Nativity of the Lord

INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE

Year A The Nativity Of Our Lord

Propers I, II & III

NOTE: All three options for the assigned lessons are included in this file as shown in the Revised Common Lectionary. Combined in this way, it is possible to use the readings at various services during the celebration of Christmas. The RCL listings show their designation as Propers 1, 2 & 3.

ISAIAH 9: 2-7. ( Proper 1) This messianic prophecy has had an honoured place in Christian thought and liturgy from the 1^st century when Matthew quoted from it in relation to Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:15-16). However, two problems arise from it in the context of Isaiah: 1) Does it refer to a specific contemporary king of David’s line or to an ideal king? 2) Is the prophecy attributable to Isaiah in the 8^th century BCE or to another hand writing after the last king of Judah had been carried away into exile in Babylon in 586 BCE? Neither question can be answered for certain although numerous scholars have attempted to do so.

ISAIAH 62: 6-12. (Proper 2) Although it does have messianic undertones, at first glance this passage appears to have little or no relation to the Nativity. Its selection may rest of on its poetic description of a new relationship between Yahweh and the covenant people in a new age. Taken from what scholars designate as Third Isaiah, (Isa. 56-66) it depends largely on the works of the unknown poet of the Babylonian exile known as Second or Deutero-Isaiah (Isa. 40-55).

The solemn oath of Yahweh that the economic plight of Judah will alleviated and its produce not be given to its enemies sounds with thunderous echoes to us in the rich nations as we sit down to our Christmas feasts.

ISAIAH 52:7-10. (Proper 3) This brief excerpt from a longer poem (52:1-12) celebrates the coming of Yahweh to Zion to comfort and restore Yahweh’s chosen people. The familiar prophetic concept of the Day of the Lord when divine sovereignty and justice over all the earth is proclaimed lies behind the poem. While not unique to Isaiah 40-55, universalism is prominent in the thought of this poet. Salvation is not only for Israel alone, but for fulfilling Israel’s history and destiny to bring news of salvation to all the world.

PSALMS 96, 97 & 98. (Propers 1, 2 & 3) The three psalms used in this sequence of lessons all come from the same collection of celebratory psalms probably used in the enthronement ceremonies of the New Year. One can imagine the triumphant procession of worshippers led by a host of priests and Levites entering the temple with voices raised in exultant praise. Pss. 47, 93 & 95 also belonged to this group and possibly Pss. 24 and 68 as well. They all proclaimed Yahweh as Israel’s god and king.

TITUS 2:11-14 (Proper 1). Scholars argue inconclusively whether or not Titus belongs in the Pauline corpus with 1^st and 2^nd Timothy as one of the so-called “Pastoral Letters” ostensibly written by Paul. This brief passage presents a point of view echoing Paul’s theology of salvation and justification by grace alone. At the same time, the promise of the Second Coming of Christ is not so urgently expressed as in other letters attributed to Paul. The writer counsels disciplined ethical behavior as we wait hopeful of the final manifestation of divine glory whenever that may occur.

TITUS 3:4-7 (Proper 2) Again the author reiterates the Pauline tradition of the vital experience of being set right with God by faith alone (i.e. “justification”). Few sermons on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day may offer such deep theological insight, yet that is what we sing in our hymns and carols at these services. Is that also why so many people try to reconnect with the ancient tradition by attending worship, especially on Christmas Eve? Why should we not tell them so if one by pointing out what their praises mean?

HEBREWS 1:1-4, (5-12). Using poetic quotations from the Greek text of the Old Testament, the author of this Letter to the Hebrews begins his proclamation of the meaning of the gospel story about the life, death, resurrection, ascension of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Christian Church. Because of the emphasis on the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, the intended audience was almost certainly Jewish but their specific location and circumstances remain unknown.

LUKE 2: 1-20. (May be divided between Propers 1 and 2).

Luke’s Nativity story is a beautiful prose poem, but cannot be regarded as reliably historical. Nonetheless, it still enhances our festive celebrations quite apart from scholarly dispute.

The whole point of the story is the identity of this newborn infant. His humble birth is vividly juxtapositioned against the imperial census, the angelic chorus over the Bethlehem’s fields, the amazement of the shepherds at finding the infant where the heavenly messengers had directed them, then rushing out to tell the world what they had seen and heard.

JOHN 1:1-14. (Proper 3) Whereas Matthew began his Gospel story with ancestry and birth of Jesus and Luke began with his conception, John went much further back to the creation of the world. He identifies the Christ with the Word (Logos) of God. In this case, however, he is not simply the first created being as Wisdom was identified in earlier Jewish writings, but was “in the beginning with God.” He was co-creator and also the life and light of all that is created.

Having so stated the divinity of Jesus, John goes on to state the other, human aspect of his nature. He was in the world, a Jew among Jews, but not accepted by his own people. This statement presages the controversy with the Jews about Jesus’ pre-existence and his authority to teach and perform miracles (chs. 6-8). To those who did accept him, he gave the power of the Spirit to be the children of God.

A MORE COMPLETE ANALYSIS.

ISAIAH 9: 2-7. ( Proper 1) This messianic prophecy has had an honoured place in Christian though and liturgy from the 1^st century when Matthew quoted from it in relation to Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:15-16). However, two problems arise from it in the context of Isaiah: 1) Does it refer to a specific contemporary king of David’s line or to an ideal king? 2) Is the prophecy attributable to Isaiah in the 8^th century BCE or to another hand writing after the last king of Judah had been carried away into exile in Babylon in 586 BCE? Neither question can be answered for certain although numerous scholars have attempted to do so.

In his excellent exegesis of the passage in The Interpreter’s Bible (vol. 5, 231ff) the late Prof. R.B.Y. Scott, of McGill University, Montreal, and Princeton University, stated his belief that the oracle referred to the nation’s hope for some unnamed Judean king, possibly Ahaz (742-727 BCE) or Hezekiah (727-698 BCE), as preferred by “a persistent Jewish tradition.” Scott also claimed that there is no need for the passage to refer to a recently born child since by his anointing at the time of his coronation a monarch was metaphorically begotten as a son of Yahweh. This was a natural time for a hopeful new beginning for a beleaguered nation as suggested in vss. 4-6.

The oracle presents many motifs of the Davidic dynasty found in the Psalms: the dawn of great light, exultant rejoicing, the overthrow of enemies, burning fire, the gift of a divine Son, the proclamation of royal qualities, and the establishment of eternal peace and justice. This leads to a conclusion that the passage may have had some place in the liturgy of the temple for a coronation ceremony.

Following Matthew’s use of the passage in reference to Jesus, it was natural for the Christian Church to claim the passage as a prophetic proclamation of Jesus as the true Messiah. It should be noted, however, that Jesus did not in any way fulfill the particular expectations of this oracle. The Nativity of our Lord does herald a new beginning for which we can truly rejoice, but the majesty of the moment rests on the grace of God, the Lord of all History. Joyfully celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ still brings the world of our time the same hopes of for peace and justice

At this time when the global economy is struggling with a widening gap between rich and the poor nations due to a large extent to the inequities of global trade, the providential promise of vss. 8-9 should fill us with shame. The solemn oath of Yahweh that the economic plight of Judah will be alleviated and its produce not be given to its enemies sounds with thunderous echoes to us in the rich nations as we sit down to our Christmas feasts. Can we not do more than recite a blessing like that known as “The Selkirk Grace” attributed to Robert Burns? “Some hae meat, and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae the Lord be thankit.”

In vs. 7 the image of a messenger approaching along a mountain path the city with news of a great victory in battle recalls the story of David watching a similar scene in 2 Sam. 18:25-27. In vs. 8, watchmen on the city walls hear the herald’s tidings and break into jubilation. In vs. 9 the citizenry responds with singing as the glad tidings spread. Comfort, redemption and victory are attributable to Yahweh alone.

The lesson is appropriate for worship on the Day of Christ’s birth. When so much distraction comes from so many secular sources, we need to pause to celebrate with joyful singing the true message of the season. God has come among us to bring peace, justice and good will to all.

Although all three psalms probably date from post-exilic times, there was an earlier time when each nation had a chief god in its pantheon. Here the conception is clear of Yahweh as the supreme God and creator of all. The Lord’s dominion is proclaimed throughout with verses selected from numerous other psalms and concepts drawn from the poetry of the latter part of Isaiah (40-66). Ps. 98 in particular presents Yahweh as the righteous judge of all creation.

Monotheism was Israel’s great gift to religious traditions of all humanity. The sovereignty of Yahweh runs through all, but the fundamental discovery of the Israelites that Yahweh is God alone stands out (96:4-5; 97:7).

TITUS 2:11-14 (Proper 1). Scholars argue inconclusively whether or not Titus belongs in the Pauline corpus with 1^st and 2^nd Timothy as one of the so-called “Pastoral Letters” ostensibly written by Paul. If there is any consensus and despite occasional personal notes that seem to authenticate them, the answer is likely in the negative for a number of reasons. The purpose of the three letters is to counsel post-Pauline congregations on how to live in the world as the expectation of Christ’s return had faded and a number of false teachers were teaching false doctrine in Paul’s name.

This brief passage presents a point of view echoing Paul’s theology of salvation and justification by grace alone. At the same time, the promise of the Second Coming of Christ is not so urgently expressed as in other letters attributed to Paul. The writer counsels disciplined ethical behavior as we wait hopeful of the final manifestation of divine glory whenever that may occur.

TITUS 3:4-7 (Proper 2) Again the author reiterates the Pauline tradition of the vital experience of being set right with God by faith alone. Few sermons on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day may offer such deep theological insight, yet that is what we sing in our hymns and carols at these services. Is that also why so many people try to reconnect with the ancient tradition by attending worship, especially on Christmas Eve? Why should we not tell them so if one by pointing out what their praises mean?

HEBREWS 1:1-4, (5-12). Using poetic quotations from the Greek text of the Old Testament, the author of this Letter to the Hebrews begins his proclamation of the meaning of the gospel story about the life, death, resurrection, ascension Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Christian Church. Because of the emphasis on the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, the intended audience was almost certainly Jewish but their specific location and circumstances remain unknown.

In recent decades since the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran Community have become more widely known, scholars have begun to the discuss the possibility that this letter was written to counteract the teachings of the Jewish sect, the Essenes. Their writings presented an alternative view of two Messiahs, one priestly and one royal of David’s line, both subordinate to the archangel Michael as the supreme head.

The whole focus of this introductory passage is on Jesus, the Son of God, and his supremacy over all angels. This is as it should be at celebrations of the Nativity. Later passages cause many to suspect that wherever the community was that received the letter, it was threatened with imminent persecution for their faith. There are Christians today who face similar circumstances. We cannot forget them as we celebrate in our comfortable surroundings where persecution is totally absent.

LUKE 2: 1-20. (May be divided between Propers 1 and 2).

Luke’s Nativity story is a beautiful prose poem, but cannot be regarded as reliably historical. Nonetheless, it still enhances our festive celebrations quite apart from scholarly dispute.

It is noteworthy that the emphasis in this passage is not on the miraculous conception as a biological phenomenon as in the preceding chapter. Those details referred to the developing theology of the child’s divine origin. Here Luke focuses attention on the humble humanity of the Christ Child. On the other hand, R.E. Brown has argued against the theory that the stories of a virgin birth resulted from a developing Christology and the later insistence that Jesus was free from all sin. [The Interpreter’s Dictionary, vol. 5, 941. Abingdon, 1976)

Is there even a hint in vs. 6 of the Jewish suspicion, already established in Luke’s time ca. 85 CE and later explicit in Jewish polemics, about the possible cause of Mary’s pregnancy? And what if that were so? If he was indeed a mamzer (i.e. illegitimate) as Bruce Chilton speculated in his Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, would that not enhance the redemptive aspect of Jesus’ birth announced by the herald angel as “the Saviour who is the Messiah, the Lord” (vs. 11)? (Harper San Francisco, 2000)

Every preacher has to confront in his or her own mind how to approach the story of the Nativity. It is not a mistake to interpret ancient poetry by asking modern questions. Doing so on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day may not be the right occasion to do it.

Yet even educated skeptics join the throngs worshiping at this time. They might be surprised to be told that child born in a manger is their Saviour too.

Having so stated the divinity of Jesus, John goes on to state the other, human aspect of his nature. He was in the world, a Jew among Jews, but not accepted by his own people. This statement presages the controversy Jews had about his pre-existence and his authority to teach and perform miracles (chs. 6-8). To those who did accept him, he gave the power of the Spirit to be the children of God.

This prologue to John’s Gospel goes much farther than any of the other three Gospels in its interpretation of what the Nativity means. It is theology, not story. It declares the divine intention in the birth of this child. If, as occasionally happens, a Christmas baptism is celebrated, this text, especially vss. 12-13, could be most effectively read and preached. It places the birth of every child in the context of the Nativity. The boundaries between the natural and the supernatural are swept away as the clouds of mystery vanish in the hope of every child who comes into the world of sin and darkness.

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