ADVENT 2
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
This psalm is a prayer to God in behalf of an Israelite king and even more in behalf of the people of an Israelite kingdom. The psalm requests for king and people an ideal situation, one that has never been realized. The situation requested is one that would make even Amos, the great prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel, pleased. No king of Israel or of anywhere else has ruled so well.
It is precisely because the situation depicted in Psalm 72 is so ideal that we as Christians have seen in this Psalm a depiction of the kingdom portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels, a description of Jesus and of the kingdom of God. However, Jesus and the kingdom of God portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels were not like the king and kingdom longed for in Psalm 72, unless we discard the portions of the psalm that do not apply to Jesus and emphasize the portions that do.
If we sing or say Psalm 72 on Advent 2, we should provide along with it considerable explanation about its setting in ancient Israel and about Christian reinterpretation of it to apply portions of it to Jesus and to the kingdom of God in the Christian sense. An alternative to singing or saying most or all of the psalm would be to sing or say verses 18-19 only. These two verses are a baracha that concludes Book II (Psalms 42-72) of the Psalter. Actually, these two verses form a needed counterpart to verses 1-17 of the psalm to announce that it is Yahweh, God of Israel, who alone does wonderful things. If we use verses 18-19 in a Christian worship service, we can adapt the verses slightly to read, "Blessed be the Lord God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all things, who alone does wonders. Blessed be the name of the Lord God for ever. May the glory of the Lord God fill the universe. So be it. Amen."
Isaiah 11:1-10
In this text the Isaiah tradition reaches back to the "ideal" conditions that were thought to have prevailed in the Garden of Eden as the model for the future. The result is a beautiful expression of hope for the messianic age of righteousness, justice, and peace. Here in Isaiah 11 we have a prime example of how the Israelite hope for a truly great king in the line of David, the messianic hope of the Israelite Scriptures, developed. We as Christians have, of course, since the first century seen in Jesus our Savior a fulfillment of this hope, even though we must be aware that by no means all aspects of this great messianic hope have been actualized as a result of first century events and of subsequent events in church history. Therefore, Christians and Jews together could and should proclaim this text as a witness of their shared hope for salvation and for shalom to be realized in the future. We as Christians can visualize this future hope primarily in terms of Jesus and his coming, and Jews can visualize it primarily in terms of the coming of God as God has come in the past, but both groups can look forward to some new action of God greater then anything that we have ever experienced. Christians and Jews should read, study, and relate to God together, sharing the Israelite Scriptures, which are canonical for both groups. The Advent season is the most natural time for such study and this Isaiah 11:1-10 text is an excellent starting point.
Common, Lutheran: Romans 15:4-13
Roman Catholic: Romans 15:4-9
As in the Romans 13:11-14 text for Advent 1, here also in Romans 15 Paul wrote about his wish that followers of Jesus from a Jewish background and followers of Jesus from other backgrounds in the Hellenistic world would live together in harmony in order that with one voice they would glorify "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." With this understanding of Paul's purpose in Romans, Paul is not seen as the one who more than any other person changed Jewish Christianity into Hellenistic Christianity, but as a person who was vitally concerned about harmony between Jewish background followers of Jesus and non-Jewish background followers of Jesus. When Paul is seen in this way, perhaps not only the Jesus of history but also Paul can become a focal point for improved understanding among Jews and Christians. With Paul's emphasis on the Spirit of God rather than on a legalistic literalism with regard to the Scriptures ("The letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive" 2 Corinthians 3:6; see also Romans 7:6) Paul supports fellowship and unity, rather than broken or protested fellowship and disunity, also among Christians.
Matthew 3:1-12
Comparison of the Synoptic texts of this pericope indicates that the Matthean redactors did considerable rearranging of Mark 1:2-6 in forming Matthew 3:1-6. They also dropped the Malachi 3:1 portion of Mark's quotation from Isaiah. In the use of "Q" materials or other composition in Matthew 3:7-10 (Luke 3:7-9), the Matthean text characteristically specified the Pharisees and, in this instance, also the Sadducees for vilification where Luke has simply the multitudes. It is unfortunate that both Matthew and Luke used the vulgar epithet, "You offspring of snakes!" This expression would in our English idiom be "You sons-of-bitches!" The word of John the Baptizer and the Word of God in Scripture would speak with greater authority without this epithet.
The message of Matthew 3:1-12 for Jews, for Christians, and for all people is "Change!" "Change your minds, your attitudes, your actions, your lifestyle!" "Prepare the way for the Lord!" Perhaps we become overly complacent as we hear this text, thinking that somehow this message is not for us but for others, for Pharisees and for Sadducees, so that we do not have to deal with it ourselves. However, this message is for us, for us who are pastors and teachers. We are expected, commanded to change and to prepare the way of the Lord. Then it is for all people, for Jews, for Christians, and for all others as well. This text, particularly in relation to the other texts appointed for this occasion, has its message directed straight at us. Let us proclaim this message boldly this Advent season.
It is precisely because the situation depicted in Psalm 72 is so ideal that we as Christians have seen in this Psalm a depiction of the kingdom portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels, a description of Jesus and of the kingdom of God. However, Jesus and the kingdom of God portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels were not like the king and kingdom longed for in Psalm 72, unless we discard the portions of the psalm that do not apply to Jesus and emphasize the portions that do.
If we sing or say Psalm 72 on Advent 2, we should provide along with it considerable explanation about its setting in ancient Israel and about Christian reinterpretation of it to apply portions of it to Jesus and to the kingdom of God in the Christian sense. An alternative to singing or saying most or all of the psalm would be to sing or say verses 18-19 only. These two verses are a baracha that concludes Book II (Psalms 42-72) of the Psalter. Actually, these two verses form a needed counterpart to verses 1-17 of the psalm to announce that it is Yahweh, God of Israel, who alone does wonderful things. If we use verses 18-19 in a Christian worship service, we can adapt the verses slightly to read, "Blessed be the Lord God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all things, who alone does wonders. Blessed be the name of the Lord God for ever. May the glory of the Lord God fill the universe. So be it. Amen."
Isaiah 11:1-10
In this text the Isaiah tradition reaches back to the "ideal" conditions that were thought to have prevailed in the Garden of Eden as the model for the future. The result is a beautiful expression of hope for the messianic age of righteousness, justice, and peace. Here in Isaiah 11 we have a prime example of how the Israelite hope for a truly great king in the line of David, the messianic hope of the Israelite Scriptures, developed. We as Christians have, of course, since the first century seen in Jesus our Savior a fulfillment of this hope, even though we must be aware that by no means all aspects of this great messianic hope have been actualized as a result of first century events and of subsequent events in church history. Therefore, Christians and Jews together could and should proclaim this text as a witness of their shared hope for salvation and for shalom to be realized in the future. We as Christians can visualize this future hope primarily in terms of Jesus and his coming, and Jews can visualize it primarily in terms of the coming of God as God has come in the past, but both groups can look forward to some new action of God greater then anything that we have ever experienced. Christians and Jews should read, study, and relate to God together, sharing the Israelite Scriptures, which are canonical for both groups. The Advent season is the most natural time for such study and this Isaiah 11:1-10 text is an excellent starting point.
Common, Lutheran: Romans 15:4-13
Roman Catholic: Romans 15:4-9
As in the Romans 13:11-14 text for Advent 1, here also in Romans 15 Paul wrote about his wish that followers of Jesus from a Jewish background and followers of Jesus from other backgrounds in the Hellenistic world would live together in harmony in order that with one voice they would glorify "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." With this understanding of Paul's purpose in Romans, Paul is not seen as the one who more than any other person changed Jewish Christianity into Hellenistic Christianity, but as a person who was vitally concerned about harmony between Jewish background followers of Jesus and non-Jewish background followers of Jesus. When Paul is seen in this way, perhaps not only the Jesus of history but also Paul can become a focal point for improved understanding among Jews and Christians. With Paul's emphasis on the Spirit of God rather than on a legalistic literalism with regard to the Scriptures ("The letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive" 2 Corinthians 3:6; see also Romans 7:6) Paul supports fellowship and unity, rather than broken or protested fellowship and disunity, also among Christians.
Matthew 3:1-12
Comparison of the Synoptic texts of this pericope indicates that the Matthean redactors did considerable rearranging of Mark 1:2-6 in forming Matthew 3:1-6. They also dropped the Malachi 3:1 portion of Mark's quotation from Isaiah. In the use of "Q" materials or other composition in Matthew 3:7-10 (Luke 3:7-9), the Matthean text characteristically specified the Pharisees and, in this instance, also the Sadducees for vilification where Luke has simply the multitudes. It is unfortunate that both Matthew and Luke used the vulgar epithet, "You offspring of snakes!" This expression would in our English idiom be "You sons-of-bitches!" The word of John the Baptizer and the Word of God in Scripture would speak with greater authority without this epithet.
The message of Matthew 3:1-12 for Jews, for Christians, and for all people is "Change!" "Change your minds, your attitudes, your actions, your lifestyle!" "Prepare the way for the Lord!" Perhaps we become overly complacent as we hear this text, thinking that somehow this message is not for us but for others, for Pharisees and for Sadducees, so that we do not have to deal with it ourselves. However, this message is for us, for us who are pastors and teachers. We are expected, commanded to change and to prepare the way of the Lord. Then it is for all people, for Jews, for Christians, and for all others as well. This text, particularly in relation to the other texts appointed for this occasion, has its message directed straight at us. Let us proclaim this message boldly this Advent season.
