{"id":1749,"date":"2017-11-27T13:34:37","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T13:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2017-11-27T13:34:37","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T13:34:37","slug":"first-sunday-of-advent-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/11\/27\/first-sunday-of-advent-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"First Sunday of Advent"},"content":{"rendered":"
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First Sunday of Advent Year B \u00a0(3 December 2017)<\/p>\n

Isa 64:1-9, 1 Cor 1:3-9, Mk 13:24-37, Ps 80:1-7, 18-18<\/p>\n

Theme: Keep Awake<\/p>\n

Download\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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The \u00a0invitation in today\u2019s Gospel \u00a0to be watchful is a key message of the Advent season: \u00a0To be vigilant while waiting for the coming of Christ.<\/p>\n

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Christians believe that after the passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ, he \u201cshall come to judge the living and the dead\u201d (Apostle\u2019s Creed).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The word Christ, Christos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Moshiach (Messiah), is a title which\u00a0 means \u201canointed.\u201d In Biblical Hebrew, the title moshiach was bestowed on somebody who had attained a position of nobility and greatness to include priests\u00a0(Exo 29:29;\u00a0Lev 4:3), kings (1 Sam 10:1;\u00a024:7), and\u00a0prophets\u00a0(Isa 61:1).<\/p>\n

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In Talmudic literature the title Moshiach, or Melech HaMoshiach (the King Messiah), is reserved for the Jewish leader who will redeem Israel in the End of Days.<\/p>\n

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As stated by Maimonides, Jews believe that one day there will arise a dynamic Jewish leader, a direct descendant of the Davidic dynasty, who will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, and gather Jews from all over the world and bring them back to the Land of Israel. Today, Jews await the coming of this messiah.<\/p>\n

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After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the title Christ gradually became a proper name and the expression\u00a0Jesus Christ\u00a0or\u00a0Christ Jesus\u00a0became only one designation.\u00a0 This shows that the Christians identified Jesus with the promised Messiah of the Jews.<\/p>\n

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In this season of advent, preparations for the coming of Christ, whether it is his first coming, second coming or his coming everyday into our lives, shall include how to be in the grace of God. Among others, as stated in last week\u2019s Gospel (Mt. 25:31-46),\u00a0 this calls for\u00a0 \u00a0the giving of loving kindness (gemilut chassadim) \u00a0so as to be judged as \u201csheep\u201d who will be blessed to\u00a0 inherit the kingdom of God. \u00a0That is, one has to give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, take care of the sick and visit \u00a0prisoners.<\/p>\n

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In today\u2019s Gospel, the mention of the servants \u201csleeping\u201d (Mk 13:36) prepares for the picture of the disciples sleeping in the Gethsemane episode (Mk. 14:37, 40, 41) where Jesus asks Peter: Were you not strong enough to watch one\u00a0 hour? (v. 37b) And he says: \u00a0\u201cKeep watching and praying lest you enter into testing.\u201d (v. 38).<\/p>\n

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Full of distress, Jesus prays that God spare him of the suffering awaiting him as he begs, \u201cTake this cup away from me.\u201d\u00a0 But in the end, Jesus affirms his faith in God\u2019s power. \u00a0Addressing God as \u201cAbba, Father,\u201d he submits to his will and says: \u201cNot what I wish but what you wish.\u201d (v.36).\u00a0 Scholars has pointed this as linking \u00a0the Gethsemane\u00a0narrative to the Lord\u2019s Prayer which is\u00a0 a prayer for the full coming of God\u2019s kingdom (\u201cThy kingdom come\u201d).<\/p>\n

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In Gethsemane, Jesus leaves his disciples three times to pray and return to find them sleeping each time. But in spite of the disciples\u2019 persistent weakness and failures, Jesus invites them to accompany him as he moves forward to the cross. (\u201cGet up. Let us go.\u201d)<\/p>\n

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\u00a0We may be human and weak, but we are invited to suffer for Christ and to hope in the coming of the kingdom. And praying is part of this invitation.<\/p>\n

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In sum, our vigilance to prepare for the coming of the Lord shall include doing good works,\u00a0 praying and seeking the will of God in our lives.\u00a0 Our prayer may be:\u00a0 Lord, come.\u00a0 We await your coming.\u00a0 We want to know your will so it\u2019s your will, not mine, that will be done. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: 1) We are to celebrate another Christmas this year.\u00a0 What are you doing to celebrate it differently from previous years? \u00a02) What about spiritual preparations? What can you add to these practical suggestions: Attend advent recollections, set aside time for prayer, spiritual reading?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em> Almazan, \u201cWelcome to our Bible Study: 1st<\/sup> Sunday of Advent\u201d unpublished. Nov. 30, 2011,\u00a0 Catholic Encyclopedia http:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/08374x.htm<\/a>, \u00a0Dubov,\u201dWhat is the Jewish Belief about Moschiach (Messiah)? In http:\/\/www.chabad.org\/library\/article_cdo\/aid\/108400\/jewish\/The-End-of-Days.htm<\/a>, Harrington, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of\u00a0 Mark \u00a0<\/em>(Minnesota, 2002);\u00a0 The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible in https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Mark+13%3A24-37&version=NRSV<\/a>, <\/em><\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Minerva Generalao, Philippines, Bat Kol Alumna July 2014<\/p>\n

Email: mayneer@gmail.com<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a92017<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.\u00a0 Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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First Sunday of Advent Year B \u00a0(3 December 2017) Isa 64:1-9, 1 Cor 1:3-9, Mk 13:24-37, Ps 80:1-7, 18-18 Theme: Keep Awake Download\u00a0 \u00a0 The \u00a0invitation in today\u2019s Gospel \u00a0to be watchful is a key message of the Advent season: \u00a0To be vigilant while waiting for the coming of Christ. \u00a0 Christians believe that after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}