Lectionary Discussion Group

Week of Sunday, December 16, 2007, Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

Isaiah 35:1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

James 5:7-10

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

`See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.'

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

Digression on a Problem:

One of the “scandals” of the Christian faith is that Jesus hasn’t returned yet. Jesus doesn’t mince any words when he says he will “be present” (=parousia) “in their lifetimes,” or that judgment will come to Israel in their lifetimes. What is he talking about? It can’t be just that he will come eventually and he and the Apostles were mistaken about the “in your lifetimes” language. Clearly, the evangelists saw this as already having partially happened—this is clear because Matthew, Mark and Luke were scribes for the Apostles. The Apostles they wrote for may in fact already have been dead by the time they wrote. Thus, the judgment on the Nation of Israel is easy to see; the Romans had put down the great revolt, destroyed the Temple, and drove the Jews largely out of Palestine, beginning the Diaspora (if you’re ever in Israel, see the ruins at Caesarea—this was an attempt to settle Greeks and Romans in Palestine.) Similarly, Jesus had sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost so that God could be present with us. But this does not fully answer the question—where’s Jesus? The Kingdom of God lives in our hearts, and, as we process into church every Sunday, we metaphorically walk the road into the heavenly Jerusalem again. But this semi-Zen understanding—much like the Zen understanding that Nirvana is a state the enlightened person has here on Earth—seems inadequate.

St. Athanasius tried to answer this question, in the 300s a.d., in his book The Life of St. Antony. He argued that people were living longer, and thus the Holy Spirit was actually physically tranforming the world. Of course, this was rather dubious. But it’s evident that the dynamic love of God is acting in the world in some way. I personally think that like all things of God—“he who breaks through barriers”—God is acting in the world in a way that will subvert all of our expectations. What do you think is the answer?

Theological Tidbits:

- This passage from Isaiah is an important text on how the dynamic power of God’s love is and will continue transforming the world, and what it is transforming the world to be like. It envisions a procession similar to the return of the Jews from Babylon, that will take the road back to Jerusalem—but as transformed people, on a transformed road.

- This passage is at the beginning of the Deutero-Isaiah. There are two authors—two “Isaiahs”—who wrote the first and second halves of the Book of Isaiah. The second was far more eschatologically-oriented.

- James echoes the concerns mentioned in the Digression, above: the judge, as he says, is at the door. But he also notes that the time foretold in Isaiah is coming.

- James wrote after the time of Jesus, so his writings foretell the Second Coming. However, for our purposes for Advent, they also go back to the beginning, and foretell the First Coming, as well. It is important to remember that the world, and the church year, both go around in a great arc. The end will return to God, who is the beginning and end of all.

- This passage is about John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets and the new Elijah, and his doubts about Jesus. Herod had put John in prison, and John was worried that what he had foretold would not come, or, alternatively, that Jesus was just another soothsaying magician (like Apollonius of Tyana). His doubts were very real—and should not be dismissed.

- However, Jesus turns around John’s question from a straight yes-or-no question into an opportunity to make reference to the Scriptures. Thus, Jesus makes reference to the two main proofs of his divinity:

o He fulfilled the Scriptures. The things that Isaiah is making reference to were in fact taking place. Moreover, the way he fulfilled them is not the way one would expect—he did it in a way that broke through the barriers of our expectations!

o Jesus did do wonders, but they were not superfluous shows of his power. They were there for the poor. Moreover, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Just as John the Baptist said that the trees that gave bad fruit or no fruit at all would be cut down, Jesus is pointing out to John his own words: Jesus, unlike the other wonder-workers and would-be messiahs, is doing something truly special, which in itself is enough to prove who he is. Thus, faith is the prerequisite to understanding.

- Notice that Jesus says, “blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” Elsewhere he says, “he who is not against us is for us.” This is the stance of love and confidence, that God’s love is all-powerful and will overtake all.

Questions:

1. In what respects is faith the prerequisite to your understanding? How does it reorient your expectations to see something different when it is coming (remember! It’s Advent! He’s coming—do you expect it?)

2. How is God acting in the world? How is he coming? How is he coming in your life?

3. Patience—when have you had to be patient when you didn’t want to be, for God’s coming? What is your story?

Suggested Reading:

Karl Barth, Anselm: Fides Quaerens Intellectum: Anselm’s Proof of the Existence of God in the Context of his Theological Scheme, SCM Press Ltd., London (1930).