Christmas 1, Cycle B
As we prepare for this occasion, we realize that in our contemporary culture the first Sunday after Christmas has become for many people a quiet time within a vacation period, a time often characterized by family gatherings, enjoyment of Christmas gifts, dried-out Christmas trees with drooping ornaments, pro-football, low church attendance, and perhaps Student Recognition Sunday. The texts selected for this day, however, are full of vibrancy and creativity, worthy of putting life and vitality into this ecclesiastically quiet time. May the Spirit of God come to us through these texts so that we too may speak creatively and vibrantly to others on this day!
Isaiah 61:10–62:3
Every word of this portion of the Isaiah tradition is Good News. Even though never in the history of Jerusalem have conditions been as favorable or the status of its people as glorious as depicted here, we can understand how important it was for those who were inspired to develop the Isaiah traditions to use exaggeration in their attempts to provide encouragement for the people. The people in Jerusalem at that time needed salvation and peace, and we need salvation and peace. We, like they, need “Good News.” Perhaps we have been too restrained, to lacking in exuberance in our proclamation of salvation on this Sunday after Christmas. Since we believe that God was active in the life of Jesus in a decisive way, let us proclaim that joyously and eloquently, as salvation is proclaimed to us in this text.
Psalm 148
All people, all creatures, even all components and elements of nature are called upon here to praise the Lord. This praise is to be joined with the praise of the Lord and of the name of the Lord by all of God’s angels and heavenly host. Certainly this psalm must be read and sung with great feeling and joy.
Galatians 4:4-7
Within the many letters of Paul included in our Newer Testament this text is most distinctively a Christmas message. The “Good News” in this text is that God has provided salvation both for those who live in accordance with the guidance compiled in the Torah and for those who are not Jews but have been adopted as also God’s people, so that they, along with the Jews, can call God their God, and so that, like Jesus, they can call God “Abba.” In this text Paul proclaims that those of us who are Gentiles are also, in Christ Jesus, by God’s grace heirs of the good things that God has prepared. We are heirs of God’s grace alongside of the Jews, not better than they are, but by God’s grace equal to them. This is Paul’s “Good News” here and in Romans 11, and it should be proclaimed as such to Christians and to Jews today. Unfortunately, this Good News” of Paul’s Christmas message has been largely obscured throughout most of the history of the Church by a different message, a message of Christian exclusivism and claims of Christian superiority.
Luke 2:22-40
Within these two brief scenes depicting the aged Simeon in 2:25-35 and the aged Anna in 2:36-38 the Lukan writer with inspired creativity showed the baby Jesus as the one through whom salvation would come to all people to be a light to be revealed to the nations and glory to God’s people Israel. In this way the Lukan writer demonstrated that now that Jesus had come, “aged” Israel should recognize its Messiah and as a form of spirituality “aged” Israel should “depart in peace.” By means of these little scenes the Lukan writer predicted ex eventu that Jesus would face opposition and that his violent death would cause indescribable grief to his mother. As elsewhere in Luke-Acts, the literary models here were the Scriptures of the Israelite people. Even Jesus is presented in 2:40 through use of the wisdom models readily available in the Joseph Story in Genesis 37-50 and in the Daniel document. As a result, we see literary drama at its best. We are able to visualize every detail, even without the benefit of actors and stage. Apart from the subtle polemic here against Judaism — which we do not need nor should we employ –these verses beautifully portray elements that are most helpful to our Christian piety, especially during this Christmas season. We can, of course, merely perceive these stories about Simeon and Anna as documentary reports provided to the Lukan write by Jesus’ mother late in her life. Or we can note that by means of these vivid scenes the Lukan writer creatively supplied some “movies” from Jesus’ childhood that would otherwise not be available to followers of Jesus late during the first century when many of them were beginning to wonder what had happened during Jesus’ infancy and childhood.
Certainly we will want to lead all who hear our words on this day to thank and praise God joyfully and creatively. May the Spirit of God give to us the same kind of revelation and inspiration provided to those who wrote and compiled these biblical texts!
