In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea
At a specific moment in history the longstanding promise of God to his people..
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones
..began to be fulfilled.
When we hear promises again and again we tend to interpret them in an abstract way. We read them as to be less impressive than they are written so that they can at least find some superficial similarity in our lives. But what if God still has something more concrete in mind for his promises to each one of us?
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
We can do more than occasionally get things right. We can be "filled with the fruit of righteousness". And not only we ourselves but the Church and the world share in a much greater hope than we are often willing to allow ourselves to hope.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company.
This sort of hope is dangerous to those who demand immediacy. This is a hope that can only be entertained by an advent people, longing with patient but expectant faith for the coming of our king at Christmas.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
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