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FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 2, 2018

Read Jeremiah 33:14-16

In those days and at that time, I will raise up a righteous branch from David’s line, who will do what is just and right in the land. —Jeremiah 33:15

By the time Jesus was born, the Hebrew people had been waiting for their Messiah for a very long time. In 587 BCE, their community teetered on the brink of extinction after a brutal defeat by the Babylonians. Jerusalem had been reduced to rubble. The temple was a smoking pile of stones. The Babylonian victors slaughtered all the heirs to the Hebrew throne in front of the king, and then gouged out his eyes so that the death of his sons was the last thing he ever saw. Corpses littered the streets. The community was broken and the people were without hope.

This is when Jeremiah wrote his prophecy of promise for a new future. God would bind up this community and deliver it from extinction. Crops would once again grow, people would marry and raise children, and they would joyfully bring praise offerings to God. Key to this new society would be a descendant of King David who would rule in mercy and justice. He would be known as The LORD Is Our Righteousness. This new community of God would be committed to following the ways of the Lord, both in their relationship with their neighbors and with God. They would be the kingdom of God, living on earth.

The Hebrew people survived, grew strong and became prosperous again. But even though they had kings who were descended from David, none of those kings were righteous enough to lead the people into being a true community of God. The people continued to hope for their promised Messiah, God’s anointed one specially chosen by God, who would unify the nations and usher in God’s kingdom on earth. When this anointed one arrived, he would herald a new world order, healing the brokenness of the world and bringing peace. Especially after the Romans conquered and occupied Israel in 63 BCE, the community of Israel yearned for the one they believed would set them free from Roman rule. Occasionally rebel leaders would be proclaimed as the promised Messiah—most notably Simon of Peraea in 4 BCE—but their political rebellions were all crushed.

God kept the promises made to the Hebrew people long ago among the ruins of Jerusalem. But instead of a powerful leader, God sent a baby born of poor, teenaged parents. Instead of an army, this Messiah had a band of indigent fishermen, tax collectors, and outcasts. Instead of expelling the Romans, he was cruelly executed with common criminals. Yet he was everything that God promised. Jesus Christ brought the hope to the world that will be the salvation of all of creation.

Prayer

Lord, may I know Jesus Christ’s unexpected salvation. Amen.