3:14, 17-18; Jeremiah 12:4), and sin has destroyed the oneness between human beings and the animals (cf. Genesis 9:2). Thus Isaiah portrays peace in the world of nature and, profoundly, peace between humans and the beasts. The serpent of our sin is transformed into a harmless plaything for a child.
The summary statement then is given in verse 9. When the Messiah rules, no one will hurt or destroy, not only in Israel, but throughout the whole world, for the earth in its entirety will know the Lord and live intimately with him.
Verse 10 really does not belong with verses 1-9, and verses 10-11 simply form a transition with the poem that begins in verse 12. In addition, "the root of Jesse" in verse 10 no longer stands for the origin of the Messianic king, as in verse 1, but for the Messiah himself. Apparently the lectionary committee has included verse 10 to affirm the universal devotion of all nations to the Messiah. But the universal note is already present in verses 4 and 9.
As we look back at the birth of our Messiah on this Second Sunday in Advent, can any of us doubt that Isaiah's portrayal foreshadows the character and actions of Jesus Christ and of the kingdom of God that he will return to establish on this earth? Surely, our Advent prayer can only be, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
PREACHING THE PSALM
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
This psalm is a prayer for the king, and it asks that God extend his rule of earth through the anointed one who sits on the throne. Although the inscription says the psalm is about Solomon, that is a scribal addition. More likely, this was a general prayer used for more than one of the Davidic kings, and it shows the common belief that the monarch would be the instrument through which God acted.
The primary request of the psalm is that the king's rule be marked by godly characteristics -- justice and prosperity for all within the kingdom, righteousness in all dealings, dominion over enemies and submission from other kings. In all of this, the psalm is an appropriate one for this Advent Sunday as we consider the coming of the King of kings.
The lectionary skips the middle verses of this psalm, but there is no special reason to do so. Most of the psalm, at least through verse 17 is a cohesive unit and does not deviate from the theme. Verses 18-19 are a doxological conclusion for the entire Book II of the psalm (Psalms 42-72) and verse 20 is possibly leftover marker from an earlier collection of psalms to distinguish those attributed to David from those authored by others.
For preaching purposes:
1) Note the similarity of theme between this psalm and the First Lesson for today. It may be enough simply to use the psalm as a further example of the messianic hope Judah place in its kings.
2) Verse 11 can be interpreted symbolically to refer to the visit of the Magi.
3) Christianity has long seen the hope of this psalm as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. You might focus on verses 2-4 to discuss the ministry of Jesus.
4) Verse 3 refers to the yield of the mountains and hills. Though not an Advent theme, you could build a sermon on how the use of the physical resources of the planet could, when under the rule of a just and righteous government, contribute to universal justice and prosperity.
Crowhurst was faced with a dilemma. To turn back so soon would have meant humiliation, not to mention financial ruin. To go forward was suicidal. Presented with these options Crowhurst decided to prepare a duplicate ship's log indicating dates and locations of an imagined trip around the world, while he actually spent his time sailing in the South Atlantic. With the falsified log he planned to return home, after sufficient time had elapsed, as a hero. Unfortunately, Crowhurst's plan ended disastrously. Faced with the certain discovery of his duplicity and driven to the point of insanity by this charade, Crowhurst simply stepped from his boat into the deep Atlantic. The boat was found sometime later drifting aimlessly off the coast of Brazil with detailed accounts of Crowhurst's plan still on board.
Donald Crowhurst represents that part of each one of us that seeks the gain without the pain; that yearns for glory without having to pay the price. Fortunately, most of us do not act on these urges -- deceptively or otherwise. But the urge still remains. Many of us are Wannabes of one sort or another who find it difficult to muster the will or ability to fulfill our wishes and dreams, while, as Nichols states, those who do act are seen as heroes.
Isaiah 11:1-10
Hebrew poetry, of which this passage is an example, is known for its parallelisms -- restating in a second strophe or stanza the thought of the first stanza. There are different forms of parallelism. In some, the idea is simply repeated in different words. In others, the idea of the second stanza completes the thought of the first. And in still others, the idea of one stanza is contrasted with the idea of the other. The interpreter's task is to be aware of these parallelisms and to decide which type of parallelism is being used.
For instance, in verse 2 are the couplets -- wisdom/understanding, counsel/might and knowledge/fear -- complementary, contrasting or synonymous? I would argue for them being complementary when taken together, but contrasting when considered as couplets. For example, wisdom is different than understanding, just as counsel is different than might. Each speaks to a different approach in differing contexts, yet together they round out the personality of the Messiah. The interpreter can mine a treasure trove of ideas by giving attention to the parallelisms of this passage.
Romans 15:4-13
The Christian community at Rome was one that the Apostle Paul did not establish, indeed was one he had not even visited. He hoped, however, soon to change that state of affairs with a visit to Rome. Thus the purpose of this letter, which served not only as an introduction of the man, Paul, but also as a statement of his theology, especially as it concerned the triangular relationship between Gentile Christians, Jewish Christians and Jewish non-Christians. The difficulty for the interpreter of this letter is in knowing which of these relationships Paul is addressing at any one time. Because of this uncertainty, Paul's letter to the Romans is probably the most misunderstood of all of his writings.
The initial task for the interpreter, then, is to decide which of this triad of relationships Paul has in mind in this passage. Thankfully, we are not left totally clueless. In verse 5 Paul is appealing for harmony among his readers, so we can assume that for some reason some level of disharmony was present. Also, this disharmony existed within the church (note: "in accordance with Christ") rather than between the church and outsiders. This disharmony seemed to have something to do with the inclusion of Gentile believers as is evident by the quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. Taken together these clues argue for Paul addressing in this passage primarily Jewish Christians and secondarily Gentile Christians, encouraging the former to accept the latter as validly included in God's redemptive purposes.
Paul's argument runs something like this: We Jewish Christians know from our Scripture how God's promise to the Patriarchs was for a dual blessing -- first to Abraham and his descendants and through them to the Gentiles. This dual blessing had a dual purpose -- hope and encouragement for us Jews and instructions to us concerning others. Now Christ has come to work on our behalf ("a servant of the circumcised") in order that the Gentiles could become members of the household of faith. Since this is God's doing, let us live together, Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian alike, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of God.
In general, the issue with Gentile Christians in the second third of the first century was whether or not the route to Christianity was through Judaism. In other words, must a Gentile convert to Judaism (or at least observe certain forms of Judaism) in order to become Christian? Some Jewish leaders of the Jerusalem church took the Gentile-through-Judaism-to-Christianity position; Paul insisted on a Gentile-directly-to-Christianity position. Even after an accommodation between Paul and the Jerusalem church leadership, the issue dogged Paul in his various Asia Minor journeys.
Matthew 3:1-12
One of the most challenging tasks for the preacher is to find a fresh word in a well-known and well-worn passage. The Gospel Lesson for this week is a good example of that challenge. The mental image painted by this text is of a stern, hair-shirted, take-no-prisoners, give-'em-hell-Harry type of preacher who does not exactly exude warm-fuzzies. While we celebrate John the Baptizer's preparatory work for Jesus, he is not the type of person we would elect as president of the Pastor's Conference. For that reason we seldom take time to get to know the man behind the message.
Attempts have been made to locate John within the Essene community, that group of people usually identified with the Dead Sea Scrolls. As an Essene evangelist (or more likely an ex-Essene) John is seen as carrying the call for purification to a wider audience. Others are quick to place him in the line of Hebrew prophets known through the Hebrew Scriptures, even though the dissimilarities are as stark as the similarities. Regardless of where one places John, it is clear that the immediacy of his message is the reason for the seriousness of his demeanor.
Apart from his Mr. Blackwell wardrobe and his Ewell Gibbons diet, what does this text tell us about John the Baptizer? For starters, John was burdened by the discrepancy between God's ideal and social reality. His call to "repent" was a call to teshuva, that content-laden Jewish concept meaning "return." A former reality (faithfulness to God through allegiance to Torah) had been eclipsed by a pale reflection characterized by a casualness of faith. John's was a call to return to that former reality. The return was not for return's sake, but because John intensely believed that God's history-ending reign was dawning on the horizon. His was as much a positive call for spiritual preparation as it was a negative warning of impending doom.
John was also more interested in sincere response than popular appeal. A public relations bonanza fell into his lap when representatives of the Jewish religious and secular establishment, the Pharisees and Sadducees, presented themselves in response to his message. The legitimization of his ministry offered by these groups would have placed John on the Jerusalem social register. What self-respecting self-promoter would turn away an opportunity like this? But John was not a self-promoter. He was, in fact, a promoter of the One coming after him, God's anointed. Therefore, John was not interested in what others could offer to him; only what God could offer to those who came with a sincere heart -- the absence of which was a mockery to God and unacceptable to John.
Application
Today's texts provide a prism through which we might view various aspects of a Wannabe. Some Wannabes don't reach their desired goal because others stand in their way. In the Roman passage, we see Gentile believers in Jesus who want to be fully included in the local Christian community, but who are kept back by a segment of the Jewish Christian members. What they wanted to be, the Gentiles could not be because of the attitude of others. How often in our congregations are those who are Wanna-be participants kept back because we are less forgiving of their past failures than God is?
When I was high-school aged, my Sunday school teacher was the involved, deeply-committed role model that I would later have paid good money for in my own pastoral experience. He took young boys struggling through their rebellious years and helped us appreciate the value of faith. Tom wanted deeply to serve his church as a deacon, but because he had been divorced, the congregation disqualified him from that opportunity. Few of the current deacons had the commitment of faith or depth of relationship with God that Tom enjoyed, but that did not matter. For our congregation at that time, divorce was the unforgivable sin.
Some Wannabes are kept back by others, and still other Wannabes approach their goal with insincere motives. In the Matthew text, John recognized something in the motives of the Sadducees and Pharisees that prompted a stern warning. Perhaps they were joining John's movement as undercover agents; perhaps they were just hedging their bets in the event that John was proclaiming the truth. Whatever their motives, John was not going to admit these leaders without first reading them the fine print. Note that the text does not say that John turned them away, simply that he warned them about what they were getting into. Initially, one's motives may be sincere, but with time, like Donald Crowhurst, one may decide to seek the reward without paying the price. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reminder of the cost of discipleship needs to be heard today as much as when it was written.
Finally, there are those whose Wannabe-ness comes not from personal desire, but from the will and purpose of God. The Isaiah text speaks of one who does not seek fame and glory for one's own advancement. Rather the Spirit of God so overwhelms, so infuses that it is not the individual's will, but the will of God that is most important. What the individual wants is in accord with what God wants. What the individual does carries forth the message of God. The consequences of the individual's actions bring a measure of God's peaceable kingdom. Who other than Jesus Christ fulfills this role so completely? In whom other than Jesus Christ can the Wannabe of God be brought so near? On this Advent Sunday may our Wannabes be transformed by the incarnate Wannabe of God.
Alternative Applications
1) Isaiah: We rightly attribute the fulfillment of Isaiah 11 to Jesus Christ, but we often do so at the cost of our co-humanity with Jesus. In Christ, the dreams of Isaiah find their fullest expression, but that does not mean that lesser expressions of this dream cannot be fulfilled within us. Along with Christ as fulfillment, the preacher may want to address the extent to which these same attributes reside within us. What is our delight (v. 3)? By what criteria do we decide and judge (vv. 3-4)? What is our measure of faithfulness and right relationships (v. 5)? What are we doing to help or hinder localized expressions of peace (vv. 6-9)?
2) Romans: As discussed earlier in this article, congregations sometimes set up barriers, intentionally or unintentionally, to the full inclusion and/or participation of others. Some of these barriers reflect local history ("that's the way we've always done it"), some reflect denominational practice, and others represent nothing more than personal prejudice. If we stand today in the place of the Jewish Christians in the early church, who are today's Gentiles? What for us are "unforgivable sins"? What is the modern equivalent of the Judaizing heresy? In what ways is Christ our servant (v. 8) to those on the periphery?
3) Matthew: John, the person, raises important issues for us moderns. Do we judge the truth of a message by the appearance of the messenger? For example, would a well-dressed, articulate presenter of untruth be accepted and believed more that a poorly-dressed, inarticulate presenter of truth? This text lends itself to an examination of how we moderns, postmoderns and neomoderns judge and discern truth. What can we learn from the way products are presented to us through the media? How much does the cult of personality or our affiliations (political and religious) affect how we perceive truth?
Other important questions are: Do we limit the concept of "repent" to first-time respondents to the Gospel or is there a message of "returning" which we more established believers need to hear? Are we as interested in filling our congregations with the down-and-outs as we are in attracting the up-and-ins?
FIRST LESSON FOCUS
Isaiah 11:1-10
The prophet Isaiah lived in a turbulent time in eighth century B.C. Judah. The ten northern tribes of Israel fell victim to the Assyrian Empire in 721 B.C. and disappeared from history. Only Judah (including Benjamin) was left, and both of its Davidic kings, Ahaz and Hezekiah, finally bowed to Assyria's might. Indeed, following the reign of Hezekiah, King Manasseh of Judah was nothing more than a vassal of the Assyrian Empire. So the line of Jesse, the line of David, was a very problematic rule in Isaiah's time.
Yet, Isaiah knew the promises of the Lord. He knew that God had promised David that there would never be lacking a Davidic heir to sit upon the throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7). And given a prophet's revelation from God, Isaiah saw into God's future to portray the true Davidic heir, the mashiach, the anointed one, the Messiah, whom God would raise up to govern not only Israel but all the peoples.
On this Second Sunday in Advent, we inevitably connect Isaiah's portrayal of the coming Messiah with the figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is instructive, therefore, to lay out the details of Isaiah's announcement. What is the character of the Messiah, and therefore of Christ, and what will he do?
He is, of course, from the line of David and of Jesse, David's father. And his character is determined by the fact that he is given a sixfold gift of God's Spirit, that Spirit which Jesus received at his baptism (cf. Matthew 3:16; John 1:32). God's Holy Spirit always brings with it gifts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12-13). So first of all, the Messiah is given the two gifts of wisdom and understanding. He knows what to do in his reign, apart from any royal counselors such as those who led the kings of Israel astray, and apart from any influence or political correctness, which so leads our leaders and populace astray these days.
Second, the Messiah is given, by the Spirit of God, the gifts of counsel and might. He has wisdom, contrary to our terrible lack of it at times (cf. Isaiah 5:21; 29:14), but he also has the power to put his thought into action. A leader may be wise and good, dreaming great dreams and making marvelous plans. He may even be loving, but if he cannot implement his love, it is a helpless emotion.
Third, by the gift of God's Spirit, the Messiah has knowledge of the Lord. But "knowledge" in the scriptures is far more than just rote memory or surface understanding. Knowledge of the Lord is inmost knowing of God's nature and will and actions. To know the Lord means to live with him in intimate communion every day. Hosea and Jeremiah compare such knowledge to that of a loving wife for her husband, or to that of an adoring son for his father. The Messiah knows God through and through, because he lives with him continually. And, says our text, in that living, the Messiah possesses the fear of the Lord, which means he stands in awe and reverence of God. He knows who God is (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12), and he lovingly and reverently adores him.
And then the sixth gift. The Messiah delights in the fear of the Lord. And here the word "fear" has its second biblical meaning. It connotes obedience. The Davidic Messiah is the one who loves to do God's will. He has joy in his life with the Lord, no matter what that life brings upon him (cf. Hebrews 12:2), a joy that every true Christian knows who lives in daily communion with God.
All of these gifts the true Davidic Messiah has from the Spirit of God. And because he has them, our text goes on to describe how the Messiah will act. He will not judge by outward appearances, by what his eyes see and his ears hear, but by the inner nature of persons and events (cf. John 2:25; 7:24). After all, the working of God in this world is not often evident to our senses, but the Messiah knows what is really going on.
This world usually ignores or looks down on the poor and the meek. Indeed, they are often persecuted. But the Messiah, in his discerning judgment, will give the helpless their proper place in society, and they will be equal to all (cf. the Royal Psalm 72:12-14; Matthew 5:5). Such a concern for the weaker members of society runs throughout the Bible, of course, and it is prominent in many of Isaiah's prophecies (Isaiah 1:17, 23; 5:23; 10:1-2). Further, those who oppress the helpless will be judged for their iniquity. But the Messiah's judgments will be worked, not by violence, but by his powerful word. The thought is that the Word of God has effective power to do that of which it speaks. And the Messiah's word will bring judgment on the ruthless and proud, the wicked and indifferent.
Righteousness and faithfulness to God will be so integral to the Messiah's personality that they will cling to him like the clothing on his body (cf. Ephesians 6:14-17). "To be righteous," according to the Bible, is to fulfill the demands of a relationship. And the Messiah will be so faithful in his relationship with God that all of his actions will be righteous.
So the Messiah will set all things right in the world, but that will also include the world of nature, because the biblical writers know that there is pain in the natural world too. Nature is "red of tooth and claw," and as Paul writes, the whole creation groans in travail, waiting for redemption (Romans. 8:22). The natural world has fallen with humanity's fall (cf. Genesis 3:14, 17-18; Jeremiah 12:4), and sin has destroyed the oneness between human beings and the animals (cf. Genesis 9:2). Thus Isaiah portrays peace in the world of nature and, profoundly, peace between humans and the beasts. The serpent of our sin is transformed into a harmless plaything for a child.
The summary statement then is given in verse 9. When the Messiah rules, no one will hurt or destroy, not only in Israel, but throughout the whole world, for the earth in its entirety will know the Lord and live intimately with him.
Verse 10 really does not belong with verses 1-9, and verses 10-11 simply form a transition with the poem that begins in verse 12. In addition, "the root of Jesse" in verse 10 no longer stands for the origin of the Messianic king, as in verse 1, but for the Messiah himself. Apparently the lectionary committee has included verse 10 to affirm the universal devotion of all nations to the Messiah. But the universal note is already present in verses 4 and 9.
As we look back at the birth of our Messiah on this Second Sunday in Advent, can any of us doubt that Isaiah's portrayal foreshadows the character and actions of Jesus Christ and of the kingdom of God that he will return to establish on this earth? Surely, our Advent prayer can only be, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
PREACHING THE PSALM
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
This psalm is a prayer for the king, and it asks that God extend his rule of earth through the anointed one who sits on the throne. Although the inscription says the psalm is about Solomon, that is a scribal addition. More likely, this was a general prayer used for more than one of the Davidic kings, and it shows the common belief that the monarch would be the instrument through which God acted.
The primary request of the psalm is that the king's rule be marked by godly characteristics -- justice and prosperity for all within the kingdom, righteousness in all dealings, dominion over enemies and submission from other kings. In all of this, the psalm is an appropriate one for this Advent Sunday as we consider the coming of the King of kings.
The lectionary skips the middle verses of this psalm, but there is no special reason to do so. Most of the psalm, at least through verse 17 is a cohesive unit and does not deviate from the theme. Verses 18-19 are a doxological conclusion for the entire Book II of the psalm (Psalms 42-72) and verse 20 is possibly leftover marker from an earlier collection of psalms to distinguish those attributed to David from those authored by others.
For preaching purposes:
1) Note the similarity of theme between this psalm and the First Lesson for today. It may be enough simply to use the psalm as a further example of the messianic hope Judah place in its kings.
2) Verse 11 can be interpreted symbolically to refer to the visit of the Magi.
3) Christianity has long seen the hope of this psalm as fulfilled in Jesus Christ. You might focus on verses 2-4 to discuss the ministry of Jesus.
4) Verse 3 refers to the yield of the mountains and hills. Though not an Advent theme, you could build a sermon on how the use of the physical resources of the planet could, when under the rule of a just and righteous government, contribute to universal justice and prosperity.
