Friday, January 3, 2014

Friday, Christmas Weekday

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

It is not uncommon in a Shakespearean drama to have the main character talked about before he is presented on stage.  In the first scene of Hamlet, for example, the protagonist’s friends flirt with his father’s ghost and then say that he will make the ghost speak.  In the Gospel of John, the most dramatic of the four, Jesus is likewise not present in the initial scene but is referenced by John the Baptist.  Today’s passage relates this opening scene.

John the Baptist first describes Jesus as “’…the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,’” that is the one whose sacrificial death will free humanity from the bondage of sin.  Then he uses a paradox -- “’A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me’” – which refers Jesus’ preexistence as God’s eternal Son.  Finally, the Baptist relates how he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove to indicate that he has the definitive power to bestow full life on a diseased people.  It is a very brief scene that telescopes all that Jesus will accomplish in the rest of the gospel.

As Christmas carols worthy of the name incessantly remind us, Jesus came to save us from the folly of our sins and the annihilation of death.  John the Baptist gives the same message here at the beginning of John’s gospel but without the soothing images of a babe at his mother’s side.  Yet our response should approximate the song of the angels over Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest…” 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Memorial of Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzen

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

Saints Basil and Gregory Nazianzen were fourth century bishops in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.  Because of their intimate friendship, they share a common feast day.  They also played a significant role in defending the divinity of Christ against the Arian heresy.  Their testimony to Christ may be likened to that of John the Baptist in today’s gospel.

In the Gospel of John the Jews from Jerusalem are set against Jesus.  Later in the gospel they will contest his claim that he gives his flesh to eat.  Here they play a similar role vis-à-vis John.  They first ask who he is and then if he might be related to the expected Messiah.  John’s replies must have frustrated them as he only claims to be the precursor of one is greater than he. 

We think that we may know who Christ is by saying that he is the Son of God.  But because he is that, we can never know him completely.  Yet this fact should not keep us from trying to know him more.  He will keep surprising us by both his gentleness and strength.  As the New Year takes shape, let us promise ourselves to make every effort to dialogue with Christ in order to know him better.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

(Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21)

Most people watching television at midnight today heard the old Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne.”  The words mean “old long since” or, more sensibly, “past times” and refer to the need to recall the people and events that shape men and women into who they are.  The song is appropriately sung on New Year as people launch into a new beginning sometimes unappreciative of their families who raised them, their teachers who guided them, and their friends who helped them.  Although by no means a religious hymn, “Auld Lang Syne” fits into the theme of today’s liturgical celebration.

Today’s feast is called the “Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.”  The title, proclaimed by the Church at the ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431, actually says more about Jesus than about his mother.  Prior to the declaration, there was a raging debate about how Jesus can be both God and human.  Some thought that he is in effect two persons -- one divine and the other human -- such that Mary can be said to be the mother of Jesus, the man, but not of God.  That position was condemned at the council which recognized Jesus as one divine person with both a human and a divine nature.  Mary then is truly “Mother of God.”

Because Jesus is like the rest of humankind, we can relate to him as a friend who truly knows our joys and troubles.  He will not forget us in our needs for he too experienced “auld lang syne,” or times past when he was assisted by those around him.  But let us not forget to call upon him for help throughout the year beginning today.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Seventh Day within the Octave of Christmas

(I John 2:18-21; John 1:1-18)

It’s our last chance to take to take account of the passing year before we launch into the new one.  Which were its happiest moments and which would we take back?  Certainly the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio has brought the world a new sense of hope.  His simplicity, openness, and compassion have disarmed critics of religion when bolstering the aspirations of the poor. There always seem to be too many competitors for the distinction of what most went wrong.  However, the war in Syria that remains intractable and devoid of promise stands out as especially lamentable.  In the midst of this darkness today's gospel shines a ray of hope.

The passage tells of the word bringing "life" to the world.  The original Greek makes a distinction here that is necessary to bear in mind.  The evangelist is not writing of bios, natural life, which has its wonder for sure but is always subject to corruption.  No, the life highlighted here is nous or living fullness that transcends even death.  It is a life of personal and social exaltation in which those who partake of it feel a connection with the divine that defeats sin.  It is a sense of "grace in place of grace" pouring into one's heart.

We are recipients of the fullness of life in Baptism.  Those who remember the occasion know it as a moment of particular grace.  None of us should forget that the grace beckons us to resist the temptations to personal aggrandizement that destroy this sense of unity with all.  Then we look forward to the New Year with every intention to keep ourselves close to other people, especially the poor, as well as to God.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas

(I John 3:2-17; Luke 2:36-40)

Costa Rica is often idealized as a Utopia.  It is true that the nation abolished its army in favor of better education and medical care.  But with its quadrennial elections approaching, its people feel oppressed by the same concerns most societies have:  corruption in government that impedes development, politicians who promise much more than they can deliver, and growing inequality.  There is an echo of these cries for justice in the gospel today.

Anna is called a "prophetess" meaning she not one only sees into the future but decries the present reality of sin.  With Jesus' presence she announces deliverance at hand.  She does not hesitate a moment to tell "all who were awaiting he redemption of Jerusalem" of the Christ child."  "Jerusalem" can be equated with society or the world.  In the Book of Revelation Jesus' defeat of evil ushers in the "new Jerusalem," a city of social harmony that the world has been awaiting since the Fall of Adam.

Christ has come to redeem humankind.  His work accomplishes more than assisting individual souls find their way to heaven.  It slowly but surely -- with regresses sometimes approaching its advancements -- is forming a world community where respect for human dignity transforms strife among peoples and nations into a reign of peace for all.