Isaiah 42.1-9 A description of the coming Messiah who will bring justice, but not in the way people are used to. He will be strong, but not brash or violent. He will be transformative but subtle. Nothing will dissuade him from his aim to share the wisdom he has been given by God to share. The final claim in the passage about why God should be believed in this promise is because other prophecies made before have already been fulfilled.
Psalm 29 This description of the many attributes of God stands in strong contrast with the characteristics listed in Isaiah above that the Messiah will possess. It stands to reason, then, if this is how people see God, Isaiah would feel compelled to explain how unremarkable in appearance and demeanour God's coming messenger would be. Without a heads-up, it would be easy to miss him otherwise.
Acts 10.34-43 Peter distills Christ's gospel down into a few words: “God shows no partiality.” Peter proclaims Jesus as anointed by God, as a judge and saviour of all nations, as a healer, and as having risen from death by God’s power.
Matthew 3.13-17 This is the famous story Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. In this accounting (all four Gospels have their own respective baptism stories), John balks when Jesus asks to be baptised. John argues that it should be the other way around, since he is the one who needs cleansing, not Jesus. But after Jesus explains that this is necessary to fulfil the Scriptures predictions of how the Messiah will come about, he agrees, after which the dove-like presence of the Holy Spirit descends on them both, and God’s voice proclaims that Jesus is God's son.
Nazareth – While we have talked about the fact that prophets foretelling a coming Messiah said he would come from Nazareth, it's worth noting that it wasn’t a place held in very high esteem. It was far more of a ghetto than, say, Jerusalem, where one might expect a Messiah to come from. So this is another indication that Jesus is, and will be, a people's Messiah more than he is a saviour for the wealthy and powerful.
Holy Spirit - The fancy way to describe the Holy Spirit is as one of the three persons of the triune God-head. If you're more confused than impressed by all that, basically it means that God is expressed in three ways (God-Jesus-Holy Spirit), and that He is one of them. So when you see a dove depicted in sacred art, it's usually meant to illustrate the presence of the Holy Spirit.
It's a bit of an ironic twist that, just after the passage emphasizes that God shows no favourites, the Bible points out that the resurrected Christ didn't appear to all upon rising but only to the few disciples who had been following him before crucifixion. It seems like either the author is trying to drive home the fact that the person who is the subject of these stories spreading like wildfire is the same person many encountered during his life, or the writer is still struggling with his own ego a little. Maybe it's his own way of trying to tell himself he's okay, even after denying the very Messiah they're now preaching about.
Fun fact: John the Baptist and Jesus are cousins. Imagine finding out your family of origin is in the prophet-and-Messiah business. No pressure!
The beginning of the Isaiah passage read's a lot like the ending of the Matthew text. This is likely another literary device to ensure, in case the audience hasn't gotten it by now, that they understand this is the person the prophet was talking about. Remember that fulfilment of prophecy is a really big deal to Matthew.
Another fun fact: this text in Matthew is the only place in the Bible where all three persons of God are present at the same time.
The seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are signified by the properties of the dove. For the dove dwells beside the running stream, in order that, on perceiving the hawk, it may plunge in and escape. This refers to the gift of wisdom, whereby the saints dwell beside the running waters of Holy Scripture, in order to escape the assaults of the devil. Again, the dove prefers the more choice seeds. This refers to the gift of knowledge, whereby the saints make choice of sound doctrines, with which they nourish themselves. Further, the dove feeds the brood of other birds. This refers to the gift of counsel, with which the saints, by teaching and example, feed men who have been the brood, i.e. imitators, of the devil. Again, the dove tears not with its beak. This refers to the gift of understanding, wherewith the saints do not rend sound doctrines, as heretics do. Again, the dove has no gall. This refers to the gift of piety, by reason of which the saints are free from unreasonable anger. Again, the dove builds its nest in the cleft of a rock. This refers to the gift of fortitude, wherewith the saints build their nest, i.e. take refuge and hope, in the death wounds of Christ, who is the Rock of strength. Lastly, the dove has a plaintive song. This refers to the gift of fear, wherewith the saints delight in bewailing sins.
Down by the Jordan, a prophet named John was baptizing,
Preaching a message the people found bold and surprising:
"God will forgive! Show that you'll change how you live!
Surely God's new day is rising!"
There by the river, the crowd came with great expectation:
"Are you God's Chosen One, sent here to rescue our nation?"
"No!" John replied. "He who is mightier than I
Judges and offers salvation."
Jesus, you went to be baptized along with the others,
Taking your place among sinners, God's lost sons and daughters.
Then with great love, God's Spirit came as a dove!
Your work began in those waters.
Here in the Church, we are baptized and filled with God's Spirit.
Freed and forgiven, we're welcomed with joy! Can you hear it?
This is God's sign! This is how God says, "You're mine!"
Let's take the good news and share it!
1793: Thousands of Frenchmen went into battle on this date wearing a unique badge: a heart topped with a cross and the words Dieu Le Roi—“God the King,” though some said it also meant “God and the King.” These men were not professional soldiers but civilians resisting the antireligious government that ruled France following the French Revolution. The Revolutionary government learned that not all French people hated the king or the Catholic Church, and resistance to the Revolution was particularly strong in the Vendée region in western France. There the locals were horrified that church property was confiscated, women were attacked on their way to church, and priests who would not swear a loyalty oath to the secular government were imprisoned or exiled.
When the government ordered the drafting of all able-bodied men into the French army, the Vendée broke into armed revolt, so the government sent thousands of troops to “pacify” the region. The rebels had formed a militia calling itself the Royal and Catholic Army, and though they were badly outnumbered, they knew the local terrain better than the government’s troops, and they could rely on the aid of local people. In spring 1793 the Royal and Catholic Army won victories, and Christians all over Europe prayed the victories would continue. But the government’s well-trained professional regiments finally “pacified” the Vendée at the Battle of Savenay on December 23, 1793. Afterward, the troops followed a “scorched earth” policy, burning farms, looting homes, raping women, and killing men and boys.
Historians know these events as the War of the Vendée, a classic case of a secular government carrying out a policy of genocide against its own people whose only “crime” was being more loyal to God than to a political system. In the short run, France’s secular Revolutionary government won. In the long run, the church continued on, outlasting the Revolution and other political changes.
The text in Acts this week is believed to be part of a sermon that Peter offered about the beginning of Jesus's ministry. It's also believed to be the last message he offered during his ministry. And while that's worth knowing (after all, if you were given a chance to say some last words, you'd probably want them to important), it's just as important to understand who he
was preaching to and where.
The preceding parts of this chapter in Acts tells the story of Simon Peter traveling to Caesarea, which has been established as the Roman capital in Palestine. So symbolically, if not literally, Peter has travelled to the heart of the empire to make this speech. Also, he has been in the house of Cornelius who is a soldier in the Roman the army. Granted, he previously described Cornelius as someone who seemed who was pretty sympathetic toward Jews and who seemed to have a heart for the God of the Israelites, but this whole journey is a big risk.
This makes the introductory verses in this passage especially poignant; Peter is claiming that his God has come for them, his enemies, in spite of the fact that they actively persecuted and killed his own people. In fact, by this point there is no mystery surrounding Peter's fate, given his status among the disciples and the establishment of the new religious movement. He was preaching about life, radical grace, and forgiveness for all wrongs while staring death in the eye.
Within this handful of verses, Peter covers all the essentials those listening need to know to affirm that Jesus was who he said he was. He represents a God for all people and all pasts on earth; he embodies life, death, and rebirth all in one; and he forgives without reservation all who seek it. All they have to do is have the will to summon the humility to ask.
Air is real
I can't touch it, but I can feel it
I'm enveloped by it every day but never feel smothered
It fills my lungs and gives me life but I usually don't ever give it a second thought
I hear it on a windy day, but don't take time to listen
It's real so I will live
The sun is real
I'm enveloped by its warmth every day but never feel smothered
It covers my body and gives me life but I rarely feel thankful enough
I see because of it, but forget to look
It is real so I will live
God is real
I can't touch Him, but I can feel Him
I'm enveloped by His love but never feel smothered
He fills my body and gives me life but I don't thank Him enough
I hear Him but sometimes don't listen
He is real and so I live
Sometimes I think I can make things right on my own; help me have the courage to know better and to do better. Amen
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