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Vision of a Golden Future
Isaiah 2:1-5
Matthew 8:5-11
Isaiah 2:1ff. Learning wisdom and peace from the Messiah, they shall beat their swords into ploughshares.
Matthew 8:5ff. Jesus cures the centurion's servant, seeing the Roman's strong faith; he says that many foreigners will share in the Jewish blessings.
The weekday readings of Advent begin with Isaiah's vision of universal peace. Centuries ago, while the Bible was still in the process of formation, this vision opened the book of Isaiah. Chapter two in fact has its own introduction: "This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem." Chapter one, with a more elaborate introduction, was added later, drawing its material from various moments of the prophet's long career. In some ways, therefore, the introductory vision, recorded in the opening lines of Chapter two, summarized the finest hopes and ultimate goal of Isaiah, son of Amoz.
This vision recurs, almost identically, in the prophecy of Micah (Mic 4:1-3). It is difficult to decide which prophet is the original author; or whether each drew upon a popular, liturgical piece. It carries the vague but wonderful hope that all nations and races would reunite harmoniously at the Jerusalem temple. It was a vision that seemed too good to be true, for it clashed with the regulations of the Jerusalem temple; it still seems too good to be practical, for how can all the peoples of the world get along peacefully with one another? The final verse, added by Isaiah, restricts the pilgrimage to the "House of Jacob," while Micah seems even more restraining: while other peoples walk in the name of their god, Israel will walk in the name of the Lord.
God's expectations of us can be measured by the simple questions. Are we willing to invite to our family dinner table everyone who receives Holy Communion with us at church? Are we ready to forget injuries and grudges - as we beat "swords into ploughshares"? This vision at the outset of Advent sweeps far beyond the boundaries of our own locality. "All nations," people of all races and ethnic groups, are streaming toward the Lord's temple. Again we ask, are we willing to open our doors and welcome all these many, so different from ourselves? Really, it is too good to be true and hardly very practical.
How to make a start? Can we take at least a few small steps away from our fears and prejudices toward this universal vision of peace? In the Gospel, Jesus is invited to the home of a Roman centurion, a man of very different religion and ethnic background, representing a foreign, oppressive power. And Jesus accepts. It is the Roman who hesitates, feeling totally unworthy of Jesus' presence within his home. Jesus is amazed at such gentle humility, and did not miss the centurion's solicitude for his slave who would have been a non-Roman from some captured nation. The centurion was humbling himself before Jesus, a Jew, for the sake of his slave!
Jesus points out this outsider as an example of a genuine follower and descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is still advising us to look toward the outsider for direction and encouragement in becoming his true follower today. People are streaming toward Jesus, our Zion and Jerusalem, our center of prayer and worship, and to our surprise we find that we have been considering them outsiders. He tells us: "I assure you, I have never found this much faith" in your midst.
During Advent we are asked to learn, humbly and gratefully, from the outsider how to live worthily inside the holy temple of God. From unexpected sources we can be taught so much. But we must not put our own restrictive clauses on this vision, as happened in the book of Isaiah and particularly of Micah. It may be too good for now, but nonetheless it is necessary to keep our hopes as pure and exalted as possible, to remain in touch with what God really wants.
During Advent, we can look toward strangers and forgotten people for the path that leads toward Jesus, our Zion and Jerusalem. We may find in our family and neighbourhood the models for divine inspiration. These will break down barriers. Such simple moments as conception and birth remove all differences.
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion answered, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it."
When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven
The living Spirit
Isaiah 11:1-10
Luke 10:21-24
Isaiah 11:1ff. A glorious vision of the Messianic blessings, when "They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain."
Luke 10:21ff. True disciples, and the humble of heart, will know God with the special knowledge that Jesus has of him.
Isaiah announced the work of the Spirit and Jesus rejoiced in it. This Spirit seems fragile and tender. If we judge from these two passages of Isaiah and Luke, the Spirit leads to a scene of paradise where "the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them." Such seeming fairy-tales are hidden from the learned and the clever, and revealed to the merest children.
The passage from Isaiah may seem as innocent as a fairy-tale, yet beneath its simple images a terrifying truth is hidden. The image of "the stump of Jesse and ... his roots" tells us that the mighty Davidic dynasty has been cut down like a tree to the ground. Nothing remains but a dry stump and some hidden roots. When this tree had been cut down by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. the people were shocked into the realization that the Davidic dynasty was really not eternal. Yet, through the prophet Nathan God has assured David: "your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2 Sam 7:16). What they had believed from the obvious meaning of these words was not what God intended. In shock the author of Psalm 89 cried out: "You have rejected and spurned . .. your anointed... . You have hurled his throne to the ground How long, O Lord? (Ps 89:39, 45, 47).
The prophet could not repudiate the tradition of the Davidic dynasty. God must always be true to his word. The dynasty in some way will revive. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon the stump and the roots of Jesse.
That same Holy Spirit is now resting upon us and especially upon those parts of ourselves which seem dead and maybe betrayed. We must believe that God inspires no honourable desire nor offers any promise that will not be fulfilled. Yet the accomplishment of these divinely placed ideals will often enough come about in ways that we can never imagine. We should never restrict God by our understanding of his promises.
Right here we see the reason behind the fairy-tale that follows in Chapter 11 of Isaiah. Perhaps the calf and the young lion will never browse together. Perhaps babies should never be allowed to play by the cobra's den. Yet the dream of universal peace and gentle trust is so wonderful that not even our fairy-tales adequately measure up to it! When our faith dreams in these fantastic ways, Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit and says: "I offer you praise, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children."
Only strong and dedicated adults can remain persons of faith when their "Davidic dynasty" is cut down and nothing seems to remain of their hopes. All of us have lived through such harrowing experiences. What we were convinced was very good and inspired by God turned out to torture us with frustration. All of us who have dreamed our best dreams have felt betrayed by what we considered our very best! People who hope for little, lose little and suffer less. Our best and most unselfish hopes, which provide every evidence of being from God, let us down the hardest.
When we are "hoping against hope" (Rom 4:18) then we glimpse what kings and prophets longed to see but did not see. Somehow or other by faith we secretly realize that deeply imbedded in our losses there abides a potential for goodness beyond our imagination.
When married people are unable to have their own children or when they lose their only child in death, they must believe that their divinely inspired ideals of a family will be fulfilled in ways beyond the seeming powers of nature. When women and men follow God's call into consecrated celibacy, their ability and desire for intimate love and for their own children are not simply sacrificed like innocent lambs before a strange deity who asks the denial of what he creates and blesses.
It seems that when we have done our best, that best must collapse so that God's dreams for us may be fulfilled. Only when we offer to God our best spontaneously with full risk of not knowing the consequences, can God transform us beyond our fairy-tales and wildest imagination. At the heart of our existence then lies a mystery which no one knows except Jesus and the heavenly Father - "and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal" it. This mystery is Jesus himself, a child stripped of divinity to communicate God to us, a human being destined to be stripped of humanity on the cross of death to reveal how we ought to live.
Isaiah declared that "the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea." The mystery of who we are teems all around us. Like a child - like Jesus - we must rejoice in the Holy Spirit.
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
A Paradise created by the Spirit
Isaiah 25:6-10
Matthew 15:29-37
Isaiah 25:6ff. "Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces" - another glorious Messianic vision of the final age.
Matthew 15:29ff. Jesus , out of compassion for the crowd, multiplies the loaves and fishes, so that all eat their fill.
Isaiah announced the work of the Spirit and Jesus rejoiced in it. This Spirit seems fragile and tender. If we judge from these two passages of Isaiah and Luke, the Spirit leads to a scene of paradise where "the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them." Such seeming fairy-tales are hidden from the learned and the clever, and revealed to the merest children.
The passage from Isaiah may seem as innocent as a fairy-tale, yet beneath its simple images a terrifying truth is hidden. The image of "the stump of Jesse and ... his roots" tells us that the mighty Davidic dynasty has been cut down like a tree to the ground. Nothing remains but a dry stump and some hidden roots. When this tree had been cut down by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. the people were shocked into the realization that the Davidic dynasty was really not eternal. Yet, through the prophet Nathan God has assured David: "your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2 Sam 7:16). What they had believed from the obvious meaning of these words was not what God intended. In shock the author of Psalm 89 cried out: "You have rejected and spurned . .. your anointed... . You have hurled his throne to the ground. How long, O Lord? (Ps 89:39, 45, 47).
The prophet could not repudiate the tradition of the Davidic dynasty. God must always be true to his word. The dynasty in some way will revive. The spirit of the Lord will rest upon the stump and the roots of Jesse.
That same Holy Spirit is now resting upon us and especially upon those parts of ourselves which seem dead and maybe betrayed. We must believe that God inspires no honourable desire nor offers any promise that will not be fulfilled. Yet the accomplishment of these divinely placed ideals will often enough come about in ways that we can never imagine. We should never restrict God by our understanding of his promises.
Right here we see the reason behind the fairy-tale that follows in Chapter 11 of Isaiah. Perhaps the calf and the young lion will never browse together. Perhaps babies should never be allowed to play by the cobra's den. Yet the dream of universal peace and gentle trust is so wonderful that not even our fairy-tales adequately measure up to it! When our faith dreams in these fantastic ways, Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit and says: "I offer you praise, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children."
Only strong and dedicated adults can remain persons of faith when their "Davidic dynasty" is cut down and nothing seems to remain of their hopes. All of us have lived through such harrowing experiences. What we were convinced was very good and inspired by God turned out to torture us with frustration. All of us who have dreamed our best dreams have felt betrayed by what we considered our very best! People who hope for little, lose little and suffer less. Our best and most unselfish hopes, which provide every evidence of being from God, let us down the hardest.
When we are "hoping against hope" (Rom 4:18) then we glimpse what kings and prophets longed to see but did not see. Somehow or other by faith we secretly realize that deeply imbedded in our losses there abides a potential for goodness beyond our imagination.
When married people are unable to have their own children or when they lose their only child in death, they must believe that their divinely inspired ideals of a family will be fulfilled in ways beyond the seeming powers of nature. When women and men follow God's call into consecrated celibacy, their ability and desire for intimate love and for their own children are not simply sacrificed like innocent lambs before a strange deity who asks the denial of what he creates and blesses.
It seems that when we have done our best, that best must collapse so that God's dreams for us may be fulfilled. Only when we offer to God our best spontaneously with full risk of not knowing the consequences, can God transform us beyond our fairy-tales and wildest imagination. At the heart of our existence then lies a mystery which no one knows except Jesus and the heavenly Fa- ther - "and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal" it. This mystery is Jesus himself, a child stripped of divinity to communicate God to us, a human being destined to be stripped of humanity on the cross of death to reveal how we ought to live.
Isaiah declared that "the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord as the water covers the sea." The mystery of who we are teems all around us. Like a child - like Jesus - we must rejoice in the Holy Spirit.
Lord, grant us the strength to dream out our best thoughts, the heroism to persevere through their collapse, the childlikeness to be reborn anew so that the mystery of your hopes be manifest in our lives. No life, lost in you, is ever lost, only transformed into its most mysterious possibility.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
Isaiah 26:1-6
Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Isaiah 26:1ff. A hymn of confidence in the Lord God, "your everlasting rock".
Matthew 7:21ff. Final section of the Sermon on the Mount: like a wise man who built his house on rock.
Who shall build our city?
The biblical readings for this day set up a double movement. In Isaiah God builds the city, setting up its walls and ramparts to protect us; in the Gospel we build the house solidly, setting it on rock. While Isaiah summons into the new city those who trust in the Lord, Matthew has Jesus promise salvation to "the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." In this instance the Old Testament appears as the messenger of faith, and the New Testament stresses action! There is a line in the passage from Isaiah to harmonise these divergent views : "The Lord is an eternal rock."
Insistence upon trust in the Lord is a continuous motif throughout the prophecy of Isaiah. The classic statement occurs in chapter seven: Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! (Is. 7:14) It speaks from a time of crisis when Ahaz, King of Jerusalem, had no alternative but to trust in God. He was unable to muster an army and repel an invasion from the northern kingdom of Israel. It was immoral to appeal to Assyria for help and so become a vassal of this foreign power, losing their independence and gaining nothing in the long run. We, too, are faced with crises, at least at crucial moments of our lives, when to do anything would mean doing something immoral. We can see no good option or moral alternative. Isaiah warns and encourages us: "Be watchful and be tranquil; do not fear and do not let your courage fail." Later he repeats these words in a more meditative way: "By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. (30:15)
In today's reading it says: Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal rock. The Lord will surround us who have faith as he does the holy city with "walls and ramparts." And the Lord himself is that city. He is the rock which sustains us. He is the Holy One, enshrined within us. There is a clash of images here! It means that the Lord is behind and before us, around about us and within us, supporting us from beneath, glorifying us from above.
"I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer." And yet there are other moments in our life when we will be rightly condemned by God and our neighbours if we remain silent and motionless. There is an appointed time for everything. .. . a time to be born, and a time to die; ... a time to be silent, and a time to speak. (Eccles 3:1, 7).
There is a time for action, when it simply is not enough to cry out: "Lord, Lord!" "Only the one," Jesus says, "who does the will of my Father in heaven" "will enter the kingdom of God." To do nothing is like building a house on sandy ground. Once the rainy season sets in, the water will lash at the foundation and the house will collapse. Jesus says we should be "like the wise person who built his house on rock." We must act, but always through the strength and direction of the Lord, resting ourselves thoroughly upon Jesus. Only when each of our actions is directed by a conscious turning to the Lord for guidance, only when a sense of the Lord's presence accompanies us in all that we do, only then will there be an integral wholeness about life. Everything will fit together firmly. No single action will be out of harmony with the others nor disrupt the peace of our lives.
On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; he sets up victory like walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, so that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace - in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height; the lofty city he lays low. He lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven...
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell - and great was its fall!"
Dreaming aloud
Isaiah 29:17-24
Matthew 9:27-31
Isaiah 29:17ff. A promise of good times, when deaf shall hear and blind shall see - and those who grumble will accept instruction.
Matthew 9:27ff. Cure of two blind men, when Jesus says: "According to your faith let it be done to you."
As we read today's passage from Isaiah, we cannot help wondering if his poetic sense had run ahead of his common sense. Is he dreaming out loud as he writes: the deaf shall hear, the eyes of the blind shall see, the tyrant will be no more, Jacob shall have no longer be ashamed.
Something of the same impression comes upon us in reading the Gospel. Religion seems to turn into idyllic poetry and merits the charge of presenting "pie in the sky." Two blind men of Capernaum are cured by Jesus. The cynic will ask about the ninety-eight others who remained blind! Today, despite the miracles of Jesus there are many deaf people who do not hear, many blind who do not see, many tyrants across the earth, many just people put to shame. Isaiah stated that in "a very little while" all this misery would cease. Yet we are still waiting for this magnificent transformation.
The Gospel may cast some light upon the phrase of Isaiah, "a very little while." Jesus did not cure the two blind men right away. They followed him at some distance, calling out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" They caught up with Jesus, only when he had arrived at the house where he was staying that night. Thenn, once he touched their eyes, they were cured, not in "a very little while" but instantly. We too must follow Jesus with our desires and hopes. Hopes enable us to appreciate what we receive and to love the one from whom we receive it. What comes too quickly and too easily, is seldom appreciated properly. We take the giver for granted and tend to waste the gift. What is given to everyone at once reduces the action to mass production. The personal element is lost; we are preoccupied with impersonal things.
Jesus waited till the two blind men had "caught up with him." We too must seek Jesus rather than the gift easily put into our grasp. We must be convinced that Jesus can and will act for us out of loving compassion. He asked the two blind men: "Are you confident I can do this?" The personal interchange continued as they answered, "Yes, Lord!" At that he touched their eyes - gently, lovingly, beseechingly. Jesus can help us only when we confess a spontaneous faith in his goodness and allow him to touch us where we are weak and in need. As Jesus touched them, he said, "Because of your faith, it shall be done to you." At the moment when Jesus touches us, he reads deeply into our hearts for an expression of faith. We must be confident that his love will overcome every obstacle. In a true sense love is blind and sees none of the difficulties thrown into the way by fear and selfishness.
For Jesus to catch up with us, we need to have a faith that is obedient, loving, unconditional, open, seeking him rather than what he can do for us, accepting Jesus confidently on his own terms. Once we are found and Jesus touches us, the prophet Isaiah's words come true. In that "very little while" there is an interchange of love and confidence - and we recover our full selves.
Shall not Lebanon in a very little while become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off - those who cause person to lose a lawsuit, who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate, and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.
Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: No longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no longer shall his face grow pale.
For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be done to you." And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, "See that no one knows of this." But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.
Binding up wounds
Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26
Matthew 9:35 -10:1; 6-8
Isaiah 30:19ff. The coming days of blessed enlightenment, when the people turn aside from idolatry.
Matthew 9:35ff. Jesus sends his twelve apostles to spread the gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The prophecy of Isaiah seems more adventurous than the gospel of Matthew in today's liturgy. The prophet implies the immediate presence of God: "No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher."
Jesus' words in the gospel seem more restrictive. He sent out the twelve to cure sickness and disease instead of performing these works of mercy himself. Isaiah's vision, moreover, sweeps universally across high mountains and lofty hill, across the heavens where "the light of the moon will be like that of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times greater." On the contrary, Matthew confines the apostolate of the twelve to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But in fact, Jesus was no less adventurous than Isaiah. This son of Nazareth had a profound grasp of the Scriptures, especially Isaiah whom he quoted during his inaugural address in the hometown synagogue (Luke 4:16-22). We know from the temptation scene how anxious Jesus was to break loose as soon as possible and to fulfill all the promises. More than anything else, however, Jesus was obedient to the will of his heavenly father; this compliance meant that he followed the slow process of human development. Redemption basically consisted in the transformation of people rather than in the accomplishment of a mighty work. Therefore, Jesus had to adapt himself to the tempo of our gradual turning of our mind and heart toward God.
The happiness and peace achieved within our family ought to spur us to bring more and more friends, even distant acquaintances into our circle of love and compassion. What we possess becomes a model of what we want everyone to enjoy. Like Jesus, our heart too ought to be "moved with pity." We pray all the more earnestly that God "send out laborers."
At this moment the spirit of Isaiah stirs within the hearts of some of our fellow-disciples. These generous hearts will be urged to go to foreign lands. Others will be caught up in profound prayer and seek a contemplative way of life. Others will be fired with hopes so adventurous as to seem impractical and unreal, as they see "the light of the moon .. . like that of the sun and the light of the sun ... seven times greater!"
Although Jesus worked only with the house of Israel, he was continually giving hints and signals of his heart's desire to embrace the world. The adventurous missionaries with Isaiah's spirit keep alive similar hopes and desires in our hearts. At home we could become very selfish with all our good gifts, were it not for these laborers who go to the harvest areas of the world. "What you have freely received, give as a gift." This Advent we prepare to celebrate the new birth of Jesus within our families and neighbourhoods. May such good gifts close at home make us desire that our great Teacher no longer hide himself but enable all men and women to see with their own eyes.
Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.
Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, "Away with you!"
He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. On that day your cattle will graze in broad pastures; and the oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat silage, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork.
On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water - on a day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.
He told them, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
Sounds of rejoicing
Isaiah 35:1-10
Luke 5:17-26
Isaiah 35:1ff. In a glorious future they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the ransomed exiles shall return to Zion
Luke 5:17ff. Jesus heals the paralysed man, let down through the roof, for "the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins"
Again as on the Saturday of the first week of Advent, the prophet Isaiah sees a marvelous vision of the Lord's redeemed people. They are streaming across the desert, which now flows with fresh water, and the head of this triumphant procession is already entering Zion, the Holy City. Jesus, in the meanwhile, is embroiled in a petty theological argument. We do not know what he was discussing, surrounded by a large group of people as well as by Pharisees and teachers of the law. We are certain that confusion and consternation set in when several men made an opening in the roof and lowered a paralytic with his mat into the middle of the crowd.
Jesus abruptly stopped the discussion but immediately stirred up an even hotter theological debate, when he said to the paralytic: "My friend, your sins are forgiven you." This could have been interpreted to mean nothing more than what anyone of us might say: How can there be sin in your heart when you seek the Lord this earnestly? All of us must forgive sins in this way, by recognizing the abundant charity or serious concern within our neighbour. But Jesus' words also hinted that he was more than a human being.
For Jesus, the forgiveness of sin was linked with total concern for the other person. To show the full implication of spiritual transformation, he cured the paralytic who then "stood erect ... picked up the mat he had been lying on and went home praising God." We realize as well that the sacrament of reconciliation ought not to be confined exclusively to forgiving sins, but should extend into a dialogue for reconciling the penitent with neighbour and with all aspects of life.
The spiritual apostolate of the Church and of each member of the Church cannot be faithful to Jesus if it is confined to people's souls alone. To forgive sins requires that we be anxious to help the other person in all areas of his life. It requires that the Church take seriously the social sins of today's world and work vigorously to remedy social injustices.
"Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God."... We too ought to be instruments of love, so that our kindliness toward the physical and material needs of others will induce a charity strong enough to burn away sin. The removal of sin ought to have repercussions across the total lives of others. Sometimes we may first address the sins and faults, at other times it will be more sensible to care first for the physical needs of others, always concerned for their full human dignity.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting near by (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, "Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the one who was paalyzed - "I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home." Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
Found, by the Shepherd
Isaiah 40:1-11
Matthew 18:12-14
Isaiah 40:1ff. "Comfort ye my people!" - the beginning of Second Isaiah, on the promised return of the exiles from Babylon.
Matthew 18:12ff. The shepherd rejoices to find the lost sheep.
There is a hidden part in each one of us. When it is found by God, the Good Shepherd, it will become God's instrument for transforming our entire existence. All the rest of ourselves will rejoice because the ninety-nine percent of ourselves will be transformed by this one percent. The lost sheep is that buried, secluded or forgotten part within each of us.
A good example of the lost sheep is seen in the prophet-author of the first reading, telling of his prophetic call that originated in God's heavenly throne room. God calls to the many celestial beings around his throne: "Comfort, O comfort my people!" One after another these angelic creatures shout, as it were, to the earth below:
First voice: "In the desert prepare the way of the Lord!"
Second voice: "Cry out."
Third voice: "The grass withers ... [but] the word of our God stands forever."
Fourth voice: "Cry out at the top of your voice."
A prophet of mighty ability responded from this earth: "What shall I cry out?" and then began a prophetic career leading to the composition of the most golden poetry in the Bible. Yet, for the prophet himself, the people's return to their homeland, away from the Babylonian exile, turned out to be a way toward rejection and oblivion. His name was forgotten and his exquisite poetry simply added to the scroll of the earlier prophet Isaiah. He was like the lost sheep waiting to be found by the Lord.
Jesus and his first disciples turned to this prophet, not only to appreciate John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord, but to remain at peace during the tragic death of Jesus by quoting passages like chapter 42 and chapter 53. The work of the "Great Unknown" remained lost within Israel till it was found by the Good Shepherd. Then it brought exceptional joy to the other ninety-nine.
What is lost in ourselves or in others may have been buried into forgetfulness by a sinful action. Perhaps a sarcastic remark by ourselves or another, maybe a failure due to inappropriate or insufficient preparation, caused us or others to resolve never to try again. The sheep is lost in the wilderness. Or it is possible that some people just get lost in the shuffle. For one reason or another they are neglected by their parents or family, by their teachers or classmates. They end up without ambition or hope; they plod along, muted by the misfortunes of life. Advent is the time for us to prepare the way of the Lord, to rediscover the lost sheep in ourselves and in others.
Finally, some lost "sheep" are found only by the divine Good Shepherd, Jesus himself. We look forward to Christmas when Jesus steps anew into our lives to discover hidden gifts, talents and hopes that can turn our lives around.
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
A voice says, "Cry out!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
Taking the risk of hope
Isaiah 40:25-31
Matthew 11:28-30
Isaiah 40:25ff. Encouragement for the weary people of God, who gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.
Matthew 11:28ff. Jesus assures those who are burdened, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Great Unknown, an anonymous prophet of the Babylonian exile, was summoned by God to comfort and strengthen the people, whose memories were haunted by the destruction of their holy city, Jerusalem. Their family bonds as well as their familiar ways of life had been shattered. The prophet imagined them saying : "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God."
As we read yesterday, God summoned this prophet to comfort these desolate people and to announce their return to their own land along the "way of the Lord." In response to God's inspiration, he composed the melodious, sweet-sounding and richly theological poems in chapters 40-55. As he comforted the people, he stirred their hopes.
Hope can be liberating, uplifting and productive of new life. Hopes that are not riveted on things and actions but center upon persons tend to be very encouraging. Such hopes take the burden from us. Such is the case when we hope in the Lord. In Isaiah we read:
They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagle's wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.
Whenever we hope in people, we strengthen them and so make their burden light. If we sense that someone has great hopes in us - not just in what we can do for them but rather in us - we are complimented and buoyed up. We feel that we can "soar as with eagle's wings!" Such hopes in people have their risks! First of all, they lack the definite plan of action associated with hopes in what people can do. St. Paul wrote that, "Hope is not hope if its object is seen; for how is it possible for one to hope for what one sees? And hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance" (Rom 8:24-25).
St. Paul's words here about "patient endurance" remind us of the patience accepted by anyone who hopes in people. In marriage a man and a woman pledge their love with hopes in one another and particularly in their bond of union, yet they add at once the risk that they willingly accept: "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health." Hopes, therefore, risk everything - and high stakes - for a future that remains unclear, even unknown.
Yet when we truly put our hopes in people and are bonded with them in love, such risks bring excitement and adventure; they remove the danger of monotony. In such cases we soar as with eagle's wings .. . We run and do not grow weary. This speed of response and this exhilarating excitement become all the more exuberant and noticeable, when the person in whom we hope is the Lord.
Then we who are weary will be refreshed. To take the burden of such risks upon ourselves and learn from Jesus, actually refreshes us. It is always a transforming experience to undertake a great work with someone who is "gentle and humble of heart." Truly in such situations, "my yoke is easy and my burden light."
To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Isaiah 41:13-20
Matthew 11:11-15
Isaiah 41:13ff. The Lord says to his dispirited people,"Do not fear, for I will help you."
Matthew 11:11ff. The greatness of John the Baptist, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Two sides of Biblical Religion
Two sides of biblical religion remain constant throughout the ages. God is to be loved and feared! (Deut 6:5,13). Jesus announced peace and brought the sword (John 14:27; Luke 12:51-53). The clue to this unusual, almost contradictory combination lies in everyday experience! In the entire animal kingdom, from the irrational to the human, parental love surrounds its offspring with tender concern and guards it fiercely!
Isaiah imagines God addressing Israel with nicknames, calling them "my little worm" and "my little maggot," as a parent might affectionately do to a child squirming in its arms. Understood in this way, the words, "worm" and "maggot," are not demeaning, but are surpriseing when attributed to God. We expect God to speak with more dignity! But Isaiah imagines God as not afraid of sacrificing his majesty, to be known as a loving and tender parent, for he will summon every ounce of his omnipotence to defend the poor and the powerless. He will thresh the mountains of evil so throughly that their dust will be carried away by a strong wind.
A farmer tramples upon the harvested wheat, then throws the stalks into the air. The seed because it is heavier falls to the ground while the withered leaves and dried up stem are swept away by the wind. Threshing, we note, combines the heavy determination of stamping and beating with the easy rhythmic sweep of throwing the stalks into the air ... just so, God blends tenderness with strength.
If any of us has witnessed the mighty transformation that makes the desert bloom and even the mountain ridges flow with water, we hardly know whether to dance with reckless joy or to cover our face out of fearful disbelief and our inability to cope with it all. Again God blends tenderness with strength.
Jesus' words combine gentleness with power. He refers to newborn infants, the least in the kingdom of God, who are greater than the fierce prophets, Elijah and John the Baptist. Then he turns the coin over and changes the metaphor to the violent who take the kingdom by force. The weakest infant is stronger and better prepared to occupy the kingdom than Elijah and John whose preaching attracted yet astonished and frightened people. The Gospel ends with a serious warning: "Heed carefully what you hear!" Everyone of us occasionally comes up against violent opposition. How are we to cope with it? Today's reading asks us to respond with the consciousness of Christmas and the presence of God as an infant.
For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Do not fear, for I will help you." Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you insect Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. Then you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears listen!
Complementary styles
Isaiah 48:17-19
Matthew 11:16-19
Isaiah 48:17ff. If you heeded my commandments, your name would last forever
Matthew 11:16ff. Jesus criticises the people of his generation who listened neither to John the Baptist nor to himself.
We each prefer one way of life more than another, and that is very normal. God created each one of us with a distinctive personality, special preferences, individualized vocations. Because we tend to become overly specialized with strong likes and dislikes, we badly need others to complement what we are lacking. St. Paul even went so far as to say that each of us must fill up what is lacking in the body of Christ! Yet we tend to resist this advice; we do not want to admit our weaknesses. We even become defensive and then aggressive if others detect our inability to perform or control.
This ability to fill in what is missing in any one of us becomes the issue or main point of Jesus' words. Jesus quoted a proverb which stated exceptionally well how we need joyful people who dance readily and compassionate people always ready to sympathize. Yet each was spurned and ridiculed: "We piped you a tune but you did not dance! We sang you a dirge but you did not wail!"
Jesus was leading up to the punchline: John [the Baptist] appeared neither eating nor drinking, and people say, "He is mad!" The Son of Man appeared eating and drinking, and they say, "This one is a glutton and a drunkard, a lover of tax collectors and those outside the law!" Many practical conclusions can be drawn from these words, but most of all he is pleading with us to give the other person a chance. We must not judge harshly nor condemn too quickly. Others have every right to that which God provides so plentifully and so freely - namely, time.
We all need time to grow and so develop our own individual talents. We long to be encouraged and affirmed, so that we can keep trying. Others must be patient and tolerant, overlooking mistakes, gently correcting, learning from us all the while. As a community or family, we must be anxious to profit from all the talents around us - from those prompt to sympathize with our sorrows, from those who are austere, as well as from those who are more easygoing, sociable and even bounding outside the accepted norms. Jesus ate with tax collectors and others outside the law.
If we remain united in love, we will be long in patience and slow with judgment. We will persevere through all difficulties and give everyone the necessary time and space to grow and to make his contribution. We will feel a serious need for the help and contribution of others, all the more as we develop our own specialized talents. Only through others will we be truly balanced and integral in our values and attitude.
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Elijah for a New Era
Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
Sirach 48:1ff. Lyrical praise of the great Elijah, a prophet whose word burned like a torch.
Matthew 17:9ff. John the Baptist was the "Elijah" - the fore-runner, before the Messiah's arrival.
Elijah certainly caught the imagination of the Israelites. Because he was taken up from earth in a whirlwind (2 Kgs 2:11), a tradition arose that he must return before the great messianic day. The abruptness with which he ended his days on earth corresponds well with his sudden first appearance in the Bible. He stood without any formal introduction in the presence of King Ahab, announcing a famine upon the land (1 Kgs 17:1). As we read the account of Elijah from 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2, he seemed to be caught between violently contrasting scenes. Tenderly he brought a dead boy back to life for the sake of the widowed mother (1 Kgs 17:22), but in the very next chapter he confronted four hundred and fifty false prophets who were eventually brought down to the brook Kishon, where Elijah slit their throats in mass execution. Elijah, we see, can act with exceptional strength and self-confidence, yet he can be so discouraged as to flee all the way to Mount Sinai to be consoled in a quiet vision of the Lord's pesenc (1 Kgs 19).
While John the Baptist captured some of the more austere and violent aspects of Elijah, Jesus saw himself also in the role of Elijah the persecuted prophet who ushers in the day of the Lord. As any notable tradition was transmitted in biblical times, it tended to absorb the aspirations and hopes of people of each generation. Elijah came to symbolize the total transformation of Israel through God's exceptional intervention.
The liturgical reading from Sirach omits verses 5 to 8 of chapter 48. More of the marvelous exploits of Elijah, enhanced by tradition to reflect the evolving messianic hopes of the people, are recorded by Sirach than we read at the eucharistic celebration. The liturgy suggests that Elijah's great accomplishment was to reestablish unity within the families and tribes of Israel.
We all recognize unity as the most difficult goal to achieve. If a serious division sets in between members of the same family, it seems impossible to restore love and agreement. When religious groups split off from one another, we end up with the overwhelming scandal of division within Christianity or the violent differences between Christianity, Judaism and Islam, three world religions sprung from the same parent and patriarch, Abraham.
Yet as Jesus and John the Baptist proceeded in their work, they encountered fierce opposition. Because John the Baptist confronted Herod the Tetrarch for his immoral union with his brother's wife, he was eventually beheaded. Because Jesus strove to bring dignity to people considered "outlaws" by religious authorities he too began to be hounded by opposition and even open persecution. Both John the Baptist and Jesus stood up for common decency and normal human dignity.
They worked for unity, but we notice that it was not unity at any cost. This new bond between brothers and sisters had to manifest honour and purity of heart, kindliness and forgiveness. These virtues seem so easy to recognize, so crucial as to render all discussion unnecessary. This honourable way of life seems possible by following a few simple instructions.
Yet, how we all resist these solutions. Jesus expects us to form one family of love, yet we will continue to hold on to grudges, hurts and bad memories. To continue with such enmity and division brings us ever closer to great tragedies, like the crucifixion of Jesus. A family member may die without reconciliation and we must continue living with great regret and a conscience that punishes us severely. Jesus came to save us from such wrath.
Then Elijah arose, a prophet like fire, and his word burned like a torch.
He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.
By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.
How glorious you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire.
At the appointed time, it is written, you are destined to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who saw you and were adorned with your love!
For we also shall surely live.
As they were coming down the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He replied, "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Facing our own Truth
Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17
Matthew 21:23-27
Numbers 24:2ff. Balaam's oracle about the glorious future, when a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter from Israel.
Matthew 21:23ff. When the Jewish leaders demand proof of his authority,Jesus points to John's non-hierarchical authority.
We must be honest with ourselves, with others and with God who is over all. We cannot forever dodge questions, camouflage the truth, and bluff our way along. In the case of Balaam, a foreign prophet was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse Israel. Yet the messengers of the king could not induce him to act against the Lord's will. Balaam replied: "Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not act contrary to the command of the Lord, my God. But wait till I learn what else the Lord may tell me (Num 22:18-19).
From the last sentence we see that Balaam was anxious for guidance from the Lord agreeable to the king. "Stay overnight," he says, maybe tomorrow I will learn something else from the Lord! The story now takes on a touch of grim humor. Because Balaam deludes himself with the hope that the Lord might change the message to one congenial to the Moabite King, the donkey on which he was riding became stubborn, went off the road and even talked back to its master. When Balaam attempts to beat the donkey into submission, the animal answers back: "Am I not your own beast, and have you not always ridden upon me until now?" The implication is: animals are more obedient than human beings. The prophet Isaiah used the same example effectively:
An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger;
But Israel does not know, my people has not understood. (Is 1:3)
Where animals respond directly and continually, people will go in circles to deny or avoid the obvious. In the last resort they will simply refuse to answer. Such was the case of the religious leaders in Jesus' day. When they challenged Jesus' authority to heal and to teach, Jesus replied:
I too will ask a question [of you]. If you answer it for me, then I will tell you on what authority I do the things I do. What was the origin of John's baptism? Was it divine or merely human?
The leaders feared the people's wrath to infer that John the Baptist was a fake. Yet under no conditions were they willing to agree that John who pointed to Jesus as the promised one could ever have spoken with divine authority. So their reply to Jesus was: "We do not know."
If people from all ways of life persistently called John a prophet and remained loyal to him even when it was politically dangerous because of Herod the Tetrarch, then the odds are highly in favour of John that he was a genuine prophet and spoke with divine authority. Common sense and a strong consensus among many good people cannot be denied without denying God, their creator, nor can anyone remain passive or neutral when such a person as John speaks in the name of God.
Both biblical readings, in a sense, reach deeply into the flesh and blood of human life as created by God. A pagan prophet, despite his greedy desire for royal gifts, cannot resist the compelling inspiration of the people whom God has led out of Egypt. They possessed a strength, a forward vision, a consecration, an integral goodness which promised a future when "a star shall advance from Jacob." John the Baptist preached the solid virtues of honesty, generosity, hope, humility, loyalty. In Luke 3:11-16, John calls out:
"Let the person with two coats give to him who has none. Tax collectors, demand no more than your due amount. Soldiers, do not bully people. Denounce no one falsely. One mightier than I is coming after me..." Finally, he was imprisoned and eventually executed for denouncing Herod the Tetrarch for incest with his brother's wife (Matt 14:3).
Sophisticated people of academia or religion - all of us in areas of life where we are educated and secure - will continually be challenged by common folk who speak the honest-to-God truth. Unless we listen to them and reply humbly Jesus will say to us: "Neither will I tell you on what authority I do the things I do."
Lord, give me an open heart to listen and a willing spirit to respond to you, in my life.
Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him, and he uttered his oracle, saying: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with eyes uncovered: how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm-groves that stretch far away, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall have abundant water, his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
So he uttered his oracle, saying: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near - a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites.
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
God's holy "Remnant"
Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
Matthew 21:28-32
Zephaniah 3:1ff. Zephaniah's vision of his people's future conversion: the humble shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
Matthew 21:28ff. The short parable about two sons: one refuses but then obeys; the other agrees but disobeys.
It seems that one of the most difficult impressions to cast off is a sense of shame. People will never allow tax collectors and prostitutes - the male and female occupations, considered to be the most shameful in Palestine during the days of Jesus - ever to forget that they were tax collectors and prostitutes.
Once upon a time, in the days of the prophet Zephaniah, all Israel was reduced to such a condition. The prophet cried out: "Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city!" Nonetheless, he projected a vision of hope. Foreign nations would call upon the name of the Lord, and Israel was consoled with these words: "You need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against me. ... I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly."
God can remove shame and bring his people back to the dignity of their first creation. This transformation will happen at a time when foreign nations will "call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one accord." The removal of shame, such a monumental task that human beings seldom if ever allow it to happen, takes place in a world setting. The prophet implies that the necessary ingredients for this change do not come from sophisticated knowledge of the Mosaic law nor from careful following of the temple rubrics. In fact, Israel had been taking pride in her legal and ceremonial behavior. She felt so confident that "she hears no voice, accepts no correction."
The prophet reaches beneath religion to the deep, natural level of human existence, where men and women exist simply as God's creatures. Every person begins in the womb of his mother simply as God's creature. Flesh and blood we share with everyone else whether this other person is religious or not. Our human nature with its common sense and common decency asks that shame be removed.
This newly found human dignity also implies what is again one of the basic qualities of God's creation. As infants we are "a people humble and lowly," and such smallness and poverty attract God's tender delight and strong compassion. He says about this lowly remnant:
They shall do no wrong and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue.
God's humble remnant possesses the simple honesty and extraordinary human dignity of the child. Zephaniah's words were not easily composed; they must have provoked a disagreeable reception among the people. He implied the destruction of Jerusalem, the conversion of the invading foreigners, the humble rather than triumphal revival of the people. The transition from shame to human dignity exerts a heavy cost.
Jesus faced up to this demanding ministry of reconciling tax collectors and prostitutes, shameful people if there ever were any in the estimation of religious authority at that time. To do so, he gave a simple example of a man with two sons. The first son put on a pious appearance and always said and did the right thing, or at least made people think that he did! The comparison with religious and civil authorities was far too evident to need further elaboration. The other son was mischievous, disobedient, saucy, self-willed; he always replied first with a quick "No!" before he had time to think. He was like the tax collectors and the prostitutes who made no show of religion at all. And yet they silently repented and humbly listened to John the Baptist. John spoke to them as people whose shame could be lifted and whose human dignity still resided within them and could be revived.
These people quietly changed their life, humbly returned to God, determined to "do no wrong and speak no lies," as the prophet Zephaniah advised. Yet the religious people never wanted this shame to be lifted nor their former profession to be forgotten.
Jesus asks the question of us: do we allow people to regain their human dignity or do we continually bring up their shameful past? Jesus, born as an infant, recalls our basic human quality as created by God. This simple fact not only cries out for tenderness and honesty but also for the mercy by which we give each person a chance to be truly who he is, as innocent as God's creation will always be.
We must not fool ourselves, to return from shame to our full human dignity will never be easy. We will suffer the same slur as did Jesus, "a friend of tax collectors and prostitutes." Jesus took the words as a compliment, but suffered for it. We will suffer too by simply allowing people, once sinful, again to be converted to their human goodness, to be our friends and to "call upon the name of the Lord."
Lord, you hear the cry of the poor, so that the lowly are made glad and radiant with joy.
No longer will their faces blush with shame.
Lord, enable me also to hear the same cry of the poor, to be one with them and radiant with their joy. Then my shame too will be taken away.
Ah, soiled, defiled, oppressing city! It has listened to no voice; it has accepted no correction. It has not trusted in the Lord; it has not drawn near to its God. At that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, my scattered ones, shall bring my offering. On that day you shall not be put to shame because of all the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.
For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord - the remnant of Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. Then they will pasture and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.
"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
God's Mysterious Ways
Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25
Luke 7:18-23
Isaiah 45:6ff. A glorious portrayal of the true, living God, creator of all, who is " the Lord, and there is no other."
Luke 7:18ff. In reply to John's question 'Are you the one who is to come?' Jesus points to his healing ministry, in confirmation.
According to Isaiah, the Lord creates both light and darkness, well-being and woe. These contrary forces of human existence meet in another way in the Gospel. John the Baptist, already imprisoned by Herod the Tetrarch (Matt 11:2) and surrounded by darkness and woe, sends messengers to Jesus. The question put to Jesus reveals further darkness and quandary in John the Baptist, "Are you 'He who is come' or are we to expect someone else?" Jesus replied in a burst of energy and sunlight:
Go and report to John ... The blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead people are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them.
John the Baptist was reassured that Jesus is the promised one by extraordinary works of compassion. Yet these marvelous acts of deliverance were denied to John the Baptist who was left in prison, soon to be executed because of the scheming revenge of Herodias and the weakness of the Tetrarch.
Today's Scripture places clearly before us the biblical expectation of faith: we are to believe that Jesus is the Lord of both life and death, of both light and darkness, of both strength and weakness. Both phenomena require a strong faith. We can be swept away by joy and prosperity and totally forget the presence of God. We can be embittered by pain and disappointment and rebel against God. If we are sick, we must believe that Jesus can cure us, even though he deliberately decides not to do so, just as he left John the Baptist in prison. If we are in good health, we must believe that it is God's gift to be shared and expended for others.
In both cases we are faced with a mystery of faith. As such, no amount of reasoning can explain why God creates and directs darkness and woe equally as much as he forms light and well-being. We can investigate the universe without finding an adequate clue to this mystery. At such a time we find out how impossible it is for us to comprehend God's decisions. The same prophet of the Babylonian exile who wrote today's first reading almost ridicules those people who pretend to advise God and understand his ways. He asks them to use their human means of measuring the universe. It is impossible:
Who [among you] has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea, and marked off the heavens with a span?
Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?
The obvious answer, of course, is "No one!" Then the prophet puts the key question: "Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or has instructed him as his counselor?" Faced with mystery, the prophet took his question back before the moment of creation. In other words God must have an answer, so sublime that no one of us can comprehend it. Each moment of our lives has a definite place within God's creation. The moments of darkness and woe are as important as the cycle of day and night, night and day, for good ecological balance.
This cycle ought to be present in all of our community enterprises and neighbourhood meetings. We ought to manifest both strength and weakness, strong decisions and humble dependence. With this combination, we will complement one another and sustain one another; we will arrive at the wisest decision available at the time. And in our reaction toward others, we will reveal ourselves as a people, already in possession of salvation by our strengths and talents, much in need of salvation by our faults and weaknesses. We will be instructors of others and will be instructed by these same persons. Then the earth will open and salvation bud out!
Let the clouds rain down the Just One and the earth bring out a saviour. You, Lord Jesus, are as immediately present as rain and flowers, or you vanish like a bird across the sky. In the wonder of what is closest to me, enable me to live with the mystery of yourself far beyond me.
They shall know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things. Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it.
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no other. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is no one besides me.
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; all who were incensed against him shall come to him and be ashamed. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory.
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" When the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?'" Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
Isaiah 54:1-10
Luke 7:24-30
Isaiah 54:1ff. The future reversal, when the abandoned will find God's special favour; for "the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer."
Luke 7:24ff. Jesus praises John the Baptist as "a prophet, yes, and more than a prophet."
John's Austere Message
What monumental efforts God sets in motion in order to come to us and to attract us to himself. At times, as in Isaiah, God's word is heard in tones of intimate love. At other times as in the reading from Luke, God speaks through a stern and uncompromising prophet like John the Baptist. If we are to find God, we must allow ourselves to be found by him. By faith we recognize that God speaks in a way corresponding to our needs and personality: at times with severity, at other times with tenderness. We must guard against the disposition of many of the Pharisees and lawyers who could not tolerate the swift, clean way by which John the Baptist cut through religious formality to basic human needs and expectations. We need to meditate on these various ways of God, so that our own response will be quick, obedient and effective.
God can come to us in tender, affectionate ways. The selection from Isaiah consists of a long poem whose each new stanza ends with a crescendo of divine love: says the Lord, says your God, says the Lord your Redeemer, says the Lord who has mercy on you. The simple yet majestic title of Yahweh or Lord, Israel's specially revealed name for God, becomes all the more a part of Israel's life in the phrase, your God. The author of this poem, usually called Second Isaiahseldom uses the generic word "God," but almost always draws God into the circle of Israel's family. The next title, Lord your Redeemer, unites Yahweh within Israel's blood relationship; the Hebrew word for Redeemer means kin or relative and the consequent obligations, as in Lev 25:24,30,36,41. United by blood, the Lord is one who has mercy on you, as we read in the final line of the poem, yet in a most intimate way. "Mercy" here is drawn from a word in the Hebrew language, meaning "womb." God'sove surrounds us as a child in its mother's womb.
God, on the contrary, at times will not treat us delicately as an unborn infant but sternly as a responsible adult. Such was certainly the case when he spoke through his prophet John the Baptist. John was a no-person. He lived in the desert wilderness of Judah, was clothed in camel's hair and leather belt, ate grasshoppers and wild honey (Mark 1:6) and cried out: "You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from the wrath to come? Give some evidence that you mean to reform. . .. Every tree that is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Luke 3:7-9).
John cut through rank, privilege and wealth and proposed a common sense morality of basic right and wrong, uncompromised by moral casuistry or religious sophistication.
In a few quick strokes, Jesus drew John's portrait: "What did you go out to see in the desert? - a reed swayed by the wind? ... someone dressed luxuriously eating in splendor? ... a prophet? He is that, I assure you, and something more."
According to the blunt talk of John the Baptist, we accept God on God's terms. From today's biblical readings we realize that God can speak tenderly ... or harshly! It is a fearful and scary moment when we allow God the liberty of approaching us in any way that God judges best for us. He may reach out to us tenderly or severely. His "Advent" may involve a long preparation, the way that Second Isaiah drew upon centuries' old traditions and carefully composed an elaborate, doctrinal poem. Or God may burst upon us like those prophets who come into our lives without even a conventional how-do-you-do? In this latter case we think of the sudden appearance of Elijah in 1 Kings 17 or of John the Baptist particularly in Mark 1:1-4,
Here begins the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Isaiah the prophet it is written, "I send my messenger before you ..." Thus it was that John the Baptist appeared. God may act "democratically" or "philosophically" and permit us a stretch of time to think it over. Or God may demand an immediate "Yes!" In the latter case we cannot protest, "But God, did you not give us a mind for thinking it over?" In the former case, however, we are obliged to meditate through many hours of silence.
Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labour! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the Lord. Enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will possess the nations and will settle the desolate towns.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, like the wife of a man's youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
(And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John's baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves.)
The Price of Growth
Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8
John 5:33-36
Isaiah 56:1ff. The Lord God gathers the outcasts into his merciful salvation. His house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
John 5:33ff. The miracles worked by Jesus testify that the Father has sent him.
Today's biblical passages face up to a phenomenon very difficult for most of us to handle. Put simply, the problem is this: what we ourselves spend a long time to acquire, others accomplish quickly. Hidden within this human situation is the complementary fact that in a different set of circumstances we are fast and others are slow. Yet the humiliating pain still strikes us, and we question God: "Why must I labour so long and hard for what others obtain so easily and so simply?"
Within the first century of Christianity it was hard for the Jewish Christians to see gentiles acquiring full status within the Church without submitting to the long, disciplinary and doctrinal preparation of the Jewish law and Scriptures. Not even Jesus dispensed with this preparation, and all of those whom he chose as "prophets and apostles" to be the foundations of the Church (Eph 2:20) were thoroughly Jewish in their formation and piety. Even Paul, who declared almost belligerently, "neither circumcision nor the lack of it counts for anything, only faith," also wrote in the same epistle to the Galatians: "I made progress in Jewish observance far beyond most of my contemporaries" (Gal 5:6; 1:14). If Paul discounted Jewish practices as unnecessary, his Jewish adversaries could say, "Yes, that is true, only because you have learned and followed them so faithfully!"
We can turn to everyday occurrences for some advice and direction. Doctors and lawyers study long years about good health and sound legal practice, while many other people maintain their health instinctively by good simple habits of eating, sleeping and relaxing, and they remain at peace with the law by a normal routine at work and at home. Yet, doctors and lawyers do not begrudge these people their health and peace! Other cases are not as easily settled. Some women can bear children with relative ease, while others pass through an ordeal of physical agony and/or mental depression with each pregnancy. There is bound to be some angry jealousy on one side and some questioning impatience on the other.
Doctors and lawyers are at no disadvantage for long grueling years of study about medicine and law; parents are not being penalized when asked by God to suffer more for the sake of their children. Always, whatever costs more is appreciated more. At least this is the case if we are normal human beings.
If Israel has endured more agony than almost any other nation in recorded history, Israel ought not to be upset if the gentiles come into the kingdom quickly. Not only will God always remember the loyalty of his people, but they will possess within their family traditions a strength, a devotion, a sense of true values far more precious than money can purchase. Israel's pre-disposition for faith far exceeds the attitude of most other people. Just as a long family tradition of farming or handicrafts or banking imparts an ancestral wisdom which could come only with time, likewise as St. Paul wrote, Israel, the true olive branch, can much more easily be grafted onto the root of an olive tree than we gentiles whom the apostle calls wild olive branches (Rom 11:13-24).
Yet every family with ancestral wisdom needs new blood, new ideas and new challenge. Likewise Israel was to be enriched by the ingrafting of gentiles within the true olive tree. Whatever we possess, is not worth possessing unless it is shared with others and thereby enriched. As Jesus said: whoever loses their life for the sake of the Kingdom of God, saves it; and whoever saves their life selfishly and fearfully, loses it to mediocrity and eventually to silent extinction (Luke 9:24).
For our part then we treasure the gift of faith, handed down to us from our ancestors' suffering and perseverance. We also treasure each opportunity to freely and quickly share this gift with others. Outsiders will bring their own centuries' old traditions to enrich us in our ancestral faith. Finally let us glory in the fact that our children and descendants may far surpass us as Jesus advanced far beyond John the Baptist. Jesus said:
I have testimony greater than John's, namely, the works the Father has given me to accomplish.
Lord, grant that what I have suffered to achieve, I may share freely with others. Give me the noble gift of silent generosity.
I trust that this silence will be rewarded by strength and peace like yours, Lord Jesus, born humbly at Bethlehem.
Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, "The Lord will surely separate me from his people;" and do not let the eunuch say, "I am just a dry tree." And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.
You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
Blessings of a Child
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
Luke 1:5-25
Judges 13:2ff. The birth and childhood of Samson, until "the spirit of the Lord began to stir him."
Luke 1:5-25ff. The childless couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, are promised a son: John the Baptist
Today’s readings nicely parallel the joy of Elizabeth and her husband with that of Samson’s parents, who had longed for a child, and finally were blessed in answer to their prayers.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines." Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name; but he said to me, 'You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'"
The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedint to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years." The angel replied, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur."
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, "This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people."
Of David's Royal Blood
Genesis 49:2, 8-10
Matthew 1:1-17
Genesis 49:2ff. The dying Jacob predicts future glory for the tribe of Judah.
Mt 1:1ff The apparent genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew poses some key questions about Jesus: Where has he come from? What is he here for? And ultimately, who is he, in relation to God and to mankind? His account opens with the genealogy, an ingenious reconstruction, based on a close reading of the Old Testament, to situate Jesus four-square at the heart of Israel's lineage. That it is an artistic, literary construct rather than a soberly factual genealogy, is strongly hinted by dividing the list neatly into three sets of fourteen generations - one set, from the Founding Father (Abraham) to the heights of royal splendour (David, a man after God's heart); then one from the royal heights to the bitter depths of the Babylonian Captivity; finally, and this time with less guidance from the Old Testament, tracing his lineage from the Captivity down to Joseph, "the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born."
While the mainline genealogy is counted from father to son, on the way, Matthew mentions some surprising women who were unexpectedly incorporated into the Messiah's lineage: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and "the wife of Uriah" (Bathsheba) - all of whom prepare the reader for the ultimate surprise: Joseph is not really Jesus' father at all, since Mary has conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Where has he come from, then? Ultimately, and miraculously, from God; though also from Abraham and David, by indirect family links. Later, Matthew will answer his own other significant questions: What is he here for? And who is he? with one single phrase: Jesus is Emmanuel or "God with us."
Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.
Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness - who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
An Ongoing Mission
Jeremiah 23:5-8
Matthew 1:18-25
Jeremiah 23:5ff. A righteous Branch will be raised up from David's descendants, to rule with wisdom and justice.
Matthew 1:18ff. Joseph is told of the miraculous, virginal conception of Jesus, who "will save his people from their sins."
God willed that His own eternal Son would be the Saviour of the entire human race. In the lavish language of Jeremiah, we hear about him as the "righteous Branch will be raised up from David's descendants, and that through him his people will be saved and live in safety. In the Gospel, Jesus is described as the one who "will save his people from their sins." To save us is why he came! In order to do so, although he was God from eternity, he elected to take on our humanity, fully and in the flesh, by being born of a mother!
That was Mary’s role and mission: to be the mother who served God's saving plan. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, "To become the mother of the Saviour, Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to her role. The angel Gabriel salutes her as ‘full of grace’ - totally ready for her great mission in life.
As God prepared Mary for her role and mission, so are we too prepared for what is asked of us. This principle — that God prepares those whom He chooses for their role and mission — is true for everyone who is prepared to serve God. We are chosen and called to holiness. God has prepared us for works of service and of live; by giving us Jesus to be our Lord and guide, by calling us to the saving waters of Baptism, by giving us the support of the Church and its Sacraments, and by strengthening us to cooperate with His saving will.
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: "The Lord is our righteousness."
Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, "As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt," but "As the Lord lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them." Then they shall live in their own land.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Glorious Things In Store
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25
Luke 1:5-25
Judges 13:2ff. Manoah's wife learns of the miraculous conception of Samson, who will be dedicated to God to the day of his death.
Luke 1:5ff. Glorious things are predicted of John, the long-awaited son of Zechariah and Elizabeth.
There are many interesting parallels in the bible stories about God granting the gift of children to those who longed for them. After years of waiting, Abraham and Sarah were blessed with Isaac, Manoah and his wife were blessed with Samson, and - in today's Gospel, Zechariah and Elizabeth were blessed with the great "fore-runner", John the Baptist.
Luke has annunciation stories to both Zechariah and Mary, in parallel yet distinctive accounts. Each is startled at the angel’s appearance. Gabriel instructs each not to be afraid. Each is promised a child and given a hint of his or her child’s future greatness.
Luke is careful to locate events in both time and place. After the message to Zechariah in Jerusalem that he and Elizabeth would have a son the mute priest, still not quite believing the news, returns to his home. Elizabeth has more faith and rejoices in her pregnancy, while staying secluded for the first five months. Then, in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the fuller meaning of what God is doing is made clear to her.
Her young relative, Mary of Nazareth comes to her to be with her for a time, and share the news of her own blessed pregnancy - and to lift up joyful praise to God, who is coming to visit his people with saving grace.
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines." Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name; but he said to me, 'You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'"
The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedint to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah said to the angel, "How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years." The angel replied, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur."
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, "This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people."
Wonderful News
Isaiah 7:10-14
Luke 1:26-38
Isaiah 7:10ff. King Ahaz refuses to ask a sign of the Lord; then Isaiah promises a child to be called Immanuel.
Luke 1:26ff. The angelic annunciation to Mary, the highly-favoured one: she will conceive of the Spirit, and give birth to Jesus.
The Annunciation story is full of splendid promise, radiant with a bright future. God's messenger tells of a coming Saviour: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High... He will reign forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Setting these lines alongside all the other echoes of joy in Luke's opening chapters, and we have the happy prospect of a God who wants every human being to be saved - to have a share in God's own endless fullness of life.
Perhaps the fifth century saint Caesarius of Arles was thinking of today's joyful Scriptures when he wrote that "God never deserts anyone, unless He is first deserted by that one. For even if one has committed grievous sins once, twice, and a third time, God still looks for him, so that he may be converted and live."
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test."
Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel as sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
So 2:8-14
Luke 1:39-45
So 2:8ff. Lyrical love-poetry from the Song of Songs, about the beloved who is coming.
Luke 1:39ff. The mutual encouragement of Mary and Elizabeth: sharing of faith at the Visitation.
Sharing the Joy
What a fascinating overlap there is between the two biblical passages for today. The Song of Songs pours out some of the lyrical love-poetry written by King Solomon for his young bride from Egypt, describing the overflowing emotions of love that she feels for him, and he for her, at the time of their nuptuals. St. Luke, on the other hand, portrays the deep spiritual friendship that bonds Mary with Elizabeth, as they ponder how God has blessed both of them, and through them, so many others who would come to a fuller life, under the influence of John the Baptist and of Jesus.
Sharing faith is not always easy. An evangelistic writer said recently: "When I tell people about my experience of joy since becoming a Christian, they sometimes say, ‘all this Jesus stuff is just a crutch for weak people.’ Do you know what I think? If Jesus is a crutch, then give me two!” But we need to share what we have felt, and it can benefit both ourselves and those with whom we share our spiritual experience.
Mary and Elizabeth both felt the saving grace of God pouring over their lives - and were not afraid to say so. Many of us were raised on the principle that ‘God helps those who help themselves’ and that displays of need are out of place in the pursuit of holiness. Maybe we need to learn again what Elizabeth says so clearly: that God is a gracious God, and it is a blessed thing to believe in that graciousness.
The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
"Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over an gone.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."
A Dedicated Life
1 Samuel 1:24-28
Luke 1:46-56
1 Samuel 1:24ff. Samuel's mother, Hannah, dedicates her young son to a life of service to God.
Luke 1:46ff. Mary's hymn of praise and thanksgiving, the Magnificat.
Having longed for a son, and being finally blessed with the boy Samuel, the grateful mother, Hannah, wants nothing more than that he serve the Lord all his days. Her prayer is very touching: "I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord."
Dedication to God is the highest purpose of life, and it can be pursued in many and various ways. In our Catholic tradition, we honour Mary's as the hightes example of totally devoted life, apart from and parallel to her son's complete self-giving. The most perfect expression of Mary's dedicated heart is found in today's lovely hymn of praise, the Magnificat. Here we see her rejoicing in the God who has filled the hungry with good things, and raises up the lowly.
Saint Bede the Venerable, wrote of the Magnificat: "When one devotes all his thoughts to the praise and service of the Lord, he proclaims God’s greatness. Observance of God’s commands, moreover, shows that we have God’s power and greatness always at heart. Our spirit rejoices in God the saviour and delights in the mere recollection of our creator who gives us hope for eternal salvation.
This is especially so for the Mother of God. She alone was chosen, and she burned with spiritual love for the son she so joyously conceived. Above all other saints, she alone could fully rejoice in Jesus, her saviour, for she knew that he who was the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in one person both her son and her Lord. Mary attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of the one whose essence is power and who fills with greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in him.
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, "Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord." She left him there for the Lord.
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
Converter of Hearts
Ml 3:1-4, 4,4-6
Luke 1:57-66
Ml 3:1ff. God's messenger will bring about a conversion of hearts, before the great and terrible day of the Lord.
Luke 1:57ff. Amazement, joy and hopefulness at the birth of John the Baptist.
Christians have seen in John the Baptist the messenger, promised in the prophet Malachi, whose task was to prepare the way so that "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple." In other words, John was the messenger of the covenant, now offered to us all, in the Jesus in whom we delight.
John is honoured in all four Gospels, for his service of preparing hearts and minds to receive the message of Jesus. Luke, above all, highlights how John was received with joy - as a great gift not just to his parents and relatives, but to the humble people generally. A spirit of joyfulness and praise runs through all of the story surrounding John's birth.
And are our hearts open to John's message? Does the Lord whom he proclaimed wish to enter our lives, our homes, our world? The answer is clear and unmistakable: Yes, He does! How do we know? Simply by listening to what God is saying to us in the Scriptures, and in our community gathered in prayer.
Centuries before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah described the Messiah or Saviour as Someone who would live among His people and be one of them. The very name given to the Messiah points this out: "Emmanuel," which means "God is with us." In today’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah, we are reminded that the Lord wishes to live among us. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel." What was foretold by Isaiah came to be fulfilled as we hear in today’s Gospel account from St. Matthew. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us.’"
Yes, the promised Messiah or Saviour is no other than God Himself, Who, in Jesus, took on our human nature, became one like us in all things except sin and dwells among us. "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (cf. Jn 1:14). Does the Lord wish to enter our lives, our homes, our world? Indeed, He does! He did that on the first Christmas and He continues to do that if we let Him.
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight - indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, "No; he is to be called John." They said to her, "None of your relatives has this name." Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.
For Christmas, return to the Festal Lectionary
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