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The large theme of faith is addressed in the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year.
We find that the ideal of family life is often not the same as our real and sometimes messy family situations. In Chapter 15 of Genesis we hear of Abraham’s act of faith in God’s promises.
* [15:6] Abraham’s act of faith in God’s promises was regarded as an act of righteousness, i.e., as fully expressive of his relationship with God. St. Paul (Rom 4:1–25; Gal 3:6–9) makes Abraham’s faith a model for Christians.
In Chapter 21 of Genesis the long-awaited birth of Isaac the son of Sarah occurs after the birth of Ishmael, son of the Egyptian maidservant named Hagar, in chap. 16.
* [21:1–21] The long-awaited birth of Isaac parallels the birth of Ishmael in chap. 16, precipitating a rivalry and expulsion as in that chapter. Though this chapter is unified, the focus of vv. 1–7 is exclusively on Sarah and Isaac, and the focus of vv. 8–21 is exclusively on Hagar and Ishmael. The promise of a son to the barren Sarah and elderly Abraham has been central to the previous chapters and now that promise comes true with the birth of Isaac. The other great promise, that of land, will be resolved, at least in an anticipatory way, in Abraham’s purchase of the cave at Machpelah in chap. 23. The parallel births of the two boys has influenced the Lucan birth narratives of John the Baptist and Jesus (Lk 1–2).
George Butterfield comments that Abraham trusted God from the beginning but had to learn how to stop telling God how to be God. He prays that perhaps in 2018 we, too, will learn that God is not only trustworthy but that his ways are not our ways.
Our Genesis reading for today comes from the 15th and 21st chapters of Genesis. In between those chapters you can read about Abraham's second proposal. Abraham has a son by one of his slaves. Since it is his own issue, Abraham just knows that God will fulfill his promise through this particular son. Again, God says No; you will have a son through your wife, Sarah. At this, Abraham laughs in God's face. Sarah also laughs. God, you made me a promise and we believe you. However, this way of fulfilling your promise is impossible. Sarah cannot have children. When Sarah becomes pregnant and has a son, Abraham and Sarah are so blown away by it that they remember how they laughed at the prospect and name their son Isaac which means "he who laughs." Every time they see Laughing Boy they remember that they laughed at God's promise right up until the day when they laughed for joy at this bouncing baby boy.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews describes the results of faith in the lives of biblical personages in our salvation history.
In view of the needs of his audience he describes what authentic faith does, not what it is in itself. Through faith God guarantees the blessings to be hoped for from him, providing evidence in the gift of faith that what he promises will eventually come to pass (Heb 11:1). Because they accepted in faith God’s guarantee of the future, the biblical personages discussed in Heb 11:3–38 were themselves commended by God (Heb 11:2). Christians have even greater reason to remain firm in faith since they, unlike the Old Testament men and women of faith, have perceived the beginning of God’s fulfillment of his messianic promises (Heb 11:39–40).
The Gospel of Luke depicts the parents of Jesus as devout Jews who are faithful observers of the law of the Lord.
* [2:22–40] The presentation of Jesus in the temple depicts the parents of Jesus as devout Jews, faithful observers of the law of the Lord (Lk 2:23–24, 39), i.e., the law of Moses. In this respect, they are described in a fashion similar to the parents of John (Lk 1:6) and Simeon (Lk 2:25) and Anna (Lk 2:36–37).
The challenges of the Holy Family are explored by Anthony Towey, who would love to hear more poems of the Holy Family that go beneath the glitz, through the turmoil and fathom the depth; poems that in turn could become prayers that capture their hope, that capture their faith, that capture their love.
It is a truism to say that Luke’s is Mary’s nativity of joy while Matthew reports Joseph’s story of sorrow. The star that attracts the Magi, the wise from the ends of the earth, also attracts the unwise Herod from much nearer home.
The Companions of St Anthony present the reflection of Friar Jude Winkler for this feast in 2016. The ideas in the Letter to the Colossians 3:12-21 go beyond the Stoic philosophy of the time by viewing marriage as a partnership.
Friar Jude recognizes that human patience and gentleness wears thin and we become annoyed and he recommends that we turn to prayer. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that we all have the same objective gift, of the indwelling divine image, but different ways of saying yes and consenting to it.
The indwelling divine image moves toward fulfillment in each of us throughout our lifetimes. “Likeness” refers to our personal and unique embodiment of that inner divine image. It is our gradual realization of this gift. We all have the same objective gift, but different ways of saying yes and consenting to it. There are as many ways to manifest God as there are beings in the universe. Our personal and collective embodiments reveal aspects of the sacred through our personhood, relationships, fields of work and study, culture, economy, politics, and justice. Though we differ in likeness, the imago Dei persists and shines through all created things.
The sometimes messy and challenging arena of family life is an opportunity to deepen faith as we seek peace and patience, saying yes to the ways of God and living as the witnesses to the Divine Image that dwells in our being.
References
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 31, 2017, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to consider that “yes” moment that may come to us especially after a time of waiting and patience.
The grace of God is experienced by people at all stages of life according to the author of the passage from the First Letter of John.
* [2:12–17] The Christian community that has experienced the grace of God through forgiveness of sin and knowledge of Christ is armed against the evil one
At the conclusion of the purification and redemption rites in the Temple, in the Gospel from Luke, the Holy Family is addressed by Anna who proclaims her “Yes!” that marks a revelation of God after many years of prayerful waiting.
* [2:25] Awaiting the consolation of Israel: Simeon here and later Anna who speak about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem represent the hopes and expectations of faithful and devout Jews who at this time were looking forward to the restoration of God’s rule in Israel. The birth of Jesus brings these hopes to fulfillment.
Edward Morse offers a prayer that we might awaken during this Christmas Season to the Grace in our lives.
Grant us, Lord, that we might awaken during this Christmas Season to make our own souls permeable to your light and to your warming presence. We do not yet know how to pray and how to live according to your will. The witness of your prophets and the witness of the baby born in a manger provide a beacon each year to the entire world. Thanks be to God.
Don Schwager quotes Ambrose of Milan, (339-397 A.D.) who sees a sacred pattern of numbers associated with Anna.
"Anna, who, by reason of her years of widowhood and her virtues, is set before us as wholly worthy of belief, announces that the Redeemer of all people has come... Not without purpose, however, does he make mention of the eighty-four years of her widowhood, because both the seven twelves and the two forties seemed to imply a number that is sacred." (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 2.62)
The Collect Prayer for today seeks our release from the ancient servitude that holds us bound beneath the yoke of sin.
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the newness of the Nativity in the flesh of your Only Begotten Son may set us free, for ancient servitude holds us bound beneath the yoke of sin. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, in the “From the Bottom Up” summary challenges us to change our “no” of self flagellation to the practice of “yes”.
Most of us learned to say no without the deeper joy of yes. We were trained to put up with all the “dying” and just take it on the chin. (When I entered the novitiate, we still had whips for self-flagellation in our cells.) Saying no to the false self does not necessarily please God or please anybody, and surely not you. There is too much resentment and self-pity involved in this kind of false dying. There is a good dying and there is a bad dying. Good dying is unto something bigger and better; bad dying profits nobody. It is too much no and not enough yes. You must hold out for yes! Don’t be against anything unless you are much more for something else that is better. “I want you to be you, all of you, your best you!” is what true lovers say to one another, not “I do not like this about you,” or “Why don’t you change that?”
The rites and rituals of religious practice may create opportunities for Grace to invite us to “yes” and the experience of loving our Way
The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today deal with solidarity of faith and charity and the Law being fulfilled in Jesus.
The problem of disparity between moral life and the commandments is addressed by the author of the First Letter of John.
* [2:3–6] The way we may be sure: to those who claim, “I have known Christ and therefore I know him,” our author insists on not mere intellectual knowledge but obedience to God’s commandments in a life conformed to the example of Christ; this confirms our knowledge of him and is the love of God…perfected. Disparity between moral life and the commandments proves improper belief.
The connection of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to the Law of Moses is a theme of the Gospel from Luke.
* [2:22–40] The presentation of Jesus in the temple depicts the parents of Jesus as devout Jews, faithful observers of the law of the Lord (Lk 2:23–24, 39), i.e., the law of Moses. In this respect, they are described in a fashion similar to the parents of John (Lk 1:6) and Simeon (Lk 2:25) and Anna (Lk 2:36–37).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the connection of the New Law to the Sermon on the Mount.
1966 The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ. It works through charity; it uses the Sermon on the Mount to teach us what must be done and makes use of the sacraments to give us the grace to do it:
Margot Hodson, from the website Olive roots, finds Jesus came from a particularly devout Jewish family.
Jesus came from a particularly devout Jewish family. When we read the New Testament accounts of his upbringing and compare it to what we know of Jewish practices of the period, we find that both his father and his mother were exceptionally devout for their age.
Luke 2:21-25V21: Jesus circumcised on the eighth day (OT quote - Lev 12) Named Yeshua - JesusV 22 Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem for two things: for Mary's purification and for Joseph to pay the redemption for their son.Lev 12:1-8 states that a woman is impure for 40 days after the birth of a son and at the end of this time she must bring an offering to the Temple as a purification.Early Jewish commentaries on this (Tosefta Keritot 2:21 and Mishnah Keritot 1:7, 2:4,) indicate that a woman is allowed to postpone her sacrifice until she had an opportunity to go to Jerusalem. Sometimes she would wait until she had given birth a number of times until she made the trip - perhaps on a family pilgrimage.However some women kept strictly to the biblical injunction - Mary did this.
The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas is also the Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr, who resisted those who sought to subject the Church to secular power in 12th Century England.
With all the strength that is given us for the defense of God's rights, we must resist those who seek to subject the Church to their power, even if they are those to whom on other grounds we owe service. In St. Thomas of Canterbury the Church celebrates one of her great bishops; by applying to him the Gospel of the Good Shepherd she venerates in him the true pastor of Christ's flock who gave his life for his sheep.
Tom Purcell offers a prayer today for the grace of quiet discernment and the strength to do.
we need to constantly discern what it is He calls us to do – not what we anticipate or think from our background, like the Jews did when He lived, but what we hear in the quiet of our hearts as His call to follow Him.
Don Schwager quotes Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D. on how Simeon and Anna represent both sexes awaiting their Redeemer.
"Simeon and Anna, a man and a woman of advanced age, greeted the Lord with the devoted services of their professions of faith. As they saw him, he was small in body, but they understood him to be great in his divinity. Figuratively speaking, this denotes the synagogue, the Jewish people, who, wearied by the long awaiting of his incarnation, were ready with both their arms (their pious actions) and their voices (their unfeigned faith) to exalt and magnify him as soon as he came. They were ready to acclaim him and say, 'Direct me in your truth and teach me, for you are my saving God, and for you I have waited all the day' (Psalm 25:5). What needs to be mentioned, too, is that deservedly both sexes hurried to meet him, offering congratulations, since he appeared as the Redeemer of both." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.18)
Friar Jude Winkler notes how the author of the very dualistic First Letter of John opposes Docetism, that rejects the Incarnation as contrary to status as spiritual beings, and points to hate of brothers that comes from darkness. The sword of discernment pierces the heart of Mary as a Jewish woman praying the Shema as she comes to know Jesus as the Son of God.
In times of change and turmoil, Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM reminds us why Jonah in the belly of the whale is such an important symbol for many Jews and Christians.
Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. Change can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can cause people to close down and turn bitter. The difference is determined by the quality of our inner life, or what we call “spirituality.” Change of itself just happens; spiritual transformation is an active process of letting go, living in the confusing dark space for a while, and allowing yourself to be spit up on a new and unexpected shore. You can see why Jonah in the belly of the whale is such an important symbol for many Jews and Christians.
Tension between Law and Tradition and life in modern society is at the interface between moral law and spiritual discernment. Charity is evident among the lawful. In our struggle with change we have many mentors in the Scripture and the history of believers.
References
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 29, 2017, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on the effects of our actions that come from Love and those that come from fear, the opposite of Love.
The First Letter of John exhorts us not to forget about sin and to strive to live in the light.
* [1:8–10] Denial of the condition of sin is self-deception and even contradictory of divine revelation; there is also the continual possibility of sin’s recurrence. Forgiveness and deliverance from sin through Christ are assured through acknowledgment of them and repentance.
In the Gospel from Matthew, Joseph is warned in a dream to escape from the fear reaction of the megalomaniac King Herod who causes great mourning and grief among the people over the martyrdom of their children.
* [2:18] Jer 31:15 portrays Rachel, wife of the patriarch Jacob, weeping for her children taken into exile at the time of the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom (722–21 B.C.). Bethlehem was traditionally identified with Ephrath, the place near which Rachel was buried (see Gn 35:19; 48:7), and the mourning of Rachel is here applied to her lost children of a later age. Ramah: about six miles north of Jerusalem. The lamentation of Rachel is so great as to be heard at a far distance.
The account of the Holy Innocents from the Franciscan Media website underlines this enormous grief.
Herod became furious and “ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under.” The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children…” (Matthew 2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob (Israel). She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.
Stephen Beale explores the painting of William Holman Hunt in which the Holy Innocents are alive, joyful, and truly innocent.
In the first place, Matthew does not try to explain it away with neat and tidy theological discourses on divine providence, free will, the finitude of evil, and the ultimate dominance of the good—not that those aren’t valid and incredibly relevant truths. But there is a fitting time and place for that. Matthew first chooses to give us an image of absolutely abject grief, taken from Jeremiah:
Carol Zuegner acknowledges the darkness in our society and advocates that we can choose to bring light into the situations of our daily life.
The darkness can be overwhelming, but we have to remember that God is light. We can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that God loves us and will be faithful and just if we acknowledge our sins. We live in the world and it is up to us to try to banish the darkness from where we are. We have to try to walk in the light. We can do that in small ways every day. We all have moments in our day where we can choose to be the light. We can be kind instead of short-tempered. We can take time to listen to a colleague who seeks solace even when our own to-do list is miles long. We can be thankful. We can say we are sorry. We can pray, holding those who endure injustice and cruelty in our hearts. We can do something for someone else.
David Peterson addresses the question of Atonement in John’s Gospel and First Letter.
In summary, Jesus suffered for our sin historically when he shed his blood on the cross, thus making it possible for us to experience fellowship with the Holy One. But the benefit of his atoning work needs to be appropriated by confession of sin and ongoing confidence in Christ as ‘advocate’ and ‘atoning sacrifice for sins’.
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the concept of expiation for our sins in 1 John is not in John’s Gospel thus providing an argument about different authorship. Jesus mirrors and fulfills Hebrew prophecy in the Gospel of Matthew in his role as the New Moses.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites Paul, Augustine and John about love.
My hope, whenever I speak or write, is to help clear away the impediments to receiving, allowing, trusting, and participating in a foundational Love. God’s love is planted inside each of us as the Holy Spirit who, according to Jesus, “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (John 14:26). Love is who you are.
The returning light in the Northern Hemisphere after Christmas is contrasted with the ongoing darkness of our mistreatment of others, especially the innocent and defenseless, motivated by our fear. The sin that is rooted in fear requires that we confirm in our actions the truth of Love as the foundation of human essence as we build up each other so that Love may be the dominant mark of our society.
References
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 28, 2017, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist, are an opportunity to appreciate the struggle between literalism and symbolic language in the fourth Gospel.
The author of the First Letter of John testifies to the apostles’ witness to the incarnation of life.
[1:1–4] There is a striking parallel to the prologue of the gospel of John (Jn 1:1–18), but the emphasis here is not on the preexistent Word but rather on the apostles’ witness to the incarnation of life by their experience of the historical Jesus.
The introduction to this letter by the USCCB place it more akin to a theological treatise than to most other New Testament letters.
These features, its prologue, and its emphasis on doctrinal teaching make it more akin to a theological treatise than to most other New Testament letters.
The episode from the Gospel of John provides evidence of Jesus Resurrection for the Beloved Disciple.
[20:6–8] Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed.
Peter Edmonds SJ writes of the story, theology and drama in the Gospel of John.
It took time before this gospel was accepted in early Christianity. It was regarded as a dangerous gospel, to be handled with care, because it carried two main risks. It could lead to a neglect of the humanity of Christ, as if the divine Jesus was only pretending to be human. This is known as the heresy of Docetism. It could also lead disciples to claim they could not sin, because they have already undergone judgement in their encounters with the Christ whose glory they have seen. This is known as Gnosticism. These issues are addressed in the Letters of John, which are probably to be dated after the gospel. This writer ‘declared to you what we have seen and heard’ (1 John 1:3) and warned that ‘if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves’ (1 John 1:8).
Vexen Crabtree asked Who Were the First Christians? In his exploration of Gnosticism and Docetism in early Christianity.
The Collect Prayer for the Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist, asks that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvelously brought to our ears.
O God, who through the blessed Apostle John have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word, grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvelously brought to our ears. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Don Schwager quotes Severus of Antioch (488-538 AD) on the humanity and divinity of Jesus.
"Given that this same John also said, 'No one has ever seen God' (John 1:18, 1 John 1:4:12), how can he assure us that the living Word of Life has been seen and touched? It is clear that it was in his incarnate and human form that he was visible and touchable. What was not true of him by nature became true of him in that way, for he is one and the same indivisible Word, both visible and invisible, and without diminishing in either respect he became touchable in both his divine-human nature. For he worked his miracles in his divinity and suffered for us in his humanity." (excerpt from CATENA)
Friar Jude discusses how the theology of John is overruled by the Love in this Gospel. Love yields to authority in his exegesis of the passage in today’s Gospel.
Tamora Whitney also connects the experience of the Incarnation and the Resurrection for believers.
I think it’s good to think about Easter at Christmas. The birth we celebrate now is important because this birth leads to the end of death. Jesus had to be born so he could grow up to die on the cross. And he had to come back from death to give us all everlasting life. In the Gospel today Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved went to the tomb. The tomb was empty and the burial cloths were there. The disciple saw the empty tomb and believed. We have seen the baby in the manger. In the spring we will see his death on the cross, and like the disciples will see the empty tomb. And we believe.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes the work of Diana Butler Bass and concludes that the toothpaste is out of the tube in a great turning for the Church.
The toothpaste is out of the tube. There are enough people who know the big picture of Jesus’ thrilling and alluring vision of the reign of God that this Great Turning cannot be stopped. There are enough people going on solid inner journeys that it is not merely ideological or theoretical. This reformation is happening in a positive, nonviolent way. The changes are not just from the top down, but much more from the bottom up. Not from the outside in, but from the inside out. Not from clergy to laity, but from a unified field where class is of minor importance. The big questions are being answered at a peaceful and foundational level, with no need to oppose, deny, or reject. I sense the urgency of the Holy Spirit, with over seven billion humans now on the planet. There is so much to love and embrace.
References
(n.d.). 1 John, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 27, 2017, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1john/1
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 27, 2017, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
