Philippians 4,4-7 0423
Rorate Caeli : Advent 4 4
Gatianus, first Bishop of Tours, † late 3. century
Wunibald, Abbot at Heidenheim, † 760
Theodulph, Bishop of Orleans, † 821
18. Dezember 2022
1. ℣ Drop down, ye heavens from above:
℟ And let the skies pour down righteousness (Isaiah 45,8).
O God the Father, Thou Omnipresent Lord; send forth the Holy Spirit to dwell with us, so that as we draw ever nearer to Christ’s nativity we are assured that You truly are in our midst, for Jesus, our Immanuel, is God with us, now and always. Amen. (Psalm 145,18.21 Gradual)
2. »Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say: Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.«
3. John began preparing for the Messiah as an infant in his mother’s womb. Luke records for us: »In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry: „Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should visit me?« (Luke 1,39-43)
4. The Apostle Paul’s declaration, »the Lord is at hand«, complements John the Baptizer’s declaration »among you stands one you do not know, even He who arrives after me« (John 1,26-27). John prepares, and Jesus fulfills; John preaches repentance, and Jesus preaches forgiveness.
5. Yahweh had been preparing the world for its Christ since the Fall into sin at Genesis 3. The promise of salvation was traced through a particular family and lineage. From Adam and Eve to Seth to Noah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) to Judah to David and the royal line. The virgin Mary recounts this in her Magnificat: »The Lord has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever« (Luke 1,54-55).
6. Yahweh did not merely work through Israel, but also through the Gentiles. Isaiah says that Yahweh worked through Cyrus (II the Great), King of Persia (559-30 bc). The Prophet Isaiah comforts God’s chosen one by reminding him that Yahweh alone is God and He is the God who saves people. Yahweh is not speaking to His chosen people, Judah, in chapter 45, but to Cyrus who created the 1. Persian Empire by conquering several other smaller empires in his region, including the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Yahweh calls Cyrus, who was a Gentile, His anointed one [χριστω] (45,1) and promised that He will go before him and secure his military victories (45,2). Yahweh wants Cyrus to know Yahweh, the God of Israel, has called him by name (45,3). It should therefore not surprise Jews or Gentiles that Yahweh desires to reveal His Glory to the Gentile Magi and graft Gentiles onto the tree of Israel because 600 years earlier He was doing this very thing among the pagan Persians. Yahweh chose Cyrus, and made him the Great, in order to redeem Judah who was still under Babylonian Captivity. Cyrus’ genius in leadership was that he respected the customs and religions of the lands he had conquered; when he triumphed over Babylon he decreed the liberation of the Jews, encouraged them to return to Israel and issued an edict authorizing the rebuilding of their temple in Jerusalem (2. Chronicles 36,22-23). It is not surprising then that the Old Testament mentions Cyrus by name 23 times.
7. When Cyrus conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire (538/9 bc), Judah had been in exile for 70 years. They were being punished for their idolatry and rebellion against Yahweh. The people of Judah had become like a thirsty land and dry ground (Isaiah 44,3) during their exile. They longed for the land of milk and honey, the temple and the sacrifices that gave them forgiveness. Yahweh promised that righteousness will shower down upon parched Judah. They will return to the land, rebuild the temple and worship Yahweh as they once did in Jerusalem.
8. The promised Messiah is not only a savior, but an entirely eschatological blessing that effects the creation (cosmological). „The exile, far from a defeat by Yahweh, represented a victory and a vindication of His revelations to the earlier prophets. Similarly Christ reigns from the cross; especially John describes His death as His ‘glorification’“ (Hummel 215). Paul exhorts us to »rejoice, for the Lord is at hand.« This has global, cosmological implications. Isaiah proclaimed: »Israel is saved by Yahweh with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity« (Isaiah 45,17). The Gentiles too will be welcomed by Yahweh: »Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, ‘Yahweh will surely separate me from His people’; the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh … to love the Name of Yahweh … these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations« (Isaiah 56,3.6.7).
9. Jesus proclaimed: »When I am lifted up from the earth, then I will draw all people to Myself« (John 12,32). Jesus said His death and crucifixion would bring salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. Through Jesus, God the Father showered down righteousness upon all peoples. Jesus poured down righteousness with His shed blood, for by His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53,5). Paul exhorts us: »be found in Christ having a righteousness which comes through faith Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that you may know Him the power of His resurrection« (Philippians 3,9-10). Thus the O Antiphon for today exhorts us:
10. ℣ O Adonai and Ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush and gave him the Law on | Sinai: *
℟ Draw near with outstretched arm and re- | deem us. (O Antiphon for 18. December)
11. Now rejoice, all you faithful ones,
At this time of mercy,
Because our salvation has come,
He, the Lord of glory,
Though without proud splendor,
But to devastate the mighty
And destroy utterly
The Devil’s kingdom and power. (Nun jauchzet, all ihr Frommen elkg 310,1 2021 Michael Schirmer 1640).
This is most certainly true.
10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
11. Let us pray. O Lord, give us grace to walk before Thee all the days of this our pilgrimage with a good conscience and pure mind, that when Thou shalt appear to reward every man according to his deeds, we may rejoice and not be ashamed before Thee at Thy coming. Grant this for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. (The Week of Advent 4, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
Hummel, Horace D. The Word Becoming Flesh. Copyright © 1979 Concordia Publishing House.
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