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A Coming Christ in Advent

A Coming Christ in Advent. Introduction to the Lucan Canticles. The Benedictus. (Luke 1:67-79). Sunday, December 10, 2006 10 to 10:50 am, in the Parlor. Everyone is welcome!.

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A Coming Christ in Advent

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  1. A Coming Christ in Advent Introduction to the Lucan Canticles. The Benedictus. (Luke 1:67-79) Sunday, December 10, 2006 10 to 10:50 am, in the Parlor. Everyone is welcome!

  2. Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. - Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent, Book of Common Prayer, p. 212

  3. A Coming Christ in Advent: Essays on the Gospel Narratives Preparing for the Birth of Jesus. Raymond E. Brown, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1988. ISBN: 0-8146-1587-2. • Raymond E. Brown, S.S., was a world renown New Testament biblical scholar and the Auburn Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Brown died in 1998.

  4. The Lucan Canticles

  5. The Lucan CanticlesFour Canticles • There are four canticles (= hymns or psalms) in Luke’s infancy narrative: • 1. The Magnificat (1:42-55) • 2. The Benedictus (1:67-79) • 3. The Gloria in Excelsis (2:13-14) • 4. The Nunc Dimittis (2:28-32)

  6. The Lucan CanticlesNote on the Gloria • The Gloria is so brief that we can only guess at its origin • An expanded form is part of the Eucharist • May have been structured antiphonally: • One set of lines (2:13-14) now assigned to the angels: “Glory in the highest heavens to God, and on earth peace to those favored (by Him),” • Other set of lines is assigned to the disciples when Jesus enters Jerusalem (19:38): “Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.”

  7. The Lucan CanticlesOrigin • Four possibilities for the origin of the canticles: • 1. composed by those they are attributed to in the narrative: • Magnificat by Mary • Benedictus by Zechariah • Nunc Dimittis by Simeon • 2. composed by Luke as he wrote the rest of the infancy narratives

  8. The Lucan CanticlesOrigin • Four possibilities for the origin of the canticles: • 3. composed by Luke and added later to an already existing (either by Luke or before Luke) infancy narrative • 4. composed before Luke wrote his gospel by someone other than Luke, and added by Luke to an already existing infancy narrative

  9. The Lucan CanticlesOrigin • Idea (1), that Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon actually spoke these words as described seems unlikely – ordinary people cannot compose polished poetry on the spot. • Idea (2), that Luke composed the canticles along with the rest of the infancy narrative also seems unlikely, as the canticles fit in awkwardly with the narrative. • In fact, the narrative reads more smoothly without the canticles!

  10. The Lucan CanticlesOrigin • Some scholars support idea (3), that Luke composed the canticles later and went back and grafted them in the narrative. • Main problem with this idea: we would expect more uniformity among the canticles if Luke composed them all. • Most scholars, including Fr. Brown, supports idea (4), that the canticles pre-date Luke and Luke grafted them into the infancy narrative, adding a few modifications.

  11. The Lucan CanticlesOrigin • So, what was Luke’s source? • The canticles conform to Jewish hymnic style (a mosaic of lines from earlier poetry) and thought (a complete dependence upon God for victory) from the period 200 BC to 100 AD, as seen in: • 1 Maccabees • Judith • 2 Baruch • 4 Ezra • Dead Sea War Scroll and Hodayoth (Thanksgiving Psalms)

  12. The Lucan CanticlesJewish Hymnic Style • This Jewish hymnic style is a “mosaic” style where nearly every phrase is taken from the earlier poetry of Israel (Psalms, the Prophets, Torah hymns …) • For example: the opening of the Benedictus: • Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel • because He has visited • and accomplished the redemption of His people, • and raised up for us a horn of salvation • in the house of David His servant

  13. The Lucan CanticlesJewish Hymnic Style • Is a mosaic of earlier poetry of Israel: • Psalms 41:14 (13), Psalm 72:18, Psalm 106:48 (the endings of the three books of the psalter): “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” • Psalm 111:9: “He sent redemption to His people • Judges 3:9: “And the Lord raised up a savior for Israel.” • Psalm 132:16-17: “I shall clothe her priests with salvation… I shall make a horn to sprout for David.”

  14. The Lucan CanticlesJewish Hymnic Style • Is a mosaic of earlier poetry of Israel: • Ezekial 29:21: “On that day I shall make a horn sprout for all the House of Israel” • I Samuel 2:10 (Hannah’s hymn): “He will exalt the horn of His anointed [Messiah]” • Psalm 18:3(2): “My God … the horn of my salvation.” • 15th Benediction of the Shemoneh Esreh (Jewish prayer contemporary with Luke): “Let the shoot of David (Your Servant) speedily spring up and raise his horn in Your Salvation … May you be blessed, O Lord, who lets the horn of salvation flourish.”

  15. The Lucan CanticlesJewish vs. Jewish-Christian • The canticles contains: • A tone of salvation accomplished • An emphasis on the House of David • This would be difficult to explain from a purely Jewish source between 200 BC and 100 AD • The Jewish Maccabean victories of the second century BC might have led to songs of deliverance, of salvation accomplished, but their leaders were Levitical priests, unlikely to emphasize the House of David • The canticles therefore are felt to most likely arise from a Jewish-Christian source

  16. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • Which particular Jewish-Christian Group might have composed the canticles? • The religious thought and piety of the canticles (complete dependence upon God for victory) conforms to that of the Anawim or “Poor Ones” • The Anawim or Poor Ones were those who could not trust in their own strength, who knew and deeply felt their utter dependency upon God: • The lowly, the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, widows and orphans • The opposite of the Anawim or Poor Ones: the rich, the proud and self-sufficient who showed no need of God

  17. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • After the exile in Babylon, the Anawim or Poor Ones were a Jewish group that regarded themselves as the ultimate narrowing down of the “remnant” of Israel • “remnant” of Israel = the “remains” of God’s chosen people that God would save.

  18. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • The Qumran community of the Dead Sea scrolls may have been a sectarian group of Anawim or Poor Ones. • The writer of the Qumran or Dead Sea Scroll Hodayoth (Thanksgiving Psalms; QH) frequently called himself a “poor one” • He wrote (evocative of the Magnificat): “You, O Lord, have assisted the soul of the poor one and the needy against one who is stronger than he. You have redeemed my soul from the hand of the mighty.” (1QH ii 34-35) • In other Dead Sea Scrolls, there are references to the Qumran group as Anawim and as the Community of the Poor

  19. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • Brown and other scholars have suggested the composers of the Lucan canticles may have been another group of Jewish Anawimor Poor Ones who had converted to Christianity. • This group of Anawim or Poor Ones continued to worship in the Temple and looked for a messiah from the House of David

  20. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • In Jesus they might have found a fulfillment of their messianic expectations: • Jesus blessed the “poor ones:” the poor, the hungry, the downtrodden and persecuted (Luke 6:20-22) • Jesus was himself persecuted and put to death • Yet Jesus fully entrusted himself to God (Luke 23:46) • And God raised him and exalted him as savior (Acts 5:31)

  21. The Lucan CanticlesThe Anawim • Some scholars go further to argue that these Jewish-Christian Anawim might have been a community of Jewish Christian Anawim or “Poor Ones” at Jerusalem: • Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-37: Luke describes the first Jewish Christian believers as “poor ones:” people who sold all their possessions and gave their wealth to the poor • Paul talks of his collection of money for the Jerusalem church, supporting such a picture of the early Jerusalem church. • Acts also talks of the temple piety of the early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem: “They went to the Temple together every day” (Acts 2:46, 3:1)

  22. The Lucan CanticlesLuke’s Use of the Canticles • Did Luke do violence to put such Jewish-Christian canticles on the lips of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon? • If the canticle composers were indeed Anawim or Poor Ones with lives of temple piety, then it was very appropriate: • Mary was a poor one. • Zechariah and Simeon lived lives of temple piety.

  23. The Benedictus

  24. The BenedictusTranslation • lntroductory Praise • 68a Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel: • First Strophe • 68b Because He has visited • 68c and accomplished the redemption of His people, • 69a and has raised up for us a horn of salvation • 69b in the house of David His servant, • 70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old: • 71a salvation from our enemies • 71b and from the hand of all those who hate us, • Second Strophe • 72a Showing mercy to our fathers • 72b and remembering His holy covenant, • 73 the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, • to grant us 74 that, without fear, • delivered from the hands of our enemies, • we might serve Him 75 in holiness and justice, • before Him all the days of our lives.

  25. The BenedictusTranslation • Lucan insertion: • 76a But you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High; • 76b for you will go before the Lord to make ready His ways, • 77a to grant to His people knowledge of salvation • 77b in the forgiveness of their sins. • Conclusion • 78a Through the heartfelt mercy of our God • 78b by which there has visited us a rising light from on high, • 79a appearing to those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, • 79b guiding our feet into the way of peace."

  26. The BenedictusEarly Jewish Christian Christology • Christology: the theological study of “who is Jesus?” • The Benedictus begins with praise for the God of Israel: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” • The early Jewish Christians thought of themselves as still belonging to Israel • This same blessing ends the three sections or books of the psalter – attributed to David (Psalms 41:14(13), 72:18, and 106:48) • 1 Kings 1:48: this same blessing was also said by David after Solomon’s accession to the throne of Israel

  27. The BenedictusEarly Jewish Christian Christology • The two strophes describe the saving action of God: • First Strophe: reminds us that the messiah (the “horn of salvation”) from the House of David was foretold by the prophets (2 Samuel 7) • Second Strophe: reminds us that the messiah was a fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises to Abraham • Thus Luke evokes the Old Testament history of salvation as pointing to Jesus, just as Matthew does with his genealogy

  28. The BenedictusEarly Jewish Christian Christology • Zechariah, speaking the Canticle, is praising God for the birth of John the Baptist. The Lucan insertion makes it clear that John is not the messiah, but rather someone who will prepare the way for the messiah, for the Lord.

  29. The BenedictusEarly Jewish Christian Christology • The description of the saving action of God, of the messiah (the “horn of salvation”), is entirely in Old Testament language. • We don’t find the more sophisticated language describing “who Jesus is” (that is, “Christology”) that we find in: • the early hymn Paul quotes in Philippians 2:6-11, speaking of Jesus’ origins, humble life as a servant, obedient death on a cross, and exaltation • The Prologue hymn in John 1:1-18, speaking of Jesus, the Logos or Word of God, coming into the world, rejected by his own, manifesting his glory.

  30. The BenedictusEarly Jewish Christian Christology • The Canticles, describing “who Jesus is” (= Christology) in purely Old Testament language, are perhaps the oldest preserved Christian hymns of praise.

  31. Next Week:The Annunciation to Mary, the Visitation, and the Magnificat

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