Words of the Word

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

“After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him...” (Matthew 3:16.)

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“In the times before Christ’s coming, those being baptized were held down in the water a longer time for the confession of sin. But Christ, being sinless, “came up immediately.” For Christ was not baptized as one repenting but as one cleansing sins and sanctifying the waters.” (Fragment 29)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
Who, when Christ had been baptized
in the River Jordan and
as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him,
solemnly declared him Your beloved Son,
grant that Your children by adoption,
reborn of water and the Holy Spirit,
may always be well pleasing to You.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

How does one become a disciple of Jesus?
Ask the travelers from the East!

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

“They were over joyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the Child with Mary His mother.
They prostrated (πεσόντες [pesontes], to fall or to prostrate, an act of worship) themselves
and did him homage (προσεκύνησαν [prosekunēsan], to fall down to worship).
Then they opened their treasures and offered Him
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.”

(Matthew 2:10-12)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

A week ago, we travelled with the shepherds of Bethlehem to behold the sign: “an Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:12).” As the radiant Word of God illumines life this Sunday we meet another group of people, albeit quite different from Bethlehem shepherds, “magi (μάγοι [magoi]) from the East (Matthew 2:1).” μάγοι (magoi), particularly with their treasures for the Child, stand in lavish contrast to the shepherds of Bethlehem. Yet pinning down exactly who these people are is a bit of a challenge. A number of popular sources tend to equate these μάγοι (magoi) with practitioners of magic. Some ancient sources spoke of them ‘dabbling in dark knowledge,’ a knowledge that is more speculative and esoteric, removed from the common day-to-day knowledge of life and commerce, hence the popular moniker ‘the wise men.’ Other data associate the μάγοι (magoi) with a priestly-kingly caste in Persia (present day Iran) who spent their time in pursuit of learning that would inform and enhance society by elevating the bar of ethical living. Closely connected to this point is a scholarly discussion that links the μάγοι (magoi) with some (accent on ‘some’) of the monotheistic struggles in ancient Persia and a Zoroastrian reform movement emphasizing a priority of proper behavior towards one another in society grounded in a monotheistic cosmology.

At this point, one might be tempted to ask the question, “So what?” How does this historic and geographic data serve the message of salvation? Good questions and good responses that help minimize treating the μάγοι (magoi) as ‘just a story.’ I am sure many readers have heard that label applied to so many episodes in Sacred Scripture. It is dangerous because in the present culture ‘just a story’ translates to ‘not real’ and if ‘not real’ creeps into the perception of Sacred Scripture, the potential for a loss of direction in this life is great. As we saw last week, while many of the people we meet in the Infancy Narratives of Saints Matthew and Luke are important for many reasons, one significant role that all play is that they are teachers of discipleship. The ‘characters’ of the Infancy Narratives teach us how to follow Jesus Christ. No matter what we confidently know or do not know about the μάγοι (magoi) one aspect is certain: the μάγοι (magoi) teach us how to follow Jesus Christ. The magoi teach us how to be disciples of Jesus! So:

μάγοι (magoi) and discipleship lesson #1: Allow yourself to be led by the Lord. The μάγοι (magoi) followed the star because the star “preceded them (προῆγεν, proēgen). Here the rich imagery of the Exodus and the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. The Biblical journey is always following the Lord’s lead and never one’s own. This is why the image of the shepherd is vital in Christian spirituality and ecclesiology. Sheep individually or as a herd simply do not have the ‘smarts’ for their individual or collective survival let alone knowing where to go for water, food and safety. Sheep need help for their very existence and that assistance is given by the shepherd. So the μάγοι (magoi) - despite their ‘elevated’ social status and wealth which normally gives rise to ‘being in charge,’ the μάγοι (magoi) follow Another. How the μάγοι (magoi) journey is also significant. While travel necessitates looking ahead and occasionally looking down to prevent stumbling, travel - especially in the Ancient Near Eastern world devoid of a talking GPS - required looking above, looking at the Star as the definitive guide for the journey. So μάγοι (magoi) and discipleship lesson #1 essential amounts to allowing oneself to be lead and to be lead from One Who is above.

μάγοι (magoi) and discipleship lesson #2: Adore the Lord. We often hear at this time of year, “O come let us adore Him.” More than ‘nice words of a Christmas carol,’ the command to adore is living the First Commandment: ‘I am the Lord Your God, you will not have strange gods before Me.’ Adoration is the expression of single-mindedness, single heartedness and purity of heart that are treasured virtues throughout the pages of Scripture that speak of the authentic life of the disciple. When the μάγοι (magoi) entered the house, “They prostrated (πεσόντες [pesontes], to fall or to prostrate) themselves and did him homage (προσεκύνησαν [prosekunēsan], to fall down to worship).” The gesture and posture of prostration express humanity’s identity: a creature dependent on the Creator for all aspects of life. Pope Benedict XVI, in his year-end address to Vatican officials a few years ago, said: “we can do no other than say, with Saint Thomas: my Lord and my God! Adoration is primarily an act of faith – the act of faith as such. God is not just some possible or impossible hypothesis concerning the origin of all things. He is present. And if he is present, then I bow down before him. Then my intellect and will and heart open up towards him and from him. In the risen Christ, the incarnate God is present, who suffered for us because he loves us. We enter this certainty of God’s tangible love for us with love in our own hearts. This is adoration, and this then determines my life. Only thus can I celebrate the Eucharist correctly and receive the body of the Lord rightly.”

μάγοι (magoi) and discipleship lesson #3: Go home by a different route. There can be no other way for a disciple to traverse life than to do it differently. Because one is led by the Lord, because one has encounter the living God, because one falls down and worships the Lord in adoration life logically must be different for the disciple. This is the Hebrew experience of qadosh (qedesh, Hebrew that is translated ‘set apart,’ ‘different’ or ‘holy’). When Isaiah sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts,” he was recognizing a fundamental difference between himself and God. In western culture we tend to be somewhat skittish about holiness thinking improperly that one might appear better than someone else. Holiness is not about ‘better.’ It is a grace-enabled act of the will whereby one accepts the difference that life must be when one says “yes” to the Father’s will. The journey home – ultimately the eternal experience of salvation – cannot be a route “I” plan and execute as if “I” were obtaining directions from Google Maps or a vehicle’s GPS. It can only be a route whose directions have been planned by Another — the God and Father of us all — for the good of everyone’s salvation in this life and in the life to come.

Happy Feast Day, Gappy!

Solemnity of the
Epiphany of the Lord

“Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the LORD has dawned upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“And the Logos, exhorting us to come to this light, says, in the prophecies of Isaiah, “Enlighten yourself, enlighten yourself, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen on you.” Observe now the difference between the fine phrases of Plato respecting the chief good and the declarations of our prophets regarding the light of the blessed; and notice that the truth as it is contained in Plato concerning this subject did not at all help his readers to attain to a pure worship of God, or even himself, who could philosophize so grandly about the chief good, whereas the simple language of the Scriptures led to their honest readers being filled with a divine spirit; and this light is nourished within them by the oil, which as a certain parable is said to have preserved the light of the torches of the five wise virgins.” (Against Celsus, 6.)

Collect

O God,
Who on this day
revealed Your Only Begotten Son
to the nations
by the guidance of a star,
grant in Your mercy
that we, who know You already by faith,
may be brought
to behold the beauty of Your sublime glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Reflection on discipleship and the Magi

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

The Lord has made His salvation
known to the whole world

Pope Saint Leo the Great

Bishop of Rome and Father of the Church

An excerpt from his On the Lord’s Epiphany, Sermon 3

The Epiphany of the Lord

The loving providence of God determined that in the last days he would aid the world, set on its course to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be saved in Christ.

A promise had been made to the holy patriarch Abraham in regard to these nations. He was to have a countless progeny, born not from his body but from the seed of faith. His descendants are therefore compared with the array of the stars. The father of all nations was to hope not in an earthly progeny but in a progeny from above.

Let the full number of the nations now take their place in the family of the patriarchs. Let the children of the promise now receive the blessing in the seed of Abraham, the blessing renounced by the children of his flesh. In the persons of the Magi let all people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be known, not in Judea only, but in the whole world, so that his name may be great in all Israel.

Dear friends, now that we have received instruction in this revelation of God’s grace, let us celebrate with spiritual joy the day of our first harvesting, of the first calling of the Gentiles. Let us give thanks to the merciful God, who has made us worthy, in the words of the Apostle, to share the position of the saints in light, who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. As Isaiah prophesied: the people of the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, have seen a great light, and for those who dwelt in the region of the shadow of death a light has dawned. He spoke of them to the Lord: The Gentiles, who do not know you, will invoke you, and the peoples, who knew you not, will take refuge in you.

This is the day that Abraham saw, and rejoiced to see, when he knew that the sons born of his faith would be blessed in his seed, that is, in Christ. Believing that he would be the father of the nations, he looked into the future, giving glory to God, in full awareness that God is able to do what he has promised.

This is the day that David prophesied in the psalms, when he said: All the nations that you have brought into being will come and fall down in adoration in your presence, Lord, and glorify your name. Again, the Lord has made known his salvation; in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.

This came to be fulfilled, as we know, from the time when the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognize and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that invites all men to find Christ.

Dear friends, you must have the same zeal to be of help to one another; then, in the kingdom of God, to which faith and good works are the way, you will shine as children of the light: through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Reflection on discipleship and the Magi

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

May the God of love and peace
set your hearts at rest

Optional Memorial — 7 January

Saint Raymond of Penyafort, OP

Priest

An excerpt from a letter penned by
Saint Raymond of Penyafort, OP

The preacher of God’s truth has told us that all who want to live righteously in Christ will suffer persecution. If he spoke the truth and did not lie, the only exception to this general statement is, I think, the person who either neglects, or does not know how, to live temperately, justly and righteously in this world.

May you never be numbered among those whose house is peaceful, quiet and free from care; those on whom the Lord’s chastisement does not descend; those who live out their days in prosperity, and in the twinkling of an eye will go down to hell.

Your purity of life, your devotion, deserve and call for a reward; because you are acceptable and pleasing to God your purity of life must be made purer still, by frequent buffetings, until you attain perfect sincerity of heart. If from time to time you feel the sword falling on you with double or treble force, this also should be seen as sheer joy and the mark of love.

The two-edged sword consists in conflict without, fears within. It falls with double or treble force within, when the cunning spirit troubles the depths of your heart with guile and enticements. You have learned enough already about these kinds of warfare, or you would not have been able to enjoy peace and interior tranquility in all its beauty.

The sword falls with double and treble force externally when, without cause being given, there breaks out from within the Church persecution in spiritual matters, where wounds are more serious, especially when inflicted by friends.

This is that enviable and blessed cross of Christ, which Andrew, that manly saint, received with joyful heart: the cross in which alone we must make our boast, as Paul, God’s chosen instrument, has told us.

Look then on Jesus, the author and preserver of faith: in complete sinlessness he suffered, and at the hands of those who were his own, and was numbered among the wicked. As you drink the cup of the Lord Jesus (how glorious it is!), give thanks to the Lord, the giver of all blessings.

May the God of love and peace set your hearts at rest and speed you on your journey; may he meanwhile shelter you from disturbance by others in the hidden recesses of his love, until he brings you at last into that place of complete plenitude where you will repose for ever in the vision of peace, in the security of trust and in the restful enjoyment of his riches.

Scriptures for the Optional Memorial

Collect

O God,
Who adorned the Priest Saint Raymond
with the virtue of outstanding mercy and compassion
for sinners and for captives,
grant us, through his intercession,
that, released from slavery to sin,
we may carry out in freedom of spirit
what is pleasing to you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Weekdays of Christmas Time
Friday before the Solemnity of Epiphany

“... the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord.” (1 John 5:8.)

Pope Saint Leo the Great comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:

“This means the Spirit of sanctification, the blood of redemption and the water of baptism, which three are one and remain distinct, and none of them is separated from union with the others. This is the faith by which the church lives and moves.” (Letters, 28.)

Collect

Cast Your kindly light upon Your faithful,
Lord, we pray,
and with the splendor of Your glory
set their hearts ever aflame,
that they may never cease
to acknowledge their Savior
and may truly hold fast to Him.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

The baptism of Christ

Saint Gregory Nazianzen

Bishop and Great Eastern Father of the Church

An excerpt from Oration 39: On Holy Light

Weekdays of Christmas Time
Friday before the Solemnity of Epiphany

Christ is bathed in light; let us also be bathed in light. Christ is baptized; let us also go down with him, and rise with him.

John is baptizing when Jesus draws near. Perhaps he comes to sanctify his baptizer; certainly he comes to bury sinful humanity in the waters. He comes to sanctify the Jordan for our sake and in readiness for us; he who is spirit and flesh comes to begin a new creation through the Spirit and water.

The Baptist protests; Jesus insists. Then John says: I ought to be baptized by you. He is the lamp in the presence of the sun, the voice in the presence of the Word, the friend in the presence of the Bridegroom, the greatest of all born of woman in the presence of the firstborn of all creation, the one who leapt in his mother’s womb in the presence of him who was adored in the womb, the forerunner and future forerunner in the presence of him who has already come and is to come again. I ought to be baptized by you: we should also add, “and for you,” for John is to be baptized in blood, washed clean like Peter, not only by the washing of his feet.

Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as to an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honor to the body that is one with God.

Today let us do honor to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and salvation of men, for whom his every word and every revelation exist. He wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of him who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure and dazzling light of the Trinity, as now you have received—though not in its fullness—a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Our daily work is to do the will of God

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Religious

An excerpt from her Conference to her spiritual daughters

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (USA)

I will tell you what is my own great help. I once read or heard that an interior life means but the continuation of our Savior’s life in us; that the great object of all his mysteries is to merit for us the grace of his interior life and communicate it to us, it being the end of his mission to lead us into the sweet land of promise, a life of constant union with himself. And what was the first rule of our dear Savior’s life? You know it was to do his Father’s will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.

I know what his will is by those who direct me; whatever they bid me do, if it is ever so small in itself, is the will of God for me. Then do it in the manner he wills it, not sewing an old thing as if it were new, or a new thing as if it were old; not fretting because the oven is too hot, or in a fuss because it is too cold. You understand—not flying and driving because you are hurried, not creeping like a snail because no one pushes you. Our dear Savior was never in extremes. The third object is to do his will because God wills it, that is, to be ready to quit at any moment and to do anything else to which you may be called.

You think it very hard to lead a life of such restraint unless you keep your eye of faith always open. Perseverance is a great grace. To go on gaining and advancing every day, we must be resolute, and bear and suffer as our blessed forerunners did. Which of them gained heaven without a struggle?

What are our real trials? By what name shall we call them? One cuts herself out a cross of pride; another, one of causeless discontent; another, one of restless impatience or peevish fretfulness. But is the whole any better than children’s play if looked at with the common eye of faith? Yet we know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life, that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.

But we lack courage to keep a continual watch over nature, and therefore, year after year, with our thousand graces, multiplied resolutions, and fair promises, we run around in a circle of misery and imperfections. After a long time in the service of God, we come nearly to the point from whence we set out, and perhaps with even less ardor for penance and mortification than when we began our consecration to him.

You are now in your first setout. Be above the vain fears of nature and efforts of your enemy. You are children of eternity. Your immortal crown awaits you, and the best of Fathers waits there to reward your duty and love. You may indeed sow here in tears, but you may be sure there to reap in joy.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Weekdays of Christmas Time
Tuesday before the Solemnity of Epiphany

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“There are five animals that are offered on the altar, three being land animals and two winged. It seems worthwhile to me to ask why the Savior is said to be a “lamb” by John and none of the rest. But also, in the case of the land animals, since three types of animal are offered according to each species, why did he name the lamb from the species of sheep? Now these are the five animals: a young bull, a sheep, a goat, a turtledove, a pigeon.

And the three types of sheep are a ram, the ewe and the lamb. It is the lamb, however, that we find offered in the perpetual sacrifices. What other perpetual sacrifice can be spiritual to a spiritual being than the Word in his prime, the Word symbolically called “lamb”? But if we examine the declaration about Jesus, who is pointed out by John in the words “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” from the standpoint of the plan of salvation when the Son of God bodily lived among the human race, we will assume that the lamb is none other than his humanity. For he “was led as a sheep to the slaughter and was dumb as a lamb before its shearer,” saying, “I was an innocent lamb being led to be sacrificed.”

This is why in the Apocalypse, too, a little lamb is seen “standing as though slain.” This lamb, indeed, which was slain according to certain secret reasons, has become the expiation of the whole world. According to the Father’s love for humanity, he also submitted to slaughter on behalf of the world, purchasing us with his own blood from him who bought us when we had sold ourselves into sin. He, however, who led this lamb to the sacrifice was God in man, the great high priest, who reveals this through the saying, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.” (Commentary on the Gospel of John, 6.)

Collect

O God,
Who in the blessed childbearing
of the holy Virgin Mary
kept the flesh of Your Son
free from the sentence
incurred by the human race,
grant, we pray, that we,
who have been taken up into this New Creation,
may be freed from the ancient taint of sin.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

The double commandment of love

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Bishop and Great Western Father of the Church

An excerpt from A Discourse on John

Weekdays of Christmas Time
Tuesday before the Solemnity of Epiphany

The Lord, the teacher of love, full of love, came in person with summary judgment on the world, as had been foretold of him, and showed that the law and the prophets are summed up in two commandments of love.

Call to mind, brethren, what these two commandments are. They ought to be very familiar to you; they should not only spring to mind when I mention them, but ought never to be absent from your hearts. Keep always in mind that we must love God and our neighbor: Love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

These two commandments must be always in your thoughts and in your hearts, treasured, acted on, fulfilled. Love of God is the first to be commanded, but love of neighbor is the first to be put into practice. In giving two commandments of love Christ would not commend to you first your neighbor and then God but first God and then your neighbor.

Since you do not yet see God, you merit the vision of God by loving your neighbor. By loving your neighbor you prepare your eye to see God. Saint John says clearly: If you do not love your brother whom you see, how will you love God whom you do not see!

Consider what is said to you: Love God. If you say to me: Show me whom I am to love, what shall I say if not what Saint John says: No one has ever seen God! But in case you should think that you are completely cut off from the sight of God, he says: God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God. Love your neighbor, then, and see within yourself the power by which you love your neighbor; there you will see God, as far as you are able.

Begin, then, to love your neighbor. Break your bread to feed the hungry, and bring into your home the homeless poor; if you see someone naked, clothe him, and do not look down on your own flesh and blood.

What will you gain by doing this? Your light will then burst forth like the dawn. Your light is your God; he is your dawn, for he will come to you when the night of time is over. He does not rise or set but remains for ever.

In loving your neighbor and caring for him you are on a journey. Where are you traveling if not to the Lord God, to him whom we should love with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind? We have not yet reached his presence, but we have our neighbor at our side. Support, then, this companion of your pilgrimage if you want to come into the presence of the one with whom you desire to remain for ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Mary, the Holy Mother of God
who teaches us how to follow her Son, Jesus

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept (συνετήρει, synetērei) all these things,
reflecting (συμβάλλουσα, symballousa) on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them."

(Luke 2:18-20.)

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

While today’s Solemnity has been named variously throughout Christian generations, one fact is clear: today is NOT a HolyDay because of the start of a new civic or calendar year. True, many parishes publish ‘New Year’s Day Mass schedules,’ but our gathering today is - as the Roman Missal indicates - «The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas] Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God.» Admittedly, the full title of today’s celebration is a mouthful. Yet whittling down the Solemnity’s name in the interest of utilitarianism, pragmatism, efficiency or worse still because people won’t understand, chips away at the Gift of these Days and Celebrations that orient and draw us to Divine Life. The Day’s proper designation, obviously, will not magically nor instantly form one into a perfect disciple of Jesus. It will, however, offer much to consider in the light of the Holy Spirit to grow as His disciple.

The Church situates today’s Solemnity within the “Octave of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas].” These sacred Days of the Octave, the Scriptures and the prayer Texts have placed the event of the Lord’s Nativity before us. The Incarnation has occurred, a celebration we mark on 25 March (or slightly later if the date falls during Holy Week). The Annunciation of the Lord is the Incarnation of the Lord, the enfleshment of God in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Nativity of the Lord recognizes that in Jesus, God is made visible so that we may be caught up through Him in love of things Divine. (Preface I, Nativity of the Lord) “Though invisible in His own divine nature, He [Jesus] has appeared visibly in” our nature. (Preface II, Nativity of the Lord). So how do we, in our human existence, recognize the visible divinity of Jesus? After all, the Public Ministry of Jesus is replete with many episodes of people seeing Jesus’ deeds and hearing His words yet did not follow Him. Enter Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who offers a vital lesson.

As the Holy Mother of God, Mary is the preeminent catechist, always pointing to Her Son, Jesus. She does this in the event proclaimed today from the Gospel according to Saint Luke by ‘keeping’ and “reflecting:” “And Mary kept (συνετήρει, synetērei) all these things, reflecting (συμβάλλουσα, symballousa) on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19.)

The Greek verb συντηρέω (syntēréō) is translated kept in the New American Bible Revised Edition. It can also convey a sense of “to protect [e.g. a treasure],” “to preserve or conserve,” or “to care for.” Hence, syntēréō expresses intentionality; Mary chooses to keep these events as precious treasures. She is not oblivious or disconnected from the events as they unfold before her and Joseph. The “things” in Bethlehem were not run-of-the-mill occurrences but rather events of an incomprehensible magnitude that necessitated living deeply in the moment.

As events, the happenings in Bethlehem are historic: they occur at a particular time and in a particular place. This is part of the reason why synetērei is translated in the English past tense, hence kept in today’s Text. But the tense in Greek is not past, but imperfect. To slip into a Greek grammar for a moment, the Greek imperfect acknowledges an action happening or occurring in the past. The reality of the action is etched in a past moment of time and in a particular place. Yet the significance of the action, the meaning of the action, the impact of the action perdures, continues or unfolds in the present. This is a matter of Greek grammar, not interpretation. The treasured events of Bethlehem, that occurred at a moment in human time and in a geographical place, have impact in the listener’s (or reader’s ) present - whenever that present might be, even centuries ‘after’ the original happening. Grammatically, the “things” of Bethlehem, are grounded in Bethlehem at a particular time in human antiquity - AND - events for today.

That the Nativity of the Lord has taken place AND directs life in our today does entail another graced activity: reflecting. This is a translation of the Greek, symballousa, a compound formed by the preposition sun/sum (syn/sym) translated with and the verb bállō translated to throw. Linguistically, sumbállō is translated to throw together or to throw together with. This is the basis for the English word symbol, a very important word in human affairs, especially in theological studies and Christian living. Far from a popular English connotation that a symbol is a mere representation, the Greek is more forceful. The Greek sumbállō recognizes that reality or life involves many aspects, elements, pieces or dimensions to name only a few. Sumbállō is the act of putting all dimensions of reality together as one. It is an action that requires work as well as time and silence which is a reason why it entered Christian theological vocabulary referring to a prayerful activity of reflecting, pondering or contemplating.

On this Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord highlighting the holy motherhood of Mary, she teaches powerfully with the silence of her life that all the events of God’s great and mighty deeds must be committed to the disciple’s memory and heart. All that has been revealed to us culminating in Jesus Christ must be held by the intentional disciple as treasured, precious gifts. Room must be made in life to accommodate all that the Lord in His love and mercy has done for all humanity in the past, now in the present and will continue to do in the future. Yet all the great and mighty deeds of God are not held in order to become a walking encyclopedia of theology. All that has been made known to us must be pondered, reflected upon and contemplated in the depths of profound, graced-silence. There in the silence of mind, heart and body, the Holy Spirit ‘puts the pieces together’ to equip each disciple for the mission of everyone’s salvation in Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary and placed in Bethlehem’s feeding trough to be Food for all.

Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]

“But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one, and you all have knowledge.” (1 John 2:20.)

Saint Bede the Venerable comments on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“The spiritual anointing is the Holy Spirit himself, who is given in the sacrament of anointing. John says that they all have this anointing and can distinguish good people from evil ones, so that he has no need to teach them what they already know because of their anointing. Because he is talking about heretics in this passage, he points out that they have received their anointing from the Holy One in order to underline the fact that the heretics and all antichrists are deprived of that gift and do not belong to the Lord but rather are servants of Satan.” (On 1 John)

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
Who in the Nativity of Your Son
established the beginning and
fulfillment of all religion,
grant, we pray, that we may be numbered
among those who belong to Him,
in Whom is the fullness of human salvation.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace!

Pope Saint Leo the Great

Bishop of Rome and Great Latin Father of the Church

An excerpt from On the Lord’s Nativity, Sermon 6

Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]

Although the state of infancy, which the majesty of the Son of God did not disdain to assume, developed with the passage of time into maturity of manhood, and although after the triumph of the passion and the resurrection all his lowly acts undertaken on our behalf belong to the past, nevertheless today’s feast of Christmas renews for us the sacred beginning of Jesus’ life, his birth from the Virgin Mary. In the very act in which we are reverencing the birth of our Savior, we are also celebrating our own new birth. For the birth of Christ is the origin of the Christian people; and the birthday of the head is also the birthday of the body.

Though each and every individual occupies a definite place in this body to which he has been called, and though all the progeny of the church is differentiated and marked with the passage of time, nevertheless as the whole community of the faithful, once begotten in the baptismal font, was crucified with Christ in the passion, raised up with him in the resurrection and at the ascension placed at the right hand of the Father, so too it is born with him in this Nativity, which we are celebrating today.

For every believer regenerated in Christ, no matter in what part of the whole world he may be, breaks with that ancient way of life that derives from original sin, and by rebirth is transformed into a new man. Henceforth he is reckoned to be of the stock, not of his earthly father, but of Christ, who became Son of Man precisely that men could become sons of God; for unless in humility he had come down to us, none of us by our own merits could ever go up to him.

Therefore the greatness of the gift which he has bestowed on us demands an appreciation proportioned to its excellence; for blessed Paul the Apostle truly teaches: We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. The only way that he can be worthily honored by us is by the presentation to him of that which he has already given to us.

But what can we find in the treasure of the Lord’s bounty more in keeping with the glory of this feast than that peace which was first announced by the angelic choir on the day of his birth? For that peace, from which the sons of God spring, sustains love and mothers unity; it refreshes the blessed and shelters eternity; its characteristic function and special blessing is to join to God those whom it separates from this world.

Therefore, may those who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God, offer to the Father their harmony as sons united in peace; and may all those whom he has adopted as his members meet in the firstborn of the new creation who came not to do his own will but the will of the one who sent him; for the grace of the Father has adopted as heirs neither the contentious nor the dissident, but those who are one in thought and love. The hearts and minds of those who have been reformed according to one and the same image should be in harmony with one another.

The birthday of the Lord is the birthday of peace, as Paul the Apostle says: For he is our peace, who has made us both one; for whether we be Jew or Gentile, through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Fifth Day within the
Octave of the Nativity of the Lord
[Christmas]

“Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness..” (1 John 2:9)

Saint Bede the Venerable comments on this verse from today’s First Reading:

“The Lord told us to love our enemies, so if someone claims to be a Christian and hates his brother, he is still dead in his sins. It is good that John added the word still here, because everyone is born in the darkness of sin and remains there until he is enlightened through Christ by the grace of baptism. But the person who comes to the font or to the Lord’s Supper with hatred towards his brother is still in the darkness, even if he thinks that he has been enlightened by God, nor can he get rid of the shadows of sin unless he begins to love.” (On 1 John)

Collect

Almighty and invisible God,
Who dispersed the darkness of this world
by the coming of Your light,
look, we pray, with serene countenance upon us,
that we may acclaim with fitting praise
the greatness of the
Nativity of Your Only Begotten Son.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

In the fullness of time
the fullness of divinity appeared

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Abbot and Doctor of the Church

An excerpt from his Sermon 1 On the Lord’s Epiphany

Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]

The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared in our midst. We thank God for the many consolations he has given us during this sad exile of our pilgrimage here on earth. Before the Son of God became man his goodness was hidden, for God’s mercy is eternal, but how could such goodness be recognized? It was promised, but it was not experienced, and as a result few have believed in it. Often and in many ways the Lord used to speak through the prophets. Among other things, God said: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. But what did men respond, thinking thoughts of affliction and knowing nothing of peace? They said: Peace, peace, there is no peace. This response made the angels of peace weep bitterly, saying: Lord, who has believed our message? But now men believe because they see with their own eyes, and because God’s testimony has now become even more credible. He has gone so far as to pitch his tent in the sun so even the dimmest eyes see him.

Notice that peace is not promised but sent to us; it is no longer deferred, it is given; peace is not prophesied but achieved. It is as if God the Father sent upon the earth a purse full of his mercy. This purse was burst open during the Lord’s passion to pour forth its hidden contents—the price of our redemption. It was only a small purse, but it was very full. As the Scriptures tell us: A little child has been given to us, but in him dwells all the fullness of the divine nature. The fullness of time brought with it the fullness of divinity. God’s Son came in the flesh so that mortal men could see and recognize God’s kindness. When God reveals his humanity, his goodness cannot possibly remain hidden. To show his kindness what more could he do beyond taking my human form? My humanity, I say, not Adam’s—that is, not such as he had before his fall.

How could he have shown his mercy more clearly than by taking on himself our condition? For our sake the Word of God became as grass. What better proof could he have given of his love? Scripture says: Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him; why does your heart go out to him? The incarnation teaches us how much God cares for us and what he thinks and feels about us. We should stop thinking of our own sufferings and remember what he has suffered. Let us think of all the Lord has done for us, and then we shall realize how his goodness appears through his humanity. The lesser he became through his human nature the greater was his goodness; the more he lowered himself for me, the dearer he is to me. The goodness and humanity of God our Savior have appeared, says the Apostle.

Truly great and manifest are the goodness and humanity of God. He has given us a most wonderful proof of his goodness by adding humanity to his own divine nature.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Birth of the Rebel, Jesus

The sounds are characteristic of the Season. As soon as the melody of any number of Christmas carols chime, the lyrics fill our minds and once again remind us of the uniqueness of ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’ Occasionally a song comes along that we have not heard and we ask, ‘Is this a Christmas song?’ Back in the 1970’s, composer and musician Jackson Browne wrote “The Rebel Jesus” and it appeared on the Chieftans’ Christmas album, “The Bells of Dublin” a decade later. Consider the following stanzas:

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgment
For I’ve no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.

Jesus, a rebel? Let’s face it, it is not one of the words we typically use to describe the Person and His work, especially at this time of the Year. Many of our images of Jesus unfortunately have ‘tamed’ or ‘domesticated’ Him into being nothing more than a nice man who looks like one of the Bee Gees and taught people to be nice. We have lost the ‘sting’ that much of His teaching brought to humanity and as such we have refashioned a Jesus Who is comfortable and easy-going. With a refashioned Jesus even the celebration of His Nativity has been re-written. ‘Christmas is (fill in the blank). Christmas is for (fill in the blank).’

The reality is that no other person in recorded history has left such a mark on humanity. His birth, while legitimately celebrated with family, friends, gifts, food and good cheer, is actually a most inconvenient event for humanity. Why is Jesus’ birth an inconvenience? Essentially, His birth challenges the status quo of self-serving entitlement and mediocrity calling us to take a stand as He in fact did throughout His life with and among us.

Biblically, “to rebel” is not always a bad action. In the languages of both Testaments, “to rebel” means “to stand for, to stand with” or “to stand against.” Is this not precisely what Jesus the Rebel did when He walked the Earth? Throughout His ministry, He continuously “stood for” doing His Father’s will. Doing the Father’s will is adoring, worshipping and living in right-relationship with God our Father, each other and all of creation. It is “standing for” the Father’s will in all things, not just the issues or actions I choose. It is “standing for” the right actions that reverences life, feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless and consoles the sorrowing, to name only a few (see Matthew 25:31-45 for more on the Corporal Works of Mercy as well as their complement, the Spiritual Works of Mercy). The Rebel Jesus “stands with” His people, never abandoning them in times of difficulty or adversity. The Rebel Jesus ‘runs into’ situations to be with the suffering and sorrowing, not running away to seek individual relief and comfort. The Rebel Jesus most inconveniently “stands against” sin, oppression, selfishness and arrogance expressed in any form that demeans the dignity and sacredness of the human person. The Rebel Jesus challenges structures of society – both civil and religious – when authority is abused to make one’s life comfortable at the expense of another.

In many of his addresses (most especially at Christmas Mass), Pope Francis has exhorted all of us to permit Jesus to find each of us in the encounter He [Jesus] desires. As God, Jesus took on a full, complete human nature in all things but sin so that we in turn may be free from sin and live as sons and daughters of our Loving Father. What a Gift we have been given in His birth, a birth that challenges us to be rebels like Him in standing for His Kingdom and His way of living.

May this Christmas be the moment to act and to stand ‘for, and with’ Jesus; and to act and to stand ‘against’ everything that is not of Him.

The Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]
At the Mass during the Day

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Saint Ephrem the Syrian offers the following insight on these verses from today’s Gospel:

“On this day on which the Lord of all came among servants, let the lords also bow down to their servants lovingly.

On this day when the rich One was made poor for our sake, let the rich man also make the poor man a sharer at his table.

On this day a gift came out to us without our asking for it; let us then give alms to those who cry out and beg from us.

This Lord of natures today was transformed contrary to his nature; it is not too difficult for us also to overthrow our evil will.

Bound is the body by its nature for it cannot grow larger or smaller; but powerful is the will for it may grow to all sizes.

Today the Deity imprinted itself on humanity, so that humanity might also be cut into the seal of Deity.” (Homily on Our Lord, 21.)

Collect

O God,
Who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature
and still more wonderfully restored it, grant,
we pray, that we may share in the divinity of Christ,
who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Reflection on the Nativity of the Rebel, Jesus.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

The Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]
At the Vigil Mass

“Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18.)

Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the Gospel proclaimed at Mass today:

“Why does the Evangelist make mention here of “birth,” whereas at the start of the Gospel he had said “generation”? For in this place he says, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ1 took place in this way,” but there “The book of the generation.” What then is the difference between “birth” and “generation”? How are either of them to be understood as applied to Christ?

Note that this, my spoken word, in its own proper nature, is intangible and invisible. But when it is written down in a book, in a manner of speaking, it takes on a body. It is then both seen and touched. So it is with the fleshless, bodiless Word of God. The Word is neither seen nor described according to his Godhood but becomes, through his incarnation, subject to both sight and description. For this reason there is the “book” of his “generation” as of one who is made flesh. But here the point under investigation is not why he says “book” instead of “vision” or “account” (for this has been discussed already). Rather, it is why, when Matthew had previously mentioned “generation,” he here speaks of “birth.” What is “birth” as distinguished from “generation”?

There is a difference between generation and birth. For “generation,” or “coming into being,” is the original formation of things by God, while “birth” is the succession from others caused by the verdict of death that came on account of the transgression. And even now, “generation” has something incorruptible and sinless about it, whereas “birth” implies that which is subject to passion and sin. The Lord in his eternal generation is incapable of sin. His being born did not undermine his eternal generation, which is incorruptible. But upon being born he assumed what is passible. That does not imply that he assumed what is subject to sin. He continued to bear the original Adam incapable of being lessened, either in respect of corruptibility or as regards the possibility of sin. Hence the “generation” in the case of Christ is not according to some procession from nonbeing into being. It is rather a transition [a path, a way] from existing “in the form of God” to the taking on of “the form of a servant.”4 Hence his “birth” was both like ours and above ours. For to be born “of woman”5 is like our birth, but to be born “not of the will of the flesh” or “of man”6 but of the Holy Spirit is above ours. There is here an intimation, a prior announcement of a future birth to be bestowed on us by the Spirit.” (Fragment, 11.)

Collect

O God,
Who gladden us year by year
as we wait in hope for our redemption,
grant that, just as we joyfully welcome
Your only Begotten Son as our Redeemer,
we may also merit to face Him confidently
when He comes again as our Judge.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Reflection on the Nativity of the Rebel, Jesus.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent
24 December

“... when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. ... ” (II Samuel 7:12.)

Saint Basil the Great offers the following insight on this verse from today's First Reading:

“However, the tribe of Judah did not fail until he came for whom it was reserved, who did not himself sit upon a material throne, for the kingdom of Judea had now been transferred to Herod, the son of Antipater, the Ascalonite, and to his sons, who divided Judea into four provinces when Pilate was governor and Tiberius held the power over the whole Roman province. But his indestructible kingdom he calls the throne of David on which the Lord sat. He himself is “the expectation of nations,” not of the least part of the world. “For there will be the root of Jesse,” it is said, “and he who rises up to rule the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles will hope.” “For I have placed you for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” “And I shall establish,” it is said, “his seed forever, and his throne as the days of the heavens.” (Letter 236)

Collect

Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus,
and do not delay,
that those who trust in Your compassion
may find solace and relief in Your coming.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

Is Ahaz crazy?

εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”

"The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel."

(Isaiah 7:10-14.)
Fourth Sunday of Advent

θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)

Is Ahaz crazy? In a word, yes - but probably not for reasons readily apparent. Consider for a moment how many times we have cried out in prayer, “Lord, give me a sign!” When weighing the pros and cons of a decision especially the big ‘life decisions,’ we know firsthand the difficulty to arrive at a resolution that brings peace and a degree of certitude. We seek the advice of trusted loved ones and often ask people to pray for ‘a special intention.’ In the midst of deliberating the final outcome, we tend to become more aware of our surroundings wondering if the sought-after ‘sign from God’ is knocking on the door of our heart. More often than not we find ourselves disappointed that ‘the sign’ (as far as we are concerned) never materialized and we are left floundering in a sea of foggy dew still looking for some assurance of light and land to guide us to safety and surety.

What makes the episode with Ahaz perplexing is that he is told to ask for a sign and the one ‘asking’ is not just anyone, he is the prophet, Isaiah! Because the one asking is Isaiah, the implication is that a sign will be given because the prophetic word is effective. But Ahaz not only says “I will not ask!” - he reinforces his position, “I will not tempt the Lord!” One can almost picture Ahaz’s defiant posture, the forceful tone of his words, the scowling face and crossed arms. He is all but guaranteed a sign and adamantly clearly declares ‘No!’ Why? To offer a response, some recourse to Israel’s history may be helpful.

Ahaz ruled as king of Judah (Southern Kingdom) during turbulent and uncertain times. Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Aram had joined forces to fortify their defenses against Assyria. The kings of Israel and Aram wanted Ahaz to join them in an even stronger defense, but Ahaz would not join and soon Israel and Aram turned their sights on the City of David, Jerusalem. Ahaz did the opposite and sought an alliance with Assyria for protection against Israel and Aram which involved compromising much of Judah’s religious identity and practices. Despite his idolatrous actions, Isaiah declared the sign to be the birth of a child whose name, Emmanuel (“God-is-with-us”), was a reminder to Ahaz that God had not abandoned Jerusalem. In fact, by the time the child grew in age, Judah’s foes had been conquered not by human ingenuity, scheming or plotting. Rather, because “God-is-with-us” (the promise to David and his household) and Judah’s dependency on God, all worked unto good. Later Christian reflection upon this episode saw a deeper sense of the Sacred Text as referring to Jesus born of Mary.

So, what does this have to do with a “sign” and Ahaz’s refusal to ask? In Hebrew, אוֹת (ʾot, sign) can be natural or supernatural. The sign, whatever it is, however, is not effective in-and-of-itself. In other words, a sign cannot cause what it signifies. A ‘stop sign,’ for example, directs that a particular action be done: the motion of a vehicle must come to a stop. The sign only directs or points, it does not cause the actual stopping. Stopping is caused by the driver recognizing the sign, understanding what the sign directs and then making a choice to act in accordance with what the sign declares. At the bottom line, signs involve choices. Consider the Exodus Event. Numerous “signs” were performed by Moses prior to the Hebrew people leaving Egypt. Pharaoh chose to ‘read’ the signs one way, the Hebrew people in another way. In either case, a choice had to be made regarding the sign; a choice that initiated a series of consequences (good or bad) flowing from the particular decision.

Essentially Ahaz was faced with a choice - accept or not accept a sign. Ahaz knew, even while unfaithful to Covenant living, accepting a sign meant change. Both on the natural and even more so on the supernatural level, embracing a sign as an indicator of God-is-with-us required, by definition, a change of heart, mind and body. A sign intends to draws one from self to other and therefore require ongoing conversion of the whole person. A sign is not necessarily an indication of Divine benevolence or agreement with one’s thoughts or plans; it directs that a change in how one thinks, speaks and acts must be made. Like the ‘stop sign,’ that change is not effected automatically; it can only come about through a choice. One might argue that Ahaz knew this on some level of his life. For him, asking for a sign would be to abandon his self-motivated plotting and alliance making with Assyria. It was certainly a challenge. He could physically see the protection Assyria offered whereas Isaiah’s reminder that God would never abandon the house of David seemed far more uncertainly, nebulous and vague. Ahaz’s refusal to ask and his insistence “not to tempt [(נָסָה nacah, which can also be translated “not to do” or “not to follow through”]” was essentially a refusal to abandon his way of doing things and thus make a ‘crazy’ decision. Thankfully, the Good Lord stepped in and provided a needed sign when Ahaz’s own bull-headed stubbornness got in the way of the Divine plan for salvation.

The lesson for Christians on this final Advent Sunday more than 2700 years after the time of Ahaz is clear. In a few days we will hear angels speak to outcast shepherds: “... And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12) During the Christmas Season, we will listen to accounts of Jesus’ signs performed during His Public Ministry (7 distinct Signs in the Gospel according to Saint John alone) as well as ongoing sacramental life described in one way as “outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace.” Signs of Emmanuel, God-is-with-us, are all around. The question we are faced with is the reality of Ahaz, will I ask (accept) the sign and the necessary conversion or not?

Fourth Sunday of Advent
18 December
O Sacred Lord of Ancient Israel ...

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
Who showed Yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
Who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain:
come, stretch out Your mighty hand to set us free

“But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”” (Isaiah 7:12.)

Saint Jerome offers the following insight on this verses from today’s First Reading:

“And Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask and I will not tempt the Lord.’” It is not from humility but from pride that he does not wish to ask for a sign from the Lord. For although it is written in Deuteronomy, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” and the Savior would use this as testimony against the devil, when Ahaz was told to ask for a sign he should have fulfilled the commandment in obedience, especially since both Gideon and Manoah sought and received signs. Although it was according to the ambiguity of the Hebrew expression “ulo enasse adonai” that everyone translated this as “I will not tempt the Lord,” it can also be read as “I will not exalt the Lord.” For the impious king knew that if he had asked for a sign, he would have received one, and the Lord would have been glorified. Like a worshiper of idols, therefore, who sets up altars on all the street corners and on mountains and in forests, he also was a fanatic for capriciousness. He did not want to ask for a sign because he was commanded to do so.” (Commentary on Isaiah, 3.)

Is Ahaz crazy? A reflection on this Sunday’s First Reading.

Collect

Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord,
Your grace into our hearts,
that we,
to whom the Incarnation of Christ Your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by His Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

God has revealed his love through the Son

An exceript from A Letter to Diognetus

Fourth Sunday of Advent, 18 December

No man has ever seen God or known him, but God has revealed himself to us through faith, by which alone it is possible to see him. God, the Lord and maker of all things, who created the world and set it in order, not only loved man but was also patient with him. So he has always been, and is, and will be: kind, good, free from anger, truthful; indeed, he and he alone is good.

He devised a plan, a great and wonderful plan, and shared it only with his Son. As long as he preserved this secrecy and kept his own wise counsel he seemed to be neglecting us, to have no concern for us. But when through his beloved Son he revealed and made public what he had prepared from the very beginning, he gave us all at once gifts such as we could never have dreamt of, even sight and knowledge of himself.

When God had made all his plans in consultation with his Son, he waited until a later time, allowing us to follow our own whim, to be swept along by unruly passions, to be led astray by pleasure and desire. Not that he was pleased by our sins: he only tolerated them. Not that he approved of that time of sin: he was planning this era of holiness. When we had been shown to be undeserving of life, his goodness was to make us worthy of it. When we had made it clear that we could not enter God’s kingdom by our own power, we were to be enabled to do so by the power of God.

When our wickedness had reached its culmination, it became clear that retribution was at hand in the shape of suffering and death. The time came then for God to make known his kindness and power (how immeasurable is God’s generosity and love!). He did not show hatred for us or reject us or take vengeance; instead, he was patient with us, bore with us, and in compassion took our sins upon himself; he gave his own Son as the price of our redemption, the holy one to redeem the wicked, the sinless one to redeem sinners, the just one to redeem the unjust, the incorruptible one to redeem the corruptible, the immortal one to redeem mortals. For what else could have covered our sins but his sinlessness? Where else could we—wicked and sinful as we were—have found the means of holiness except in the Son of God alone?

How wonderful a transformation, how mysterious a design, how inconceivable a blessing! The wickedness of the many is covered up in the holy One, and the holiness of One sanctifies many sinners.

Is Ahaz crazy? A reflection on this Sunday’s First Reading.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen

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