promises, promises...

This reflection is offered by Hank
Our fifth lesson in Advent Lessons and Carols was taken from the Apocryphal Book of Baruch (Baruch 4:36-5:9). The Apocrypha refers to those books of our Old Testament canon which are included in the most ancient Greek Bible (the Septuagint was used by, among others, St. Paul) but which the Hebrew canon of Holy Scripture does not include. The books of the Apocrypha are included in some Bibles today, and not in others. In Roman Catholic Bibles, the books are interspersed throughout the Old Testament. In the Bible we use in the Episcopal Church, they are included in a special section between the Old and New Testament, while in many Protestant Bibles, the books of the Apocrypha do not appear at all.

The writings of Baruch come from about 100 years before Jesus' birth, but are set and describe the time during the Hebrew people's Babylonian Exile six centuries earlier. In the passage we read for Lessons and Carols, the people are seen rejoicing as they return in glory to their Promised Land. An unfulfilled prophecy, to be sure, but when taken metaphorically and not literally, the prophecy offers much today as we too prepare for the time when God's promise of fulfillment will be made real through the ministry we all share in the risen Christ. In Baruch, we are assured of God's everlasting care for us and all God's people.