INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year B - SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

ISAIAH 40:1‑11. With words of incredible power the unknown prophet of Israel's exile in Babylon proclaims the good news God's people have been waiting long to hear. Deliverance is at hand. God's people are to be brought home to Jerusalem. It is God who is doing this, as a shepherd leads his flock homeward at the end of the day. Anyone who has sung or listened to Handel's "The Messiah" will recognize that he took the opening recitatives for his majestic oratorio from this passage. The words of this Hebrew poetry are music in themselves.

PSALM 85:1‑2, 8‑13. The same theme is repeated in this psalm, perhaps written during the same period when Israel's return from exile was imminent.

2 PETER 3:8‑15. It is improbable that this letter was written by the apostle whose name it bears. More than likely, its author was some unknown Christian elder early in the second century AD.

He sought to encourage those of a later generation than the apostolic age anxious that Christ had not yet returned as the gospel promised and the church had long been teaching. The delay, this letter proposes, is due to God's patience so that no one may perish, but come to repentance and faith in a renewed relationship with God.

MARK 1:1‑8. Mark's Gospel begins not with Jesus, but with John the Baptist. Immediately he quotes from Isaiah 40, transferring this reference to Israel's return from exile in Babylon in 639 BC to the coming of the Messiah. The early church searched the Hebrew scriptures for every possible prophecy about the coming of Israel's Messiah, no matter whether they were relevant or not. They understood the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into the world as the fulfilment of those prophecies. Now that God's love and purpose for Israel were being fulfilled, John called everyone to prepare by repenting and being baptized.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS

Anyone who has sung or listened to Handel's "The Messiah" will recognize that he took the opening recitatives for his majestic oratorio from this passage. The words of this Hebrew poetry are music in themselves.

The poem contains a panoply of references to Hebrew history and theology. The opening words of comfort also contains the promise of deliverance. The long period of incarceration in a foreign land was ending and the prisoners were to be set free. Retributive justice had been fulfilled, twice over (vs. 2). Ahead lay yet another desert trek, but on this road travellers would encounter no wandering as did the Israelites of the Exodus long ago. Rather the high road leads straight home to Jerusalem and travelling will be easy along level ground (vss. 3-4) because this is the highway of Yahweh. This message comes direct from Yahweh and is now revealed to everyone.

But there were still many questions. Was this message of comfort and deliverance trustworthy? Could the Israelites themselves to be trusted? Their loyalty had been as ephemeral as the grass and flowers of the field which today blossom forth and tomorrow vanish (vss. 6-7). This was Yahweh’s word, however, and it would stand forever; therefore it can be trusted eternally (vs. 8).

These good tidings was to be broadcast from the highest point on Mount Zion to all of Judea at the loudest possible volume: “Yahweh’s glory is fully revealed in these momentous events” (vs.9). What was about to happen was like the captain of a mighty army returning triumphantly from a great victory bringing his reward with him (vs. 10). No, not like that so much as if a gentle shepherd was leading his flock home at evening carrying newborn lambs in his arms with the ewe following faithfully behind.

It is not difficult to see why the early church turned to the poetry of Second Isaiah contained in Isaiah 40-66 in search of prophecies of the Messiah whom they knew as Jesus of Nazareth.

PSALM 85:1‑2, 8‑13. The same theme is repeated in this psalm, perhaps written during the same period when Israel's return from exile was imminent or has already occurred. It may have had a liturgical function at some national celebration.

The psalm consists of three rather distinct parts. Vss. 1-3 celebrates Yahweh’s initiative in Israel’s history. Vss. 4-7 plead for forgiveness based on the covenant relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Vss. 8-13 recite the blessings that come from the mutual faithfulness of the covenant - forgiveness, righteousness, peace and prosperity.

Scholars debate whether this is a lament or a liturgical prayer. The Book of Haggai suggests a pertinent time of economic and spiritual depression when it could have been appropriate. Yet there are no certain historical references. Moreover, the latter part of the poem can be just as easily interpreted eschatologically. On the whole, the psalm deals with divine initiatives which result in salvation, whether at a time of imminent danger or at the end of time. For this reason it was chosen by the authors of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as the psalm for Christmas Day.

In his *Everyday Psalms* (Wood Lake Books, 1994) Jim Taylor gave an alternate paraphrase from a different point of view. He titled the psalm, “An Unfair World,” citing the situation of a friend who had contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. He paraphrased the psalm as a lament by one who needs greater comfort than Job’s comforters could offer. At vs. 8, he silenced all pious platitudes because he needed to hear what God has to say. Taylor ended his paraphrase with the words: “Sorrow is holy ground; walk on it only with feet bared to the pain of every pebble. Through the storm, the Lord of life comes walking on the salt sea of tears.” Taylor knew whereof he wrote. His son had died of cystic fibrosis in his early twenties.

2 PETER 3:8‑15. Although some scholars still cling to the view that this letter was written by the apostle Peter just prior to his death, this is improbable. More than likely, its author was some unknown Christian elder early in the 2d century CE using Peter’s name to give his message authority. This type of pseudographia was common practice in ancient times. The letters of the New Testament include several other examples of this.

A case has also been made for dating it in the 80s and 90s of the lst century as the second generation of Christians tried to come to terms with two serious issues: the end of the apostolic leadership of the church and the Hellenistic cultural milieu into which the church was moving even as it severed its connections with the Jewish culture of Palestine. In The Oxford Companion to the Bible, (Oxford University Press, 1993) Richard J. Bauckman, professor of NT at St. Andrews University, Scotland, concluded his article on the letter with these words: “The letter is a valuable witness to Christianity’s difficult transition from a Jewish to a Hellenistic environment, and provides an instructive example of how the message of the gospel was preserved through the process of cultural translation.”

The three brief chapters appear as a testament or farewell discourse in the form of a letter. Its purpose was to remind the reader’s of the apostle’s teaching and defend against false teachers who are casting doubt on the Second Coming of Jesus and advocating immoral behaviour. Four separate sections can be read as the author’s testament interspersed with three apologies for the true faith and two exhortations to godly living.

The present reading is taken from the third apologetic section and the final exhortation. It deals specifically with the reason for the delay in Christ’s return. This is due to God's patience so that no one may perish, but come to repentance and faith in a renewed relationship with God (vs. 9). There follows a reiteration of the typical eschatological message found throughout the NT: The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly. One can hypothesize that the repeated reference to destructive fire (vss. 10 & 12) may reflect the possible provenance of the letter in the Roman church. Tradition holds that the persecution of Christians for the great fire set by Nero in 64 CE was the occasion for Peter’s martyrdom. Even a generation or two later, this would be lively memory in the Roman Christian community.

Whoever the author was and whenever he wrote, he sought to encourage his audience to lead “lives of holiness and godliness while for and hastening the coming of the day of God” (vs. 12). The certainty of the Parousia necessitated such holy living. To accomplish this, moral effort on their part was required, exemplified by peace and purity (vs. 14). They were to regard the patience of God as their salvation, not a source of spiritual frustration (vs. 15).

This reading should probably end before the sentence in modern versions (RSV; NRSV) which makes reference to Paul. The NEB, however, includes all of vs. 15 in that reference: “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience with us is our salvation, as Paul, our friend and brother said when he wrote to you with inspired wisdom.” This may well be a reference to Paul’s letter to the Romans and intended as proof that this letter is from Peter himself who knew that Paul had written to the Roman church. More likely, however, it confirms the pseudographical character of the letter. No church leader of the 2d century made any reference to 2 Peter. Origen (217-251 CE) did not regard it as canonical. The 3^rd century historian Eusebius linked it with James, Jude, 2 and 3 John as “disputed, nevertheless familiar to the majority.”

While such scholarly intricacies may be of little consequence to most modern readers, a document such as 2 Peter can be very helpful to our own time and generation as we move from the age of Christendom to the culture of pluralistic globalism early in the third millennium of the Christian era. Orthodoxy such as this letter exhibits can be an early casualty of any transitional period in church history.

MARK 1:1‑8. Mark's Gospel begins not with Jesus, but with John the Baptist. Immediately he quotes from Isaiah 40, transferring this reference to the prophet of Israel's return from exile in Babylon in 639 BC to the coming of the Messiah. Obviously, he intended that the Baptist be seen as the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus, the Christ/Messiah. This was an intentional use of the OT scriptures for a serious theological purpose. The early church searched the Hebrew scriptures for every possible prophecy about the coming of Israel's Messiah, no matter whether they were relevant or not. They understood the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into the world as the fulfilment of those prophecies.

Mark makes no mention of the condemnation which John’s message included as Matthew and Luke reported. He concentrated instead on the repentance John called for as the appropriate preparation for the coming of the Messiah (vs. 4). He also downplayed John’s role and pointed instead to the one who would baptize the people with the Holy Spirit instead of water.

Much scholarly discussion still surrounds the character of John and his mission. It would appear that he was recognized more as one of the OT prophets whose habits were such as to draw attention to his ministry. His call for baptism, however, must have seemed unusual to most Jews of his time. The custom of baptizing proselytes cannot be attested prior to 100 CE. If it was practised as early as John’s ministry (ca. 28 CE), it would have been regarded as an affront to Jewish self-consciousness. There were limited baptismal movements in Judaism such as the Essenes of Qumran in the last centuries before the Christian era. Some non-Jewish sects also practised baptism as initiation into their communities.

No final proof has yet been discovered to link John directly with any of these, although with notable differences he most resembles the Essenes. On the other hand, scholarly debate still rages as to the exact nature of the Essene movement and their connection with the great volume of scrolls discovered since 1946 near the Qumran settlement near the Dead Sea.

The essential point of John’s message was that all assumptions based on election and ethnicity were no longer valid. Only a new beginning symbolized by passing through the waters of Jordan, as God had led Israel out of Egypt and across the Jordan, would suffice to restore Israel’s relationship with God. In the immersion of baptism these presumptions and the whole of old ways of life would be washed away symbolically. Now that God's love and purpose for Israel were being fulfilled, John called everyone to prepare by repenting and being baptized.

Perhaps most surprising to us - and perhaps to his audience too - was the fact that John’s style and teaching can be found in eschatological passages in Isaiah. Mark 1:8 had its parallel in Isaiah 32:15. His dwelling in the wilderness had its parallels in Isaiah 35:1-10, 40:3, 41:18-19, 43:19-20. The one who followed him endowed with the Spirit had its parallels in Isaiah 11:2-3; 42:1-4 and 61:1. Was this the result of the exhaustive searching of the OT by the apostolic church, especially in the book of Isaiah, rather than historical actuality?

In The Oxford Companion to the Bible (Oxford University Press, 1993. 372) Walter Wink stated that John “burst on the scene as a virtual mutant.” His rite of baptism symbolizing rebirth had no precedent in any Jewish source. This suggested that the story of John may be a theological metaphor pointing to the discontinuity of the Jewish and Christian faith traditions. Wink further states: “The evangelists each employ the traditions about John in the service of the proclamation of Jesus. Each handles him differently, but all see him as the one who stands at the beginning of the gospel story, demanding of the hearer a beginner’s mind and jettisoning all previous securities, so that the new word can be heard.” -30-