Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

(Zephaniah 3:1-2.9-13; Matthew 21:29-32)

The young woman wrote of her conversion.  While in the marines, she led a promiscuous life.  Then she changed.  She embraced the faith of her childhood and now lives it in both letter and spirit.  She experienced a conversion of the type that both readings today relate. 

The prophet Zephaniah speaks of a people who have been purged of braggarts.  They sit humble and lowly knowing both their sins and God’s forgiveness.  In the gospel Jesus mentions the marvelous conversions that John the Baptist has made.  Even prostitutes have changed their ways because of John’s preaching.

As we await the coming of the Messiah, we look for such profound change in our midst.  We must remember that it does not necessarily take place in one great step.  Rather, very often such a change is gradual and incremental.  In any case, it deserves our support and consideration.  We should be asking ourselves how we might similarly advance in virtue so to welcome the Lord.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Monday of the Third Week of Advent

(Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a; Matthew 21:23-27)

Balaam was a holy man who lived in Palestine just before the Israelites occupied the territory.  When Balak, the king of the Moabites, saw the oncoming Israeli hordes, he summoned Balaam to curse the intruders.  His hope was that a holy man’s curse would provide him the margin of victory against the invaders.  Balaam, however, did not comply with the king’s wishes because he saw how God was favoring the Israelites.  He interpreted a rising star which he noted in the heavens as representing the ascendency of Israel’s prominence in the land.

Just as Balaam recognized the coming of Israel to dominate Palestine, John the Baptist sees one coming after him who will baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit.  But he is not sure exactly who the coming one is, at least as Matthew records the story.  In fact, John seems disillusioned because Jesus’ message almost lacks righteous indignation with sin.  The fire and Spirit, which John predicted, turn out to be Jesus’ life-giving actions of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoral to wholeness.  Unlike John, a prophet who speaks under God’s tutelage, Jesus proclaims the Kingdom with his own divine authority.

We understand the star that Balaam saw as the same one the Magi viewed a thousand years later.  It points us to Jesus, the Savior.  We must be careful not to confuse the stars of everyday life with Jesus himself.  This happens when we pay more attention to sports stars or Hollywood starlets than to Jesus.  It takes place when we look at anything that glitters – gold and diamonds, for example – as if it were what we value most.  Finally, the stars of the heavens representing science or maybe the occult – can compete with the Lord as our primary concern.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

(Zechariah 1:14-17; Luke 1:39-47)

When someone compliments us, it is only polite to say something gracious in return.  But surprisingly this is not what happens in the gospel today.  When Elizabeth greets Mary, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb…,” Mary turns to God and says, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…”  Mary first thinks of God, not herself and not of other people as manners dictate.

Something similar takes place in the account of the appearance of the Virgin Mother to Juan Diego on Mount Tepeyac.  When the woman whose clothing shined like the sun introduces herself, she says, “I am truly the ever perfect Holy Virgin Mary.”  Then her words shift to God almost entirely, “…who has the honor to be the Mother of the one true God for whom we all live, the Creator of people, the Lord of all around us and of what is close to us…”  And when she explains the purpose of the shrine which she is requesting, it is solely to give glory to God.  She says, “In (my sacred little house) I will show Him, I will exalt Him upon making Him manifest, I will give Him to all people in all my personal love.”

We venerate Our Lady of Guadalupe today because she has given us Jesus Christ, the God-man who has saved us from our sins.  She brought him into the world for us, of course.  But even more than that, she has given him to us by exemplifying how we are to live with him as the center of our life.  She followed his law; she deferred to him when in need; and she imitated his love for all.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)

There is a charming story of St. Thomas Aquinas that may help us appreciate Jesus’ appraisal of John the Baptist in today’s gospel.  As a student of St. Albert the Great, Thomas was ridiculed by his colleagues as “the dumb ox.”  Albert, however, recognizing his student’s genius, commented, “We call him the dumb ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world."

When Jesus says of John “…the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he,” he does not mean to belittle him.  He merely says that John lies outside the Kingdom because he has not yet committed himself to Jesus.  Although he has announced an ambiguous “one coming after me,” John still sees Jesus as a kind of “dumb ox” who must prove himself.  Of course, Jesus does that repeatedly once John is arrested.  Most wondrously, he shows himself the long-awaited Messiah by his self-surrender on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Advent is a busy but also a holy season.  Some of us find ourselves overcommitted and needing more time.  Others feel satisfied that Christmas greetings have all been mailed and Christmas presents all bought and wrapped.  In both cases we need to step back a moment and realize that the purpose of the season.  It is to recognize the coming of the one who saves us and not about our doing for others, much less for ourselves.  We pray that we may encounter Jesus more deeply and witness to him more convincingly now than ever.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

(Isaiah 40:25-31; Matthew 11:28-30)

In the 1960s Malcolm Boyd, an Episcopalian priest, wrote a popular prayer book entitled Are You Running with Me, Jesus?  Evidently Fr. Boyd felt more pressured by the demands Jesus seems to make on him than relieved by the rest Jesus offers in the gospel today.  Therefore, he had to ask Jesus’ assistance in his ministry.

Of course, we can count on Jesus to help us and should go to him in need.  However, it is possible that fail to take advantage of the comfort Jesus offers.  Often others are capable and willing to assist us if we only let them.  Also, we might consider retreating in prayer for a regular period every day.  It is said that Pope Francis prays a couple of hours each day.

In his book on Jesus, Pope Benedict underscores this truth by claiming that in inviting others to find rest in himself, Jesus is proclaiming himself to be the Sabbath.  But his Sabbath goes far beyond the relief we experience on Sunday.  Trusting him provides not only a temporary respite from pressure but a permanent release from anxiety.