The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Advent
Today we continue our wait but perhaps on a slightly more hopeful note than last week.
John preaches repentance, metanoia, a change of life. To turn one’s life around perhaps implies a certain amount of looking at where you are in preparation for turning a new direction and looking at where you are going. Last week’s readings, especially Isaiah, prepared us for this. John the Baptist will encourage it again.
Think for a moment about physical appearances. John came wearing strange clothes, eating strange food, and living in a strange place. He stood out in so many ways – it was hard to overlook him. Jesus came as an ordinary, everyday person living an ordinary life with friends and family. You could be excused for overlooking him.
I think it’s interesting that John is the figure that grabs our attention but what is his message? Don’t pay any attention at all to me; pay attention to Jesus. How often do we look at the flashy figures, the ones with money and fame, and pay no attention at all to the ones who matter? This is the task of the prophet – to get us to pay attention to the right things.
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Today’s reading comes from the start of the Book of Consolation. The people are in the captivity that Isaiah foretold in the first part of the book. They are desolate and without hope. Second Isaiah proclaims a message of consolation and an urging to wait on what God will do.
In 587 BC the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and completely destroyed the temple, which had previously been the heart and soul of Israel’s worship of Yahweh. In verse 2, the prophet is directed to speak to the “heart of Jerusalem.” The people themselves have now become God’s heart, God’s dwelling place.
In Semitic thought, the heart is the organ of reasoning (for us it’s the brain). God is trying to reason with them, to convince them of his concern.
The prophet declares the people have paid “double for their sins.” The worst had happened: they have been conquered and exiled. In many ancient legal codes, people were required to pay restitution 10, 20, or even 30 times what they stole. Israel is getting off pretty easy!
Verse 3 is one we’re all familiar with. If you compare it to the gospel rendition, you might notice that it reads slightly different. Here in Isaiah, it is a voice talking about the way of the LORD which will be prepared in the wilderness. That makes sense for a people who are about to journey through that wilderness to get home. In the gospel, it is a voice speaking in the desert. The symbolism there is that the people were, symbolically, wandering back out in that desert and Jesus had come to lead them home. This is an example of how New Testament writers would adapt Old Testament scriptures to say what needed to be said. While being faithful to the sources, they did not hesitate to make changes to those sources.
Both the Isaiah and Gospel readings evoke a journey. Early Christians called their religion simply “the way.” The Jews looked back on the pivotal event of the Exodus and recognized in the Babylonian exile the possibility of a new Exodus, a new era of salvation and restoration.
Verse 4 always makes me imagine a celestial bulldozer! The imagery here is beautiful: something that was once a barren wasteland, inhospitable to life, is now made beautiful and useful.
Verse 5 has a foreshadowing of the universality of salvation and we’ll see this build up throughout the rest of the book – all flesh will see the glory of the LORD. Not just the select priest once a year in the holy of holies in the Temple. But everyone.
Verse 11 presents a beautiful image of God. Where verse 4 portrayed a mighty bulldozer, this verse pictures a tender, caring God.
This reading calls us to have an advent imagination: an imagination that can see level paths where others see only mountains or deep valleys. An imagination that sees God coming into our broken world every moment of every day.
A shepherd guided his flock and protected them. This image would have been rich and comforting to the original audience but it might not work so well for us today. What image(s) work for you?
What valleys and mountains are you facing this Advent season?
2 Peter 3:8-14
This book is most likely the last New Testament book to be written and is dated anywhere from 120 to 140 AD. 3:15-16 alludes to a “collection” of Paul’s letters which would not have existed until much later than the historical Peter. Most scholars argue Paul’s letters began to be collected by the beginning of the 2nd century. This was an anonymous author writing in the tradition of Peter’s teachings and accepted by the church as being true to those teachings.
The book is meant for a wide audience, much like modern papal encyclicals. It takes the earlier messages and fleshes out how to live them in current times; what the gospel means for a new age.
The letter as a whole is a call to personal responsibility.
Around 53AD, Paul penned the first writing of the New Testament: the book of 1 Thessalonians. At that time, Paul was absolutely convinced that Christ’s return was imminent, and that comes through loud and clear in that letter. As time went on, people began to question how imminent the return would be. 2 Peter was written almost 70 years after Paul and about 100 years after Christ. It’s obvious from the tone of this passage that people had begun to openly doubt that Christ would return at all.
The author begins in verse 8 by reminding us that God’s sense of time is far different than our own. This verse echoes Psalm 90:4. It’s a constant message in scripture: God does not think or act like us. Another constant: even knowing that we always try to box God into human ways of thinking and acting!
In verse 9 the author tells them that the apparent delay of Christ to return has a reason: to give us ample opportunity to change our ways. And this is not only us as individuals, but the human race on a global scale.
Verse 9 shifts into apocalyptic language. This is the day of the Lord, the ultimate and final judgment. The author is not giving a play-by-play of the last day. Rather he is using imagery and metaphor to describe what can’t be put fully into language. This imagery could very well have come from the burning of Rome in 64AD. The great fire lasted about 10 days and burned 2/3 of Rome – no doubt that disaster, as well as the resulting persecution as Nero put the blame on Christians – all that could have felt like the end of the world.
Verse 11 restates the doctrine: everything in this world is passing away and Christ will return. It then goes on to adapt the message for a new age: how is this doctrine to be lived out today and now? How ought Christians to live in light of this teaching? It reminds us that doctrine and action are intricately linked. What we believe influences what we do.
Verse 12 implies that we might hasten the coming of that day by our actions. If we know that God is waiting for the human race to respond, then we might could hasten it by accepting the message and then spreading it more broadly.
Some Jewish thinkers proposed that the time of God’s coming was fixed. Others suggested that it might depend more on Israel’s repentance and obedience. This debate seems to have crept into Christian circles as well and the author of this letter seems to believe the latter – that by our conduct we can influence Christ’s coming to make it sooner (or later as the case may be).
Our belief about Christ’s ultimate return not only influences our moral behavior, it should also prompt evangelism on our part.
Did you operate today as though God is delaying his coming and there was no need for urgency?
In what concrete ways do your doctrines and beliefs influence your lifestyle?
How might you hasten the coming of the Lord? Remember that Advent is a multilayered season.
Mark 1:1-8
Verses 1-13 are a prologue not unlike John’s prologue. These verses give us information about Jesus that enables us to understand the significance of what follows. Who is Jesus and what does his ministry mean? There’s no confusion here about who Jesus is! Reread this regularly and keep it in mind as you move through Mark’s gospel this liturgical year – it’s the key to everything.
Mark 1:1 is not simply the beginning of a book. Mark intends that this is the beginning, the foundation of something new; a new message rooted in the old.
Sometimes Mark gets shortchanged as a story-teller because his gospel is so fast-paced; it’s seen as a “simple” story. The author is actually presenting a very highly crafted narrative. He sets things up here so that we (the reader) have an inside view and understanding while we watch the characters grappling with it. All the while, we should know what is going on! And verse 1 is the key to knowing what’s going on.
Verse 1 “the beginning” echoes Genesis, “ in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This suggests that this is a new beginning. The Greek word “beginning” can mean the start of something but it can also mean “rule” or “governing principle.” We could take Mark’s gospel as a rule or principle governing how we are to live as disciples, how to live out the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Some scholars see this as a subtitle for the work, in which case the whole book is the beginning. Most scholars see the beginning as John the Baptist. It can also be seen as the foundation or origin of the church’s proclamation of Jesus.
Right out of the gate, Mark calls Jesus “Son of God.” In ancient times, a “son” meant that they had characteristics of the father. Mark is making a subtle statement about Jesus’ divinity. This echos the centurion’s proclamation of Jesus’ identity in 15:39
When Mark initially used the word “gospel” (Greek euangelion), he meant the good news about Christ. Only later would this word be extended to indicate the literary genre about Christ. The word “gospel” perhaps carries a lot of baggage for us as Christians because we think we know it. “Good news” is a translation I prefer because we may have fewer assumptions about what that phrase means.
“Son of God” is missing in some important manuscripts but present in others. Theological considerations favor its inclusion. A textual factor also favoring it is the centurion’s confession of Jesus in 15:39, forming bookends with the term. I’m persuaded by the arguments that it was original to Mark’s gospel and dropped by a copyist somewhere along the way for some obscure reason.
Mark says he is quoting Isaiah in v2-3 but it’s actually a combination of quotes from Malachi 3:1, Exodus 23:20, and, of course, Isaiah 40 – our Old Testament reading today.
Think about the history of the Jewish Exodus, both from Egypt and Babylon; Both of those were a fulfillment of God’s promises. Mark is heralding a new Exodus, one greater than before but still the continuation of all God’s promises.
Verse 4 abruptly changes focus, from the new Exodus to this figure of John the Baptizer. He appears “proclaiming,” a word used of a herald. The context of this word would have implied something that required an immediate and definitive response.
John the Baptist was baptizing, which was a common Greek idea and even the Jews used ritual washings to symbolize interior purification and commitment. We have to be careful not to read anachronistically through our layers of baptism as initiation.
John is also preaching a message of “repentance,” the Greek word metanoia. This word suggests not just turning away from sin but actively turning towards something better; a complete change of heart and life. The gospel of Luke has a particular emphasis on metanoia but Matthew and Mark not so much. This is the only use of the word by Mark.
Verse 5 pictures huge numbers of people coming from all over to hear John and be baptized. The Jordan River had great significance to the Jews – it’s the river they crossed to take possession of the promised land after the Exodus. It was a barrier between the wilderness and the land of promise. So John is out in the wilderness, calling people to a new Exodus by once more crossing the Jordan. The wilderness is also significant because it was the in-between time of leaving slavery and full salvation in the Promised Land.
Verse 6 shows us a man with single-minded focus who doesn’t care much about what he wears or what he eats. In 2 Kings 1:8, the great prophet Elijah is described as being dressed very similarly. Jewish belief held that Elijah would precede the coming of the Messiah. Mark is firmly equating John with Elijah – the one who will precede the coming of the Lord. Remember that Mark quotes Malachi above and Malachi also firmly identifies Elijah as the forerunner to the Messiah.
All four gospels have the figure of John and all of them highlight that John is not the One; rather, John the Baptist is calling attention to the One who is mightier than himself.
Taking off the master’s sandals was a service customarily performed by the lowest slave. Feet in the Middle East are considered dirty and offensive in general. For the Jews of this time, even the lowest Hebrew slave would not be required to remove sandals – that job was held for the lowest of the Gentile slaves. For Mark, John the Baptist is only important insofar as his relationship to Jesus – Jesus is more and mightier than John.
In verse 8, John says he is baptizing with something as usual and ordinary as water. But the one who comes after him will baptize with the Spirit. Many of the Old Testament prophets refer to the outpouring of God’s spirit in the last days: Isaiah 32:15, 44:3, Ezekiel 39:29, and especially Joel 2:28-29.
At the beginning of his gospel, Mark is clear that he is not out to “prove” that Jesus is the Son of God. Instead, that is his beginning assumption and he will challenge his readers throughout to make their own decision on the matter based on the story of Jesus.
This Advent season, how can you concretely prepare a way for God in your own life? What disciplines and practices will help you do this?
Try using this passage with imaginative prayer. Can you imagine some strange guy out in the middle of nowhere – dressed weird and eating weird stuff? What draws people to him? What draws you to him? What do you make of his message? How will you respond to it?
Who is the Holy Spirit to you?
Where is “the beginning of the good news about Jesus” evident in the world today?
In what ways does John’s message comfort you? In what ways does it confront you?
Questions to ponder
A shepherd guided his flock and protected them. This image would have been rich and comforting to the original audience but it might not work so well for us today. What image(s) work for you?
What valleys and mountains are you facing this Advent season?
Did you operate today as though God is delaying his coming and there was no need for urgency?
In what concrete ways do your doctrines and beliefs influence your lifestyle?
How might you hasten the coming of the Lord? Remember that Advent is a multilayered season.
This Advent season, how can you concretely prepare a way for God in your own life? What disciplines and practices will help you do this?
Try using the Gospel passage with imaginative prayer. Can you imagine some strange guy out in the middle of nowhere – dressed weird and eating weird stuff? What draws people to him? What draws you to him? What do you make of his message? How will you respond to it?
Who is the Holy Spirit to you?
Where is “the beginning of the good news about Jesus” evident in the world today?
In what ways does John’s message comfort you? In what ways does it confront you?
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