Second Sunday in Advent Year A 4th December 2022
Lectionary Readings:
Isaiah 11 v1-10; Psalm 72 v1-7, 18-19; Romans 15 v4-13; Matthew 3 v1-12.
Hope draws near.
The Old Testament reading today is from Isaiah and records his prophecy about the origin and nature of the Messiah.
“Like a branch that sprouts from the stump, someone from David’s family will some day be king. The Spirit of the Lord will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom and insight. He will be powerful and he will know and honour the Lord. The poor and needy will be treated with fairness and justice. Honesty and fairness will be his royal robes.” (Isaiah 11 v1, 2, 4a, 5).
(Older translations have a Hebrew reference to ‘the stump of Jesse’, the father of king David)
Matthew tells us about John the Baptist.
“John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. He said Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here”. John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said. “In the desert someone is shouting. ‘Get the road ready for the Lord! Make a straight path for him!” (Matthew 3 v1-3).
Many years before the time of Isaiah, King Solomon asked God for his help in ruling over Israel. “Please help the king to be honest and fair just like you, our God. Let him be honest and fair with all your people, especially the poor. Let peace and justice rule every mountain and hill.”
(Psalm 72 v1-3).
The apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans probably predates the writing of the gospels, and like Matthew he was well aware of the many references within Jewish scripture, (our ‘Old Testament’), alluding to God’s anointed one, the Messiah who will bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. As Paul says, “The Scriptures were written to teach and encourage us by giving us hope.” (Romans 15 v4)
John the Baptist’s message was one of hope for the world, God was drawing near to his creation, enfolding us in his love and making it possible for us to be reconciled with him via the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
I continue with further verses from the hymn I used last week from hymn writer Claire Stainsby.
(Singing the Faith 174 v 3, 4).
Stepping through each page of history,
prophets contemplate this mystery,
celebrate the coming King,
words of joy and hope they bring,
so let it burn.
In the desert now the waiting ’s done,
make things ready for your King, says John,
see, his glory is revealed,
and the hope for all is sealed, so let it burn
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English version.