Advent reflection #3: Joy (Jordan Tang)
By Jordan Tang
Psalm 14:5-10
5 - Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.6 - He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.7 - He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,8 - the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.9 - The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.10 - The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
I often ask myself what does it mean to be blessed. In some translations, it uses the word happy instead of blessed. When Jacob is mentioned, this conjures up images of Jacob as he wrestled with God in Genesis 32 until daybreak. Jacob would not leave until he was blessed. This blessing was “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Being blessed by God completely changed the course of Jacob’s life and he became the father of the nation of Israel.
The greatness of God is praised as he is the Maker and is faithful forever. He cares for the oppressed, feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free and gives sight to the blind. He lifts up those who are bowed down, watches over the foreigner, orphans and widows. Before Jesus, these references may not have had the same meaning. Jesus healed the blind in Matthew 9:27-29. He made a woman straight who had been bent down in Luke 13:11-13. In Luke 7:10, Jesus heals the centurion’s servant without even needing to see the servant. In Luke 7:14-15, Jesus raised a widow’s dead son to life. In Matthew 21:12, Jesus overturned the tables of money changers and those selling doves that were turning a house of prayer into a den of robbers.
The passage concludes with praise of the Lord with a proclamation of the Lord reigning forever. In 2 Samuel 5, David conquers the fortress of Zion. Zion becomes the city of David and marks a transition of Jerusalem becoming the centre of Israel.
Questions
Where do we search for help and place our hope?
What does it mean to be blessed and does this blessing affect our life?
How do we praise God in our daily lives?
When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Looking at this passage, what can we see about God’s will and what steps can we take to help it manifest on earth?
Matthew 11:2-11
2 - When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 - to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 - Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 - The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 - Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
7 - As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 - If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. 9 - Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 - This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’11 - Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
This passage makes me reflect about the expectations of the people and what the Messiah should be. John or perhaps his disciples might be even in need of bigger assurance because John was in jail after speaking out against Herod and his unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife after dismissing his own wife. With the Hebrew people being conquered and controlled by Romans, the expectation might be for a great warrior to lead the people out from under Roman rule. Instead, Jesus described “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”
Jesus goes on to speak about John as a prophet who will “prepare your way”. He also describes John as being greater than anyone born of women. At the end, it provides a great reassurance for those who will be in the kingdom of heaven that they will be greater than John. This foreshadows what would later happen with Jesus’ love and sacrifice.
Questions
What expectations do we have? Do expectations for God and for others in our life cause us to be disappointed what’s actually happening?
John was a prophet who acted as the herald to prepare the way for the Messiah. What are we prepared for? What does being prepared mean for a child of God?