Advent 4C

My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
Luke 1:47
• Synopsis of Luke's Gospel

Luke 1:39-55

³⁹ In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
⁴³ And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴ For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

⁴⁶ And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹ "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Visitation Stained Glass, 1960-1969 by Brother Eric,
Church of Reconciliation, Taizé,
courtesy of Vanderbilt University Divinity Library
Canticles

Luke includes three canticles—essentially psalms or songs:

• Mary's Magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord; he has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly…" –Luke 1:46-55

• Zechariah's Benedictus: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; he has visited his people." –Luke 1:67-79

• Simeon's Nunc Dimittis: "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace; mine eyes have seen they salvation, which thou hast prepared…" –Luke 2:29-32

Both responsive psalm and gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Advent include the Magnificat. The office of Vespers or Evening Prayer (that's ideally prayed at sunset) in the liturgy of the canonical hours always includes a spoken or sung Magnificat.

Today's gospel opens with pregnant Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, and then Mary responds to Elizabeth's exuberant greeting with a song.


Magnificat

Luke especially celebrates women, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and history. Today's passage is about two women, the Holy Spirit, attitudes of prayer and prophecy, allusions to Israel's history, and the reliability of God's promises. We receive hints of the great reversal, the reign of life that subverts the unjust status quo, those possibilities that will be fulfilled when we follow Mary's son Jesus.

Today for the psalmody and the gospel reading, we hear Mary's Magnificat—making God larger or greater. Magnifying! We've mentioned how well people knew and memorized scripture two millennia ago. Although we have words Luke wrote, it's very likely Mary sang a similar song because this passage is closely based upon Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Mary would have been so familiar with large portions of scripture she'd have been able to recite and paraphrase them, making those texts her own.

Mary's words anticipate Jesus's first act of public ministry recorded in Luke 4:16-20 with its announcement of good news to the poor (it won't always be the way it has been), release of every kind of prisoner, freedom, the Jubilee Year of Leviticus 25.

How about us? Do you have any scripture in your heart and head you instinctively remember, recite, and maybe elaborate on?


Musical Settings

YouTube videos don't always have a long shelf life, so I no longer link to them, but here are three of my favorite musical settings of the Magnificat that capture its promise:

• J.S. Bach, Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 for 5-part (2 sopranos, alto, tenor, and bass) chorus and orchestra that includes trumpets and timpani.

• Dale Wood, "My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord" from Evening Prayer in the Lutheran Book of Worship. I'll never be able to comprehend why this powerful setting didn't get into the denomination's most recent hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

• Rory Cooney, "Canticle of the Turning," set to a traditional Irish tune – Star of the County Down – is in almost all recent English language hymnals. You need to dane to this song!

Magnificat icon by Scott Ward Art

Advent 3C

Bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Luke 3:8
• In 2021 for Advent 3 I wrote about the Zephaniah reading

• Overview of Luke's Gospel

Luke 3:7-18

⁷ John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?"
¹¹ In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."

¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"
¹³ He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you."

¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages."

¹⁵ As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,

¹⁶ John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed the good news to the people.

John the Baptist

Two weeks ago on the First Sunday of Advent, the church started a new year of grace with a season particularly focused on hope. Despite John the Baptist's words, this Third Sunday takes somewhat of a break from penitence and receives the designation Gaudete or "Rejoice," from the first words of the introit or entrance prayer that's derived from the second reading from Philippians, "rejoice in the Lord always." If you've sung in choirs, you probably know Henry Purcell's anthem, "Rejoice in the Lord alway."

Today we hear from and about John the Baptist as he instructs people (a brood of vipers who need to repent) how to get ready for the arrival of God in their midst in the person of his cousin Jesus.

Do you remember John and Jesus were very close in age? John's official church birthday is June 25, right after the summer solstice. Although Jesus' birth likely was during the season of spring, we celebrate his birthday right after the winter solstice, on December 25. Birthdays of increasing and decreasing light symbolize nicely John's observation recorded in John 3:30, "Jesus must increase, I must decrease."

To get a full picture of John the Baptist, we can lay out what each of the four gospels says about him. That would be a great project for a Sunday School class leader or participant at this time of year.


Getting Ready

Take a look at this scene as Luke wrote it. Luke has just cited John's invitation to a baptism for the forgiveness of sins (remember, sin and debt were close to synonymous in that economy), and then quoted Isaiah, "Prepare the way of the Lord … all flesh shall see the salvation of God" when the camera switches to John's followers down by the Jordan Riverside.

Would God among us not be an alleluia moment, a time to sing praises?! In this narrative we read and hear during Advent, John the Baptist has people preparing for God's arrival in their midst by starting to live as he knew Jesus would teach us to be and to act. When that happens, everyone will shout alleluias! An alleluia moment? Alleluias lived out every single day!

People often imagine God calls them to activities, careers, and other endeavors the world considers amazing—teaching elementary school in the inner city, serving as a mostly pro-bono attorney for marginalized populations, serving a non-English speaking mission in a semi-exotic place, parenting kids who go on to get a PhD or MD and help save their corner of the world. God does call and prepare people to those and other redemptive ministries—both highly visible and less conspicuous ones. Ministries that require immense skill and endless preparation along with options almost anyone can pick up. But?


And Then?

But Jesus' cousin John tells us to get ready for The Coming One by sharing essentials like clothing and food where we already are. He doesn't even advise tax collectors and soldiers who are in the employ of the occupying Roman government to quit their jobs (that potentially oppress and even might bankrupt people).

John encourages them to act right here where they are, to give of themselves and any material excess. We always need to bloom where we're planted! After all, most people don't have the option to relocate or travel elsewhere, and even when or if they do, people in need still surround us wherever we are.

As we follow the biblical witness and trace history over the following millennia, we find actions of Jesus' followers become a major aspect of Jesus' presence increasing and growing on earth. We've been seeing and we've been part of initiatives and results from ordinary, everyday people who have been baptized with water and with fire.


Later

Today's gospel reading anticipates the same Luke's volume II Acts of the Apostles where everyone has everything in common, where members of the emergent church provide for the common good.

Just as Matthew never lets up on justice and righteousness, Luke never lets up on living for the other, for the neighbor, correcting the imbalance of some having more than they need, the sorrow of others trying to get by with less. Early on in Acts we hear:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Acts 2:42-45

Advent 2C

All flesh shall see the salvation of God. Luke 3:6

Philippians 1:3-11

³ I thank my God for every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy ⁵ for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

⁷ It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰ to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹ having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

The Second Sunday of Advent 2024

The scriptures for today bring a wealth of history, encouragement, and hope.


Baruch

Baruch comes from the second canon or deuterocanonical books ("apocrypha") that for a while were not usually included in protestant bibles. Roman Catholic and most Orthodox churches accept them as part of the biblical canon; Episcopal churches sometimes read passages from the apocrypha in place of the other appointed texts from the sixty-six books of the protestant bible. Martin Luther believed they were useful devotional reading, though not on the same level as the rest of scripture. But Luther wanted to remove seven books from the New Testament!

• Baruch 5:1-9


Malachi

In its placement Malachi is the last book in the Christian Old Testament, but probably not the latest written. Is this messenger of the covenant John the Baptist? The refiner's fire purifies—it doesn't punish, though it may be painful for a while. Next week in Luke 3:16, John the Baptist will announce Jesus will baptize us with water and with fire.

This reading always reminds me of the year I worked for a valve factory. Bodies of the 26" main steam isolation valves had to undergo heat treatment to remove impurities that would interfere with their usefulness and longevity. In the same way, heat treatments refine us and remove our impurities. In Handel's Messiah, this passage from Malachi is a recitative and aria for the bass soloist.

• Malachi 3:1-4


Luke :: Gospel Reading

Luke places everything in history, so during the reign of five named Roman political appointees and when Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, John the Baptist proclaimed a "baptism of repentance" that was not an unusual feature of Israelite national life.

• Luke 3:1-6

The end of this reading also made it into the Messiah. The tenor "Comfort Ye" recitative segues into "Every Valley Shall be Exalted."

• Isaiah 40:3-5

As Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann observed, "Second Isaiah [chapters 40 – 55] funded Handel's Messiah." But other books contributed, including Malachi we're hearing from today.


Luke :: Psalm

• Luke 1:68-79, the Benedictus – "Blessed" – sung by John the Baptist's father is one of the canticles or psalms in Luke. Zechariah refers to history, prophecy, covenant, and to the future of God's people foretold by his soon to be born son. All of us in the church are part of that future!


Philippians

I've linked to the other four scriptures, but I posted the second reading from Philippians. Despite all of those passages approaching perfection for Advent anticipation, I wanted to say a little about the apostle Paul's beautiful tribute and prayer for his beloved congregation at Philippi. We heard about the founding-gathering of First Church Philippi in the book of Acts. The lectionary programs it for Easter 6C so it's coming up in a few months, I wrote about it on Pentecost 17 a little over a year ago:

• Acts 16:9-15 for Pentecost 17A September 2023

Paul wrote his "epistle of joy" Philippians when he was under house arrest or in a dungeon in Ephesus or in Rome. We call it a captivity letter because of his incarceration, yet it mostly reveals Paul captured by and captive to Jesus Christ.


Where We Live

A little over a week ago the USA and Australia celebrated Thanksgiving (a few other countries have similar observances; our best friend and close neighbor Canada's is in October, because harvest time is earlier that far north). It's been a heavy year. It's been a heavy decade. It's been a heavy century. It feels as if 9102001 was the last ever (sort of) normal day.

But there's always so much to be thankful for! A harvest of righteousness. from verse 11 is the header for this scripture on the Vanderbilt Divinity School lectionary page. The apostle Paul is far away from Philippi, yet he brings those beloveds into his here and now. He remembers partnering with them in the past, prays for their present, and anticipates their gospeled futures.

What have you been thankful for recently? On Thanksgiving day did you talk about your blessings? Every evening I pray a list of what I was thankful from that day. It usually starts slowly, but the list gets longer and longer. Do you have a thanksgiving prayer or journaling practice?

Advent 1C

redemption – salvation – repentance – rejoicing – nativity
Stand up and lift your heads! Luke 21:28
• Overview of Luke's gospel

Luke 21:25-31

²⁵ "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

²⁹ Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Advent

On the first Sunday of Advent the church begins a new year of grace. Happy New Year!

The Latin Ad + Venire summons us towards the coming of Jesus. Advent always opens with a splash of apocalyptic, signaling the end of the world as we know it, the beginning of a new way of living and being—the world is about to turn. Many churches sing Canticle of the Turning that's based on Mary's Magnificat during Advent.

Blue, the color of hope has become the liturgical color for Advent. Although it includes a call to repentance, Advent is especially about hope. In Spanish esperar/espero means wait, hope, and expect. We hope for and anticipate not a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays as the rest of the world sincerely wishes us; we hope for the incarnation of mercy, grace, and love. Instead of an irenic peace that's little more than a temporary cease fire, we hope for, wait for, and expect the fullness of shalom the Prince of Peace brings us.

During Advent, the darkest time of the year in the global North, we light candles to challenge the darkness. One more candle for each Sunday, and then on Christmas we light the large Christ candle as we celebrate the Christ child's nativity.

Come, Lord Jesus!


Today's Gospel

We're now in lectionary year C, Luke's year.

The gospel reading for this first Sunday of Advent doesn't come from the start of Luke's gospel—that would be his dedication to lover-of-God Theophilus and the birth of John the Baptist. Instead we hear from Jesus toward the end of his public ministry, as he tells us about signs and symbols coming alive in nature/creation. We'll soon celebrate the birth of Jesus who is not a god in nature, but God and Lord of nature.

Advent light shines amidst all kinds of darkness, including a seemingly endless pandemic that's now become endemic; injustices that don't or won't quit; wars and rumors of war; political upheavals; global economic calamities; individual and familial misfortunes, an earth so desecrated it grieves its own losses. You can add to that short list.

This Advent we hope for that dawn of the new creation the death and resurrection of the Prince of Peace will initiate.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Luke Overview

Original festive table photograph
by Dmitry Shironosov

The Gospel According to Saint Luke

With the first Sunday of Advent, the Revised Common Lectionary segues into Year C, Luke's year. Luke is a synoptic gospel that views Jesus' life and ministry in a similar manner to Matthew and Mark. Luke is the only Gentile, non-Jewish writer in the entire New Testament. Luke was a highly educated physician, but think "bronze age" in terms of sophistication. Luke wrote a two-volume account consisting of this gospel and the Acts of the Apostles; we sometimes refer to "Luke-Acts" because in many ways they are an inseparable unit.

Most likely Luke substantially compiled both Luke and Acts, though he drew upon sources other than memories of his own experiences and his own imagination. Both Matthew and Luke copied a lot from Mark, the earliest gospel. Matthew contains around 90%, Luke contains about 50% of the verses in Mark. In addition, Matthew and Mark both contain parallel, sometimes identical, passages not found in Mark. Luke also may – or may not – have had a separate "L" source.

Luke's distinctives include:

• world history and Jewish history. Luke opens his gospel with a political, geographical, social, historical introduction, and with [biblical number] seven witnesses—in plain language, this really happened!

• Jesus' genealogy that ends with "Adam, son of God." Luke's human Jesus and divine Christ both minister to each one's body and spirit.

• the Holy Spirit has been prominent throughout scripture's witness, but Luke-Acts brings a fulfillment of God's reign in the Spirit

• prayer

• women

• marginalized people of every class and description—the underclass; great reversals, a.k.a. "The Upside Down Kingdom!"

• table fellowship

• neighborology: the word about the neighbor! During Year C the lectionary includes several readings from Jeremiah and Deuteronomy that also emphasize the neighbor, the other, living together faithfully in covenantal community despite differences.

• Starting with John the Baptist down by the riverside counseling people to share what they have with others in order to prepare for the arrival of God in their midst, we find a lot of "social gospel" in Luke. However, this isn't about how many good works we humans can accomplish on our own; it's always about the indwelling and outgoing power of the Holy Spirit.


Canticles

Luke includes three psalm-like songs or canticles:

• Mary's Magnificat, "My soul magnifies the Lord; he has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly…" –Luke 1:46-55

• Zechariah's Benedictus, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; he has visited his people." This is John the Baptist's father Zechariah—not Zechariah from the OT Book of the Twelve or Minor Prophets. –Luke 1:67-79

• Simeon's Nunc Dimittis: "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace; mine eyes have seen they salvation, which thou hast prepared…" –Luke 2:29-32


Uniquely in Luke

• Joseph and Mary journey to Bethlehem for the census –Luke 2:1-7

• Shepherds abiding in the fields—and angels! –Luke 2:8-20

• Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6:17-49, which emphasizes re-distributive justice and material well-being. Matthew's parallel Sermon on the Mount is more about spiritual well-being.

• Good Samaritan –Luke 10:25-37

• Prodigal Son –Luke 15: 11-32

• Stones cry out Luke –Luke 19:37-40

• Emmaus Road in Luke's post-resurrection account takes us back to the Maundy Thursday Upper Room and to Luke's many accounts of Jesus' table fellowship with all comers, but now as a meal with the risen Christ, it is the first Eucharist! –Luke 24:13-35

Emmaus Road and Emmaus Supper by He Qi

Reign of Christ 2024

We give thanks, O Lord God Almighty
who art, and wast, and art to come
because thou hast taken thy great power
and begun to reign.
Revelation 11:17

John 18:33-38

³³ Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" ³⁴ Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"

³⁵ Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" ³⁶ Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."

³⁷ Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

³⁸ Pilate asked him, "What is truth?"

Year In Review

We've journeyed through another twelve month long year of grace. We began with Advent expectation and hope. Since then we've

• welcomed the newborn Jesus
• followed him to baptism by the river whose waters connect all waterways and all peoples
• experienced and learned from his ministries and his teachings
• journeyed to Jerusalem
• been in the upper room on Maundy Thursday
• grieved at his trial, death, and burial
• met the risen Christ at the dawn of resurrection day and later in the day on Emmaus Road
• trusted his promise to be with us forever
• followed him into our futures…

• Today? We acknowledge the ruler, the sovereign, the king, whose throne is a cross.


Gospel Reading

Today's reading is unique to John's gospel. Earlier on, after feeding the crowd of 5,000++ Jesus rejected the people's move to make him into a king (John 6:15), but here he says his kingdom is not from this world. "World" is the same word – cosmos – we find in John 3:16 with its declaration God so loved the world. We've seen how Jesus' subversive ways of love, justice, mercy, inclusion, are the opposite of hate, injustice, violence, exclusion. His ways doesn't belong to the world, yet Jesus lived fully engaged in the world.

This ruler and his reign have no checks and balances.

In response to Jesus' claim he testifies to the truth, Pilate asks, "What is truth?" Jesus' truth isn't necessarily verifiable data or observable events measurable in time and space; Jesus' truth embodies God's truth with integrity and wholeness. It will redeem (buy back) and restore all creation.


Like Everyone Else

God's people insisted they wanted "a king to govern us, like other nations." You can read 1 Samuel 8 and heed its warnings of how existence would unfold under a dictator or autocrat.

More often than not, people have been anxious about their overall political, economic, and social situations. It's easy to capitulate to trends and it's even easier to try to return to what felt like security and certainty. Remember the yearnings of the exodus desert wanderers?

• "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt!" they said. "There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this wilderness to starve this whole assembly to death!" Exodus 16:3

• Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you…" Exodus 16:4

• And then in response to that manna from heaven:

• The rabble that was among them had a strong craving, and the Israelites also wept again and said, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic, but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." Numbers 11:4-6


Where We Live

God gifted the people with the Ten Words or Commandments after they'd left Egypt, before they reached the land of promise. So they wouldn't become like the people and their leaders in the place they just left. So they wouldn't become like the other residents in the place they were on the way to.

Slavery to empire (in spite of its many enticements!) no long would be their frame of reference. Instead they would reverence God by serving the neighbor, establishing a commonwealth of justice, mercy, love, inclusion, and shalom sufficiency. They'd learn to live together in this here and this now without undue longings for what used to be, without overly extravagant imaginings of what the future might hold.

In baptism, we live reborn in the water of Jesus' birth and alive in the transforming, rebirthing power of the cross. We live fully engaged in the world, yet as an alternative community to those under the reign of death, its idols and its artifacts, as we embody God's truth with wholeness and integrity.

We began the year anticipating the birth of an infant; we end the year with a cross. Martin Luther insisted if you really want to see the fulness of God's power and rule, look to the Bethlehem manger—look to the Calvary cross.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet
until he comes to Shiloh
and to him shall be
the obedience of the peoples.
Genesis 49:10

Pentecost 26B

Hannah, prophetess and mother of Samuel, thanking God
Miniature from the Paris Psalter, Tenth Century
Bibliothèque nationale de France
from wikimedia commons via Vanderbilt University Divinity Library

This year of grace is almost over! Next Sunday is Reign of Christ / Christ the King, and then it's Advent, with quiet, yearning, hope-filled days and nights. Every Advent

we hear and sing Mary's Magnificat

that evokes parts of Hannah's hymn of praise. Advent is only two weeks away, and how serendipitous that one of today's readings is part of Hannah's story; the responsive psalm to the reading from 1 Samuel is Hannah's lyrical song.

Jesus' mother Mary heard, learned, and memorized scripture through synagogue attendance and probably from scripture reading and teaching at home by her parents. Mary's words were Spirit-inspired, but she was able to express herself so beautifully because she knew Hannah's song by heart and carried it with her.

• The alternate first reading, 1 Samuel 1:4-20, tells part of the story of Hannah.

• Here is a synopsis of Hannah's story that includes expressive paintings along with detailed scriptural background.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

¹ Hannah prayed and said,

"My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in your victory.
² There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

³ "Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance come from your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by God actions are weighed.

⁴ "The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength.
⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶ The Lord kills and brings to life; God brings down to Sheol and raises up.

⁷ "The Lord makes poor and makes rich; brings low and also exalts.
⁸ God raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world.

⁹ "God will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked will perish in darkness, for not by might does one prevail.
¹⁰ The Lord's adversaries will be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; and will give strength to the king and exalt the power of his anointed."

Pentecost 25B

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
Psalm 146:5

Hebrews 9:24-28

²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year after year with blood that is not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews, week 6 of 7

Before we take a quick look at this week's text from the elegant and theological deep homily, a short review.


Week 1, Pentecost 20

Hebrews 1:1-12

The book's poetic opening sums up Jesus' essence, role, purpose, and persona; the entire letter consistently reminds us Jesus Christ is both fully divine and fully human, with refrains of "like God" and "like us."

Hebrew's explicit insistence on both natures of Jesus Christ looks forward to the Council of Chalcedon that in the year 451 described Jesus "…in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation…" Most denominations affirm the very short Definition of Chalcedon.


week 2, Pentecost 21

Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 The "living and active" word of God here is more God's dynamic proclamation and revelation than it is the written scriptures. God's word is like a sharp knife that reveals everything, and it does some welcome mending and rearranging, too. In any case, it's not a cursory dusting off.

4:13 "God to whom we must render an account." Logos is the word for account, but this is not the preexistent Word that John's gospel identifies with the Christ of God. It's more financial in terms of what you owe God and others—like your car note.

Hebrews 4:16

After explaining that Jesus as high priest, as mediator between heaven and earth in his resurrection and ascension, knows us and sympathizes – resonates! – with us, Hebrews 4:16 advises us to "approach the throne of grace with boldness in order to receive mercy."


week 3, Pentecost 22

Hebrews 5:1-10

Although Jesus was not a Levitical priest in the lineage of Moses' brother Aaron (5:4), he met qualifications of (5:2) compassion and understanding; plus, (5:4) God called and appointed Jesus. Being from the tribe of Judah, he didn't qualify as a priest in human terms, but (5:6) Jesus was a priest in the much older tradition of Melchizedek.

As one commentator observed, Hebrews "looks away from the temple. back to the exodus—to the tabernacle in the wilderness." Then it glances further back, to Abraham, to the patriarchs and matriarchs. And then? Further into history to Abram, with Melchizedek, whose name means King (Melech) of righteousness (Zadok, Tzadek…).

When the Jerusalem high priest entered the Holy of Holies once every year, the high priest's sacrifice atoned for the peoples' sins and for his own. Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension never needs to be repeated. It literally has been finished, "once for all." Late pastor and theologian James Nestingen used to speak of Jesus "delivering the goods" of absolution and forgiveness.


week 4, Pentecost 23

Hebrews 7:23-28

Earlier weeks have been about typical requirements and duties for the high priest as mediator between earth and heaven, along with ways Jesus didn't meet some of those in human terms, and the manner in which he met and exceeded them in divine terms.

In all this Jesus goes way far back in the journey of God's people to the book of Genesis and a high priest named Melchizedek, who provides a large part of the template for Jesus' unique high priestly role.


Today's Reading

9:24 "Christ entered heaven itself…on our behalf!"

Interpreting 9:24 "sanctuary made by human hands … a mere copy of the true one" is difficult without knowing the author's purpose. But whether it's about God's original intent for earth not yet achieved, or about an ultimate, eschatological location, just like all of Jesus Christ's actions described in Hebrews, it's for us and at no cost for us—it's grace and not transaction. Verse 25 picks up on the refrain that unlike yearly actions of a high priest at the J-Temple, Christ's single action was sufficient to redeem all.

9:28 "…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

Along with some scripture-based creeds and confessions, the bible in places affirms a second coming (a return, an appearance, a parousia, an advent) of Jesus Christ, although when, how, and where details are so unclear it has led to some highly imaginative scenarios. In any case, this verse assures us Jesus is for us and will be with those who await him, though it doesn't suggest when. I find the assurance for our future especially interesting because this homily or sermon mostly has been about what Christ already has done for us.

Pentecost 24B • All Saints

All Saints ELCA, University City, San Diego
All Saints Sunday 2013

• Here's All Saints 2020, the first All Saints Day during Covidtide

• And here's All Saints 2023


Hello, Readers,

Despite insisting I was going to blog Hebrews until Reign of Christ, the reading for this Sunday is "more of the same" as I've already written about Jesus as high priest.

• Hebrews 9:11-14

I'm not familiar enough with Hebrews to dig out much more, so let's consider the first reading.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9, [10-12]

¹ "Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, ² so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.

³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.

⁴ "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

⁶ "Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. ⁷ Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem [frontlet] on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you – a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

• Psalm 119:1-8 aligns perfectly with the reading from Deuteronomy.

Similar to the Beatitudes in Matthew's gospel, Psalm 119 declares those of us who walk in God's ways, keep God's decrees, learn the righteous ordinances (maybe learn best by doing?!) will be blessed, happy, content.


Love the Lord Your God

Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Deuteronomy 6:1-2

You know the story! Out of imperial Egypt, liberated from production quotas, into the exodus desert, on their way yet still far from the place God first promised Abraham, technically Israel was free. In the desert's sparse economy, only after God quenched their thirst and filled their hunger with surprising gifts like water from the rock and manna from the sky, Israel received the Ten Words or Commandments of the Sinai Covenant. With guidelines and boundaries that would help them stay free, slavery to empire no long would be their frame of reference; instead they would reverence God by serving the neighbor. Walter Brueggemann calls the commandments "breathtaking gifts of grace."

Scholars consider both the nomadic desert lifestyle and the commandments constitutive events for God's people.


Shema, Israel's Creed to Live By

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The Shema is about exclusive loyalty to God. In the same way the first commandment charges us "no other gods," no value system, religion, ideology, art, beauty, or aspiration (all good things) is to replace God as our ultimate reference and ground of meaning. One scholar mentioned it's also about "God's internal unity," citing every experience of goodness, love, beauty, wisdom, etc. as "disparate and scattered signals of God's presence." David G. Garber, Working Preacher, 2024

Martin Luther begins his Small Catechism with the commandments. As Luther insisted, we need only the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods." He asks, What does this mean? And answers, "We should fear, love and trust in God above all things."


Milk and Honey

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey... Exodus 33:3

…a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Deuteronomy 6:3

Milk and honey is a sign of the fullness of God's reign in justice and righteousness. Flowing honey and surging milk begin with fertile land. Rivers of usable water mean luxuriant grass so cattle can graze, cows produce milk, people make cheese. Bovines will bear healthy calves, and they'll fertilize grain and vegetable gardens. Bees make honey; bees pollinate fruits and flowers, vineyards and other food crops. Bees mean fertilized crops; bees mean jars of sweet honey on the shelf, drizzles of honey on your home-baked bread.

Streams mean irrigation for olives, figs, pomegranates, vineyards, barley, and wheat. All that good eatin' outta the good earth leads to conversing and connecting around the table.

Dairy, beef, honey, and harvest mean nourishment for farmers, families, and community, with overflowing everything to sell at market or barter and trade in order to get whatever you cannot grow on your own. I've probably left some connections, but it's about heaven's blessings aplenty on earth, from the heart of the earth—and notice how interrelated and interdependent all this is! As I wrote, I couldn't figure out how to put anything into logical order.

I can just hear the people listening to Moses, loving his words, and promising, "We will do all the words God has spoken!"


Where We Live

Only when milk and honey abounds can we offer back to heaven the feast of eucharist that gathers and welcomes all creation and all people, excluding only those who exclude themselves. This "foretaste of the feast to come," as the liturgy expresses it, is the sign and realization of all creation's reconciliation, a celebration of justice and integrity of all and for all.

The people all answered together,
"All the words the Lord has spoken we will do!"
Exodus 19:8

Pentecost 23B :: Reformation

O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt God's name forever.
Psalm 34:3
Reformation 507

Most years I've written about Reformation for the last Sunday of October. This year I'm continuing Hebrews, so here's a trio of Reformation Sunday reflections from previous years that celebrate God's grace and freedom in Jesus Christ. The readings are the same every year, but some pastors sometimes apply the current week after Pentecost readings to Reformation, which usually works well.

• Reformation 500 :: 2017

• Reformation 2020–Therefore we will not fear

• Reformation 2021–Be still and know that I am God

Hebrews 7:23-28

²³ Furthermore, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests humans, who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Hebrews, week 4 of 7

As I previously mentioned, because I'm not very familiar with Hebrews I decided blogging about it all seven weeks would be a good learning experience. This week I finally read it in one sitting, although that was wasn't quite my first time. In a previous life we read through Hebrews without commentary or interpretation for our weekly staff devotions. In addition, the Monday evening women's bible study I hosted for a few years (the guys met at someone else's place and we got together whenever anyone had a birthday) at least began a discussion of the book. I remember how interesting it was to discover many well-known biblical quotes in Hebrews.

The homily by a still unidentified author was intended for Jewish Christian either in nearby diaspora or scattered far to the known ends of the earth. I've already mentioned Hebrews is formally and intensely theological, but as I kept reading it struck me how very Greek, systematic, and philosophical it was—rather than being earthbound and Hebraic.


This Week's Passage

Last week, this week, and the next two describe Jesus' high priestly identity in great detail.

Earlier weeks have been about typical requirements and duties for the high priest as mediator between earth and heaven, along with ways Jesus didn't meet some of those in human terms, and the manner in which he met and exceeded them in divine terms.

We learned the human high priest needed to be from the tribe of Levi and descended from Moses' brother Aaron. We heard about the high priest entering the inner tent of the temple once a year to make offerings for his own sins and the transgressions of the community.

The author reminds us Jesus was from the tribe of Judah; Jesus had no need to make offerings one after another,,because the quality of his offering – himself– was sufficient to atone for all the sins of all humanity.

But like conventional high priests, Jesus brought qualities of obedience, compassion, and sympathy.

In all this Jesus goes way far back in the journey of God's people to the book of Genesis and a high priest named Melchizedek, who provides a large part of the template for Jesus' unique high priestly role.

This week emphasizes how human high priests always ended up dying, so they always needed to be replaced, but because Jesus' priesthood is permanent and forever, he thus can save everyone forever. In addition, Jesus' has splendid characteristics of being holy, blameless, undefiled separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens—that we can interpret as authority because of his ascension that was necessary to finish the work of redemption.

Pentecost 22B

Where were you
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
Job 38:7

Hebrews 5:1-10

¹ Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness, ³ and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by the one who said to him,

"You are my Son; today I have begotten you";

⁶ as he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered, ⁹ and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Priests of the Old Covenant

• Here's an article from the Vatican about Priests of the Old Covenant.


Hebrews, Week 3 of 7

The author of Hebrews takes far more than this week's ten verses to talk about (remember, this was a sermon or homily rather than a letter in the traditions of Paul or Peter) Jesus as high priest. Hebrews is a long book, and today's scripture is only the beginning. It doesn't include many of the homilist's explanations, so please bear with me. Hebrews is a long book, and I'd love to find a reasonably detailed chapter by chapter study written in plain English and gather a few interested people to dive into it together.


Priest… Prophet, King/Sovereign

Scripture and hymnody often reference Jesus Christ's trifold office or ministry of Priest, Prophet, and Ruler or King. Jesus filled filled these Old Testament roles to exemplary perfection. A priest mediates – acts as a go-between, a broker – between heaven and earth; a prophet articulates God's heart in speech (sometimes with symbolic actions) and speaks truth to power; a ruler or sovereign stewards people, creation, and institutions.

Today's passage refers to the Levitical priesthood in the lineage of Moses' brother, Aaron (5:4). Although Jesus was not a Levitical priest, he met qualifications of (5:2) compassion and understanding; plus, (5:4) God called and appointed Jesus. Being from the tribe of Judah, he didn't qualify as a priest in human terms, but (5:6) Jesus was a priest in the much older tradition of Melchizedek.

Despite priests and high priests being central to the Jerusalem temple, as one commentator observed, Hebrews "looks away from the temple. back to the exodus—to the tabernacle in the wilderness." Then it glances further back, to Abraham, to the patriarchs and matriarchs. And then? Further into history to Abram, with Melchizedek, whose name means King (Melech) of righteousness (Zadok, Tzadek…).

Genesis 14:18-19

And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine;
he was priest of God Most High.
He blessed Abram and said,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth…"


Law and Gospel

As we learn about Jesus Christ's unique identity as the ultimate high priest, the Jerusalem high priest's role and function on the Day of Atonement becomes central. When he entered the Holy of Holies once every year, the high priest's sacrifice atoned for the peoples' sins and for his own. A high priest repeated that action every year.

Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension never needs to be repeated. It literally has been finished, "once for all." Late pastor and theologian James Nestingen used to speak of Jesus "delivering the goods" of absolution and forgiveness. The liberation, freedom, and joy of that new morning is complete.


Vocabulary

The author of Hebrews uses the word the gospels use for High Priest / Chief Priest; it indicates historical and functional continuity between the Levitical priesthood and Jesus. The New Testament talks about deacons, priests, and elders we recognize as functions or roles an individual is called to, usually seriously prepared to do with specific education and training, then consecrated or ordained ("ordered") into.

In Leviticus 8 we read about the ordination of Moses' brother Aaron. In Acts 6 we hear about diakonal functions of service and distribution with the world-facing class of deacons. Acts 14 describes ordinations of elders or presbyters. In the English language, the words priest and presbyter come from the same root.

Pentecost 21B

But thou art holy, O thou
that inhabitest the praises
of Israel.
Psalm 22:3

Hebrews 4:12-16

¹² Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

¹⁴ Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested [or tempted] as we are, yet without sin.

¹⁶ Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews, Week 2 of 7

As I mentioned last week, I plan to blog the second reading from Hebrews for all seven weeks, though I haven't looked ahead thoroughly and I could change my mind.

Today's passage is a study in law and gospel that's close to a ready-made sermon.


Hebrews 4:12-13

4:12 The living and active word of God here is more God's dynamic proclamation and revelation than it is the written scriptures. Don't we all fear exposure? We can't hide! God's word is like a sharp knife that reveals everything, and we've discovered it does some mending and rearranging, too. In any case, this doesn't sound like a cursory dusting off.

4:13 "God to whom we must render an account." Logos is the word for account, but this is not the preexistent Word that John's gospel identifies with the Christ of God. It's more financial in terms of what you owe God and others—like your car note.


Hebrews 4:14-15

Jesus was from the tribe of Judah; Levites were the priestly tribe, so Jesus' inheritance didn't qualify him for earthly priesthood. Passing through the heavens with his resurrection and ascension qualifies Jesus to serve as high priest.

Related to Jesus' sympathy (the Greek word is sympathize; a couple of translations say "feelings") that resonate with us, as mediators between earth and heaven, Jewish high priests mostly offered God gifts and sacrifices. Compassionate pastoral care wasn't part of their job description.


Hebrews 4:16

After explaining that Jesus as high priest, as mediator between heaven and earth in his resurrection and ascension, knows us and sympathizes – resonates! – with us, Hebrews 4:16 advises us to "approach the throne of grace with boldness in order to receive mercy."

Exodus 25 instructs, "you shall make a cover of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width." (verse 17) and continues, "there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat... verse 22

Scholars who know Hebrew explain the root of kapporet that Martin Luther translated as Gnadenstuhl or "mercy seat" is a place of covering that logically would extend from the physical gold covering of the ark to covering for sin, made especially clear as every year they sprinkled blood on it.

It's only a slight exaggeration to say Luther perceived Jesus Christ in [almost] every passage in the Hebrew Bible. For Luther the Gnadenstuhl, the definitive mercy seat, the place of grace, was the cross of Jesus Christ.

Pentecost 20B

Hebrews 1:1-12

¹ Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. ³ He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.

When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵ Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. ⁶ But someone has testified somewhere,

"What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
or or the son of man, that you care for him?

⁷ "You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
you have crowned them with glory and honor,

⁸ "subjecting all things under their feet."

Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, ⁹ but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰ It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ¹¹ For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, ¹² saying,

"I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."

Hebrews

Although bibles call it "The Epistle to the Hebrews," scholars believe this book addressed to Jewish Christians either nearby or in widely scattered diaspora originally was a sermon intended to be proclaimed aloud, and not a letter in the traditions of the apostle Paul and others. The person who wrote it remains unknown; no one has been able to make a reasonable educated or random guess.

This Sunday begins seven weeks of Hebrews as the second reading. When Easter is early in Mark's lectionary year B as it was last spring, we'll hear from Hebrews all seven Sundays prior to Reign of Christ, the final Sunday of the Christian year. If Easter happens late, we'll hear only three or four readings from Hebrews.

The header is my interpretation of Hebrews 1:2. The original was a large banner in oil pastel on butcher paper we hung in the sanctuary and I almost definitely have a picture of the full color original somewhere. I'm going to try to write about Hebrews all seven weeks; the book is dense and complex and I'm only marginally familiar with it, so I want to learn more.

Throughout its thirteen chapters, Hebrews is extremely theological. With countless references to Old Testament history and ceremonial observances, it articulates Jesus' position as continuation and fulfillment of God's revelatory presence and action. The book's poetic opening sums up Jesus' essence, role, purpose, and persona; the entire letter consistently reminds us Jesus Christ is both fully divine and fully human, with refrains of "like God" and "like us."

Hebrew's explicit insistence on both natures of Jesus Christ looks forward to the Council of Chalcedon that in the year 451 described Jesus "…in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation…" Most denominations and church bodies affirm the very short Definition of Chalcedon that's so worth the two or three minutes it takes to read.


Jesus the Word

From the beginning, God has spoken and acted on creation's behalf, often through human agents or prophets. Jesus the Son is God's definitive Word, so it's no surprise the lectionary appoints this passage for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day every year when our songs celebrate "Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing" – "veiled in flesh, the godhead see – hail the incarnate deity" – "Jesus, our Emmanuel" Emmanuel means God-with-us.

What are your favorite Nativity songs and carols?

Hebrews tells us Jesus is human like us, Jesus is divine like God, yet Jesus has done and continues to do for us what we cannot accomplish for ourselves. In this book you'll notice familiar phrases you knew were in the bible but may not have known where, including Jesus as "author and finisher of our faith" in 12:2.

When the very young John Calvin wondered whether to begin his forthcoming systematic theology with humanity or with divinity, he finally decided it made no difference because his Institutes of the Christian Religion would travel the same (doctrinal and theological) places and come out in the same place.

Pentecost 19B

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
Psalm 19:8

James 5:13-18

¹³ Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any joyful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest.

James Intro

• Date still is unknown. One source said it even night predate 1 Thessalonians that's considered the earliest NT book. A friend's study bible said well into the second century, which feels far too late to me.

• Author almost definitely wasn't Jesus' disciple James Zebedee; it well could have been Jesus bio bro James.

• Written to diasporic Jewish Christians who lived either fairly nearby or relatively far away—take your pick.

James definitely is an "insider" document addressed to people established in their faith, encouraging them to greater compliance to the demands of the commands and – by extension – to The Way of Jesus of Nazareth. As doers of the words and not merely hearers (James 1:22), James' intended audience is reaching for a level of maturity that encompasses their economic, political, social, intellectual, and everyday life. In short, every aspect of all of life.

James carries echoes of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, texts the Jewish Christians would have been familiar with. James knows Matthew's Sermon on the Mount and Luke's Sermon on the Plain; James throughout is about doing the word. Remember the community's Jewish roots!

In style and content, like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job (Psalms sometimes gets included) James also is in the tradition of OT Wisdom literature. Wisdom in scripture is the fruit of spiritual maturity and deep life experience. Biblical wisdom discerns actions with an open heart and an open mind, makes space for mercy and grace. As we've seen in psalms and proverbs along with other OT writings, wisdom makes a place at the table. Wisdom trusts resurrection happens out of death.

James authorship update:

Not quite perfect synchronicity, but about a week after I published this James blog I happened upon Luke Timothy Johnson's opinion on the author of James. He considers James one of the earliest New Testament books; it clearly doesn't draw upon the synoptics.

"James contains no references to events in Jesus [of Nazareth's' life but it bears striking testimony to Jesus' words. Jesus' sayings are embedded in James' exhortations in a form that is clearly not dependent on the written gospels."

James Content

Life never has been about a supposedly autonomous individual; no one live by themselves or for themselves. James writes about being connected to my neighbor whose neighbor I become. We live in communal interdependence under the commandments (law!) and under the prophets (grace!). Just as God's nascent people Israel learned, obedience that regards the neighbor's good as my own good leads to a life of freedom.

This isn't about works-righteousness or about becoming human doings rather than human beings. As Paul of Tarsus, church fathers and mothers, the Reformers and those of us in their lineage knew and still affirm, salvation is God's gift without human cost, yet the gift demands human response. Theologian of grace Martin Luther said he'd love to be called Doctor of Good Works; John Calvin said there is no knowledge of God without obedience.

Reformer Martin Luther famously did not at all care for this letter by James. He called it "an epistle of straw, with nothing of the nature of the gospel about it."

But given all of its life-giving and life-sustaining content, why didn't Luther love and admire James? I wish I'd written down the source, but someone somewhere suggested just maybe Pastor Martin wasn't crazy about the idea of serving some of his more rustic, less civilized nearby neighbors.


Today's Second Reading

This passage is mostly written to church leaders, particularly those in what you might call more active, direct service ministries: pastors, ruling elders, evangelism committees, Stephen Ministers (not that prayer isn't a vital activity).

This short scripture is an excellent description of faithfully doing the word, especially within the community of the local church. It presents is a brief capsule of James ongoing concern for relationships of individual to community, community to individual and their intertwined interdependence.

If you're suffering—pray! If you're happy—sing praises. 5:13

Pray for the sick; anoint them with oil—a practice inherited from Hebrew Bible times. Throughout scripture, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and therefore of being set part as holy for a purpose. Monarchs and prophets were anointed with oil. Priests were anointed with oil. A person being baptized is anointed to follow Jesus into the threefold ministry of prophet, priest, and sovereign. Although (to my knowledge) there are no recorded instances of Jesus or his disciples using oil in addition to praying or laying on of hands, nothing in scripture forbids it, so oil comes under the category of adiaphora or indifferent things, neither commanded nor forbidden. James most likely assumes oil as a natural gift of creation will supplement the spiritual offering of prayer.

Confess your sins to one another? James doesn't explicitly acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ of God (is that one reason for Luther's reservations about the book?), yet this admonition hints at Jesus bestowing the office of the keys on his followers on resurrection Sunday evening, recorded in John 20:21-23.

James offers an example of answered prayer by citing Elijah's plea to heaven for rain. What's your take on that?

The people all answered together,
"All the words the Lord has spoken
we will do!"
Exodus 19:8