Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 9, 2012, the Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.)  Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

First Reading - Malachi 3:1-4

3:1 I would expect “Hear” rather than “see”.  Who is speaking?  Note that in the NRSV the first occurrence is “Lord” and the second occurrence is “LORD”.

3:2 Is this a rhetorical question?  What is a refiner’s fire like?  What is fuller’s soap?

3:3 who are the descendants of Levi?  How are gold and silver refined?

3:4 Why would an offering not be pleasing to the LORD?  How has the offering changed compared to times past?

Canticle - Luke 1:68-79

1:68 What is the first word in the Latin Vulgate?

1:69 Is there any savior that is not mighty?

1:70 Is there a grammer problem with a single “mouth” but plural “prophets”?

1:72 Had the Lord God of Israel forgotten the covenant?

1:76  What child?

1:78 What is “the dawn from on high”?

1:79 How does death cast a shadow?

Second Reading Philippians 1:3-11

1:3 when, and how often, does the author remember the Philippians?

1:5 How does one share in the gospel?

1:6 who began the work?

1:8 What is meant by “compassion of Jesus Christ”?

1:9 What knowledge?  What is full insight?

Gospel Luke 3:1-6

3:1 What year would this have been?  Why are all these people and their positions named?

3:2 Why was John in the wilderness?  Was this a prelude to desert spirituality?  What is so special about fierce landscapes?

3:3 Would this be both banks of the Jordan?  Is this the Jordan before it flows into the Sea of galilee or after it flows out from the Sea of Galilee toward the Dead Sea?

3:4 Where in Isaiah is the following written?  Did the prophecy dictate that John had to be in the wilderness, or did John’s being in the wilderness lend itself to this prophecy?  How does one make straight paths?

3:5 Why fill a valley?  Why make a mountain low.  In light of mountaintop removal mining, this verse raises images of bad stewardship of the earth.

3:6 Does “all flesh” include non-human flesh?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time.  If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt  page and follow the appropriate links.

I have been posting Lectionary Ruminations to Presbyterian Bloggers for nearly three years.  I will attempt to continue posting through the Scripture Readings for February 10, 2013, Transfiguration of the Lord.   I may continue posting Lectionary Ruminations to my personal blog,   Summit to Shore but not here.  If you have been following these posts, please migrate over to my personal blog.