The Preacher's Lectionary Notebook - Thematic Connections
The Second Sunday after Christmas (Year A)
Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Jeremiah 31:7–14, Ephesians 1:3–14, and John 1:1–9, 10–18 come from very different moments in Israel’s and the church’s story, yet they circle around the same central themes: God’s initiative, God’s faithfulness, and God’s determination to bring life where there has been loss, darkness, or exile. Together they tell a story of a God who gathers, blesses, and reveals himself, not because people have earned it, but because grace is simply who God is.
Jeremiah 31 speaks to a people who have been shattered by displacement and grief. Exile has stripped them of land, security, and confidence in the future. Into that setting, the prophet announces joy that seems almost reckless. God promises to gather the scattered, including the weak, the wounded, the blind, and the pregnant—those least likely to survive a long journey home. Restoration is not reserved for the strong. The God of Israel is portrayed as a shepherd who leads with care, turning mourning into joy and filling empty lives with abundance. The movement in this passage is from loss to homecoming, from tears to singing, from barrenness to fruitfulness. It is not just about returning to a place but about being restored to relationship with a faithful God who has not forgotten his people.
Ephesians 1 picks up that same theme but widens the lens dramatically. What Jeremiah envisions as a return from exile becomes, in Ephesians, a cosmic plan set in motion before the foundation of the world. Blessing, adoption, forgiveness, and redemption are all described as gifts that flow from God’s initiative in Christ. The language is expansive and celebratory, almost breathless, emphasizing that salvation is not reactive but intentional. God chooses, blesses, and claims people in love, drawing them into a new identity as children and heirs. Like Jeremiah, Ephesians insists that restoration is rooted in grace, not merit. The repeated emphasis on God’s will and purpose highlights a divine generosity that precedes human response. Exile, in this sense, is not only geographic or political but spiritual, and God’s answer is to bring people home through Christ.
John’s prologue grounds these promises in a person. Where Jeremiah speaks of gathering and Ephesians speaks of blessing, John speaks of the Word made flesh. The light that shines in the darkness echoes the hope Jeremiah offers to a grieving nation and the blessing Ephesians proclaims to a redeemed people. John insists that God’s self-giving love is not abstract. The Word enters the world, is rejected, and yet continues to offer life and light. Those who receive him are given the right to become children of God, a theme that resonates strongly with Ephesians’ language of adoption. Grace and truth are no longer distant ideals; they take on human form in Jesus.
Taken together, these texts tell one continuous story. God gathers the scattered, blesses the unworthy, and steps directly into the darkness to make himself known. From exile to inheritance, from promise to presence, the movement is always toward life. The same God who leads Israel home, who blesses believers in Christ, and who shines light into the world is still at work, turning mourning into joy and inviting people into the fullness of grace.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
How does the movement from returning home in Jeremiah 31 to being adopted in Ephesians 1 to becoming children of God in John 1 describe a single, unfolding vision of restored belonging?
In what ways do the images of shepherding in Jeremiah, blessing in Christ in Ephesians, and light in the darkness in John work together to shape a unified picture of God’s saving activity?
How do these passages collectively portray God’s initiative in restoration, and what do they suggest about how communities shaped by that grace are called to live, witness, and embody hope in the world?