Grace and Truth in the Flesh

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to recall the progress we have made in our transformation as followers of Christ in deeper experience of grace and truth in the past year.

Reflect on the Journey

The reading from the First Letter of John is a warning against Antichrists.

* [2:18] It is the last hour: literally, “a last hour,” the period between the death and resurrection of Christ and his second coming. The antichrist: opponent or adversary of Christ; the term appears only in 1 John–2 John, but “pseudochrists” (translated “false messiahs”) in Mt 24:24 and Mk 13:22, and Paul’s “lawless one” in 2 Thes 2:3, are similar figures. Many antichrists: Matthew, Mark, and Revelation seem to indicate a collectivity of persons, here related to the false teachers.

* [2:19] Not really of our number: the apostate teachers only proved their lack of faith by leaving the community.

* [2:20] The anointing that comes from the holy one: this anointing is in the Old Testament sense of receiving the Spirit of God. The holy one probably refers to Christ. True knowledge is the gift of the Spirit (cf. Is 11:2), and the function of the Spirit is to lead Christians to the truth (Jn 14:17, 26; 16:13).

* [2:22–23] Certain gnostics denied that the earthly Jesus was the Christ; to deny knowledge of the Son is to deny the Father, since only through the Son has God been fully revealed (Jn 1:18; 14:8–9).

* [2:24] Continuity with the apostolic witness as proclaimed in the prologue is the safeguard of right belief. (1 John, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)

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. (Psalms, PSALM 96, n.d.)

The Prologue to the Gospel of John proclaims the Word Became Flesh.

* [1:1–18] The prologue states the main themes of the gospel: life, light, truth, the world, testimony, and the preexistence of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Logos, who reveals God the Father. In origin, it was probably an early Christian hymn. Its closest parallel is in other christological hymns, Col 1:15–20 and Phil 2:6–11. Its core (Jn 1:1–5, 10–11, 14) is poetic in structure, with short phrases linked by “staircase parallelism,” in which the last word of one phrase becomes the first word of the next. Prose inserts (at least Jn 1:6–8, 15) deal with John the Baptist. (John, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

David Crawford wants to focus solely on the Gospel reading, a favorite of his.  Is there any more glorious news than that the God, Who was, is and ever shall be, came to earth for us?

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth. (verse 14)

From his fullness we have all received . . . grace and truth through Jesus Christ.  (verses 16-17)

We who have accepted Christ have been given “the power to become the children of God.” (verse 12) (John, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

None of us knows what 2023 holds for us, but David encourages each of us to resolve to commit our lives to giving our best and our all to following our Lord, to serving Him by serving others, and to glorifying God in all that we do.

Loving God, thank you for the many times you blessed us this past year.  Be especially close to those who are filled with pain, fear, want and loneliness.  May our resolutions be to follow you, to serve you by serving others, and to use our best gifts – talents, skills, and resources – to glorify you. (Crawford, 2022)

Don Schwager quotes “The first-fruits of the Gospels,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"I think that John's Gospel, which you have enjoined us to examine to the best of our ability, is the first-fruits of the Gospels. It speaks of him whose descent is traced and begins from him who is without a genealogy... The greater and more perfect expressions concerning Jesus are reserved for the one who leaned on Jesus' breast. For none of the other Gospels manifested his divinity as fully as John when he presented him saying, 'I am the light of the world' (John 8:42), 'I am the way and the truth and the life' (John 14:6), 'I am the resurrection' (John 11:25), 'I am the door' (John 10:9), 'I am the good shepherd' (John 10:11)... We might dare say then that the Gospels are the first-fruits of all Scripture but that the first-fruits of the Gospels is that according to John whose meaning no one can understand who has not leaned on Jesus' breast or received Mary from Jesus to be his mother also." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1.21-23) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 1:1-18 comments on the “power to become children of God” that Jesus gives to everyone who accepts him (John 1:12). It’s heavenly power, the divine grace to help us do what we could never do on human energy alone. It’s the power to obey, the grace to forgive, and the inspiration to serve.

This New Year’s Eve, take some time to listen for God’s voice. Tell him, “Lord, I dedicate this year to you. Give me a focus for 2023.” He may bring a Scripture verse to mind, or he may impress a specific word on your heart, like “grace,” “boldness,” “patience,” or “peace.” Write that word or that verse someplace where you can find it, and revisit it over the coming months. As you walk through the year, see how this word applies to your life. And when you come to New Year’s Eve next year, look back and see how you have grown and how that one word or verse has opened your heart to the Lord more. Then rejoice because you are taking on Jesus’ image even more—all because of his power at work in you!

“Jesus, I welcome your work in me this coming year. I want this year to be a time of growth in my journey with you.” (Meditation on John 1:1-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the importance of the heresy of the Docetists in the passage from 1 John concerning anti Christs. He shares an exegesis of the Prologue of the Gospel of John and reflects on the Word and the Logos. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus, Wisdom Incarnate, resonates the qualities attributed to Yahweh of hesed and emet in grace and truth.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, draws the year to a close with a poetic reminder that nothing stands alone. He presents the poem “I Am” by Dedan Gills (1945–2015). 

I am old and wise as the night. I am as beautiful as a bird in flight.

I am the moon and the sea. I am the robin and the bee. I am the soil and I am the tree.

I’m the lion and the gazelle. I am heaven and I am hell. I am the ring and I am the bell.

I am the joy and I am the tear. I am the brave and I am the fear.

I am the blistering desert. I’m the freezing snow.

I’m the cringing coward and the gentle hero.

I’m the aged and I am the young. I am the weak and I am the strong.

I am the smile and I am the frown. I am the pauper and I am the crown.

I am the wrong and I am the right. I am the day and I am the night.

I am now and I am never. I am yesterday and I am forever.

I am the bitter and I am the sweet. I live on the hill and I live on the street.

I am the top and I am the bottom. I am Martin, Hitler, Gandhi, and Saddam.

I am red, black, yellow, brown, and white. I love, hate, laugh, cry, and fight.

All the universe is reflected in me. I am all that ever was and ever will be.

When I lose, it’s the lesson that I win. Judging others is my sin. (Rohr, 2022)

We are inspired to begin the new year with the promise of fullness of life in relation to the Word made flesh.

References

Crawford, D. (2022, December 31). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/123122.html 

John, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?1 

Meditation on John 1:1-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/31/570606/ 

1 John, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/2?18 

Psalms, PSALM 96. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/96?1 

Rohr, R. (2022, December 31). Summary: Nothing Stands Alone: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/summary-nothing-stands-alone-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt among Us. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 31, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec31 

The Whole Family

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, invite us to reflect on the dynamic of family life in which we have the greatest opportunity for love, mercy, and compassion.

Family Christmas

The reading from the Book of Sirach outlines responsibilities to parents and kindness to a father. 

* [3:1–16] Besides the virtues that must characterize our conduct toward God, special duties are enjoined, such as honor and respect toward parents, with corresponding blessings (vv. 1–9). By showing such respect especially to old and infirm parents (vv. 10–13), the sins of children are pardoned (vv. 14–15). Failure to honor father and mother is blasphemy and merits a curse from God (v. 16). Cf. Ex 20:12; Eph 6:2–3. (Sirach, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

Psalm 128 praises the Happy Home of the Faithful.

* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter to the Colossians presents rules for Christian households.

* [3:18–4:6] After general recommendations that connect family life and the social condition of slavery with the service of Christ (Col 3:18–4:1), Paul requests prayers for himself, especially in view of his imprisonment (Col 3:2–3), and recommends friendly relations and meaningful discussions of Christian teaching with outsiders, i.e., non-Christians (Col 3:5–6). See note on Eph 5:21–6:9.

* [3:22–25] Slaves: within this table of duties in family and societal relations, involving wives and husbands, children and parents (Col 3:18–21), such as also appears in Eph 5:22–6:9, slaves here receive special attention because of the case of Onesimus the slave returning to his master (Col 4:9; Phlm 10–12). (Colossians, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew we learn about the escape to Egypt and the return from Egypt.

* [2:20] For those who sought the child’s life are dead: Moses, who had fled from Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him (see Ex 2:15), was told to return there, “for all the men who sought your life are dead” (Ex 4:19).

* [2:22] With the agreement of the emperor Augustus, Archelaus received half of his father’s kingdom, including Judea, after Herod’s death. He had the title “ethnarch” (i.e., “ruler of a nation”) and reigned from 4 B.C. to A.D. 6.

* [2:23] Nazareth…he shall be called a Nazorean: the tradition of Jesus’ residence in Nazareth was firmly established, and Matthew sees it as being in accordance with the foreannounced plan of God. The town of Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and no such prophecy can be found there. The vague expression “through the prophets” may be due to Matthew’s seeing a connection between Nazareth and certain texts in which there are words with a remote similarity to the name of that town. Some such Old Testament texts are Is 11:1 where the Davidic king of the future is called “a bud” (nēser) that shall blossom from the roots of Jesse, and Jgs 13:5, 7 where Samson, the future deliverer of Israel from the Philistines, is called one who shall be consecrated (a nāzîr) to God. (Matthew, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)

Nancy Shirley asks where is the balance between idealizing families and facing our brokenness as humans?  Christmas season is certainly the time to focus on hope and the “gifts” that we are given throughout the year.  The gift of family – whatever shape or form – is one to celebrate not only at this time but also throughout the year.

I especially appreciated the gospel and the focus on Joseph.  Every reading about Joseph fills my heart with the image of a wonderful father.  While I pray frequently to Mary and consider her my loving Mother, I do cherish Joseph.  I understand that he is not a father in the way of our one Father – perfect and loving, yet Joseph to me comes as close as possible for an earthly perfect father.  He is understanding and forgiving, noble and humble, strong yet gentle and, most of all, a man of unfailing and enduring faith. Joseph listened to angels well before Bethlehem and accepted the situation and explanation.  It’s always impressed me that even before the first dream and angel message, he did not condemn Mary, rather planned a way to save her.  He demonstrated that he was a man of kindness and compassion even when he thought he had been betrayed. His following of the dreams related in this gospel further confirm his faith in his God and his faithfulness to his family. He is the consummate protector – doing whatever was/is necessary for his family and in his very special way being guided by angels in dreams.  Joseph protected Jesus from before He was born and continued this care throughout His childhood and probably early adulthood. He was an earthly role model for Jesus, teaching Him to be a carpenter until His time came for public ministry. (Shirley, 2022)

Don Schwager quotes “The holy family flees to Egypt,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"But why was the Christ child sent into Egypt? The text makes this clear: he was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt have I called my son' (Hosea 11:1). From that point onward we see that the hope of salvation would be proclaimed to the whole world. Babylon and Egypt represent the whole world. Even when they were engulfed in ungodliness, God signified that he intended to correct and amend both Babylon and Egypt. God wanted humanity to expect his bounteous gifts the world over. So he called from Babylon the wise men and sent to Egypt the holy family.

"Besides what I have said, there is another lesson also to be learned, which tends powerfully toward true self-constraint in us. We are warned from the beginning to look out for temptations and plots. And we see this even when he came in swaddling clothes. Thus you see even at his birth a tyrant raging, a flight ensuing and a departure beyond the border. For it was because of no crime that his family was exiled into the land of Egypt.

"Similarly, you yourself need not be troubled if you are suffering countless dangers. Do not expect to be celebrated or crowned promptly for your troubles. Instead you may keep in mind the long-suffering example of the mother of the Child, bearing all things nobly, knowing that such a fugitive life is consistent with the ordering of spiritual things. You are sharing the kind of labor Mary herself shared. So did the magi. They both were willing to retire secretly in the humiliating role of fugitive." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 8.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 urges us to take care of our children, our parents, and our siblings. Take care of them when they are too young or too old to take care of themselves. Take care of them when they are ill or troubled. Take care of them when it’s a delight and when it’s a sacrifice.

This is a high calling, and we may fail at it sometimes. That’s all the more reason to ask Jesus, who experienced family life himself, for the grace to keep forming this circle of love—day by day, week by week, year by year. Let’s also ask Mary and Joseph to pray for us. May our care for one another bind us together in the Lord all the days of our lives!

“Father, thank you for the gift of my family. Help me to care for them as you care for me.” (Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler explains that the Book of Sirach, in later Jewish history, presents Hebrew wisdom as being as good as Greek wisdom. The rules for family organization in Collosians reflect Stoic wisdom of the time and point to Christian aspiration to mutual obligation. Friar Jude reminds us of the presence of Jewish communities in Egypt and Nazareth who would be able to assist the Holy Family in the early days of Jesus' life.

Cynthia Bourgeault identifies inter-abiding as the primary quality of God’s Kingdom that Jesus came to reveal.

No separation between God and humans. When Jesus talks about this Oneness, he is not speaking in an Eastern sense about an equivalency of being, such that I am in and of myself divine. What he more has in mind is a complete, mutual indwelling: I am in God, God is in you, you are in God, we are in each other. His most beautiful symbol for this is . . . John 15 where he says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me as I in you” [see John 15:4–5]. A few verses later he says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love” [John 15:9]. While he does indeed claim that “the Father and I are one” (John 10:30) . . . he does not see this as an exclusive privilege but as something shared by all human beings. There is no separation between humans and God because of this mutual interabiding which expresses the indivisible reality of divine love. We flow into God—and God into us—because it is the nature of love to flow. And as we give ourselves into one another in this fashion, the vine gives life and coherence to the branch while the branch makes visible what the vine is. . . . The whole and the part live together in mutual, loving reciprocity, each belonging to the other and dependent on the other to show forth the fullness of love. That’s Jesus’s vision of no separation between human and Divine. (Bourgeault, 2022)

The people we interact with as family are the gift of Providence for growth and fullness in our life.

References

Bourgeault, C. (2022, December 30). Love Flows — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-flows-2022-12-30/ 

Colossians, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3?12 

Matthew, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/2?13 

Meditation on Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/30/569827/  

Psalms, PSALM 128. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). An Angel of the Lord Appeared to Joseph in a Dream. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec30 

Shirley, N. (2022, December 30). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/123022.html 

Sirach, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 30, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/3?2