Worship and Waiting

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today guide us into the season of Advent and our preparation to being open to accept the “New Birth” that we seek to experience on our journey to fullness of life.

Advent First Sunday

In the Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, the nations acknowledge God as sovereign.

* [2:4] Once the nations acknowledge God as sovereign, they go up to Jerusalem to settle their disputes, rather than having recourse to war.

* [2:5] This verse is added as a conclusion to vv. 2–4; cf. Mi 4:4–5, where a quite different conclusion is provided for the parallel version of this oracle. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 122 is sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem.

* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)! (Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans exhorts us to conduct that is consonant with avowed interest in the Lord’s return.

* [13:11–14] These verses provide the motivation for the love that is encouraged in Rom 13:8–10.

* [13:13] Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day: the behavior described in Rom 1:29–30 is now to be reversed. Secular moralists were fond of making references to people who could not wait for nightfall to do their carousing. Paul says that Christians claim to be people of the new day that will dawn with the return of Christ. Instead of planning for nighttime behavior they should be concentrating on conduct that is consonant with avowed interest in the Lord’s return. (Romans, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims The Unknown Day and Hour.

* [24:37–39] Cf. Lk 17:26–27. In the days of Noah: the Old Testament account of the flood lays no emphasis upon what is central for Matthew, i.e., the unexpected coming of the flood upon those who were unprepared for it.

* [24:40–41] Cf. Lk 17:34–35. Taken…left: the former probably means taken into the kingdom; the latter, left for destruction. People in the same situation will be dealt with in opposite ways. In this context, the discrimination between them will be based on their readiness for the coming of the Son of Man.

* [24:42–44] Cf. Lk 12:39–40. The theme of vigilance and readiness is continued with the bold comparison of the Son of Man to a thief who comes to break into a house. (Matthew, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB, n.d.)

Maureen McCann Waldron suggests that paying attention five minutes a day could change us and our Advent.  We could read the daily scriptures and the message of the season.

We can sit in silence and speak to Jesus about our upcoming busy, chaotic and confusing day.  We bring our worries and joys to Jesus and ask that our hearts be opened in new ways. We can close by asking for the grace to carry that peace with us to all those we encounter that day.  We can end our simple meditation by saying, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Loving God, I am so aware of my imperfections and flaws, and my instinct is to come to you later – when I have cleaned up my act.  But when I quiet myself and sense your presence, I can feel that you come to meet me exactly as I am right now.   I recognize your love in my heart - beyond anything I can understand with my head.  Thank you for loving me exactly as I am.  Help me to pay attention in these weeks of Advent.  Come, Lord Jesus! (McCann Waldron, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Finding the pearl of great price,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"All who listen to the depths of the gospel and live it so completely that none of it remains veiled from them care very little about whether the end of the world will come suddenly and all at once or gradually and little by little. Instead, they bear in mind only that each individual's end or death will arrive on a day and hour unknown to him and that upon each one of us 'the day of the Lord will come like a thief' (1 Thessalonians 5:2). It is important therefore to be vigilant, whether in the evening (that is, in one's youth) or in the middle of the night (that is, at human life's darkest hour) or when the cock crows (at full maturity) or in the morning (when one is well advanced in old age).

"When God the Word comes and brings an end to the progress of this life, he will gather up the one who gave 'no sleep to his eyes nor slumber to his eyelids' (Psalm 132:4) and kept the commandment of the One who said, 'Be vigilant at all times' (Luke 21:36). ...But I know another kind of end for the righteous person who is able to say along with the apostle, 'Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world' (Galatians 6:14). In a certain sense, the end of the world has already come for the person to whom the world is crucified. And to one who is dead to worldly things the day of the Lord has already arrived, for the Son of man comes to the soul of the one who no longer lives for sin or for the world." (excerpt Commentary on Matthew56) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 24:37-44 asks what can we expect as we look for Jesus’ coming each day? He might come in the whisper of an urge to pray as we run errands. He might come in an anxious child who draws us to care for them. He might come during a candlelit liturgy as he gives us the comfort and conviction that he will take care of us.

So this Advent, of course, prepares to celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas. And of course be ready for his final coming, whenever that will be. But also be on the lookout for the ways that Jesus will come into your life every day this Advent. Because the Son of Man will indeed come! 

“Jesus, I want to be ready for you!” (Meditation on Matthew 24:37-44, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Texts for the First Sunday of Advent. From Isaiah 2 and also in Micah the Lord’s House is portrayed as the highest mountain in honor rather than elevation. The faithful will be able to grow crops and reform swords into ploughshares. Paul, in Romans, calls us to realize that the end is coming and we should live a virtuous life maybe by working on one gift of patience, fidelity, or charity in Advent. Matthew speaks that we don’t know the end and some Protestant believer understand this passage to refer to  the "rapture. Friar Jude suggests that the Greek word used indicates being killed. Whenever it comes we should be prepared like the fabled monk, who would die in two hours, yet continued to do what he was doing?

Fr. Mike Schmitz highlights the importance of prayer and fasting, instructing us how to fast and empty ourselves to feel our spiritual need for Christ. He also discusses faithfulness in vocations and living out the life God has called you to. Today’s readings are from Acts 13, 1 Corinthians 7-8, and Proverbs 28:4-6.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, describes Mary as a model of faith. We see the Spirit descending upon Jesus after his baptism in the Jordan River, and we see the Spirit again filling the apostles with power on the day of Pentecost. But the very first person who incarnates this new faith was Mary of Nazareth, who said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to me” (Luke 1:38). It was Mary who responded with an unconditional yes to the angel’s announcement that she was to give birth to the Messiah. Mary is the model of the faith to which God calls all of us: a total and unreserved yes to God’s request to be present in and to the world through us. 

Mary’s kind of yes doesn’t come easily to us. It always requires that we let down some of our ego boundaries, and none of us likes to do that. Mary’s kind of yes, as it is presented in the Gospel, is an assent utterly unprepared for, with no preconditions of worthiness required, that is calmly, wonderfully trustful that someone else is in charge. All she asks is one, simple, clarifying question (Luke 1:34). It’s a yes that is pure in motivation, open-ended in intent, and calm in confidence. Only grace can achieve such freedom in the soul, heart, or mind. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We invite the Holy Spirit to kindle in our hearts the love and surrender of Mary as we prepare for celebration of the Nativity.

References

Isaiah, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/2?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 24 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/24?37 

McCann Waldron, M. (2025, November 30). Daily Reflection November 30, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-november-30-2025 

Meditation on Matthew 24:37-44. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/11/30/1437414/ 

Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-grace-filled-yes/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/13?11 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Watch and Be Ready - the Day of the Lord's Coming Draws Near. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 30, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/

Rejoice in the Word

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today for the Mass of the Nativity celebrated during Christmas day connect us with the relationship with God that urged the exiles in Babylon to rejoice and in the fullness of time was revealed as the Word made flesh.

Celebrate the Nativity

The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah declares let Zion Rejoice.

* [52:7–10] God leads the people back from Babylon to Zion, from whose ruined walls sentinels greet the returning exiles. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 52 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 98 praises the Judge of the World.

* [Psalm 98] A hymn, similar to Ps 96, extolling God for Israel’s victory (Ps 98:1–3). All nations (Ps 98:4–6) and even inanimate nature (Ps 98:7–8) are summoned to welcome God’s coming to rule over the world (Ps 98:9).

* [98:1] Marvelous deeds…victory: the conquest of all threats to the peaceful existence of Israel, depicted in the Psalms variously as a cosmic force such as sea, or nations bent on Israel’s destruction, or evildoers seemingly triumphant. His right hand and holy arm: God is pictured as a powerful warrior. (Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews declares that God has spoken by His Son and the Son is superior to Angels.

* [1:1–4] The letter opens with an introduction consisting of a reflection on the climax of God’s revelation to the human race in his Son. The divine communication was initiated and maintained during Old Testament times in fragmentary and varied ways through the prophets (Heb 1:1), including Abraham, Moses, and all through whom God spoke. But now in these last days (Heb 1:2) the final age, God’s revelation of his saving purpose is achieved through a son, i.e., one who is Son, whose role is redeemer and mediator of creation. He was made heir of all things through his death and exaltation to glory, yet he existed before he appeared as man; through him God created the universe. Heb 1:3–4, which may be based upon a liturgical hymn, assimilate the Son to the personified Wisdom of the Old Testament as refulgence of God’s glory and imprint of his being (Heb 1:3; cf. Wis 7:26). These same terms are used of the Logos in Philo. The author now turns from the cosmological role of the preexistent Son to the redemptive work of Jesus: he brought about purification from sins and has been exalted to the right hand of God (see Ps 110:1). The once-humiliated and crucified Jesus has been declared God’s Son, and this name shows his superiority to the angels. The reason for the author’s insistence on that superiority is, among other things, that in some Jewish traditions angels were mediators of the old covenant (see Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19). Finally, Jesus’ superiority to the angels emphasizes the superiority of the new covenant to the old because of the heavenly priesthood of Jesus.

* [1:5–14] Jesus’ superiority to the angels is now demonstrated by a series of seven Old Testament texts. Some scholars see in the stages of Jesus’ exaltation an order corresponding to that of enthronement ceremonies in the ancient Near East, especially in Egypt, namely, elevation to divine status (Heb 1:5–6); presentation to the angels and proclamation of everlasting lordship (Hebrews, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the prologue to the Gospel, 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.

* [1:1] In the beginning: also the first words of the Old Testament (Gn 1:1). Was: this verb is used three times with different meanings in this verse: existence, relationship, and predication. The Word (Greek logos): this term combines God’s dynamic, creative word (Genesis), personified preexistent Wisdom as the instrument of God’s creative activity (Proverbs), and the ultimate intelligibility of reality (Hellenistic philosophy). With God: the Greek preposition here connotes communication with another. Was God: lack of a definite article with “God” in Greek signifies predication rather than identification.

* [1:3] What came to be: while the oldest manuscripts have no punctuation here, the corrector of Bodmer Papyrus P75, some manuscripts, and the Ante-Nicene Fathers take this phrase with what follows, as staircase parallelism. Connection with Jn 1:3 reflects fourth-century anti-Arianism.

* [1:5] The ethical dualism of light and darkness is paralleled in intertestamental literature and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Overcome: “comprehend” is another possible translation, but cf. Jn 12:35; Wis 7:29–30.

* [1:6] John was sent just as Jesus was “sent” (Jn 4:34) in divine mission. Other references to John the Baptist in this gospel emphasize the differences between them and John’s subordinate role.

* [1:7] Testimony: the testimony theme of John is introduced, which portrays Jesus as if on trial throughout his ministry. All testify to Jesus: John the Baptist, the Samaritan woman, scripture, his works, the crowds, the Spirit, and his disciples.

* [1:11] What was his own…his own people: first a neuter, literally, “his own property/possession” (probably = Israel), then a masculine, “his own people” (the Israelites).

* [1:13] Believers in Jesus become children of God not through any of the three natural causes mentioned but through God who is the immediate cause of the new spiritual life. Were born: the Greek verb can mean “begotten” (by a male) or “born” (from a female or of parents). The variant “he who was begotten,” asserting Jesus’ virginal conception, is weakly attested in Old Latin and Syriac versions.

* [1:14] Flesh: the whole person, used probably against docetic tendencies (cf. 1 Jn 4:2; 2 Jn 7). Made his dwelling: literally, “pitched his tent/tabernacle.” Cf. the tabernacle or tent of meeting that was the place of God’s presence among his people (Ex 25:8–9). The incarnate Word is the new mode of God’s presence among his people. The Greek verb has the same consonants as the Aramaic word for God’s presence (Shekinah). Glory: God’s visible manifestation of majesty in power, which once filled the tabernacle (Ex 40:34) and the temple (1 Kgs 8:10–11, 27), is now centered in Jesus. Only Son: Greek, monogenēs, but see note on Jn 1:18. Grace and truth: these words may represent two Old Testament terms describing Yahweh in covenant relationship with Israel (cf. Ex 34:6), thus God’s “love” and “fidelity.” The Word shares Yahweh’s covenant qualities. (John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Tamora Whitney loves midnight Mass. What a wonderful special thing, to welcome God right here in our little church and to all sing at the wonder of it all.

What a strange circumstance this is. A poor family with no place to stay, travelling for government documentation, has a baby in a barn. This should seem the least auspicious, but it is really the most. He is “a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast.” And this is where it all happens, every year, at midnight Mass, we know that Jesus is born, a poor baby, who comes to save us all. (Whitney, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD). 

Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state? (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us MEDITATION on HEBREWS 1:1-6 was not available at publication time. 

Friar Jude Winkler discusses the influence of Greek thought in the texts for today. The concept of Jesus pre existing before Bethlehen is connected to Logos and Wisdom Incarnate. Friar Jude offers several interpretations of grace upon grace in John’s Gospel. (commentary for Mass during the day is at the end of the podcast)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, praises the courageous and prophetic faith of Mary and Joseph. Nothing anyone said at the synagogue would have prepared Mary or Joseph for this situation. They both had to rely on their angels! What proper bishop would trust such a situation? I wouldn’t myself. All we know of Joseph is that he was “a just man” (Matthew 1:19), probably also young and uneducated. The circumstance is a total afront to our criteria and way of evaluating authenticity.

These were two laypeople who totally trusted their inner experience of God and followed it to Bethlehem and beyond. There is no mention in the Gospels of the two checking out their inner experiences with the high priests, the synagogue, or even their Jewish Scriptures. Mary and Joseph walked in courage and absolute faith that their experience was true, with no one except God to reassure them they were right. Their only safety net was God’s love and mercy, a safety net they must have tried out many times, or else they never would have been able to fall into it so gracefully. (Rohr, 2023)

We ponder both the simplicity of Jesus' birth and the theology that we are presented in the Letters and Gospels.

References

Hebrews, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/1?1 

Isaiah, CHAPTER 52 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/52 

John, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1? 

Psalms, PSALM 98 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/98?1 

Rohr, R. (2023, December 25). The Prophetic Holy Family — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-prophetic-holy-family/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=dec25 

Whitney, T. (2023, December 25). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 25, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/122523.html