Friday of the Third
Week of Advent
(Jeremiah 23:5-8; Matthew 1:18-25)
Listening to the poor may provide a whole new concept of
“Christmas gift.” Once, a missionary
went to the highlands of Honduras to celebrate mass on the day following
Christmas. Arriving early in the
evening, he went to the church where the youth group was holding a meeting. The adult moderator asked the missionary to address
the adolescents. Not having anything
particular to say, the missionary asked the children to tell him about their
Christmas gifts. But they did not seem
to understand. Rather than describe a
toy or clothing article that they received, they talked about how they planned
to be more obedient and prayerful. Then
the priest realized that he was the one who lacked understanding. The children’s parents were too destitute to
provide material gifts for them.
“Christmas gifts” were what they all did to show Jesus how much they
love him.
In the reading today from Jeremiah, the prophet provides us
with a similarly new concept of “the Promised Land.” He foretells that the descendants of Israel now
in Babylonian exile will take up residence on their own rightful land. Jesus fulfills this prophecy by giving his
followers, the “new Israelites” because of their relationship with him, the
Promised Land. But the lot that Jesus
has in mind is not an acre of Israel.
No, Jesus provides a place in God’s kingdom for those who practice his
care for all.
The promise of a place in God’s kingdom may sound like a
shady deal to some. They will ask, “Why
should we change our ways just for the promise of some peaceful place in the
distant future?” But those more chastened among us will not dismiss the offer. We are the ones who realize that those Honduran
highlander children have better Christmas gifts than kids receiving the latest version
of IPad. We also know that a share in the
kingdom, which begins with authentic love right now, is better than any real
estate on earth.
