Faithful Conversations #93

Introduction to readers

Two thoughts to get started this week. First, I have Bonhoeffer on the brain right now and this line from The Cost of Discipleship jumped out at me this week:  “Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community.” That phrase — the discipline of community — could be interpreted a number of ways, but one way to think of it is that we need each other. The faith journey is not an “island experience,” but rather, involves regular spiritual disciplines, including membership in a faith community. More on Bonhoeffer at the end of the blog. 

Second, time and the importance of context have been on my mind this week, prompted by the Malachi reading and Luke’s Gospel. Each week in the Lectionary, we are communicating with spiritual ancestors who walked this earth twenty centuries (or more) ago. And though their time and place are utterly foreign to us, I suspect if we could speak to them directly, we would quickly find common ground. Like them, we are navigating a broken world and living in that tense middle ground between what was and what is to come. Let’s see what they have to say to us this week!    

As always, thanks for your continuing interest in exploring the scriptures! My reflections this week will focus on Malachi and Luke’s Gospel. I will also share a hymn that is especially fitting for Advent 2. And two reminders: first, take one reading per day and spend time with it; and second, utilize the four-question approach with each reading as noted here: 

1. What is something new you learned from the reading? (NEW)
2. What is something that caught your attention and made you think? (REFLECT)
3. What did you read that relates to other reading you have done? (RELATE)
4. What would you like to discuss from the reading? (DISCUSS)

Reading for 2 Advent
Malachi 3: 1-4 (or Baruch 5: 1-9)
Luke 1: 68-79 
Philippians 1: 3-11
Luke 3: 1-6

Common Themes in 2 Advent Readings
Look for the following themes as you walk through this week’s readings: preparation, purification, and hope for salvation. Malachi 3:1-4 speaks of a messenger preparing the way for the Lord and a refining process to purify God’s people. In Luke 1:68-79 (replaces the Psalm), Zechariah’s song praises God for raising up a savior and calls for the people to walk in the light of peace and redemption. Philippians 1:3-11 emphasizes the growth in love, righteousness, and readiness for the day of Christ. Finally, Luke 3:1-6 highlights John the Baptist’s call to prepare the way of the Lord, urging repentance and the leveling of obstacles for the arrival of God’s salvation. Together, these passages focus on spiritual readiness and the transformative power of God’s coming.

The Old Testament Reading: Malachi 3: 1-4: The Coming Messenger
3 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 washers’ 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.

** Note: If you want to spend a few minutes gaining a better understanding of the book of Malachi, check out this video!  

The Gospel: Luke 3: 1-6: The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 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,

Reflection: Malachi and john 

The word prophet has Greek and Latin derivation and means an interpreter, spokesman, proclaimer; a harbinger. In the spiritual realm, we think of prophets as people who speak for God. Malachi and John both fit the bill (as does Zechariah, also included in this week’s lection).  For roughly a thousand years (1450-400 BCE), God sent prophets to the Israelites — think of Moses and Malachi as the bookends. The time between the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, and the events of the Gospels in the New Testament is often referred to as the Intertestamental Period and lasted for roughly four centuries. Because it was a period of prophetic silence, we tend to ignore this era. Further, it should be noted, that one significant outcome of the Reformation within emerging Protestant churches was the disavowal of the Apocryphal writings — think 1 & 2 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Judith, Tobit, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach or  Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch, among others — that highlight the intertestamental period.  (Note: It is interesting to note that Baruch 5: 1-9 is listed as an alternative first reading for this week. If you want to get further into the story of the Apocryphal writings, have at it!).

The four hundred years of prophetic silence, of course, does not suggest that nothing was happening during those years! Without getting too far into the weeds, the Intertestamental Period was a time of cultural fusion, political turmoil, and religious development that profoundly influenced the Jewish world into which Jesus was born. These historical dynamics provided the language (Greek, think Alexander the Great), infrastructure (Roman — think Roman Empire), and theological context (Jewish messianic hope — think the rise of the Pharisees and Sadducees) for the rapid spread of Christianity in the first century. Context, context, context. (I am reminded of Galatians 4:7: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children”). 

Malachi, then, identifies a messenger (3:1), a forerunner to the Messiah in the person of John the Baptist (compare Luke 1:17 and Malachi 4:6, Matthew 17:12 and Mark 9:11, and John 1:21). Writing four hundred years later, Luke identifies John as the messenger, placing him in a very specific context (Luke 3: 1-2) which equates to roughly 26 CE. Notably, he identifies both the political context (the rule of Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philipp, and Lysanias) and the religious context (the priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas). The “word of the Lord” (verse 2) came from this eccentric prophet, this radical man who lived in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and eating honey. I try to imagine how we would respond to such a figure today! The internet would be going crazy! 

What should we take away from these readings? In my imagination, I see Malachi shouting across the centuries, foretelling John’s arrival. And like the prophets of old, John arrives and makes us uncomfortable — read on into verses 7-14 if you need a reminder.  John is not an easy guy, and six months after his arrival on the stage, he suffers a gruesome death, a reminder that both John and Jesus will rock the establishment of their day. Yes, John speaks to us across time, urging us to wake up. His call for repentance is an invitation to think differently about our lives — a command to change direction with urgency! Let’s call this the excitement of waiting.      

Soli Deo Gloria!

prayer and musical Reflection: A voice crying in the wilderness (elw/255)

James Lewis Milligan was a British-born poet who had a long and varied career. This hymn, written in 1930, directly references Isaiah 40:3, but also fits with this week’s Malachi passage. Milligan ultimately emigrated to the United States in 1911 and is buried in Toronto Canada. The performance linked below comes from the National Lutheran Choir which is centered in the Twin Cities area.   

1 There’s a voice in the wilderness crying,
a call from the ways untrod:
Prepare in the desert a highway,
a highway for our God!
The valleys shall be exalted,
the lofty hills brought low;
make straight all the crooked places
where the Lord, our God, may go!

2 O Christians, you bring good tidings;
get up to the heights and sing!
Proclaim to a desolate people
the coming of their King.
Like the flow’rs of the field they perish;
like grass our works decay.
The pow’r and pomp of nations
shall pass like a dream away.

3 But the Word of our God is eternal;
the arm of our God is strong.
He stands in the midst of the nations,
and he shall right the wrong.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,
the lambs shall gently hold,
to pastures of peace shall lead them,
and bring them to his fold.

 

update on the bonhoeffer book study!

We will be studying Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic, The Cost of Discipleship as we start the new year. The goal will be for people to read it between now and the end of the year in preparation for several in-person sessions at ELC in early 2025. While giving us an opportunity to dive into some Lutheran history, Bonhoeffer’s book remains incredibly relevant for 21st Century Christians! We have ordered several copies of the book and also hope that many will purchase it for themselves. 

Our plan for the study is taking shape. Look for a schedule that will include a “Bonhoeffer Night” in January including a powerful documentary, followed by four sessions on Sunday mornings (10:45-11:45) for exploring the book. 

let me know if you are interested in being part of the study! email or text! (pstrykken@gmail.com or 715-299-0311). 

And We continue to meet on sundays at 10:45 for those that want to participate in some in-person discussion of the lectionary readings. our next meeting is on 8 december. join us in the library — All are welcome!