Thursday, December 18, 2014

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

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

Philosophers talk about the “pie rule” as a means to insure justice between two people.  They say that if one person is allowed to cut a pie and the other to choose the piece she wants, the pie will almost assuredly be cut into perfect halves.  This may be a way to achieve equality, but does it secure real justice?  Is justice not a matter of everyone having enough to secure his welfare?  Universal welfare is what Scripture means as justice, and the readings today provide examples.

In the first reading Jeremiah looks forward to a king whose name will include the word justice.  He will bring security to all Israel.  The gospel shows how Joseph is rightly called just by being unwilling to expose Mary, the mother of Jesus, to shame.  This refusal probably cost him the woman’s dowry according to Jewish custom.  Justice then is more than equality or a fair share.  It involves making sacrifice for the good of all.  Jesus is the just one who gives himself up to death on a cross so that the world may know God’s love.

We speak of being justified as if it were only the blotting out of our sins.  But it is much more.  When Jesus justifies us through his death and resurrection by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he offers us the opportunity to reflect his justice.  To be sure it requires the development of virtue – no easy task.  But it results in advantage for all around us and in our sharing in Jesus’ eternal glory.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

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

Today the “O” Antiphons launch the Church’s proximate preparation for Christmas.  These verses, which make up the traditional carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” convey the desire of all good people for a savior.  Today’s verse pictures the savior as wisdom which will distinguish helpful knowledge from vanity.

The gospel reading traces Jesus’ lineage through David and Judah to Abraham.  It goes through Solomon, the Jewish father of wisdom.  More importantly, it exemplifies the order that wisdom creates – forty-two generations from Abraham to Jesus, divided into three groups of fourteen, which itself is twice the number of perfection.

If one could make a Christmas request, wisdom would make a worthy choice.  It rounds out a good life with the dual senses of gratitude for what we have and patience for what we lack. When we seek wisdom in Jesus, we appreciate him as a life-long companion who will guide truly us to our destiny.

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.