The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Advent
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Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10
Chapter 35 is a reflection on deliverance from the enemy and what that will look like. It’s a beautiful picture full of unexpected images.
Last week the Isaiah reading was about a tree blooming from a bare stump. This week we see a desert blooming with beautiful flowers and even abundant water – life where we least expect it. There is also a reference to the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and the lame leaping – actions that seem impossible given the limitations.
Verse 10 is full of promise – the exiles return home to Zion, to God, with a joy that chases away the previous sorrow. This chapter is found in Book 2 of Isaiah – the Book of Consolation. The exiles are far from home. They have lost everything and there is no hope. But the prophet comes with a hopeful message. They were once forced across the barren desert as exiles. But someday, they will return to the homeland. They will cross that same desert, this time with great JOY.
Where is life blooming for you right now? What unexpected crevices are generating new life that wants to blossom and grow?
James 5:7-10
The reading reminds us of the necessity of being patient. If we want to see something bloom and grow, whether it be a desert, a garden, a person, or a promise, we must wait patiently.
Interpreting this reading through the lens of Gaudete Sunday, we might say that patient waiting can be joyful because of our hope and faith in the One for whom we wait.
How is God calling you to patient waiting in this season? How are you responding?
Matthew 11:2-11
John the Baptist calls us to recognize the One already among us.
The background of today’s story comes a few chapters later in Matthew 14. It’s always fascinated me that John the Baptist was a charismatic preacher with a fiery message but even so, he had to ask “Are you the one?” Imagine John’s situation: he had lived in the desert and spent his days preaching and teaching, in active ministry. Now he’s shut up in a prison and silenced. He predicted judgment and a Messiah, but all he gets are stories about Yeshua healing people. This is an identity crisis for John as he struggles with the message he’s been preaching. Doubt and despair come to even the most confident.
Jesus doesn’t give a direct answer it seems. But to Matthew’s Jewish audience, it would have been more clear. Jesus’s response evokes today’s Isaiah reading, which the audience would have known was a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus says: go tell John what you’ve seen and John knows the scriptures, so let him interpret those scriptures in light of what you’ve seen – in light of your own experience.
In verse 6 Jesus declares blessed those who do not take offense. He’s saying to John and the disciples, and to each of us: don’t let your expectations and assumptions keep you from seeing the truth or make you fall away from the faith. Remember your calling and your message!
Verses 7-11 reinforce John’s identity and, by extension, Jesus’ identity. John was a prophet calling the people to recognize their need for Christ. John may be confused about his identity and that’s okay. Because Jesus is most very certain about who John is: John is the forerunner, the precursor, the one to predict the Messiah. And Jesus’ deeds indicate that he is indeed that Messiah.
One question this reading asks of us today is how will we react when we find God at work in ways that we did not expect? Maybe in people or places that don’t seem to be where God should be working?
A great way to pray with today’s passage is this: place yourself with John in prison, questioning whether the Jesus he foretold is the one who is actually present. Bring the doubts and despair to that small cell and set them before Jesus. What does Jesus have to say to you about the situation?
Questions to ponder
For what or whom are you waiting?
How can you order your days this Advent season to stay awake, be prepared, and truly look for Christ’s coming?
Where is life blooming for you? What unexpected crevices are generating new life that wants to bloom and grow?
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