Nativity of the Lord - Proper 1
Introduction to Advent and Christmas Year "C"
Once again, we begin the ancient story of our faith. We trace the steps from our first parents in the garden and their disobedience that separated humankind from the intimate relationship they had with their creator God. The scenario of faithfulness, disobedience and redemption continues repeatedly through the Old Testament as we trace the development of God's people through Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Joseph, Moses, David and many other men and women in the nation of Israel. The prophets speak God's word to the kings of Israel and Judah, calling for repentance, rebuilding of the Holy City and a return to faith in the One God who delivered his people in many different ways and situations. And then...silence. No words from the prophets, those who spoke for God, for many years.
In that silence, God reaches out once again in an incredible act of love and grace. He leaves the glory of the heavenly realm and enters His creation in the most vulnerable way, as a helpless infant, born to ordinary Hebrew parents in less than perfect conditions. The missio Dei, the mission of God, once again appeared as a way to mend the broken relationship between humankind and God. His mission to redeem not only his people but all of creation may not have been clear at the moment of the incarnation of Jesus, but as time progressed, the realization that the time that had been foretold by the prophets became clear. The deliverer had come. This time to redeem ALL of creation, Jews and Gentiles alike. The mission Dei continues today through the church, the people of God, as we share the incredible love of Christ with a dark and hurting world. Our mission is in sync with God's desire to re-establish relationships with all people as we look forward to the glorious return of our savior and the redemption of all creation.
Advent is our period of waiting expectantly for the arrival of God in human form, Jesus. The missio Dei reaches a pivotal point when Jesus comes to earth, the whole reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place. We begin a new church calendar year with waiting in these "pregnant" moments anticipating the incredible appearance of God on earth and celebrating the birth of a new age that gives peace and hope to all humankind.
Rev. Jody Fleming, M.Div., Ph.D.
Associate Editor, Missional Preacher
American Society of Missiology; Board of Publication
First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2018
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13
Luke 21: 25-36
Kairos Moments
The first Sunday of Advent brings us once again to the beginning. The church calendar year begins again as we remember the most important event of the Christian faith. The moment when God came down to earth and took on human flesh in the form of a helpless Jewish baby: Jesus of Nazareth. The Advent season is one of expectancy and anticipation. We read again the ancient stories of the Old Testament as the prophets prepare the way for the coming Messiah; the one who will set all things right. But God's missional intent was far beyond what the Old Testament could have imagined. This Savior, the Messiah, would be the one who would redeem ALL humanity and reconcile us to God. The time was right, a kairos moment; a fitting season that would signal a juncture (Moulton, 1977). The missio Dei takes on new meaning, heaven and earth will be reconnected; the kingdom of God is at hand. God's ultimate mission to reconnect with his precious creation will be realized.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Jeremiah 33: 14-16
The promise of restoration in Jeremiah 33 speaks of a coming time, a kairos moment, in which the Lord "will fulfill the good promise" he made to his people, at that time Israel and Judah (v. 14). It is the prophetic forthtelling of what is to come. Jeremiah says that David's line will produce a "righteous branch" (v. 15), a sprout at a time that will be just right. He says that in those days, salvation and safety will come to Judah and Jerusalem that are currently under siege and certain for destruction. The future hope is in the appearance of "The Lord Our Righteous Savior" (v. 16), at a set time, a kairos moment. God's mission of restoration will come.
1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13
Paul writes to the Thessalonians, one of his missionary church plants, expressing the desire to be with them again and rejoices in receiving good news from Timothy (1 Thess. 3: 6). His desire is for the Lord to clear the way for them to return to the community that has been spiritually supporting them. Like the advent theme of waiting for the right time, the kairos moment, Paul is expectantly waiting for a time when they will be reunited. Until that time, he prays that the Lord will strengthen the hearts of the community so that they will be holy and blameless before God (v. 13). This is in preparation and expectancy, another kairos moment, when Jesus will return. The missional message speaks to the here and now and the future return of the Lord.
Luke 21: 25-36
Luke's gospel points our attention to Jesus' teaching to the disciples about coming signs. Once again, we see a reference to time (v. 27). At a certain time, a kairos moment, Jesus will return in great glory. Much will happen before that takes place. God's mission of restoring his relationship with creation will take place as the disconnect between heaven and earth will pass away. What will remain, and still does, are the words of Jesus (v. 33). But Jesus calls the disciples, and us, to not be too overly anxious about these signs. Instead life is to be lived in holy obedience to God's son (v. 36). Watchfulness is key just as it was for Jesus arrival in Bethlehem at just the right time, the kairos moment.
God's Mission in the Text
These three passages speak of time as a moment. From Jeremiah's call and prophetic announcement of a coming king, to Paul's encouragement to his missionary church plant, to the words of Jesus himself, the message is clear; something BIG is coming! The missio Dei is the restoration of the relationship between God and humankind, which was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we look a little more closely at the texts we see there is the idea that we are to expect the return of the Lord and the restoration of ALL creation. We are to be waiting in expectation for the kairos moment; the moment when Jesus returns to set all things right as he spoke of in Luke 21. Every year the season of Advent reminds us of the call to watchfulness. We need to be aware of what is going on around us, but yet not fretting or getting caught up in the things of life that might trap us, cutting us off from the abundant life in Christ. As the parable from Luke 21 teaches, we watch and pray, expecting God to complete the mission he has started; the mission that began in Bethlehem with a very small cast of faithful people. God is faithful to complete his mission when the time is right, a kairos moment.
Missional Connections for our Context
The beginning of the Advent season signals the start of the Church year, as we remember the miraculous incarnation that we celebrate on Christmas. While the world seems to have started the anticipation of the Christmas season weeks ago, as Christians we turn our focus to God's timing. Those outside of the Christian faith are caught up in the celebration and while they may not realize it, they are celebrating God's incredible and far reaching love...He came to us. His mission was, is and always will be to connect with his creation and have a personal relationship with each of his precious human creations. The missio Dei conveys that mission is "like [an] overflowing fountain [that] cannot be ‘contained' in the church" (Bevans and Schroeder, 2011). What a great way to view the Advent and Christmas season! The joy and celebration of Jesus birth cannot and should not be contained in the church. God himself left his glorious place to dwell with us; he did not stay contained. He came in the form of a helpless Hebrew baby at just the right time; a kairos moment that has forever changed the world.
Biographical Summary
Jody Fleming holds a Master of Divinity degree from Evangelical Seminary and a Doctor of Philosophy from Regent University School of Divinity. She teaches the field education courses at Evangelical Seminary as the Director of Mentored Ministry. She is an Endorsed Chaplain and Ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene and lives in South Central Pennsylvania with her husband, Cole.
Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2018
Baruch 5:1-9 OR Malachi 3:1-4
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6
Prepare Ye the Way of the LORD - An Advent Reflection
As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness" ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight'" (Lk 3:4).
At times, I can find the Advent season a bit unnerving - even when I approach it in my most appropriately spiritual posture. Advent is, in its soul, a season of expectation; and expectation is necessarily a very passive endeavor. I'm not always comfortable being passive. I don't mean that as a slight against passivity. Indeed, in a world swallowed up in frenetic, self-aggrandizing, activism (of all stripes) I often wonder if the yearly spiritual discipline of Aventine expectation, of wonder and waiting, ought to be extended beyond what the current church calendar allows. But I also think it is not altogether bad to find oneself chafing under too much anticipation, too much passivity. This week's readings invite us to recall that while God is inviting us this Advent into a season of anticipation; it is also a season of preparation. They remind us that Advent speaks to us in a voice that is BOTH passive AND active. In them we find that the movements of God which seem to us so sudden and unexpected are, in truth, the result of long-implemented provisions. And we hear, not just a description of his preparations, but an invitation to join him in preparing his next and grandest move. Much like Hemmingway's description of bankruptcy or John Green's description of falling into both love and slumber; we find that the way of the Lord appears to us very slowly and all at once.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Baruch 5:1-9 OR Malachi 3:1-4
One may expect the alternate passages given for the first reading to be roughly similar, yet they could hardly be more different. In Baruch the tone is that of a tender father, pledging to trade his estranged people's splendor, joy, and light for their sorrow and affliction. It is full of promises to undo the pain and ignominy of exile and remember the children of the forgotten ones. Even if it means a cataclysmic re-making of such transient things as mountains and forests, nothing will obstruct his ultimate purpose of making a safe and easy road home for his people. But if the way of the Lord appears as a source of comfort and peace in Baruch, in Malachi it comes as the sternest of warnings. The appearance of the Lord and His messenger are not described as a far-off thing to savor and anticipate. Instead they suddenly appear, unlooked for, on a scene that is woefully unprepared for them. And the day of their appearing has none of the tenderness, security, or ease of the earlier chapter. In describing the eventual redemption of God's people, the terms and metaphors employed by Malachi are scorching and caustic. In this passage we see a path home that is painful and difficult. The opposite of safe.
God's Mission in the Text
Why such a stark contrast? Perhaps it is because each passage is addressed to different groups of people. The passage from Baruch is addressed to Jerusalem as a poetic stand-in for the exiled and forgotten people of God. People who, at the time, lived in distress and trouble and were struggling with the world-shattering implications of being forsaken by an ever-faithful God. They were in desperate need of a way back from what, to them, must have seemed like existential annihilation. Malachi, however, is addressed to the tribes of Levi and Judah, symbolic for the priests and kings of God's people. His addressees lived in relative comfort and ease, struggling mightily to cling to their influence and prestige. They had twisted a God-given call to serve his people into a life of self-service. They were in desperate need of a way back from the idolatry of their own power, to which they had become blind. And it is crucial to note that the crucible described in Malachi does not bring about the annihilation of the priests and kings themselves, but of their impurity. Though painful, and perhaps costly, the way God has prepared for them brings them from the counterfeit worship and safety they have made for themselves into the same beatific existence and pure worship promised to all God's people. These are not two separate paths so much as one path from two very different places.
In Baruch and in Malachi we see God preparing way for his people to return once more to his perfect reign. A way that restores the soul of the downtrodden and that confronts and removes the idolatrous affections of the comfortable.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Luke 3:1-6
We see the promises of both passages reflected beautifully in our reading from the Gospel. It is easy to simply blow past the names listed in the first two verses as mere trivia; but to do so misses one of the most significant points of the passage. These were not mere names in their day; they were the great men of their times. The headline-makers, the people whose policies and decisions shaped the everyday lives of the people of first-century Palestine. To the people we encounter in Luke's narrative, these were the people of true significance; the presidents and prime ministers, the congresspeople and governors, the mega-church pastors and conference-speakers of their day. These are the movers and shakers, the ones making history. In the story of Jesus, they are reduced to accidents of history. Why? Because the message does not come to any of them. It by-passes all of the people of significance and instead it comes to a man of utter insignificance, save that God was with him. And the messenger is sent first to a forgotten place (the Jordan valley) that has been left largely undeveloped and under-served by centuries of empire-builders. It confers neither the economic advantages of the plains or the military advantages of the highlands. God's message of salvation does eventually come to the people of significance. But, in the wisdom and mercy of God, it comes first to the forgotten and only last to the important.
God's Mission in the Text
When God's message finally does come before priests and kings in Luke's Gospel it is entirely unexpected, just as Malachi warned. Jesus, our help unlooked for, suddenly appears as the long-prepared Way back for the people of God. The promises of Baruch, Malachi, and Isaiah (glory, light, mercy, unadulterated worship, forgiveness of sins) all burst onto the scene in such a way that all flesh (significant and insignificant, forgotten and celebrated, afflicted and comfortable) sees together the Salvation God has so carefully prepared.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Philippians 1: 3-11
In this passage, Paul directs our attention to both the passive and active dimensions of preparing the way of the Lord. First, he looks forward with unwavering certainty to the completion of the work Jesus has begun. And this work is entirely outside the prerogative of his hearers. While the work is being done within them, it is not done by them. Whatever may be called righteous in them has come through Jesus. They are summoned to discern the reign of Jesus and join Paul in hopeful anticipation. Yet at the same time Paul commends them for living into their hope. The life the Philippians long for does not come through their work, yet they are working it out in their care for God's prisoner and, most importantly, in their love for one another.
God's Mission in the Text
This raises some important questions for us. How can we attend to what God is doing when it is so often hidden? And as we expectantly await the coming of his kingdom in its fullness, how might we join him in making preparations? This passage does not offer an easy answer to these questions. But it does offer a clear path to it: ever-increasing love. The Philippians seem to have been expecting some insight or wise counsel from Paul. And his reply was that those things come not when we pursue them but when we pursue love. All those good things that God is preparing in us: knowledge, insight, blamelessness, and the unending song of praise to God; flow from a single source. Our love. This is the work that has been given to us, the (often difficult, sometimes impossible) task of loving and loving more.
Missional Connections for our Context
This is the invitation of Advent. To behold the way God has made for us out of the counterfeit comforts and very real afflictions we have found in this world and into the peace of his Kingdom. To attend to his slow and hidden preparations among insignificant people in forgotten places. To repent of our idolatrous insistence on looking for significance where we most expect it. To receive from him the salvation we so desperately need. And to join him in preparing the way for the final act of the story by cultivating lives of ever-increasing love.
Biographical Summary
Danny Hunter is a PhD Candidate in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. An avid missiology junkie who loves serving in his local church, Danny spends most of his time finding and studying ways for mission and churches to intersect. And also making fresh salsa from his garden.
Third Sunday of Advent
December 16, 2018
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
The King is Coming
The Messiah is coming! Israel had longed for this for centuries. No wonder these Advent texts are full of JOY! But they are also troubling. The Messiah is not exactly what they expected.
Exegetical Missional Insights
The coming of the Lord is announced in all three passages. Each passage brings out different effects that will result.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
In Zephaniah it is entirely good news for the people of God. They should "shout!" (v. 14) and "rejoice!" (v. 4) for numerous reasons:
Philippians 4:4-7
In the letter to the Philippians, Christians are also bidden to rejoice (v. 4, a, b). The day of the Lord is near, thus joy and gentleness should characterize them. Prayer should relieve them of anxiety, and provide the peace that can only be found in Christ Jesus.
Luke 3:7-18
In Luke, John the Baptist warns the Jewish crowds that the Messiah is coming, and that he will not be impressed by those who claim Abraham as their father (v. 8). Instead of claiming rights on the basis of paternity, they are to show whose children they really are by their morality. All are called on to help those in need of things like coats or food. Soldiers and tax collectors are not to use their power to extort, but only to do their job. John announces the impending judgment (v. 17) but One who is coming will enact it at any moment, with great power.
God's Mission in the Text.
This is the Big One! The Messiah, the Son of God is coming. All of us are mired in problems, many of our own making. But God is breaking in to redeem his people in Christ. These passages remind us just how revolutionary that is. It is the war that brings about peace. It is the gathering that creates a new and renewed people. It is the judgment which will be horrifying for many, but comforting for Christ's own. It has always been God's design to call out a people for himself; and the coming of the Messiah is the point in which this mission comes to its head. This is the day that many long for, but many need also fear.
Missional Connections for Our Context.
God's mission rarely seems urgent in my hometown. We go about our business, take care of kids, and generally keep ourselves entertained and out of trouble. But... "The King is Coming." I had an uncle who sang this song in a powerful baritone. One of the verses and the chorus say:
Happy faces line the hallways
Those whose lives have been redeemed
Broken homes that He has mended
Those from prison He has freed
Little children and the aged
Hand in hand stand all aglow
Who were crippled, broken, ruined
Clad in garments white as snow
The King is coming
The King is coming
I just heard the trumpet sounding
And now his face I see
The King is coming, oh the King is coming
Praise God, he's coming for me.
Bill Gaither
The renewal and redemption that Zephaniah speaks of is pictured in this song. There is no punishment, nor fear of harm, nor mourning; rather, the God who delights in you is now coming to you. No surprise that in this week some churches light a candle of Joy.
It would be easy to pause here and ask a congregation if they were ready for the coming of the Lord. If all answer yes, since they are saved, we have begun well, but are not nearly done. This is where the words of John the Baptist strike to the heart. So, you are children of Abraham, or of Christ; does your life prove it? Have you dedicated yourself to the work of God, sharing Gods' goods with Gods' image bearers, or do you merely cling to a magical phrase like, "we are Abraham's children?"
We need a reminder that the King has come, and that he will come again. At present we see too little of the joy that Paul and Zephaniah speak of. Why? The King has come, and will come again. We experience anxiety rather than the peace that passes all understanding. Why? The King has come and will come again. And the reason for both visitations is that God delights in his children, and wishes to gather them together and shower honor and praise upon them.
Of course we have the honor, too, of joining in God's mission. We can certainly proclaim that there is a judgment awaiting all, but grace is more than sufficient to place us on the honor role. We may legitimately ask ourselves and our fellow believers whether we merely claim to be children of Abraham and Christ, or whether we indeed follow him. And we can exhibit the peace, joy and the gentleness (even in the political sphere?) that reside in those whom Christ loves.
Biographical Summary
Kent Van Til teaches Christian Ethics at Hope College, having earned his doctorate at Marquette University. He, with his family, was a missionary in Central America in the 1990s.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 23, 2018
Micah 5:2-5a
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
The texts chosen for our Advent reading today challenge us to consider the actions of God in fulfilling his purpose and decree. Instead of expectations of the exceptional and unique, Micah, Luke, and the author of Hebrews reveal God in the insignificant and unexceptional. God works in the ordinary and chooses the least to reveal his sovereign way.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Micah 5:2-5a
Micah the prophet is often overshadowed by the more prominent of Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, but his short prophecy is just as important today as then. He ministered in a time of political, social, and spiritual decay. The immediate context within Israel and Judea describe the inward collapse of society and the outward invasion of stronger and more powerful military forces. In those moments, Micah offers promise that in this present age of suffering and moral collapse, another age, a time to come, is bursting forth like the first rays of the sun, dispelling the night and awakening possibility for a better tomorrow. Our readings for this Advent Sunday remind us of a special arrival, just on the horizon, that promises to restore hope and possibility in the midst of much gloom and despair. Micah's prophecy reflects a time of uncertainty, expressing the real and potential problems of those who turned their back on the covenant King. Micah foresees and anguishes over the future destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. He laments those who "hate the good and love evil" (3:2), "who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight" (v.9). Time and again, the prophet's voice resonates with a message of doom at the abuse of power, injustice against the poor, and the destruction of the family. He warns of foreign troops coming to lay siege to Israel's fortifications, a portrait of divine punishment for abandoning the way of Torah. Destruction, chaos, and disintegration are not the final word the prophet speaks, however. He promises hope, an advent of life appearing as a flicker of light in an otherwise bleak landscape. It comes in both a future event and in a person. David may no longer be present to lead the people toward this future, but David's son, the promised eternal King comes; to Bethlehem, David's hometown.
Micah's present age proved futile to achieve people's dreams and aspirations in the routines of life. Religious piety crumbled under the decay of moral values. National objectives for good governance and equitable judicial systems miscarried with the corruption of management at all levels. Israel's Covenant King wearied with the pretense of burnt offerings and sacrifices while priests practiced injustice, cruelty, and pride (Micah 6:1-8). The old order provided no hope and no relief.
Hebrews 10:5-10
The writer of Hebrews reveals a solution in the person of Jesus Christ, the hope of Israel and the world. His advent was a necessity to incarnate God himself. He came that through his offering of himself as a sinless and more perfect sacrifice, a new order might be realized where there is justice, peace, mercy, and loving kindness. All that Micah envisioned merges in a portrait of a God of grace and forgiveness revealed in the one who existed as both Son of Man and Son of God. His advent culminates in a final and ultimate sacrifice that enables a way into the future for all humanity.
Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
Luke's Gospel opens a window to a scene between two young Jewish women, both expectant mothers, not fully understanding the significance of their humble context. Each one, unimportant in the political, cultural, or religious establishment, carry within them the seeds of God's grand design. The old order of the present age is about to surrender to the age to come with the advent of the Savior, Immanuel. The hope promised will be realized. One of the unborn will create a pathway for traversing the boundary of the present age with the age to come. The other will be the divine Son of God who will sit upon his father David's throne (1:32). Bethlehem will soon welcome a new guest that will forever change the course of human history.
God's Mission in the Text
God's Israel experiment receives a "failure" label by many. The descendants of Abraham never really aspired to be the people through whom God would bless the ta ethne, the people groups of the world (Gen 12:1-3). God chose Abraham's progeny as "a light for the nations" that his "salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" (Isa 49:8). They came close during the reigns of David and Solomon, but rapidly declined from that moment.
Throughout the ebbs and flows of Israel's history, the highs and lows of national religious life, the Missio Dei never wavered. God's mission was always there with suggestions of an impacting sacrifice of significant consequence (Gen 3:15). He gave Israel a roadmap with the promise of a future prophet who would reveal the full intent of God's grand design (Deut 18:15-18). God promised he would send a true priest and king to govern and guide the people into God's preferred future (Isa 9:6-7).
For the nation and its people, when all seemed lost, when divine favor receded, Micah promises hope. The first light shines on the horizon and the dawn of a new day emerges. It is small in the beginning. A promise here and there of God's intent and purpose. The event itself garners little global attention or fanfare. It starts in a small insignificant village with the announcement of a child yet to be born (Isa 9:6). When the Savior finally does appear, there is nothing appealing to him (Isa 53:1). For those attentive to the obscure and insignificant, such as Simeon and Anna, the small child was destined to change the world (Luke 2:25-38).
Missional Connections for our Context
The beautiful proclamation of Micah 5 in the textual reading for this advent Sunday reminds us of insignificance amid small beginnings. Bethlehem, the least and irrelevant location among Israel's tribes is destined to be the genesis of a much-anticipated visitation from the Heavenlies. The small-town plays host to The Immanuel, God with us, who comes in the little things; a manger, surrounded by farm animals, draped in human flesh. Without fanfare or welcome, The Redeemer steps into our world as one of us.
Hope sparks to life in such small beginnings. God's mission starts thus with a promise for tomorrow, that the age to come dawns in the person of Christ to bring salvation to the ends of the earth and loudly declares reprieve for a world in turmoil, uncertainty, and despair. We therefore proclaim during this Advent season that the Christ has come, and people can find him in the everyday, the ordinary, and the simple. Maybe he is seen in the eyes of a child at play or an old man playing chess. Maybe it is the disabled and homeless veteran pandering on a street corner.
At this advent season, the historic Gospel reminds us to be agents of mission to the least, the insignificant, the vulnerable. Advent presents an opportunity to see God in the unexpected, to look for him at the boundaries, and find God manifested and realized in Jesus as he walks among the broken and forgotten. As those called to God's mission, we need to follow the path of small beginnings, and allow God to reveal himself even as we reveal him.
Biographical Summary
J. Stephen Jester, PhD, served in cross-cultural education for over twenty-fives years in both Africa and Asia. He currently teaches Christian Missions and Worldview courses at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
Nativity of the Lord - Proper 1
December 24 & 25, 2018
Isaiah 9:2-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
What Kind of Joy?
You could add a brief introduction to your post here to spark the reader's interest. It's up to you! The traditional Christmas scriptures are familiar to most Christians. I suggest here that there are new insights to be gleaned from this week's lectionary about the meaning of Christmas joy.
Exegetical Missional Insights
Isaiah 9:2-7
The day of Midian refers to Judges 7:2: "The Lord said to Gideon, "The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me." This is a clear statement that it is indeed the "zeal of the Lord of hosts" that will establish the reign of Christ.
Titus 2:11-14
The "already but not yet" concept of the Kingdom of God, where tension exists between whether the Kingdom is already present in the incarnation or whether the Kingdom is yet to come at the eschaton, finds support in this passage (see: George Eldon Ladd. 1993. A Theology of the New Testament. Eerdmans). Here Titus: 1) tells us that the grace of God has already appeared (v11), 2) gives us advice on how to live in the present world (v12), and 3) specifies that we still wait for the manifestation of the glory of God in Jesus (v13). This is followed by a succinct, one verse exposition of the gospel message of redemption in Jesus.
Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
Luke uses two different Greek words in this passage to refer to people. In verse 10, "good news of great joy for all the people," the word used is law (lao), which is usually used to mean the nation, crowd, often the Jews, or the church as the people of God. So here the good news is for the people of Israel, who have been waiting for the Messiah.
However, in verse 14 "peace among those whom he favors" or "with whom he is pleased" is offered to anqrwpaiV (anthropais), or human beings. It is less clear as to precisely whom it is that God favors. It could be in agreement with verse 10, that God favors the Jews. But an argument can also be made that those God is pleased with are the oppressed and marginalized among His people who are faithful to Him.
This exegetical insight feels contrary to what we expect from the Christmas message in that it appears here that joy and blessings of Christmas are not for absolutely everyone. But a closer examination reveals a correlation between salvation and joy in that they are both available for those who love God and His righteousness. Alternatively, both are in question for those who oppress, who place their own riches above the welfare of others, and who follow after "worldly passions" (Titus 2:12). Ultimately, the great joy and hope is that Jesus came to "redeem and purify" us into becoming part of the laon (laon), the people of God.
God's Mission in the Text
The incarnation of Jesus as the Christmas child is God's work, not our own. In Isaiah God says this bluntly, by referring to the day of Midian (9:4). Titus reinforces the agency of God in the salvific work of Jesus by reminding us that "He it is who gave himself for us" (v14). The Luke passage is less direct, but when a "multitude of the heavenly host" makes an appearance, praising God, there is no room for us to think that the incarnate Jesus is just another human baby.
Missional Connections for our Context
The traditional nativity scriptures are rich in meaning for the Church. I present here three themes that are present in these lectionary passages but are not as frequently addressed.
Theme #1: Jesus' birth is the first contextualization of the gospel message. Contextualization is the process of presenting a message in a culturally relevant form so that the message makes sense to the hearers. God became a human baby so that humans could understand the message of salvation and redemption.
Some Christians are uncomfortable seeing the traditional nativity scene re-imaged as an African kraal or indigenous hut. Some resist the contextualization of Bible stories to other cultures because they think that such might make the gospel message less "pure." However, when we realize that it was God's contextualization of himself that resulted in the baby Jesus being born to a Jewish family in Israel, it becomes entirely appropriate that other cultures adapt the nativity scene to meaningful and relevant images.
Theme #2: The birth of Jesus is a matter of great joy. So after the waiting and expectation of advent, what is this joy that Jesus brings? Isaiah gives us images of the kind of joy that only comes after much darkness, waiting, and suffering. This is a different picture of Christmas joy than the pretty lights and a stocking full of gifts and candy from Santa Claus that our world often portrays.
Isaiah gives us the image of the joy of harvest. The joy of harvest comes after much toil, much waiting. For a farmer, there is no greater joy than harvest. However, harvest is an uncertain outcome at best, that only possibly comes after much toil, sweat, and waiting. Even then, a sudden rain or storm at the last moment can destroy an entire year's hope. Isaiah's second image is joy from the dividing of plunder. Plunder comes from a difficult battle won, which may well be the culmination of years of deprivation, fear, death of loved ones, and even of subjugation. In order for great plunder to exist, a great enemy, an enemy well fortified and provisioned, needs to have been overcome. The point here is that the joys Isaiah uses for comparison are contingent and did not come without price. This is the kind of joy associated with the child that is born to us on Christmas.
It can be difficult for people in the U.S.A. to understand how significant the birth of an heir is in other cultures, and just how much joy is associated with such a birth. It might help to consider the case five years ago of the birth of Royal Prince George of Cambridge, third in line to the English throne. The very human birth of this little boy was the cause of much rejoicing, and was even followed by many in the U.S. For the tiny island country of Great Britain, it was estimated that just the sales of baby related items commemorating the birth alone would boost the British economy by over 200 million pounds! Now consider that the British system is a constitutional monarchy, where the king or queen is not particularly powerful, but instead makes "suggestions" to the parliament. Yet the birth of Prince George symbolizes hope and continuity to the people who identify themselves with the country that the monarchy represents.
The Jews of the OT believed that the Messiah would restore the line of David to the throne, and thereby restore the fortunes of God's people. To the oppressed nation of Israel, the hope of a Messiah was indeed good news in itself. However, Jesus is not simply the heir of a nation or ethnic group; Jesus is heir to all of creation.
Theme #3: What are gifts that the Savior/Messiah brings? Isaiah refers to the broken rod, bar, and yoke of oppression. Modern technology means that few in the U.S. know the physical burden of carrying a heavy load, or know the joy and relief of having that burden lifted. Titus describes the gifts as salvation, redemption, and purification. Again, it is those who have been lost, enslaved, and defiled who best appreciate such gifts. Perhaps this is why we are more familiar and touched by the promise of peace on earth that Luke offers; the brokenness of the world is a concept we are more familiar with.
The missiological implication to the above is that Christmas joy is not nearly so relevant to the wealthy oppressor as to the oppressed. Christmas joy is most truly ours where we are the oppressed, and not the oppressor, when we are the ones who desperately wait, not those who are sated by what we have already.
Biographical Summary
Linda Lee Smith Barkman earned a PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary, with a focus on Intercultural Communication. As an educator, writer, and advocate, her heart ministry is providing voice to the marginalized, particularly women in difficult circumstances, and most especially to incarcerated women.
The First Sunday of Christmas
December 30, 2018
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
Colossians 3:12-17
Luke 2:41-52
Stepping into Our Calling
All three of today's texts deal with calling. Each of the passages describe a set apart relationship in relationship to God and others. God's calling transcends family boundaries. Two of the three texts depict a yearly visit to the Temple and two of the texts refer to a set-apart clothing that highlights the distinction between the new and the old.
Exegetical Missional Insights
1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26
In the section immediately following the escapades of Eli's crooked sons (1 Sam 2:11-17), the narrator describes the annual trip from Ramah to the Temple where Hannah and Elkanah offer their sacrifice and visit their son Samuel, whom Hannah had left there for the Lord (1:26-28). Every year Hannah brings Samuel a new robe-perhaps as a gift. Eli would bless Hannah and Elkanah before making the journey back to Ramah. This short passage shows the contrast between God's faithful and the wicked (v. 9), particularly in the sacrifice Hannah made to God contrasted with the sin of the scoundrels in the previous section, who committed sin "very great in the sight of YHWH; for they treated the offerings of YHWH with contempt" (v. 17).
Colossians 3:12-17
In the previous section of Colossians 3, Paul instructs the Colossians to put to death their old ways, taking off the old self (3:5-9). Now Paul admonishes these chosen holy people to clothe themselves in a new clothing; but unlike Samuel's garments, this clothing is not physical but spiritual. The new believers at Colossae must clothe themselves in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and-above all-love. This new clothing sets them apart from the old, a life characterized by sexual licentiousness, impurity, evil desires, greed, and malevolent speech. By putting on the new, one does away with division and begins living into unity, life together. From hate to love, from immorality to holiness; this describes what it means to become a community patterned after Christ.
Luke 2:41-52
In the third gospel, the narrator describes the twelve-year-old Jesus and his earthly parents, friends, and relatives making the annual pilgrimage up to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover. Mary and Joseph realize on the journey back that Jesus-the Son of God, mind you-is missing. So they return to Jerusalem in search of him for three days. They find the prodigious yet humble lad in the Temple sitting among the teachers. The teachers are astounded with his grasp of the teachings, but his frantic mother is less than impressed: "Child, why have you treated us like this?" Jesus' first recorded words in this Gospel point to God's higher purposes, which are above our immediate concerns, and, like any true adolescent, Jesus is quite short and ambiguous with his mom: "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Here the sword of division against the household has pierced its first wound in the heart of his own mother, as Jesus would later warn (12:51-52). Luke summarizes the next 18 years of Jesus as living obediently under his parents, giving us a very fleshly Jesus we do not encounter in John 1. The narrator depicts the God incarnate who succumbed to normal human development and to earthly parents.
God's Mission in the Text
In the first reading, Hannah reaps the benefits of her faithfulness to God in dedicating her son's life. Hannah (demonstrated so poignantly in her song in 2:1-10), who like her counterpart Mary (expressed beautifully in her Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55), entrusts the life of her child to God's divine purposes. It may be outside of both women's understandings, but they sing boldly in light of their miraculous pregnancies, surrendering the lives of their miraculous baby boys to the missio Dei.
In the second reading, Paul paints a striking picture of what the church is called to be, and does so in contrast to a community marked by its old ways. He admonishes the Colossians to put on new clothing that will set them apart from the world. It is this type of community that will bring about God's purposes.
In Luke, we see a God who sent was into the world, taking on flesh, living and breathing very humanly and growing up as an adolescent, going through a learning process. It is critical that Jesus (God) walks the earth for a given time so that his kingdom can be enacted and proclaimed. For anyone who is called by God there are no skipping steps, including for God there is no skipping steps; Jesus must walk humbly and go through the developmental phases of life, and he will continue to walk humbly in his ministry and even on his way to the cross. This story located in the context of Luke 2 is furthermore a reminder of the continuation of Mary's and thereby Israel's story: a mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary.
Missional Connections for Our Context
In light of the liturgical season and the passages for today, the message for today that stands out to me is one of steps-early steps. Jesus' ministry has yet to begin. He's learning as a human child learns-at least this is what Luke records. It's a period of incubation, a time of growth. Jesus is not ready to go to the cross yet; he is not ready to die, as the kingdom of God has yet to be preached. God in Jesus is walking the same dusty roads of the very people created in his image.
The liturgical texts following Advent and Christmas are intended to nurture this growth for this next season, leading us to the cross.
The foundational characters in the first reading and the Gospel reading did not skip steps. Rather, they followed the natural progression to get from here to where God desires them; and they do so with allegiance to God, acting in faith(full)ness toward God and neighbor. One must go through the rites of becoming a priest to become a priest; Jesus had to go through the steps of becoming the Messiah. It first required living a fairly ordinary life for over a quarter-century before God's purposes could be fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Perhaps this is cause for reflection on patience, an act of resistance in our culture of instant gratification.
The same could be said of ourselves as we work out our own callings. The same could be said of myself in my own walk, in my journey towards full submission of my will to the missio Dei (never mind the fact that I have to say this over and over again). We need to be prepared for ministry; it takes many steps-sometimes complicated steps. My own formation was like this: I felt a strong call to mission on a beach in Oregon in 2014, but I had to be thrown a curve ball, apply to my mission agency, interview, finish a monumental task-and-a-half, fundraise, reconcile past hurts and say goodbyes to friends, mentors, and family.... and then I was ready to move to New York. And it's not until I sit back and reflect on that journey and how I got here that I realize that those were all necessary steps, some more natural than others, that led me to this current place of ministry. And I am still not fully there; there is more growth to go.
In this season of the liturgy, it is all about incubation. Jesus himself went through the process of growth, learn the family trade, and do so in submission to his earthly parents. We do not have these details of his life from age 12 to 30-we may infer it was probably quite ordinary as Luke summarizes it in v. 52.
Each of the three passages deal with being set apart in dedication to God. There is a higher calling that transcends family boundaries and requires many steps in preparation for that calling. As we wrap up the calendar year and look forward to a new, it may be helpful for us to examine our own lives and what relationships we prioritize and seek out ways we can more obediently follow God.
Biographical Summary
Joel David Ickes is serving in his third year as a mission catalyst with Global City Mission Initiative in the Bronx, New York. He graduated from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (MDiv, 2016) and Great Lakes Christian College (BS, 2012).
