INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year C - Second Sunday of Advent

MALACHI 3:1-4. This short selection from the last book in our Old Testament answered a question immediately preceding it in 2:17, “Where is the God of justice?” Speaking for God, the prophet’s response was, “I am sending a messenger....” The messenger’s task of cleansing the temple came at a time of spiritual decline in the 5th century BC when slovenly priests and careless worshipers made unworthy offerings. Five hundred years later, the authors of the New Testament gospels interpreted this as a reference to John the Baptist and his role as the forerunner of Jesus.

BARUCH 5:1-9. The Revised Common Lectionary lists this alternate selection from one of the books excluded from both the official Hebrew canon and the Protestant canon but included in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox canons. It purports to be the work of Baruch, son of Neriah, Jeremiah’s friend and secretary, dealing with events of the Babylonian exile in the 5^th century BCE. More than likely, it dates from the Hellenist period of Israel’s history, 4^th to 2^nd centuries BCE.

LUKE 1:68-79. Also known by its Latin name, Benedictus, the Song of Zechariah was an early Christian hymn. It wove together a series of phrases from several Psalms. Specific Christian content comes only at the end in vss. 76-79 where Zechariah celebrates the birth of his son, John the Baptist.

PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11. This is possibly the last letter Paul wrote. Tried and imprisoned for his work as an apostle, Paul thanked God for the support of the Philippians. He wrote of them “sharing” the gospel and God’s grace, and prayed that this would bring forth an overflowing of love and righteous living as they waited for the anticipated return of Christ.

LUKE 3:1-6. The introductory stories of the birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus completed, Luke skipped over nearly three decades to place John the Baptist’s ministry in a specific historical context. He recognized John as another of Israel’s great prophets by quoting from Isaiah 40.

In so doing, Luke defined John’s role in the life and ministry of Jesus as that of the one of whom that earlier prophet spoke: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” More significantly, this also placed Jesus expressly within the sacred tradition of Israel.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

MALACHI 3:1-4. We do not know whether Malachi, translated from Hebrew as “my messenger,” was the prophet’s name or the description of his office. In the history of Israel The book message stands between the return from exile as recorded in Haggai and Zechariah, and the coming of Ezra and Nehemiah in the middle of the 5th century BCE. The covenant of God with Israel and the corruption of the temple priesthood which prevented the true liturgical expression of that covenant appear to have been Malachi’s predominant concerns. He employed an unusual, rhetorical style of questions and answers which may have been a literary device reflecting the teaching and preaching in the temple at that time.

This short selection from the last book in our Old Testament answered a question immediately preceding it in 2:17, “Where is the God of justice?” Speaking for God, the prophet’s response was, “I am sending a messenger to prepare the way before me ....” This recalls Deutero-Isaiah’s message in Isaiah 40:3. But it was the Levitical priesthood who must be purified before the offerings of the people could be pleasing to God.

This task of cleansing the temple and its priesthood came at a time of spiritual decline in the 5th century BCE when slovenly priests and careless worshipers made unworthy offerings. It revealed a concern for the temple and its worship as well as for ethical living. This stood in contrast to some pre-exilic prophesy like that found in Micah 6:6-8 by placing emphasis on both aspects of religious life.

Five hundred years later, the authors of the New Testament gospels interpreted this passage as a reference to John the Baptist and his role as the forerunner of Jesus.

BARUCH 5:1-9. (Alternate) The Revised Common Lectionary lists this alternate selection from one of the books excluded from both the official Hebrew canon and the Protestant canon. Baruch does appear, however, immediately after Lamentations in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox canons. It purports to be the work of Baruch, son of Neriah, Jeremiah’s friend and secretary, although this claim appears only in the opening verses (1:1-10). The content of the book deals with events of the Babylonian exile (586-539 BCE), but it was obviously intended as a message of reconciliation and hope for a much later period, most likely the Hellenistic age of the 4^th to 2^nd centuries BCE. All existing texts are in Greek like that of the Septuagint, but scholars have argued that it may have been written in either Hebrew or even Aramaic. Composed of three distinct sections, it is the product of traditional Israelite wisdom with similarities to both Job and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), but not to the more Hellenistic wisdom literature such as the Wisdom of Solomon. Very few early Christian writers made reference to it. One oblique reference (3:37) was understood as a prophecy of the Incarnation.

This selection is a poetic summons to the people of Jerusalem to look eastward for the return of the exiles. It vividly reflects the prophecies of Second Isaiah, especially the words of Isaiah 40. This magnificent expectation rests on the integrity of God to fulfill ancient covenantal promises to guide Israel according to the divine purpose. There is, nonetheless, a strong element of righteousness required of Israel if it is to receive this blessing. The words of vs. 4 in the Jerusalem Bible puts this aspect succinctly: “The name God gives you for ever will be, ‘Peace through integrity, and honor through devotedness.’” That text may surely light up a sermon of reconciliation and hope suitable for our own time and place.

LUKE 1:68-79. Also known by the Latin translation in Jerome’s Vulgate of its first word, Benedictus, the Song of Zechariah was an early Christian hymn. It wove together a series of phrases from several Psalms: vs. 68 = Ps. 41:13, 111:9; vs. 69 = Ps. 132:17; vs. 71 = Ps. 106:10; vss.71-72 = Ps. 105:8-9. Specific Christian content comes only at the end in vss. 76-79 where Zechariah celebrates the birth of his son, John the Baptist.

The psalm is primarily a celebration of the fulfillment of Jewish messianic hopes. John is to be the Messiah’s forerunner. This prediction combines Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. Though from the hand of Luke, it reflects the teaching of the Apostolic Church in linking the Incarnation with the divinely ordered religious history of Israel. Searching the Jewish scriptures for references applicable to the gospel story was a practice evident throughout the whole New Testament. Numerous other examples can be found in Paul’s letters, the Pastoral and General Epistles, and Revelation.

PHILIPPIANS 1:3-11. We do not need to go into the exegetical problems of whether this is a single letter from Paul to the first congregation he founded in Europe or a composite of several letters. Nor is the question of its provenance - Rome, Ephesus or Caesarea - of great concern except to scholars. Tried and imprisoned for his work as an apostle, Paul thanked God for the support of the Philippians. It would appear that they had been in touch with him during his trial and imprisonment (vs.7). He wrote of them “sharing” the gospel and God’s grace reflecting his close association with them and their response to his ministry during at least three visits. (See Acts 16:12; 2 Cor. 2:3; Acts 20:6). As William Barclay points out in his Daily Bible Readings on this passage, partnership in the gospel involves not only a gift, but a task.

Paul then prayed that this will bring forth an overflowing of love and holy living as they waited for the anticipated return of Christ. This, Paul believed, would produce “knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best.” (vs. 9) In other words, love, the supreme gift of the Spirit, would lead to spiritual growth and moral discernment, all to the glory and praise of God. This is an appropriate mandate for any congregation in our own time as it was for the Philippians in the 1^st century CE.

LUKE 3:1-6. The introductory stories of the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus completed, Luke skips over nearly three decades to place John the Baptist’s ministry, and hence Jesus, in a specific historical context.

The 15th year of the reign of Tiberius corresponds to 28-29 CE. The Roman imperial government during this period included Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea and the named tetrarchs, Herod Antipas, Philip, Lysanias, of other nearby Roman provinces. The term tetrarch was used inconsistently in the NT, but usually referred to a ruler whom Rome appointed over a limited territory who might or might not be a petty monarch. They had little power or purpose other than to maintain a watch for any threats against Roman sovereignty. By also naming the high-priesthoods of Annas and Caiaphas, Luke put a religious slant to this historical note. The gospel tradition he was about to relate was no minor event. It had both political and religious significance.

By quoting from Isaiah 40, Luke recognized John as someone even more important than another of Israel’s great prophets. He defined John’s role in the life and ministry of Jesus as that of the one of whom that earlier prophet spoke: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” More significantly, he placed Jesus expressly within the sacred tradition of Israel.

While repeating the same excerpt from Isaiah 40:3 quoted by Mark, Luke expanded it to include vss. 4-5, thus adopting Deutero-Isaiah’s universalism as his own. Luke was a citizen of the Roman world. As we shall see in our study of Luke throughout the coming year, he had a wider Gentile audience in mind than the predominantly Jewish community which had first heard and responded to the gospel. By introducing John the Baptist in this manner, Luke was trying to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Gentile environments to which the gospel had been proclaimed by the apostles, most of whom may well have disappeared behind the shadows of history.

Luke wrote as long as two decades after the Jewish war with the Romans (66-70 CE) resulting in the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the end of its traditional sacrificial worship. The synagogues of the Diaspora had become the centres of Jewish religious observance. Early Christian congregations had been a part of that post-war milieu, but had become centres of considerable tension that Paul had sought to dispel. The tradition of James, the brother of Jesus, emphasizing the ultimate importance of the Torah and the rite of circumcision, struggled against the influence of Paul who had turned to the Gentile world as the church’s mission field. Luke stood with Paul in seeking to foster a wider unity of the church than the narrow tradition of James. Like Paul, he envisioned a unity in the church based on faith in Jesus, the Messiah of God, long promised to Israel and now come to fulfill God’s promise and Israel’s mission to bring the whole world into a perfect relationship with God. For Luke, John the Baptist was the link between the two traditions.

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