An Eternal Covenant

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on Christmas Eve invite us to contemplate the Covenant that God has with people and the planet.

 

Wrapping Up our preparations

The reading from the Second Book of Samuel describes God’s Covenant with David.

* [7:8–16] The message Nathan delivers to David, called the Dynastic Oracle, is prompted by David’s intention to build a house (i.e., a temple) for the Lord, like David’s own house (i.e., palace) of cedar. David is told, in effect, not to bother building a house for the Lord; rather, the Lord will make a house for him—a dynasty, the House of David. Not only will he have descendants (v. 12) who will sit upon the throne of Israel (v. 13), their rule will last forever (vv. 13, 16); and even if they transgress the Lord’s commands, the line of David will never be removed from kingship as Saul was (cf. 1 Sm 13; 15). The oracle establishes the Davidic king as standing in relationship to the Lord as a son to a father (v. 14; cf. Ps 2:7; 89:27). The Dynastic Oracle, with cognate texts in the Scriptures, is the basis for Jewish expectations of an anointed king (1 Sm 12:3, 5), son of David (Mt 21:9); cf. Acts 2:30; Heb 1:5.1 

Psalm 89 praises God’s Covenant with David.

* [89:3–5] David’s dynasty is to be as long-lasting as the heavens, a statement reinforced by using the same verbs (establish, stand) both of the divine love and loyalty and of the Davidic dynasty and throne, cf. Ps 89:29–30.2

 

The Gospel of Luke declares Zechariah’s Prophecy.

* [1:68–79] Like the canticle of Mary (Lk 1:46–55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Lk 1:76–77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Lk 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Lk 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary’s canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Lk 1:76–77 to give Zechariah’s reply to the question asked in Lk 1:66.3 

Barbara Dilly comments that Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and a Jewish priest, knew this covenant of God’s mercy well. He too told it to his son and Luke retold it again for us. It keeps getting more special in its meaning for the people of God. On this night, the night of Jesus’s birth, the covenant took on even more compassion and tenderness.

The ancient covenant becomes more than protection from our enemies and freedom to worship without fear. There are too many people around the world who still do not have that. What we celebrate tonight is a new covenant that gives us knowledge of salvation and forgiveness of our sins. We can all have that. No enemy, no illness, no pestilence, and no storm can take that away from us. We can sing the praises of a God who gives us a new covenant that shines light on us in the darkness of our sin and guides us in the way of peace. This knowledge of salvation is indeed a very great light. I pray that it shines into each of our souls tonight and always and gives us the strength and compassion to share hope and tenderness with those who walk in darkness for a wide variety of reasons. That is how we keep Christmas alive.4

 

Don Schwager quotes “My words will not pass away,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.

"'O forerunner of Christ!... O Baptist inspired by God! We glorify Christ who bowed his head before you in the Jordan and sanctified the nature of mortal humankind... O wise John the forerunner, you have looked down from the bank of the river upon the glory of the Father's Word, even the Son as he stood in the waters; and you have seen the Spirit descend as a dove, cleansing and enlightening the ends of the earth. To you the mystery of the Trinity was revealed; and to you we sing, honoring your divine festival. "O Baptist and forerunner, strengthened by the divine grace of Christ you have shown us the lamb that takes away all the sins of the world (John 1:29,35-36), and with joy you have this day brought two disciples to him (John 1:35-42). Entreat him that peace and great mercy may be given to our souls." (excerpt from SYNAXIS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:67-79 notes that even a quick glance at a newspaper will tell us that we still wait for injustice to give way to his law of love and his gospel of peace, despite Jesus’ birth. Sin, death, division, and injustice continue to haunt the human race, even as they haunt those places in our hearts that we keep hidden. Like Zechariah, we are still looking forward to the day of our full redemption, the real “tomorrow” when Jesus finally returns in glory. Until then, we remain in this in-between space of having already tasted his salvation but not yet experiencing it in fullness.

And so we wait, just as Zechariah did, for the “dawn from on high” to break upon us and upon the whole world. And as we wait, we watch for Jesus, the Son of God who will set us free. “Jesus, thank you for coming to break the power of sin and death. Fill me with great expectation for the day when your victory will be fully revealed.”6

 

Friar Jude Winkler fleshes out the transition from charismatically chosen leaders of Israel to the dynasty of King David. Samuel notes the arrogance of David and Chronicles relates his blood shedding as prohibitions to his building a house for the Lord. Friar Jude highlights the message at the centre of The Benedictus that “God is merciful.”

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that when we feel separate, when we feel disconnected, when we feel split from ourselves, from our family, from reality, from the Earth, from God, we will be angry and depressed people. Because we know we weren’t created for that separateness; we were created for union. So God sent into the world one who would personify that union—who would put human and divine together; who would put spirit and matter together. That’s what we spend our whole life trying to believe: that this ordinary earthly sojourn means something. Sometimes we wake up in the morning wondering, what does it all mean? What’s it all for? What was I put here for? Where is it all heading?

I believe it’s all a school. And it’s all a school of love. And everything is a lesson—everything. Every day, every moment, every visit to the grocery store, every moment of our so-ordinary life is meant to reveal, “My God, I’m a daughter of God! I’m a son of the Lord! I’m a sibling of Christ! It’s all okay. I’m already home free! There’s no place I have to go. I’m already here!” But if we don’t enjoy that, if we don’t allow that, basically we fall into meaninglessness. Friends, we need to surrender to some kind of ultimate meaning. We need to desire it, seek it, want it, and need it. I know no one likes to hear this, but we even need to suffer for it. And what is suffering? Suffering is the emptying out of the soul so there’s room for love, so there’s room for the Christ, so there’s room for God.7

 

As we wrap up our Advent preparation for Christmas let us celebrate the new Covenant of compassion and mercy praised in the Canticle of Zechariah.

 

References

1	(n.d.). 2 Samuel, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2samuel/7
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 89 | USCCB. Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/89
3	(n.d.). Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries. Retrieved December 24, 2021, fromhttps://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/122421.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2021&date=dec24
6	(n.d.). Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations for December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/12/24/273161/
7	(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive: 2021 - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 24, 2021, from https://cac.org/only-one-message-2021-12-24/

Blessed with rich faith

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary and the Canadian election connect today in a resonance with faith that trusts in the plan of God and the teachings of Jesus regarding how greed may separate us from loving God and neighbour.

Faith and the future

The reading from the Letter to the Romans reminds us of our inheritance through Faith that is reckoned to us as righteousness.

* [4:20] He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief: any doubts Abraham might have had were resolved in commitment to God’s promise. Heb 11:8–12 emphasizes the faith of Abraham and Sarah.1 

The response today is from the Canticle of Zechariah, “The Benedictus” an early Christian praise of Jesus.

* [1:69] A horn for our salvation: the horn is a common Old Testament figure for strength (Ps 18:3; 75:5–6; 89:18; 112:9; 148:14). This description is applied to God in Ps 18:3 and is here transferred to Jesus. The connection of the phrase with the house of David gives the title messianic overtones and may indicate an allusion to a phrase in Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sm 2:10), “the horn of his anointed.”2 

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warning against Greed is in the parable of the Rich Fool.

* [12:13–34] Luke has joined together sayings contrasting those whose focus and trust in life is on material possessions, symbolized here by the rich fool of the parable (Lk 12:16–21), with those who recognize their complete dependence on God (Lk 12:21), those whose radical detachment from material possessions symbolizes their heavenly treasure (Lk 12:33–34).3

Larry Hopp comments that, in today’s readings, we are provided with an incredible story about what true faith looks like and then a reminder of how to live our lives through a true, enduring faith.

This story certainly paints a picture for us of what true faith really looks like, and perhaps more importantly that we can seek such amazing faith even though we have experienced periodic faith lapses or even outright failures in our faith walk.  Even when life doesn’t make sense, we can know that our patient God will never leave us nor forsake us. The Responsorial Psalm taken from Luke further reinforces this incredible fact.
And then we turn to today’s Gospel message about living a life through a lens of true faith in Christ.  Jesus tells us the parable of the rich man who stored up his bountiful crops, thinking “things” were what really mattered in life.  Jesus, however, points out the fallacy of that concept. For God is in complete control of every aspect of our lives. How could it possibly make sense to put our faith in anything but God. True faith means trusting in Him completely, even when things make no sense at all.4 

Don Schwager quotes “Surrounded by wealth, blind to charity,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"'What does the rich man do, surrounded by a great supply of many blessings beyond all numbering? In distress and anxiety, he speaks the words of poverty. He says, 'What should I do?' ... He does not look to the future. He does not raise his eyes to God. He does not count it worth his while to gain for the mind those treasures that are above in heaven. He does not cherish love for the poor or desire the esteem it gains. He does not sympathize with suffering. It gives him no pain nor awakens his pity. Still more irrational, he settles for himself the length of his life, as if he would also reap this from the ground. He says, 'I will say to myself, "Self, you have goods laid up for many years. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself." 'O rich man,' one may say, "You have storehouses for your fruits, but where will you receive your many years? By the decree of God, your life is shortened." 'God,' it tells us, 'said to him, "You fool, this night they will require of you your soul. Whose will these things be that you have prepared?" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 89)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 12:13-21 invites us to take a look at the parable. The landowner is called a fool, not because he is wealthy, but because he stockpiled his wealth. He was concerned only for his own comfort and security. He ignored the needs of the people around him. That attitude stands in stark contrast to God’s compassion for the poor and suffering.

 We might be tempted to chuckle about this man until we realize that we too have been blessed with a bountiful harvest. Regardless of the amount of material resources we possess, each of us has God-given gifts. Each of us has been given the gift of faith; we have unique talents and loving relationships. These are the gifts we can share with the people around us, instead of keeping them to ourselves.6

Friar Jude Winkler discusses Abraham as the Father of Faith in the Letter to the Romans. We do not buy justification through things we do. Friar Jude advises us to be wary of our possessions beginning to possess us.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that God is clearly more comfortable with diversity than we are, and God’s final goal and objective are much simpler. God and the entire cosmos are about two things: differentiation (people and things becoming themselves) and communion (living in supportive coexistence). Physicists and biologists seem to know this better than theologians and clergy.

 If I were to say this [commandment in the Law that is the greatest (Matthew 22:35-40)] apart from Jesus’ authority, you would rightly accuse me of being simplistic, naïve, and reductionistic. Yet Jesus’ approach takes the risk of allowing people the freedom to be themselves and to love God according to the shape of their own heart, soul, body, and mind! Religion developed for the sake of social control, but Jesus does not give us much grist for the social control mill. For Jesus, it is all about union—union with God, others, and what is, however it presents itself. Do not let the labels trip you up—woman, man, transgender, cisgender, straight, bisexual, gay, queer. We all belong, but how cleverly our moral pretenses prevent us from struggling with what is right in front of us! How ingeniously our ego protects itself from compassion and understanding.
Jesus, like the cosmos itself, constantly affirms two parallel drives toward diversity and toward communion. The whole of creation cannot be lying.7

The scope of the texts today that touch on trust, greed, and diversity are food for thought as we prepare to vote for the social contract between people and government in Canada today.

References

1	(n.d.). Romans, chapter 4 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved October 21, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/romans/4
2	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke
3	(n.d.). Luke, chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/12
4	(n.d.). Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries .... Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). 29th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic .... Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/10/21/
7	(2019, October 20). Gender and Sexuality Archives — Center for Action and .... Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://cac.org/themes/gender-and-sexuality/

Guiding our feet

In the hours before the Christmas celebration, the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary resonate with the sense of God with humanity from the beginning as guide to our journey.

Guide for the Journey

The Dynastic Oracle from the Second Book of Samuel is the prophecy from Nathan to David about the line of kings of Israel to follow him.

* [7:8–16] The message Nathan delivers to David, called the Dynastic Oracle, is prompted by David’s intention to build a house (i.e., a temple) for the Lord, like David’s own house (i.e., palace) of cedar. David is told, in effect, not to bother building a house for the Lord; rather, the Lord will make a house for him—a dynasty, the House of David. Not only will he have descendants (v. 12) who will sit upon the throne of Israel (v. 13), their rule will last forever (vv. 13, 16); and even if they transgress the Lord’s commands, the line of David will never be removed from kingship as Saul was (cf. 1 Sm 13; 15). The oracle establishes the Davidic king as standing in relationship to the Lord as a son to a father (v. 14; cf. Ps 2:7; 89:27). The Dynastic Oracle, with cognate texts in the Scriptures, is the basis for Jewish expectations of an anointed king (1 Sm 12:3, 5), son of David (Mt 21:9); cf. Acts 2:30; Heb 1:5.1

In the Gospel from Luke, Zachariah declares that the promise made by God to Abraham will be fulfilled and his son John the Baptist will be the one to declare that Jesus is that fulfillment.

* [1:68–79] Like the canticle of Mary (Lk 1:46–55) the canticle of Zechariah is only loosely connected with its context. Apart from Lk 1:76–77, the hymn in speaking of a horn for our salvation (Lk 1:69) and the daybreak from on high (Lk 1:78) applies more closely to Jesus and his work than to John. Again like Mary’s canticle, it is largely composed of phrases taken from the Greek Old Testament and may have been a Jewish Christian hymn of praise that Luke adapted to fit the present context by inserting Lk 1:76–77 to give Zechariah’s reply to the question asked in Lk 1:662.

In the book “Word of Life”, Celia Sirois connects the Oracle and the Canticle to the nature of Messianic Promise.

Edward Morse observes that we must generally stand by and watch the lives of our children unfold.  Some of that watching apparently occurs after we are gone from this life! This truth likely seems as uncomfortable for us as it is for a successful king like David, who is used to getting things done his way. But God requires this kind of patience from all of us, from the greatest to the least

But the fullness of our Lord’s reign, including rest and peace, require us to wait, to be patient, and to hope, trusting in the goodness and mercy of God to continue moving us along. Let us remind one another in this season to wait patiently as we look for his return. Thanks be to God.4

Don Schwager quotes “My words will not pass away”, by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.

 "'O forerunner of Christ!... O Baptist inspired by God! We glorify Christ who bowed his head before you in the Jordan and sanctified the nature of mortal humankind... O wise John the forerunner, you have looked down from the bank of the river upon the glory of the Father's Word, even the Son as he stood in the waters; and you have seen the Spirit descend as a dove, cleansing and enlightening the ends of the earth. To you the mystery of the Trinity was revealed; and to you we sing, honoring your divine festival.    "O Baptist and forerunner, strengthened by the divine grace of Christ you have shown us the lamb that takes away all the sins of the world (John 1:29,35-36), and with joy you have this day brought two disciples to him (John 1:35-42). Entreat him that peace and great mercy may be given to our souls." (excerpt from SYNAXIS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 observes that we have undoubtedly been preparing physically and emotionally for Christmas Day. For many of us, there are the gifts, the cards, the parties, and the other preparations. But many of us have also faced family tensions, financial challenges, loneliness, and frustrated dreams. Life isn’t always easy, and the holidays can be a bittersweet reminder of that fact.

God knows how hard you have been working. You may or may not feel prepared for tomorrow, but that doesn’t matter. Today is a day to put everything aside, even if only for a short time, and rest. You have done all you can do; now let Jesus take care of you. Let him work on building his house in you—his own dwelling place in your heart.6

Friar Jude Winkler reviews the history of the Kings of Israel and the dynasty of David. The structure of the passage from Luke points to the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham as the key theme. Friar Jude comments on the value of the silent period imposed on Zachariah in the revelation of the truth about the mission of John.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, connects with the idea of mission as he comments on the true and essential work of all religion is to help us recognize and recover the divine image in everything.

Do you then also see the lovely significance of John’s statement: “It is not because you do not know the truth that I write to you, but because you know it already” (1 John 2:21)? He is talking about an implanted knowing in each of us—an inner mirror, if you will. Today, many would just call it “consciousness.” Poets and musicians might call it the “soul.” The prophet Jeremiah called it “the Law written in your heart” (Jeremiah 31:33), while Christians call it the “Indwelling Holy Spirit.”7

God remains faithful to the Promise to guide. We receive our mission to walk in the way of peace as we reflect the divine image to our companions on the journey.

References
1 (n.d.). CHAPTER 7 The Oracle of Nathan 1a After the king had taken up .... Retrieved December 24, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/2samuel/2samuel7.htm

2 (n.d.). Luke, chapter 1 - United States Conference .... Retrieved December 24, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke

3 (n.d.). Word of Life. Retrieved December 24, 2018, from https://books.google.com/books?id=tVzo1-Lt124C&pg=PT76&lpg=PT76&dq=The+Oracle+of+Nathan+The+Canticle+of+Zechariah&source=bl&ots=kqi7qROD3Z&sig=mWFmcN_4akhhHllB5mYZ2JLnbN0&hl=en

4 (n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved December 24, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

5 (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 24, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

6 (n.d.). 4th Week of Advent (Mass in the Morning) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved December 24, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

7 (2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 24, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/

Opportunity to see the Way

Child of the Most High