Servant of the Lord

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, challenge us to accept the invitations from the Spirit on our journey to be servants of the Lord.

St Mary's Basilica

In the reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah he gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel.

* [7:14] Isaiah’s sign seeks to reassure Ahaz that he need not fear the invading armies of Syria and Israel in the light of God’s promise to David (2 Sm 7:12–16). The oracle follows a traditional announcement formula by which the birth and sometimes naming of a child is promised to particular individuals (Gn 16:11; Jgs 13:3). The young woman: Hebrew ‘almah designates a young woman of marriageable age without specific reference to virginity. The Septuagint translated the Hebrew term as parthenos, which normally does mean virgin, and this translation underlies Mt 1:23. Emmanuel: the name means “with us is God.” Since for the Christian the incarnation is the ultimate expression of God’s willingness to “be with us,” it is understandable that this text was interpreted to refer to the birth of Christ. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 40 is a thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help.

* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17). (Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Letter to the Hebrews declares one Sacrifice instead of many.

* [10:1–10] Christian faith now realizes that the Old Testament sacrifices did not effect the spiritual benefits to come but only prefigured them (Heb 10:1). For if the sacrifices had actually effected the forgiveness of sin, there would have been no reason for their constant repetition (Heb 10:2). They were rather a continual reminder of the people’s sins (Heb 10:3). It is not reasonable to suppose that human sins could be removed by the blood of animal sacrifices (Heb 10:4). Christ, therefore, is here shown to understand his mission in terms of Ps 40:5–7, cited according to the Septuagint (Heb 10:5–7). Jesus acknowledged that the Old Testament sacrifices did not remit the sins of the people and so, perceiving the will of God, offered his own body for this purpose (Heb 10:8–10). (Hebrews, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, the Birth of Jesus is foretold.

* [1:26–38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Lk 1:11–12, 26–29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Lk 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Lk 1:14–17, 31–33) the parent objects (Lk 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Lk 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Lk 1:32–33) and Son of God (Lk 1:32, 35).

* [1:32] Son of the Most High: cf. Lk 1:76 where John is described as “prophet of the Most High.” “Most High” is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Lk 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17).

* [1:34] Mary’s questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel’s declaration about the Spirit’s role in the conception of this child (Lk 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

* [1:36–37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel’s announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary’s pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God. (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Kent Beausoleil, S.J. comments that no matter how bad life is, God graces us with so many things, things for which we can be grateful.  The greatest sign of all God has given was the gift of God’s self in human form, a son, a son whose divine love for us, we just and continue to celebrate, as forever resurrected.  Now that is a sign one can believe in.

No amount of sacrifices and sin offerings are going to make God offer a sign of divine love. That love has been, is, and forever will be given.  And God’s love, well God’s love IS the sign.  God’s will (essence) is love and that love is freely given to all of us, God’s special and unique children.  God in Jesus and the Holy Spirit of their love that remains is the only sign we need.  As Mary believed, and said ‘Yes’ to God’s love for her so should we always and forever.  Divine love actually is all around us. (Beausoleil, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “Do you wish to be great?,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Just imagine the incredible kindness and mercy! He was the only Son, but He did not want to remain alone. So that humans might be born of God God was born of humans. Begotten of God is He through Whom we were created - Born of a woman is He through Whom we are to be re-created. The Word first wished to be born of humans, so that you might be assured of being born of God" (excerpt from Sermon on John 2, 13) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 comments that sometimes we see God’s promises fulfilled in surprising and unexpected ways. For example, a job relocation leads us to a newfound ministry, fulfilling God’s promise that we will bear fruit for his kingdom. Or an unexpected diagnosis leads us to sense God’s presence in a powerful way and experience his promise to be with us always. Or we might receive the grace that God has promised so that we can love and care for someone we once found difficult to love.

Just as he promised salvation to Israel eight centuries before Christ, so has God given us promises we can rely on. So be confident that God will do what he says—even if the way he does it is surprising! May we all have the eyes to see the ways in which his promises have been—and will be—fulfilled in our lives.

“Lord, as I await the fulfillment of all your promises, I will continue to pray with Mary, ‘May it be done to me according to your word’ (Luke 1:38).” (Meditation on Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Ahaz is inspecting the water works as Jerusalem is under siege and he is anticipating troops from Egypt and rejects the initiative of Isaiah to seek a sign from God. The Hebrew for maiden in the response from Isaiah becomes the word for virgin in the Greek translation that Matthew uses in the Gospel. Friar Jude reminds us that the proclamation that Mary is “full of grace” in the Gospel of Luke is in the perfect tense in Greek indicating that it occurred in the past and is still true today. We ponder that Jesus is made Incarnate through the surrender of the “Handmaid of the Lord.”

James Finley continues to reflect on how, once we notice the “fire within,” we can commit to the life-changing practice of attending to it. He comments that we begin to wonder, “How can I learn not to get so caught up in the complexities of the day-to-day that I keep losing my sense of connectedness with this depth, this fire, which alone is ultimately real?” Thomas Merton says it beats in our very blood whether we want it to or not. 

When I was in the monastery, the whole monastic life was carefully designed to protect us from distractions and enable us to experience what I’m talking about. But the world we live in isn’t like that, so we have to create a contemplative culture in our heart. We must vow to ourselves: I will not play the cynic. I will not break faith with my awakened heart. I know that in my most childlike hour, the cutting edge of the pain, the sweetness of the glance, the smell of the flower, I was graced by what transcends and permeates every moment of my life.  

Therefore, we want to set aside a quiet time of availability to this. We have to stay with it. We have to be patient and be calm. We have to be receptively open to this way of being. And at the end of each rendezvous with the deeper place, we ask for the grace not to break the thread of that sensitivity as we go through the rest of our day. Although the thread breaks many times from our end, it never breaks from God’s end…. (Finley, n.d.)

We assess the reluctance we have to be open to surrender to the prompting of the Spirit to go the Way of Jesus as we celebrate the openness of Mary to the Will of God.

References

Beausoleil, K. (2024, April 8). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040824.html 

Finley, J. (n.d.). Choosing a Contemplative Path. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/choosing-a-contemplative-path/ 

Hebrews, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/10?4 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/7?10 

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?26 

Meditation on Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/04/08/932816/ 

Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?7 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). You Have Found Favor with God. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=apr8a 

Covenant and Yes

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, urge us to examine the Covenant to which we are called and implore the Holy Spirit to help us voice our “Yes” to God.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The reading from the Second Book of the Prophet Samuel establishes 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. (2 Samuel, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

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. (Psalms, PSALM 89 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans is a Final Doxology.

 [16:25–27] This doxology is assigned variously to the end of Rom 14; 15; 16 in the manuscript tradition. Some manuscripts omit it entirely. Whether written by Paul or not, it forms an admirable conclusion to the letter at this point.

* [16:25] Paul’s gospel reveals the mystery kept secret for long ages: justification and salvation through faith, with all the implications for Jews and Gentiles that Paul has developed in the letter. (Romans, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke the Birth of Jesus is foretold.

* [1:26–38] The announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of John. In both the angel Gabriel appears to the parent who is troubled by the vision (Lk 1:11–12, 26–29) and then told by the angel not to fear (Lk 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Lk 1:14–17, 31–33) the parent objects (Lk 1:18, 34) and a sign is given to confirm the announcement (Lk 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus is on his identity as Son of David (Lk 1:32–33) and Son of God (Lk 1:32, 35).

* [1:32] Son of the Most High: cf. Lk 1:76 where John is described as “prophet of the Most High.” “Most High” is a title for God commonly used by Luke (Lk 1:35, 76; 6:35; 8:28; Acts 7:48; 16:17).

* [1:34] Mary’s questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel’s declaration about the Spirit’s role in the conception of this child (Lk 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God.

* [1:36–37] The sign given to Mary in confirmation of the angel’s announcement to her is the pregnancy of her aged relative Elizabeth. If a woman past the childbearing age could become pregnant, why, the angel implies, should there be doubt about Mary’s pregnancy, for nothing will be impossible for God. (Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that the passage from 2 Samuel reminds her of God telling St. Francis of Assisi to “rebuild his house.”

Francis thinks God wants him to repair a dilapidated little Chapel of San Damiano.  But God wants Francis to build back up the Communion of the Church that was falling apart in the 12th Century through the pursuit of wealth and power – (sounds familiar doesn’t it?).  Too often David’s vocation to build a family of believers, Jesus’s Birth, and St. Francis’s task are romanticized by various admirers rather than realized by serious imitators.

 At this 11th hour of the Advent Season we hear the Angel Gabriel tenderly invite Mary – a descendent of David’s House, but a young uneducated woman of the marginalized of Israel, to be a house for God.  She is asked to show every human how to provide God a home among us.  God asks us, as He asked David and Mary to let him build us into a house for Him to dwell in forever. (Burke, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus is Son of God and Son of Mary,“ by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.

"We should carefully note the order of the words here, and the more firmly they are engrafted in our heart, the more evident it will be that the sum total of our redemption consists in them. For they proclaim with perfect clarity that the Lord Jesus, that is, our Savior, was both the true Son of God the Father and the true Son of a mother who was a human being. 'Behold,' he says, 'you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son' - acknowledge that this true human being assumed the true substance of flesh from the flesh of the Virgin! 'He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High' - confess too that this same Son is true God of true God, co-eternal Son forever of the eternal Father!" (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.3.22) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:26-38 comments that as unique as Mary’s situation was, it is also very familiar. Who among us hasn’t felt at times as if we were walking a path that no one else has walked? Who hasn’t felt at times as if we were all alone, with no one to guide us? We may not have responded as sinlessly as Mary did, but just the fact that she has gone before us can bring us great comfort.

Mary knows what it’s like to have her life turned upside down. She knows what it’s like to walk a lonely road and to be misunderstood. But even on Christmas Eve, as she faced the prospect of giving birth in a stable, she continued to trust in God’s care. Now assumed into heaven, she offers us her compassion, support, and intercession, especially when we feel lost and alone. She never tires of teaching us and caring for us.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, help me to walk the path of trust as I await the coming of your son.” (Meditation on Luke 1:26-38, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler discusses the dialogue about building a Temple for God and the “Dynastic Oracle” of Nathan. Friar Jude notes the Jewish tone in the doxology of Romans to a community mostly of Gentiles. The significance of the Greek perfect tense in the greeting of Gabriel to Mary indicates she has always been full of grace. Friar Jude notes the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit as the initiation of Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, writes of the prophetic path shown in the Scriptures:  (Malachi 3:2, 4:5–6,)

These words from the prophet Malachi describe the one who will be the fitting precursor for any coming Messiah. Christians have usually applied this passage to John the Baptist, as Jesus himself and the gospel writers already have done. But this text has even more significance. In very few verses, it succeeds in charting the sequencing of the prophetic Word of God. When the Scriptures are used maturely, they proceed in this order: 

1. They confront us with a bigger picture than we are used to: “God’s reign” that has the potential to “deconstruct” our false world views.  

2. They then have the power to convert us to an alternative worldview by proclamation, grace, and the sheer attraction of the good, the true, and the beautiful (not by lower-level motivations of shame, guilt, or fear).  

3. They then console us and bring deep healing as they “reconstruct” us in a new place with a new mind and heart.  

The prophet Malachi does this. He describes the work of the God Messenger as both “great and terrible,” both wonderful and threatening at the same time. It is not that the Word of God is threatening us with fire and brimstone. Rather, the Scripture is saying that goodness is its own reward and evil is its own punishment. If we do the truth and live connected in the world as it really is, we will be blessed and grace can flow. The consolation will follow from the confrontation with the Big Picture. If we create a false world of separateness and egocentricity, it will not work and we will suffer the consequences even now. In short, we are not punished for our sins, but by our sins! [1] (Rohr, 2019)

We seek the power of the Holy Spirit to accept our covenant relationship with God and creation as we surrender to the goodness, truth and beauty that God presents to us.

References

Burke, E. (2023, December 24). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/122423.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1?26 

Meditation on Luke 1:26-38. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/12/24/854980/ 

Psalms, PSALM 89 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/89?2 

Rohr, R. (2019, June 24). The Prophetic Path of Scripture. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-prophetic-path-of-scripture/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/16?25 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec24 

2 Samuel, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2samuel/7?1