Longing for Peace | Visual Resources for Advent 2 and Both Lectionaries

This post offers visual resources for the week of December 4, 2022 in the Revised Common Lectionary and the Narrative Lectionary. It is the second Sunday of Advent and we light the candle of peace. John the Baptist calls the people of Israel into the wilderness to repent, be baptized, and to prepare themselves for the coming Kingdom of God (RCL), and Esther withstands the oppressive practices of her captor king and saves her people from genocide (NL).

Jump to Narrative Lectionary resources.

This week we light the second Advent Candle. You can download this virtual advent wreath for FREE and use it on your own website, social media platforms, and in worship. Enjoy!

Revised Common Lectionary | Matthew 3:1-12 | John the Baptist Calling Out in the Wilderness

This year we draw from the Gospel of Matthew in the RCL. The season of Advent typically focuses on the Hebrew prophets who speak truth to corrupt power structures in the midst of dark times of oppression and war. The prophets’ messages were similar, going something like this, “Change your corrupt ways before it is too late. Your just consequences are coming. Yet, God is faithful, even if you are not.”

The Gospel of Matthew presents John the Baptist to us as an incarnation of the prophet Elijah, the greatest prophet of the Hebrew stories. John is carrying the torch of the prophets and speaking truth into the corruption of Judea and calling them to repentence.

His message is twofold: 1. Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. 2. One greater than I is coming, and he will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit.

Read my visual commentary on this passage HERE.

This image come from page 3 in A Cartoonist’s Guide to Matthew.

Preview PowerPoint

Feel free to use any or all of these slides and images in your own preaching and teaching.

[slideshare id=254464466&doc=matthew31-411-221124134410-2f398929&w=800&h=350]

Narrative Lectionary | Esther 4:1-17 | For Such a Time as This

This week the Narrative Lectionary takes us to the story of Esther, specifically Esther 4:1-17. This is a story of violence and oppression. The people of Judah have been in exile for many years. They have settled in to their life of constant oppression, trying to take the advice of Jeremiah by attempting to live a good life among the people. Then more violence is heaped upon them. The women are sexually oppressed by the king. Genocide is threatened. All seems lost.

Esther is a seeming pawn in a cruel power game. Yet, in the midst of it, she sees an opportunity to turn her misfortune into a place of strength. Perhaps, her uncle encourages her, it is for just such a time as this that she had been put in this situation.

I encourage you to read the excellent commentary at Working Preacher.

I have only one visual for Esther, and it is the flattest image I think I’ve ever created. Here’s why. Many of the images on cartoonistbible.com were created when I was producing weekly images for our network of houses churches in Las Vegas from 2002-2007. Some weeks I was so busy with freelance work, family, and church, that I barely was able to produce the image. The week that we read Esther was one of those weeks. I did the ink drawing and laid in the flat color, but did not have time to do the shading.

As an artist/theologian it is so fascinating for me to go back and look at these images from 15+ years ago. My art and my theology has changed so much since then. Yet, the text is the text. May the words of Esther, and perhaps this half-baked image, be a conduit of God’s Word to you this week.

Peace.