2024, December 8 ~ Baruch 5:1-9; Malachi 3:1-4; Philippians 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6
TODAY’S READINGS IN CONTEXT
DECEMBER 8, 2024
Today, congregations have the choice between Baruch or Malachi as the first reading.
Baruch 5:1-9
Reading
1 Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
2 Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
3 for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
4 For God will give you evermore the name, “Righteous Peace, Godly Glory.”
5 Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them.
6 For they went out from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
7 For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
8 The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God’s command.
9 For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
Commentary
The Book of Baruch is not part of the “Canon” (accepted books) of the Jewish version of the Hebrew Bible. It is, however, included as part of the Hebrew Scriptures in Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church Bibles as part of a “second” Canon. In Protestant Bibles, Baruch is not included in the Hebrew Scriptures but is part of a section called the Apocrypha (“hidden books”).
This difference in treatment arose because from 300 to 200 BCE, the existing Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek (the common language of the time). Compilations of these translations are called the “Septuagint.” Baruch was included in most versions of the Septuagint.
When the Jewish version of the Hebrew Scriptures (the “TaNaK”) was codified, however, in the period from 90 CE to 110 CE by the Pharisees/Rabbis after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the Book of Baruch (among other writings) was not included in the Canon of the TaNaK.
When Jerome completed translating the Bible into Latin (the “Vulgate”) in 405 CE, he included Baruch and other books that were part of the Septuagint. Jerome also wrote prefaces to some books noting that they were not in the Jewish Canon of the Hebrew Bible. Later compilers of the books in Christian Bibles overlooked Jerome’s prefaces. It was not until 1546 at the Council of Trent that the Roman Catholic Church set the RCC Canon of the Bible to include all the books in the Septuagint that were included by Jerome in the Vulgate.
Luther and other Protestants, however, followed the Jewish Canon of the Hebrew Bible and put some of the other books from the Septuagint (such as Baruch) in a separate section called the Apocrypha.
The Book of Baruch purports to be written by Baruch, Jeremiah’s friend and secretary (Jer.32:12), during the Babylonian Exile (587-539 BCE) and after Jeremiah’s death in Egypt in 582 BCE.
Based on the book’s allusions to writings in the Books of Sirach and Daniel, scholars conclude Baruch was actually written between 160 and 60 BCE. The author of Baruch copied and paraphrased numerous Biblical passages and combined them as a way of interpreting them. The New Oxford Annotated Bible says that most of Baruch is “made-up of pastiches of biblical passages copied or paraphrased (e.g., Dan 9; Job 28; and Isa 40-66). This mosaic technique was popular in the late Second Temple period. Authors recombined texts in new ways both as a means of interpreting canonical literature and as a means of creating new literary entities.”
The NOAB continues: “The book of Baruch would have well served Jewish communities in Judah and the Diaspora during the Seleucid and later eras of suffering and repression, since it deals with theological themes of particular interest to Jews at that time: the confession of corporate sin in the context of biblical history, the Torah as the gift of divine wisdom, and the restoration of Zion.”
Today’s verses are the concluding verses from the last chapter of Baruch. Verses 6, 7 and 8 paraphrased parts of Isaiah written during the Exile (Is. 40 to 55). They spoke of the Babylonian Exile (v.6a) and said that Jerusalem would be restored (vv. 1-2). The NOAB notes that saying that Jerusalem would get a “new name” (v.4) represented a change of status for the city – that it had been redeemed.
Malachi 3:1-4
Reading
1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight — indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
Commentary
The Book of Malachi is the last book of the 12 “Minor” Prophets – so called because these books are much shorter than the three “Major” Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). Malachi’s name literally means “my messenger” and the book appears to have been written in the Persian Period – the 5th Century BCE, after the Second Temple was built around 505 BCE and close in time to Ezra and Nehemiah (c. 475-450 BCE).
Malachi asserted that the “Day of the Lord” was coming soon, and the “messenger” of the Day of the Lord was identified as Elijah (4:5). In most prophetic books, the Day of the Lord was presented as a time of wrath, darkness, fear, and trembling.
The NOAB observes: “The extravagant hopes of the restoration prophets had not materialized (Hag 2.6-9; Zech 8.15, 20-23). The Temple had been rebuilt but the ideal age had not begun. Malachi probably spoke to a disheartened audience which questioned both the love (1.2) and justice (2.17) of God. Malachi reversed the discussion: God, he avers, has been faithful to the covenant (1.2; 2.5-7; and esp. 3.6 ‘For I the LORD do not change’); it is Judah that has been faithless (1.6; 2.8, 14; 3.8). Furthermore, any lingering doubts about divine justice will be addressed and overcome, the prophet states, soon enough when the LORD comes in judgment (2.17-3.5; 3.16-4.6).”
The Jewish Study Bible notes: “As a whole, the book is aimed at persuading its readership to follow the Torah of Moses or at strengthening their resolve to continue to do so. This message must be understood within the book’s historical setting, soon after the canonization of the Torah. Thus, the book presents a prophetic voice that ultimately asserts the superiority of Torah over prophecy.”
In today’s reading, Malachi described YHWH’s messenger (v.2) as one who is like “refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap.” (Fuller’s soap is a harsh clay/soap/lye used to whiten clothes or remove impurities from wool.) After the refining and cleansing, the offerings of Judah/Jerusalem would again be pleasing to YHWH (v.4).
In the Synoptic Gospels, the “messenger” was identified as John the Baptist (Matt.11:10-14; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 1:17, 76). John the Baptist was described in many ways as a “new Elijah.”
Philippians 1:3-11
Reading
3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Commentary
Philippi was a major city in Macedonia on the Roman road to Byzantium (Istanbul). Most of its inhabitants were Roman citizens, including veterans of Roman armies. Paul had deep affection for the Jesus Followers in Philippi and thanked them for gifts sent to him in prison (4:18). Paul wrote this letter from prison, but it is not clear if he was in Rome, Caesarea, or Ephesus.
If the letter was written from Rome, it would have been written around 62 CE. Other scholars note that Paul was also imprisoned earlier in Ephesus and made trips to Philippi from Ephesus. The NOAB notes that some scholars see the letter as a conflation of a number of letters Paul wrote to this community. Paul offered himself and Jesus the Christ as examples of courage and self-surrender in the face of suffering and death.
The NOAB points out that the immediate occasion of Paul’s writing was the return to Philippi of Epaphroditus (2:25-30), described in verse 25 as “my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need,” who had been sent by the Philippian community with gifts for Paul.
As the early (c. 55-60 CE) Jesus Follower community tried to determine what it meant to be Jesus Followers in terms of beliefs and practices, it is not surprising that disagreements arose. At the time of Paul’s writing to the Philippians, none of the Gospels had been written (“Mark” was written around 70 CE) and it took many years for “orthodox” positions and practices to develop.
Many of the Messianic changes that most Jews (including Paul) expected (unification of the 12 Tribes; ouster of the Romans; peace and justice) had not fully occurred when Jesus was on earth. For this reason, Paul and others waited for a “Second Coming” of the Christ (Greek for “Messiah”) which Paul believed would occur soon. Accordingly, he hoped the Philippians would be pure and blameless on that day (“the day of Jesus Christ” v.6).
The Jewish Annotated New Testament says that the letter asserts that “humility and unity (2.1-18; 4.2-3) are vital, with unity fostered by promoting the interests of others not one’s own.”
Luke 3:1-6
Reading
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”
Commentary
The Gospel According to Luke is generally regarded as having been written around 85 CE. Its author also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Both books were written in elegant and deliberatively crafted Greek and presented Jesus of Nazareth as the universal savior of humanity. Both emphasized the Holy Spirit as the “driving force” for events.
The Gospel followed the same general chronology of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Gospel of Mark, and more than 50% of Luke’s Gospel was based on Mark. The other portions of Luke include (a) sayings shared with the Gospel According to Matthew but not found in Mark and (b) stories that are unique to Luke such as the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Presentation in the Temple, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.
In her Introduction to the Gospel of Luke in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Amy-Jill Levine observed that when the Gospel was written, the Jesus Follower movement had become increasingly Gentile and the focus on Jerusalem that Paul maintained had been replaced by the Gentile mission. She points out that the target audience was the “third generation of Jesus Followers – following the generation after the eyewitnesses and servants (1.2).” This audience was “coming to terms with both the delay of Jesus’s return and the fact that most Jews, although possessing more or less the same scriptures as the Gentile church, neither saw those scriptures as predicting Jesus’s messianic role nor accepted his follower’s claims of his messianic status.”
Today’s reading began by setting an historical stage (vv.1-2a). Tiberius reigned from 14 to 37 CE, so depending on the manner of reckoning years, a time around 29 CE is indicated. Pontius Pilate was governor from 26 to 36 CE. Caiaphas was High Priest from 18 to 36 CE.
The depiction of John the Baptist as a messenger of repentance was derived from Isaiah and Baruch. The words of Isaiah (vv.4-6) are a paraphrase of Isaiah 40:3-5. The reference to “all flesh” (v.6) emphasized the universality of salvation, a common theme in Luke.
The JANT notes that “Baptism of repentance” had antecedents in the Jewish practice of miqveh – an immersion cleansing for ritual purity – but was different in that John’s baptism was a one-time event and a public testimony of repentance. The writings of Josephus, the First Century historian, support this view. Scholars suggest that baptism as a rite of initiation into the Jesus Follower Movement likely arose after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE.