CHRISTMAS 1
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
The emphasis in most of the texts selected for this occasion is on the responsibilities of God as Father and on the responsibilities delegated by God to human fathers, specifically in Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 to Joseph, who was given the responsibility of providing fatherly care for Jesus. In a broader sense, the focus in these texts is on the family, and in Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23, of course, on the family of Jesus.
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 111
After the opening Hallelujah, this psalm is an acrostic psalm. Yahweh is praised for being gracious, merciful, and righteous, as can be seen in Yahweh's work. Those who are wise will respect and praise Yahweh and follow the example set by Yahweh.
Roman Catholic: Psalm 128:1-5
Everyone who fears the Lord (Yahweh) and follows the example set by Yahweh will be blessed. The wife of the man who lives in this way will be like a fruitful vine within his house, and his children will be like olive shoots around his table. Prosperity will be likely to continue for such a man, and he will live to enjoy the presence of his grandchildren.
Common, Lutheran: Isaiah 63:7-9
In this portion of the Isaiah traditions Yahweh's rescue of Israel from bondage and affliction in Egypt is recalled. Yahweh is said to have carried Israel from danger just as a father carries his children to safety. Yahweh is the Savior of the house of Israel, afflicted when the Israelites were afflicted, suffering with them and redeeming them. For an excellent discussion of biblical expressions of God's entering deeply into human experiences and of the implications of this for our pastoral care, preaching, and teaching, see Terence E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984).
Roman Catholic: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
This portion of the wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach is basically a commentary on the commandment to honor your father and your mother in the Decalogue. It includes the observation that the type of care that middle-aged people provide for their parents is likely to be provided for them by their childrren a few decades later when they themselves are aged. The benefits promised to those who show respect for their aged parents and are patient with them, even when they become senile, may seem at first to be overstated. They are, however, merely elaborations of the idea that the early Israelites should honor their parents so that their days may be long in the land that Yahweh their God gives to them.
Common:
Hebrews 2:10-18
According to this text, all of us who are delivered from the power of death and sanctified as God's children are of one origin with Jesus, who has made expiation for our sins. We are also to be considered, as a result of this saving action of Jesus, to be in a sense children of Jesus, the merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, and members of his family.
Lutheran: Galatians 4:4-7
It is in this text that we come the closest in the Pauline letters to the Jesus of history, especially in the word abba. Here Paul describes Jesus as God's Son, born to a woman, born into a Jewish family, in order to redeem the Jewish people, so that we may be adopted as God's children and made to be members of God's holy family. This text expresses Paul's consistent concern both for followers of Jesus who were of Jewish background and for those who were of non-Jewish background. If we transpose Paul to our own situation, we shall be as consistently concerned in our time for people of various backgrounds in our religious setting. We shall be consistently aware that the Christmas message is not our exclusive possession. It is to be shared and lived in fellowship, even beyond the limits of the Christian faith.
Roman Catholic: Colossians 3:12-21
This text is almost entirely parenetic guidance for us as members of God's family, God's chosen ones. It is, among other things, a commentary on the petition in the Lord's Prayer in which we ask God to forgive us as we have forgiven others. We are to be bound together in God's family by Christian love and ruled by the peace of Christ. Everything that we do is to be done in the name of Jesus our Lord, with thankfulness to God who makes all things possible.
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Here again we may get a better grasp of this familiar text by employing a simple exegetical methodology with structure, genre, life situation, and meanings components.
This text follows 2:1-12, in which the baby Jesus is said to have been worshiped by Gentile magi (Zoroastrian) from the East who brought the gifts expected in the Israelite tradition. Between the two parts of this text is the story of the Holy Innocents (2:16-18). This text concludes the extensive Matthean redaction of Mark 1:1, greatly expanded by composition from the perspective of Joseph, the protector of Mary and of the baby Jesus. The text is followed by the Matthean redaction of Mark 1:2-6. The text itself is a series of stories about movements of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in response to directions given to Joseph by an angel of the Lord in various dreams. All of this is said to have been in fulfillment of what had been said by the prophets.
In terms of genre, this is a typical series of stories about the divinely ordered rescue of a child savior from the machinations of wicked forces. In this sense this is quite similar to stories about the infancy of Moses (the principal founder of Israelite religion) in Exodus and in Josephus' Antiquities 2:205-260, and about the infancy of Zoroaster (the principal founder of the Zoroastrian religion).
These accounts probably had their origin and life situation in early Christian exegesis. Particularly in the Matthean exegetical tradition, Jesus' life is a recapitulation of Israel's life. Jesus is now God's Son, replacing Israel. Jesus receives in these stories the divine care that God had earlier provided for Israel. Jesus, the divine Son, is called out of Egypt. Jesus now becomes a Nazorean, which Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah, pp. 207-213, 218-219, suggests alludes to a rich variety of images indicating that Jesus is both a Nazirite (nazir), a select holy one like Samson and Samuel set aside from birth for service to God, and a messianic "branch" (neser) coming up from the root of Jesse as depicted in Isaiah 11:1. It was in this sense that Jesus became a resident of the Galilean village of Nazareth, something that was known historically. The manner in which the 2:23 quotation was developed illustrates this type of early Christian exegesis.
The primary purpose of these stories is proclamatory, to present Jesus from infancy as set apart for God's service and as the Messiah who would replace Israel as God's chosen one. Through this infant redeemer all people of the world will be blessed. God will permit no evil force to destroy him. Jesus will serve God and redeem God's people. Although what could be known about the time and the nature of the reign of Herod the Great and of his son Archelaus was certainly used in these stories, the primary purpose of such exegesis and of such proclamation is not the objective recording of historical data. Instead, the primary purpose is to proclaim Jesus, his person, nature, and role.
For us also, the primary purpose of these stories is proclamatory. We too proclaim Jesus as set apart for God's service and as the Messiah Redeemer through whom all people of the world will be blessed. As members of the church, as the body of Christ in the world, it is our privilege to continue in God's service and to be a blessing for all of the people of the world. We are not to be a scourge of the people of the world, but to be a blessing for them.
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 111
After the opening Hallelujah, this psalm is an acrostic psalm. Yahweh is praised for being gracious, merciful, and righteous, as can be seen in Yahweh's work. Those who are wise will respect and praise Yahweh and follow the example set by Yahweh.
Roman Catholic: Psalm 128:1-5
Everyone who fears the Lord (Yahweh) and follows the example set by Yahweh will be blessed. The wife of the man who lives in this way will be like a fruitful vine within his house, and his children will be like olive shoots around his table. Prosperity will be likely to continue for such a man, and he will live to enjoy the presence of his grandchildren.
Common, Lutheran: Isaiah 63:7-9
In this portion of the Isaiah traditions Yahweh's rescue of Israel from bondage and affliction in Egypt is recalled. Yahweh is said to have carried Israel from danger just as a father carries his children to safety. Yahweh is the Savior of the house of Israel, afflicted when the Israelites were afflicted, suffering with them and redeeming them. For an excellent discussion of biblical expressions of God's entering deeply into human experiences and of the implications of this for our pastoral care, preaching, and teaching, see Terence E. Fretheim, The Suffering of God (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984).
Roman Catholic: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
This portion of the wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach is basically a commentary on the commandment to honor your father and your mother in the Decalogue. It includes the observation that the type of care that middle-aged people provide for their parents is likely to be provided for them by their childrren a few decades later when they themselves are aged. The benefits promised to those who show respect for their aged parents and are patient with them, even when they become senile, may seem at first to be overstated. They are, however, merely elaborations of the idea that the early Israelites should honor their parents so that their days may be long in the land that Yahweh their God gives to them.
Common:
Hebrews 2:10-18
According to this text, all of us who are delivered from the power of death and sanctified as God's children are of one origin with Jesus, who has made expiation for our sins. We are also to be considered, as a result of this saving action of Jesus, to be in a sense children of Jesus, the merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, and members of his family.
Lutheran: Galatians 4:4-7
It is in this text that we come the closest in the Pauline letters to the Jesus of history, especially in the word abba. Here Paul describes Jesus as God's Son, born to a woman, born into a Jewish family, in order to redeem the Jewish people, so that we may be adopted as God's children and made to be members of God's holy family. This text expresses Paul's consistent concern both for followers of Jesus who were of Jewish background and for those who were of non-Jewish background. If we transpose Paul to our own situation, we shall be as consistently concerned in our time for people of various backgrounds in our religious setting. We shall be consistently aware that the Christmas message is not our exclusive possession. It is to be shared and lived in fellowship, even beyond the limits of the Christian faith.
Roman Catholic: Colossians 3:12-21
This text is almost entirely parenetic guidance for us as members of God's family, God's chosen ones. It is, among other things, a commentary on the petition in the Lord's Prayer in which we ask God to forgive us as we have forgiven others. We are to be bound together in God's family by Christian love and ruled by the peace of Christ. Everything that we do is to be done in the name of Jesus our Lord, with thankfulness to God who makes all things possible.
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Here again we may get a better grasp of this familiar text by employing a simple exegetical methodology with structure, genre, life situation, and meanings components.
This text follows 2:1-12, in which the baby Jesus is said to have been worshiped by Gentile magi (Zoroastrian) from the East who brought the gifts expected in the Israelite tradition. Between the two parts of this text is the story of the Holy Innocents (2:16-18). This text concludes the extensive Matthean redaction of Mark 1:1, greatly expanded by composition from the perspective of Joseph, the protector of Mary and of the baby Jesus. The text is followed by the Matthean redaction of Mark 1:2-6. The text itself is a series of stories about movements of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in response to directions given to Joseph by an angel of the Lord in various dreams. All of this is said to have been in fulfillment of what had been said by the prophets.
In terms of genre, this is a typical series of stories about the divinely ordered rescue of a child savior from the machinations of wicked forces. In this sense this is quite similar to stories about the infancy of Moses (the principal founder of Israelite religion) in Exodus and in Josephus' Antiquities 2:205-260, and about the infancy of Zoroaster (the principal founder of the Zoroastrian religion).
These accounts probably had their origin and life situation in early Christian exegesis. Particularly in the Matthean exegetical tradition, Jesus' life is a recapitulation of Israel's life. Jesus is now God's Son, replacing Israel. Jesus receives in these stories the divine care that God had earlier provided for Israel. Jesus, the divine Son, is called out of Egypt. Jesus now becomes a Nazorean, which Raymond E. Brown in The Birth of the Messiah, pp. 207-213, 218-219, suggests alludes to a rich variety of images indicating that Jesus is both a Nazirite (nazir), a select holy one like Samson and Samuel set aside from birth for service to God, and a messianic "branch" (neser) coming up from the root of Jesse as depicted in Isaiah 11:1. It was in this sense that Jesus became a resident of the Galilean village of Nazareth, something that was known historically. The manner in which the 2:23 quotation was developed illustrates this type of early Christian exegesis.
The primary purpose of these stories is proclamatory, to present Jesus from infancy as set apart for God's service and as the Messiah who would replace Israel as God's chosen one. Through this infant redeemer all people of the world will be blessed. God will permit no evil force to destroy him. Jesus will serve God and redeem God's people. Although what could be known about the time and the nature of the reign of Herod the Great and of his son Archelaus was certainly used in these stories, the primary purpose of such exegesis and of such proclamation is not the objective recording of historical data. Instead, the primary purpose is to proclaim Jesus, his person, nature, and role.
For us also, the primary purpose of these stories is proclamatory. We too proclaim Jesus as set apart for God's service and as the Messiah Redeemer through whom all people of the world will be blessed. As members of the church, as the body of Christ in the world, it is our privilege to continue in God's service and to be a blessing for all of the people of the world. We are not to be a scourge of the people of the world, but to be a blessing for them.
