Links for today’s readings:
Dec 19 Read: 2 Chronicles 22-23 Listen: (6:51) Read: Psalms 126-128 Listen: (1:58)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Dec 20 Read: 2 Chronicles 24 Listen: (5:07) Read: Psalms 129-131 Listen: (2:03)
Dec 21 Read: 2 Chronicles 25 Listen: (5:12) Read: Psalms 132-134 Listen: (2:42)
Scripture Focus: 2 Chronicles 22.10-12
10 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. 11 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah’s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12 He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
2 Chronicles 23.1-3
1 In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem, 3 the whole assembly made a covenant with the king at the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.
11 Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, “Long live the king!” 12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord. 13 She looked, and there was the king, standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
Reflection: Undoing Treason — Joy of Advent
By John Tillman
A wicked usurper takes the throne, slaughtering the royal family. A princess hides the youngest heir with an old priest who raises him in secrecy. Then, at the right time, the priest reveals the young prince, restoring the nation’s rightful ruler.
When the wicked queen sees the legal heir surrounded by supporters and proclaimed as the rightful king, she cries, “Treason!” But the only treason was hers. The priest’s conspirators are not committing treason. They are undoing it. And the nation rejoices.
We’ve read (and written) about Athaliah and Joash in Kings. Joash fits the common literary trope of the “hidden heir.” Each variation changes some details, but Caspian, Trillian, and Cor/Shasta from The Chronicles of Narnia, Luke and Leia from Star Wars, and Rapunzel from Tangled use the elements.
As usual, the chronicler has a different focus. Kings concerns itself with political and military matters. Chronicles highlights the liturgical and spiritual background. Both accounts tell of Jehoiada’s instructions to his coalition. Only Chronicles tells us Jehoiada’s theological reasoning. “The king’s son shall reign,” he says, because this is what “the Lord promised.” For Jehoiada, this plot is not his or carried out by his cleverness or strength. It is the will of God.
Advent is, in a way, like Jehoiada’s plot to undo Athaliah’s treason.
Jesus, the King of Kings, is hidden now in heaven, we are hidden in him, and he is hidden in us. On earth, Satan’s treasonous rebellion has dominion over thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. We are the resistance movement, working under Satan’s nose to reveal the true kingdom to as many as possible. At the right time, the joyous day will come when treason is undone and the true Son, the King of Kings, will be fully revealed.
Our resistance movement is both similar to and different from Jehoiada’s.
Jehoiada had a political mission and used tools of politics and warfare. Our mission differs because our kingdom is not of this world. So our methods are testimony, service, and sacrifice, not the sword.
For years, Joash lived in the temple, immersed in worship and the scriptures. We must devote ourselves to worship and scripture. They prepare us for the coming kingdom.
There are wicked and terrible forces in this world. In Advent, we celebrate and anticipate the joy of their overthrow as we await the revealing of the true king.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Happy are they whom you choose and draw to your courts to dwell there! They will be satisfied by the beauty of your house, by the holiness of your temple. — Psalm 65.4
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Hidden Co-heirs
Wickedness and evil will be thrown down and all who follow Jesus will be co-heirs with him when he is marvelously revealed.
Read more: Eating the Book :: Joy of Advent
One of the simplest practices that can make Advent a time of transformative joy is regular Bible reading.