The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Advent
Today we make a chronological move backwards but a theological move forward. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as God incarnate and Mary is the agent of that incarnation, bringing to fulfillment in history what John the Baptist had predicted.
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16
The books of Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings form one continuous work of history. These books take us from entering the Promised Land through the Babylonian exile. They are not so much history as a theological reflection on the past by a people trying to understand how they got where they are – from the land of milk and honey to exile.
One theme that runs throughout all these books is that of the search for an adequate successor. In the Old Testament this was sought in judges and prophets and kings. Today’s story will show the fulfillment of that search.
In the reading today, there is a play on words. The Hebrew word bayith is used throughout the passage and it means primarily a dwelling place or temple (the house David wants to build). God plays on this word and uses it to refer to the Davidic dynasty from which the Messiah will come (the house God will build).
This passage presents an interesting example of why Paul said last week that we have to test what a prophet says: sometimes the prophet speaks out of line with God’s vision. Notice in v3 Nathan says simply “just go ahead and do it” but in v5 he’s instructed to use the formula “thus says the LORD.” We see a clear distinction between what the prophet as a human being says and what God says through the prophet.
Why won’t God let David build the temple? Part of it probably was David’s sin with Bathsheba. But Solomon was no less a sinner. I think part of it traces back to the previous chapter – the ark had been captured by the Philistines. When David became king and settled in Jerusalem, he tried to move the ark there. It was a process fraught with danger and misunderstanding. Out of fear, David ends up leaving the ark in the house of Obed-Edom, a foreigner. But then David hears that this foreigner is enjoying God’s great blessings (see 6:12). I think David took his eyes off the real source of blessing; he wanted to capture the ark and use it for his own purposes. God sets this notion to right in v8-11; God reminds David where he came from. Still…. We do have to give David credit for something: he recognized that the progress he’s made politically and socially has not carried over into the people’s religious life.
Then again, maybe God doesn’t want a temple because God prefers the simplicity of a tent. A tent can be in the midst, something special but ordinary. Maybe God doesn’t want to dwell in a building set apart for once a week worship. Maybe God would rather pitch a tent in our living rooms and participate in our comings and goings.
Are you more grateful for the gifts and blessings God gives or for God’s self? Do you desire the blessings more than you desire God?
Romans 16:25-27
Most scholars see this reading as a doxology added later, once Paul’s letters were collected. It has a very liturgical feel that the rest of Paul’s writing does not really have. These verses can be seen as a very succinct summary of Paul’s entire gospel.
In verse 25 Paul uses the word mystery. He talks about the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested. In common use of the word, we define a mystery as something that’s difficult or impossible to understand. Theologically, a mystery is something regarded as beyond human understanding, something that can be understood only in light of something else, a key if you will. A mystery must revealed to us.
Throughout the Old Testament there is an undercurrent of mystery, something that wasn’t fully understood. But then Christ came and he was the key to the mystery. In Christ, we are able to understand the workings of God throughout salvation history. So when Paul proclaimed Jesus Christ, he was revealing or making known the mystery there in the prophetic writings that pointed to the Messiah, to Christ.
How does Christ help you understand some of the mysteries of the Old Testament?
How does Christ help you understand some of the mysteries of your own life experience?
Luke 1:26-38
For the time in which Luke was writing his gospel, it was very common for people to write biographies about famous or extraordinary people. Luke conforms to this genre really well. One of the key features of the genre is that they would always start with miraculous events accompanying the account of the famous person’s birth. You’ll see throughout Luke’s account many miraculous signs that tell us this child is important and extraordinary.
Another common feature of these accounts was that, quite often, the father of the child is said to be divine, to be one of the gods. Matthew records the virgin birth as well, so I’m not saying that Luke is making this up. But he does very skillfully incorporate this part into his following of the genre.
Luke is all about turning things on their head: “the great reversal.” The account of John the Baptist’s conception and birth comes through a revered religious figure – the priest Zechariah. Jesus, the Messiah, comes through an insignificant young woman in a backwater town. In John’s gospel, when Nathanael hears about Jesus, he says dismissively, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?!”
Luke’s account of the events surrounding the nativity are all intertwined with John the Baptist. John is seen as a great figure but always, Jesus is greater. John may come from a priestly family but Jesus, the angel tells Mary, will be the Messiah. He’ll be that one promised to David back in the Samuel reading, the one through whom the house or the dynasty will continue forever.
Today’s reading follows on the heels of John’s conception story. V24 says “his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.” So the 6th month referred to in today’s reading is the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist.
Verse 27 speaks of betrothal, which was as binding as marriage, but also a time during which the couple would not be alone together. Partly this was time to work out the details of the dowry and marriage contract. But also it gave the groom time to make sure the bride wasn’t pregnant, the very situation Mary is about to find herself in.
Gabriel greets Mary by saying in verse 28 “hail favored one.” This is a little difficult to translate, partly because it’s a play on words. Hail is the Greek work chaíre and a better translation would be “Greetings!” Or “Rejoice!” “Favored one” is a form of the word charis, grace – highly graced, full of grace, full of God’s favor. Incidentally, this greeting would apply to any one of us. We are all full of God’s favor and grace.
Mary is greatly perplexed by all of this: the presence of an angel as well as the greeting. But the angel assures her that all is well. And then in verses 31-33 the angel (messenger) proceeds to deliver some news. Verse 33 is a direct reference back to the 2 Samuel reading: God promises to establish David’s house or dynasty forever.
So imagine this scene:
There’s an angel standing in front of you.
And he tells you that you’re going to have a child.
And then he makes all these wild claims about who this child will be.
There’s so much to digest, it’s like Mary just got stuck at the beginning and didn’t hear anything else: You will conceive in your womb….. She says how can this be? In the normal course of events, a young woman would be married and expect to have children. But for some reason, the idea of having a child presented a problem for Mary.
The angel’s response is that Mary won’t conceive by any natural method. This is going to be something directly from God. The angel then clarifies how all this will come about – God will overshadow her. This word “overshadow” can be found all over the Old Testament but two places in particular are Exodus 40:35 and Psalm 91:4. In the New Testament, this is the same word we find in the transfiguration accounts. It’s also used in Acts 1:8.
So there’s lots of scriptural evidence that God’s presence is to be found in “overshadowing” or covering.
The angel also tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth – the barren one – is expecting. Mary is expected to make a connection there: if a barren woman can be expecting a child, then God can surely take care of the hurdle of a virgin expecting one. Right?
Verse 38 is what we call Mary’s Fiat or acceptance. I don’t want to downgrade Mary’s part in accepting all this but if you read both Matthew and Luke, they make it obvious that Mary was often puzzled by her son, that she didn’t really understand what all this was about. Her “yes” was not a full assessment of everything that would happen and accepting that. Her “yes” was something more basic.
Calling oneself a servant or handmaid was a way to express compliance or gratitude. It was more like “as you wish” – “I give up and I’m not gonna argue.”
To hold Mary up as someone who considered everything and understood it all and gave a great YES based on her “getting it”… I think this is to approach the story and the woman a bit too simplistically. Mary’s cooperation is important but the fiat is not the summit of the story!
The summit is the incarnation – God dwelling with us. Where will God dwell? With each one of us.
Mary is special and highly regarded in the Catholic tradition. I don’t want to imply here that this is a bad thing. But I want to be sure we understand that this story is much more universal than is usually preached.
God is always sending messengers to us, to remind each one of us of our status as beloved beings. And God is always seeking to be birthed into the world through each one of us. God is always asking our cooperation, our fiat, our agreement to partner with God, to bring God into the world.
I’m going to guess that you’ve never given much thought to the timing of this story. Even now, if you do, I’d bet you picture this story as happening in one continuous time period. How long did it last, this vision of the angel, do you think? Could it be that maybe this story stretches out longer than we first imagined? What if Mary carried the vision of the angel around with her for days? Weeks? Months? What if it took her that long to contemplate what the angel was saying and asking of her? Does this change the story for you?
Have there been any divine messengers recently reminding you of God’s love for you? Reminding you that you are graced and favored?
How is God asking you to partner with God to bring Christ into the world in this time and place?
Questions to ponder
Are you more grateful for the gifts and blessings God gives or for God’s self? Do you desire the blessings more than you desire God?
How does Christ help you understand some of the mysteries of the Old Testament?
How does Christ help you understand some of the mysteries of your own life experience?
What if Mary carried the vision of the angel around with her for days? Weeks? Months? What if it took her that long to contemplate what the angel was saying and asking of her? Does this change the story for you?
Have there been any divine messengers recently reminding you of God’s love for you? Reminding you that you are graced and favored?
How is God asking you to partner with God to bring Christ into the world in this time and place?
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