Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Tuesday after Epiphany

(I John 4:7-10; Mark 6:34-44)

Both structure and content make today’s gospel a reflection of the Eucharist.  Structurally, Jesus teaches the people before he feeds them.  So at mass the Word of God is read and commented upon before the Eucharistic meal is prepared. Content-wise, Jesus takes the little bread available and looks up to heaven as the Roman Canon says.  Then he blesses the bread, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples as he will do at the Last Supper.

Both the feeding of the five thousand in today’s gospel and the Last Supper anticipate the Messianic Banquet in heaven.  Alluded to in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah the Messianic Banquet will unite all the saints in a feast of food and a sharing of love.   

Hearing the gospel at the end of the Christmas season, we might remember Christmas dinner.  It could be the one of two weeks ago or perhaps a memorable Christmas of the past.  We were with loved ones, felt at peace with God, and not anxious about anything.  It was heaven come to earth for which we could think of no better way to respond than to give thanks.

Monday, January 6, 2025

Monday after Epiphany

(I John3:22-4:6; Matthew 4:12-17.23-25)

 A great corporation of an American city every year sponsors a festival of lights during the Christmas holidays.  It invites the public to its production center adorned with colored LED lights.  The lights do not dispel the darkness as much as they take advantage of it.  Because of the darkness, the brilliance of scores of thousands of lights is revealed.  In a similar way the darkness of the human condition allows the light of Jesus to be manifested.

 Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew sees Isaiah’s prophecy of a great light in Galilee fulfilled in Jesus.  His ministry enkindles hope in people beset with misery.  The passage shows Jesus healing the pained, relieving the possessed, comforting the disturbed, and capacitating the paralyzed.  Jesus’ preaching further urges those ensconced in the darkness of sin to repent.  Finding the gentle glow of God’s mercy gives them freedom and joy.

 We have begun a new year.  It is time for us to start over in the quest for virtue.  We must rid ourselves of thoughts that belittle others.  We need to let go of our fears so that we might affirm those around us.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

The Epiphany of the Lord, January 5, 2025

(Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12)

Today’s Gospel is a gem cherished by all Christians. But before reflecting on it, I want to examine the first reading, which also summons our attention.

Catholics are quite familiar with the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. It appears often as the first reading at Sunday Mass, especially during the Advent and Christmas seasons. At the beginning of Advent, we always hear Isaiah proclaiming the hope of every nation. He offers a vision of the whole world streaming to Jerusalem to learn the ways of God. He says, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:3-4).

This same book informs us today that the inhabitants of Jerusalem have returned from exile in Babylon with a similar vision. “Nations shall walk by your light,” the book proclaims, “and kings by your shining radiance.” In other words, the people of Jerusalem will be like the lights of a harbor attracting the nations of the world to learn the ways of God. Today, Jews attempt to shine such a light by burning candles in the celebration of Hanukkah for eight days. Of course, the lighted candles symbolize their acts of charity.

Now we can better understand the significance of the star guiding the Magi in the Gospel. It represents the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about nations coming to Jerusalem to learn how to live in peace. The star is the light that leads the Magi, representing the nations of the world, to Jerusalem. From there, they are directed to the child Jesus in Bethlehem. The sight of the child with his mother is enough to satisfy their longing for peace. Yet it will be the teachings and, above all, the works of Jesus as an adult that will bring about lasting peace, that is our eternal salvation.

Recently, one of the most widely read journalists in the United States wrote about his journey to Christ. David Brooks was raised in a Jewish family. As a young man, he practiced no religion but was not devoid of spiritual values. Then he experienced various moments of wonder and clarity—moments of light. One such moment occurred when he looked around on a subway and saw not just bodies, but souls infused with the divine spark. Later, in another moment of light, he grasped the paradoxical truth of Jesus' Beatitudes. It is the poor in spirit, those who recognize God as their Savior, that are truly blessed. It is those who can mourn with the sorrowful that will be comforted. Today, David Brooks cannot help but see Jesus as the light of the world.

The second reading reveals how Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled in the world. The Holy Spirit guided the apostles to teach the Gospel to all nations. As a result, non-Jews (“Gentiles”), like the Jews in Jerusalem on Pentecost, have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord.

When we carefully examine Jesus’ teachings and deeds, it becomes difficult not to recognize Him as the light emanating from Jerusalem, uniting the world in peace. He provides us with the Holy Spirit, so that we may share in His divine life for all eternity. As people imbued with the divine, we can set aside swords and spears to build God’s Kingdom of love.

 

Friday, January 3, 2025

Christmas Weekday

(I John 2:29-3:6; John 1:29-34)

In a movie about the aftermath of War II a young German woman works for the American officer conducting an investigation.  She is the daughter of a German colonel who was executed for having attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  When Germans coming for an interview hear her last name, they ask if she was related to the colonel.  As soon as she answers that he was her father, they stop and acknowledge her father’s sacrifice. The colonel was held in high esteem for his courage.

A similar recognition takes place in today’s gospel. John, seeing Jesus coming his way, stops and pays him homage.  He calls Jesus “the Lamb of God,’ who will be sacrificed to “take away the sin of the world.”  Of course, he is the first human to recognize Jesus as the Son of God.  This is the Gospel of John.  In Luke’s gospel John is also the first human to recognize Jesus as  the Christ, but there he does so as an infant in his mother’s womb.

As important as the Incarnation is, it cannot be separated from the sacrifice Jesus will make on our behalf.  We also must stop to recognize who this newborn babe, who has brought us so much joy, is.  He is the one who will be crucified so that we might be freed of our sins.

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church

(I John 2:22-28; John 1:19-28)

Parents may teach their children that they are not the most important people in the world.  But this lesson pales in value compared to the one that children are not even the most important person in their own lives.  With good intentions parents sometimes tell children the equivalent of airline stewards and stewardesses’ telling passengers to adjust their own oxygen mask before helping their child.  No doubt, that is good advice in an airline emergency, but it should not be used to justify everyone considering first one’s self-interest.

Both readings today advise that Christians should not consider themselves first.  They must always make God their priority.  The reading from John’s First Letter tells the reader to remain in Christ.  That is, he or she should realize that Christ overshadows the self.  Like the whole person is greater than a leg or arm, Christ is greater than the individual Christian.  The gospel shows John the Baptist testifying that he is not the long-expected Messiah.  Rather, he is no more than a bell or siren announcing Christ’s coming.

Today’s saints demonstrated the virtue of “Christ first.”  They were friends who developed such a great love for one another that each sought the other’s welfare more than his own.  Of course, as saints both sought Christ’s glory as the greatest value of life.