Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Luke
1:26-38
December 14, 2014
© 2014
This week I have posted a gallery of paintings depicting The Annunciation from different times and different cultures to prompt us to think of how we imagine the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would become the mother of Jesus. Compare with the text, especially that Gabriel is not really described with wings or radiance.
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| Annunciation Alfred Eaker b, 1964 |
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| The Annunciation Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859–1937 |
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| The Virgin of the Annunciation Fra Angelico 1395-1455 |
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| Aannunciation Russian Icon of Ustyug 12th Century |
Many of the words of hope we associate with
the birth of Jesus and read during Advent come from Isaiah. (7 of the 12
readings from the Hebrew Scriptures the Lectionary suggests for three years of
Advent come from Isaiah; the others from 5 different books.)
Isaiah 61 comes from what is
sometimes called Third Isaiah, written in advance for or when Judah returned
from Exile to Jerusalem. (I’ve reposted my brief essay about these scholarly
issues again below.) The people were discouraged at not experiencing the
great joy they had anticipated. Most people struggled to sustain themselves in
poverty, and rebuilding the Temple languished. But a few people became very
wealthy and very powerful, which the prophets cried out against.
Isaiah 61 is rooted in the Year
of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 in which debts were canceled, slaves freed and
property returned to original owners every 50 years. It was a socio-economic
reset button to give people on the bottom a chance for a fresh start. Psalm
146:7-9 paraphrases it.
The Lord
“executes justice for the oppressed; [who] gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the
blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he
upholds the orphan and the widow.”
Jesus read it to begin his ministry as his
mission statement in Luke 4:16-21 and spoke it in the Beatitudes in Matthew
5:3-12; Luke 6:20-23. Reading Isaiah during Advent, tells us that with the
birth of Jesus, God turns human power upside down and brings joy out of
mourning.
The Angel Gabriel’s announcement of the birth
of Jesus to Mary in Luke 1:26-38, clues us that Christmas cannot be a
sentimental celebration of a special mother and child.
In the sixth
month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to
a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The
virgin’s name was Mary. 28And
he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But
she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this
might be. 30The
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And
now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him
Jesus. 32He
will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God
will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end.” 34Mary
said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The
angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he
will be called Son of God. 36And
now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this
is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For
nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then
Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to
your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Since before the time of Mary, many Jewish
girls dreamed that one of their children would be the Messiah. Mary knew that
the Angel Gabriel was saying she’d be the one. Mary never questioned that a
common peasant woman would be the Messiah’s mother. She knew God reversed human
expectations. Though perplexed to be called God’s favored one, she didn’t argue
about her spiritual qualifications. Her objection was that as a virgin, she
didn’t expect to be having a child immediately.
Not only am I convinced Mary was conversant
with the Hebrew Scripture, I suspect she was a contemplative. Perplexed by the
Angel Gabriel’s greeting, she pondered
what sort of greeting it might be. After the shepherds had seen the newborn
Jesus and left praising God, Mary treasured
and pondered these things in her
heart (2:19). She was amazed at
Simeon’s prophecy when Mary and Joseph dedicated 40 day old Jesus at the Temple
(2:33). Returning from Jerusalem after 12 year old Jesus’ visit to the Temple,
Mary treasured that event in her
heart (2:51). She probed deeply the spiritual significance of being the mother
of the Messiah.
The Angel Gabriel told Mary about Elizabeth’s
pregnancy as a sign confirming that nothing would be impossible with God. From
Nazareth to the Hill Country of Judah was about an 80 mile walk. Very few
people rode animals or wagons. No one, certainly not a young woman, traveled
alone, but in the 7-10 days the walk would take, Mary had plenty of time to
meditate on seeing herself in the Song of
Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10). When she saw Elizabeth she was ready with her own
song, The Magnificat. Echoing Hannah,
Mary celebrated that with the birth of her child, Jesus, God was turning human
power upside down and bringing joy out of mourning.
We pick up that theme from Hannah in 1 Samuel
2:4-8, which is also echoed in Psalm 113:7-9.
The
bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. 5Those
who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry
are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children
is forlorn. 6The Lord kills
and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he
also exalts. 8He
raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make
them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.
Listen for how Mary echoed Hannah in Luke
1:51-53.
He has scattered
the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He
has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry
with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
Psalm 30:5, 11 says, “Weeping may linger for the
night, but joy comes with the morning. … You have turned my mourning into
dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” On this joyful Sunday, we rejoice that with
the birth of Jesus, God turns human power upside down, bringing joy out of mourning.
Do we believe
God is active and might interrupt in our personal or congregational lives? What
are you hearing from God during this interruption between pastors? Can you find God's hand turning human power upside down and bringing joy out of mourning in the recent racial tensions?
As we
anticipate celebrating the birth of Jesus, what might God use us to turn upside
down to bring joy out of mourning to Highlands Christian Church? to the Lake
Highlands community?
Mary responded, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word.” Are we, as individuals and as a congregation, ready to
say we are first and foremost God’s servants, ready to let it be with us
according to God’s word and not our own plans?
How many prophets
wrote Isaiah?
You don’t have to be a scholar when reading Isaiah to
recognize that a very significant change takes place between chapters 39 and 40
and a less obvious change takes place between chapters 55 and 56. Chapters 1-39
were clearly written by Isaiah to people about events that were happening in
Judah in the 8th century BCE. Chapters 40-55 do not mention Isaiah
or any of the people or events of 8th century BCE and speak quite
directly to the conditions Judah was facing while in exile in Babylon. Chapters
56-66 also do not mention any people or events of the 8th century
BCE and seem to fit conditions when the people of Judah had returned to
Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon.
I grew up and was educated in a tradition that insisted that
the prophet Isaiah wrote the entire book in the 8th century BCE.
Very learned and responsible scholars marshalled the arguments and evidence for
what they the called the integrity of Isaiah’s authorship. At some points this
position became a litmus test (Shibboleth – Judges 12:6) of theological
orthodoxy and scholarly acceptability. Most of these scholars recognize the
three sections of Isaiah were written for these three distinct times in Judah’s
history and say that God inspired Isaiah to write them in advance of the time
they would be needed.
Many other scholars believe the second and third sections
were written by other prophets than Isaiah at the time Judah needed those
specific messages from God. Most believe that the prophet who wrote the third
section (chapters 56-66) is likely also the one who assembled the book of
Isaiah as we have it today. They also believe those two other prophets were
likely descendants of the original Isaiah’s disciples who kept his message and
ministry alive through the terrible years of exile. Though the three sections
are distinct, they do share some common themes and literary approaches.
Personally I would suggest that whichever approach makes the
most sense to you, you should not treat it as a test of faith and condemn those
who hold the other opinion. I certainly believe God is quite capable of
inspiring Isaiah in the 8th century BCE to write what the people of
Judah were going to need going into and coming out of exile. I also believe God
is quite capable of raising up new prophets in the descendants of Isaiah’s
disciples to speak God’s Word contemporaneously with the events to which it
connects. Since Isaiah’s name and other people and events of his time drop out
from chapter 40 on, I see no reason to postulate any factual contradictions if
they were written by others. From a strictly literary perspective, Isaiah as a
whole is commonly viewed as a towering pinnacle of human literary achievement
in any language at any time. From a faith perspective, whether written by one
or three prophets, I recognize Isaiah as God’s Word, Scripture divinely
inspired, reliable and authoritative.
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