Isaiah 61:1 – 2a, 10 – 11
The Third Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday because, in both the first and second readings, we are called to rejoice; the Lord is near! As we quickly approach Christmas, we wait in eager anticipation of the coming of the Lord. Let’s keep that in mind as we reflect on this Sunday’s readings.
This Sunday, we will hear again from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The section we will hear is from the 61st chapter, so we know that it is from trito-Isaiah, which comes from the time when the people have returned from the Babylonian exile. Whereas the prophecy we hear from Isaiah the prophet (chapters 1 – 39) is filled with warnings of impending doom, here, as in deutero-Isaiah, we hear a message of hope. Faced with the enormous task of reconstruction and restoration of their homeland, and with hearts filled with doubt about their relationship with God, the people who have returned to Jerusalem and the surrounding region falter. Convinced that his call is from God, the prophet, who speaks in the tradition of Isaiah, sees himself as an evangelist, that is, one who is sent by God to proclaim the good news.
1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners,
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me: this declaration imitates the Servant Songs of Second Isaiah (cf. 42:1, 49:1-3; 50:4-5). We see earlier examples of the Spirit of God coming upon people in Jgs 3:10 and 1 Sm 16:4-13. And, we hear the author of Luke’s Gospel place it in the mouth of Jesus as referring to his mission (cf. Luke 4:16 – 21). It’s important to recognize that a prophet is not just one who has been called to speak for God, he also receives the Spirit of God. God’s call to prophecy is not simply an outside authority demanding obedience; the love of God has inhabited the prophet, allowing him to truly speak for God. As you will read in your footnotes, the prophet proclaims that he has been anointed by God to bring good news!
2 To announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn;
year of favor from the LORD: the messianic jubilee has arrived (cf. Lv. 25:1-17; Is 49:8). During these jubilee years, the people were to live off the land, grateful to God for the 49 years of prosperity and trusting that he would care for them throughout the 50th year. Also, the property that had been purchased or seized was to be returned to its original owner. This was applied to the Israelites returning to Jerusalem and its environs. The land had lain fallow for 50 years under the Babylonians and now God would allow them to harvest it. The land that the Babylonians had seized was returned to its proper owner – Israel.
3 To place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, planted by the LORD to show his glory.
4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins, the former wastes they shall raise up and restore the ruined cities, desolate now for generations.
5 Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks, foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 You yourselves shall be named priests of the LORD, ministers of our God you shall be called. You shall eat the wealth of the nations and boast of riches from them.
You yourselves shall be named priests: rather than just the Levites, the whole nation will be priests (cf. Ex. 19:6).
7 Since their shame was double and disgrace and spittle were their portion, they shall have a double inheritance in their land, everlasting joy shall be theirs.
Double… double inheritance: just as we heard last week (cf. Is. 40:2), there is a double recompense for the shame and sins.
8 For I, the LORD, love what is right, I hate robbery and injustice; I will give them their recompense faithfully, a lasting covenant I will make with them.
9 Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; All who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the LORD has blessed.
10 I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD: according to the Targum(a translation or paraphrase in Aramaic of a book or section of the Old Testament), the “I” speaks of Jerusalem, who celebrates the fulfillment of God’s plan for her. Notice how the Magnificat begins with a paraphrase of this verse: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” And, notice that our Responsorial Psalm this weekend is not psalm but the Canticle of Mary – the Magnificat.
he has clothed me with a robe… like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels: the restoration of Jerusalem is presented here and in 62:5 in nuptial language. Like today, the marriage of an ancient Jewish couple was cause for lavish gifts and great favors. In the same way, the re-establishment of God’s nuptial arrangement with Israel would be the occasion for God to lavish his favor on his bride.
11 As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, So will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
Lord GOD make justice and praise: The Lord is the author of all life and even justice and praise. Just as the author used nuptial language above, here he uses agricultural language (cf. 61:3b, 60:21).
John 1:6 – 8, 19 – 28
As you know, the first reading always prepares us for the Gospel. Just as the passage we heard from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah was proclaimed at a time when Judah had just been freed from the oppressive power of Babylon but wasn’t really completely free – they were now under the power of the Persians, who were using them to rebuild Jerusalem so they could have a fortified outpost on the western fringe of their empire – in a similar way, the people of Israel in the time of Jesus were under the oppressive power of the Roman Empire. And, the Christians were suffering from the oppression of both the Romans and the Jews by the time the Gospel of John was written sometime between 90 and 100AD.
Notice, this week, we will hear from John’s Gospel. Remember, although this year features Mark’s Gospel, due to its brevity, we will hear often from John as well as other gospels. In fact, as I mentioned last week, we won’t hear again from Marks’s Gospel until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January. Last Sunday, we heard the Marcan account of John the Baptist’s ministry in preparing the people for the coming of the Savior; this Sunday, we will hear the Johannine version.
When Jesus began his public ministry, the people Israel were eagerly expecting the coming of the Messiah. But, there was disagreement about what kind of Messiah he would be. Many were looking for a king, like David, who would reunite Israel and Judah and restore this united kingdom to the political power and prestige it held in David’s time. Others, on the other hand, disillusioned by the established Jewish leadership and unenthusiastic about a monarchy based on their previous history, were looking for another type of divine intervention. The apocryphal book of Enoch offers a description of a figure called the Son of Man (cf. pg. 490), the Elect One, whom God would send as savior. That same book also offers an allegory concerning Elijah, who would appear as the herald of the apocalyptic lamb. That tradition was so popular that the expectation of Elijah as herald of the messiah survived until the second century AD. All of the evangelists were eager to correct any misconceptions that arose from these traditions about John the Baptist and Jesus. As we will hear in today’s passage from the Gospel of John, the fourth evangelist offers his contribution in this regard. You will see that John’s Gospel makes it clear that John the Baptist is not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet (meaning Moses). He is merely ‘the voice of one crying in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”’
Today’s selection from the preface of the Gospel of John focuses on John the Baptist as the bridge from the eternal Word to the incarnate Word (1:1). In the plan of the Gospel writer, the beginning of the reading focuses on human history and God rather than on John (1:6-8). John is simply a witness, a testifier.
6 A man named John was sent from God.
John was sent: you will read in your footnotes that John was sent just as Jesus was “sent” (John 4:34) in divine mission. Other references to John the Baptist in this gospel emphasize the differences between John and Jesus and John’s subordinate role.
When the text says that John was sent from God, the word for “sent” is the root from which we get the word “apostle.” Thus, in the Gospel of John, the Baptist is the first apostle of the Christian Scriptures, the first one sent by God to testify to the light of Christ.
7 He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
Testimony: In his first paragraph (vv. 6 – 8), inserted into his poetic prologue about Jesus, the evangelist makes it clear that the Baptizer served as a witness to Jesus, the light of the world. The testimony theme of John’s Gospel is introduced here and is found throughout this gospel. There are many who testify to Jesus: John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman (4:39), Jesus’ own works (5:36), scripture (5:39), the crowds, the Spirit, and his disciples (21:24). In each instance, the witness causes others to see the truth and believe.
8 He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.
He was not the light: Jesus is the light (cf. 1:4+5). Later in this gospel, we hear of John as the lamp (5:35) and a bearer of the light who is Jesus (cf. 8:12; 9:5).
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.
11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
What was his own . . . his own people: first a neuter, literally, “his own property/possession” (probably = Israel), then a masculine, “his own people” (the Israelites).
12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,
13 who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
of God: Believers in Jesus become children of God not through any of the three natural causes mentioned but through God who is the immediate cause of the new spiritual life. Were born: the Greek verb can mean “begotten” (by a male) or “born” (from a female or of parents). The variant “he who was begotten,” asserting Jesus’ virginal conception, is weakly attested in Old Latin and Syriac versions.
14 And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.
Flesh: the whole person, used probably against docetic tendencies (cf 1 John 4:2; 2 John 1:7).
Made his dwelling: literally, “pitched his tent/tabernacle.” Cf. the tabernacle or tent of meeting that was the place of God’s presence among his people (Exodus 25:8-9). The incarnate Word is the new mode of God’s presence among his people. The Greek verb has the same consonants as the Aramaic word for God’s presence (Shekinah).
Glory: God’s visible manifestation of majesty in power, which once filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34) and the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11,27), is now centered in Jesus.
Only Son: Greek, monogenes, but see the note on John 1:18. Grace and truth: these words may represent two Old Testament terms describing Yahweh in covenant relationship with Israel (cf Exodus 34:6), thus God’s “love” and “fidelity.” The Word shares Yahweh’s covenant qualities.
15 John testified to him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'”
John testified to him: This verse, interrupting John 1:14,16 seems drawn from John 1:30.
16 From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace,
Grace in place of grace: replacement of the Old Covenant with the New (cf. John 1:17). Other possible translations are “grace upon grace” (accumulation) and “grace for grace” (correspondence).
17 because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.
The only Son, God: while the vast majority of later textual witnesses have another reading, “the Son, the only one” or “the only Son,” the translation above follows the best and earliest manuscripts, monogenes theos, but takes the first term to mean not just “Only One” but to include a filial relationship with the Father, as at Luke 9:38 (“only child”) or Hebrews 11:17 (“only son”) and as translated at John 1:14. The Logos is thus “only Son” and God but not Father/God.
19 And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites (to him) to ask him, “Who are you?”
the testimony of John: (19 – 51) The testimony of John the Baptist about the Messiah and Jesus’ self-revelation to the first disciples. This section constitutes the introduction to the gospel proper and is connected with the prose inserts in the prologue. It develops the major theme of testimony in four scenes: John’s negative testimony about himself; his positive testimony about Jesus; the revelation of Jesus to Andrew and Peter; the revelation of Jesus to Philip and Nathanael.
The Jews: throughout most of the gospel, the “Jews” does not refer to the Jewish people as such but to the hostile authorities, both Pharisees and Sadducees, particularly in Jerusalem, who refuse to believe in Jesus. The usage reflects the atmosphere, at the end of the first century, of polemics between church and synagogue, or possibly it refers to Jews as representative of a hostile world (John 1:10-11).
Who are you?: This is the same question asked of Jesus (cf. 8:25, 21:12).
20 he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”
I am not: Since the “I am” in John’s Gospel is so important in identifying Christ, it is probably a careful selection on the part of the author to have John say twice, “I am not” (in contrast to Jesus, who identifies who he is throughout the remainder of the Gospel (cf. Jn 4:26; 6:35; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1, 5; 18:5)
Messiah: the anointed agent of Yahweh, usually considered to be of Davidic descent, and a warrior king, who would restore the earthly kingdom. See further the note on John 1:41.
21 So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
Elijah: It was Jewish belief that Elijah would return to take part in the establishment of God’s kingdom; the Baptist did not claim to be Elijah returned to earth (cf. Malachi 4:1). In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus states that John has fulfilled this mission of Elijah (cf. Mt 11:14, 17:12, etc.). The Baptists is not, of course, literally Elijah returned to life.
The Prophet: probably the prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15; cf Acts 3:22).
22 So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
23 “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord,”‘ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
the voice of one crying: This is a repunctuation and reinterpretation (as in the synoptic gospels – we just saw it last Sunday from Mark – and the Septuagint) of the Hebrew text of Isaiah 40:3 which reads, “A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord.”
John’s testimony that he is not the Messiah or anyone else the people should follow is evidence that there were still survivors of his group who needed to hear it (cf. Acts 19:1 – 7).
24 Some Pharisees were also sent.
Some Pharisees: Some Pharisees: other translations, such as “Now they had been sent from the Pharisees,” misunderstand the grammatical construction. This is a different group from that in John 1:19; the priests and Levites would have been Sadducees, not Pharisees.
25 They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
I baptize with water: the synoptics add “but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8) or “. . . holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). John’s emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism.
27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Bethany across the Jordan: site unknown. Another reading is “Bethabara.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 24
We hear from Paul’s letter to the community in Thessalonica.
16 Rejoice always.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not quench the Spirit: Paul’s buoyant encouragement of charismatic freedom sometimes occasioned excesses that he or others had to remedy (see 1 Cor 14; 2 Thes 2:1-15; 2 Peter 3:1-16).
20 Do not despise prophetic utterances.
21 Test everything; retain what is good.
22 Refrain from every kind of evil.
23 May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the God of peace… Another possible translation is, “May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and sanctify your spirit fully, and may both soul and body be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In either case, Paul is not offering an anthropological or philosophical analysis of human nature. Rather, he looks to the wholeness of what may be called the supernatural and natural aspects of a person’s service of God.
24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
The first and second readings this weekend proclaim a message of joy. The prophet Isaiah proclaims: “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in God is the joy of my soul.” St. Paul actually commands us to “rejoice always.”
It may seem odd to have this emphasis on joy during this Advent time. After all, last week, we heard John the Baptist calling us to repentance. But, our joy comes from our hope: just as the people of Jesus’ time were hoping for his coming, we hope for his return in glory. After all, we live in what scripture scholars call the time of “the already but not yet.” In Jesus, God’s kingdom has come, but it has not yet arrived in its fullness; that will not happen until he returns in glory. In the meantime, we live in this time of hope and can rejoice in eager anticipation of his return.
Today’s readings also offer us criteria for discernment about the messages we hear in our world today. Like the people in the time of John the Baptist, we find ourselves wondering about the truth and integrity of messages we hear coming from so many different people, secular and religious. John preaching awoke something in his people, and the religious leaders were concerned about it. We are surrounded by attention-getting calls to think and do, to buy or believe different messages. How do we discern?
Today’s readings offer at least three criteria for knowing what is of God — in ourselves and others. Isaiah tells us that God’s spirit consistently moves on behalf of people who, in the eyes of the world, seem to be left behind: the poor, brokenhearted and immobilized. Paul tells us that one essential mark of true believers is the joy that comes from knowing how good God is. John’s testimony tells us that those moved by God always point beyond themselves.
The question we are left with from today’s readings is, “How does your care for others, your joy and your awareness of God tell others who you are?” This is a very important question we should ask ourselves as we continue this time of Advent anticipation.