The Third Sunday of Advent Year C

The Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3.14–20
Philippians 4.4–7
Luke 3.7–18

The new lectionary has hardly begun, and I fear I am going to grumble about it as I did about its predecessor. How will people ever learn that the Bible and its message are politically relevant – that the proclamation of God’s kingdom challenges the kingdoms of the world – if we omit the verses that say so (in this case Luke 3.19–20)?

Josephus tells us that Herod regarded John as a threat. Well, he would, wouldn’t he: a fiery prophet drawing crowds and talking about God’s kingdom. Luke tells us that John singled out Herod for direct attack. It wasn’t just that Herod’s marital arrangements were unethical, out of line with God’s ideal. The point was that they disqualified Herod from being God’s true king. John pointed to Jesus as the genuine king of the Jews; but this meant confronting the claims of the existing king. How could Jesus be the king? Because Herod was a sham. How could you tell that Herod was a sham? Look at his personal life. The attack on Herod, and John’s imprisonment and subsequent death, are part of the inner meaning of his kingdom-announcement...