ADVENT 1
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Among the four texts chosen for this occasion in Series A of the lectionary we are using, perhaps Psalm 122 has the most immediate appeal. The feeling for the community of the people of God is so strong in this psalm that the city of Jerusalem itself, within which the "house of the Lord" (Yahweh) is built, is directly addressed or described in some way in every verse.
As we introduce this psalm, or during the message for the day, we should comment briefly about the life situation in which this psalm was developed. The person who wrote this psalm was glad when other Israelites issued the verbal invitation to join with them in going up to Jerusalem, the city made holy by the house of the Lord. By using our God-given imaginations we can go back in time and transcend space in order to join with the people of God then in their call for peace and happiness. Then we can also bring Psalm 122 into this present time and place. This psalm can be adapted easily to the specific setting of each congregation by substituting the name of our city or area for Jerusalem and making other minor adjustments. It is possible to do this, if necessary, even without use of the Hebrew original. Such an adaptation can then be sung or spoken by the person who arranged it, by a chorus or choir, or by the entire congregation.
Isaiah 2:1-5
Although this text is placed within the basic chapters 1-12 of the Isaiah traditions, its themes are those of the restoration and dawning of apocalyptic period contemporary with Isaiah 60-62 material and with the redactor-writers who were inspired to produce 1-2 Chronicles. The prophetic oracle that is the central portion of this text, Isaiah 2:2-4, found a place also in Micah 4:1-4. Here the Torah has gone forth out of Zion, but most of the fervent expectations of this text have not yet been realized by Israel, by the church, or by anyone. This is the type of thoughts and expectations from which messianic hopes are fashioned. Jews and Christians today can together share in this futuristic hope, can long for and work for that which is not yet experienced. Together we can join with what the Jesus of history must have desired nearly two thousand years ago.
Romans 13:11-14
We have come to the point in our study of Paul's epistle to the Romans in which we recognize that Paul was writing here about a new lifestyle for the new people of God who were followers of Jesus. Regardless of whether they had been from a Jewish background or from some other background in the Hellenistic world, they were now a "new creation," people who believed that by the grace of God they were justified through faith in Jesus as their Lord. Their new lifestyle, which is what Romans 12-15, as well as many other sections of Paul's basic seven epistles, is all about, implies that they will put forth their bodies as a continual living sacrifice acceptable to God (12:1-8), they will have love for one another and bless even those who persecute them (12:9-21), they will submit to the civil authority of government (13:1-7), they will have no other obligation except to live together in agape' style (13:8-10), and in the text appointed for this occasion (13:11-14) they will put off the accouterments of darkness and put on the equipment of light, that is, whatever will indicate that Jesus is their Lord. Therefore, Romans 13:11-14 is an appropriate epistle reading with which to begin a new church year with the theme, "Come, let us walk in the light."
Common:
Matthew 24:36-44
Lutheran, Roman Catholic: Matthew 24:37-44
According to this text, even though the Son of man may come during the "night," Jesus' disciples are to be "in the light," ready and watching. Matthew 24:37-44 draws from Genesis 6-9 for a comparison of conditions at the time of the anticipated parousia of the Son of man to the conditions that prevailed at the time of Noah. The Lukan writer added the example of conditions at the time of Lot. Both Matthew and Luke - whether dependent on "Q" materials, oral tradition, or on each other - added to Mark's admonitions the idea that one man and one woman will be taken along with the Son of man while another man and another woman will be left behind.
Instances in the Synoptic Gospels of Jesus speaking about the Son of man in the third person are indications that the Jesus of history did not claim to be the "Son of man." It is likely that followers of Jesus who believed that Jesus was alive and with God after the crucifixion expected Jesus as the Risen Christ to come again as the "Son of man" in accordance with Daniel 7:13.
What, therefore, are we called to proclaim next Sunday? Shall we renew or heighten the apocalyptic expectations expressed in Matthew 24? The Matthew 24 text presents a specific viewpoint from a particular situation within one community of followers of Jesus late during the first century. We today are called to speak for God within a much broader perspective than that depicted in Matthew 24. God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will come in many more ways than one during the new church year. Let us walk in the light of the Lord and look for the coming of the Lord in many ways each day and ultimately at the end of time.
As we introduce this psalm, or during the message for the day, we should comment briefly about the life situation in which this psalm was developed. The person who wrote this psalm was glad when other Israelites issued the verbal invitation to join with them in going up to Jerusalem, the city made holy by the house of the Lord. By using our God-given imaginations we can go back in time and transcend space in order to join with the people of God then in their call for peace and happiness. Then we can also bring Psalm 122 into this present time and place. This psalm can be adapted easily to the specific setting of each congregation by substituting the name of our city or area for Jerusalem and making other minor adjustments. It is possible to do this, if necessary, even without use of the Hebrew original. Such an adaptation can then be sung or spoken by the person who arranged it, by a chorus or choir, or by the entire congregation.
Isaiah 2:1-5
Although this text is placed within the basic chapters 1-12 of the Isaiah traditions, its themes are those of the restoration and dawning of apocalyptic period contemporary with Isaiah 60-62 material and with the redactor-writers who were inspired to produce 1-2 Chronicles. The prophetic oracle that is the central portion of this text, Isaiah 2:2-4, found a place also in Micah 4:1-4. Here the Torah has gone forth out of Zion, but most of the fervent expectations of this text have not yet been realized by Israel, by the church, or by anyone. This is the type of thoughts and expectations from which messianic hopes are fashioned. Jews and Christians today can together share in this futuristic hope, can long for and work for that which is not yet experienced. Together we can join with what the Jesus of history must have desired nearly two thousand years ago.
Romans 13:11-14
We have come to the point in our study of Paul's epistle to the Romans in which we recognize that Paul was writing here about a new lifestyle for the new people of God who were followers of Jesus. Regardless of whether they had been from a Jewish background or from some other background in the Hellenistic world, they were now a "new creation," people who believed that by the grace of God they were justified through faith in Jesus as their Lord. Their new lifestyle, which is what Romans 12-15, as well as many other sections of Paul's basic seven epistles, is all about, implies that they will put forth their bodies as a continual living sacrifice acceptable to God (12:1-8), they will have love for one another and bless even those who persecute them (12:9-21), they will submit to the civil authority of government (13:1-7), they will have no other obligation except to live together in agape' style (13:8-10), and in the text appointed for this occasion (13:11-14) they will put off the accouterments of darkness and put on the equipment of light, that is, whatever will indicate that Jesus is their Lord. Therefore, Romans 13:11-14 is an appropriate epistle reading with which to begin a new church year with the theme, "Come, let us walk in the light."
Common:
Matthew 24:36-44
Lutheran, Roman Catholic: Matthew 24:37-44
According to this text, even though the Son of man may come during the "night," Jesus' disciples are to be "in the light," ready and watching. Matthew 24:37-44 draws from Genesis 6-9 for a comparison of conditions at the time of the anticipated parousia of the Son of man to the conditions that prevailed at the time of Noah. The Lukan writer added the example of conditions at the time of Lot. Both Matthew and Luke - whether dependent on "Q" materials, oral tradition, or on each other - added to Mark's admonitions the idea that one man and one woman will be taken along with the Son of man while another man and another woman will be left behind.
Instances in the Synoptic Gospels of Jesus speaking about the Son of man in the third person are indications that the Jesus of history did not claim to be the "Son of man." It is likely that followers of Jesus who believed that Jesus was alive and with God after the crucifixion expected Jesus as the Risen Christ to come again as the "Son of man" in accordance with Daniel 7:13.
What, therefore, are we called to proclaim next Sunday? Shall we renew or heighten the apocalyptic expectations expressed in Matthew 24? The Matthew 24 text presents a specific viewpoint from a particular situation within one community of followers of Jesus late during the first century. We today are called to speak for God within a much broader perspective than that depicted in Matthew 24. God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will come in many more ways than one during the new church year. Let us walk in the light of the Lord and look for the coming of the Lord in many ways each day and ultimately at the end of time.
