Christ Lutheran Church

1701 Arroyo Chamiso

Santa Fe, NM 87505-4775

(505) 983-9461

church@clcsantafe.com

  

December 6, 2009

Second Sunday of Advent

 

FIRST READING: Baruch 5.1–9

A poem of hope from the school of the prophet Jeremiah speaks of the return of scattered Israel from Babylon, but also looks beyond that to the end times when God's kingdom will be established.

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,
            and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
2Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;
            put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
3for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
4For God will give you evermore the name,
            "Righteous Peace, Godly Glory."
5Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
            look toward the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
            at the word of the Holy One,
            rejoicing that God has remembered them.
6For they went out from you on foot,
            led away by their enemies;
but God will bring them back to you,
            carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
7For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
            so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
8The woods and every fragrant tree
            have shaded Israel at God's command.
9For God will lead Israel with joy,
            in the light of his glory,
            with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

Being in Exile, Coming Home!

 

+ In nomine Domini.  Amen.

 

As I pondered the readings for this Second Sunday of Advent last week, I wondered to myself, “What is a book of the Septuagint (that 3^rd to 1^st Century BCE translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek) doing in the Lectionary in these weeks of preparation before the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord?”  I refer to the first of the Readings for today, from Baruch.

I would guess that few people here in the congregation this morning have ever read the brief work of the legendary disciple and secretary of the Prophet Jeremiah, Baruch ben Neriah (Baruch son of Neriah).  It’s not found in most Bibles, unless you happen to have a Bible that includes the Apocrypha[1], those books “between” the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures in our larger and more inclusive Bibles.

It’s not found in the Hebrew Bible, even though most scholars feel that it was written in Hebrew, and why it was included in the Septuagint (the Bible that was the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek Language in Alexandria in stages and finally completed about 100 years or so before the Birth of Christ) we do not know.

Baruch purports to take place during the Babylonian Captivity – that deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BCE – but was probably composed well after the time.

In fact, Baruch may have more to do with the aftermath of the horrible destruction by Antiochus IV, the Seleucid King  who in 167 BCE came roaring out of Syria and sacked the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and persecuted the Jews … in deed, an exile of a people within their own land.

The little book itself consists of two parts: a long prose introduction and a poetic conclusion.  It’s basic theme is that of taking responsibility of disobedience of the Covenant which led to the Exile, and a heartening promise of how – in spite of disobedience – God will bring everyone home again.

It’s use in the Church can be found scattered throughout the Sundays and Holy Days of the Church Year, appearing sometimes in Holy Week and most frequently in the seasons of Advent and Christmas.  Portions of Baruch bear relation to the Gospels of Luke and John, and Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians.

And this morning, we find in the 3^rd to last verse of Baruch these words:

“For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.”[2]

…  which are echoed by the Gospel Writer Luke in the mouth of John the Baptizer, in the Gospel Portion we read this morning who says:

“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; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”[3]

+++

I pondered all these things last week and continued to wonder, the words of Baruch ben Neriah invading my thoughts.  The Hebrew name itself is quite lovely and full of hope and promise … Baruch (Blessed) and Neriah (Lord is my Lamp).  And as I talked with people, and listened to their stories in this Advent Time, in this Season that goes by so many names: the holiday season, the shopping season, the winter season, the Christmas season (even though Christmas is some 2 weeks away) … in this Season that is described by many as a blue season and a time of darkness (oh how I myself yearn for the Feast of St. Thomas that takes place on December 21, the Winter Solstice, which thereafter the days will begin every so slowly to get longer and the light which I crave and seem to need so much will once again begin to appear more and more) … in this Season that can be for many an exile in one’s own land, in one’s own house, sometimes even in one’s own heart (how terrible it is to be exiled even from oneself) … in this Season as people poured out their hearts to me of lost horizons and dreams unfilled and futures cut short … in this Season when war continues beyond it seems anyone’s ability to end conflict … in this Season when more people who are homeless are finding their ways to the Shelters in our City … in this Season when more and more families walk along the open path to the small but holy Food Pantry in this congregation and thereby can feed their children … in all these things, it seemed to me that words penned by Blessed, son of Lord is My Lamp and echoed by John, son of Zechariah … these words of hope and promise and compassion … were and are just what we need to hear on this Second Sunday in Advent … need to hear, and more importantly need to speak … yes, need to speak, from the depth of our faith, from the love of our community, across the pews in our Church Nave, in the words and embraces over coffee, in the parking lot, in the Bible Study, in the Committee Meetings, in the home, around the fireplace, across the dinner table, in the warmth of the office, in the bustle of the Shopping Mall, on the Plaza to the beggar, past the Bell Ringer outside Wal-Mart™, in our words, in our prayers, in the petitions for the sick and suffering, in our pleas of mercy for all who are fighting on behalf of their own native lands, in all these things and most especially in our actions – in our sharing, in our giving, in our generosity, in our ability to take in and listen to, and find ways of healing and mending and putting whole with one another what is less than whole, of abundant offers to come Home from the Exile, and be welcomed again around the Table, in all these … the words spoken are just what we need to hear and need to do this day, this week, this season of Advent.

The Lord be with you.  And also with you.
Let us pray. Eternal lover of our souls, during this Advent time of preparation, help us understand the wilderness experiences of our lives as opportunities to assist you in your prophetic transformation of the earth, of all.  In the name of Jesus, Amen.

  +Deo Gratia

The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere III

Pastor