Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 12 December 2021, the Third Sunday of Advent, ’Gaudete Sunday’

The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … a fifth century mosaic in the Neonian Baptistry in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 12 December 2021, is the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is known traditionally as Gaudete Sunday, and the readings for Gaudete Sunday deal with rejoicing in the Lord – Christian joy – and the mission of Saint John the Baptist. Despite the otherwise sombre readings of the season of Advent, which has as a secondary theme the need for penitence, the readings on the third Sunday emphasise the joyous anticipation of Christ’s coming.

The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland for next Sunday are:

The Readings: Zephaniah 3: 14-20; Canticle Song of Isaiah (Isaiah 12: 2-6) or Psalm 146: 4-10; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 7-18.

There is a link to the readings HERE

‘God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’ … (Luke 3: 8-9) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Introducing the Readings:

In the four weeks of Advent, we recall the Patriarchs and Matriarchs (Advent I), the Prophets (Advent II), Saint John the Baptist (Advent III) and the Virgin Mary (Advent IV).

On Sunday, as we think about the message of Saint John the Baptist as the Forerunner of Christ, the readings remind us of the promises proclaimed by the prophets, and Saint Paul’s promise to the Philippians of Christ is coming again.

Zephaniah invites Jerusalem to rejoice because salvation is at hand; Isaiah promises a future in which we ‘will draw water from the waters of salvation’; Saint Paul promises the Church in Philippi that ‘the Lord is near’; and Saint John the Baptist proclaims that ‘one who is more powerful than I is coming’ as he proclaims ‘the good news to the people.’

‘The Holy City’ … a colourful picture by Thetis Blacker in the Royal Foundation of Saint Katharine in Limehouse in London’s East End (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Zephaniah 3: 14-20:

Zephaniah is one of the 12 ‘Minor Prophets,’ whose books are occasionally known collectively as the Book of the Twelve, the last book of the Nevi’im, the second main division of the Jewish Tanakh. This collection is divided into 12 individual books in the Bible, one for each of the 12 ‘minor prophets.’

The name Zephaniah means ‘Yahweh has hidden,’ ‘Yahweh has protected,’ or ‘Yahweh hides.’ Zephaniah was a major inspiration for the mediaeval hymn Dies Irae, whose title and opening words are from the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah 1: 15-16.

In his introduction to this book, Zephaniah describes himself as the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah, probably the king who ruled Judah in 715-687 BCE. Zephaniah’s intimate knowledge of Jerusalem and affairs in the court, and the fact that unlike other prophets he makes no denunciation of the king, suggests he is of royal descent.

He also says his ministry began in the reign of King Josiah, the great reformer.

His denunciation of corruption in religious affairs suggests that his prophecies date from before the reforms of 621 BCE.

This book predicts doom for Judah for having failed to follow God’s ways, and adverse judgment on other nations, too. However, the final chapter promises comfort and consolation for the inhabitants of Jerusalem who wait patiently for the Lord and serve God as a community. They will rejoice when God comes into their midst.

Earlier, in Chapter 3, the author speaks of the people of Jerusalem and their crimes. They have failed to listen to God, to accept his advice, to trust in him or to draw near to him. He has destroyed other nations as a warning to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem has ignored this warning.

In spite of this, they are told, God will cause Gentiles to turn to his ways. They will serve him by allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. In an ideal future time, God will bring about the moral recovery of Jerusalem, removing the arrogant from their midst, leaving the ‘humble and lowly’ as the remnant who will be godly, and who will live in tranquillity.

Now, in this passage, the prophet invites Jerusalem to rejoice because salvation is at hand. God has intervened, he now dwells with his people, and he protects them.

Drawing on military image, he says God will lead Israel’s army. He will encourage the people, he will give them victory, rejoice in their return to his ways, make his love for them apparent again, and celebrate in song.

God will destroy the enemies of Jerusalem and Judah, look after those who suffer, bring the exiles home, and see that the city is honoured by all. They will see Judah’s fortunes restored.

God’s promise of coming home to the new Jerusalem means oppressors are vanquished, the lame are saved, the outcast now become insiders, shame is turned into praise, and misfortunes are reversed, in a promise that is visible to, and therefore held out to, ‘all the peoples of the earth.’

Saint John the Baptist and the Prophet Isaiah … a window in Saint John’s Church, Wall, near Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Canticle ‘The Song of Isaiah’ (Isaiah 12: 2-6):

The Canticle ‘The Song of Isaiah’ (Isaiah 12: 2-6) is Canticle 23 in the Book of Common Prayer (2004), p 132. Note, however, that the number of the verses of the Canticle differ from the numbering of the verses in the Bible.

This passage is in a similar vein to the reading from the Prophet Zephaniah.

Verses 1 and 4 begin ‘… in that day.’ Earlier, Isaiah 11: 10 says, ‘On that day’ other nations will note that a king of David’s line, ‘the root of Jesse,’ sits on the throne of Israel. They will ask about him and the divine glory that is with him. ‘On that day,’ it tells us, God will gather the remnant, the remaining faithful, from throughout the world. So, the day is the end of the era, when the Messiah will come.

God tells the prophet or his messenger of the events that are to come, and this messenger will tell the people to give thanks for the end of God’s anger and return to his comfort.

The promise of salvation in verses 2 and 3 may refer to restoration to the Promised Land. The people will be protected by God’s ‘strength and … might.’ The promise of life-giving ‘water from the wells of salvation’ symbolises God’s saving power. The people will give thanks and proclaim the good news to all nations so that all may know of God and his actions. His people are the inhabitants of ‘royal Zion,’ who are a royal people because God, the Holy One of Israel, dwells in their midst.

The liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria is omitted in Advent, and it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent, despite the ending ‘Glory …’ suggested in the Book of Common Prayer with this canticle.

‘The Lord loosens those that are bound ’ (Psalm 146: 7) … three chained Christians praying for salvation behind a grille, watched over by Turk and a guard-dog … a sculpture (1714) by Ferdinand Brokoff on the Charles Bridge in Prague (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 146: 4-10:

Psalm 146 draws a contrast between human and divine rule. As human beings, we are mortal: we come from dust and return to dust. But God is eternal, as are the values by which God governs the affairs of humanity.

God brings justice to the oppressed, food to the hungry, freedom to captives, and hope to those on the margins of society.

These principles of justice and compassion run through Scripture as the governing ideals of a society under the sovereignty of God.

The Psalmist recalls that that those who hope in God’s promises will know that God keeps his promise for ever, which includes justice for those who are wronged, seeing that the hungry are fed, those who imprisoned are freed, the blind see, the oppressed lifted up, the righteous exalted, the stranger, the orphan and the widow protected, and the wicked turned away. This is the God who reigns for ever, throughout all generations.

The liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria is omitted in Advent, and it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent.

Once again, note that the liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria is omitted in Advent, and that it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent.

‘And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4: 7) … a sculpture in Saint Bene’t’s Church, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Philippians 4: 4-7:

Philippi was a prosperous Roman colony in northern Greece, and Saint Paul wrote from prison to the Church there. This may have been a prison in either Ephesus or Rome, where he was held under house arrest. This epistle may be made up of three letters. It contains many personal references, urge members of the church in Philippi to live the Christian life and to show good ethical conduct. It introduces Timothy and Epaphroditus as Saint Paul’s representatives, and it warns against legalists and libertines. Saint Paul concludes by thanking the community in Philippi for their material support.

In this reading, Saint Paul warns against heresy and self-indulgence and urges his readers to show devotion to Christ.

It seems that two workers for Christ, Euodia and Syntyche, differ in their understanding of what the way of Christ is, and that this is causing disunity in the community in Philippi. Now Saint Paul wants a way to bring about reconciliation.

Saint Paul now urges his readers to behave towards one another with gentleness. He tells them to expect the Second Coming soon, for ‘the Lord is near.’ They should ask God to help them, through prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. In a prayer that is a well-known blessing, he promises that God’s peace will protect them against their own failings and the threats they face. This peace ‘surpasses all understanding,’ it is beyond the grasp of the human mind and brings with it more than we can ever expect: ‘And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’ (verse 7).

‘Saint John the Baptist’ by Adrienne Lord … an icon by Adrienne Lord in an exhibition in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 3: 7-18:

Saint John the Baptist preached a message of forgiveness of sins and the advent of a new relationship between the people and God.

Saint Luke has already told us that ‘… the word of God came to John … in the wilderness. He went into all the region … proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins …’ (verses 2-3). Now, Saint John the Baptist addresses the crowds, telling them they are vipers and accusing them of being baptised without any intention of starting a new, ethical, life.

These people are mistaken if they think that by being baptised they are going to avoid the ‘wrath to come’ or God’s judgment at the end of time. They must also turn to godliness. Being Jewish or being a descendant of Abraham is no guarantee of salvation. Instead, anyone who responds to God’s gift of love with appropriate behaviour will be part of the renewed Israel.

The people have a choice: either they can respond to God’s offer by beginning a new way of living; or they can face condemnation at the end of time. God is going to fulfil his promises to Abraham in unexpected ways.

Saint Luke gives four examples of behaviour that exemplifies a new life. We should see to it that those who are poor have clothes and those who are hungry have food to eat. We should not pile on debts on those who cannot pay them. We should not oppress others. And if we are comfortable ourselves, then we should be satisfied with our lot. Perhaps Saint John is also reminding us that we must constantly question our own behaviour and be open to God’s way and God’s will.

At the time, people were expecting the Messiah to come at any moment. Perhaps they hoped that Saint John the Baptist was going to restore Israel’s fortunes and that God’s power would triumph in the here and now. But Saint John tells them that the baptism he offers is vastly inferior to the Baptism of Jesus, and that even he will be found unworthy when Christ comes. At that time, the godly will be gathered to Christ but the ungodly will be destroyed.

The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … a depiction in stucco in the Church of Saint Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 3: 7-18 (NRSVA):

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

10 And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ 11 In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ 12 Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ 13 He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ 14 Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in a church in the mountain village of Maroulas, near Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical resources:

Liturgical colour: Violet (Purple), Advent, Year C, or Pink, Gaudete Sunday.

On Gaudete Sunday, many churches use rose-coloured vestments instead of the violet of Advent, so that Gaudete Sunday is also known in some places as ‘Rose Sunday.’ In churches that have an Advent wreath, the rose-coloured candle is lit in addition to the two of the violet (or blue) candles lit on the previous two Sundays. In Anglican Churches, the use of rose-pink was formally noted as an option in the Church of England with the liturgical renewal introduced in Common Worship.

The liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria is omitted in Advent, and it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent.

Third Sunday of Advent, 12 December 2021 (Pink Candle):

Saint John the Baptist

Lord Jesus, your cousin John
prepared the way for your coming.
Bless all who speak out against
injustice and wrong:
so may the light of your truth
burn brightly, and the world become
a fairer and just home for all.

(A prayer from USPG)

Penitential Kyries:

Turn to us again, O God our Saviour,
and let your anger cease from us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your salvation is near for those that fear you,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect:

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

The Advent Collect:

The Advent Collect is said after the Collect of the Day until Christmas Eve:

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Collect of the Word:

O Lord our God,
you are the Mighty One
who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary
to be the mother of our Lord:
may we like Elizabeth and John the Baptist
recognise the presence among us of him
who sanctifies us through his body offered for us,
your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

In the tender mercy of our God,
the dayspring from on high shall break upon us,
to give light to those who dwell in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1: 78, 79)

Preface:

Salvation is your gift
through the coming of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and by him you will make all things new
when he returns in glory to judge the world:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Father,
we give you thanks for these heavenly gifts.
Kindle us with the fire of your Spirit
that when Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Blessing:

Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon you,
gladden your hearts
and scatter the darkness from before you:

‘We give you thanks for these heavenly gifts’ (Post-Communion Prayer) … an icon screen in the parish church in Kalamitsi Alexandrou, a mountain village in western Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Suggested Hymns:

Zephaniah 3: 14-20:

86, Christ is the King! O friends, rejoice
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
281, Rejoice, the Lord is King!

The Canticle ‘The Song of Isaiah’ (Isaiah 12: 2-6):

370, Stand up, and bless the Lord
373, To God be the glory! Great things he has done!
492, Ye servants of God, your master proclaim

Psalm 146: 4-7:

4, God, who made the earth
125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
357, I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
97, Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
99, Jesus, the name high over all
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
8, The Lord is king! Lift up your voice
376, Ye holy angels bright

Philippians 4: 4-7:

349, Fill thou my life, O Lord my God
225, In the cross of Christ I glory
16, Like a mighty river flowing
636, May the mid of Christ my saviour
507, Put peace unto each other’s hands
281, Rejoice, the Lord is king!
627, What a friend we have in Jesus

Luke 3: 7-18:

419, I am not worthy, holy Lord
303, Lord of the Church, we pray for our renewing
306, O Spirit of the living God
136, On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
341, Spirit divine, attend our prayers
204, When Jesus came to Jordan

‘On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry’ (Hymn 136) Saint John the Baptist (left) and Saint George in a stained glass window in the Chapel of the Hospital of Saint the Baptist in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

Saint John the Baptist depicted in a fresco in a church in Crete by the icon writer Alexandra Kaouki of Rethymnon

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 13 December 2020, Third Sunday of Advent

The fifth century mosaic of the Baptism of Christ in the Neonian Baptistry in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday [13 December 2020] is the Third Sunday of Advent (Year B), which is known in many parts of the Church as ‘Gaudete Sunday.’

The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for Sunday are: Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; Psalm 126 or the Canticle Magnificat; I Thessalonians 5: 16-24; and John 1: 6-8, 19-28.

There is a direct link to the readings HERE.

The Triptych of the Baptism of Christ in the Chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Introducing Gaudete Sunday

On Sunday, we light the third, pink candle on the Advent Wreath, and the prayers and readings reflections might usefully provide a focus in our reflections or sermons on Saint John the Baptist.

Gaudete Sunday takes its name from the Latin word Gaudete (‘Rejoice’), the first word of the traditional entrance antiphon or introit for the day:

Gaudete in Domino semper:
iterum dico, gaudete.
Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus:
Dominus enim prope est.
Nihil solliciti sitis:
sed in omni oratione petitiones vestræ innotescant apud Deum.
Benedixisti Domine terram tuam: avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

This may be translated as:

Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I say, rejoice.
Let your forbearance be known to all,
for the Lord is near at hand;
have no anxiety about anything,
but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.
Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

In many churches, rose-coloured vestments are worn on Gaudete Sunday instead of the violet of Advent. In some Anglican traditions, ‘Sarum Blue’ is used instead.

Blue as a liturgical colour represents hopefulness. The use of blue at this time of the year as a liturgical colour in some Christian traditions is found in the usage of the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and the mediaeval Sarum Rite in England. While Sarum had blue for Advent, Lichfield had black or possibly blue, Exeter had violet, Wells had azure, dark blue or even a bright blue or purple, while Liverpool had lilac.

The colour blue is also used in the Mozarabic Rite (Catholic and Anglican), which dates to the eighth century, and the Lutheran Book of Worship lists blue as the preferred colour for Advent. In his classic on liturgy, Percy Dearmer explains that violet can range from purple through to blue. But then I remember the old playground rhyme: ‘Roses are red, violets are blue …’ So I have a blue stole for Advent, with touches of red, rose and violet … and even a touch of black.

The tradition of substituting violet with rose or pink, which was observed informally in the past by Anglicans, is provided as an option in the Church of England in Common Worship.

Similarly, the rose-coloured candle is lit on the Advent wreath on Gaudete Sunday, alongside the two violet or blue candles from the first two Sundays of Advent.

‘He has sent me … to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners’ (Isaiah 61: 1) … an empty prison cell in the former concentration camp at Sachsenhausen (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11:

This first reading was probably written after the return from Exile in Babylon. It looks forward to the total salvation of God’s people – bodily, spiritually, individually and socially. The prophet says God has empowered and anointed him to act on God’s behalf.

Verses 1b to 2 are quoted by Christ when he preaches in the synagogue in Nazareth (see Luke 4: 18-19).

‘The year of the Lord’s favour’ (verse 2; see Leviticus 25:10) refers to the jubilee year, a year dedicated to God, when all shall be free to return home to their families, and a year of rest when the land produces without being sown or worked.

Verses 4-7 tell us that strangers or foreigners from all nations are to contribute to the restoration of righteousness on earth. They will be double blessed and have eternal joy, and God’s agreement will last for ever.

In verses 10-11, the prophet speaks of the renewed Jerusalem. All will rejoice because God has provided salvation and has healed their rift with God, and the people will praise God as an example for ‘all the nations.’

‘Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with songs of joy’ (Psalm 126: 2) … a sign in a café in Rathkeale, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 126:

The Psalm is a liturgical song for use in public worship.

When the people first returned from exile in Babylon, they could hardly believe their good fortune. But after the initial joy, life is difficult, and they ask God to restore their fortunes.

‘From this day forward all generations shall call me blessed’ (the Canticle Magnificat) … Christ with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist in a stained-glass window in the Hub at Saint Mary’s, Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Canticle ‘Magnificat’:

The lectionary offers the Canticle Magnificat as an alternative to the psalm on this Sunday. However, if it is not used this Sunday, it should be used the following Sunday instead of the psalm.

The ‘O Antiphons’ (see below) were written as daily introits to the Canticle Magnificat in the last week of Advent, and offer the opportunity for reflective introductions to the use of this canticle on this Sunday.

Saint Paul preaching to the Thessalonians … a fresco in the Cathedral in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

I Thessalonians 5: 16-24

The Apostle Paul is drawing near the end of his first letter to the Church and the early Christians in Thessaloniki. God’s plan for them, realised in Christ, is to rejoice always, to make their lives a continual prayer, and to be thankful to God, whatever happens to them.

Saint Paul tells them not to suppress manifestations of the Holy Spirit, not to despise the words of prophets or words of consolation and warnings spoken by members who receive messages from God, and not to ignore predictions of future events.

They are to be aware that there are true and false prophets. Some speak God’s word authentically, but others who do not and are false or evil. We must take care and test or discern all supposed manifestations of the Spirit (‘test everything,’ verse 21).

Finally, Saint Paul prays that God, who brings peace in the community and promises eternal peace in his kingdom, may bring them into union with him. Their relationships with God and with one another must worthy of the kingdom when Christ comes again.

The Holy Spirit descending as a dove … part of a triptych in the Chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 1: 6-8, 19-28:

Although the readings in Year B are a journey through Saint Mark’s Gospel, there is a digression on this Sunday as we read the account in Saint John’s Gospel of the Baptism of Christ by Saint the Baptist in the River Jordan.

In the opening verses of his Gospel, Saint John tells us, that the Word, the Logos, in other words, what God says, God in action, God creating, God revealing and redeeming, exists before all time. He is the force behind all that exists; he causes physical and spiritual life to be; life, goodness and light overcomes all evil. Christ, the ‘light’ (verse 7), took on being human through God, and is a force for goodness, light, godliness, for all people.

Now he tells of Saint John the Baptist, who is sent or commissioned by God to point to Christ, to ‘testify to the light’ (verse 7). Saint John the Baptist is the lamp that illumines the way, but Christ is the light (verse 8).

When the religious authorities (verse 19) send their representatives, priests and Levites, to assess John’s authenticity as a religious figure, John tells them that he is neither of the two figures they are expecting to come to earth: he is neither ‘the Messiah’ (verse 20) nor the returned ‘Elijah’ (verse 21). At that time, Jews believed that one or both would establish a kingdom on earth that would be free of Roman domination.

Neither is John the prophet some expected would be instrumental in establishing the Messiah’s kingdom. Saint John says simply that he is the one who prepares ‘the way of the Lord’ (verse 23), who announces the Messiah’s coming, fulfilling the promise in Isaiah 40: 3.

The representatives of the Pharisees ask John in verse 25 why he is performing an official rite without official status. John tells them that the one to whom he points is already on earth. He is so great that for his part John protests he is not even worthy to be his slave.

The setting for this story is interesting, for it all takes place outside Israel (see verse 28).

Some years ago, I was recording a television programme for Joe Duffy’s Spirit Level, broadcast on RTÉ [Sunday 7 December 2014]. I was part of a panel of four, and in the test run beforehand, each of us was asked how to be addressed, and for titles for the on-screen captions.

We can become very precious about our titles in the Church of Ireland … ‘Reverend’ … ‘Very Reverend’ … ‘Right Revd’ … Canon … Professor … Dr … Dean … Archdeacon … Your Grace … My Lord … and so on.

In terms of respect for the office, or in terms of shorthand descriptions of someone’s function in the Church, they serve a purpose. But respect is not a right, it must be earned, and when we start standing on our dignity, taking ourselves too seriously, something has gone wrong.

I figure if I am known to God by the name I was baptised with, Patrick, then all Christians should feel perfectly at ease in calling me that.

And in terms of office, I should never forget that I too am one of the laos, the People of God, by virtue of my baptism, and that I remain a deacon, someone who was first ordained to serve.

Saint John the Baptist is self-effacing about himself; he is aware of his role, and he refuses to exaggerate it; yet, on the other hand, to descend to self-abasement.

He sees his own ministry as one of waiting and preparing. He is a man sent from God, he is a witness testifying to the light, but he is not the light himself, and he is quick to dispel any confusion. He is not the Messiah, he is not the Prophet Elijah, who was expected to come again. All he says about himself is that he is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness the words first spoken by the Prophet Isaiah.

‘The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ (John 1: 29 and 36) … the Lamb of God depicted on the gate of Middle Temple in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)

Have you noticed the terms Saint John the Baptist uses to describe Christ outside this Gospel reading?

● ‘The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ (John 1: 29 and 36): This title is given to Christ at the beginning of his public ministry as he approaches Saint John the Baptist, and is repeated the next day. It has resonances of the Passover, so Saint John’s Gospel begins with Christ being hailed as the Lamb of God and closes with his death as the Paschal Lamb is sacrificed in the Temple. This title speaks to us, therefore, of self-sacrifice, revealing a God who suffers for and with us.

● ‘The one who existed before John’ (verse 30).

● ‘The Son of God’ (John 1: 34): The two acclamations of Christ as ‘the Lamb of God’ enclose or bookend his other proclamation (John 1:34): ‘I have borne witness that this is the Son of God’ or ‘God’s Chosen One’ (verse 34). This is the first time in this Gospel that Christ is given the messianic title of ‘the Son of God.’ The title of ‘The Son of God’ is another reference to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah.

Saint John’s description of Christ as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ presents Christ as the Servant of God described in Isaiah as being led without complaint like a lamb before the shearers, a man who ‘bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors’ (see Isaiah 53: 7-12). But this is also read, with the benefit of hindsight, as a reference to the Lamb sacrificed at Passover – in Saint John’s Gospel, the crucifixion takes place at the same time as the Passover.

But the Lamb of God who is taking away not just my sin, not just our sin, not just the sin of many, of Christians, or those we judge as transgressors – not even the sin of the world, but the sin of the cόσμος (kosmos), the whole created order.

There is a difference in translations that speak of the ‘sins of the world’ and the ‘sin of the world.’

The word in verse 29 is the singular sin of the cosmos: ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. The word indicates being without a share in something, in this case God’s intention or design, or missing the mark.

So often the world has missed the mark in terms of shaping up to Gods plan and intention for the whole creation, the whole cosmos.

Saint John also describes Christ (verse 30) as one who ‘existed before me’ (RSV) or who ‘was before me’ (NRSV), reflecting a recurring theme in Johannine literature of the pre-existence of the Word.

But who do the disciples say Christ is?

Later, they are to give three very different descriptions from those given by Saint John the Baptist:

● Rabbi or Teacher (verse 38);

● the one to see and follow (verse (verse 39);

● the Messiah or the anointed one (verse 41).

Robert Spence (1871-1964), ‘Woe to the Bloody City of Lichfield,’ depicts George Fox preaching barefooted in the Market Square in Lichfield 1651 … George Fox challenged his followers to say who Christ is for them (The Hub at Saint Mary’s/Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield)

Who is Christ for you?

Who is Christ for you? This is a question each and every one of us must ask ourselves anew time and time again.

He must be more than a good rabbi or teacher, because the expectations of a good religious leader or a good teacher change over time.

In this time of Advent, can you ask who is the Coming Messiah for me?

At the time, many people had false expectations of the Coming Messiah.

We may see the difference between how Saint John, near the end of his ministry, describes Christ, and how the disciples, at the beginning of answering Christ’s call, describe Christ. But who is Christ for you?

George Fox, the founding Quaker, challenged his contemporaries: ‘You may say Christ saith this, and the apostles say this, but what canst thou say? Art thou a child of the Light and hast thou walked in the Light, and what thou speakest is it inwardly from God?’

Who is Christ for you?

Is he a personal saviour?

One who comforts you?

Or is he more than that for you?

Who do you say Christ is?

It is a question that challenges Saint Peter later in Saint Matthew’s Gospel (see Matthew 16: 15). Not who do others say he is, but who do you say Christ is?

I find it is a beautiful presentation in Saint John’s Gospel that the beginning of Christ’s ministry is set out over six days. And on the seventh day of that new beginning we have a sabbath – God rests; Christ goes to the wedding at Cana, the third of the Epiphany moments. And there we have a sign, a sacrament, a token of the complete transformation of the created order, a sacramental or symbolic token of the heavenly banquet (John 2: 1-12).

Who is Christ for you?

Is Christ inviting you to the heavenly banquet, to enjoy the new creation, to be in partnership with him, as the Lamb of God, in the renewal of the cosmos?

Saint John the Baptist and the Baptism of Christ in a stained-glass window in Saint Bartholomew’s Church, Dromcollogher, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

John 1: 6-8, 19-28 (NRSVA):

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22 Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 He said,

‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord”,’
as the prophet Isaiah said.

24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ 26 John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

The Baptism of Christ above the entrance to the Baptistery in Florence (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: Violet (Purple), Advent, Year B (or Pink or Rose, Gaudete Sunday).

The Collect of the Day:

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

The Advent Collect:

This collect is said after the Collect of the day until Christmas Eve:

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light
now in the time of this mortal life
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Collect of the Word:

This was not available when these notes were being prepared

The Post Communion Prayer:

Father,
we give you thanks for these heavenly gifts.
Kindle us with the fire of your Spirit
that when Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Further Liturgical resources:

The liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria may be omitted during Advent, and it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent.

These additional liturgical resources are provided for Advent in the Book of Common Prayer (2004):

Penitential Kyries:

Turn to us again, O God our Saviour,
and let your anger cease from us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your salvation is near for those that fear you,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Peace:

In the tender mercy of our God,
the dayspring from on high shall break upon us,
to give light to those who dwell in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1: 78, 79)

Preface:

Salvation is your gift
through the coming of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and by him you will make all things new
when he returns in glory to judge the world:

Blessing:

Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon you,
gladden your hearts
and scatter the darkness from before you:

The ‘O Antiphons’ … a detail from the Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan Van Eyck, 1420s

The ‘O Antiphons’:

The O Antiphons, which traditionally begin on Thursday next [17 December 2020], are the antiphons for the canticle Magnificat at Vespers, and also serve as the Gospel acclamations.

On the evening of 17 December, as we begin reflecting on the O Antiphons, we are looking forward not just to Christmas – although we are looking forward to that too – but to a time of rejoicing. For, as the Epistle reading this Sunday says:

‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you … May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (I Thessalonians 5: 16-18, 23).

Each of these Antiphons begins with an ‘O’ and relates to some facet of Christ’s nature and ancestry, so that as the week draws us to Christmas the note of longing love and desire intensifies:

17 December: O Sapientia, O Wisdom;
18 December: O Adonai , O Lord of Israel;
19 December: O Radix Jesse, O Root of Jesse.
20 December: O Clavis David, O Key of David.
21 December: O Oriens, O Morning Star rising in the East.
22 December: O Rex Gentium, O King of all nations.
23 December: O Emmanuel, O Emmanuel, God is with us.

Lighting the third, pink candle on the Advent Wreath in Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Kerry (Photograph: Barbara Comerford)

The Advent Wreath on the Third Sunday of Advent (The Pink Candle):

On the Advent Wreath on the Third Sunday of Advent, the rose-coloured or pink candle, symbolising Saint John the Baptist, is lit alongside the two violet candles, symbolising the Patriarchs and the Prophets.

The prayers at the Advent Wreath on the Sundays in Advent can help us to continue our themes from the Sunday before Advent [22 November 2020], which we marked in these dioceses as Mission Sunday.

The first purple candle to light on the Advent Wreath on the First Sunday of Advent was the Purple Candle, recalling the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. The second purple candle, which we lit on the Second Sunday, represents the Prophets. The third, rose-coloured or pink candle, which we light on the Third Sunday of Advent, represents Saint John the Baptist.

USPG suggests this prayer when lighting the third candle:

O God of justice,
whose servant John prepared the way for Jesus’ coming;
we pray for the medical mission of the Church of Bangladesh
as it prepares the way for prematurely born children.
Bless the babies from different faiths who share the warmth of a common incubator.
May their world become a fair and just home for all.

The Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist depicted in the Baptistery in Porto Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Suggested Hymns:

Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11:

218: And can it be that I should gain
494: Beauty for brokenness
481: God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year
324: God, whose almighty word
125: Hail to the Lord’s anointed
569: Hark, my soul! it is the Lord
124: Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes
418: Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face
574: I give you all the honour
357: I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
97: Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
99: Jesus, the name high over all
671: Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
134: Make way, make way for Christ the King
706: O bless the God of Israel
104: O for a thousand tongues to sing

Psalm 126:

567: Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
356: I will sing, I will sing a song unto the Lord
712: Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
373: To God be the glory! Great things he has done!

Alternative Canticle, ‘Magnificat’:

704: Mary sang a song, a song of love
712: Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
373: To God be the glory! Great things he has done!

I Thessalonians 5: 16-24:

455: Go forth for God, go forth to the world in peace
631: God be in my head
303: Lord of the Church, we pray for our renewing
634: Love divine, all loves excelling
639: O thou, who camest from above
341: Spirit divine, attend our prayers
446: Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands
73: The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended

John 1: 6-8, 19-28:

124: Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes
134: Make way, make way, for Christ the king
135: O come, O come, Emmanuel
136: On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry

Saint John the Baptist depicted in a fresco in the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

Saint John the Baptist with Patriarchs and Apostles in a stained glass window in Truro Cathedral … from left: Noah with the Ark; Moses with the Ten Commandments; Saint John the Baptist; Saint Peter with the keys; and Saint Philip the Deacon with a pilgrim's shell also used for baptism (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 15 December 2019, Third Sunday of Advent

Saint John the Baptist in Prison, Juan Fernandez de Navarrete (1526-1579)

Patrick Comerford

Next Sunday, 15 December 2019, is the Third Sunday of Advent. We are in Year A in the readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, and during Year A we are working our way through Saint Matthew’s Gospel.

Throughout Advent, the Sunday readings as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, provide for only one set of readings on the Sundays.

The Readings: Isaiah 35: 1-10; Psalm 146: 4-10 or the Canticle Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55); James 5: 7-10; Matthew 11: 2-11.

There is a link to the readings HERE

Salome asks for the head of Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in Analipsi Church or the Church of the Ascension in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Introducing the Readings:

The Third Sunday of Advent is also known as ‘Gaudete Sunday.’ The day takes its common name from the Latin word Gaudete (‘Rejoice’), the first word of the introit of this day’s Liturgy:

Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus: Dominus enim prope est. Nihil solliciti sitis: sed in omni oratione petitiones vestræ innotescant apud Deum. Benedixisti Domine terram tuam: avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob (see Philippians 4: 4-6; Psalm 85: 1).

Throughout Advent, the spirit of the Liturgy is one of expectation and preparation for Christmas and for the coming of Christ. Gaudete Sunday in Advent is a counterpart to Laetare Sunday in Lent, and provides a similar break about mid-way through the season of preparation, and signifies the joy and gladness as the Lord’s coming comes nearer and nearer.

On Gaudete Sunday, rose-coloured vestments may be worn instead of violet or Sarum blue, and this is noted as an option in the Church of England in Common Worship.

On the Advent wreath, the rose-coloured or pink candle is lit in addition to the two violet or blue candles, that represent the first two Sundays of Advent. The readings emphasise the joyous anticipation of the Lord’s coming.

These candles, in sequence, are:

Advent 1: The Patriarchs;
Advent 2: The Prophets;
Advent 3: John the Baptist;
Advent 4: The Virgin Mary;
Christmas Day: Christ.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad (Isaiah 35: 1) … a mountain pass in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Isaiah 35: 1-10:

Each Sunday during Advent this year, we are reading from the Prophet Isaiah. In this reading, the prophet foretells:

● the restoration of the land to fertility
● the end of human suffering and sickness
● the restoration of hope and justice
● the joyful return of the exiles from captivity.

The exiles shall be restored, and the ‘desert shall … blossom,’ the fertility of Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon will be given to them as a sign of God’s favour and glory. The land once given over to wild beasts, including jackals and lions, will be cultivated once again, and the barren land will bloom.

Human life will be transformed, with the end of infirmity and disability. The feeble, the blind, the deaf, the lame and the speechless shall be restored, along with the restoration of justice and the return of hope. Waters and streams will make the land fertile again.

Finally, the exiles, who have been captives in Babylon, will return on a ‘Holy Way’ (verse 8) or a ‘highway’ in safety (verse 9) to ‘Zion’ (verse 10), the holy city, and there once again they will worship God in the Temple.

But none of these is an end in itself, for they are signs of and point to the hope that God’s rule is being restored and that his favour rests on his people.

The Lord ‘gives justice to those that suffer wrong and bread to those who hunger’ (Psalm 146: 6-7) … bread in a Greek baker’s window (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 146: 4-10:

Psalm 146 echoes the theme of restoration in the reading from Isaiah, focussing especially on God’s justice. This is one of the Hallelujah psalms at the end of the Psalter, which contain a series of hymns of praise, each with a call to worship, a statement of the purpose for praising God, and a renewed summons to praise.

These Psalms all begin and end with the word Hallelujah, which is translated in the NRSV: ‘Praise the Lord.’

In contrast to human rulers, God’s reign is just. Those who trust in God are happy or blessed and have ‘hope.’ This psalm sings of God’s justice expressed in his care and action on behalf of the defenceless, the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, the weak or humiliated, strangers, orphans and widows. When these are cared for, it is a sign of God’s just reign, and he is to be praised: ‘Praise the Lord!’

The Visitation … a panel in the 19th Century neo-Gothic altarpiece from Oberammergau in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Canticle Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55):

When the Blessed Virgin Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth they are both pregnant – Mary with the Christ Child and Elizabeth with Saint John the Baptist.

The Virgin Mary has left Nazareth and travelled south to an unnamed ‘Judean town in the hill country,’ perhaps Hebron outside Jerusalem, to visit Saint Elizabeth. When she arrives, although he is still in his mother’s womb, John the Baptist is aware of the presence of Christ and the unborn child leaps for joy.

Saint Elizabeth too recognises that Christ is present, and declares to the Virgin Mary, with a loud cry: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy’ (Luke 1: 42-44).

The Virgin Mary responds to Saint Elizabeth immediately with the words that we now know as the Canticle Magnificat, one of the best-loved canticles.

So we see, side-by-side, two women, one seemingly too old to have a child, but destined to bear the last prophet of the Old Covenant, of the age that was passing away; and the other woman, seemingly too young to have a child, but about to give birth to him who is the beginning of the New Covenant, the age that would not pass away.

This canticle is a traditional part of Anglican Evensong ever since the Reformation. Offering it as an alternative to the Psalm on a Sunday morning gives people an opportunity to become familiar once again with a canticle that they may not hear very often as Evensong fades as a Sunday evening tradition in many parishes.

The hymn versions of Magnificat in the Irish Church Hymnal (see number 704, 712) offer creative ways of using this Canticle on Sunday morning.

Prayer shawls in the Kadoorie Synagogue in Porto … traditional Jewish daily prayers include the petition, ‘I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah. And though he may tarry, I shall wait anticipating his arrival each day’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

James 5: 7-10:

Praying for the Messiah to come is a daily part of prayer in Judaism. At the heart of the Jewish prayer life is a prayer known as the Amidah (‘18 Blessings’). It is often said three times a day, and includes: ‘The offspring of your servant David may you speedily cause to flourish …’

The Yigdal, which is part of daily morning prayers in many congregations, focuses on the 13 Articles Of Faith that Maimonides says every Jew should believe in. The Yigdal inspired Thomas Olivers’s hymn, The God of Abraham praise (Irish Church Hymnal, 5th ed, No 323).

The twelfth principle of the Yigdal prays: ‘I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah. And though he may tarry, I shall wait anticipating his arrival each day.’

Early Christians anticipated Christ’s return, the second coming, believing it was imminent and would be immediate, and that with it would come the Kingdom of God. Its delay – the tarrying of the Messiah’s advent – caused some difficulties and even some disputes in the Apostolic Church. Here, the Apostle James warns his readers not to be impatient. This impatience may lead to grumbling and division within the church, which will bring judgment, for with the second coming of Christ comes also the judgment of God. The second coming is a two-edged sword: its arrival is a comfort for and a warning to Christians (see Proverbs 5: 4; Hebrews 4: 12; Revelation 1: 16; Revelation 2: 12).

Instead, Saint James tells us to be patient in suffering like the prophets, to bide our time like the farmer who plants his crop knowing the rains will come in due time (verse 7). In the same way, the Kingdom is near (verse 8) – it may appear to be tarrying, but it will come in its own time. Though it may tarry, our impatience will not hasten its coming. But we can anticipate its arrival each day with complete faith.

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Caravaggio

Matthew 11: 2-11:

The Third Sunday of Advent is associated with Saint John the Baptist. The first purple candle on the Advent Wreath on the First Sunday of Advent reminds us of the Patriarchs; the second purple candle, on the Second Sunday of Advent, recalls the Prophets; the third, pink candle on the Third Sunday of Advent, is a reminder of Saint John the Baptist; and the last purple candle, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, recalls the Virgin Mary.

We already meet Saint John the Baptist by the banks of the River Jordan in the Gospel reading for the previous Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent (Matthew 3: 1-12, 8 December 2019).

John is taken aback when he first meets with Christ. He comes across full of confidence and certainty. He announces the coming of Christ with great hope and expectation, bursting with energy. Yet, when Christ comes to him to be baptised, is there even a hint that John is a little reluctant to baptise him?

Have you ever wondered why John does not know who Jesus is? After all, not only has he baptised him and hailed him, he is also his cousin. Considering how close to one another their mothers Mary and Elizabeth have been, why would John now not know who Jesus is? Is this not the same John who leaped with joy in his mother’s womb when he realised he was in the presence of the unborn Christ (see Luke 1: 44)?

Have you ever wondered why Saint John was not one of the disciples?

We move on quite a bit by the Third Sunday of Advent. It is a week later in the lectionary readings, but many months after Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan. Saint John the Baptist has preached himself hoarse about looking forward to one who is more powerful than he is. However, since then Jesus has not been wielding power in the way John may have hoped for or may have been expecting.

Now as John waits in prison, about to lose his head, perhaps he wonders whether he made a mistake in thinking Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps he is feeling discouraged and doubtful, he sends messengers to ask Jesus: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ (verse 3).

The simple answer for Christ might have been: ‘Yes.’ Instead, however, Christ points Saint John, the messengers and the crowd to the signs of the Kingdom. Echoing the Prophet Isaiah, he points out that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the dead are raised and the poor receive good news.

These are not mere claims, but incontrovertible proof. Yet, apparently, there are some who take offence at Christ (verse 6). Perhaps even Saint John the Baptist has been disappointed because his expectations of the Messiah are not being fulfilled by Christ. He is hardly the king of the coming kingdom – after all, he is not ‘dressed in soft robes’ (verse 8). The term ‘soft robes,’ used twice in this verse, has resonances of self-indulgence.

Is this what gives rise to Saint John’s doubts?

Is it possible that Saint John was expecting for the wrong kind of Messiah?

Indeed, is Jesus the one John the Baptist has been waiting for?

When Saint John’s disciples return and tell him what Christ has told them, does Saint John conclude that Jesus is not the Messiah he has been waiting for?

Does John think he has been waiting for the wrong kind of Messiah?

How often have you waited expectantly – for Christmas, for a Christmas present, for a new job, for a major family milestone, for the move to a new home – only to face the realisation that your expectation has been unfulfilled? Another pair of socks? The wrong job with low pay, high expectations and bad conditions? The family milestone upstaged by a family crisis? The new home has horrid neighbours? Is the person I loved so many years ago really the person I live with now?

Picture Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, lonely and empty by the side of the road, waiting forever for Godot who never arrives.

Picture Eleanor Rigby in the lyrics of the Beatles, waiting alone at the window, alone among the lonely people.

Picture Saint John the Baptist, waiting in prison where he has been sent by Herod the Great.

Now he is tired. He has grown discouraged. He is questioning. He is like us. He jumps to hope with power and aggressiveness. But later, when he is dispirited, he has questions, and he has doubts. Is Jesus really the Christ he is looking for?

What happened to the John the Baptist who said Jesus would chop down fruitless trees and throw chaff into the fire?

Has Jesus spent his ministry throwing chaff into the fire?

No, it seems not. And so Saint John sends his own disciples, to ask: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another?’

Saint John, who has devoted his entire life to preparing the way for Christ, now seems not to even recognise Jesus when he comes. Has Jesus come in a way that John does not expect? Should he and his disciples look for another?

Christ refers to the signs of the Kingdom in Isaiah. Saint John is ‘more than a prophet’ (verse 9), for he heralds the dawn of the final era of history and he announces the coming of the Kingdom. Now Christ validates Saint John’s ministry as a true prophet, quoting a prophecy from Malachi in verse 10, and then equating Saint John’s ministry with the returned Elijah (verse 14).

At that time, Jews believed the time of the prophets had come to an end. But they understood Malachi’s words to mean that Elijah would come again, heralding the advent of the Messiah.

Christ criticises the people who went out to see Saint John the Baptist in the wilderness with the wrong expectations. What they actually saw was greater than they could ever imagine. Yet even Saint John, as great as he is, only points the way to an even greater reality (verse 11). Now the fulfilment of this promise is beginning to be worked out and to be seen.

When we are disappointed, when our expectations of the coming Kingdom are dashed, is it because we are not looking for the signs of the Kingdom that are all around us?

The gift of Christ is precious, but does it always meet our expectations?

Are we prepared to look around and notice new places where Christ is working and living? If you were told: ‘Go and tell John what you see and hear,’ where would you say you see and hear Christ at work today?

I am not blind, lame, leprous, deaf, poor, downtrodden, dead … surely? Am I?

Christ comes in humility for the humble. He comes for those who do not have it all worked out for themselves. I am not humble; so often I think I have it all worked out.

Conclusions:

No, I do not agree with those who argue that Saint John the Baptist doubted whether Jesus is truly the Christ. Often, these arguments are built on ‘paperback psychology’ – thinking that fails to examine the person being discussed

It is not Saint John the Baptist who is a reed swaying in the wind, blown about by the happenings of the world and the persecution he now faces. It is the people who went to see him who are now being told they are like reeds swayed by the wind.

Saint John remains a prophet and more than a prophet – he rejoices to see the fulfilment of the Promise, and he knows that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, for he sees the Holy Spirit descending on him and remaining on him. He knows that Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. One of his own disciples, Saint Andrew, becomes the first-called among the disciples of Christ.

Saint Jerome says Saint John’s questions arise not out of ignorance but in the same way that Christ asks where Lazarus is buried, so that those who show him the sepulchre might be so far prepared for faith, and believe that the dead are raised again to life. So Saint John, who is about to be put to death by Herod, sends his disciples to Christ, ‘that by this opportunity of seeing his signs and wonders they might believe on him, and so might learn through their master’s inquiry’ (Jerome, Catena Aurea, Matthew 11: 2-6).

By sending them to question Christ about his mission, Saint John the Baptist offers his disciples the opportunity to become true disciples of Christ. This is the opinion of Saint Hilary, Saint Chrysostom, Saint Cyril and many other patristic writers.

Similar points are made by Saint John Chrysostom, who says ‘the Baptist did not doubt or slacken in his faith; for he is no reed swayed in the wind, but the new Elijah.’

Saint Gregory the Great holds that Saint John the Baptist truly questioned whether Christ was the one who would come. But this does not imply that Saint John doubted whether he was the Messiah, but only whether he was the one who would come – meaning the one who would come into Sheol to retrieve the souls of the just who are waiting. As Saint John realises his own death is near, he seeks consolation from Christ who is to deliver the dead from the power of death.

Salome visiting Saint John the Baptist in Prison, Francesco Barbieri (Il Guernico)

Matthew 11: 2-11 (NRSVA):

2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 4 Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”

11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’

‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?’ (Matthew 11: 7) … reeds in the River Shannon at Carrick-on-Shannon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Liturgical Resources:

Liturgical Colour: Violet (or Pink/Rose)

The Collect of the Day:

O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

The Advent Collect:

Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness,
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and ever.

This collect is said after the Collect of the day until Christmas Eve

The Collect of the Word:

Sustain us, O God,
with the power of your love on our journey
to meet the One who is coming: strengthen our weak hands,
make firm our feeble knees,
and open blind eyes to the dawning of your kingdom,
so that our hearts may rejoice
as we behold the majesty of our God.
We ask this through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Father,
we give you thanks for these heavenly gifts.
Kindle us with the fire of your Spirit
that when Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

‘No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it’ (Isaiah 35: 9) … a couched lion seen on a street in Georgioupoli in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Liturgical resources for Advent:

The liturgical provisions suggest that the Gloria may be omitted during Advent, and it is traditional in Anglicanism to omit the Gloria at the end of canticles and psalms during Advent.

These additional liturgical resources are provided for Advent in the Book of Common Prayer (2004):

Penitential Kyries:

Turn to us again, O God our Saviour,
and let your anger cease from us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Show us your mercy, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Your salvation is near for those that fear you,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Introduction to the Peace:

In the tender mercy of our God,
the dayspring from on high shall break upon us,
to give light to those who dwell in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1: 78, 79)

Preface:

Salvation is your gift
through the coming of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and by him you will make all things new
when he returns in glory to judge the world:

Blessing:

Christ the sun of righteousness shine upon you,
gladden your hearts
and scatter the darkness from before you:

The beheading of Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in Analipsi Church or the Church of the Ascension in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Suggested Hymns:

Isaiah 35: 1-10:

146, A great and mighty wonder
166, Joy to the world, the Lord is come
231, My song is love unknown (verses 1, 2, 4, 7)
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
113, There is singing in the desert, there is laughter in the skies
377, You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace

Psalm 146: 4-10

4, God who made the earth
125, Hail to the Lord’s anointed
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
357, I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
97, Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
99, Jesus, the name high over all
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
363, O Lord of heaven and earth and sea
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
8, The Lord is King! Lift up your voice
376, Ye holy angels bright

The Canticle Magnificat (Luke 1: 47-55):

704, Mary sang a song, a song of love
712, Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
139, The angel Gabriel from heaven came
373, To God be the glory! Great things he has done!

James 5: 7-10:

41, God, whose farm is all creation
535, Judge eternal, throned in splendour
281, Rejoice, the Lord is King!
601, Teach me, my God and King

Matthew 11: 2-11:

417, He gave his life in endless love
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
136, On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
324, God, whose almighty word

Saint John the Baptist depicted on a pillar in the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000).

‘The burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water’ (Isaiah 35: 7) … burning sands and blue waters at a beach in Corfu (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)