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Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Readings

Micah 5:1-4a

“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops;

They have laid siege against us;

With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago,

From the days of eternity.”

Therefore He will give them up until the time

When she who is in labor has borne a child.

Then the remainder of His brethren

Will return to the sons of Israel.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock

Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power

And come to save us!

O God, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted,

And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

Then we shall not turn back from You;

Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

O Lord God of hosts, restore us;

Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

Hebrews 10:5-10

Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,

But a body You have prepared for Me;

In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.

“Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come

(In the scroll of the book it is written of Me)

To do Your will, O God.’ ”

After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law),

then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Luke 1:39-45

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,

and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

 (All reading derived from the NASB)

Further Reading

Marc Cortez: Forced to Wait: An Advent Reflection 

Tripp Fuller: Caputo on Prayer at Advent

Scott Lencke: Advent 3: The Arrival

Amanda MacInnis: Random Thoughts on Christmas Carols, the Radio, Church and Advent

Tiffany Jo McDonald: Hopeful Signs: An Advent Sermon on John 1:6-28

Christian Salafia: Advent in a World of Violence

If you have recommended reading for the Second Sunday of Advent please leave a comment.

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Third Sunday of Advent

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Remember the victims from Newtown, CT. Pray for their families. This is a list provided by CNN.com (which chose to include the last names of children only when their parents have spoken in public):

Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47; Mary Sherlach, 56; Lauren Rosseau, 30; Victoria Soto, 27; Emilie Parker, 6; Rachel Davino, 29; Anne Marie Murphy, 25; Charlotte, 6; Daniel, 7; Olivia, 6; Josephine, 7; Ana, 6; Dylan, 6; Madeleine, 6; Catherine, 6; Chase, 7; Jesse, 6; James, 6; Grace, 7; Anne Marie Murphy, 52; Jack, 6; Noah, 6; Caroline, 6; Jessica, 6; Avielle, 6; Benjamin, 6; Allison, 6.

Readings

Zephaniah 3:14-18a

  14         Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

  15         The Lord has taken away His judgments against you,

He has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

You will fear disaster no more.

  16         In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:

“Do not be afraid, O Zion;

Do not let your hands fall limp.

  17         “The Lord your God is in your midst,

A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,

He will be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

  18         “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—

 

Isaiah 12:2-6

    2         “Behold, God is my salvation,

I will trust and not be afraid;

For the Lord God is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.”

    3         Therefore you will joyously draw water

From the springs of salvation.

    4         And in that day you will say,

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.

Make known His deeds among the peoples;

Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

    5         Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;

Let this be known throughout the earth.

    6         Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Philippians 4:4-7

    4   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

    5   Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

    6   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

    7   And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 3:10-18

  10   And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?”

  11   And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”

  12   And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

  13   And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”

  14   Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

  15   Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,

  16   John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit 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 thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

  18   So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

 (All reading derived from the NASB)

Further Reading

John Bergsma: Rejoice! The Third Sunday of Advent

Tim Gombis: An Advent Homily

James McGahey: Third Sunday of Advent: On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry

T.C. Moore: Darkness, Advent, and Newtown, CT

Gary Wallin: The Birth of Jesus Pt 1: Declaring the End from the Beginning

Paul _____: What Does It Mean to Celebrate Immanuel? ; Waiting with Advent

If you have recommended reading for the Second Sunday of Advent please leave a comment.


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Second Sunday of Advent

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Readings

Malachi 3:1-4

Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

“He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.

“Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Psalm 126:1-6

When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter

And our tongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us;

We are glad.

Restore our captivity, O Lord,

As the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Philippians 1:4-11

always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:1-6

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord,

Make His paths straight.

‘Every ravine will be filled,

And every mountain and hill will be brought low;

The crooked will become straight,

And the rough roads smooth;

And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”

(All reading derived from the NASB)

Further Reading

John Bergsma: Make Straight the Paths: The Second Sunday of Advent

Tim Gombis: Advent Communion Meditation

Daniel Harrell: Holy Discontent

Scot McKnight: Second Sunday of Advent

Joel Willits: A Prayer for the Second Week of Advent

If you have recommended reading for the Second Sunday of Advent please leave a comment.


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First Sunday of Advent

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Readings

Jeremiah 33:14-16

‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.

 ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’

Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.

Good and upright is the Lord;

Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in justice,

And He teaches the humble His way.

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth

To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,

And He will make them know His covenant.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;

so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36           

“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

“But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.

“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

(All readings derived from the NASB)

Further Reading

John Bergsma: Happy New Year! The First Sunday of Advent

Allen Bevere: On Preaching Advent During Advent

Tim Gombis: Advent Season Begins Tomorrow ; Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

Ben Howard: Waiting on Emmanuel

Leslie Keeney: A New City and a New Kind of Christmas

James McGahey: Advent: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

Scot McKnight: First Sunday of Advent ; The First Advent Candle

Kyle Roberts: Advent Shock: Jesus, the Crucified Peoples

Gary Wallin: Only the Suffering God Can Help

Joel Willits: Advent–Holy Dissatisfaction and Hopeful Anticipation ; The Meaning of the Advent Candles

If you have recommended reading for the First Sunday of Advent please leave a comment.


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Advent, the Son, the Spirit, and the Law (Pt. 2).

Read Part 1.

What do we make of the reference to being “born of a woman” in Galatians 4:4c? Christologically, I have no qualms with Christians bringing to mind the incarnation—Jesus as deity and man, fully. I don’t know that this was Paul’s intention though (again, even if it isn’t, that doesn’t mean it can’t inform a Christian’s thinking about Jesus). It could be that Paul has Genesis 3:15 in view. The seed of woman will severely bruise the head of the serpent and the serpent will severely bruise the heel of the seed of woman. Jesus is that one born of the woman, Mary, the new Eve. Again, this might be anachronistic. It is hard to know how developed these thoughts were in Paul’s mind, but it no surprise to me that the church has heard these themes in Paul’s words over the years.

As to being “born under the Law” I think this brings us back to Galatians 4:4a—“when the fullness of the time came” or when the time of the Law’s reign over the children of God was in effect, messiah arrived. Paul says that Jesus redeemed those who were “under Law” (ὑπὸ νόμον, v. 5) and I am inclined to think that this is a more precise reference to Israel, those who had been given the Law (e.g., Romans 9:4). Messiah comes under the Law to deliver those under the Law. This is how he brings Israel into full sonship as well as all those who were not Israel, but the “nations” that Paul saw as being promised to Abraham. The Spirit adopts us fully and now we can call God, “Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6). Those under the Law receive full adoption. Those who did not know God, but worshipped things that are “no gods” (μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς, v. 8), know God now (v. 9).


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Advent, the Son, the Spirit, and the Law (Pt. 1).

As part of a lengthy discussion on the role of the Law prior to the advent of messiah Paul describes the full adoption of the sons of God as a child under the authority of guardians (ἐπιτρόπους) and household managers (οἰκονόμους) until he reaches the age predetermined by his father to begin living as an adult heir to his father’s estate (see Galatians 4:1-3). The Law had authority, but this authority was given in order to protect and prepare the heir for his future role. When the child becomes an adult the guardians and household managers are not obsolete. Rather, these authorities have done the task for which they were assigned. The mature heir can begin to grow into the fullness of his father’s desired identity.

It is with this mind that Paul writes the following of Jesus’ advent (4:4):

-       The “fullness of the time” had come (ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου)

-       Jesus was sent as God’s Son (ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ)

-       Jesus was born of/from a woman (γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός)

-       Jesus was born “under the Law” (γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον)

It seems to me that the “fullness of the time” means that the children of God had come to the point in their existence where it was time for their adulthood to begin. The Law had functioned as a guardian, but the children are heirs of their Father. There is a sense in which one can hear the undertone of “salvation history” here as well. As N.T. Wright might call it, this is the “climax of the covenant” or the climax of God’s covenantal narrative with his people. The story of God has reached the “turning point” in Jesus where Abraham’s promise to become the father of many nations (πολλῶν ἐθνῶν, Genesis 17:5, LXX).

The early church talked about “the last days” a lot as well. There was likely an eschatological immediacy to this, but there is the sense, as well, that this is the time of the New Covenant—holy spirit in the people, a messiah on the throne? “The time” to which Paul refers could have been the “Old Covenant” era. It was fulfilled, now Jesus comes.

As with Romans 8:2-39 so here we find Paul presenting Jesus as “the Son of God” sent to initiate the “sons of God” into their role as heirs. In Romans 8:29 the goals of sending his Son is so that through his Son he might give his Spirit to his people, adopting them fully, and when his children have received the Spirit of adoption it is time for their maturity to aim for the telos of being “conformed to the image of his Son”. The sons/children of God are free from the Law as guardian, but that doesn’t mean that there is no further growth needed. Rather, now the children see and emulate their “eldest brother” (“the firstborn among many brethren”, Romans 8:29). This culminates in the freedom of creation and the glorification of the children of God, i.e, humanity has become what the Adam figure was to become but forfeited, as emulated and repeated by all humans from the beginning, save those changed by the Spirit for resurrection life.

To be continued….


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Advent 2011: Fourth Sunday

One week until Christmas. This Sunday my pastor will be finishing the Advent Sermon Series we’ve been doing on the “fulfillment” passages of Matthew 1-2. He should be covering 2.16ff. with a focus on vv. 17-18. In this passage the words of the prophet Jeremiah are found useful for explaining the misery caused by Herod’s decision to slaughter the infants and youngest children of Bethlehem because his paranoid state-of-being would not allow him to live with the thought that a “King” was born in Bethlehem.

Herod was a lunatic. He has his own sons killed because he thought they were a threat to the throne. It is amazing that a man who had power feared everyone and anyone who threatened it, including a small child whom he did not know. There is a quote attributed to Lord Acton which states, “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

As we watch the leaders of this world do their thing it seems apparent that this is true. Democracy has it’s problems, but dictatorships seem to create the largest messes globally. Humans do not tend to make very good kings.

What if God were King? What is God ruled the world instead of humans? What is God ruled through a human?

This is why hope in that small child Jesus is different than hope in any politician or world ruler. Jesus is the one through whom God rules the world. Jesus is the one through whom humanity finds its destiny and purpose. In Jesus humanity meets God and God meets humanity. Only a person like this could avoid Lord Acton’s warning against despot behavior.

So we await the return of our King. Advent is that time of remembering that he visited us once, that he ascended into heaven where he reigns in the authority of God the Father, and that he will return to unite heaven and earth in perfect peace–shalom!