Bible Tuesday for Advent II, 2015

Malachi 3:1-4

Behold, I am sending my messenger to clear the way before Me, and the Lord, whom you seek, shall come to His Temple suddenly. As for the angel of the covenant that you desire, he is already coming. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can hold out when he appears? For his is like a smelter’s fire and like fuller’s lye. He shall act like a smelter and purger of silver; and he shall purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they shall present offerings in righteousness. Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of yore and in the years of old.

This text is assigned for the second Sunday of Advent because of its mention of “my messenger to clear the way before me.” Long ago Christians ascribed this title to John the Baptist, but the book of Malachi predates John the Baptist by at least 500 years. About whom was the author originally writing? From the time the prophet, Malachi, first proclaimed these words through the time of the early Christians, there have been many interpretations of this text.

Certainly when Jesus asked his disciples, “Whom do people say that I am?” the disciples thought of verses like this one, both in Malachi and in Isaiah, and then answered, “Some say a prophet. Some say Elijah. Others say John the Baptist raised from the dead.” In the gospels, Jesus speaks of the interpretation that Elijah would come back to proclaim the Day of the Lord.

As we move further into the text, the references become even more obscure. The Jewish Study Bible says about these verses, “Is the messenger the angel of the covenant, a zealous, powerful enforce4r of the covenant who is like a smelter’s fire and like fuller’s like (i.e., a purifying, caustic treatment)? Is he Elijah? Or is Elijah an angel of the covenant? Does the text indicate an expectation of a priestly Messiah? There is a very long history of interpretation on this verse, with multiple meanings already in antiquity.”

Luke 1:68-79

His father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant, David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor, Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Zechariah’s proclamation of praise introduces readers of Luke to many themes key to interpreting Luke/Acts.

Doxa-Greek for praise/bless/glorify. Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, the angel hosts, Simeon and Hannah all praise/bless/glorify God in just the first two chapters of Luke!

Remembers the Covenant-In Matthew, the author wrote, “This is to fulfill what the prophet spoke…” In Luke we read that God looks favorably and/or remembers.

Forgiveness-The author of Luke/Acts writes that the true nature of God is the one who forgives sins. Those who are faithful to God are those who forgive sins. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” only appears in Luke, said by Jesus, and Acts, said by Stephen at his stoning.

Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart,* for all of you share in God’s grace*with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

The Pauline letters in the New Testament follow a certain formula typical of correspondence of that time. First comes the address, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” Then comes the salutation, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” How many sermons have you heard which the pastor has begun with these vary words? Then comes Paul’s gratitude. The above passage is Paul’s generous gratitude for the church in Philippi.

Paul’s relationship with the church in Philippi appears, from this letter, to be a warm one. This congregation has supported his missionary travel financially and prayerfully, more so than wealthier congregations in larger cities. In addition, this is the only letter in which Paul uses the word “all” in his statement of gratitude for “all of you.”

Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler* of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler* of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler* of Abilene, 2during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’

Luke is the only gospel to list the various heads of state, and the writer does this twice. The first list of government office holders is at the beginning of the annunciation to Zechariah, “A decree went out from Emperor Augustus…while Quirinius was governor of Syria,” is the second, and the above is the third. Why does Luke include these?

First, the writer of Luke/Acts is the best author at giving the gospels context. Where are things happening and when are questions Luke/Acts answers better than any other book in the New Testament.

Second, and most importantly, the writer of Luke/Acts has as a goal that you, dear Theophilus, you, dear lover of God, would come to see what real power is through the hearing/reading of these books. There are all these Roman and Syrian governors and kings, but what are they doing to exercise mercy, pay attention to the downtrodden, and forgive sins? Even Herod the Great’s sons and the Temple priests are listed, and what are they doing to fulfill the covenant that they made with God, to show mercy to the outcast, hospitality to the alien, humility and service to all? Among all these world powers and religious VIP’s, who does God talk to, talk through? The only son of an ordinary elderly couple. And how does God come to be flesh on earth? Is he born one of Herod’s the Great’s sons reared in opulent palaces? Nope.