Ready or Not...
Commentary
Ready or not, the holidays are rushing upon us. In many ways I’m sure they are already here. The question is — how should one prepare, and what attitude is required? Will this be just a holiday, or will it also be a holy day?
Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4
Our response to seeing Baruch as a lectionary choice will depend, perhaps, on our denominational background. For some of us this book is scriptural, part of the expanded canon that Christendom shared for 1,500 years, after which a sizable majority of Christians continued to consider this book biblical. For the rest of us, it has relegated to a middle section titled the Apocrypha, or “hidden things,” although there’s nothing hidden about it. Around 300 years before Jesus a group of Jewish translators, recognizing that many believers, scattered throughout the western world, were more familiar with Greek than Hebrew, translated a wide range of respected books into Greek so they could be heard and understood by those attending synagogue services. In the first century, these books became the Christian Old Testament canon, since our faith was also grounded in the Greek language.
Meanwhile, our Judean forbears did not agree upon a canon of Hebrew scripture until two or three generations after Jesus, settling upon the books which are more familiarly called the Old Testament by Christians. When Martin Luther set about translating scripture directly from the original languages into German, he settled upon the Jewish canon and put the remaining books, including Baruch, into the apocrypha, where they were routinely printed in Christian Bibles until the 20th century, when the cost of paper and fundamentalism led to their exclusion.
Baruch was the companion and scribe for Jeremiah, and is referenced in the prophet’s massive work on more than one occasion. The Letter of Baruch is unlikely to have been written by him. Indeed, it may be the product of the Christian era. Nevertheless, there are important things to be mined from this Deutero-Canonical passage. If your congregation has little experience with books categorized as “Apocrypha” this might be a good opportunity to discuss the fluidity of canon, reminding them — and yourself — that more Christians accept this book as canonical than not, and that for around three-quarters of Christian history, it was accepted by all Christians as a biblical book.
The historical situation underlying the passage is the ignominious exile by Jerusalem elites from the Holy Land and their glorious return. The language echoes Isaiah 40, words that are used in Luke 3 to describe the mission and ministry of John the Baptist, to prepare the way of the Lord: “For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.” (Baruch 5:7)
The joy of return and reunion undergird this passage — as they do the Christmas holiday that is approaching. I’m reminded of the melancholy yet joyful poem recited by Bilbo Baggins, who, reflecting on the time “when winter comes without a spring/ that I shall ever see,” nevertheless takes joy —
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.”
The anticipation of company, and the longing for company, the need to get together, are at the heart of our holiday, and in this scripture. People are on the move — “Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One…” (5:9).
Indeed, joy or abject disappointment may result from the return or refusal to return for several family and friends. Sometimes factors are out of our control. These are honest and true feelings, but it may be the task of the preacher to remind the congregation that as real as the personal feelings are for what occurs on this holiday, these must not cause to lose sight of the fact that union and reunion with God’s presence is “the reason for the season.” As the Christmas song has it, the infant Jesus came “for poor ornery people like you and like I.”
As for the appropriateness of Christmas decorations, Baruch (like Malachi, our other Old Testament choice) continues the theme of preparing for the great day of the Lord, but unlike him, not abjectly. We are the bride of Christ. We are loved! Act like it. Beautify! Both our homes and our churches should be decked with appropriate decorations for the season.
Malachi is something of a mystery among the prophetic books — it is difficult to ascertain the historical circumstances that led to these prophecies, so even the date of this book, other than the fact that it is probably one of the later entries in scripture is unknown . As for the prophet’s name — it means both angel and messenger. Some interpreters have seen him more as an angry angel than a happy herald of good news.
His words can be seen as a counterpoint to Baruch’s invitation to dress up for the holidays — Malachi tells us to prepare for the great day of the Lord in sackcloth and ashes. He also warns us to be prepared for some difficult testing. Yet this is necessary. One’s entry into military service is preceded by “boot camp,” designed to put one through tests more difficult than will be encountered in daily practice, so that when the day of battle arrives, one will know one can endure. Malachi assures us that this time of testing and trial that we are enduring will lead to an acceptable offering. This purification, highlighted in Jeremiah 9:7 and Zechariah 13:9, if approached as a personal boot camp, can certainly be seen in a different light.
All of us have gone through a time of testing and trial the past several years, with the pandemic, climate change, political and social upheaval, and whatever tribulations your congregation or individuals may have gone through! In preparing for the coming of the infant king, we might well consider whether we are ready to be the bride of Christ, inheritors of the promise, pleasing to the Lord, and worthy of entering the temple again.
The question posted by Malachi is — are you ready? Are we ready?
Philippians 1:3-11
Sorry (not sorry) that this weekend’s dose of Charting the Course has not one, but two references to The Lord of the Rings, but I’m approaching this installment as I annually reread Tolkien’s classic, something I’ve done since 1967. Minas Tirith is besieged, the hobbit Peregrin Took is trapped in the stone city as doom closes in, and his companion, Gandalf the Wizard (who in Tolkien’s mythology is an angelic being come to Middle Earth cloaked as an old man) considers what to say when the hobbit asks if there is any hope. The hobbit looks closely —
Yet in the wizard’s face he saw at first only lines of care and sorrow; though as he looked more intently he perceived that under all there was a great joy: a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth.
In similar fashion, even though Paul’s situation is desperate (he writes from prison — perhaps even from death row.) Beneath the serious, even deadly, real-life situation, Paul’s letter overflows with love for the Philippians, unquenchable joy, and peace! Our lives are filled with serious sorrows, we are hemmed in by global stress and national anxiety, but we can heartily sing “Joy to the World,” because indeed, the Lord is come!
In this passage, Paul begins by saying he is “praying with joy,” (vs 4). He is within his rights to think positively about their situation because “I hold you in my heart.” (7) He prays for them “to help you determine what really matters,” (10) the kind of perspective we need as we navigate the holidays. The reason for this is, like Baruch and Malachi, we need to prepare so we can endure great difficulties (Remember the boot camp I talked in Malachi?) “so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless….” (10)
This passage is especially well matched with Baruch. It gives us permission to sing “Joy to the World!” with honesty, despite the headlines, because we see beyond the present time, to not only our eternal destiny, but also to God’s good will for our lives together now, in the present age.
As you ponder this passage, remember that Paul has a history with the Philippians. They were a Spirit-led destination, not the one he had chosen as a human being. There was that dream in the night where “a man from Macedonia” had called him urgently to come into their midst. Answering the call, Paul discovered the “man” was actually Lydia, who met with other devout women at the riverside (what’s that song, “As I sent down to the river to pray, thinking about that good old way and who will wear that starry crown, Oh Lord, show me the way….”) because there were not ten believing men in Philippi to make a quorum for a synagogue service. Her villa became a house church and her home a base camp for Paul’s ministry in Philippi, and the eventual baptism of his jailer and his household — one more reason for Paul to believe that imprisonment — including his present incarceration — could lead to the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ.
All of which is a reminder of how we’re not crazy to look forward to the arrival of a powerless infant into a cruel world as the bringer of peace and the restorer of God’s righteousness in harried times!
Luke 3:1-6
Forty-five years ago, when I began pastoral ministry, I always chafed a little when John the Baptist was inserted into the Advent texts — he should come later, like in the beginning of Lent. I figured we needed more angels and Magi and shepherds and dreams during the lead-in to Christmas. Augustus was emperor when Jesus was born. Quirinius administered the region. Herod the Great reigned in Judea and Galilee. Why are we talking about Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas?
But of course now I see how this ties in with preparing the way of the Lord, the core of Isaiah 40, the prophetic poem about the return of the people from exile into the homeland. We need not only to prepare our hearts, as John warns us, but also prepare the great highway to make it easier for others to find their way!
It’s not always about us. Yes, bake cookies, decorate the house, prepare for visitors or to be a visitor, worship together, strengthening each other for our journey as believers through the winding road of this holiday season, where it is so easy for us to get untracked.
But the boot camp of our holiday and heart preparations should also help us prepare the way for others. The images of Isaiah 40 remind us that we are travelling together on a difficult road, and that the oldest and the youngest will find it very difficult. The spiritual road is very difficult for those suffering from depression (days get shorter in the northern hemisphere, and physically we all get a little blue) and other emotional situations. Not everyone can look past Santa Claus and see Saint Nicholas throwing gold sacks through windows to save others from a seemingly inevitable fate.
Luke calls to mind the words of Isaiah about smoothing out the road for the returnees, leveling hills, filling in troughs. That’s part of our task during this season in our churches, because this is when those who rarely pass through church doors make their way into our midst. Are we welcoming or judgmental? Are we smiling, or wrapped up in our own concerns (understandable, but still….)?
The thing is, this all happens in a strict time frame. This is our opportunity to be a beacon of light and hope! That repentance that John proclaims? The Greek word is metanoia — which means a change of perception, of one’s mind, the way we think, the focus of our heart! We can’t change our ways immediately — but we can work on our outlook.
John’s immersion (the word translated as baptizer is one associated with washing clothes and with bathing — you get dunked) was part and parcel of the ritual baths that were taken by God’s people in certain situations. We try to get clean before special events. We are preparing for the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One (like Baruch, Malachi, Paul, and the Philippians). We immerse ourselves in baking, decorating, and cheering each other up, but also in charitable works, in giving gifts, in receiving, accepting, singing, and sharing hope. It’s not phony. We’re attempting to change our outlook. This might be the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, but we are going home — not only literally to our homes and to the homes of others where we gather for holiday joy, but also to our eternal home along this pilgrim highway. Isaiah 40 emphasized that this homecoming includes everyone, young and old, sick and well, people from all circumstances of life. That highway described by Isaiah and alluded to by John, is for everyone!
The references to the rulers in the time of Jesus remind us that the coming of our Lord did not take place in some mythical age of peace and wonder, but that real events take place in the real world, and that our own troubles and victories happen in holy history. Right now.
Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4
Our response to seeing Baruch as a lectionary choice will depend, perhaps, on our denominational background. For some of us this book is scriptural, part of the expanded canon that Christendom shared for 1,500 years, after which a sizable majority of Christians continued to consider this book biblical. For the rest of us, it has relegated to a middle section titled the Apocrypha, or “hidden things,” although there’s nothing hidden about it. Around 300 years before Jesus a group of Jewish translators, recognizing that many believers, scattered throughout the western world, were more familiar with Greek than Hebrew, translated a wide range of respected books into Greek so they could be heard and understood by those attending synagogue services. In the first century, these books became the Christian Old Testament canon, since our faith was also grounded in the Greek language.
Meanwhile, our Judean forbears did not agree upon a canon of Hebrew scripture until two or three generations after Jesus, settling upon the books which are more familiarly called the Old Testament by Christians. When Martin Luther set about translating scripture directly from the original languages into German, he settled upon the Jewish canon and put the remaining books, including Baruch, into the apocrypha, where they were routinely printed in Christian Bibles until the 20th century, when the cost of paper and fundamentalism led to their exclusion.
Baruch was the companion and scribe for Jeremiah, and is referenced in the prophet’s massive work on more than one occasion. The Letter of Baruch is unlikely to have been written by him. Indeed, it may be the product of the Christian era. Nevertheless, there are important things to be mined from this Deutero-Canonical passage. If your congregation has little experience with books categorized as “Apocrypha” this might be a good opportunity to discuss the fluidity of canon, reminding them — and yourself — that more Christians accept this book as canonical than not, and that for around three-quarters of Christian history, it was accepted by all Christians as a biblical book.
The historical situation underlying the passage is the ignominious exile by Jerusalem elites from the Holy Land and their glorious return. The language echoes Isaiah 40, words that are used in Luke 3 to describe the mission and ministry of John the Baptist, to prepare the way of the Lord: “For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.” (Baruch 5:7)
The joy of return and reunion undergird this passage — as they do the Christmas holiday that is approaching. I’m reminded of the melancholy yet joyful poem recited by Bilbo Baggins, who, reflecting on the time “when winter comes without a spring/ that I shall ever see,” nevertheless takes joy —
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.”
The anticipation of company, and the longing for company, the need to get together, are at the heart of our holiday, and in this scripture. People are on the move — “Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One…” (5:9).
Indeed, joy or abject disappointment may result from the return or refusal to return for several family and friends. Sometimes factors are out of our control. These are honest and true feelings, but it may be the task of the preacher to remind the congregation that as real as the personal feelings are for what occurs on this holiday, these must not cause to lose sight of the fact that union and reunion with God’s presence is “the reason for the season.” As the Christmas song has it, the infant Jesus came “for poor ornery people like you and like I.”
As for the appropriateness of Christmas decorations, Baruch (like Malachi, our other Old Testament choice) continues the theme of preparing for the great day of the Lord, but unlike him, not abjectly. We are the bride of Christ. We are loved! Act like it. Beautify! Both our homes and our churches should be decked with appropriate decorations for the season.
Malachi is something of a mystery among the prophetic books — it is difficult to ascertain the historical circumstances that led to these prophecies, so even the date of this book, other than the fact that it is probably one of the later entries in scripture is unknown . As for the prophet’s name — it means both angel and messenger. Some interpreters have seen him more as an angry angel than a happy herald of good news.
His words can be seen as a counterpoint to Baruch’s invitation to dress up for the holidays — Malachi tells us to prepare for the great day of the Lord in sackcloth and ashes. He also warns us to be prepared for some difficult testing. Yet this is necessary. One’s entry into military service is preceded by “boot camp,” designed to put one through tests more difficult than will be encountered in daily practice, so that when the day of battle arrives, one will know one can endure. Malachi assures us that this time of testing and trial that we are enduring will lead to an acceptable offering. This purification, highlighted in Jeremiah 9:7 and Zechariah 13:9, if approached as a personal boot camp, can certainly be seen in a different light.
All of us have gone through a time of testing and trial the past several years, with the pandemic, climate change, political and social upheaval, and whatever tribulations your congregation or individuals may have gone through! In preparing for the coming of the infant king, we might well consider whether we are ready to be the bride of Christ, inheritors of the promise, pleasing to the Lord, and worthy of entering the temple again.
The question posted by Malachi is — are you ready? Are we ready?
Philippians 1:3-11
Sorry (not sorry) that this weekend’s dose of Charting the Course has not one, but two references to The Lord of the Rings, but I’m approaching this installment as I annually reread Tolkien’s classic, something I’ve done since 1967. Minas Tirith is besieged, the hobbit Peregrin Took is trapped in the stone city as doom closes in, and his companion, Gandalf the Wizard (who in Tolkien’s mythology is an angelic being come to Middle Earth cloaked as an old man) considers what to say when the hobbit asks if there is any hope. The hobbit looks closely —
Yet in the wizard’s face he saw at first only lines of care and sorrow; though as he looked more intently he perceived that under all there was a great joy: a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth.
In similar fashion, even though Paul’s situation is desperate (he writes from prison — perhaps even from death row.) Beneath the serious, even deadly, real-life situation, Paul’s letter overflows with love for the Philippians, unquenchable joy, and peace! Our lives are filled with serious sorrows, we are hemmed in by global stress and national anxiety, but we can heartily sing “Joy to the World,” because indeed, the Lord is come!
In this passage, Paul begins by saying he is “praying with joy,” (vs 4). He is within his rights to think positively about their situation because “I hold you in my heart.” (7) He prays for them “to help you determine what really matters,” (10) the kind of perspective we need as we navigate the holidays. The reason for this is, like Baruch and Malachi, we need to prepare so we can endure great difficulties (Remember the boot camp I talked in Malachi?) “so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless….” (10)
This passage is especially well matched with Baruch. It gives us permission to sing “Joy to the World!” with honesty, despite the headlines, because we see beyond the present time, to not only our eternal destiny, but also to God’s good will for our lives together now, in the present age.
As you ponder this passage, remember that Paul has a history with the Philippians. They were a Spirit-led destination, not the one he had chosen as a human being. There was that dream in the night where “a man from Macedonia” had called him urgently to come into their midst. Answering the call, Paul discovered the “man” was actually Lydia, who met with other devout women at the riverside (what’s that song, “As I sent down to the river to pray, thinking about that good old way and who will wear that starry crown, Oh Lord, show me the way….”) because there were not ten believing men in Philippi to make a quorum for a synagogue service. Her villa became a house church and her home a base camp for Paul’s ministry in Philippi, and the eventual baptism of his jailer and his household — one more reason for Paul to believe that imprisonment — including his present incarceration — could lead to the spread of the good news of Jesus Christ.
All of which is a reminder of how we’re not crazy to look forward to the arrival of a powerless infant into a cruel world as the bringer of peace and the restorer of God’s righteousness in harried times!
Luke 3:1-6
Forty-five years ago, when I began pastoral ministry, I always chafed a little when John the Baptist was inserted into the Advent texts — he should come later, like in the beginning of Lent. I figured we needed more angels and Magi and shepherds and dreams during the lead-in to Christmas. Augustus was emperor when Jesus was born. Quirinius administered the region. Herod the Great reigned in Judea and Galilee. Why are we talking about Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas?
But of course now I see how this ties in with preparing the way of the Lord, the core of Isaiah 40, the prophetic poem about the return of the people from exile into the homeland. We need not only to prepare our hearts, as John warns us, but also prepare the great highway to make it easier for others to find their way!
It’s not always about us. Yes, bake cookies, decorate the house, prepare for visitors or to be a visitor, worship together, strengthening each other for our journey as believers through the winding road of this holiday season, where it is so easy for us to get untracked.
But the boot camp of our holiday and heart preparations should also help us prepare the way for others. The images of Isaiah 40 remind us that we are travelling together on a difficult road, and that the oldest and the youngest will find it very difficult. The spiritual road is very difficult for those suffering from depression (days get shorter in the northern hemisphere, and physically we all get a little blue) and other emotional situations. Not everyone can look past Santa Claus and see Saint Nicholas throwing gold sacks through windows to save others from a seemingly inevitable fate.
Luke calls to mind the words of Isaiah about smoothing out the road for the returnees, leveling hills, filling in troughs. That’s part of our task during this season in our churches, because this is when those who rarely pass through church doors make their way into our midst. Are we welcoming or judgmental? Are we smiling, or wrapped up in our own concerns (understandable, but still….)?
The thing is, this all happens in a strict time frame. This is our opportunity to be a beacon of light and hope! That repentance that John proclaims? The Greek word is metanoia — which means a change of perception, of one’s mind, the way we think, the focus of our heart! We can’t change our ways immediately — but we can work on our outlook.
John’s immersion (the word translated as baptizer is one associated with washing clothes and with bathing — you get dunked) was part and parcel of the ritual baths that were taken by God’s people in certain situations. We try to get clean before special events. We are preparing for the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One (like Baruch, Malachi, Paul, and the Philippians). We immerse ourselves in baking, decorating, and cheering each other up, but also in charitable works, in giving gifts, in receiving, accepting, singing, and sharing hope. It’s not phony. We’re attempting to change our outlook. This might be the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere, but we are going home — not only literally to our homes and to the homes of others where we gather for holiday joy, but also to our eternal home along this pilgrim highway. Isaiah 40 emphasized that this homecoming includes everyone, young and old, sick and well, people from all circumstances of life. That highway described by Isaiah and alluded to by John, is for everyone!
The references to the rulers in the time of Jesus remind us that the coming of our Lord did not take place in some mythical age of peace and wonder, but that real events take place in the real world, and that our own troubles and victories happen in holy history. Right now.
