Isaiah 61:10-62:3
According to the historical-critical consensus, this portion of the book was written by disciples of Second Isaiah (chapters 40-55) after the return from exile. However, the return was not as glorious as Second Isaiah had envisioned (cf. 62:4). Therefore, Third Isaiah continues to articulate the hope of a full restoration of the people and nation, with special attention on setting things right for Jerusalem (cf. 62:1).
In a real sense, when we read Isa 61:10-62:3 during the Christmas season, we are still "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" and the setting of things right for the nations. Even after Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, we are called to live with hope, entrusting ourselves, our futures, and the future of the world to God and God's deliverance.
Thus, we live as the postexilic community lived, and as the final form of the book of Isaiah invites God's people in every generation to live. We live, entrusting ourselves to God, living in hope toward a future which is claimed and will be redeemed by God, and contributing by our words and deeds toward making the world right and life-serving, for God's sake, for our own sake, and for the sake of "all the nations".
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7
In the previous chapter, Paul, preaching to those Galatian believers and explained that those "under the law" (that is, everyone) cannot receive the divine inheritance through obedience to the law. Instead, the law is like a task master or disciplinarian. Then Paul begins to announce the promise. Now, that faith has come, we are no longer slaves serving a tough taskmaster (the law). Instead, we are God's children through faith in Christ Jesus.
In chapter four, Paul is simply underscoring his main point. Christ has come in the flesh (born of a woman!) to free us from that old master (the law), making possible our adoption as members of God's household—with all the benefits that go with it. It is no longer our relationship to the taskmaster (the law) that determines our situation in the divine household. Instead, it is our relationship to Christ that determines our new status in the family. Consequently, as adopted sons and daughters, we do what children do (call their father Abba—"Daddy" for instance) and receive what children receive: blessing and inheritance.
Paul's overriding concern in the Galatians letter is the distinction between one's relationship to God through faith in Christ as opposed to one's relationship to God via the legal code.
John 1:1-18
The Prologue of John's Gospel is described as one of the finest pieces of literature in all of the New Testament. It introduces the reader/hearer to Jesus as fully human and fully God. Jesus, the Word, is presented as a character from another realm: the logos was in the beginning and then became flesh. The logos was with God and then lived among us. There is something unique about this character. There is in this text another unique character, another one who is sent. His name is John, and he is sent by God. When one is sent by God, there is the indication of a purpose.
The Gospel writer clearly states John's mission immediately upon introducing him: John "came as a witness to testify to the light" (verse 7). John's Prologue ends by saying that no one has ever seen God, that the Son is the only one close to God, and that the Son has made God known. This begs a further question: Who makes the Son known? How do we remember the Son?
Submitted By Dick Nelson
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