Year C, Advent 2, 2015 – New! Our First “Smart of the Week.”

November 25, 2015 / D2 / Advent

Hello again!! We are glad you are back or are joining us here at More Than Hearing for the first time!  We are moving our way through Advent Year C with some illustrations and “special effects” for the Lectionary readings.

We spend some time this week defining what we are attempting to do with this podcast, as well as giving some insight into illustrations and special effects. We are also introducing a new element that we are calling “Smart of the Week” where we go into more detail about one of the intelligences, in this case the Visual or Eye Smart, so listen for that! As you will see, the second week of Advent includes themes of purification, light, love, and a changing balance of power.

The lessons for the week are:

  1. Malachi 3:1-4 A messenger of the Lord is arriving with authority to purify the Levites. Who will abide and who can stand when this happens? The purification process that the messenger brings will not be pleasant (fire and bleach!) but it is necessary so that those who proclaim God will be the best material available for the task. This should give all preachers a reason to pause.
  2. Luke 1:68-79 The Benedictus – a song of thanksgiving given by Zechariah on the occasion of the birth of his son, John. Zechariah had not spoken a word for nine months and the first things he says is, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.” This canticle is a song of praise and a prophecy about the work God does. Dawning light is a major theme in this hymn.
  3. Philippians 1:3-11 Paul is excited to hear about how thoroughly God is at work among his beloved brothers and sisters. He stresses the continued partnership he enjoys with them and reminds them that together, they are partners with God to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.
  4. Luke 3:1-6 Luke uses a topsy turvy presentation of power to introduce the Word of the Lord coming to John the Baptizer (all grown up) in the wilderness. Rather than have radical, paradigm changing news come to the most powerful people in the world, it comes to an unusual person living in the wild margins.

Verses from Malachi are used to great effect in Handel’s Messiah and if you are fortunate enough to have a willing choir or soloist, this would be a terrific way to incorporate the Old Testament lesson with Music Smart.

We mentioned some commentaries on the Luke 3 passage that shaped our discussion and promised you links in case you want to read them, so here they are:

We have added a blank worksheet template (pdf) to the Resources page just like the ones we use each week. It is a pretty direct and simple way to keep your ideas together. You should be able to download it and use it for your own preparation. Let us know how it works for you.

Thanks again for stopping by! Keep listening!

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