On this first day of the liturgical year, we remember who we are as God\u2019s children, in total need of God\u2019s mercy. In Isaiah, this reality points to an underlying theme of Advent: our collective hope that God would address our separation from him, \u201cwould tear open the heavens and come down\u201d (v. 1) and \u201cconsider\u201d us (v. 9). The important word here in the first verse is \u201cwould,\u201d which is not the same as \u201cwill\u201d! We have no right to say to God, \u201cWe know you will come down and help us.\u201d Because we\u2019re not in any position to get what we want from God, since \u201call our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth\u201d (v. 6a). If God is going to help us this Advent, it\u2019s because God does so completely voluntarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s funny that Isaiah says to God, \u201cbecause you hid yourself we transgressed\u201d (v. 5b). How human of Isaiah! It\u2019s almost like he’s attributing fault to God for our sinfulness \u2013 \u201cwe sin because you\u2019re not here, God!\u201d But in the person of Jesus, God gently corrects us, saying \u201cYes, I am here; now go and sin no more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we sing psalms in worship, there\u2019s often an \u201cantiphon,\u201d a particularly resonant verse which bears repeating. If a choir or cantor is singing the psalm, the congregation might chime in every few verses with the antiphon. Or maybe everyone will sing the antiphon at the beginning and end of the psalm. The antiphon is usually inserted by an editor, in order to enhance congregational participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in today\u2019s psalm excerpt, we have an antiphon that\u2019s built into the psalm itself, not inserted by a modern editor: \u201cRestore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved\u201d (vv. 3, 7, 19). We repeat this because our desire to be saved and restored in the image of God is not a one-time thing; it\u2019s constant. Our life consists of seeking God, losing God, and finding God, over and over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The liturgical year is by definition repetitive. Advent is celebrated every year. Moreover, we\u2019ll read these exact lessons again in three years, once the lectionary circles back on itself. In repeating these holy days and seasons, we\u2019re reminded to think of our lives, as best we can, in line with God\u2019s time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul congratulates the Christians at Corinth for being open to the testimony of Christ, such that \u201cyou are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (v. 7). But now that we\u2019re in the New Testament, can\u2019t we say that \u201cthe revealing\u201d of Jesus already happened? Why is Paul talking about it now, as if it\u2019s something that has yet to happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is another curiosity of Christian time \u2013 in a sense, it\u2019s trans-time. Yes, Jesus has come, but we also believe that he existed before the foundation of the world as the Supreme Word. Plus, we believe that he will come again to be our judge. Paul and his compatriots believed something like this: that Jesus would return very soon, to put an end to the corrupt Roman world order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Advent, we look forward not only to Jesus being born in Bethlehem, but also to that \u201cday of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d at the end of time (v. 8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of Jesus coming again\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this reading, Jesus speaks cryptically about the end times, in which God \u201cwill send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven\u201d (v. 27). Not only is this described in a visually scary way, with eclipses and falling stars, but in fact, there\u2019s something even more terrifying about it: \u201cBeware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come\u201d (vv. 33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, Jesus tells us to \u201ckeep awake\u201d (v. 37). This is exactly what we\u2019re doing during Advent: trying to stay focused on Christ\u2019s entering into the world. Because when it happens, it\u2019ll happen in a way we never expected: not in the form of a king or warrior (as traditionally understood!), but with Jesus of Nazareth, the Prince of Peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isaiah 64:1-9 On this first day of the liturgical year, we remember who we are as God\u2019s children, in total need of God\u2019s mercy. In Isaiah, this reality points to an underlying theme of Advent: our collective hope that God would address our separation from him, \u201cwould tear open the heavens and come down\u201d (v….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,23,52,3],"tags":[116],"class_list":["post-766960","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent","category-bible-studies","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-advent-1b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":10,"label":"Advent"},{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":116,"label":"Advent 1B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951612,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766960\/revisions\/951612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}