INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
Year A - Second Sunday after Christmas
JEREMIAH 31:7‑14. The promise of a joyful celebration of exiles returning home from Babylon, and from many other nations as well, rings through this passage. But there is a note of sadness too in their singing, for only a remnant of Israel would actually return. The main emphasis, however, is on the faith that it is God who will bring about this homecoming.
SIRACH 24:1‑12. (Alternate) The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach is also known as by its Latin name Ecclesiasticus (“The Church’s Book”). In most Protestant Bibles it appears in what is known as the Apocrypha to the Old Testament. This book of wisdom, originally written in Hebrew but not included in the Hebrew Scriptures, appeared about 132 BC translated into Greek by the grandson of the author.
In this passage, divine Wisdom personified speaks with great respect for God’s choice of Israel as the chosen people.
PSALM 147:12‑20. Another of the “Hallelujah Hymns” ending the Psalter praises God for numerous gracious acts. The psalmist cites such mighty works as the building Jerusalem and its temple, gathering the exiles from many lands, and providing all creation with sustenance. In this latter part of the psalm, he also sees the hand of God in the natural phenomena of the environment, and above all in choosing Israel as God’s favoured people.
WISDOM 10:15‑21. (Alternate) Like Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon, did not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures. It appeared in Greek in the last century B.C.E. expressing attitudes toward divine wisdom of its educated Greek‑speaking Jewish author. It is one of several books now published in the Apocrypha to the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, but does appear in Bibles of The Roman Catholic tradition because St. Jerome translated it into Latin in the 5th century CE.
This passage recalls the event that shaped all of Israel’s history and faith tradition: the Exodus from Egypt.
EPHESIANS 1:3‑14. This prayer blesses God’s gift of Jesus Christ who makes clear to all who believe God’s plan from the beginning of time. This mysterious plan is to bring all things in creation into God’s reign of love. God’s gift of the Holy Spirit marks us too to be included in God’s redemptive plan.
JOHN 1:(1‑9), 10‑18. Unlike the other gospels, John begins his version of the story by showing how Jesus, as the Word of God (Logos/Wisdom/Plan), had a part in the beginning of creation. He then describes John the Baptist as witnessing to the coming of Jesus who even then lived in their midst, although none of his contemporaries recognized him. When through faith we recognize him, Jesus is revealed as the Word of God in a living human being and as the only Son of God.
A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS:
JEREMIAH 31:7‑14. The promise of a joyful celebration of exiles returning home from Babylon, and from many other lands as well, rings through this passage. But there is a note of sadness too in their singing, for the historical reality was that only a remnant of Israel would actually return. The main emphasis, however, is on the faith that it is God who will bring about this homecoming.
As in many other prophetic oracles, the theological tradition that Yahweh is the Lord of history resonates though this poem. The Babylonian exile was a well documented historical event, not only in the Hebrew scriptures, but also in relevant discoveries by archeologists from other sources. The Hebrew faith tradition interpreted this catastrophic event as initiated by Yahweh, not by the political and military forces arrayed against them. Similarly, the Hebrew prophets of the exile voiced unequivocally their trust that Yahweh would bring back to their homeland at least some of those who had been forcefully transported to Babylon or scattered far and wide across the ancient Middle East. This passage utters the sacred promise of Yahweh to bring the dispersed people of Israel home. Jeremiah paid dearly for his constant faith that Yahweh’s promise would be fulfilled.
Vs. 8b presents an especially hopeful element of the promise. The naming of pregnant women and those already giving birth represents divine assurance that the holy people of God would continue. History has shown how decisive it has been that women - even those who have been raped in violent pogroms - not only survive, but bring forth a new generation of faithful Israelites.
Traditionally, Jews trace their ancestry through their mothers, due to the historic reality that their biological fathers may not have been Jewish. In an article on the Bet-Debora website, “Children of Jewish Fathers,” feminist historian, Jessica Jacoby wrote that the idea of being Jewish emanated from the mother came relatively late, promoted by the Pharisees in talmudic times (2nd to 6th century CE) as part of a package of reforms. She quote both the Mishnah and the Talmud to support her statement.
[]Is it not also possible that this principle was in development a century earlier when the Christian gospels were being composed? Hence the exalted role given to Mary in the birth narratives and the subsequent emphasis in later centuries on her virginity. More than one scholar, including Bruce Chilton (*Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography.* Doubleday, 2000) has speculated that the birth of Jesus occurred as a result of an encounter with a rapist. On the other hand, vs. 9c could also be interpreted as a promise of the virgin birth in that the saviour of Israel would be fathered by Yahweh. Confusing? Of course, but biblical metaphors always contain mystery that our humble minds must struggle to interpret. As Bishop John Selby Spong says, although the birth of Jesus may or may not have been perfectly natural, it was not how it happened, but who he is that really matters. “It is a beautiful story filled with meaning, deeply steeped in the Jewish storytelling tradition. It was created to capture a truth that human words cannot fully contain.” [http://secure.agoramedia.com/spong/week66story1_prev.asp]
Vs. 12 not only proclaims that Yahweh would rescue the remnant of Israel from captivity, prosperity would accompany their return. Yahweh alone would be the source of this continuing beneficence. The returning people would respond in joy
and the priesthood would be restored (vss.13-14.)
In such prophetic passages we too may find hope for a new year. Despite all the destructive belligerence that confronts us, centred to a considerable extent in the
ancient biblical lands of the Middle East, the Lord of history still reigns over the events of our time.
SIRACH 24:1‑12. (Alternate) The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach is also known as by its Latin name Ecclesiasticus (“The Church’s Book”). In most Protestant Bibles it appears in what is known as the Apocrypha to the Old Testament. This book of wisdom, originally written in Hebrew but not included in the Hebrew Scriptures, appeared about 132 BC translated into Greek by the grandson of the author.
In this passage, divine Wisdom personified speaks with great respect for God’s choice of Israel as the chosen people. “How odd of God / to choose the Jews,” goes the old rhyme attributed to different sources, including twentieth-century Roman Catholic apologist Hilaire Belloc. It appears to have come from British journalist William Norman Ewer (1885-1976). Some regard it as anti-Semitic to which a funny Jewish rejoinder goes, "Not odd of God. / Goyim annoy 'im." (“Goyim” is the Hebrew word for all non-Jews.)
The passage sounds a much different note. Wisdom praises herself before the assembly of the Most High as being both a creation of Yahweh and an agent in creating all else that exists. After completing that creative mission, Wisdom searches for a place to rest and receives the Creator’s direction to “pitch (her) tent in Jacob and make Israel her inheritance.”
This emphasis on the continuing identity as the chosen people of Yahweh has stood the Jewish people well through many centuries of persecution. Not least during the 20th century when Hitler determined that European Jews should be exterminated, many found succour in their sacred tradition. Both Zionism, the late 19th century political movement and the 1948 founding of the modern state of Israel had its roots in this same conviction.
PSALM 147:12‑20. Another of the “Hallelujah Hymns” ending the Psalter praises God for numerous gracious acts as the creator and sustainer of all creation. It falls into three sections (vss. 1-6, 7-11, 12-20) that may indicate separate origins as independent hymns brought together for liturgical purposes.
The latter part of the psalm from which this reading is taken appears to be supplementary and perhaps distinctive enough to have been originally a separate psalm. Meteorological phenomena are summoned as witnesses to Yahweh’s power.
It is true that Israel depends on the rain and occasional snow in winter to bring forth a productive grain harvest. Thus the psalmist could also recognize divine favour in these natural events. In all of these Yahweh operates through the divine word (vss. 15, 18).
Finally in vss. 19-20, the psalmist equates the divine word with the law as a mediator between a far-away God and God’s creation, and especially with regard to Israel as the chosen people. This points to an emphasis which had precedence during and after the time of Ezra (5th century).
WISDOM 10:15‑21. (Alternate) The Wisdom of Solomon, first appeared in Greek in the last century BCE. expressing attitudes toward divine wisdom of its educated Greek‑speaking Jewish author. It is one of several books now published in the Apocrypha to the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, but does appear in Bibles of The Roman Catholic tradition because St. Jerome translated it into Latin in the 5th century CE.
This passage recalls the event that shaped all of Israel’s history and faith tradition: the Exodus from Egypt. This event is attributed to Wisdom which inspired Moses to challenge Pharaoh and lead the Israelites to freedom. In a unique retelling of the
Exodus story, Wisdom served as the agent of divine power in overwhelming the Egyptian pursuers and giving rise to the great narratives of the Exodus by which the faithful learned to extol Yahweh’s name.
One can see in this revised version of the great Israelite myth a movement away from a direct, quasi-physical relationship between God and Israelites toward a more spiritual understanding of the religious tradition. This may reflect the increasing influence of Greek thought which was much more speculative and abstract than Hebrew thought had been. Another century would go by before this movement reached its ultimate development in the Gospel of John where the Logos/Word replaced Wisdom as the agent of creation and redemption, and the Word becomes incarnate in the person of Jesus (John 1:14). There too, God is Spirit and effective worship is spiritual (John 4:24).
Thus Sirach stands as a witness to the continuing advance of religious thought
in what many sometime regard as a bypath in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.
EPHESIANS 1:3‑14. Professor George Caird noted in his classic discussion of this passage that most of the first three chapters are in the form of a prayer. (Carid, G. B. *Paul’s Letters from Prison.* New Clarendon Bible. Oxford, 1976)
John C. Kirby, one of Caird’s students at McGill University prior to Caird’s appointment as principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, developed this thesis to a full definition of Ephesians 1-3 as a “berakah” or Hebrew prayer of blessing. According to Kirby, this prayer began as a Pentecostal liturgy. The Letter to the Ephesians was created by this prayer being subsequently joined to a sermon admonishing newly baptized catechumens on the ways of Christian living in response to the gift of God in Jesus Christ. (Kirby, John C. *Ephesians, Baptism and Pentecost.* McGill University Press, 1968.)
Even cursory reading takes note how this prayer blesses God for the gift of Jesus Christ who makes clear to all who believe God’s plan from the beginning of time. This mysterious plan is to bring all things in creation into God’s reign of love. God’s gift of the Holy Spirit marks us too to be included in God’s redemptive plan.
Throughout this passage, the author (whom many scholars, including Kirby but not Caird. doubt was the apostle Paul) placed emphasis on faith. But that faith can only come to its full maturity through a knowledge of the Jesus story and what it means for all humanity. As Caird states, the end product of creation, and of God’s redemption through Jesus Christ, is to create a new humanity that is like Jesus Christ, people suitable to live in God’s presence. This will come about not by our own efforts, but by God’s gracious gift of a forgiven and redeemed life through faith in and obedience to the loving ways of God. Of course this had not happened as yet, but it will come about in the fullness of God’s time and the working out of God’s plan.
God’s purpose is being worked out even now through the lives of believers in and followers of Jesus. Our faith and the gift of the Holy Spirit evident in the way we live anticipates and guarantees the fuller blessings yet to come when God’s purpose for all creation reaches it final consummation.
This passage at the beginning of what was most likely an encyclical letter accompanying a body of other Pauline correspondence presents the very core of Paul’s theology of universal redemption. Paul (or his anonymous stand-in) is saying in effect, “This is what the gospel means and this is how it affects all of us.”
JOHN 1:(1‑9), 10‑18. Unlike the other gospels, John begins his version of the story by declaring that Jesus, as the Word of God (Logos/Wisdom/Plan), had a part in creation itself. He then describes John the Baptist as witnessing to the coming of Jesus who even then lived in their midst, although none of his contemporaries recognized him. When through faith we do recognize him, Jesus is revealed as the Word of God in a living human being and as the only Son of God.
*Word* has a special meaning in Fourth Gospel. Behind it lay concepts of both the Hebrew and the Greek traditions. The Hebrew *dabar* could be understood as the active presence of God. When “the word of the Lord” came to Jeremiah, it meant that God was present in Jeremiah’s words and actions revealing God’s will
and God’s supreme authority. So also in the case of other prophets of Israel. Later Hellenistic Jewish thought interpreted divine wisdom in much the same way. As in the Wisdom of Solomon above, it was through Wisdom that all the rest of creation came into being. Earlier Hebrew thought had said that God created the universe more directly than through a secondary agent.
By New Testament times, the two ideas of Word and Wisdom had become assimilated with the Greek concept of *Logos.* This occurred largely through the influence of the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX), Greek philosophers known as Stoics, and Hellenistic Jews like Philo of Alexandria. This assimilation had the effect of removing God from direct contact with creation and humanity, by transforming the understanding of the divine nature into a more distant, transcendent, spiritual reality.
These opening verses of John’s Gospel proclaimed the newly revealed truth that the Word had been incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth. He is none other than the full revelation of God. The final authority of who God is, what God is like and what God wills has been made known in this human being.
To quote J.N. Sanders, “John’s assertion that in Jesus the Word became flesh was an attempt - apparently successful, if the subsequent influence of the gospel is any criterion - to put into language intelligible and acceptable to his contemporaries, pagan as well as Christian, the basic Christian conviction that through the life, teaching, actions, and death of this man Jesus a new revelation of God had been given, different in kind from that made through the prophets.”
(*Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible,* IV. 871.)