First Sunday of Advent- “Keep Awake” (2020)
November 29, 2020
Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
1st Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37
Exegetical Insights
Isaiah 64:1-9
In Isaiah 64:1-9, the writer is lamenting humanity’s failure to do what is right, while at the same time wondering why God continues to allow injustice and oppression. The prophet passionately calls on God to act and dramatically make God’s presence known so that the nations may know God as “the sole Sovereign of the universe.” However, God 1) only acts on behalf of those who trust God and 2) “gladly do right”, that is, those who live godly lives. Being in relationship with God requires living in a way that aligns with God’s character and commandments. The problem is that the people of God have not lived godly lives and have failed to fulfill their part of the covenant. Ultimately, the prophet prays for God to take unilateral action and end the vicious cycle of oppression and punishment and re-establish God’s relationship with God’s people.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Psalm 80 is a communal lament. The shepherding imagery found in the three proceeding psalms, reaches its climax in Psalm 80 as the psalmist declares that, in spite of how disgraceful their past condition or how dire their present circumstances, God is still Israel’s Shepherd. God is their king and “…hope for light and life.” Though “a sorrowful prayer”, Psalm 80 is also a prayer of faith and hope. It declares that God yet reigns and rules, even in the face of circumstances that seem to say otherwise. The language used in Psalm 80 seems to imply that the people believe that God is unengaged and disinterested and maybe even absent. Though they believe that God is responsible for their current situation, they continue to pray for God’s help. The belief that both calamity and good fortune come from the hand of God is a foundational tenant of ancient Jewish prayer and is the “ultimate paradox of the laments.” During the season of Advent, the season of preparation and repentance, Psalm 80 is a reminder to us that “…our lives ultimately depend on God’s gracious willingness to repent.”
1st Corinthians 1:3-9
In 1st Corinthians 1:3-9, the Apostle Paul expresses his gratitude for the fact that the Corinthian church has been richly endowed with spiritual gifts. He says this in spite of the fact that it is plagued by division and the rampant misuse of those gifts. Paul’s positive prognosis about the Corinthian Christian community is grounded in God’s character. The Holy Spirit is active in the Corinthian Church and Paul is certain, though
it may not look like it, that God will be faithful to God’s promises and bring them to perfection in time, in spite of their immaturity. When Christ returns all of the promises of God will be fulfilled and all believers will be found blameless in Jesus Christ, including the Corinthians.
Mark 13:24-27
In Mark 13:24-27, Jesus is intentionally ambiguous about the time of his second coming. He wants his disciples to focus on the mission of the church, spreading the “good news”, and not on trying to pinpoint a date for his return. Until he comes back, they are to remain focused and vigilant, expecting his return at anytime. It is the hope of his return that will allow them to endure persecution and affliction. His Second Advent will bring salvation for those who have heard and responded by faith and with faithfulness to the “good news”.
Keep Awake
Each text points the reader back to a God who, though the sovereign ruler of the Universe, chooses to partner with humanity to bring about the coming of the Kingdom of God. Taken together, they are a reminder to “keep awake” and continue to pursue God’s mission in the world.
Isaiah reminds us to “keep awake” and remain aware of humanity’s penchant for moral failure and participation in the perpetuation of injustice and oppression. If we do not, we may find ourselves culpable and complicit with death-dealing systems that are antithetical to who and what we have been called to be as the people of God.
The psalmist reminds us to “keep awake” and remember that lament and hope are two sides of the same coin. We lament because we know that there is a better way and that things do not have to be the way they are.
The Apostle Paul reminds us to “keep awake” and await with hope-filled expectation the (second) coming of Christ and to be patient with one another as we mature in our faith and the exercise of our gifts. We should not allow the present state of the Church to make us forget 1) that the Holy Spirit is at work among us and 2) that God has promised to bring us all to perfection in, and through, Jesus Christ.
The Gospel writer reminds us to “keep awake” and stay focused on God’s mission in the world: the spreading of the “good news”. Staying awake in the time between the inauguration and the consummation of the Kingdom of God will require diligence, endurance, and vigilance. If we “keep awake”, when Christ returns again, our faith and faithfulness will be rewarded.
Preaching Palestine
Palestinian theologian Mitri Rehab reminds us that “Believing that there is something more powerful than the empire is an important and necessary step toward questioning it.” Each of the lectionary texts for the first week of Advent remind us that there is something, or better someone, who is more powerful than the empire, God. In each
passage God plays a pivotal role in bringing about change and transformation. Whether it is as the One on whom we call in lament to bring justice and end oppression or as the One who gives us gifts and partners with us, even while maturing us, to bring about the Kingdom of God in the world, God is an active and ready partner.
The Christ came into the world as a brown-skinned, Palestinian-Jew who preached a message of hope that was bigger and grander than even his hearers could imagine: the coming of the kingdom of God. The coming of the kingdom and the reign of God would bring about more than just the “saving of souls.” God, in and through Jesus Christ, would radically transform the social order and God would do it in partnership with humanity, despite our faults and failures. “Preaching Palestine” using these texts could be done by lifting up the ways in which we have faithfully lived into our partnership with God, the ways we have failed to live into our partnership with God, and/or the ways we could be more faithful to the mission and the message of the Christ, particularly when it comes to the oppression and the marginalization of the people of Palestine today.
Biographical Summary
Rev. Xavier L. Johnson, D.Min. is the pastor of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton, OH and was the lead writer and editor of “On Peace and Justice in Palestine and Israel”, a position paper written for the Lott Carey Foreign Missions Society.
Blomberg, Craig L. The NIV Application Commentary: 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Garland, David E. The NIV Application Commentary: Mark. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
McCann, Jr, J. Clinton. “The Book of Psalms”. The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, Volume IV. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996. Myers, Ched with Marie Dennis, Joseph Nangle, OFM, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, and Stuart Taylor. “Say to this Mountain”: Mark’s Story of Discipleship.
Maryknoll: Orbis, 1996.
Oswalt, John N. The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Raheb, Mitri. Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible Through Palestinian Eyes. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2014.