The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Christmas
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Isaiah 52:7-10
The book of Isaiah is actually three “books,” each written during a different time in Israel’s history.
Isaiah I: shape up or else; exile is coming 1-39
Isaiah II: Book of Consolation, comfort in captivity 40-55 Deutero Isaiah (suffering servant songs)
Isaiah III: going home 56-66 Trito Isaiah; struggle for a new temple and new leadership
This reading comes from “the book of consolation” – written to a people in exile. The message: stay strong; God will ultimately prevail! This passage envisions that day when God prevails and God’s presence returns to Jerusalem. You might imagine this passage set to music – a staccato beat that rings with excitement, promise, and urgency.
The Babylonian Exile was a painful experience – the people were driven out of their homeland into a place where they did not speak the language or know the customs. No wonder the joy at the news of finally being able to go home!
Verse 7 references the feet of those who bring good news. Messengers in that day traveled mostly on foot so the feet were honored in that respect.
Verse 8 gives the picture of sentinels on the walls, watching against invasion. Instead, they see a messenger running. When the messenger gets close enough to shout the message, the sentinels pass on the good news to the people.
Verse 9 echoes other prophets such as Zephaniah 3:13-18 and Joel 2:21.
In the historical context, the good news was of return from exile. In the context of today’s feast, the good news is that Jesus has come! Our long Advent wait has born fruit. Where do you see Jesus showing up? Have you shared the good news of the ways in which Jesus is active in your own life?
Hebrews 1:1-6
This passage celebrates Christ as the agent of
- revelation “in these last days, [God] spoke to us through a son” “who is the refulgence of his glory/the very imprint of his being,”
- creation “through whom he created the universe”
- salvation “when he had accomplished purification from sins”
This reading tells us that God communicates with us – that God wishes to be known and that he speaks in ways that we can understand.
Take some time to ponder this: God desires to speak to you. God desires to be known by you. God is making himself known to you every moment of every day in ways that you can understand.
John 1:1-18
One of the reasons I chose to do the Mass during the day readings is because it gets us out of the topics we expect to hear at Christmas about angels and stables and mangers. It challenges our notion about what the coming of a Savior looks like.
The gospel of John is the work of a poet helplessly in love.
The gospel of Mark, written around 70AD, does not have a nativity story – he just jumps right in to John the Baptist.
Matthew and Luke, written somewhere between 80-90AD, contain nativity material to explain where Jesus came from. This probably indicates Jesus’ origin was a problem in some communities.
John was written between 90-110AD and he begins with Jesus’ divinity. The Christian community has been reflecting on Jesus for over five decades and new questions are arising.
We can break down this reading as follows:
V1-5 the role of the Word in the creation of the world
V6-8 the witness of John
V9-14 the entrance of the Word into the world
V15 the witness of John
V16-18 our participation in Christ’s glory
The beginning of this passage evokes the creation story in Genesis 1. John would have expected his audience to be familiar with this story and call it to mind. He implies that the coming of the Word into the world is as momentous as the creation of it.
This passage references light and dark. The light is the first thing spoken into existence in Genesis 1. Light/Darkness is a theme that runs through this gospel and the letters attributed to John.
Verses 10-12 are a summary of the gospel.
There’s a lot going on in verse 14.
First he says that the Word became flesh. He uses the Greek word sarx which indicates literal, actual skin and bones. John’s gospel dwells on the divinity of Christ but Christ’s humanity runs throughout as well.
Then he says God “made his dwelling.” The word would have suggested to the original audience the tabernacle, where God’s presence rested in the wilderness, and which was the precursor to the temple in Jerusalem, where God’s presence rested in the Holy of Holies, which was the precursor to Jesus – where God’s presence rested in human flesh.
Also in verse 14 he uses the word Glory, which, in Greek is doxa and in Hebrew is kavod. In the Old Testament, glory is the visible manifestation of God’s presence: God seen. Jesus is God seen.
Questions to ponder
In what ways has God made God’s self present and known to you?
In what ways have you shared that good news with others?
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger