The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today return us to the Christmas Crib and challenge us to live the New Year energized by the blessing we have in relationship with the one named as “Yahweh saves”.
The reading from the Book of Numbers is the Priestly Benediction of Aaron.
* [6:26] Peace: the Hebrew word Shalom includes the idea of happiness, good health, prosperity, friendship, and general well-being. To use this term as a greeting was to pray for all these things upon the one greeted. (Numbers, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
In Psalm 67 the Nations are called to Praise God.
* [Psalm 67] A petition for a bountiful harvest (Ps 67:7), made in the awareness that Israel’s prosperity will persuade the nations to worship its God.
* [67:2] May God be gracious to us: the people’s petition echoes the blessing pronounced upon them by the priests, cf. Nm 6:22–27. (Psalms, PSALM 67, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians proclaims us an heir, through God.
* [4:1–7] What Paul has argued in Gal 3:26–29 is now elaborated in terms of the Christian as the heir (Gal 4:1, 7; cf. Gal 3:18, 29) freed from control by others. Again, as in Gal 3:2–5, the proof that Christians are children of God is the gift of the Spirit of Christ relating them intimately to God. (Galatians, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is named on the eighth day.
* [2:11] The basic message of the infancy narrative is contained in the angel’s announcement: this child is savior, Messiah, and Lord. Luke is the only synoptic gospel writer to use the title savior for Jesus (Lk 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23; see also Lk 1:69; 19:9; Acts 4:12). As savior, Jesus is looked upon by Luke as the one who rescues humanity from sin and delivers humanity from the condition of alienation from God. The title christos, “Christ,” is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew māšîaḥ, “Messiah,” “anointed one.” Among certain groups in first-century Palestinian Judaism, the title was applied to an expected royal leader from the line of David who would restore the kingdom to Israel (see Acts 1:6). The political overtones of the title are played down in Luke and instead the Messiah of the Lord (Lk 2:26) or the Lord’s anointed is the one who now brings salvation to all humanity, Jew and Gentile (Lk 2:29–32). Lord is the most frequently used title for Jesus in Luke and Acts. In the New Testament it is also applied to Yahweh, as it is in the Old Testament. When used of Jesus it points to his transcendence and dominion over humanity. (Luke, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
Steve Scholer asks that If we are molded in God’s image, should we not strive to emulate God in how we comport ourselves? What a better world it would be if we thought of and treated our family, coworkers, neighbors and even strangers the way God does us.
…If we were to let our faces shine upon those in need and let them know we were there for them, willing to serve and assist them.
…If we were kind and gracious to all and shared our peace with each of them, so they might know that the world is not filled with the wicked people and acts of brutality that dominate our news.
…If we shared the same compassion and forgiveness that God pours down upon us in an unending stream, on those who have wronged us.
This year, in addition to the usual exercise more, lose some weight, learn a new language resolutions, let’s resolve to make one to be more conscious about sharing the infinite blessings we receive from God with everyone we come in contact with.
Happy New Year! (Scholer, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “By Christ's faith, hope, and love we are purified,” by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.
"He therefore received in the flesh the circumcision decreed by the law, although he appeared in the flesh absolutely without any blemish of pollution. He who came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) - not in sinful flesh - did not turn away from the remedy by which sinful flesh was ordinarily made clean. Similarly, not because of necessity but for the sake of example, he also submitted to the water of baptism, by which he wanted the people of the new law of grace to be washed from the stain of sins...
"The reason 'the child who was born to us, the son who was given to us ' (Isaiah 9:6), received the name Jesus (that is, 'Savior') does not need explanation in order to be understood by us, but we need eager and vigilant zeal so that we too may be saved by sharing in his name. Indeed, we read how the angel interprets the name of Jesus: 'He will save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). And without a doubt we believe and hope that the one who saves us from sins is not failing to save us also from the corruptions which happen because of sins, and from death itself, as the psalmist testifies when he says, 'Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases' (Psalm 103:3). Indeed, with the pardoning of all of our iniquities, all our diseases will be completely healed when, with the appearance of the glory of the resurrection, our last enemy, death, will be destroyed... We read that circumcision was done with knives made of rock (Joshua 5:2), and the rock was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). And by Christ's faith, hope and love the hearts of the good are purified not only in baptism but furthermore in every devout action. This daily circumcision of ours (that is, the continual cleansing of our heart) does not cease from always celebrating the sacrament of the eighth day. (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.11) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 2:16-21 comments that it is not always easy to include praise in our daily prayer, especially if we are not accustomed to it. We might not know what to say. We can begin by thanking Jesus for our blessings. We can also praise him for forgiving our sins. And we can rejoice in his faithfulness and unending love.
As you add praise to your prayer, you can always ask Mary, Mother of God and your Mother, for help. You can use the Magnificat, her own song of praise, as a model as you set out to magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46-55). And you can take comfort in knowing that Mary is praising Jesus right along with you—all year long!
“My soul proclaims your greatness, Lord! My spirit rejoices in you, my Savior!” (Meditation on Luke 2:16-21, n.d.)
Peter Edmonds SJ reflects on the readings for the second week of Christmas.
We close Christmas week by returning to the Christmas crib. Again we meet the shepherds; we meet unnamed bystanders. We meet Mary, to whom we dedicate this day as Mother of God. The shepherds come, see, praise God and disappear. The bystanders, astonished, like the shepherds, disappear. Mary treasured these things and pondered them in her heart. In the gospel story, Jesus praises her for hearing the word of God and keeping it. We welcome her into our company this new year. (Edmonds, 2022)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the priestly blessing given to Aaron that calls on the Presence of God and wishes shalom. This blessing was adopted by Francis of Assisi for the friars who followed his order. Friar Jude reminds us that Mary as the Jewish mother, is the inherited path of Jeshua, Yahweh saves.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares his understanding of the theme for this year’s Daily Meditations: The Prophetic Path, and what it means to him. He has long described the prophets as those who offer a “third way” beyond competitive, us-and-them thinking.
There is a third way beyond fight or flight, conservative or liberal, and it probably is a way of “kneeling.” Most people would just call it “wisdom,” which is always distinguished from mere intelligence. It demands a transformation of consciousness and a move beyond the dualistic win/lose mind.
We come to this “third way” of the prophetic path only over time. In the words of W. H. Auden, “For the garden is the only place there is, but you will not find it / Until you have looked for it everywhere and found nowhere that is not a desert.” [2] The gospel accepts this essentially tragic nature of human existence; it is willing to bear the contradictions that are imprinted on all of reality. It will always be a road less traveled. Let’s call it “unstable stability”! But for some reason, it is only the real stability, because it is a truthful map of reality, and it is always the truth that sets us free. It is contact with Reality that finally heals us. And contemplation, quite simply, is meeting reality in its most simple, immediate, and contradictory form. It is the resolving of those immense contradictions that characterizes the mystics, the saints, the prophets, and all those who pray. The result is always a “third something.” [3] (Rohr, 2020)
We recall today that we live in the tension of trust in the always present love of God and the great challenge inherited from the Theotokos to ponder these mysteries.
References
Edmonds, P. (2022, December 29). Christmas Week 2. Thinking Faith. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/christmas-week-2
Galatians, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/4?4
Luke, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2?16
Meditation on Luke 2:16-21. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/01/01/572940/
Numbers, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/numbers/6?22
Psalms, PSALM 67. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/67?2
Rohr, R. (2020, July 11). The Prophetic Path. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/choosing-the-prophetic-path-2023-01-01/
Scholer, S. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/010123.html
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 1, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jan1
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