The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the need of the world for the Prince of Peace and how we might model Mary in bringing Christ to those we encounter in life.
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| Christmas morning |
The Prophet Isaiah declares the Righteous Reign of the Coming King.
* [9:5] A child: perhaps to be identified with the Emmanuel of 7:14 and 8:8; cf. 11:1–2, 9. This verse may reflect a coronation rather than a birth. Upon his shoulder: the reference may be to a particular act in the ritual in which a symbol of the king’s authority was placed on his shoulder (cf. 2 Kgs 11:12; Is 22:22).1
Psalm 96 praises God who comes in judgement.
* [Psalm 96] A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.2
The Letter of Titus exhorts us to be zealous for good deeds.
zealous for good deeds3
The events leading to the birth of Jesus are recounted in the Gospel of Luke.
* [2:14] On earth peace to those on whom his favor rests: the peace that results from the Christ event is for those whom God has favored with his grace. This reading is found in the oldest representatives of the Western and Alexandrian text traditions and is the preferred one; the Byzantine text tradition, on the other hand, reads: “on earth peace, good will toward men.” The peace of which Luke’s gospel speaks (Lk 2:14; 7:50; 8:48; 10:5–6; 19:38, 42; 24:36) is more than the absence of war of the pax Augusta; it also includes the security and well-being characteristic of peace in the Old Testament.4
Barbara Dilly comments that many of us are not really prepared for the saving grace of God to appear, we just want to see sweet angels when we sing, “Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing or’e the plain.” That reduces Christmas to just so much sugar!
Throughout Advent, I have been daring to come closer to that light. From what I have glimpsed, It is a light so bright that it illuminates the justice of God. It brings judgment and it brings peace because of its constancy and grace. It really is our salvation! It is a way out of all our problems. That light illuminates the glory of the Lord, what the Lord can do for us, and what we can do in response.
It starts, I think, with helping others see how an innocent baby can be the face of God in all children born into poverty. That baby comes to all families forced to conform to unjust laws and to migrate away from their homes for their safety. That light helps us see the face of God in all parents who struggle to provide safety and a future for their children. That light does indeed strike fear in us when we consider that what we have seen in terms of Gods great love for us, calls us to action on behalf of Christ. I pray tonight that we will all by struck by great joy and inspired by hope as we gaze into that great light and share its peace with others.5
Don Schwager quotes “The shepherds are the first proclaimers of the Gospel,” by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"The shepherds did not keep silent about the hidden mysteries that they had come to know by divine influence. They told whomever they could. Spiritual shepherds in the church are appointed especially for this, that they may proclaim the mysteries of the Word of God and that they may show to their listeners that the marvels which they have learned in the Scriptures are to be marveled at." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.7)6
Friar Jude Winkler explains the desire of Isaiah for an anointed king better than previous leaders. Titus issues an admonition to live as God has called us to live. Friar Jude reminds us that Luke shows Jesus always reaching out to the anawin, who are completely dependent on the grace of God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes the celibate medieval friar, Meister Eckhart (1260–1327), who makes a shocking statement about God giving birth: St. Augustine says, “What does it avail me that this birth is always happening, if it does not happen in me? That it should happen in me is what matters.” We shall therefore speak of this birth, of how it may take place in us. Matthew Fox, a theologian and friend of Fr. Richard, gives us a more contemporary version of Eckhart’s words and offers a commentary.
What good is it to me if Mary gave birth to the Son of God 1400 years ago and I do not give birth to the Son of God in my own person and time and culture? . . . We are all meant to be mothers of God.
With typical bluntness, Eckhart seems to be asking us to reconsider Christmas. For Eckhart, Christmas is not just about celebrating the birth of Jesus as the son of God; it loses meaning if it doesn’t also celebrate our ongoing birth as [children] of God. Moreover, Mary is not unique. We are all meant to be “other Marys,” or mothers of God. We all birth the Christ in our work and in our being and personhood. This teaching makes for a very unsentimental Christmas but one filled with responsibility. [2]7
Fr Richard concludes today noting that we have a responsibility, but also, joy and possibility. What a privilege it is to be asked by God to manifest, or “incarnate,” God’s very presence on this earth! The full and participatory meaning of Christmas is that this one universal mystery of divine incarnation is also intended for us and continuing in us! It is not just about trusting the truth of the body of Jesus but trusting its extension through the ongoing Body of Christ—which is even an even bigger act of faith, hope, and charity and which alone has the power to change history, society, and all relationships.
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