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Advent Day by Day
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New & Unexpected!
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The Christian liturgical year begins four Sundays before Christmas Day with the season of Advent. It is a season of quiet anticipation, excitedly waiting for Christ to break into our world in new and unexpected ways. The Advent lectionary features many of Christians’ most beloved passages in the Bible.
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Advent Before December 17th
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Isaiah
Advent begins by focusing on the Second Coming of Christ at the end of time. Most of our first readings come from the prophecies in the Book of Isaiah, foretelling that the desert will bloom and all creation will be restored to God’s original purpose.
Most Biblical scholars believe that the sprawling Book of Isaiah was composed in two, or more likely three, distinct time periods:
Isaiah 1-39 (“First Isaiah”) is primarily a compilation of prophecies by and stories about the historical Isaiah of Jerusalem, who flourished c. 740-700 BC. Isaiah was an adviser to several kings in the southern kingdom of Judah, before and after the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. While it includes well-known passages about the hope promised by Emmanuel, First Isaiah also features many omens warning Judah and the neighboring nations to obey God or face disaster.
Isaiah 40-55 (“Second Isaiah”) was most likely written during the Babylonian exile, after Judah was defeated and destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar, c. 586 BC. While the authorship of Second Isaiah -- and the reason why Second Isaiah was attached to the same book as First Isaiah – is debated, there are clear connections between these chapters and the Book of Deuteronomy. Surprisingly, in this dark moment in salvation history, Second Isaiah features many of the most beloved, hope-filled passages of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Interspersed with these messages of hope are the four “Songs of the Suffering Servant,” which we hear during Holy Week.
The origins of Isaiah 56-66 (“Third Isaiah”) are subject to debate. The majority of scholars suppose it was written after the Jewish captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem by King Cyrus of Persia c. 536 BC, but perhaps before Ezra and Nehemiah began supervising the re-building of the Temple c. 515 BC. Whereas Second Isaiah speaks to universal themes, Third Isaiah focuses on the internal concerns of the fledgling vassal state of Israel. Nevertheless, Third Isaiah addresses the universal challenge of sustaining faith in times when our circumstances turn out to be very different from our expectations.
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Advent December 17th - 24th
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Matthew 1 and Luke 1
The excitement of Advent picks up as we reach the third week of Advent, especially starting on December 17. Here, we shift to anticipating the celebration of Christ’s birth into our world at Christmas. At daily Masses from December 17 through the morning of December 24, we hear passages from Matthew 1 and Luke 1, chronicles of the events before the birth of Christ.
The first readings are selections from the Hebrew Bible related to the gospel passages for each day. For example, the gospel passage on December 22 is Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56). The first reading that day is the story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:24-28), with the response coming from the Canticle of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-8), which Luke clearly references in the Magnificat. The special gospel acclamations on December 17-23 are the origins of the 9th century chant “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
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