Sunday December 4 Advent 2
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Psalm 148
These three psalms are especially appropriate on Sundays, the mini-anniversary of the resurrection. All creation praises God—the heavens, the earth—including fog, sea monsters, and “creeping things” (perhaps even insects or worms)—and humanity—rulers, young people and old people—all things without exception praise God together. Notice that the sequence is taken from the first creation story in Genesis: first the heavens, then creatures of the water, then creatures of the land, and finally people.
Psalm 149
Songs of joy at God’s victory. The joy of military victories toward the end of the psalm was their way of saying that God has conquered all injustice.
Psalm 150
A scene of riotous joy as every conceivable instrument and every creature praises God.
Isaiah 5: 1-7 What’s Isaiah about?
God speaks of the people of Jerusalem, who have been conquered, as a beloved vineyard which God has abandoned—just as Jerusalem has been broken down by invaders. This has happened because innocent people were being killed instead of receiving justice. “He expected … righteousness, but heard a cry!” means God expected fairness but heard cries of innocent people being terrified.
Luke 7: 28-35 What’s Luke about?
Jesus describes John the Baptist as the greatest person who ever lived because he had led the people to claim the land for justice and fairness, in opposition to the Roman empire. But people rejected the arrival of both John the Baptist and Jesus. Like grumpy children they refuse to respond to either John’s challenge to reform or to Jesus’ offer of new life which would make everyone greater than John the Baptist. Nevertheless, the wisdom in John and Jesus remains available—the question is how we will respond to their offer of new life.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
who sent your servant John the Baptist
to prepare your people to welcome the Messiah,
inspire us, the ministers and stewards of your truth,
to turn our disobedient hearts to you,
that when the Christ shall come again to be our judge,
we may stand with confidence before his glory;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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