Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

(Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38)

It is said that a military commander may not send troops on a “suicide mission” without their consent.  A society can conscript a person into the army as a matter of the common good.  The common good may further dictate that the conscripted soldier enter combat with the possibility, but not the surety, that he or -- we may add -- she may die in action.  If, however, there is near certainty that the soldier will be killed, the military should obtain his/her permission since soldiers are enlisted to give their service, not their lives.

In this gospel of the Annunciation, God gives to the Virgin Mary a similar prerogative to withdraw from his plan of salvation.  Although the passage uses the declarative mode “you will...,” the angel waits for her consent.  She is free to refuse to cooperate with the heretofore unheard of plan of conceiving a child by the Holy Spirit to give Israel its long-awaited Messiah.  In a famous homily, St. Bernard of Clairveaux pictures the world hanging on Mary’s word.  Of course, she expresses willingness and thus advances the process of the Incarnation.

As God does not force Mary to participate in His plan of salvation, He does not force us to accept it.  We are free to say “no.”  For sure, it is a conscious choice since salvation requires self-denial.  In one way or another we have to follow Jesus to the cross.  But the way is not so onerous as it is liberating.  We may think of it as a mountain hike.  The more we climb, the freer we feel until we reach the exhilaration of having reached our goal.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Thursday of  the  Third Week of Advent

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

We feel for couples who want to have children but remain barren.  Often they seem to be the best of people – she, gentle and caring, and he, responsible and understanding.  Raising offspring like themselves would not only fulfill their dreams but would also give hope to their neighbors for a nobler society.  Why, we ask, does God not grant the continual prayer of such a pair?

Children, however, are not created to satisfy personal and/or social needs but to serve God’s design for justice.  In both readings today God grants the barren couples a son to further His purpose of preparing for the coming of Christ.  Manoah and his wife will give birth to Samson who will defeat the enemies of the Israelites among whom Jesus will be born.  Zechariah and Elizabeth will give birth to John who will announce that the coming of the Christ. 

Is it then that God answers the prayers of some couples but not others?  Not really.  God answers all our prayers.  In paving the way for Jesus, God assures that our deepest desires -- for peace, love, and life – can be satisfied

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

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

Six months ago Pope Francis made a subtle change in the Mass.   A Vatican decree, authorized by the pope, mandated the inclusion of “blessed Joseph, (her) spouse” after mention of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Eucharistic Prayer.  The decree said that Saint Joseph was so kind and humble that he serves as a model for all men.  With all respect to the Vatican, another quality of Joseph may be specified which seems even more significant.  As the gospel reading today makes clear, Joseph was a “righteous man.”

One has to know the context of the situation to appreciate the righteousness of St. Joseph.  He almost certainly paid a dowry to marry the Virgin Mary.  So when he hears of her pregnancy, he has the right to divorce her in public in order to reclaim his offering.  However, before the angel in his dream tells him that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph decides to divorce her in secret.  His righteousness does not permit him to expose Mary to public disgrace from an open hearing.  In this way Joseph not only complies with the letter of the law but also fulfills its spirit.  For the purpose of the law is to make a person as merciful as God.  In the Sermon on the Mount, delivered later in the same Gospel of Matthew, Jesus will command his disciples to be perfect as God.  Here Joseph exemplifies how this is done.

We live in an era when the world seeks justice with the claiming of rights.  Seeing the subhuman condition in which many people live, this effort cannot be trivialized.  But often the claims of some people clash with those of others to such an extent that it is impossible to determine whose is greater.  Do the poor in underdeveloped countries have more right to emigrate than the people in their countries of destination have right to maintain good order within their borders.  Or does a family in the United States have more right to a second car than a family in Tanzania to a motorcycle?  Questions such as these are nearly impossible to adjudicate, and it is often harder to implement the judgments once made.  To go beyond the impasse we have to let go of some of our rights claims.  In other words, we have to sacrifice ourselves for the good of all.  To do so is not a regular function of human nature; it is the product of God’s grace.  It is true.  Justice is the product of grace. 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

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

One authority made a claim a number of years ago that every person in the West could, theoretically at least, trace their origins to Charlemagne (if memory serves correctly), and everyone in the world to Nephertiti, the Egyptian queen.  Of course, those who have worked on their genealogies will testify that such research is a daunting task.  The gospel today is offered to stimulate our interest in our origins.

Both Matthew and Luke provide genealogies of Jesus.  They differ at points so both cannot be technically correct if either it.  Matthew’s intends to show the divine plan of salvation from the calling of Abraham to the coming of Jesus.  Interestingly, it features five women – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the mother of Solomon (not named here but whom we know as Bathsheba, and Mary.  The first four, all of whom gave birth under unusual circumstances, show that God works in unexpected ways that can exploit human sinfulness to achieve His will.  The story of Mary, however, also relates not so much an unusual circumstance as something unheard of and of monumental significance.  Her son has no human father but, as the gospel shows in subsequent verses, is conceived of the Holy Spirit.  He is the beginning of a new creation that will proceed not by natural birth but by Baptism.

We are the heirs of that new birth.  Although we are inclined to backslide into sin, we bring forth the new creation by our preaching of the gospel in the world.  Our charitable deeds and encouraging words move others to salvation in Jesus the Christ.  

Monday, December 16, 2013

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

(Numbers 24:2-17.15-17a; Matthew 21:23-27)

After United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld’s tragic death nearly fifty years ago a controversy arose regarding his stature in history.  To many he was a hero – one who worked tirelessly for the poor of the earth confronting the powers while living like a monk.  To others he was an activist trouble-maker whose celibacy shielded homosexual practice.  A recent biography correlating his famous journal Markings with a factual account of his life published eight years after his death strongly asserts the truth of the former evaluation.  Hammarskjöld’s story mirrors the controversy at the heart of today’s gospel.

Jesus is being harassed because he, in the terms of Pope Francis, is a “minister(s) of mercy above all.”  He dialogues with sinners so that they might appreciate God’s love for them.  He champions simple hearts who cannot follow the burdensome rules of the Pharisees.  When the Temple authorities question him regarding his authority to take such stands, he deftly discerns their purpose and throws a similar question back at them.  Unable to answer without losing face with the people, the Jewish leaders withdraw their pursuit of Jesus for a time.

Not all confronting authority are heroes.  Some indeed are rogues, and others may be misguided.  We must discern before passing judgment and giving support.  Perhaps even more critical, however, is our perspective on authority.  We should respect it until there is good reason not to.  But we shouldn’t ingratiate ourselves to it, or we may find ourselves – quite unlike Jesus – compromising justice.