The season of Advent is almost here. It is a time of preparation and in many ways a time of renewal. This coming Sunday (3-Dec-2006) is the start of the new lectionary and worship year for Christians around the globe. For Community of Christ this new year will have a theme of “Share the Peace of Christ,” for this Sunday there is the weekly theme of “The Kingdom of God is Near” and the Advent theme of “Peace.” Thus as I have reflected and experienced the various texts for this coming Sunday I have done so with these themes and the season of Advent in mind. What follows is perhaps less of a reflection on the passages, but rather some of my experiences with them over the past few weeks.
The two passages from the lectionary that I have spent the most time with are: Jeremiah 33:14-26 (The lectionary passage is just 33:14-16), and Luke 21:25-36. Though I have also spent some time with a few of the other passages these two are the focus of my final paper for Intro to Exegesis, and I used the Luke passage form my teaching lab in The Church’s Educational Ministry.
On Wednesday (29-Nov) I was one of the four in my teaching lab group that was to present our lesson. Though I was first on the list, I ended up going last Wednesday. After the second person went, I was getting worried that I misunderstood he assignment. Thus I asked the professor to be sure. He told me, not that it was just by chance that we had two presentation style sessions in a row. Still, when the third person also did a presentation style, I was not fully comfortible. Then to add to this time for class was running tight and some had to leave right after class was done, so I felt a bit of time pressure as I started my lesson.
For this “lesson” I chose to use the Luke passage from above and how it related to the Advent Season, and in particular the the theme of Peace. It was an interesting discussion, but do to time I reduced the time we had to share, and left the meditation and reflective times close to my original time line. After the session ended and feedback was given I felt much more comfortable with what went on. One classmate said it felt like “worship” where the others we had felt more academic, another about it being “spiritual,” and another stated liked that it seemed as I had no agenda/view point that I was trying to push. As they shared these things and various elements they liked, questions they had… I felt, at peace. For I took this passage, which on first look does not seem to ring out “peace” and lead a group of 9, including myself, to encounter and explore it in that light. I was truthful to myself and my calling. While I can, and do, share information in presentational form, I much prefer to do so with an element of worship, and an eye toward the spiritual. Also I was not shocked to hear the word “worship” since in planning this educational experience I kept in mind a modified version of Community of Christ’s basic worship pattern, which itself reflects the cycle of life.
So, where you might ask is my reflection on these passages… Well, perhaps the above is a refection, perhaps it is not. However, what follow’s is an extremely rough and unedited “So what” ending to my paper. I will update this page when I finalize the paper next week, but for now I leave you with this sorry bit of writing:
So what insight can we gain from these passages? What, can they mean to us as we encounter them at the start of the season of Advent?
In both there is a sense of new, be it the new branch of the Davidic line or the springing of leaves on the fig tree.. In Jeremiah there is a looking forward to the future and a time when the houses of Israel and Judah will be restored and the Davidic line once more ruling and the Lavitical Priesthood continuing to minister. In Luke we have Jesus telling of the future coming of the Son of Man and of the Kingdom of God. In Jeremiah , the people are in a sense told not to give up and be discouraged. In Luke, a similar message is also present as they are told not to be discouraged by the signs of the coming of the Son of Man. In Luke here is directly a call to preparation for what is to come, and in Jeremiah one might imply that preparation is needed, even if it just to not get discouraged by those who said that Adonai has abandoned them.
Thus in the season of advent we should remember that the Eternal One does not abandon us, but always is with us just as there is night and day. The Calling One calls us to actively prepare for a future kingdom that is righteous and just. Called to pray and be alert and not allow hardship and troubles to cause us to lose hope and faith in the new birth, the peaceable kingdom, that we yearn for.
—Lyle R. Anderson II, “So what?” Jeremiah and Luke: Final Exegesis Paper: Early Draft, Fall 2006.
Peace be with you,
— Lyle II