Advent 4, Cycle B (by Norman Beck — 2008)

If we concentrate on the Luke 1:26-38 Gospel account exclusively or even primarily, we will probably emphasize the person of Mary along with her relationships with God, with the angel Gabriel, and with Elizabeth. On the other hand, if we utilize all of the texts appointed for this day, we will probably in some way apply to our own life situation the Jewish and the Christian “Messianic expectations” regarding the promise of the Lord of an everlasting throne of David, a house, a kingdom that will endure forever.

It would be appropriate to take the latter of these two paths, since we have most likely heard many sermons and homilies, including some of our own, in which Mary’s experiences as developed within the Lukan Gospel’s creative drama were further expounded from the preacher’s own supply of interpersonal relationships, experiences, and inspired imagination. There is, of course, much value in continuing the Lukan Gospel’s process of thorough research of the subject, the gathering of oral and written traditions, and the use of earlier biblical style in the formation of a new literary or homiletical product. The Lukan playwright used effectively the references to the angel figure Gabriel in Daniel 8:15-17 and Daniel 9:21-23 in formulating the scene that we know as Luke 1:26-38, our Gospel text for this occasion. The Lukan writer also used the same type of terminology that is included in the Zoroastrian account of how the “Holy Spirit of God” (Ahura Mazda’s Spirit) had come over the mother of Zoroaster and had caused her to conceive Zoroaster without any interaction with a man. (The concept of the Spirit of God as the agency of conception of the Savior figure was also used in the Matthean tradition. Therefore, both of the Newer Testament traditions that developed a virgin conception explanation of how Jesus could be truly divine and truly human share terminology with the Zoroastrian tradition.)

By using all of the texts appointed for this day, however, we have an opportunity to explore an area with much broader implications for our own faith and lives today than that of the virgin conception accounts and to this we now turn.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

This text is a very important component of the suspense-filled “Succession Document” or “Court History of David” narrative that extends from 2 Samuel 6 through 1 Kings 2. It contains the delightful pun regarding the “house” that David had wanted to build for the Lord God but instead the Lord God would build for David. The “house” that the Lord God will build for David will be a structure made not with timbers and adornments but with the lives of people, for it will be a dynasty, a Davidic dynasty intended to last forever. This is the “Messianic expectation” within the Succession Document, and it became a dominant theme in much of the Older Testament, as well as later within Judaism where it provided a new phase of the promise of land, people, nationhood, and blessing to the patriarchs that had served its purpose and would be continued by being blended into this new Messianic expectation.

We can perceive a measure of how vitally important and relevant this Messianic expectation of continuity on the “throne of David” must have been for the remnant among the exiles from Jerusalem who remained faithful to the Lord God during many decades of relocation in Babylon where many among them accepted the religion and culture of the Babylonians and worshiped Marduk, the Lord of the Babylonians. We note the importance of this Messianic expectation with its Zionist hopes for Jews who were deprived of basic human rights in country after country throughout the centuries. We see also the related use of this Messianic expectation within the developing traditions of many of the followers of Jesus, as in this Luke 1:32-33 text, and continuing for us as Christians since that time. Jews have intensely wanted continuity as a People of God and have struggled valiantly to maintain their identity as a people and as a culture. The striving for continuity of life within the “kingdom of God” has dominated and shaped oral and written traditions within apocalyptic Judaism and within apocalyptic Christianity. As Christians, we ride upon this Jewish Messianic expectations vehicle within a somewhat modified Christian model. Certainly we shall want to acknowledge with great respect the Israelite-Jewish origins of this Christian vehicle in which we ride in accordance with the Word of God in these texts selected for this day. As the Christmas season approaches, what can be more appropriate than to acknowledge this in order to inform and to sensitize our own people and help them and ourselves to appreciate the heritage that we have received from the Jewish people. If we do this, the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year will be a good time to have Jewish guests within our worship services.

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

In this context we concentrate on these few verses of this fascinating psalm. Psalm 89 should be taken seriously in its own setting, with its expectation that the descendants of David will be established forever, the throne of David built for all generations to come. The best of our Christian theology in harmony with the views of the apostle Paul that he expressed in Romans 11:28b-29 has held that the gift and calling of God are irrevocable for Israel and for the church. For the sake of our Christian covenant, we must respect the irrevocable nature of the antecedent Israelite-Jewish covenant. We must realize that if we reject the antecedent Israelite-Jewish covenant, it is only right and just that someday our derivative Christian covenant may also be rejected. For more about this, please see, among others, Norbert Lohfink, The Covenant Never Revoked: Biblical Reflections on Christian-Jewish Dialogue (New York: Paulist, 1991); Mary C. Boys, Has God Only One Blessing? Judaism as a Source of Christian Self-Understanding (New York: Paulist, 2000); and Mary C. Boys, “The Enduring Covenant,” in Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity’s Sacred Obligation, ed. by Mary C. Boys (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005, 17-25).

Luke 1:46b-55

If this text is used on the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year, the emphasis should be focused on the final summation two verses 54 and 55 of the Magnificat in which the emphasis is on God’s enduring covenant with Israel, an emphasis easily overlooked within Christian Bible studies and worship services. With the texts selected for the Third and Fourth Sundays of Advent in Series B, the emphasis is on the enduring covenants of God, which, while they may and indeed often are broken by us as people, are according to these texts, never revoked by God. Our Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, at their best, are always fully aware of this and find comfort in this. What better way than this can we as Christians prepare to celebrate during the coming Christmas season!

Romans 16:25-27

May this beautiful benediction with which the apostle Paul concluded his momentous letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome be ours also, together with the entire People of God! And with this benediction, shall we not let God define the extent of “God’s People”?

Luke 1:26-38

As followers of Jesus, we have every right to claim that the Lord God has given to Jesus the “throne” of David, so long as we realize that this is a theological throne and not a political or physical throne. Other necessary qualifications are that we understand the process by which some of the followers of Jesus made this theological claim, and that we openly recognize and continue to acknowledge the continuing validity of Jewish spirituality, Jewish life and faith, and of Jewish Messianic expectations. We know that we as Christians have taken the Jewish Messianic expectations into a new extended phase and in doing this we have given to them a somewhat different Christian Messianic expectation meaning through the Christian claim that Jesus in his life fulfilled the Messianic “prophecies” of the Older Testament. But what we have done is alongside the Jewish use of these expectations and in no way replaces or excludes the ongoing and dynamic Jewish use for which Jews have the primary claim. What we as Christians have done and are doing with these Messianic expectations must be seen as in a sense secondary to the Jewish use and in continuity with and congruent to the ongoing Jewish hope and expectations. It would be most appropriate for us as Christians to remember this and to acknowledge it at all times and especially here at the conclusion of our Advent season. Then perhaps we could invite Jews to be our guests in our Christian worship services and to hear our understanding of the Messianic expectations that we share, even as we are invited to be their guests and to hear their understanding of their Messianic expectations. When we have done all of this, we are truly “ready” for Christmas, prepared to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord.

THEME OF THE DAY
Why the incarnation matters! The assigned lessons make clear that Christ comes to save us (Justification by Grace).

Psalm 96
A hymn celebrating God’s kingship, speaking of him as Yahweh. Along with Psalms 47, 93, 95, 97-99, this may be an Enthronement Psalm originally used on a festival occasion when God was declared to be a king. Much of the Psalm reflects the Hebraic poetic style of parallelism (in which rather than rhyming lines, successive lines of the poem repeat the same idea in different words, the succeeding line intensifying the previous one). This song is said to be a new one (v. 1), most liturgically appropriate given the new thing that God has done at Christmas. After exhortations to praise God (vv. 2-3), the Lord is extolled as a powerful creator above all the gods (vv. 4-6). We are called to ascribe all the glory due God (vv. 7-8). All the nations and the universe join this praise (vv. 7-13). Yahweh is said to come to judge the world with righteousness [tsedeq] (v. 13). Although in its original Hebraic context this could connote legal, judgmental actions on the Lord’s part or a legalism, most Old Testament scholars note that this attribute of God is not in any way punitive, but more about relationship. Indeed, it has to do with God’s loyalty to his covenant in saving us and even at times later in the Old Testament era the righteousness of God construed as something bestowed on the faithful (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, pp. 373, 376ff) in a manner not unlike what Paul says happens to Christians in Christ (Romans 3:21-26). This point along with the reference in verse 13 to the Lord coming could also be interpreted as pointing to Christ.

Application: The Psalm’s reference to the new song reminds us of the new thing God has done with Christ at Christmas. This is certainly worthy of praise. This point should be made in sermons on the text. The focus on God giving us righteousness could be related to Christ’s coming, leading to a sermon on how it is Christ’s mission to save (Justification by Grace).

Isaiah 9:2-7
It is well-known that this book is actually the product of two or three distinct literary traditions. The first 39 chapters are the work of the historical prophet who proclaimed a message to Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 742 BC to 701 BC, a period during which the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been annexed by the Assyrian empire. Chapters 40-66 emerged in the later period immediately before the fall of Babylon (in 539 BC). This text is a prophecy of the historical Isaiah. It is a prophecy about the messianic king. It may have originally celebrated the accession of a new Judean king. This king is described as a great light [or] for those who had been in darkness [choshek], that is, in oppression (v. 2). Based on verse 1, presumably this is a reference to the liberation of the Israelite inhabitants of areas annexed by Assyria. Darkness is standard biblical imagery for oppression, and light is an image for relief from such oppression. This observation was readily applied to the Babylonian exiles of the sixth century BC, addressed in the chapters from 40 to the end of the book after this chapter pertaining to the earlier prophet was combined with the later chapters. Their exile was interpreted as having been contrary to God’s covenant aims.

The new king will make the nation more abundant, increase its joy, and break the oppressors’ rod, just as Gideon, the great war hero of the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the Mideanites (vv. 3-5; Judges 7:23–8:3). Reference is made to a child born for us, followed by comments about the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (v. 6). These titles were customarily coronation names given to Egyptian kings at their accession. Read as prophecy, the verse could refer to the Christ Child who is identified with a loving God. This child is said to have authority to give endless peace, with justice and righteousness. He is identified with the Davidic line (v. 7). Peace [shalom] in this Jewish context refers not just to a state in which there is no combat, but to a state of well-being and thriving, to social justice (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, p. 130). For the meaning of God’s righteousness [tsedeq], see the discussion above on the Psalm of the Day.

Application: Several sermon possibilities emerge from this text. Understood as a prophecy of Christ the lesson encourages sermons on the righteousness and freedom Christ brings (Justification by Grace). Christ’s contribution to peace and its Hebraic implications (see above) might be an alternative direction (Social Ethics). Christ being the light that overcomes darkness invites sermons on Christ vanquishing evil and oppression (the Classic View of the Atonement).

Titus 2:11-14
This book is one of the Pastoral Epistles, along with 1 and 2 Timothy, so named because of their concern with pastoral leadership. It purports to be a letter of Paul to Titus, a Gentile colleague in ministry (Galatians 2:1-3). None of the pastorals were likely written by Paul. They differ from his authentic letters in vocabulary, style, and treatment of concepts like faith, law, and righteousness, characterized by more emphasis on good works, godliness, and church order. Also many of the historical circumstances described in the Pastoral Epistles do not seem readily accommodated to Paul’s ministry described in Acts. This in turn suggests that they may not have been written until the second century and were circular letters written not to Titus or Timothy but to a general audience. While the other pastoral epistles address ascetic Gnostics (1 Timothy 4:3, 7; 2 Timothy 2:17-18), Titus engages debate more with leaders still maintaining fidelity to Jewish traditions (1:10, 14).

This text may be a fragment of an early Christian liturgy It moves from an assertion of the grace of God and salvation given to all (vv. 11, 14) to a declaration that we have become a people of God zealous for good works (v. 14). This new life is described in terms of self-control and godliness, not being caught up in worldly passions of the present age (v. 12). These images are compatible with Hellenistic moral philosophy, and in some sense remain in dialogue with the Gnostic asceticism critiqued in the other pastoral epistles. References in verses 13 to Christ’s coming [parousia] and his glory borrow the terminology of the imperial cult. We have in this text one of the few times a New Testament writer actually speaks of Christ as God.

Application: If references to Christ’s coming are understood in terms of Christ coming to us at Christmas, the text opens the way to sermons on how Christ saves us by grace, making us people eager to do good (Justification by Grace and Sanctification as Spontaneous Good Works).

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Once again we note that this Synoptic Gospel is the first installment of a two-part history of the church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8).

Most of what Christians believe about the Christmas story is drawn from this text. The literary context for the account is said to be a census called for by the Roman emperor Augustus (who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD) (v. 1). Reference is made to Quirinius who was the Roman governor of Syria. This raises questions about the date of Jesus’ birth or the accuracy of this account, since he was not governor during the reign of Herod the Great in Judah (who according to Matthew 2:1 was on the throne of Israel when Jesus was born). Since Herod died in 4 BC, this seems to move the date of Jesus’ birth prior to the beginning of the Christian era. It is also unlikely that a spouse like Mary would have traveled with her husband to his home of family origin unless she owned property in that town (vv. 1-5). This lack of historical credibility for the account is not surprising, since the birth of Jesus is not even part of the earliest narrative traditions about Jesus (note its omission from Mark’s gospel).

When in Bethlehem (the Davidic home to which Joseph as an heir of David would have traveled [3:23-31]), Mary is reported to have borne her firstborn son and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn (vv. 6-7). It was common in biblical times in Israel for owners to reside with their animals. Next follows the report of the revelation of the birth to shepherds. This is most appropriate in view of the fact that David was also a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:15), and it likewise makes sense given the fact that Luke’s gospel is preoccupied with concern for the poor and lowly (6:20; 14:12-14; 16:19-31). The revelation by an angel is said to produce fear [phobeo] among these shepherds as they encounter the glory of God (they experienced the fear of God) (vv. 8-9). The angel comforts them, bringing the good news of the Messiah, whom they are told they can find in Bethlehem in a manger (v. 12). The angel is then joined by a heavenly multitude (presumably other angels [aggeloi]) who praise God and sing of peace among those he favors (vv. 13-14). (See the discussion above in the notes on the First Lesson of the term “peace” [eirene] in a Hebraic context; that the New Testament continues to employ the term this way is suggested by Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 2, pp. 82-83.)

When the angels depart the shepherds proceed to Bethlehem, finding Mary, Joseph, and the child (vv. 15-17). All who heard the story are amazed. Mary is said to treasure these words and ponder them (vv. 18-19). The shepherds then return, glorifying God (v. 20).

Application: Sermons on this well-known account might try to have parishioners recognize how often we perpetuate the rejection of Jesus in Bethlehem (condemning our sin) while also identifying with the lowly shepherds and so realizing that Christ comes for us (Justification by Grace).

Isaiah 9:2-7
The usage of religious traditions affects the form and even the content of those traditions. For example, usage of evergreen trees that are brought into our homes, stores, and churches during the season of Christmas over periods of time has affected the trees themselves. The use of such trees, especially when they are placed into stores and even into homes and churches many weeks prior to Christmas, has mandated that unless the trees are constructed out of materials that are made to look as if they were live trees cut from a forest or tree farm, even though they were not, they will deteriorate to the point that they are no longer useful objects of beauty. When automobiles began to be used not only to transport people slowly from one place to another on gravel roads, but to become portable sound systems transported at high speeds on superhighways, the form and the content of the vehicles have been changed radically. The automobiles themselves have become, in a sense, religious traditions. The time when teenagers are able to drive and to own their own cars or trucks becomes a “religious rite of passage” for them and for their families. Usage affects form and content.

Usage has affected the form and the content of Isaiah 9:2-7 dramatically, and of course, of other religious texts as well. While the precise details of the environment in which Isaiah 9:2-7 had its origins are unknown to us, it is likely that life conditions had been difficult for the Israelite people and for their nation. Now, however, there was reason to be hopeful. A young man, a descendant of King David, was being acclaimed as the new king. There was an expectation that, unlike their recent kings, this one would be wise, compassionate, strengthened by God, as concerned for them as a loving father would be, a king whose reign would be a reign of justice and of peace. Unfortunately, the hopes and the dreams of the people were never realized. Once the king had power and authority, his power and his authority were misused and lost and the people again suffered, sometimes even more than they had earlier.

As the ancient Israelites and the Jews who came after them experienced repeated injustices and hardships, their hopes for an ideal king repeatedly rose and fell. Especially when for long periods of time they had no autonomy as a nation, their hopes and expectations for their own fair and just “king” and “messiah” were embellished by their poets and heroes. The poetic expressions of faith in Isaiah 9:2-7 and in Isaiah 11:1-9 are evidence of their efforts and they remain useful as expressions of Messianic expectations for Jews today. For many Orthodox Jews, expectations of the coming of a truly worthy earthly ruler sent by God continue, even after countless disappointments. For most non-Orthodox Jews, these texts are treasured as expressions of the coming Messianic Age of justice and of peace, for which they should strive.

For followers of Jesus whose efforts eventually resulted in the Christian tradition, these same texts initially provided expressions of hope that were similar to those of Jews who did not become Christians. Many of these followers of Jesus developed a belief that Jesus was the ideal Messianic King, not merely human, but also divine. Their usage of Isaiah 9:2-7, and of other Israelite-Jewish texts, affected the form and the content of the texts. Long before Handel composed his magnificent “Messiah,” and certainly ever since that time, translations of Isaiah 9:2-7, and most of all of the titles given to the ideal king in the latter portion of Isaiah 9:6 were affected for Christians in ways that departed significantly from the texts and translations used by Jews. As is well known, in most of our Christian translations into the English language we see the adjectives beginning in upper case form as “Wonderful!” “Counselor,” or “Wonderful Counselor,” as “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” and “Prince of Peace.” The usage has almost indelibly affected the form and the content of Isaiah 9:2-7, for Christians differently than for Jews.

Does this mean that we should not use Isaiah 9:2-7 as it has evolved for us? Should we use instead the text only in its most primitive possible form? No. We should no more do that than we should use only Christmas trees cut live from the forest or make and utilize only automobiles that are like the first horseless carriages. We should use and enjoy fully the text of Isaiah 9:2-7 as we have it, while at the same time fully appreciating and respecting Jews who use it as it has been affected by their experiences.

Psalm 96
This is one of a series of psalms in which the Israelites were and Jews and Christians are called upon to worship the Lord God, the Creator and Righteous Ruler of the earth. In this beautiful psalm even the elements of nature are urged to sing praises to the Lord God. Since we as Christians perceive the Christmas season as the primary time when we give thanks to the Lord God as the Father of the one who is for us God’s Son, Jesus the Christ, God in another form, it is in every way fitting that we, together with all Jews, praise the Lord God on Christmas Eve. Jews praise God in a universal sense at all times; we as Christians, especially during the Christmas season, praise God in a particular, as well as in a more general, universal sense at this time. It is essential that we emphasize the Christmas season is first and foremost a celebration of God’s unique gift to us all.

Titus 2:11-14
Although this text was written from a post Good Friday and Easter Christian perspective rather than from a festival of Christmas Christian perspective, it is also adaptable to our use here on this occasion. Its emphasis is on the grace of God and on our lives that are to be appropriate responses to God’s grace. This text also from its perspective provides for us an early link to Good Friday and to Easter, which for us are only a few short months away.

Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Within popular Christianity, this vivid Christmas drama written by the inspired author of the “Gospel According to Luke” dominates all other texts. We as leaders in public worship services should, therefore, center our proclamation upon it every Christmas Eve. If we were to do otherwise, it would hardly be Christmas Eve for us and for the people worshiping God as Christians among us, so powerful has this Lukan drama become! Here and in the other instances in which the writer of Luke-Acts was not dependent upon written sources known to us, it is likely that the writer researched the subject thoroughly and then composed freely and with inspired creativity, much as we do when we prepare our sermons and homilies.

We must read this text with every oral interpretation skill given to us, or perhaps, after memorizing a particular translation of the text, proclaim it with the techniques employed in dramatic biblical storytelling. We can also portray it in vivid chancel drama with parts for both children and adults and with the “holy family” of the parents of the youngest child in the congregation and their infant “baby Jesus” seated in the chancel. (We did this in a young mission congregation in which I served many decades ago. During the worship service, the infant cried and the mother discreetly nursed him.) Infants and children should certainly be highlighted during the worship service on Christmas Eve.

But what in addition can we do to make this worship experience as meaningful and as memorable as possible? We all want to sing our favorite Christmas carols, hear well-rehearsed anthems from the choirs, and gaze at the Christmas trees in the chancel. How can we best explicate and apply the message of the Lukan Christmas story? What will God do within us that will be a continuation of what God has done within the Lukan writer? How shall we paraphrase the text with a bit of additional historicizing?

If then, now, and always the Lord comes within the activities of the people of God, as we see in all of the texts selected here, should we not proclaim some specifics about how God comes as Savior, Christ, and Lord (the three designations used in the message of the angel in Luke 2:11) within the parishes in which we serve? We can, also with well-researched and inspired creativity like that of the Lukan writer, proclaim something such as “During the early decades of the twenty-first century, while _________ was the President of the United States and ________ was the governor of ______, within a local congregation in (your location), the Lord God came to a woman stricken by cancer and sustained her and her family and friends in their grief. The Lord came to a young businessman who would not sacrifice his moral principles to gain an advantage over his competitor. The Lord came to an old rancher and his wife who shared some of their land with people who were unemployed, and the Lord was born here, and the angels in the church choir sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace and good will!’ and the shepherds in the congregation told this story, and Jesus was Savior, Christ, and Lord among all of them.”

Are we not the “shepherds” where we are? Can we not repeat what the “angels” have sung about what happens when the Lord comes within the activities of the people of God where we are? This can then be our most meaningful Christmas Eve message, a proclamation and application of the texts selected for this night. Perhaps it would also be a proclamation and application that Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, and our other non-Christian guests could receive in a Christmas Eve worship service to which they were invited. They may want to be invited to this Christian mountaintop experience, if they know that their religious traditions and practices are respected by us.

I cannot leave this text, most of all Luke 2:7 with its depiction of the mother of the baby Jesus wrapping him in soft material and tenderly placing him into a “manger” so that he and she could sleep, until I share with you an experience that I had during the years in which I was growing up on our small farm in Northwest Ohio. While my friends in town were playing sandlot baseball after school and later going to football, basketball, and track practices and games, I, five miles from town, was doing what my parents wanted and expected me to do, the daily chores of feeding our chickens, hogs, and calves, and helping to cut and husk corn with hand tools, drive our Farmall H tractor so that my mother could come back to our house to prepare our supper and bring in our four or five cows to be milked by hand as well, which she often did so that my father and I could keep the tractor and team of horses going until dark during planting and harvesting times.

We had a calf shed, which unlike our other farm buildings, we never painted, in which at any given time, we had one or two calves. There was a narrow walkway along the north side of the shed, which we used so that we could bring straw to soak up the manure that the calves produced, hay and corn fodder for roughage, water for the calves to drink, and a small scoop of oats, which the calves relished eagerly. Apart from the larger area into which we placed the hay and the corn fodder, there were two feedboxes into which I would pour the oats. (There had to be two feedboxes for two calves. If you know anything about animals eating oats, you know why there had to be two feedboxes.)

The relation of all of this to Luke 2:7 is that these feedboxes, built into the feeding area by my grandfather, were raised from the floor perhaps 24 inches, were approximately ten inches wide and eighteen to twenty inches long, with sides perhaps six inches high so that the calves as they licked up the grains of oats would not spill them out of the manger. Many generations of calves, over a period of more than four decades had with their raspy tongues licked the boards smooth, even wearing away with their tongues over the course of many years grooves in the soft wood between the darker bands of hard wood. These feed mangers were just the right size into which a mother could place her newborn child! We did not use these mangers for that, but in the Lukan Christmas story the Virgin Mary did. In Luke’s Christmas story the mother of Jesus placed him into a feedbox like the ones into which I had poured scoops of oats for our calves. The mangers in the feedlots in Bethlehem were intended for use by the sheep and goats, but in Luke’s Christmas story Mary placed the baby Jesus into one of them, while Caesar and Herod lounged lavishly in their richly adorned palaces.

THEME OF THE DAY
Christmas: Dreams realized! The texts focus us on an awareness of how the Christ who has come to us in Christmas fulfills all our best hopes. Justification by Grace and Sanctification, along with Christology, are the predominant themes.

Psalm 148
A hymn calling on all created things (including animals, trees, mountains, stars, and angels) to praise God. Creation is said to transpire by his command or word (John 1). The reference to “horn” [geren] in verse 14 refers to God’s strength and power. In short, the Psalm claims that Yahweh has raised up strength for his People. Our strength politically, it seems, is his work.

Application: If the reference to God’s word is interpreted Christologically in terms of John 1, then sermons might be developed along the lines of the Christmas season and the theme that the babe in the manger is the all-powerful Creator. Other options for sermons on the text include making links to the praise we give Christ and Christmas, with an awareness that creation itself praises him (Creation and Sanctification). Likewise the awareness that our strength (even America’s political strength) is God’s work reminds us that the good things in our nation are God’s gift (Social Ethics).

Isaiah 61:10–62:3
It is well-known that this book is actually the product of two or three distinct literary traditions. The first 39 chapters are the work of the historical prophet who proclaimed a message to Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 742 BC to 701 BC, a period during which the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been annexed by the Assyrian empire. Chapters 40-66 emerged in the later period immediately before the fall of Babylon (in 539 BC). A hypothesized third section (chapters 56-66) of the book, perhaps written by Second Isaiah or be one of his disciples in view of the close stylistic similarities to chapter 40, begins at the conclusion of the Babylonian Captivity and is likely written after the restoration of exiled Judah, expressing some disappointment about what has transpired since the exiles’ return. This lesson is the work of this last section (called Trito-Isaiah).

It is unclear whether the final verses of chapter 61 are words of the prophet or of the suffering servant of Deutero-Isaiah (especially 50:4-11). When combined with verses in chapter 62 it seems more stylistically appropriate to interpret the whole lesson as the prophet’s proclamation of the Hebrews’ vindication. The exiles’ return to Judah will be seen by all nations, it is proclaimed. The new name of the nation that the Lord will give it denotes a change in its status (v. 2). The people of Israel will now be a crown of beauty [tiphereth] in the Lord’s hand [yad] (v. 3), totally God’s people. This vindication seems related to the people being clothed in salvation/safety [yesha] and righteousness [tsedeq], like a bride adorned with jewels (61:10). (A view of Justification as Forensic, being declared righteous by God, seems entailed here. This idea of righteousness as something bestowed by God on the faithful, as it is here, is not unusual in the later Old Testament period [von Rad, pp. 373, 376ff; cf. Isaiah 59:17].) Righteousness and so justification is a gift of God. Righteousness and praise are said to spring up from these shoots of righteousness (61:11). The spontaneity of good works seems taught (Sanctification).

Application: The lesson affords the opportunity for sermons on how God justifies sinners and makes them important and beautiful, people who can live significant lives (Sanctification and Justification by Grace).

Galatians 4:4-7
This book is a polemical letter written by Paul to a church he had founded in order to affirm that Gentiles need not become Jews in order to become Christian. In this lesson he addresses the enslavement of Christians under the law and how we get free. He refers to the coming of Christ, who, born of a woman under the law (stressing Jesus’ Jewish roots), redeems [exagorazo, literally "to acquire out of the forum"] us (vv. 4-5). His coming is eschatological (the fullness of time [pleroma tou chronou, a decisive moment] [v. 4]). As a result of Christ’s coming we are adopted [huiothesia] as God’s children (v. 5). The idea of being adopted fits the Forensic View of Justification described in the First Lesson. Consequently, the Spirit of the Son [pneuma tou huiou] (not the unity of the two) makes us relate to God as Father [Abba] (v. 6). No longer, then, are we slaves (v. 7).

Application: Sermons on this text can proclaim how Christ sets the Christian free, justifies us, atones for us, and makes us relate to God as a wonderful Father. This is also an occasion for sermons sorting out the relationship between the Son and the Spirit or about the Trinity.

Luke 2:22-40
We are again reminded that this gospel is the first installment of a two-part history of the Church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8). Addressed to Theophilus (1:1), it is not clear if this means that the work was written for a recent convert or for a Roman official from whom the church sought tolerance. But since Theophilus means “lover of God,” it is possible that the author addressed all the faithful. This lesson is the story of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple in Jerusalem and encounter with Simeon and Anna. This is another account unique to Luke.

It seems that first-time mothers in Israel were to submit to rites of purification (Leviticus 12:2-8) and the firstborn were to be set apart for service to God (Exodus 13:2, 12), which accounts for Jesus’ Presentation and the offering of a sacrifice (vv. 22-24). The devout Simeon looking for the messiah and the aged prophet Anna are introduced (vv. 25-26, 36-37). Simeon seeking the “consolation” [paraklesis, literally a "going alongside"] of Israel refers to the salvation or Israel’s independence that the Messiah would bring (Isaiah 40:7). Both recognize that Jesus will bring salvation [soterion] to Israel (vv. 27-32, 38). Simeon proceeds to praise God for letting him see the Messiah by offering a song, the Nunc Dimittis (vv. 29-32), used to this day in communion liturgies. Simeon sings that he is ready to die, ready to leave, since he has seen the Messiah and the hope of salvation. The “peace” [eirene] referred to should be interpreted in terms of the Jewish idea of shalom, completeness and well-being. The hymn continues, noting that the child will be a revelation for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Simeon also prophesies that the child Jesus will cause division among Israel, some falling and others rising as they respond to him (vv. 34-35). It is reported that when Anna saw Jesus she began to praise God and speak of the child to all seeking Jerusalem’s redemption [lutrowsin] (v. 38). Luke simply reports Mary’s and Joseph’s amazement over this praise for their child (v. 33), their return to Nazareth (but only after scrupulously following the law) (v. 39), and the subsequent maturation of Jesus, his strength and wisdom [sophia] (v. 40).

Application: A sermon on this text can focus on the eschatological promise of the babe in the manger, how he redeems us, makes the dream of the good life more real than what presently appears to be the case. Realized Eschatology and God’s hidden ways (Providence) are the primary themes.

THEME OF THE DAY
The light of grace shows the way. In these texts, in accord with the major theme of the festival, testimony is given to God’s overcoming the darkness of chaos or evil, especially raising up the lowly. The Classic View of the Atonement (Christ overcoming evil), its newness (Eschatology), and Social Ethics should receive special attention.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Culminating Book II of Psalms, this is an Elohistic Psalm of David (Psalms traditionally attributed to King David, probably because the conclusion [v. 20] and preceding Psalms claim to be his work, and employing Elohim as God’s name). Yet it is attributed to Solomon. Probably occasioned by the coronation of a king vv. 17-18), the Psalm is a prayer for God’s blessing of the king. It is prayed that the king be given judgment [mishpat] and his son righteousness or justice [tsedaqah] (v. 1). These terms do not just connote legal, judgmental actions, but when applied to God they concern loyalty in one’s relationships (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1, pp. 373, 376ff). Such loyalty to relationships is evident in the prayer that the new king judge the poor with justice, defending their cause and crushing oppressors (vv. 2, 4, 12-14). Typical of the aura of surrounding Ancient Near Eastern royalty a supernatural character to the king is noted (vv. 5-6). Not just righteousness but peace [shalom] is to accompany the reign of this king (v. 7). And as we have noted previously, “peace” in Hebraic thinking is not just a state of non-violence, but a state of well-being and thriving. The suggestion of a supernatural aura to the king (and so the legitimacy of a messianic reading of the text) is further legitimated by the Psalm’s prayer that the king’s empire might be universal (vv. 8-11). (Tarshish mentioned in v. 10 may refer to Spain or Carthage in North Africa, while Sheba and Seba noted in that verse are regions in Ethiopia or South Arabia. These kings from three regions rendering the supernatural-like king may be construed as foreshadowing the three wise men who came to the Christ Child.) It is his concern for the poor which seems to account for his universal rule. And so we might conclude that the Messiah’s universal rule is related to his concern for and ministry to the poor.

Application: The text could be proclaimed as a celebration of the coronation or crowning of Christ as king of all. This might also be related to his care for the poor (Social Ethics). Related to this is the affirmation of the Classic View of the Atonement (Christ conquering evil). That all earthly kings bow before Christ is another testimony to the power of God and the subordination of political power to God.

Isaiah 60:1-6
This text is part of a prophetic book which is an editorial compilation of two or three distinct literary strands. Our lesson is probably part of the book’s final and newest section, not written by the historical prophet Isaiah of the eighth century BC, but after the Babylonian exiles had returned to Judah in 539 BC, quite disappointed with how the return home was going. Reference made to the darkness [choshek] among the people (v. 2) seems to portray the disappointment of those who had returned home in this period. It is a term in ancient Hebrew connoting distress, oppression, or chaos. Reference is made to light [or] that is come (v.1). Light in biblical Hebrew refers to that which overcomes darkness (distress and chaos). This chapter also associates light with Yahweh (v. 2). It is promised that the Lord is coming to Jerusalem (v. 2). This comment along with the reference to the light is most suggestive of the Epiphany star leading to or accompanying the coming of Jesus to earth in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:2, 9-10).

It is promised to the downtrodden people that nations will see Jerusalem’s revival, its light (v. 3). Exiles are said to return or be returning (v. 4). Rejoicing will follow (v. 5a). These comments could again be interpreted messianically, in terms of the impact Christ’s coming might have on the world. The prophetic character of the text is even pointed out more clearly in verses 5b-6 with reference to the wealth of nations that would be brought to the light and how riches of Arabia (Midian, Ephah, and Sheba) would arrive by camel caravan, bringing gold and frankincense. This is most suggestive of the wise men and their journey to Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-2).

Application: The text can be read messianically to open the way for preachers to proclaim that new reality Christ ushers in, the overcoming of all distress and chaos. A Classic View of the Atonement should be particularly emphasized in such preaching. Connections made in the text to the story of the wise men (the gifts they bring) and to the presence of the light (Christ) among us leads to rejoicing (Sanctification).

Ephesians 3:1-12
This chapter is part of a prayer for wisdom in this circular letter written by Paul from prison late in his career or by one of his followers who had a hand in assembling a collection of his epistles. The latter prospect is made likely by the fact that the letter includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the indisputably Pauline writings. It may have been written to and for a later generation of Christians, as the writer claims to have heard of the recipients’ faith and love toward all faithful (1:15).

Portraying himself as Paul and in prison (though on which occasion [2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:23; Philippians 1:13-14; Colossians 4:3, 18] is uncertain), the author first offers some comments on his ministry to the Gentiles. He speaks of a mystery made known to Paul by revelation (see 2 Corinthians 12:1, 7), which was not previously known (vv. 2, 4). (The theme of “mystery” [musterion] is very typical of Ephesians, and it may be deployed here to explain why no one previous to Paul recognized the validity of a ministry to the Gentiles.) The revealed mystery is that Gentiles are fellow members with Jesus of the same body and sharers in the promise of Christ (vv. 5-6). Paul proceeds to note that God’s grace has been given to the Gentiles, for he is the least of the saints [hagion, meaning "those set apart"] (v. 8). He speaks of an eternal purpose of God carried out in Christ that through the church God’s wisdom might be displayed to rulers and authorities in heavenly places (i.e., angels (vv. 10-11). In confidence and boldness we have access to God through faith (v. 12).

Application: This text opens the way to sermons proclaiming the new circumstances (the new inclusivism of God to all people), that has transpired through Christ. This is the full realization of the Christmas Dream (Justification by Grace and Realized Eschatology). Christ’s reign over the political and heavenly realms can also be affirmed and so we can be bold in faith (Sanctification).

Matthew 2:1-12
This text returns us to a gospel which was likely written to Jewish Christians no longer in full communion with Judaism (see 24:20). It is the most Jewish of all the gospels, evidenced like in this lesson with the concern to find links in the stories told to the Hebrew Scriptures. We read in this text the story, unique to this gospel, of the wise men (Magi, also translated “astrologers,” seem to have belonged to a learned class in Persia). Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is recorded as transpiring during Herod’s reign as a Roman puppet king which ended in 4 BC (v. 1). (Our dating of Jesus’ birth at the beginning of the Christian era is obviously incorrect by four or more years.) If the wise men came from the east, that does not rule out an Arabian or an Ethiopian African home for them, if we read Isaiah 60:6 prophetically. (And if Ethiopia, but even if from Persia, it is likely that the wise men came from a region with Semitic ethnics who might have at least known something of the Hebrew faith.)

The wise men come to Jerusalem seeking the child who would be born king of the Jews, whose coming had been revealed, they claimed, by a rising star (v. 2). The Messiah is associated with stars by Numbers 24:17. And a later, well-known Messianic pretender, a revolutionary named Jesus Bar Kochba (132-135 AD), has a name (Bar Kochba) which means “Son of the Star.” Herod is reported as frightened by the news, finally learning from chief priest and scribes (scholars of Hebrew Scripture) that based on Micah 5:2 the baby king is likely to come from Bethlehem (vv. 3-6). Herod then sends the wise men to Bethlehem wanting to learn the child’s location (vv. 7-8). The star leads the wise men to the Babe where they bring their gifts and worship, but do not inform Herod, as per instructions they receive in a dream (vv. 9-12). The idea that the king wants a savior killed in infancy is reminiscent of Pharaoh’s efforts to kill Moses, and so other Hebrew children in infancy (Exodus 1:15-16). Matthew may be trying to draw parallels between Moses and Jesus at this point.

Application: This lesson affords opportunities for sermons on God’s providence, how he guides us like in this story and in the man Jesus to overcome the darkness of chaos through lowly, ordinary things (like starlight and ordinary human beings). This takes us away from undue pride in ourselves and our accomplishments and also proclaims forgiveness (Justification by Grace and Social Ethics [a prioritizing of the poor and ordinary]).