The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to rejoice that in spite of the difficulties we encounter in our journey, we have Jesus Presence to call us to joy.
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah proclaims the Good News of Deliverance.
* [61:1–2] The prophet proclaims that he has been anointed by the Lord to bring good news (cf. 40:9) to the afflicted and to comfort Zion. The background to the “year of favor” is the jubilee year of release from debts (Lv 25:10–11; Is 49:8).1
The Canticle from the Gospel of Luke is Mary’s Song of Praise.
* [1:46–55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary’s pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v. 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God’s favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker.2
The reading from the First Letter to the Thessalonians urges us to rejoice always.
* [5:23] Another possible translation is, “May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and sanctify your spirit fully, and may both soul and body be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In either case, Paul is not offering an anthropological or philosophical analysis of human nature. Rather, he looks to the wholeness of what may be called the supernatural and natural aspects of a person’s service of God.3
The Gospel of John presents the Testimony of John the Baptist.
* [1:26] I baptize with water: the synoptics add “but he will baptize you with the holy Spirit” (Mk 1:8) or “…holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11; Lk 3:16). John’s emphasis is on purification and preparation for a better baptism.4
David Crawford comments that it is understandable that the Jewish leaders might wonder if the strangely dressed, charismatic, prophet-like figure – who after all was the son of a devout priest from the Jerusalem temple – was a candidate for the exalted role. What we know, though, is that many of these same folks who failed to recognize Christ when He was right in front of them. Jesus did not match their preconceptions of who a Messiah would be.
It occurs to me that the priests, Levites, and Pharisees were looking for a new version of Israel’s great prophets and kings of days gone by, but they were thinking too small. We often do the same. Over a half century ago, J. B. Phillips, in his book Your God Is Too Small, challenges Christians (and skeptics) to stop defining God in ways that make our Creator comprehensible to us and realize that God is greater than we can envision. At a time when we wonder how the world will get through the pandemic or get past deep political and racial divisions, know that God can handle this. Rejoice!5
Don Schwager quotes “The time of reckoning is the first advent of Christ,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"Being God by nature, the Only Begotten [Jesus Christ the Son of the Father] is the Holy of Holies, and he sanctifies all creation and so originates from the Holy Father with the Holy Spirit proceeding from him and sending in the power from above to those on earth who recognize him. How was he sanctified? For he is God and man equally; he gives the Spirit to creation but receives the Spirit on account of being human… "'Acceptable' is that year in which we were received, when we took kinship with him, having our sins washed away through holy baptism and becoming partakers of the divine nature through the sharing of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4). Or 'acceptable' is the year in which he revealed his glory through the divine miracle attesting the message. We received the time for salvation gladly... the day of reckoning is none other than the time of his dwelling among us in which the reckoning has been given by him to those believing in him through the promise in hope... For the Savior himself said, 'Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of the world cast out' (John 12:31). The time of reckoning, then, is in this manner, when Christ illuminated the world." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5.5.61.1-3)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 1:6-8, 19-28 reflects that Jesus is near to us too, but sometimes we have trouble recognizing him. In the flurry of our Christmas preparations. In our grieving over a deceased loved one. In our worries about the future. Our faith tells us that Jesus is there, but it feels hard to sense his presence in our midst. Even John had trouble: “I did not know him,” he says later, but “now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God” (John 1:33, 34).
So who makes the difference? The Holy Spirit. Jesus calls him the “Spirit of truth” who guides us to all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit is the One who makes Jesus present to us and helps us understand who he is. John tried to show his questioners that they were missing something important. Similarly, the Spirit can open our eyes so that we don’t miss seeing Jesus present in our lives. Jesus isn’t hiding; he gave us the Spirit so that everyone can know him. And that’s a reason to rejoice. “Open my eyes, Holy Spirit. Help me to recognize Jesus today.”7
Friar Jude Winkler shares insight into the texts today.The Jubilee year proclaimed by Isaiah is a time of reordering of justice.The paraenesis, quick set of instructions, at end of letter of Paul includes rejoicing and prayer. Friar Jude examines the Levirate marriage symbology in the Gospel pointing to the unworthiness of John the Baptist to marry the widow, Israel.
Patrick Nogoy SJ, a Jesuit of the Philippines Province studying for a PhD in political philosophy at University College London, comments that to arrest the damaging effects of this irrational indifference and cruelty, Pope Francis proposes the idea of fraternity. From it, he draws a fresh understanding of solidarity as social friendship. He also enumerates some concrete measures that attend to the malaise of an increasingly un-fraternal world.
A way to boost our morale is to listen again to the ‘testimonies to the light’, such as John was for those strangers-in-need of God’s salvation during his time. We can draw inspiration today from the many narratives that reflect God’s light – those who delightfully serve others with gratitude. The witness of carers, nurses, volunteers, cleaners, teachers and parents in this time of pandemic – ordinary saints among us who awaken us to our shared call to subject others to the power of love in the manner of Saint Francis.[5] The stories of those who have had personal experiences of healing and faith and have not let these spiritual gains remain private but instead moved to the public realm where they were undeterred in acting as good Samaritans – or innkeepers[6]: forming hospitable communities for those who are strangers-in-need through their championing of policies, causes and organisations.8
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Kenosis, which means “letting go” or “self-emptying,” is clearly the way of Jesus. Fr. Richard’s spiritual father Saint Francis of Assisi lived kenosis passionately, and it is key to his own teaching. He believes all great spirituality is about letting go. Yet many associate letting go with Buddhism more than with Christianity. Sadly, Christianity seems to have become more about “saving your soul” or what some now call “spiritual capitalism.”
I have grown up with a capitalist and individualistic worldview, not a Gospel or Franciscan worldview. That doesn’t make us bad or entirely wrong. But it has severely limited our spiritual understanding—and Christianity’s power to transform culture and history. We tend to think that “more for me” is naturally better. South African Dominican writer Albert Nolan viewed our Western crisis of meaning with clarity: The cultural ideal of the Western industrialized world is the self-made, self-sufficient, autonomous individual who stands by himself or herself, not needing anyone else . . . and not beholden to anyone for anything. . . . This is the ideal that people live and work for. It is their goal in life, and they will sacrifice anything to achieve it. This is how you “get a life for yourself.” This is how you discover your identity. . . . There have been plenty of people in the past with inflated egos—kings, conquerors, and other dictators—but in the Western world today the cultivation of the ego is seen as the ideal for everyone. Individualism permeates almost everything we do. It is a basic assumption. It is like a cult. We worship the ego. [1]9
This Advent Sunday for rejoicing is an opportunity to recharge our commitment to our brothers and sisters as we share our struggle for a Jubilee restoration in our society.
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