Musings for the Third Week in Advent

Sunday, December 13, 2009
Third Sunday of Advent

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
The presence of the Lord "in your midst" in the wonder of the holy supper is cause for singing. The nearness of the Lord in prayer, in every circumstance, is cause for rejoicing. The coming of one "more powerful" than John, even with his winnowing fork in his hand, is good news--and cause for exultation--for us who are being saved. Great joy is the tone for the third Sunday of Advent.

Lucy, martyr, died 304
Lucy was a young Christian of Sicily who was martyred during the persecutions under Emperor Diocletian. Her celebration became particularly important in Sweden and Norway, perhaps because the feast of Lucia (whose name means "light") originally fell on the shortest day of the year.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Stir up the wills of your faithful people, Lord God, and open our ears to the preaching of John, that, rejoicing in your salvation, we may bring forth the fruits of repentance; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading

Zephaniah 3:14–20

The prophet Zephaniah's message is mostly one of judgment for sin. This reading, however, which comes from the conclusion of the book, prophesies joy for Judah and Jerusalem. Judgment has led to repentance, and God's salvation is at hand.

¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
¹⁵The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
¹⁶On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
¹⁷The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
¹⁸as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
¹⁹I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
²⁰At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the LORD.

Psalm (ELW)

Isaiah 12:2–6

In your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isa. 12:6)

²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not ^| be afraid,

for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might,

and has become ^| my salvation.

³With joy you ^| will draw water

from the wells ^| of salvation.

⁴And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call ^| on God's name;

make known the deeds of the LORD among the nations;

proclaim that this name ^| is exalted.

⁵Sing praises to the LORD, who has done ^| gloriously;

let this be known in ^| all the earth.

⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy, O ^| royal Zion,

for great in your midst is the Holy ^| One of Israel.

Second Reading

Philippians 4:4–7

Despite being in prison, Paul is remarkably upbeat as he writes this letter. Here, he urges his friends in Philippi to trust God with all their worries and concerns, with the hope they will experience God's joy and peace.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Gospel

Luke 3:7–18

John the Baptist heralds the mighty one "who is coming." John teaches that preparation for God's reign is not a matter of identity but of bearing fruits of merciful justice, radical generosity, and vocational integrity.

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" ¹¹In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" ¹³He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." ¹⁵As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
¹⁸So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

Reflection

The third Sunday of Advent is/was known as Gaudete Sunday because in Latin, the first words of the opening antiphon for that day’s Mass were "Gaudete in Domino semper" "Rejoice in the Lord always". Those words, from Philippians 4:4 set the tone for the day as they are added to the other readings.

Zephania exhorts the people of Israel to ‘exult with all your heart’ for God has removed judgments from them.

The psalmist calls all within earshot to ‘sing praises to the Lord who has done gloriously.’

The second lesson (see above)

And even in the Gospel, after his seeming browbeating of those within earshot and a massive call to repentance, Luke ends this section with these words: ‘So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.’

With the above references in mind it’s easy to see why, even though John’s exhortation may sound contrary to the fact, this is known as Rejoice Sunday. His words are filled with hope and promise as he tells the people that one who is mightier than he is on the way. In fact, he’s so powerful John is not worthy to untie his sandals.

So frequently we hear John’s admonition in tones that are negative and off-putting yet when we dig deeper we discover great depth and power in what he has to say. No matter how bad it might be or be getting, no matter what we have done or left undone, the One who is coming brings forgiveness and cleansing and healing.

Our understanding of that is part of the preparation for Advent. Clean out the clutter. Rejoice in the Lord. Celebrate!

Jesus is coming. Rejoice and give thanks.

Let us pray

• For wisdom for the leaders of this nation, that they might find a way toward civil discourse and honest evaluation of the realities in and with which we live.
• That those who seek companionship during this holiday season may discover the desire of their hearts
• For those who mourn the loss of loved ones as they enter these days
• For warmth for those who have no coats
• That we might hear the Christmas story once again with new ears and see it with new eyes

Quote

Advent Optimism

It is important to remember the deep, in some ways anguished seriousness of Advent, when the mendacious celebrations of our marketing culture so easily harmonize with our tendency to regard Christmas, consciously or otherwise, as a return to our own innocence and our own infancy....

But the Church, in preparing us for the birth of a “great prophet,” a Savior and a King of Peace, has more in mind than seasonal cheer. The Advent mystery focuses the light of faith upon the very meaning of life, of history, of [humanity], of the world and of our own being. In Advent we celebrate the coming and indeed the presence of Christ in our world. ~Thomas Merton

Musings for the Second Week in Advent

Sunday, December 6, 2009
Second Sunday of Advent

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Ann Patterson

INTRODUCTION
Forerunners and messengers advance the advent of our God. While John the Baptizer's voice in the wilderness may be the principal focus of the day, Malachi's prophesy could as easily herald the coming Lord Jesus as forerunner of the Lord of hosts. Finally all the baptized are called to participate in the sharing of the gospel. In so doing we prepare the way for the coming of the Lord and assist all flesh in capturing a vision of the "salvation of God."

Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, died around 342
Little is known about Nicholas, except that he was a bishop in present-day Turkey. According to legend, he was famous for his giving to the poor, and so has become a symbol of anonymous gift-giving.

Prayer of the Day

Stir up our hearts, Lord God, to prepare the way of your only Son. By his coming give to all the people of the world knowledge of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading Malachi 3:1-4

The Lord announces a covenant with Israel. A messenger like Malachi (his name means "my messenger") shall prepare the way for the coming of the Lord by purifying and refining God's people, as silver and gold are refined.

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the LORD whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Psalm Luke 1:69-79

In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us. (Luke 1:78)

⁶⁸Blessed are you, Lord, the ^| God of Israel,

you have come to your people and ^| set them free.

⁶⁹You have raised up for us a ^| mighty Savior,

born of the house of your ^| servant David.

⁷⁰Through your holy prophets, you promised of old to save us ^| from our enemies,

⁷¹from the hands of ^| all who hate us,

⁷²to show mercy ^| to our forebears,

and to remember your ^| holy covenant.

⁷³This was the oath you swore to our ^| father Abraham:

⁷⁴to set us free from the hands of our ^| enemies,

free to worship you ^| without fear,

⁷⁵holy and righteous before you, all the days ^| of our life.

⁷⁶And you, child, shall be called the prophet of ^| the Most High,

for you will go before the Lord to pre- ^| pare the way,

⁷⁷to give God's people knowledge ^| of salvation

by the forgiveness ^| of their sins.

⁷⁸In the tender compassion ^| of our God

the dawn from on high shall ^| break upon us,

⁷⁹to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shad- ^| ow of death,

and to guide our feet into the ^| way of peace.

Second Reading Phillippians 1:3-11

The apostle Paul was the pastor of many new churches. He writes in this letter about his joy to be in partnership with the Christians of Philippi. Listen to how tender-hearted Paul, sometimes a stern preacher, is with his friends as he encourages them to grow in love and knowledge.

³I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Gospel Luke 3:1-6

John the Baptist is a herald of the saving Lord, whose way is prepared by "repentance for the forgiveness of sins." As we hear the careful record of human leaders, we sense the spectrum of political and religious authority that will be challenged by this coming Lord.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
⁵Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

REFLECTION

The lessons from Malachi and Luke are both about preparation. Malachi says that God’s messenger will prepare the way of the lord by purifying with a metal refiner’s fire. Luke’s approach is more about forgiveness and repentance. John the Baptist proclaims that all will see the “salvation of God” as the crooked are made straight and rough ways are made smooth. In calling the people to a new beginning, both messengers speak of a moment when God will transform human history.

Like the people to whom Malachi and John the Baptist preached, we have an opportunity to make a new start. We long for Christ’s coming and can indeed enjoy his presence anew in our lives. By surrendering to this new beginning, we make Advent about the revelation of God in Christ, the reconciliation of creation, and the spirit of compassion. Let us put the to-do list aside at least once every day of this blessed season and remember that Christ has come and is coming once more to each of our lives.

PRAYERS

Let us give thanks for a season in which to start over again and pray

for those who have been blown off course by life’s storms

for those who are trying to change course through repentance and forgiveness

for those who are burdened by poverty, sickness, or grief

Quotation

"The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us—as one of us—give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.” -Life Is an Advent Season, Connections, 11-28-93