This Advent readers are invited to look at the Sunday readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary) and consider where and how we are part of the long and ongoing Sacred Story of God’s work in the world. Some suggestions can be found in last week’s post.
Readings for Advent 2
Isaiah 11:1-10
1A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of
the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of
the Lord. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He
shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears
hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with
equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his
mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the
wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and
faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the
lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the
fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the
bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not
hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10On that day
the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall
inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Romans 15:4-13
4For whatever was written in former days was written for
our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the
scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of steadfastness and encouragement
grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ
Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has
welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become
a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he
might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will
confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; 10and
again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; 11and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise
him”; 12and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who
rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.” 13May the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:1-12
1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness
of Judea, proclaiming, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near.”3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The
voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’” 4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair
with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild
honey.5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and
all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of
repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our
ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up
children to Abraham. 10Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees;
every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire. 11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more
powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in
his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into
the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
This trio of lessons invites me to think about preparing my
heart by reflection on God’s revelation in scripture. Isaiah tells us that when
the shoot from the stump of Jesse comes there will be judgment,
and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea. Our lesson from Romans promises by steadfastness
and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Christ welcomes
all—Gentile and Jew. For the Gentile believers in the early church this was an
amazing promise. To us it may be an invitation to be more welcoming ourselves
to those we may look at as outsiders. In the will of God there is joy and
peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit. The Gospel reading tells of John the Baptist calling for a change
of direction (repentance) from the crowds that came to hear him. He warns that God
is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. In other words,
there is no one and no group who can claim God prefers them to another. As we
look at the divisions among us today as a society and even in our churches, we might
do well to ponder how we are called to include rather than exclude. We may want
to take this season of preparation as a time to look inward at the walls we
build and then reach outward beyond those walls.
Response
Advent is about preparing our hearts. We can do that by meditating on scripture and by acting in love. What do these lessons say to you? Are there ways you can build up community within and beyond any groups you are involved in? Who are we excluding, on purpose or through blindness?
