Isaiah 12:2-6

Isaiah 12:2-6 (NRSV)

² Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid,

for the Lord God is my strength and my might;

he has become my salvation. 

³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴ And you will say in that day:

Give thanks to the Lord,

call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations;

proclaim that his name is exalted. 

⁵ Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

let this be known in all the earth.

⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. 

Isaiah 12:2-6 is a portion of the song of the redeemed that began in verse 1. 

The song originated in the 500’s to 400’s. It has elements of a song of thanksgiving. The passage focuses on eschatology. The day of the saving action of the Lord has also been a theme in the preceding chapters. It receives mention in 10:20; 10:27, 11:10 and 11:11, each of which reintroduces the content of the names of the three prophetic children. The first and last of these four predict Israel's restoration after exile using the image of the returning remnant. Thus, On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them [presumably Assyria], but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return (10:20). Further, on that day the Lord will extend the hand of the Lord yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of the people of the Lord from the many lands to which they have been scattered (11:11). 10:27 Further still, evoking an image of one carrying off spoil or being carried off captive, on that day, the Lord will remove the burden of the enemy from your shoulder, and the yoke of the enemy from their neck (10:27). Finally, recalling the promise of Immanuel, on that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples (11:10) Chapter 12 carries on this theme of the day of the Lord by portraying it as the day on which the people will speak their gratitude for the faithful saving help of the Lord. 

² Surely God is my salvation (yeshuati); I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God (Ya-YHWH)[1] is my strength and my might; the Lord has become my salvation (yeshua). ³ With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation (yeshua). This refers to the limitless possibility that Israel enjoyed when the time of salvation arises. "Salvation" occurs three times in verses 2-3. The image of "wells" or "springs of salvation," from which the people would draw water is an image unique to this passage. Because of Israel's dependence upon rainfall and underground springs for most of the water that kept them and their flocks alive, the comparison of the life-giving salvation of the Lord to an underground spring would be a powerful image. Psalm 116:13 has a similar image, although here it is only a "cup of salvation," again, the saving help of the Lord compared to water that sustains and nourishes. The image suggests water that saves, refreshes, cleanses, and strengthens God's people. Given the deep sin of the nation, the people would need to dig deep in repentance to tap into God's healing water, but the promise of God is that it is available to all who seek it. Most of us do not think much about where our water comes from these days. City dwellers twist a tap and do not think twice about the source until the bill comes. Rural folks may still draw their water from a well, but it is usually a well drilled by professionals. We have never felt the joy of a parched people who have labored for days, weeks or years to dig in dry earth and who finally find water deep in a hole. ⁴ In addition, you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on the name of the Lord; make known the deeds of the Lord among the nations; proclaim that the name of the Lord is exalted. The themes of this verse have a close relationship with two psalms. The psalmist encourages the people to give thanks to the Lord, call on the name of the Lord, and make known the deeds of the Lord (105:1). The people are to praise the name of the Lord, for only the Lord is exalted (148:13). ⁵ Sing praises to the Lord, for the Lord has done gloriously; let all the earth know this.[2] This translation of the Hebrew makes it the responsibility of the people of the Lord to make sure the earth knows the glory of the Lord. Another less popular translation that does not correct the Hebrew text suggests that the earth already knows the wonderful things the Lord has done. Both are defensible but lead to quite separate ways of approaching this passage. ⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. The divine title emphasizes God's presence amid the people.

It can be so difficult to approach our lives with a spirit of gratitude. Suffering, frustration, and challenge, all occur here. We can experience such profound loss of family and friends that we wonder how we can go on. We can become incredibly bored with our lives. Should we wait until some future date, when we think everything will be better, before we give thanks? 

Of course, we often get ourselves in trouble. We seek deliverance, healing, and direction in life from all the wrong places. For many of us, pleasure and materialism have become a well from which we have drunk. We listen to false teachers. They may satisfy us for a while. Yet, they become empty wells. We seek meaning and happiness while recognizing that the things we do often lead us further away. 

Even if giving thanks, even if approaching life with gratitude requires courage today, it looks with faith toward what God is doing and with hope toward what God will do. We do not have to understand it all. What we can do is drink deeply from the satisfying well of living water the Lord has provided. Life does not become easy or smooth when we do this. We can discover, however, a satisfaction that we have not tied so closely to circumstances or how we feel.

In Jules Verne's 1864 novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth, a mad German scientist named Otto Lidenbrock decides to take a journey down through the mouth of a volcano into the Earth's core where he and his companions find a world filled with prehistoric dinosaurs, mastodons, and giant humans, among other things. It is an adventure story that continues to intrigue people in the 21st century. The 2008 movie version, starring Brendan Fraser, acts as a kind of sequel to the original book. 

Of course, any elementary school science student knows that the story and all its adaptations are pure fiction. When you drill down deep into the Earth, you do not eventually pop up in China, and you do not find dinosaurs (unless you count their remains in the form of oil). The Earth's core is not a prehistoric wonderland. The core is a solid ball made up of an iron and nickel alloy that, according to seismologists, is as hot as the surface of the sun. A real journey to the center of the Earth would be a one-way trip to a barbecue of apocalyptic proportions.

Still, no one has ever drilled down that deep (3,959 miles) to see what is there. The closest humans have come is a hole drilled in the Soviet Union beginning in 1970 called the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which reached 12,261 meters (about 7.5 miles) -- a long way from the center of the Earth. Drilling that hole was all about pulling up core samples of rock for study. 

Most human drilling is a lot shallower than that. We know about drilling for oil, of course, but the most common purpose for which humans dig deep is to find water. This is particularly important for those who live in the most arid parts of the world. Since the beginning of history, people have gone to great lengths to tap into underground sources of water, digging wells by hand without the benefit of modern drill rigs. 

In rural Pakistan, for example, a group of villagers dug down 400 feet by hand before they tapped into an aquifer. Hitting 400 feet is nothing compared to the Kola Superdeep Borehole, but it is everything to these desert-dwelling people. It takes a camel and a long rope to draw the water out of such a deep well, and, while it is a slow process, every drop is precious. Check out the YouTube video referenced below which gives you a perspective of just how amazing a feat it is to dig a 400-foot well by hand.

The uncanny ability of the aboriginal inhabitants to find water in the desert astounded the first European explorers to venture into the Australian outback. Often, these water sources, known as "soakages," were under several feet of sand. The aborigines would find a promising spot and start digging. Several feet down, water would begin to seep into the bottom of the hole. What made this method so baffling to Europeans was that there was no marker on the surface indicating where to start digging. The aborigines just seemed to know where, in an expanse of unmarked sand, was the right spot. Some wondered if they had an innate ability to smell water. In 1962, a man named Donald Thomson published an account of time spent among the aborigines, during which he witnessed a sophisticated method of mapping, by which they passed on the survival secrets of one generation to the next. Designs carved into aboriginal wooden spear-throwers held the secret, combined with oral tradition:

 "Just before we left, the old men recited to me the names of more than fifty waters -- wells, rock holes and clay pans ... this, in an area that the early explorers believed to be almost waterless. ... And on the eve of our going, Tjappanongo (Tjapanangka) produced spear-throwers, on the backs of which were designs deeply incised, more or less geometric in form. Sometimes with a stick, or with his finger, he would point to each well or rock hole in turn and recite its name, waiting for me to repeat it after him. Each time, the group of old men listened intently and grunted in approval -- 'Eh!' -- or repeated the name again and listened once more. This process continued with the name of each water until they were satisfied with my pronunciation. ... I realized that here was the most important discovery of the expedition ... what was really a map, highly conventionalized ... of the waters of the vast terrain over which the Bindibu hunted."[3]

 

Long before it became an entertainment and gambling mecca, Las Vegas, Nevada, people settled there because of its springs: a reliable source of drinking water in the center of a barren desert landscape. Those springs are now history. Far from being a source of water, the burgeoning Las Vegas metro area soaks up sparse water supplies from hundreds of miles away. Over 90 percent of Las Vegas' water supply comes from Lake Mead, the vast reservoir behind Hoover Dam. Water levels in Lake Mead have been falling for the last decade, even as new housing and commercial development has increased. 

To dig the well, you will need to stop on your journey and start digging. To bring up its water, you will need to stop your journey and draw out the water. There is a Frank and Ernest cartoon that has the two of them riding on a road marked by an arrow, "Road to Success."  But up ahead is another sign: "Be prepared to Stop."  In a world that prizes bigness, we need the reminder that small is beautiful.  In a world that worships speed, we need the reminder that slow is beautiful.  Stop is beautiful.  Sabbath is beautiful.  There is an old proverb that goes like this:

Fear less; hope more

Eat less; chew more

Whine less; breathe more

Talk less; say more

Hate less; love more

And all good things will be yours.

 

First, we find when we go deep into the well of God's salvation God's strength, or the fact that God is trustworthy and will deliver us from fear. "Surely God is my salvation. I will trust in him and not be afraid for the LORD God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation" (v. 2). The exiles will one day know that God was with them all the time, no matter how bleak the circumstances might have looked. One of the Bible's most oft-repeated phrases is "do not be afraid." Our salvation does not come from our own efforts or by accident. It is God alone who saves us and stands by us in strength. Fear is not an option for those who trust in God and drill deep into his love.

Second, we discover a thankful heart. Twice in this passage the exiled but returning people of God offer thanks. "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name" (v. 4). Our response to the saving grace of God is thanksgiving. We remember always what God has done for us, and we "make his deeds known among the nations" (v. 4). Indeed, we should make known the deeds God has done in our own hearts and lives, telling others how thankful we are for God's grace, salvation, and strength in pulling us out of sin and into a new life. So often our prayers are all about what we want God to do. When we spend time thanking God, however, we begin to realize that God has already been at work in us long before we knew it. God continues to drill into our hearts with love until we see the light of grace. We offer thanks to God because we know we could never have done for ourselves what God has done for us. 

I once saw George Foreman (around 2007) promoting his grill. He talked about his 1974 fight against Muhammed Ali. At the time, he wanted to have the fight out of revenge. He stresses now that he wanted to kill somebody in the ring. He did not know it at the time, but his loss turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. In 1977, after a boxing loss, he had a near-death experience of being in Hell. He pled for God to help him. He eventually turned to his Bible, to the church as an ordained minister, and to a new way of life.  I saw the young Robert Schuler promoting his new book. The interviewer asked about Thanksgiving. With all the extended family coming over, someone in the family will come with whom you just do not get along. What do you do then? His counsel was simple. This is Thanksgiving. Give thanks for them. After all, you are not going to change them, so give thanks. For a variety of reasons, thanksgiving is not always easy. What do we do then?

Even if giving thanks is difficult, give thanks anyway. A spirit of gratitude in life does not depend upon the circumstances of your life. As our Scripture says, “I will give thanks to you, O Lord.” The psalm ends with the encouragement to the reader, “Give thanks to the Lord.” The Bible often does this. It encourages people to give thanks. At some seasons in our lives, we need all the encouragement we can get to give thanks.

My wife and I watched (around 2007) the John Ford movie, The Grapes of Wrath, a 1940 movie concerning the depression of the 1930’s. It shows farmers in Oklahoma kicked off their land by banks and corporations. It also shows them traveling to the West, to California, with hope for a new life. Of course, within the perspective of the movie, that was the end of the story. Yet, what was the rest of the story? What the movie cannot show is that their children would, in the 1950’s, become those who purchased all those beach party songs. They went on to live their lives quite happily in sunny California. The movie does not have the perspective of the end to tell us the rest of the story. It can only end with some sadness, combined with the hope that something better will come along.  

            The modern praise song goes like this.

 

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

 

Blessed be Your name when I’m found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name

 

Every blessing You pour out I turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say

 

Blessed be the name of The Lord Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of The Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

 

Blessed be Your name when the sun’s shining down on me

When the world’s all as it should be

Blessed be Your name

 

Blessed be Your name   

on the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

 

You give and take away   

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say, blessed be Your name

 

God does not lift us out of the trials and struggles of life.  Rather, God gives us grace and confidence amid them.  Every congregation goes through challenging times. Yet, what does God have prepared for us on the other side? We do not know. Yet, we will give thanks, even for the tough times.

Roy Campanella was a baseball player who was in a car accident that made it impossible for him to walk.  During his physical recovery, he came across this statement of "A Creed for Those Who Have Suffered."  

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.  I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do great things.  I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy.  I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of people.  I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.  I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.  Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.  I am, among people, most richly blessed!

 

It is time to stop.  This is not like fast food, where we can drive up, get what we want, and move on.  We need to stop.  It is time to look at our lives once again, not in light of this day, or even this week, but in light of eternity.  We can then stop long enough to draw water from the wells salvation. I will give thanks to you, O Lord.

Third, we discover the joy of worship. Coupled with thanksgiving, when we drill deep into God's salvation we also find a reason for worship. "Sing praises to the LORD for he has done gloriously, let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel" (v. 6). So often we think of worship as an event we go to or an obligation we endure. We "go to worship" in an external way, but real worship is something that bubbles up from inside us. Our baptism marks us as people who have found deep water, and we should not only come to worship each week anticipating the joy of being in God's presence, we should want to celebrate it every day. Our worship should reflect the joyous sounds of people who have hit a gusher of grace. 

If you are going to draw water from a well, you will have to turn aside, stop, drop the bucket down, and draw the water up. You cannot have a fair race at the Indy 500 without the pace car.  It circles the track slightly ahead of the others, with the responsibility of bringing the whole field up to speed and into the race.  No one will reward the driver, but the race cannot start without him.  I want to invite you to stop, to pray, and to wait.

Vaclav Havel, the last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic, suggests that our prosperity has led to disconnected lives.  Though we are more capable of explaining our world rationally, we understand our lives less and less.  We are missing that experience of the wholeness of life.  We have lost a sense of reverence. We no longer know our place in the great scheme of things.  We want to be happy.  Yet, we have abandoned religion, the church, and God.  For many, he says, life is unraveling.

There are many wells out there. You may look for happiness in wealth, in success, in family and friends, and yet that well will be empty.  We look around us and all we see may be wilderness.  Yet, we can go to another well. I would call this a personal, vital, and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We can let that bucket down deep into the water of salvation.

---

[1] Although the NRSV translates this divine name as "Lord God," the textual notes in most annotated Bibles indicate that the Hebrew phrase being rendered here is not the standard YHWH Elohim, but rather, Ya-YHWH, an unusual title. This seemingly awkward pairing of the tetragrammaton and its abbreviation has prompted translations throughout the ages, beginning with the Greek and Latin versions, to delete the abbreviated name as a suspected scribal error.

[2] The only other textual issue of any note is that there is a Ketiv-Qere in verse 5 regarding the word translated "be made known." The traditional reading (the Qere) corrects the form that is written (the Ketiv) from "this is known in all the earth" to "this is to be MADE known in all the earth." The difference in the Hebrew spelling is minor but the result of the change in meaning is significant. One assumes that the earth already knows what great things God has done. The other places upon Israel the burden of notifying the earth of the great deeds done for them by the Holy One of Israel who dwells in Zion. In this light, the message is clear - the people of the Lord must complete the fulfillment of prophecy by declaring the saving acts of the Lord to all the earth. There is, however, no such error here. What Isaiah is doing is quoting a verse from another, more ancient, Israelite song of thanksgiving and praise of God, Exodus 15:2, which begins "YA is my strength and my might." Psalm 118:14 also cites this exact verse, and both Isaiah and the psalmist preserve the archaic spelling, both of YHWH's name as well as the word "my might," or "my song" as other versions have it. The Hebrew of Exodus 15:2 does not add the first person ending, perhaps because this earlier form of Hebrew did not require it in that the suffix is present on the word meaning "my strength." It is a testimony to the reverence with which the Song of the Sea was treated that neither later writer was willing to add the single letter to their version that would have placed the first person ending where it would seem to have been required by later Hebrew. Isaiah is willing, however, to clarify for his later hearers that YA is indeed YHWH with whom they are familiar.

[3]  --Donald F. Thomson, "The Bindibu Expedition: exploration among the desert Aborigines of Western Australia," The Geographical Journal, March 1962, cited in Wikipedia.com, "Soakage (source of water)": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soakage. Retrieved June 3, 2013.

Luke 3:1-6

Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV)

 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, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as 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 3:1-20 (Matt 3:1-12, Mark 1:1-8, John 1:6-8, 15, 19-28) is the account of the ministry of John the Baptist. Luke, the master storyteller, spends the first three chapters of his gospel carefully interweaving the lives of two individuals -- John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. More than any other writer, Luke focuses on the special relationship between these two prophesied figures. While John's ministry and message receive considerable ink, Luke does so only to differentiate with indisputable clarity the mission and identity of John from Jesus.  This text is part of that distinguishing process. He uses that moment to clearly distinguish John the Baptist -- the messenger -- from Jesus -- the Messiah -- the Beloved one who has come from God. The issue for Luke is not one of baptism, but of Christology.  

            That ministry, focused on the preaching of a message of radical social change accompanied by the symbolic act of baptism, both paved the way and provided a model for the ministry of Jesus that followed. He is the prophet of God Most High (1:76). As such, he paves the way for the ministry of Jesus by provoking a crisis around the nature of faithfulness to and identity before God and by directing popular hopes to the coming of a Messiah. He attracts hostility from the people, just as the prophets of Israel had done before him. 

            Luke 3:1-6 provides the setting and proclamation of the ministry of John the Baptist. 

Verses 1-2 are similar to Luke 1:1-4.[1] ¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, (suggesting around 28 AD) when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea (26-36 AD), and Herod Antipas was ruler or tetrach of Galilee and Peraea (4 BC-39 AD), and his half brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, (4 BC-34 AD) ² during the high priesthood of Annas (6-15) and Caiaphas (18-36 or 37), suggesting that Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, continued to exert great influence. The opening verses of this text feature one of Luke's most distinguishing authorial characteristics. More than any other gospel writer, Luke uses historical figures and chronological sequencing in ways that move narratives out of the political, economic, and sociological vacuum in which we might have some temptation to see them. Stylistically formal and rich in its detail, the narrative focuses on the historical scaffold that supports it. The reason Luke goes into such detail, however, is more of a literary question than a historical inquiry. Multiple historical dating in traditional Greco‑Roman literary style was a signal of the beginning of the main part of their narrative. The point Luke is making is not that Jesus is a contemporary of Augustus, but that they are contemporary to Jesus.[2] The writers of the Gospels distinguish their writing from myth proclaiming timeless truths by underlining the temporal limitations to which Jesus was subject. Palestine, Galilee, Jerusalem, and Rome provide a definite place in history for Jesus.[3] Thus, Luke is opening an important section of his work. It is the final preparatory step before Jesus himself begins active ministry. Luke unrolls a litany of secular rulers (he could have learned about the exact dates of Tiberius' reign by consulting Tacitus) as well as the most authoritative religious figures in the temple establishment of Jerusalem (although the wording of Luke's text implies an understanding of Annas and Caiphas as a kind of co‑high priests).

The word of God (ῥῆμα θεοῦ) came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.[4] here is a poignant reminder of the formation of Israel as a people in the exodus and hopes for restoration in a new exodus. John has received a special call, which Luke reinforces by using the traditional prophetic "call" formula. The list of the proud and powerful is in sharp contrast with the introduction of John, son of Zechariah, who was simply "in the wilderness." However, John's access to power comes from a different, non-Roman source.  The urbanity of the Roman powers contrasts with the rural setting that John's power gives him.  Into this secular and religious world of highly recognizable authorities, Luke introduces the unlikely figure of "John, son of Zechariah." After all the historical references, Luke's superscription enigmatically highlights the striking contrast between the perceived power brokers who occupy the political and religious mountaintops and the Lord's servant who wanders humbly in the wilderness and receives God's word. His prophetic career will have worldwide impact.

Verses 3-6, which depend upon Mark, presents John as one sent from God to prepare for the inauguration of the period of salvation. 

Historical information about John the Baptist is sparse, both within and outside of the Bible. Historical information about John the Baptist is sparse, both within and outside of the Bible. The only non-New Testament reference is in Josephus, where he ascribes the defeat of the army of Herod to the judgment of God upon Herod for killing John. It was a mark of divine displeasure with Herod. This historical note leads Josephus to describe his understanding of the ministry of John among the Jewish people. Josephus describes John as a good man who called upon the Jews to exercise virtue, which he defines as righteousness toward others and piety toward God. He called them to baptism, which he understood as a remission of sin and purification of the body. He supposed that righteousness purified the soul. He notes that many people came to him and found his words pleasing. Herod feared the influence of John over the thinking of the people and that he might persuade them to rebel. His influence was great enough that the people who baptized him would do anything he advised. He thought it best to have John killed to prevent any mischief he might cause. Herod also seemed concerned that John might persuade him to repent! Herod was a suspicious man. He had John killed at a castle called Macherus.^[5]  

Although Luke does not now give up as many details about John's lifestyle and appearance as do some of the other gospel writers, Luke does make enough observations about John to suggest that the Baptist had ties with the ascetical Qumran community. The Baptist and Qumran had some connections. However, it is also clear at this point that the Baptist is on his own, undertaking his own ministry with its own unique agenda. Luke also emphasizes the mysterious nature of God's ways – how the word of God brings down oppressive leaders and transforms broken lives. Oblivious to the power of governments, John ³ went into all the region around the Jordan,[6] the territory of Qumran, proclaiming (κηρύσσων ‑‑ "speak with authority") a baptism of repentance (μετανοίας ‑‑ "change of mind"), a purposeful turning from sin will result in the life-transforming experience for the forgiveness of sins, (mirroring aspects of the Qumran ablution rites and imminent judgment from God). 

People came from Jerusalem, Judea, and along the Jordan River, responding to the moral summons to turn away from sin (ἁμαρτίας) by receiving baptism in the Jordan, receiving washing, cleansing, and new life. Such a response requires the honesty of admitting sin, wandering, and lying. Sin is missing the mark, although at its heart, it is a refusal to become fully human. It is anything that interferes with the opening of the whole heart to God, to others, to creation, and to the self. Sin is estrangement, disconnection, sterility, and disharmony. Such honesty discloses consciousness of darkness within. 

Judaism had an internal debate regarding how to respond to the challenges of its historical setting. That setting included Gentile rule. Some aligned themselves comfortably with Roman rules, represented in the New Testament by those around Herod and tax collectors. Some had a pious devotion to Torah and if they could practice circumcision, observe the Sabbath, follow dietary restrictions, and offer sacrifices in the Temple, they would wait for God to act at the end of this age to defeat the enemies of Israel. The Pharisees and the Essenes represented different versions of this thinking. Still others accepted the pattern established by Judas Maccabeus (I and II Maccabees) of violent confrontation with Rome and thereby achieving a measure of political independence. Sometimes, but not always, this view had messianic interpretations that included a descendant of King David leading the way. Zealots held such views. John and Jesus would overlap with the views of the Pharisees and Essenes. 

John the Baptist came to the desolate and hilly region of Judea, stretching from the ridge of Palestine to the Jordan valley and the Red Sea. People left the comfort of the villages and cities to draw near to hear this message. Such persons joyfully participated in preparations for the coming of the Lord. The message John proclaimed, a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins, contains an important connection that will hold true in the rest of the New Testament. ^[7]  His message underscores the significance of his appearance. However, this significance is not because of his call to repent, which the prophets and even King Solomon urged upon people (I Kings 8:46-53; Isaiah 1:27; Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30). Such repentance involves renunciation of sin, regret over a past life that leads to a conversion to a new way of life. It involves turning around or a change of direction. These are the pre-conditions for receiving the salvation offered through the rule of God. It also is a difference between John and Jesus, for the latter did not baptize.^[8] Repentance is John’s hopeful word, pointing out our self-deceiving beliefs that we are good, worthy, deserving of our salvation and reminding us that our lives need turning around, to experiencing the washing in the cleansing waters of baptism as we anticipate the coming of the one mightier than John is. One does not experience enlightenment by simply imagining the light. One must also become conscious of the darkness.[9] Every day is judgment day. Through our deeds and words, our silence and speech, we are writing in the Book of Life.[10]

Why is John baptizing at all? Such baptism was a ritual lustration with roots already established within Jewish practice. Ritual washings in mikva'ot (immersion baths or pools) were commonplace, and people believed that this practice cleansed the body of its chronic profanity and sanctified it for worship of God.  Ritual purification with water was an important feature of Israelite religion, particularly regarding the impurity associated with various aspects of sexuality (e.g., intercourse and childbirth; see, e.g., Lev 15:18; Num 19:13). Ritual practices were widespread in Greco-Roman religion also, especially in cults associated with healing deities. Immersion in water, of either the whole body or parts, was a widely practiced means of ritual purification. Such rituals were part of the daily practice of the Essene community, and other groups used them more restrictively to mark significant transitions in life. There is also evidence that other groups in the region of the Jordan Valley were practicing forms of ritual immersion during this period, as well as evidence that a Jewish practice of proselyte baptism as part of an initiation ritual began sometime in the first century of the Common Era. Josephus suggests that people understood John’s baptism as precisely this kind of ritual purification, specifically of the body, because the soul had already been purified by righteous conduct.^[11] Therefore, while the practice of ritual purification with water did not originate with John the Baptist. 

However, John invited the Jewish people to submit to his baptism.[12] Submitting to baptism was a concrete expression of the act of repentance. It initiated people into a new community. Such confession took place before or during baptism. It involves a form of surrender, acknowledging you are on the wrong track, and ready to start a new life.[13]Something new is happening, and therefore, we must change. Repentance involves a turning around, a radical change of direction, involving the heart and will. Repentance involved the whole being of the repentant one. Repentance is the hopeful word of John, pointing out our self-deceiving beliefs that we are good, worthy, deserving of our salvation and reminding us that our lives need turning around.

The good news as found in the preaching of John is that forgiveness of sin is already available. Thus, the first step is simple honesty. Repentance is the admission that in our sin we need to receive forgiveness. Yet, the first step has a close relation to the second step, in which we acknowledge that God forgives. The good news begins in Mark as John invites people to receive forgiveness. We can receive the gift of washing, cleansing, and new birth. We can start over, fresh, like a newborn infant. God forgives. Such is the beginning and end of the good news. For all sin, God forgives. Since John baptize Jesus of Nazareth, his baptism will always be significant for Christians. God forgives sin, brings deliverance, and gives the gift of salvation. It means acceptance of daily repentance so that a new self will arise to live with God.^[14]Repentance is the journey of discipleship and the only way to continue in the path. Anything else is foolishness and self-delusion. Repentance suggests a form of both brute honesty and joyfulness that we will need for the spiritual journey.

C.S. Lewis describes the unrepentant condition as being in a "hole" where we need the help of a friend (i.e., a savior) to get us out. Into what sort of hole is it that we have gotten ourselves? It is behaving as if we belonged to ourselves. We are not simply imperfect creatures who need improvement; we are rebels who must lie down our arms. "Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor -- that is the only way out of a 'hole,'" says Lewis. This process of surrender is what we call repentance (the underlying Greek word means "changing the mind" or "turning around"), and it is what John was calling for in his prophetic preaching. Lewis adds this important note: "... this repentance ... is not something God demands of you before he will take you back and which he could let you off if he chose: it is simply a description of what going back to him is like." We cannot be right with God without repentance; it is like asking God to take us back without going back.[15]

The writer Kathleen Norris gives us another way to understand repentance. She tells of working as an artist-in-residence at a parochial school and telling children something about the psalms. The kids are often astonished to discover that the psalmists expressed the more unacceptable emotions like sadness and anger, even anger at God. She says that because the children know what it is like to be small in a world designed for big people. They identify quite readily with the psalmists, and often do quite well when she invites them to write their own psalms.

She tells of one boy who wrote a poem/psalm called "The Monster Who Was Sorry." He began by admitting that he hated it when his father yelled at him, and in the poem, he pictures himself responding by throwing his sister down the stairs, wrecking his room and then wrecking the whole town. The poem ends with, "Then I sit in my messy house and say to myself, 'I shouldn't have done that.'" Norris concludes her account of this boy's poem by referring to the fourth-century monks who guided beginners in the faith and suggesting that those monks would have told this boy "that he was well on the way toward repentance, not such a monster after all, but only human. If the house is messy, they might have said, why not clean it up, why not make it into a place where God might wish to dwell?"[16]

Stephen Vincent Benét once wrote a Christmas play in which the wife of the innkeeper -- truly a bit part, if ever there was one -- has a memorable line. Looking on in wonder at the strange events of that holy night, the innkeeper's wife realizes that something of tremendous import has happened there in her husband's barn. Therefore, she declares:

Rise up! The loves we had were not enough.
Something is loosed to change the shaken world,
And with it we must change!

 

That is the message of John the Baptist. Something has happened, and we must change.

In verses 4-6, the arrival of John fulfills prophecy. Luke amplifies one distinctive aspect of John's baptism; it flows directly from the prophet Isaiah, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah (40:3-5, an important text for Qumran),[17] “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Here is where Matthew and Mark stop the quote. A straight path befits a path for royalty. A path with curves may hide lurking enemies. Isaiah describes the results of the appearance of the messianic king. He does so through a series of contrasting pairs. 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. The contrasting pairs describe the perfected nature of life. It describes the improvements that await the created order. Finally, the presence of the Messiah-King will influence humanity as ⁶ all flesh shall see (experience) the salvation of God,’ the accomplishment of the true work of God. Clearly, the baptism of John is not merely an acknowledgment of bodily uncleanness, but a recognition that the complete transformation of each person's heart, soul and mind is also required (cf. Luke 3:8-14; 7:29-30; 20:1-8). We can see that John’s importance for the writers of the gospels is prophetic, pointing the way toward the one of whom Israel’s religious tradition prophesied, of which John clearly saw himself a part. From the wilderness, he declared the word of the Lord to the crowds who came to him under the nose of the recognized establishment. What a reversal, especially given that the imperial and religious authorities believed that they controlled the people. John himself inaugurates the fulfillment of Israel's consolation that she had anticipated ever since the Babylonian exile (587-539 B.C.). This text, associated with the return of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah, itself authenticates John the Baptist's ascetic lifestyle, the wilderness location of his preaching and the message of promised salvation that he offers. 

The baptism of John continues to have significance for Christians. The fact that Jesus will submit himself to his baptism should be sufficient reason. God forgives sin, brings deliverance, and gives the gift of salvation. It means acceptance of daily repentance so that a new self will arise to live with God.[18] Some Christian traditions have learned to have some embarrassment over the stereotype of old-fashioned preachers hammering their people on sin and making people feel guilty. To them, talk of repentance makes them nervous. This feeling has some truth contained in it. A French proverb says that years of repentance are necessary to blot out a sin in the eyes of human beings, but one tear of repentance suffices with God. Approached from another perspective, however, repentance is the doorway to the spiritual life and is, in fact, the only way to begin. Repentance is the journey of discipleship and the only way to continue in the path. Anything else is foolishness and self-delusion. Repentance suggests a form of both brute honesty and joyfulness that we will need for the spiritual journey. Of what in our past do we need to repent to allow God to do a new thing in us? Of what do we need forgiveness? Whom do we need to forgive to begin moving toward a different future? We might ask the question differently. From what do we need healing? The cleansing of the Baptist talked was not just a matter of what happened in the past. Such fresh and new people will receive the Holy Spirit that prepares them for ministry and mission. 

 

Applied to today, we might consider that the evangelical address of the church is in the situation and function of John the Baptist, which is also a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, and baptizing with water. The church has the duty of summoning people to knowledge of Christ and readiness for baptism with the Spirit.[19]

---

[1] This confirms for some scholars that Luke had written his gospel beginning with Chapter 3, and later added Chapters 1-2. However, Luke may follow contemporary style. Ancient Jewish historian Josephus self‑avowedly imitated Thucydides' style by opening major sections of his work with lists of dates. Therefore, it is likely that Luke here is signaling to his readers the beginning of a new important section of his work. 

[2] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)IV.2 [64.3], 160). 

[3] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)III.2 [47.1], 441). 

[4] Here is a minor agreement between Matthew and Luke against Mark, where they introduce John the Baptist before the quote from Isaiah, whereas Mark famously opens his gospel with the quote from Isaiah and then introduces John the Baptist.

[5] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chapter 5, Section 2.

[6] Here is a major agreement of Matthew and Luke against Mark. Matthew 3.5 has πασα η περιχωρος του Ιορδανου; Luke 3.3 has πασαν περιχωρον του Ιορδανου. This geographical phrase is relatively rare.

^[7] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Volume 3, 240. (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 246, where Mark has made the baptism like Christian baptism. (Jeremias, New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, 1971), 44, where the wording is influenced by Christian terminology.

^[8] (Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, 1998, 1991)Volume 3, 240.

[9] Carl Jung

[10] Martin Luther King Jr.

[11] (Antiquities 18.117 [cf.18.5.2])

[12] (see further, Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1:584).

[13] Lewis, C.S. "The perfect penitent." (Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1960), 56-61. 

^[14] Martin Luther, Small Catechism.

[15] Lewis, C.S. "The perfect penitent." Mere Christianity. New York: Macmillian Paperbacks, 1960, 56-61. 

[16] Norris, Kathleen. "Repentance." Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998, 69-70.

[17] Here is a minor agreement between Matthew and Luke against Mark. Matthew 3.3 and Luke 3.4 omit the quotation from Malachi 3.1 in Mark 1.2. Both use the same reference elsewhere, in the same context of the double tradition (Matthew 11.10 = Luke 7.27). 

[18] Martin Luther, Small Catechism.

[19] (Barth K. , Church Dogmatics, 2004, 1932-67)IV.3 [72.4] 854.

Philippians 1:3-11

Philippians 1:3-11 (NRSV)

³ I thank my God every time I remember you, ⁴ constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, ⁵ because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ I 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. ⁷ It 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. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight ¹⁰ to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, ¹¹ having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:3-11 has the theme of a thanksgiving and prayer. It will particularly give me an opportunity to discuss sharing, discernment, the unfinished quality of a human life, and the day of Christ. 

 

            The thanksgiving is very full, expressing intensity of his feelings. These verses, the epistolary thanksgiving and prayer, set the tone for this letter and introduce many of the important themes. These words indicate not only the strong and long-lasting bond between Paul and the Philippians, but also their mutual trust in the faithfulness of God.

            The Philippians gave Paul some sort of material support after he shared the gospel with them, but they seemed also to give of themselves to nurture their relationship with Paul. These beginning verses of the letter are evidence of a deep friendship that has its root in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul loves the Philippians deeply, but he does not idolize them. They have been excellent sharers in his work of the gospel, but they are not perfect. Like Paul, they have not yet finished the race and attained to perfection (3:12); Paul still has prayers for their growth and maturation. This friendship recognizes the good but does not settle there. Instead, this friendship seeks betterment for both Paul and the Philippians. This deep love and desire for improvement is possible because it is rooted in God. In addition, Paul here shows evidence of an interesting dialectic between trust and humility. Paul is extremely confident that God will perfect the Philippians, but he does not allow this confidence to lead into laxity. Instead, he continues to pray for their increased discernment and perfection. Paul’s friendship with the Philippians is grounded in his hope in the God who is working in both their lives.

            Paul's sunny mood, even while in prison, may certainly have been an expression of his own internal optimistic disposition and steadfastness at this time in his ministry. Paul was nothing if not emotional. However, the juxtaposition of mood with context serves another purpose as well: In the cities of the Mediterranean world where churches were founded, like Philippi, there was often opposition to the neophyte church from non-Christian inhabitants and competition from other "Jesus" sectarian groups. The initial spirit-filled enthusiasm of the new Christian in Philippi was, in some cases, beginning to wane. Practical day-to-day issues of congregational life were taking their toll. There was division within the community, hence Paul encourages them to be "in full accord and of one mind" (2:2). Apparently Jewish-Christian evangelists who preached circumcision as a faithful requirement were following Paul's itinerary and drawing some of the believers away (3:2ff). Some of the faithful in the Philippian church were becoming confused by their perceived responsibilities to the secular state. Hence, Paul reminded them of their primary citizenship in heaven (3:20). Having learned of some issues that were challenging the faith of the believers, Paul writes to help the Christians in Philippi maintain their own steadfastness.

            Although in prison, Paul does not panic. The apostle expresses joyful confidence in a savior and a communion of saints who remain in solidarity with him through the manifestation of the loving purposes of God. Paul pens words of encouragement appropriate to Advent, and every season, when we need to be reassured that Christ is near — often nearer than we suspect. He demonstrates the altruism that comes from those who know something about longing with the compassion of Christ — the compassion that can sustain our suffering through the dark night of our souls, and then equip us to share the joy that comes with the morning of the day of Jesus Christ. 

In verse 3, Paul issues his thanks to God. ³ I thank (he sets a Eucharistic tone) my God every time I remember you. Although grammatically this could be rendered as Paul’s thankfulness concerning the Philippians’ remembrance of him, specifically the gift they sent to him (4:10-20), based upon his use of this phrase in other letters, it seems more likely that he is thankful every time he brings the Philippians to mind. The tone of his expression for them even becomes a bit hyperbolic. Paul is ⁴ constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you. Note the repetition of the word “all” throughout the letter. Joy amid suffering is a recurring theme of the letter. His prayers for the Philippians are not times of struggles and tears, but he voices them with joy. In other places, Paul indicates the frequency of his prayerful mentions of other addressees (Romans 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 4), but here he especially highlights not just the repetition but also the joy his memories of the Philippians bring. In verses 5-6, Paul gives thanks to God ⁵ because of your sharing (κοινωνίᾳ) in (or cooperation toward and in aid of) the gospel (εὐαγγέλιον) from the first day, the founding of the congregation, until now. This denotes cooperation in the broadest sense. Generosity proved the sincerity of their love.  Later in the letter, Paul will remind them that they were the only church to share with him after he left Macedonia (4:15). This gift took place following the beginning of the gospel. This seems to indicate that after they heard the gospel for the first time, they showed their true participation in it by sharing with Paul. The Philippians, however, were not seeds that sprouted up quickly and then perished in the heat of the sun. They not only gave Paul a gift at the beginning, but their involvement with the gospel also continued until the present time. ⁶ I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work (apostolic ministry or their conversion) among you will bring it to completion (ἐπιτελέσει) by the day of Jesus Christ. This perseverance is not due to some inner tenacity of the Philippians, but, in Paul’s view, is the work of God. This passage contains two references to “the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6, 10). This notion is evidence of an early Christian appropriation of the Old Testament expectation of the Day of the Lord, in which Jesus Christ will act as the judge of all (1:10; 2:16; 3:10; 1 Corinthians 1:8-9). Anticipating the advent of Christ is not a matter of private piety as much as it is more fully the concern of a community committed to sharing in the gospel “from the first day until now” and into the future toward “the day of Jesus Christ.”  Mindful of the ongoing power of the first Christ event, Paul focuses here on anticipating Christ’s Second Coming, particularly in terms of the dynamic that the seeds of God’s purposes planted in the Philippians will come fully to fruition in accord with the return of Christ. Christ’s future advent presently beckons Christians to participate and grow in the gospel. Reinforcing the sense of expectation related to the day of Jesus Christ is a Eucharistic tone related to thanks (v. 3), abundance (v. 9), and the harvest — literally, fruit — of righteousness (v. 11). For Paul, the promise of the eschaton always shapes the present. Furthermore, whatever is occurring in historical time is really an unfolding of God’s ultimate design. What God started God will also bring to completion. This passage calls upon the reader to hold fast and await the coming of the “day of Christ.” What counts is not so much whether one can name the beginning of the encounter with Christ, but that one should live because of the penetration once effected in the life of an individual. God is the one who began the work. What matters is that this work, once begun, should go forward to its completion. One will never live based on that penetration, as though it were simply in the past and over with, but in such a way that it is always in front and afresh.^[1] Most of us do not like any of our projects to receive the label of “unfinished.” Sticking with something until its completion is a virtue. However, it is one thing to have unfinished jobs around the house. It is quite another thing to realize how unfinished we are as individuals — how far short we fall of the goal of being the persons God calls us to be. Yet, Paul is reminding us that our lives are unfinished even at death. Completion will come with the day of Christ. The completion of the work of God is not up to us. God will bring the work of God to its completion, a notion that includes the reconciling and redeeming work of God in us. In verses 7-8, Paul goes on to indicate why it is right for him to be so thankful for the Philippians and so confident about their progress. ⁷ It is right for me to think this way about all of you, first, because you hold me in your heart.[2] Paul acknowledges the deep connection they have with each other. The apostle has an intimate regard for them. Paul will mention some rivalry to him as their mentor (1:15), so this reminder is appropriate. The church in Philippi is a community of which Paul is particularly fond.  Second, a clearer explication of the nature of the fellowship the Philippians have held with him since the beginning. Their cooperation or sharing provides good reason for his confidence in them. He reminds them of the deep level of sharing they have, using a metaphor expressing perfect union: for all of you share (συνκοινωνούς) in God’s grace with me. Paul then expresses the pain of imprisonment as he points out that they share the grace of God both in my imprisonment and, possibly referring to his trial, in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. We can note the paradoxical nature of sharing. They share the grace of God, even while they share in the struggle, conflict, and suffering that maintaining a faithful witness entails. The days when Christians will be systematically singled out for their faith and persecuted and tortured because of them is still decades away. However, as Acts and his other letters give us evidence, Paul disrupted the economic enterprise (Acts 16:19) of individuals at times and seemed to arouse Jewish inhabitants and other non-Jewish citizens of cities throughout Asia Minor. These disruptions drew the attention of the concerned Roman political and military leadership. Therefore, while for the Roman magistrates Paul was in prison for a "disturbing of the peace" charge, for Paul his impending court date is nothing less than an opportunity for an "apologia" of the kerygma. Paul is suffering for Christ on behalf of the churches.  The church shares the afflictions of his apostolate.  The Philippians have stood by Paul in challenging times. Paul's imprisonment serves as an appropriate object lesson: Confrontation and hardship are not evidences of failure; they are proof of faith's success. Furthermore, although it is not explicit, Paul's imprisonment serves as an implicit reminder of one of his central metaphors - that of the body (I Corinthians 12; Romans 12; Ephesians 4). Believers, because the bonds of faith and mutual affection connect them, share fully in the triumphs and tragedies of their constituent parts. The mood of this passage is one of thanksgiving (again a formulaic epistolary theme, see Romans 1:8), joy and confidence, even though Paul is in prison and is awaiting trial before Roman magistrates. ⁸ For God is my witness, not a surprising statement when we remember that he is preparing to make his case in court, how I long[3] for all of you with the compassion of[4] Christ Jesus. Paul still desperately misses his friends. His longing has a deep connection to Christ, a longing that may carry with it a mystical meaning.[5] However, it could also refer to Jesus’ love for others in his earthly ministry, where Jesus shown compassion on the crowds (Matthew 14:14). He shows pastoral concern. Moreover, expansion on the reality of compassion could lead to considerations of shared patience and even suffering as the body of Christ on the way to celebrating the joy of Christ’s arrival — remembering that shared sorrow is half sorrow, while shared joy is joy that one can double. In his imprisonment, Paul is very thankful for all the Philippians have done for him, and he trusts that God will continue to build up their faith. In verses 9-10, instead of focusing upon the outcome of his hearing, or highlighting his own tribulations as he does elsewhere (I Thessalonians 2:2; II Corinthians 1:8), Paul the prisoner urges his friends to press on in love and not allow the pressures of opposition to sway them. The thanksgiving section has clearly established the depth of the friendship; now Paul moves to articulate a prayer for the congregation in Philippi. Paul’s prayer is a list of things that crescendos to the glory and praise of God. ⁹ Further, this is my prayer, that your love may overflow (abundance is a Eucharistic theme) more and more (genuine love, of course, would stop nowhere, for it will always find ways to increase) with knowledge and full insight (or discernment) ¹⁰ to help you to determine what is best (in moral decisions or what things are most necessary). The fulfillment of the prayer is they will be able to discern and practice Christian life as a believing community. The approving of excellent things is in accord with the existing situation, of course. We need sensitivity to the will of God because the existing situation is one filled with demonic possibilities. Paul refers to knowledge and testing, and thus, does not limit himself to instinctive feeling. Of course, the decision of God stands above the existing situation. The point at issue is the mutual relationship between this, that, or the other possible line of action in this situation and the divine command. We find such commands in central passages ethical passages in the Bible, such as the Ten Commandments, the list of virtues and vices, the fruit of the Spirit, and the love of God and neighbor. While such commands provide direction, they do not determine what God might command in a particular ambiguous situation on the frontiers of ethical dilemmas. Thus, Paul invites us to consider the various possibilities of action open to us in the existing situation. Yet, the relevant question is whether we can adopt this or that particular possibility in the confidence that the relation between it and the divine command will be positive and therefore the action will be in accord with the purpose of God.^[6] Thus, Paul is promoting the empowering for one’s own independent judgment, a theme that will be an important part of the Reformation guided by Martin Luther and John Calvin.^[7] When they are able to decide between the important and unimportant in life, they will be ready to give account of their lives. Thus, through independent judgment of what is best, the result will be that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless (also I Corinthians 1:8, a congregation with which Paul had much to correct). Such purity and blamelessness will come on that day, ¹¹ having produced the harvest (a Eucharistic theme) of righteousness in their presence experience that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. In the face of internal division and external opposition, the priority of the faithful then and now is to continue to produce such a harvest. Only as far as the life of the believer binds itself with the life in Christ, does the righteousness of Christ become the believers.  It must be by its nature fruitful.  The only true aim of human endeavor is the manifestation of Christ’s power and grace.  Since the prayer is for righteousness in their present experience, the prayer is a challenge for self-examination. Given the similarity of this prayer with the prayer for the Corinthians, we can see that for Paul, whether the believers are intimate participants in every aspect of his ministry or in need of serious scolding, his confidence remains in God who begins and will complete the development of righteousness in the lives of the members of his congregations. All are accountable to God, the ultimate judge of our actions. It is the final Day of Judgment that Paul challenges the faithful to prepare for. He does want them distracted by the minor inconveniences of division within the body or a temporal and secular legal hearing. To state it again, for Paul, the promise of the eschaton, the last day, always shapes the present. Furthermore, whatever is occurring in historical time is really an unfolding of God's ultimate design. What God started God will also bring to completion. The believer understands that internal division and external opposition are but signs of the passing of the ages.  When we consider the reality of the returning Christ, we need to remember that in it, the Father will manifest Jesus as the Lord to the glory of God the Father.^[8]

Paul urges that we become conscious of our accountability on the day of Christ. Many preachers are uncomfortable with this theme. One preacher tells this story.  Early in his ministry, he and his wife went to the funeral of a relative of someone in his church.  It was at a little country church, a denomination with a style of worship quite different from his own.  The funeral sermon consisted of the preacher whooping and shouting to the congregation: “It’s too late for old Joe.  He’s dead!  He might have wanted to give his life to God, to join the church.  Can’t now.  He’s dead!”  The preacher noted, “I thought to myself, What a comfort this must be to the grieving family.”  “Joe’s time is up.  But your time, brothers and sisters, is not up.  If you are going to give your life to God, do it today.  If you are going to get your life right, do it now.  There is still time!”  The preacher was disgusted.  On the way home he told his wife how insensitive, manipulative, tacky that funeral sermon was.  She agreed.  It was insensitive, inappropriate, and manipulative.  “And worst of all, it was true.”^[9]

Paul discusses sharing in several ways. Healthy Christian community consists of genuine sharing. I share a well-known preacher story. A man has a dream; he dies and goes to hell. While in hell the man notices there are many tables, and starving people are sitting all around the great tables. There is hot food to accommodate all tastes on the table. Nevertheless, people are starving. In hell, they are starving with food torturing them right before their eyes. While all this food is right before them, people are starving to death. Each person has a six-foot-long fork in his left hand, and a six-foot-long spoon in the other hand. The people in hell cannot get to the delicious food, because the forks reach beyond their mouths. Forks are too long. Too big. The next night, the man dreams of going to heaven. When he gets to heaven, he sees tables as far as the eyes can see. The tables are full of hot, wonderful food. Now the man is very troubled, for he sees that each believer has a six-foot -long fork in his left hand, and a six-foot-long spoon in the other hand. It is beginning to look like the same dream all over again. Yet, there is a difference. All the people here are full and satisfied. Then, he understood why. In heaven, as they sat at the table, each person fed the person on either side. The difference between heaven and hell was giving and love!

One can have confidence amid the various struggles of Christian community because the hope for the day of Christ. Shared sorrow is half sorrow. Shared joy becomes double. The Christian life is not just a matter of private piety. The Christian life has great concern for a community committed to sharing the gospel. Wherever possible, our attitude toward the community needs to take the courageous stance of thankfulness and praise. The community is not perfect, but neither are we. If God begins the work in us and must bring the work to completion, “now” is far from perfect. We grow as we can hold the other person in our hearts. Such sharing reminds us of our mutual accountability in the Christian community. American Christians can seek spiritual wisdom and counsel from many places. However, if we have a relationship with some others in the church in which we hold each other in our hearts, it helps to keep us within the sphere of the influence of Christ. Further, when we share, suffer, and have conflict as we advance the good news, we receive the grace of God. Such connecting with others opens the door to God in new ways. Our prayer for others in the community is for the increase of love, knowledge, and discernment in moral matters. We do need knowledge and discernment. Part of our prayer is to ask for the listening ear. We must not shrink from the word that corrects and admonishes. We may need to allow time for an image of ourselves to arise before us that causes us to pause and reconsider a word that we hear which challenges us to deeper consecration and higher resolve. We can have confidence in what God has given us in Christ. We can have confidence in this communion of saints who remain in solidarity with each other through showing the loving purpose of God. Generosity shows the validity of love. Generosity comes from those who know something about longing with the compassion of Christ. Christ is nearer than we suspect he is. The compassion of Christ sustains us through suffering and equips us to share the joy. Expansion on the reality of compassion can lead to considerations of shared patience and even suffering as the body of Christ. 

Paul stresses that God begins and completes the work of God in us. Recognizing the unfinished nature of our practice of faith is a good thing. Think of an unfinished building. It is between the beginning and the completion. It looks today only like a shell of what it shall be. Yes, it may seem like we are walking darkness. Yet, we have the stubborn hope that if we just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. We may wait, watch, and work, but we do not give up.[10] We learn that a single mistake is not what we should confuse with the final mistake.[11] Most of us will go through times when it took all our strength not to have run away.[12] Recognizing the unfinished quality of a human life should help us to live life with humility, recognizing that we are not all that God intends for us to be. This humility should make us gracious and willing to listen in our dealings with others. It should make us beware of certainty. The unfinished nature of our knowledge means that our opinions are not the last word on the topics of life. Some of our notions may even turn out to be “half-baked” — which is a synonym for unfinished. It should make us work on growing in love. We do that by saying yes as God reveals new things to us that we need to convert to go forward in our relationship with Christ and with others. Consistency in the Christian life is not usually the outcome of our initial commitment to Christ. Rather, it comes slowly and sometimes even painfully through subsequent submissions to God’s call.

No, my God’s not done

Making me a masterpiece

He’s still working on me

He started something good and I’m gonna believe it

He started something good and he’s gonna complete it

So I’ll celebrate the truth

His work in me ain’t through

I’m just unfinished.[13]

 

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.2] 518. 

[2] The NRSV translates the Greek "because you hold me in your heart" - however, it is likewise proper to translate the Greek "because I hold you in my heart." Either translation will do. The first reminds the Philippians of their affection for Paul, and therefore checks the enthusiasm of some of the community who may be looking elsewhere for spiritual mentoring as is evidenced in 1:15. The second reminds the Philippians of Paul's affection for them. Paul founded the community and experienced a powerful display of the Holy Spirit as he and Timothy were in prison (see Acts 16:12-40).

[3] This verb is often used to express longing or missing someone.

[4] Translating the Greek phrase that literally means “in the vital organs” or “in the bowels” of Christ Jesus.

[5] Lightfoot.

[6] Barth, Church Dogmatics II.2 [38.1] 639, although Barth would probably disagree with me on some of this.

[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 128.

[8] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 627.

[9] William Willimon.

[10] Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anchor Books, 1995), xxiii.

[11] F. Scott Fitzgerald.

[12] Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings (Random House, 1982), 4.

[13] —“Unfinished,” sung by Mandisa, genius.com.

 

Malachi 3:1-4

Malachi 3:1-4 (NRSV)
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ² But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³ he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

The pronouncement of judgment begins in Malachi 3:1-4. See, I am sending my messenger (Malachi means “my messenger) to prepare the way before me. II Isaiah has the messenger preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). Some think Malachi may refer to himself here. This passage does not identify the messenger. Jesus says John the Baptist is the one who prepares the way, apparently for Jesus (Matthew 11:10). Further, the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to the temple of the Lord. The messenger (angel) of the covenant (berit), the one who will prepare the way, in whom you delight (placing the emphasis upon the presence of the Lord)—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Covenant was a key theological idea in ancient Israel. While God made individual covenants with Noah, Abraham and David, the covenant between God and the entire people of Israel framed Israel’s religion and identity. The "angel of the covenant" is not the messenger, but is an enigmatic reference to Yahweh.  When theologians look for Old Testament roots of the Christian teaching on the Trinity, this passage is part of the discussion. This passage alternates between the sudden personal presence of the Lord with the messenger of the covenant.[1] ² However, who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? The question implies a searching ordeal in which no one will pass the test. For the Lord is like a refiner’s fire, a fire that is neither a forest fire out of control or the comfort of a campfire, but a fire that serves a purifying function, and like fullers’ soap, that is the ancient art of whitening cloth. ³ The Lord will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (giving full attention to the metal), and will purify the descendants of Levi (Zechariah 13:9, where one third of the land will remain alive and experience refining) and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. The passage uses language found especially in late prophetic texts for the Lord (or, as here, his servant) and always associated with the purification of a corrupted cult. The goal of such purifying was never the elimination of the cult but its purification and continuation in righteousness. We can see here that judgment is the purifying fire of the smelter. God is creator and judge. As creator, God will not allow what God has created to make shipwreck of the dissonance we find in creation. Those who turn away from God are the ones whom God has sought for that reason, moving them to reconciliation. Even those who turn to God in faith will find judgment a reality, but it will be the purifying fire. [2] ⁴ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.[3] However, one struggles as to when the time was that Israel offered pleasing sacrifices to the Lord, for Amos and Hosea also criticized such offerings. Some prophetic accounts of the wilderness time suggest the devotion they had in following the Lord (Jeremiah 2:2-3). This passage, therefore, like much of prophetic literature, looks both forward in eschatological anticipation and backward to an idealized past. 

Especially during the advent season, Christians can speak calmly of the coming of the Lord. Malachi is urging that we tremble. Even though Christians celebrate God with us at Christmas, the thought of the divine love coming to us should still arouse some concern and even fear. The coming of the Lord arouses indifferent messages and pleasant, agreeable feelings. Yet, the Lord draws near in order to lay claim to us. It may well be that we will not recognize the incomparable kindness until we have felt something of the fear. The Lord comes in the midst of our world of evil, death, and suffering, and judges the evil in us and in the world. By judging us, the Lord cleanses and sanctifies. Thus, the Lord comes with grace, of course, but it can be a rough grace as we experience it. The grace of God is not cheap. Redemption can be a harsh cure. It leads to a desirable outcome, but we ought not to take the thought of it lightly or assume that the Lord owes it to us.[4]

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics 1.1 [8.2] 322. 

[2] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 611.

[3] Some scholars think verses 2b-4 are an insertion into the original text by someone then on the scene who is a herald of the coming of God in fulfillment of the promise of the book.  Some have argued it is Ezra, or even the prophet himself.

[4] These comments are inspired by a Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a message given during Advent 1928.