December 6 -- Prophetic Words

This week's lectionary texts: Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:68-79, Philippians 1:3-11, and Luke 3:1-6.

In the New Testament, Christians are told that they have all been blessed with particular spiritual gifts by God. These gifts include the ability to teach, to lead, to be compassionate, to minister, and to be wise. While Christian denominations disagree about whether or not some of these gifts are still granted to followers of Christ -- speaking in tongues, for example -- most of us could name people we believe have been granted gifts like compassion or leadership.

But prophecy, listed as another gift of God in Romans 12:6 and 1 Corinthians 12:10, is probably not given much thought by contemporary Christians. Fortune cookies or magazine horoscopes may be as close as we get to anything resembling prophetic wisdom. But such things are just pale shadows of the powerful prophecies we find in this week's lectionary readings.

The prophetic book of Malachi, likely written in the 5th century BCE, offers us a glimpse of God's coming messenger:

"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." (Malachi 3:1)

But Malachi warns that the coming of this messenger -- who can be interpreted as Christ -- will not be an easy one. "Who can endure the day of his coming," asks the prophet, "And who can stand when he appears?" (Malachi 3:2).

Indeed, explains Malachi, this messenger is coming for the purpose of redemption: "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he 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" (Malachi 3:2-3).

This emphasis on purity is echoed in Philippians, as Paul urges the Philippian church to stay strong and continue to share the gospel. Paul's opening words to the congregation are beautiful and tender; "I thank my God every time I remember you," he writes, expressing his gratitude that the men and women there "hold [him] in [their] heart" (Philippians 1:3, 7).

Having praised their good works, he adds, "And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).

With this single sentence, Paul redirects the Philippians' attention to the prophesied second coming of Christ, urges them towards righteousness, and reminds them that the proper response to the life of Christ is love and an effort to grow in wisdom.

Finally, our two readings from Luke give us two additional prophecies about Jesus. John the Baptist, referencing Isaiah, proclaims, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight...All flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:4, 6).

And Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, becomes filled with the Holy Spirit, and announces,

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel...He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old...And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins" (Luke 1:68-69, 76-77).

Zechariah's impassioned prophecy ends by expounding upon the righteous deeds that will be done by this messiah: "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79).

This last line of Zechariah's prophecy, I would argue, is what this week's texts are all pointing towards: the prophesied arrival of Jesus, God and man, who is coming to redeem and purify, liberate and save, and be in loving relationship with every single person.

Christ's coming is not gentle or safe -- it upturns the status quo. His arrival means that the weak need no longer fear the strong, the oppressed remain bound, or sinners feel crushed by their sins. The prophecies we read about him in this week's texts underscore his radical love and righteousness.

Prophecy is not often discussed in many of our churches, but this week's powerful passages are an excellent reminder that the Bible is filled with life-giving and earth-shaking prophecies about the Messiah -- and perhaps a call for us to stop and listen for the messages that God may be giving us today.

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November 29 -- Holy Waiting

This week's lectionary texts: Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, and Luke 21:25-36.



I've always had something of a sweet tooth. So two days after Halloween, I stopped by my local CVS to see if I could pick up some discounted treats, but I was far too late: the shelves were already stocked with piles of red, green, and white candy.

From store displays to advertisements, one could easily get the sense that Christmas is right around the corner, even though we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet! There often seems to be a crazy rush to plan holiday parties, bake piles of cookies, and buy, buy, buy. We take it for granted that the weeks leading up to Christmas are supposed to be frantic and breathless.

But the season of Advent -- which begins the new liturgical year -- offers us a different model. Advent is a time of waiting, of expectation, of hope, a period in which we are encouraged to withdraw from frenzied consumerism and overcommitments and remember just what it is we are really preparing for: the birth of Christ.

The lectionary readings for this week, which marks the first Sunday of Advent, help to center us in a new mindset, one that forces us to slow down and remember what God has done and will do. Jeremiah writes, in words that can be interpreted to foretell the coming of Christ,

"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which is will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.'" (Jeremiah 33:14-16)

The words of the prophet encourage us that our waiting is not in vain; the Messiah whose birth we await is a righteous God.

The psalmist, too, speaks of the importance of waiting, beseeching God, "Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long" (Psalm 25:4-5). Here, drawing inspiration from the psalmist, we can use this time of holy waiting to deepen our walk with God, to seek new insights through prayer and the reading of scripture, and to love God by serving others. These weeks of waiting are a gift: a dedicated period in which to strengthen our relationship with God as we wait for the birth of God's son.

But somewhat disconcerting is this week's passage from Luke, in which Jesus foretells the coming of the Son of Man, when "people will faint from fear and foreboding of what it coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:26). Jesus exhorts his disciples, "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly...Be alert at all times" (Luke 21:34, 36).

If Advent is a time of waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus, this emphasis on Jesus's second coming might seem out of place. But being reminded that Jesus has said that he will come again helps us to remember that God continually calls us to faithful waiting, whether we anticipate a newborn savior or a mighty king -- and God keeps God's promises.

Jesus himself urges us to cast aside our worries and bad habits, and refocus our attention on living our lives in service and love. We don't know exactly what is coming: God has a way of overturning out expectations. Who, after all, would have predicted that the creator of the universe would come to earth as a helpless baby? But as we begin the season of Advent, these passages urge us to extricate ourselves from the hubbub of pre-Christmas busyness, and, in a spirit of peace, pause to ponder the mysteries, promises, and majesty of God.

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November 25 -- Christ the King

This week's lectionary texts: 2 Samuel 23:1-7 or Daniel 7:9-10 and 13-14, Psalm 132 or Psalm 93, Revelation 1:4b-8, and John 18:33-37.



When I was a child, I attended a school called Christ the King. Despite my grade school's name, however, I can't remember spending much time in religion class talking about Christ's royal attributes; much more emphasis was placed on the idea that Jesus was our friend, or our brother, or our shepherd.

But this week's lectionary passages draw our attention to the numerous places in the scriptures where Christ or God are described in regal, noble, majestic language.

Psalm 93 emphasizes God's ancient and unsurpassable power:

"The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting." (Psalm 93:1-2)

The prophetic book of Daniel offers a startling vision of a new ruler:

"As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne, his clothing was white as snow, and the ahir of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire." (Daniel 7:9)

The vision continues, with Daniel reporting the resplendent arrival of an ostensibly human figure:

"I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)

The author of Revelation, writing at least 250 years after the composition of the book of Daniel, makes reference to the prophet's words when expounding upon the glory of Jesus Christ, who he calls "the ruler of the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5):

"To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail." (Revelation 1:5-7)

And 2 Samuel, purporting to relate the final words of King David, offers a brief reflection on the ways in which rulers can learn from God, the ruler of all:

"The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land." (2 Samuel 23:3-4)

There is clearly something to be said for describing God and Christ as kings or rulers. Such images convey the enormity of the power of the divine; they also emphasize God's ability to protect God's people, or to bring about justice and righteousness. When we see God or Jesus portrayed as a king, we are reminded of the fact that we do not rule the world, and we cannot always get our own way.

At the same time, descriptors like "king" can be problematic. We risk transforming God into a distant ruler, mighty but detached, unconcerned with human affairs. Or we may come to associate God with the world's fallible human leaders, which can be particularly destructive for those men and women who have lived under oppressive regimes. Moreover, calling God a king can serve to reify the traditional view of the divine as exclusively male.

So it's interesting to read in this week's passage from John the unique response given by Jesus to the accusation that he considers himself the King of the Jews:

"My kingdom is not from this world," he tells Pilate. "So you are a king?" Pilate presses. But Jesus only replies, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:36-37)

It almost seems as though Jesus himself is a bit uncomfortable with the notion that he is a king -- and he certainly does not consider himself a king in the same way as earthly kings. For Jesus, relationships and restoration were more important than titles and honors.

Ultimately, then, images of God and Christ as king can draw our attention to the majesty and glory of the divine, but we must take care to balance them with the other powerful images we draw from scripture: companion, redeemer, brother, and friend.


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November 15 -- The End?

This week's lectionary texts: 1 Samuel 1:4-20 or Daniel 12:1-3, 1 Samuel 2:1-10 or Psalm 16, Hebrews 10:11-25, and Mark 13:1-8.

Chances are that if you've been watching the news or keeping an eye on pop culture over the last few months, you've seen references to the year 2012 (or the forthcoming movie named for that year). A number of doomsday scenarios have sprung up around the (only partially true) notion that one of the calendars of the ancient Mayans ended in December 2012. Others have suggested that 2012 might see the earth swallowed by a black hole, or set on a collision course with another planet.

Such scenarios they are almost certainly the products of overactive imaginations; you'd be lucky to find a scientist -- or a contemporary Mayan -- who seriously believed that the world would end in 2012.

But humans seem to have always been intrigued by the notion of the end of the world. Christianity -- as well as Judaism and Islam -- carries with it the notion of the end of time. Theologians and authors disagree about the nuances of eschatology -- what exactly does it mean to say that Jesus will come again, or that there will be a final judgment?

This week's lectionary texts intriguingly explore these ideas without giving us any definitive answers. The picture they paint is mysterious and powerful, even frightening, as we read in Daniel:

"There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:1-3)

Meanwhile, in Mark, we hear of Jesus's disciples questioning him about his prediction of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, once Judaism's most sacred place. First warning his friends against being lead astray by imposters, Jesus adds,

"When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed: this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs." (Mark 13:7-8)

Indeed, references to earth-shaking events can be found throughout the Bible, including some unlikely places. Even Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, expounds on the final judgment in her song of thanksgiving for the birth of her son:

"The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered; the Most High will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his annointed." (1 Samuel 2:9-10)

The picture being sketched is one of great unrest. And so it's no wonder that there have been people in virtually every century who have believed that the end of the world is around the corner -- every generation has its own troubles and potential signs that the end is near.

But while speculating on the end of time can be a fascinating exercise -- indeed, the movie 2012 seems destined to be a hit -- in many ways it seems fruitless to try to definitively determine on what is meant by ideas like the last judgment or the coming of the kingdom of God, or when such events might occur. Paul, after all, seems to have believed that Jesus would return in his own lifetime. And as Jesus says in Matthew, "But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36).

Perhaps instead of spending our time worrying about whether or not the world will end in 2012 (for the record, I'm not holding my breath), we ought to turn to this week's passage from Hebrews, which focuses our attention on more worthwhile pursuits:

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

For more information about 2012, see NASA's recent awareness campaign here.

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November 8 -- Attitudes of Abundance

This week's lectionary texts: Ruth 3:1-5 and 4:13-17 or 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 127 or Psalm 146, Hebrews 9:24-28, and Mark 12:38-44.



The economic turmoil of the last couple of years has left virtually no person untouched. Women and men have lost their jobs and their homes; families have depleted their savings; poverty has affected an ever-increasing number of lives. Even those not directly harmed by this economic crisis are facing cutbacks and cost-cutting measures. We're all learning that material wealth and prosperity are not things that we can always count on.

This week's passages, therefore, offer an interesting perspective on what it really means to be well-off. We are urged by these texts to cultivate an attitude of abundance, remembering that God's ideas about prosperity may be quite different from our own.

In the reading from First Kings, we hear the story of the widow of Zarephath. The prophet Elijah enters this woman's town, having been told by God that the widow would feed him. But when Elijah approaches her, she is understandably confused:

"As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." (1 Kings 17:12)

Like many widows of her time, this woman had virtually nothing -- indeed, she seems resigned to a terrible fate for herself and her child, and can't imagine how Elijah could have asked her for something to eat.

But Elijah explains, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth." (1 Kings 17:13-14)

And indeed, as the story goes, Elijah was right: "She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah." (1 Kings 17:15-16)

Many will recognize the similarities between this story and the stories found in the Gospels of the ways in which loaves and fishes were multiplied to provide food for thousands. In both, the aid of God multiplied resources far beyond what anyone had believed possible.

In Mark, we hear the story of another widow: this time, a woman who deposits two small coins into the treasury at the temple. Though her offering couldn't have looked like much to outside observers, Jesus reminds his disciples that "this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on" (Mark 12:43-44).

Most of us are not in a position to give away all we have to the church or our neighbors. And there is no doubt that countless people -- both in our own country and around the world -- are struggling to even get to the next day, as was the widow of Zaraphath.

But what this week's passages remind us is that even in the midst of economic strife, we can rethink our ideas about prosperity and abundance. The old cliche is true: every little bit helps. We may not be able to give our next-door neighbor a new job, but we can invite him over for dinner. We might not be able to donate our income to our church, but we can volunteer to teach Sunday school or greet newcomers.

Even when things are hard -- and it's no denying that this is a challenging time -- God calls us to think about how we can cultivate an attitude of abundance that will be a blessing to our families and neighbors. Psalm 146 tells us that "the Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow" (Psalm 146:9). God has not forgotten about us -- and God has called us to share our prosperity, whether our possessions, our time, or our talents, with those in need.


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