Advent Year A: How Do We Get to Zion?

As you begin your planning for Advent 2013, you are invited to think of Advent as a faith journey. By faith, we confess that Christ has come. By faith, we testify to the things that he did during his brief sojourn with humankind. Most of us accept and believe in the birth, the life, and even the atoning death of Christ without having to make a major leap of faith. Do we, however, have the same measure of faith that Christ will come again? The Advent journey is one of many opportunities to reaffirm that God's activity on this earth through Christ is not finished. Christ has come; Christ will come again; and life for all flesh will change.

What stops will we make on this year's journey?

• This year's Advent journey features the Old Testament proclamations of the prophet Isaiah. The writers of New Testament canon trusted Isaiah and quoted from him frequently. On the First Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 2:1-5 communicates a future vision of Zion, restored and glorious. Isaiah ends with an invitation to walk in the light of the Lord. The Romans 13:11-14 reading reiterates Isaiah's invitation to walk in the light while we are waiting for the day of restoration to appear. Jesus' reminder of the Second Coming, found in Matthew 24:36-44, is a fitting New Testament reminder that the early church lived in anticipation of the future.
• The Second Sunday of Advent contains the customary readings about John the Baptist. The way that we look at John this year is influenced by Isaiah's promise of new growth (Isaiah 11:1-10). Isaiah uses the imagery of a green shoot springing from a dead stump to describe the magnitude of the coming restoration. John the Baptist tells us how this restoration begins, through repentance and changed lives (Matthew 3:1-12).
• Isaiah's story grows larger with the telling. By the Third Sunday in Advent, we are challenged to believe in blooming deserts, leaping lame folk, and sight-restored blind (Isaiah 35:1-10). Can we, too, believe his stories? Of course we can! Through the eyes of the gospel writers and through the words of Jesus to John's messengers, we have seen some of these things happen (Matthew 11:2-11). Certainly God will finish what has already begun.
• On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we rest in promises confirmed by the fulfillment of certain signs. Isaiah foretold that a young woman would bear a son and would name him Immanuel, meaning God with us (Isaiah 7:10-16). Matthew confirmed that this has come to pass through the birth of Jesus to a young chaste woman named Mary (Matthew 1:18-25).

For the four weeks of Advent, Isaiah and Matthew have been our trustworthy guides. Isaiah, like an old man telling a story, stringing us along with bits and snatches, not necessarily in chronological order, has given a glorious description of the future. Matthew, centuries later, has corroborated Isaiah's story with the familiar words "as spoken by the prophet." He has shared his eyewitness account with us so that we might believe. We, in turn, like Mary, have considered these things in our hearts. When we repeat the familiar story from Luke 2:1-20 on Christmas Eve, may we do so as pilgrims encouraging one another to faithfulness while we accompany one another to Zion.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Advent, Year A

December 1, 2013 (Purple or Blue)
First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122 (UMH 845)
Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

December 8, 2013 (Purple or Blue
Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 (UMH 795)
Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

December 15, 2013 (Purple or Blue)
Third Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 1:47-55 (UMH 199
James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

December 22, 2013 (Purple or Blue)
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (UMH 801)
Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

December 24, 2013 (White or Gold)
Christmas Eve (A, B, and C)
Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96 (UMH 815)
Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20

December 25, 2013 (White or Gold)
Christmas Day (A, B, and C)
Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98 (UMH 818)
Hebrews 1:1-4 (5-12); John 1:1-14

This listing of readings comes from The United Methodist Book of Worship and is adapted from The Revised Common Lectionary: Consultation on Common Texts (Abingdon Press, 1992) Copyright © by the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT). Reprinted with permission of CCT.