Monday, December 28, 2020

Feast of the Holy Innocents

(I John 1:5-2:2; Matthew 2:13-18)

Faced with moral evil, we ask, “How could God permit this?”  When we saw that policeman kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, we asked “How could God permit this?”  When we hear stories of the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Dachau, we ask, “How could God permit this?”  When Mohammad Atta and other terrorists caused the horror of 9-11, we asked, “How could God permit this?”  Today’s gospel suggests an answer.

The slaughter of innocent children sounds outrageous.  There is no historical record of it except this account in Matthew.  But it is like other atrocities committed by King Herod.  The tyrant murdered several members of his family, including his wife and sons.  In any case, it has been noted why God might have permitted the slaughter of the Innocents.  First though, we must recognize that God never causes people to sin.  Sin is a human project although evil spirits may be involved.  Yet God can embrace sin to bring about His intended good.  In the story of the Innocents, their death allowed Jesus to escape the wicked king’s pursuit.  He will die thirty years later so that they might know eternal life.

The story of the martyred Innocents injects into the joy of Christmas a foreboding of the sorrow of Holy Week.  It admonishes us to temper our festivity by remembering the purpose of God becoming human.  Jesus was born to set us free from sin and death.  His dying on the cross and rising from the dead give us new purpose in life and a new destiny.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, December 27, 2020

(Genesis 15: 1-6.21: 1-3; Hebrews 11: 8.11-12.17-19; Luke 2: 22-40)

There is a lot of talk about privilege these days. Some say that the person is privileged if he has rich parents. Others count as a privilege to have attended a private school. Still others claim that white people are privileged. It is true wealth and good education are considerable benefits. However, they are not as helpful as having just parents. We see these kinds of parents in the Mass readings today.

In the first and second readings Abram and Sarah are shown as a couple committed to the Lord. Abram leaves his father when he receives the call from God. Even though Sarah has not borne him children, Abram remains faithful to her. It is true that on Sarah’s insistence Abram has relations with his slave. But when Sara realizes her mistake, the two send the slave and her son packing. Above all, Abram manifests justice when God tests him to the core of his being. He does not deny God, if it is His will, the sacrifice of his only son.

With even more coherence, Mary and Joseph act as righteous people. They go to Bethlehem where Jesus is born in obedience to imperial law. The gospel today shows them heeding God's law when they present Jesus in the temple. Later in this gospel, Jesus will call his mother and brothers "’those who listen to the Word of God and carry it out.’" This is not a rejection of Mary but the opposite. Because she always keeps God's word, Mary can be considered his mother in two senses.

It can be truly said that there is currently a need for righteous parents. The social environment distorts the values ​​necessary to please God. Listen to the "Christmas songs." They once expressed the wonder of having the Son of God with us. Now they are absorbed with craving for consumer gifts. Another distortion can be seen in the presentation of promiscuity. Out of wedlock sex is portrayed in cinemas and television as good for both teens and adults.

In this environment, parents have to reflect Jesus. He will always be "the light to the nations" as Simeon calls him in the gospel. Mothers reflect Jesus when they instruct their children about God. Children need not only to learn prayers but also to hear of God's love. Fathers reflect “the light to the nations” when they convey the correct understanding of sex to their children. Teenagers, if not younger children, have to learn that intimate relationships are reserved for marriage. They have to appreciate that sex is not for self- gratification but to express total commitment to the other forever.

We are ending a year that has been both promising and miserable. It was miserable because of all the problems the virus caused. It was promising because families spent more time together. We hope that 2021 will be better in terms of health, work, and school. But may this New Year see the continuation of families spending time together. And may their coming together transmit values ​​worthy of Jesus, the light to the nations.

Friday, December 25, 2020

 

Mass on Christmas

If we are asked about the Christmas of 2010 or 2012, we will scratch our heads trying to remember.  Especially as we get older, most Christmases seem alike.  We send greetings to friends.  We come to Mass on Christmas Eve. We exchange gifts with family.  We eat turkey or ham for dinner.  But this Christmas will be remembered for a long time.  We mostly shopped on-line for gifts.  We put on masks as we enter church.  We cannot come together as a large family.

Actually this whole year has been like no other, at least in our memory.   The world took cover from the Covid-19 pandemic.  Many people lost their jobs, and many students were kept out of school. The virus has claimed well over a million lives and strained medical care severely.  Everyone has felt frustration in being restricted, in one way or another, to their homes. For all this, many name science as our savior.

Science has told people how to avoid infection.  It has also produced a vaccine that will likely decrease the length of the pandemic and save many lives.  More than ever, people feel confident that science will meet every human need beyond the pandemic.  Some even believe that eventually science will overcome death itself.  But such confidence in science is not warranted.

Science has made life more comfortable, but it cannot take away sin, our greatest burden.  Sin creates hatred and selfishness.  It moves people to hurt one another and then makes them regret what they have done.  Sin caused the white police officer in Minnesota to kneel on his African-American suspect’s neck until he died.  Sin makes many today forget their commitments to their families in the pursuit of pleasure.  Sin suggests that science will find a way for people to live forever when science itself shows that to be impossible.

Our salvation is not in science but in the one in whose birth we rejoice today.  Jesus has taught us how to avoid sin.  We must heed his lessons.  More than that, however, Jesus died on the cross, a spectacle for the whole world to see and ponder.  He was perfectly innocent, yet he died a victim of pride and prejudice.  We should see in the forces that brought about his death – the pride of the Jewish leaders and the indifference of the Roman magistrate -- our own sins and repent of them.  We can be assured of God’s forgiveness because He raised Jesus from the dead.  We can also look forward to our resurrection because we have associated with Jesus.

Today we celebrate Jesus’ coming among us.  We will want to keep a safe distance from those we do not live with.  But we should bellow together “Joy to the World.”  We rejoice because the savior whom our ancestors saw and touched has delivered us from sin and death. 

Thursday, December 24, 2020

 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

 (II Samuel 7:1-5.8b-12.14a.16; Luke 1:67-79)

 The Church has helped us reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation on the last seven days.  For a week it has daily presented different titles for Jesus.  The titles stand at the heart of the “O Antiphons” – “O” for the way each begins.  These are sung in the “alleluia” acclamation at Mass and echoed in Evening Prayer.  It has been cleverly noted that the first letters of the Latin titles given backwards make a statement.  Beginning with E for Emmanuel on December 23, they form the acrostic ERO CRAS.  In Latin this term means “I will be tomorrow.”  Indeed, today at midnight we will celebrate the Son of God’s coming to us as a human being.  This ever-gracious gift should take our breath away. 

 The titles of the “O antiphons” in the order of the acrostic run as follows.  E is for Emmanuel: Jesus is literally “God-with-us.”  R is for Rex: he is the king who will care for our needs.  O is for Oriens: Jesus comes as the dawn bringing the light of truth.  C is for Clavis: he holds the key of David to heaven’s door.  R is for Radix: he comes from the root of Jesse, a royal pedigree assuring capability.  A is for Adonai: he is the Lord God of Israel who loves the poor and oppressed.  Finally, S is for Sapientia: Jesus provides wisdom to assist our earthly sojourn. 

 We are encouraged to attend mass tonight.  The reason for a late-night mass – now seldom at midnight -- runs deeper than waiting for the official toll of December 25.  In the gospels Jesus promises to return “like a thief in the night.” He commands his disciples to stay awake watching for him.  This order should move us beyond dining and exchanging presents on Christmas Eve.  More importantly, we should pray and perhaps reflect again on the titles of the “O antiphons.”  It would be a truly fitting way to prepare for meeting Christ at mass in the middle of the night.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

 

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent – December 23

(Malachi 3:1-4.23-24; Luke 1:57-66)

The images used in today’s reading from Malachi create confusion.  Obviously, “messenger” points to the coming of God’s definitive prophet.  But is this messenger Jesus or John the Baptist?  His being like a “refiner’s fire” gives a nod to John whose preaching scorched.  But “refining them…that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord” sounds like Jesus’ salvific work.  Let’s give the nod to Jesus as the messenger.  If Elijah, the prophet, is to come before the day of the Lord, then he – and not the messenger -- must be associated with John. 

The gospel passage also sees John as making the way for Jesus.  It shows both Elizabeth and Zechariah bestowing the name “John” on their newborn.  John means “The Lord has shown favor.”  John shows the Lord’s favor by introducing Jesus, God’s definitive messenger.  In time, the messenger will be understood as God incarnate, but in Luke he remains, for a good part, only his prophet.

The narratives about the coming of Jesus prepare us for his ministry and eventual death.  John will go before Jesus announcing the coming of the long-expected savior.  As he is arrested, Jesus will begin to preach eclipsing his precursor’s greatness.  He will die after being rejected by his people and crucified by Romans.  Yet he rises and sends his Holy Spirit to sanctify us who believe in him as Lord.