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Gospel study for Advent
A Study of Gospel Texts for Advent and Christmas
- First Sunday of Advent (Living Out of a Different Future)
- Second Sunday of Advent (A Time of Repentance)
- Third Sunday of Advent (Can the Good News Be Offensive?)
- Fourth Sunday of Advent (When God's Action Confuses Us)
- Christmas Eve or Christmas (Don't Be Afraid!)
Preparing for His Coming
A Study of Gospel Texts for Advent and Christmas
by Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez and Justo L. Gonzalez
About the Study's Authors
Catherine Gonzalez is a professor of church history at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. Justo Gonzalez is an author and lecturer in church history working on a ten volume church history in Spanish.
I. Living Out of a Different Future: The First Sunday in Advent
Matthew 24:36,44: The lessons for the first Sunday in Advent are always rather apocalyptic. The emphasis is on the Second Coming of Christ. Many of us dislike this subject, because too often we have heard it discussed in connection with a message of fear rather than hope. On that basis, when we hear talk of the end of history, or of divine judgment, we fear that we shall hear nothing but fire and brimstone. But we must remember that judgment is the context in which grace is shown, and that an endless history would be meaningless. Thus seen, the affirmation of an end of history, and of divine judgment, are words of hope and meaning.
The apocalyptic emphasis of this Sunday is helpful in several ways. First, it counteracts the easy romanticism of looking at the babe in the manger without any further realization of the significance of his birth. The babe whose birth we celebrate is the one who holds the meaning of history in his life. His birth is the beginning of the end. His birth is the beginning of both the judgment On history and the redemption of history. This means that to celebrate Christmas is to be open to the judgment and the redemption of God on our own lives and on the society in which we live.
A second way in which the stress on the Second Coming is helpful in Advent is through the awareness that the Gospel is not a cyclical story, as if the Christ Child were born every winter to die and rise again in the Spring. We stand on the far side of that first Christmas. We know who this child is in a way that could not have been known at that time. In the same way that the Cross is a once and for all event, so is the birth. What we look forward to as Christians is not another Christmas but the end of history and Christ's return as the Lord of all.
This particular Gospel lesson parallels the end of history with the time of Noah. Noah was faithful and built the ark even when no rain was in sight. Other people went on with their lives as usual, unaware that judgment was coming. They were therefore unprepared when the flood came. Even with the warnings that Noah gave by his building, they went on until it was too late.
The gospel writer then says that we are those who know that the end is at hand, that judgment is coining. We must live our lives out of that knowledge even as Noah did. We cannot go on with life as usual in the terms of the wider society. We cannot know the time, even as Noah did not exactly know the time; but we must prepare, even as he built the ark while the sun still shone.
The preparation for Christmas begins with the warning that to celebrate Christmas rightly means to be well aware of who this child is the "Son of Man" who is the Lord and judge of history. To prepare to celebrate his birth is to be open to his judgment even now, in order that we may be faithful ones who build arks when the sun shines. This we must do even though the rest of the world thinks us foolish. If we know that a different order is coming, we must begin to organize our lives out of that order. If the future for which we hope is one of peace and justice, we must now live as witnesses to that future.
Judgment is only part of the message. The birth of the Lord is ultimately a time of fulfillment, for it is the dawning of the Kingdom. Therefore, this birth is the beginning of redemption, and those who celebrate it participate even now in the joy of the Kingdom and live out of its ways. Our whole lives are to be marked by such obedience. We do not know the time of the Lord's coming again. Therefore our whole lives must be lived as though he might return at any time. We must be ready. For most of us, it is difficult enough to be ready for Christmas. What we are called to be ready for, however, by this Advent season, is far more than Christmas. It is the Kingdom itself.
Prayer at Lighting the First Advent Candle: O Babe of Bethlehem, as we prepare ourselves for the celebration of your birth, help us to see beyond Christmas to the glory of who you are and shall be for the whole world. In this season, may your light shine in our hearts so that we may see what is amiss in our lives and needs to be changed. Shine also on our common life so that we may see there too what is not in accord with your will. Help us to be unafraid to be different than the rest of the world. We ask for the light of your judgment as we light this first candle. In your name we pray. Amen.
II. A Time of Repentance: The Second Sunday in Advent
Matthew 3:1 12: The Second Sunday in Advent traditionally celebrated in many churches as "Bible Sunday." Advent seems an appropriate time to stress the word written as well as the Word Incarnate. The Epistle lesson is usually geared most directly to this concern. However, the Gospel lesson for this Sunday can also be helpful.
The characters in this lesson are John the Baptist, people of Judea and Jerusalem, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. Clearly they are all Jews, the People of God. Why is John baptizing? What does it mean? Many things may be implied, but surely repentance is paramount. The Jews could repent because they knew what God required of them. They had the Law and the Prophets. They had the Scriptures. Evidently many people had come to John because they knew that they had not lived in accordance with the will of God. His baptism may have been a way of saying that they needed to enter the People of God again, even as a convert to Judaism needed to be baptized. So the text says that they were baptized, confessing their sins.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were religious leaders within Judaism, belonging to different parties. They also came out to the river, seeking baptism. John evidently does not believe that they are repentant. judging from verses 7 9, John believes that these leaders base their hope on the fact that they are the People of God, descendants of Abraham, and no judgment can affect them. If they really wish John to baptize them, they need to be aware of the judgment that is coming and change their lives so that they actually carry out the will of God.
Even as last week, the stress is on the coming judgment. Christians now stand in very much the same situation as did the religious lenders of Judaism. We may assume that since we are the People of God, members of churches in good standing, we have no reason to concern ourselves about judgment. John's warning is for us as well. Truly to be the People of God is to bring forth the fruit that shows we intend to be obedient.
For us, even as for Israel, Scripture is the means by which we know what it is God wants. Left to our own devices, we would probably assume that God is mainly concerned with religious matters. Scripture makes it clear that justice and mercy are the weightiest matters of the law. Evidently the religious leaders could pride themselves in being religious, which made them feel immune to the sharp critique of the law, properly understood. We Christians often fall into the same trap, and think that if we do the proper religious things, we have met God's demands upon the People of God. Only a constant study of Scripture can keep us attuned to the will of God.
This passage closes with John's statement that the one who is greater is coming, the one whose way he is preparing, by calling for repentance. Again, as last week, the coming of Christ is a time of judgment as well as redemption. Therefore, the proper preparation for the celebration of his birth is repentance.
Prayer at the Lighting of the Second Candle: O Jesus Christ, as we prepare for the celebration of your birth, let us cling ever more closely to the Word of God, so that we may be your faithful disciples. Take away from us any self righteous ness that makes us think that because we are religious we are good. We light this second candle, heeding the cry of John the Baptist that we repent and bring forth in our lives the fruits that befit repentance. In your name we pray. Amen.
III. Can the Good News Be Offensive? Third Sunday in Advent
Matthew 11:2 11: John the Baptist had spoken of the greater one who was to come after him. He had baptized Jesus, and had recognized him as that one. Yet now, in prison, he seems less sure. If Jesus is indeed the Messiah, why is the faithful forerunner in prison? Why have things not changed? Therefore John sends word to Jesus, asking very specifically if Jesus is indeed the one who is the awaited Messiah.
John's question is very direct. Evidently he expected an honest answer from Jesus, perhaps a statement that Jesus, too, was a forerunner, and the Messiah was still to come. Jesus's answer is to return to the prophecies of Isaiah about the coming day of the Lord. In that day, the deaf shall hear, the blind shall see, and the poor shall have good news preached to them. These may well have been different signs than John was expecting. Yet these are signs that John could well understand.
The sixth verse is interesting: "And blessed is he who takes no offense at me."
Why would someone take offense at the works of Jesus? Wouldn't it be natural to expect everyone to be delighted to have the deaf hear, the blind see, and the poor rejoice in good news they have received? We need only look around at our own world to know that everyone is not overjoyed with such signs. Especially it is not true that everyone is glad to have good news preached to the poor. Many are persecuted for such proclamation. Why? Because it does involve the recognition that God is very much interested in the poor. Those who prefer to think that God is mainly concerned with "religious activities" are very much offended when that assumption is challenged. John the Baptist, in last week's lesson, had rebuked the religious leaders for their blindness and lack of repentance. Now Jesus tells John to consider the works that he, Jesus, is doing. They are indeed the works of the faithful one. They are signs of the Messiah.
Most of us would probably be very annoyed with someone who challenged our authority or questioned who we thought we were. Yet after Jesus answered the question of John, he turned to the crowd and defended John. John was prophet a true prophet. He had a right to raise the question. The people knew he was a prophet. They had gone into the wilderness to hear him and be baptized by him. He was a harsh prophet, that is true, But he had earned the right to be heard. His life was of a piece with his message. John's authority was not based on wealth or power. Kings live in palaces and wear soft clothing. John was a prophet. His power and authority was of a different sort. These are very important words for the Church to hear. What kind of authority and power do we have in the world? Do people listen to the Church because of the Church's prestige and wealth? Or is the Church prophetic, having a different source of authority?
The eleventh verse makes our situation clearer. John was the last of the prophets leading to the Messiah. We who stand after the Incarnation, after the actual inauguration of the Kingdom in our midst, are in a different situation. We have even greater possibilities than John did. But what this passage says still holds for us. The signs of the nearness of the Kingdom and the Messiah are that good news is preached to the poor, that the blind see and the deaf hear. And it is still true that prophets do not live in kings' palaces.
As we prepare for Christmas, we need to remember the faithfulness of John the Baptist a faithfulness that would cost his life. We need to be aware of the true signs of this Messiah. And we need to realize the role to which we are called as followers of this Messiah. We have good news to tell to the poor. And blessed are those who do not take offense.
Prayer at the Lighting of the Third Candle: O Jesus Christ, many were offended at your coming and at your message. Give us the strength and faithfulness to be true proclaimers of your good news, even though it may be offensive to many. We light this candle as a sign of your bright light in the midst of a dark world. Help us to be bearers of that light and to call others out of the darkness. This we ask in your name. Amen.
IV. When God's Action Confuses Us: The Fourth Sunday in Advent
Matthew 1:18 25: For the past three weeks we have been preparing ourselves for the celebration of the true meaning of Christmas. But this week, we concentrate on the preparation God has been making for that event. Several of the themes of the past few weeks are also caught up in this account. The child is not going to be born in a king's palace not with these parents. He will be the one who can redeem people from their sins, who can start them on new lives. In that sense he will be far more than John the Baptist who can call people to repentance but not redeem. This child will be God with us, the dawning of the Kingdom.
For many years, there has been such concentration on the Virgin Birth that it has become a divisive issue in many churches. What has been lost sight of is the real significance of this doctrine. It was not a means for insisting that Jesus was partly divine and partly human, since he had one parent of each. That view has been totally rejected by the Church. He is fully human and fully divine. Nor is the Virgin Birth a way of saying he is sinless. Any notion that human sexuality is sinful denies the good creation of God that intended sexuality. Human sexuality has been corrupted by sin, as has every other aspect of human life. We need to go back and see What the Virgin Birth means in the context of the earliest church.
In the early history of Israel, the actual establishment of the People of God had involved a number of births by women who had been clearly shown to be barren. This is true above all of Sarah and the birth of Isaac, but it is by no means limited to her. In fact, it almost appears that those who play the greatest roles in the establishment of the People are born of such mothers. What this meant to Israel was that such a birth was by no means the result of the natural life of the world. God had been involved in a direct and specific way. The child who was born of a barren woman was seen as selected by God for a particular role and purpose. The birth of such children was an act of grace and not merely of nature. Nor was it simply an event for their own sake or for the sake of their parents. It was an event for the redemption of the world, for God's purposes in history.
The early portions of the Old Testament are filled with such accounts. The New Testament, in Luke's Gospel, has the same situation surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. Both Luke and Matthew then give us the story of the Virgin Birth. A virgin is barren in a radical way. What is intended here is the stress that the birth of this child is radically dependent on God's activity and initiative, and is not to be seen as simply the natural course of events. On the human side, the proper child for this role could not be the product of our sinful history. On God's side, there was a dramatic initiative, not a waiting until history produced the one God could use. The Virgin Birth is the culmination and the end of the accounts of barren women. The meaning is in what it says about God and God's activity for redemption in the world, and the world's inability to redeem itself. The one who is born is more than any patriarch or prophet, but he follows in their line.
Joseph is presented as a good man, confused by what has happened, trying to be just and do the right thing. Of course he assumes Mary has been unfaithful to him. Yet he believed the dream that he had. He believed that what was happening was God's doing, the redemptive act for which Israel was waiting. Joseph's belief parallels Abraham's faith. The ways of God are clearly not our ways, and often they are confusing to us. In our attempts to be just we often do not understand what is happening. Had Joseph's faith faltered, had he decided to protect himself by divorcing Mary, how much more difficult the situation would have been for her. Yet his faith held. The account is simple: "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife." So the stage is set for the birth.
When God intervenes in human life and history, the result is often that we are confused. God does not act as we would like or expect. At that point, it is easy to rebel and continue along our own chosen paths. After all, we tell ourselves, God ought to be more predictable and accommodating! In such cases, faith calls us to obedience, even against our "better" judgment.
Prayer at the Lighting of the Fourth Candle: O Lord Jesus Christ, your coming into the world caused confusion even to those closest to the event, and yet faith overcame their confusion and allowed them to be participants in the redemption you brought. Your coming into our world continues to create confusion for us. In our attempts to be just we are still confused, unless our faith in you holds firm. Let this candle be the sign of that gift of faith that can hold back the confusion that darkens our minds so that we too may be participants in the great salvation that is heralded by your birth in our midst. In your name we pray. Amen.
V. Don't Be Afraid! Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
Luke 2:1.14: The preparation is over; the celebration begins. The account in Luke is so familiar. The census by the Roman Empire clearly shows the status of Israel as under foreign domination. Mary and Joseph are subject to this domination, sufficiently so that they must make the trip to Bethlehem in spite of Mary's condition. Bethlehem is crowded, so they are housed in the stable. God has prepared the situation for the birth of the Messiah, but clearly human society is not so prepared. We have a difficult time imagining turning away a woman who was about to give birth even if her child was not to be the Messiah. Yet all over the world, and even in parts or our own society, pregnant women and little children are turned away from food and shelter. And God chose to be born among us in such a situation: under political domination, among those about whom the society is unconcerned. Clearly Jesus is not born in a king's palace among those who wear soft raiment.
The story continues. Such a birth would obviously be unnoticed by the usual channels of communication in the society. If a woman could be so easily turned away with no concern, the actual birth would also cause no comment. Yet the news is given, but given to those who also are powerless and marginal: to the shepherds on the hills. An angel, a messenger from God, appears to them. And the first words of the angel are: "Don't be afraid." Those are the same words with which the angel in the dream of Joseph began the message to him in last Sunday's lesson. It seems that God's activity is frightening to us, and the reassurance we need most of the time is the word: "Don't be afraid."
The angel tells the shepherds not to be afraid because they are about to receive good news. Remember the response of Jesus to the question of John the Baptist in the lesson for the Third Sunday in Advent: The poor have good news preached to them. That was a sign of the Messiah. Even at his birth, good news is preached to the poor. In fact, the word of his birth is good news to the poor. Truly understood, the announcement of the birth of the Messiah is in itself, good news to the poor. A celebration that is not such good news, or is good and inoffensive news to the rich, is therefore not a proper celebration.
The announcement was given to the shepherds. They needed the words not to be afraid, for if one angel had frightened them, they would have been overwhelmed with the appearance of a multitude of them. The message is the word about both God and humanity: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom God is pleased."
In a time when peace is the fervent hope for so much of the world's population, the promise of peace is greeted with open arms at Christmas. Jesus is indeed the Prince of Peace. Yet these words of the angels need to be looked at closely. It is not a promise of peace in general. It is a promise of peace to those with whom God is pleased. We have seen throughout the Advent season what pleased God. It is not the religious people, but the just who are pleasing. It is not more religion but more justice that brings peace. Yet we have seen other things as well in the lessons of Advent. We have seen that even a good and just person such as Joseph can be confused by God's action. And we have seen that the redemption that is needed by the world is not something that human good will alone can bring.
The message of Christmas is that God's activity on our behalf has begun the process of redemption for a world controlled by sin. A possibility for peace has begun. The one whose birth we celebrate makes possible a peace that was not possible before. Faith in him makes possible perseverance in justice in spite of confusion. The gospel about him calls us to faithfulness.
But the first part of this angel's message is of glory to God. There is a proper worship of God. There is a place for gathering as God's People to praise and glorify God, to pray and hear God's Word to us. If this is what religion is, then that is good. But the test as to whether our worship is proper is the fruit that it bears. If we are therefore made more faithful, more constant in doing justice, more aware of injustice, then we are indeed glorifying God, and God's pleasure will be with us. We will be given the peace that we seek. The proper celebration of Christmas makes us peacemakers in the world.
Prayer at the Lighting of the Christmas Candle: O Lord Jesus Christ, help us to celebrate your birth rightly so that we may indeed be bringers of peace to the world, even as you are the Prince of Peace. May this candle that we light remind us of the great glory that surrounded the shepherds as they heard the announcement of your birth. May we also be unafraid to hear the good news of your birth in all its fullness. Be with us throughout this Christmas season, so that this time of celebration may renew and strengthen us for the year ahead. This we ask in your name. Amen.
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