Sunday, December 22, 2024

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

(Micah 5:1-4; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45)

There is little new in today's gospel. We have reflected upon it often as the second joyful mystery of the rosary.  However, a second look will reveal that it shows for the first time in the gospels a human person recognizing Jesus as God. It does not matter that Jesus has not yet been born. Nor does it matter that Elizabeth does not use the word “God.” By calling the creature in Mary's womb “my Lord,” Elizabeth identifies him as God Almighty.

The Jews had such great reverence for the name God gave Moses at the burning bush that they did not want to say it. Instead of calling God by the famous tetragrammaton, He is referred to as “Adonai” in the Bible. Adonai is a Hebrew word meaning “My Lords.” Why the plural?  for the same reason that people addressed a king with “the majestic plural.” Actually, the term “lord” is ambiguous. It can be used for any respected man. But both here and in other Gospel passages, there is no doubt that it refers to God.

Now, close to Christmas, it is worth reviewing other terms for Jesus in the Gospels. The name “Jesus” alone is full of meaning. Although it was not a rare name in biblical times, it clearly indicates Jesus' mission as the Son of God. “Jesus” means “God saves.” As God saved the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery, Jesus has come to save the world from its sins.

“Christ” also has a meaning related to Jesus' mission. It comes from the Greek word that translates the Hebrew “messiah.” It means “the anointed one.” In the Old Testament, those who were consecrated for a mission designated by God were anointed: kings, priests, and especially prophets. Because he was anointed for all these roles, Jesus has the mission of, no less than, reconciling the world to God.

There is nothing extraordinary about being called “Son of God” in the Old Testament. This expression is used for angels, the chosen people, the children of Israel, and their kings. But this ambiguous sense is not what Peter intends when he recognizes Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Rather, Peter wants to designate Jesus as the only Son of God who has come into the world to free it from sin’s oppression. Jesus identifies himself in this way when he says to Nicodemus: “‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…’”

There are other names for Jesus that reveal in part who he is. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah when he says that Jesus will be given the name “Emmanuel” which means “God with us.” In the gospels Jesus regularly refers to himself as “Son of Man.” This term is rooted in the apocalyptic scenario of the prophet Daniel where God gives power over all nations to the “Son of Man.” Jesus will say that he manifests the power received from his Father in service, including his death, for the people. Finally, Jesus is called in several places “the Word of God.” As words give expression to the depth of the person, Jesus reveals the love and will of his Father to the world.

We could add another title for Jesus, well suited for this time of year. He is the gift of God more beneficial than the sun. He lights our way among rocks and reefs in the voyage of life. He provides the warmth of love that enables us to attain eternal life. Let us accept and take advantage of this gift.

Friday, December 20, 2024

 Friday of the Third Week of Advent

 (Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38)

Jerome Miller, a Catholic theologian, wrote a reflection on the Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli’s depiction of the Annunciation.  According to Miller, the artist, like any exegete, has much to teach us about this critical moment in the history of salvation.  

 Miller begins his study by noting how the action of the painting takes places on a floor of perfectly arranged rectangles.  He says these figures represent lives that are dominated by order which brings meaning and gives a platform for action.  Then Miller notes how the angel appears as an eruption of grace into Mary’s well-ordered life.  In the painting the angel’s hand makes a gesture of directive: Mary is to give birth to the Son of God who will bring peace to earth.  The hand is open and not pointing directly to Mary but giving her permission to refuse the mandate.  Mary, however, is pictured as all receptivity.  Her body curves in what can be seen as a bow of compliance.  Her hands are open like Jesus’ on the cross.  Their positioning indicates awareness that her decision will cause her suffering.

All of us are so approached in life with a proposition of divine grace.  We are called out of the ordinariness of making a living to sacrifice ourselves for the Lord’s sake.  Of course, our consent means that we are opening ourselves to suffering.  But we should not shrink from the mission.  We like Mary are nothing greater, but nothing less either, than servants of the Lord.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

(Judges 13:2-7.24-25a; Luke 1:5-25)

At thirty-five years old and married for years without having a child, the couple was planning to take consolation in travel and other perks of professional life.  Then she became pregnant with their first child. The following year she gave birth again, this time to twins.  The third year there were another pregnancy and another set of twins.  The couple, who were ready to have a life of relative leisure, now had to screw up energies to care for five children.  Zachariah in today’s gospel might not have believed that such a development was possible.

It is asked why Zechariah is punished for doubting that he and Elizabeth could have a child while Mary, apparently with a similar question after Gabriel’s announcement, is not.   Part of the answer may lie in that although Zachariah and Elizabeth are old, they may not be beyond child-bearing age.  The other part of the answer is that Mary asks only a prudent question of how she might have a child without sinning given that she is a virgin.

There is much to be learned in this part of the Christmas narrative.  First, we should never question the Lord’s power to make things happen, even if it is apparently impossible.  Then we are wise to question situations where it seems like we need to do something wrong.  Doing evil, even to achieve a supreme good, is never a moral option.  Finally, and most importantly, we should trust in God’s love for us.  He wants to bring our lives to fulfillment.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

(Jeremiah 23:5-8; Matthew 1:18-25)

Catholic exegetes point out that the clause, “He had no relations with her until she bore a son…” does not mean that Joseph had sexual relations with Mary after Jesus was born.  Evidently, the Greek word for until does not have the same nuance as in English.  As the text says, Joseph was a righteous man who meticulously carried out the Law in matters of its purview and discerned God’s will in other matters.  It is presumed that Joseph honored Mary’s virginity after Jesus was born as before.

As preoccupied with sex as our generation is, the question of one’s sexual activity is asked of most people.  Yet many forego sex for various reasons.  Sometimes it is done from necessity as when spouses are incapable of having sexual relations.  It is not unheard of that a man will say that he loved his wife more in abstinence than he did on the day they were married.

Love is much more than sex.  It is the giving of oneself for the good of the other.  We find this self-giving in Joseph’s love for Mary, in spouses who take care of invalid counterparts, and in the many chaste single persons who dedicate themselves their professions, the Church, and many other kinds of service.  They deserve both prayers and esteem because they strive against the current of a hyper-sexualized society.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

(Genesis 49:2.8-10; Matthew1:1-17)

Most people hearing today’s gospel will wonder what the point of it is.  Obviously, it connects Jesus to the patriarchs of Israel.  But beyond that, they will ask, why bother with all those strange names?  It certainly is tedious to read Jesus’ genealogy, but it gives the gospel a propitious start and forecasts its conclusion. 

The genealogy shows not only Jesus’ connection with Abraham but also with David, Israel’s most highly regarded king.  God promised to give David a descendant who would rule in righteousness forever. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus.  Beyond that, the genealogy ends with the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and not his father, as all the other descendances.  With this altered arrangement the evangelist Matthew shows that a new way of creation has begun.  No longer is one’s human family what is most significant.  Rather it’s one’s spiritual relationship to Jesus that counts most.  This affiliation, made through Baptism, bequeaths an eternal destiny.

The new family that Jesus will create as he gathers disciples will not belong to one land or one nation.  Rather it will spread across the globe as his apostles carry out Jesus’ order at the gospel’s end to “make disciples of all nations.”