Isaiah 64:1-9

This is possibly the 3rd of three authors or possibly more that contributed to this book. We can't be sure what is going on in their heads or what scenes they were witnessing. The darkness of this passage makes it seem more likely it was a burned down Jerusalem, after they had returned from the exile. The hopefulness indicates they still remembered or heard legends of a once great kingdom.

We get a speech that sums up much of the tension of the Bible. We want the heavens to tear apart and our savior to appear, we want a sign that something is there, that our efforts are worthy, but we look around and see flawed human beings. The specifics of what is "sin" and what is "righteous" are always left for some other discussion, somewhere. But no matter how you define the terms, we all know it is hard to find a person who is consistently good, who isn't occasionally taken away by their "iniquities". This Isaiah asks God to forgive as all of us sin at some point.

The next two chapters are a lengthy answer from the big man himself. There are some instructions for what you should eat and what you shouldn't sacrifice, but nothing much about how to co-exist with other nations or maybe including women in your councils. Apparently wolfs and lambs will graze together, but I don't see how that is going to improve irrigation or give children more time for their studies or anything that could actually rebuild a society.

Mark 13:24-37

Year B is going to feature the Book of Mark and explore the Gospel of John a bit more than the other years. So, let's get started. But why are we starting near the end of Mark, this is Christmas? Because you don't get one without the other. Show up on Christmas Day and you'll get the lines you remember from Linus reading the Bible in A Charlie Brown Christmas. But you're here for the whole Advent season. You know Jesus is coming and you know he will die, rise and be prophesized to come again.

If you have been following along, you should notice some echoes in these words from Matthew as we finished up Year A. Actually Mark was written first, but anyway. What we won't get this year is a birth narrative. We will start with a prophecy from Isaiah. A common refrain is that if Jesus came back today, we would crucify him. I don't doubt that, well, except the part about the same man coming back to the earth 2000 years later. I don't doubt it because I see good people being blasted by their own supporters because of a minor difference on a minor issue. I also see good people self destructing because of their desires for sex and/or money.

This kind of repetition is predictable. It's why we regulate business and restrict the powers of higher offices. It is also predictable that people will claim a prophecy is being fulfilled when we are simply witnessing the repetition of basic human behavior. And that's the story of Jesus.