The Preacher's Lectionary Notebook - God's Mercy Is Never Small
The Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)
The gospel has never been a tribal possession. Paul brings together threads from Israel’s Scriptures, the story of Jesus, and the lived reality of the early church, and he ties them into a single narrative of hope that stretches across ethnic and cultural lines. The passage begins by leaning hard on the past. Everything written beforehand, Paul says, was meant to teach, to steady, and to shape people with endurance and encouragement. Scripture was never dead history; it carried a living hope. That hope is what allows a mixed community—Jews and Gentiles with long memories of difference—to learn how to live together in genuine unity. Paul doesn’t push for uniformity, and he doesn’t pretend tensions don’t exist. He simply points everyone to the same source of encouragement and the same God who refuses to abandon any part of the story.
As the passage moves forward, the tone shifts toward Christ as the center of the entire operation. Jesus became a servant to the circumcised, Paul says, to confirm promises made to the patriarchs. In other words, the gospel doesn’t bypass Israel. It fulfills what Israel had been waiting for. The ancient promises about blessing, restoration, and God’s faithful presence all land squarely in Jesus. But then Paul turns the gem and lets the other side shine. The Gentiles aren’t an afterthought or a bonus feature. Their inclusion flows naturally from the same promises. God’s faithfulness to Israel spills outward in generosity, pulling the nations into the celebration of mercy. The point is not that one group replaces another but that God’s plan was always broader than any one people had imagined.
Paul reinforces this by stringing together a set of quotes from the Scriptures. It feels almost like he’s building a playlist—one psalm, one song from Moses, one line from Isaiah—all echoing the theme that Gentiles would one day join Israel in praising God. These passages aren’t forced or out of place. They show that the unity of Jews and Gentiles isn’t a new marketing campaign; it is the long-anticipated soundtrack of God’s redemptive story. Praise is the natural response when barriers that seemed immovable suddenly crumble. What once defined separation becomes the very space where mercy does its work.
The final verse brings everything to a calming, hopeful close. Paul prays that the God of hope would fill the community with joy and peace in believing, so that hope overflows rather than trickles. Overflowing hope is the sign that the gospel is doing its work—hope that isn’t limited by background, customs, rival histories, or old suspicions. The unity Paul envisions doesn’t come from shared culture or identical traditions but from shared trust in the same Lord. The Spirit empowers that trust and keeps it alive.
The Apostle paints a picture of a gospel big enough for every story and every people. It honors Israel’s past, welcomes the nations without hesitation, and calls everyone to the same table of hope. It’s a reminder that God’s mercy never meant to stay small.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
How does Paul use Israel’s Scriptures to show that God always intended to welcome the nations?
What does overflowing hope look like in a community made up of very different people?
How does Jesus fulfill promises to Israel while opening the door wide for Gentiles?