Sunday,
December 9, 2012
Second Sunday of Advent
Midweek Musings
Second Sunday of Advent
Midweek Musings
Reflection
by Karen Grover
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.".
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.".
|
Prayer of the Day (ELW)
|
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.
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.
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 (ELW)
|
Luke 1:68–79
|
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. R
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. R
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. R
|
Second Reading
|
Philippians 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.
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.'"
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.'"
Musings:
In Luke, John the Baptist tells us of the misery and oppression
that existed in the times before Christ's birth. There was death, destruction,
oppression and unbelievable brutality. Sound familiar?
Today there is horrendous brutality and mass killing in the Middle East; there is increasing poverty, as well as
oppression, all over the world and in our
own backyards. In these times of strife, the "crooked made
straight", the "mountain and hill made low", and "the
rough ways made smooth" seem to be so out of reach, just as they did
in John the Baptizer's time. He travelled the Roman
Empire on foot (no small accomplishment) spreading the
message of repentance and forgiveness, warning the people to shape up, as
God's coming, would bring His judgements, as well as His mercy.
He had a message of hope, something that drew the people to
him. They were ready to receive John's message to reform their
ways--to receive God's salvation. John the Baptizer paved the way
for Christ's coming.
As much as our world and local communities are in the same troubling
times that existed in the Roman Empire, we have so much to hope for--filled
valleys, low mountains, straight paths.......... We are blessed.
Yes, we experience troubling times, but John says that we "shall see the
salvation of God." That swaddled baby in the manger is
our salvation. We just need to patiently wait for Him and hold Him
in our hearts during these difficult times.
Let us Pray for:
·
an end to the bombing of the people in Egypt
·
peace on our streets
·
shelter and food for our homeless
·
quiet waiting for our Savior
Posts
