Third Sunday of Advent
IS 61:1-2A, 10-11
LK 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
1 THES 5:16-24
JN 1:6-8, 19-28
On Thursday of this past week, in Matthew's gospel Jesus tells the crowd that John the Baptist is Elijah, "the one who is to come," but in today's reading from John's gospel, John the Baptist says that he is not Elijah but he does reiterate the text from Isaiah that we read last Sunday, but with a twist - Isaiah says, "A voice cries out, 'In the desert make straight the way of the Lord,'" but John modifies it slightly: "A voice cries out in the desert 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" Do you see the difference? In Isaiah, the way of the Lord is being made straight in the desert, whereas in John, the one doing the crying out is in the desert - i.e., John the Baptist.
Similarly, the first reading from Isaiah 61 shows back up in the Alleluia verse - "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed [mashiach, christos] me to bring glad tidings [good news, euangelion, gospel] to the poor." If this verse looks familiar, it is because this is how Jesus introduces his "mission statement," if you will, when he goes to the synagogue in Nazareth after his baptism and testing in the desert. What does it mean to be Son of God, as the tempter asked him for 40 days? To proclaim good news and to heal people of what is tearing their lives down.
What is the point of making these connections? First, that the early Christians understood themselves as inheritors of an incredibly rich tradition in the Old Testament which we as contemporary Christians rarely appreciate. Teaching introductory theology classes, I know I see all too often that Christian students have next to no familiarity with the Biblical tradition, particularly the Old Testament. But beyond simply lamenting the lack of appreciation of the connections that the lectionary makes for us, the readings point out to us that our expectation then as now is for good news - not just fewer negative headlines every day (although, yes please) but THE good news - the hope of a world made new through God in Jesus.
Every day during Advent, students, faculty, and staff from across the SLU community will share reflections on the intersection of the Scriptures of the day, the liturgical season of Advent, and their own lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment