* [5:1–6] Salvation will come through a “messiah,” an anointed ruler. The Book of Micah shares with Isaiah the expectation that God will deliver Israel through a king in the line of David. Bethlehem-Ephrathah is the home of the Davidic line.1
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| Carols at Christmas |
The text from the Letter to the Hebrews declares how Jesus stands out in at least two ways from the Jewish expectation for the Messiah.
* [10:1–10] Christian faith now realizes that the Old Testament sacrifices did not effect the spiritual benefits to come but only prefigured them (Heb 10:1). For if the sacrifices had actually effected the forgiveness of sin, there would have been no reason for their constant repetition (Heb 10:2). They were rather a continual reminder of the people’s sins (Heb 10:3). It is not reasonable to suppose that human sins could be removed by the blood of animal sacrifices (Heb 10:4). Christ, therefore, is here shown to understand his mission in terms of Ps 40:5–7, cited according to the Septuagint (Heb 10:5–7). Jesus acknowledged that the Old Testament sacrifices did not remit the sins of the people and so, perceiving the will of God, offered his own body for this purpose (Heb 10:8–10).2In the Gospel from Luke, John the Baptist and Elizabeth witness Mary as the one who believed.
* [1:45] Blessed are you who believed: Luke portrays Mary as a believer whose faith stands in contrast to the disbelief of Zechariah (Lk 1:20). Mary’s role as believer in the infancy narrative should be seen in connection with the explicit mention of her presence among “those who believed” after the resurrection at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:14).3
Tamora Whitney, an English teacher, wonders why the Christmas carols say “The Lord is come” and “Christ is born” instead of “The Lord has come” or “Christ was born.” She asks, it’s past tense, right?
This week is Christmas. In present tense we celebrate his birth. We should leap for joy today in anticipation of the birth that will save us. The Lord is come. This week the Lord is born, and he continues to live in our lives and in our hearts.4Don Schwager quotes “John prophecies from the womb,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD).
"Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy - since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, 'As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.' John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements." (excerpt from SERMON 5.4)5The Word Among Us Meditation on Hebrews 10:5-10 is a reminder that God doesn’t need our sacrifices. We don’t have to convince him to love us. We don’t have to prove ourselves to him by giving things up or by working ourselves to death. Of course, he delights in seeing his children making sacrifices for the sake of his Church, but his love doesn’t depend on it. It’s not something we earn. It’s something we receive as a generous gift—just as we receive any gift sitting under our Christmas tree.
Of course, our sacrifices do please the Lord—especially the sacrifices we make for our families and for the poor. But Christmas is about Jesus’ love, not our efforts. It’s about his generosity, not our hard work. Instead of demanding sacrifices from us, Jesus did the exact opposite: he sacrificed himself for us by becoming a man. Instead of abandoning us because of our sin, he came closer to us so that he could redeem us. Not by our sacrifices. Not by our suffering. But by his love.6
Friar Jude Winkler explores the sense of Micah that the King Messiah for Israel would come from a small town where values were better than in the big city. The Holy Spirit works to add levels of revelation and understanding to our daily experience. The mission of Incarnation includes Jesus receiving a body and doing the will of the Father. Luke celebrates Mary who was able to surrender to what seems impossible.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reasserts we cannot earn God. We cannot prove ourselves worthy of God. Knowing God’s presence is simply a matter of awareness, of enjoying the now, of deepening one’s own presence.
Jesus pushes seeing to the social edge. Can we see the image of Christ in the least of our brothers and sisters? That is his only description of the final judgment (Matthew 25). Nothing about commandments, nothing about church attendance—simply a matter of our ability to see. Can we see Christ in the “nobodies” who can’t play our game of success? In those who cannot reward us in return? When we see the image of God where we are not accustomed to seeing the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own.7The Incarnation in the “Little Town of Bethlehem” is the gift of Presence in our lives now. Our encounter with seeing the Divine Image everywhere is living the Incarnation in the present tense.
References
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(n.d.). Micah chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/micah/5
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(n.d.). Hebrews chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/10
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(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved December 23, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
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(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 23, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
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(n.d.). 4th Sunday of Advent - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved December 23, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
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(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 23, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/
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