In the First Letter of John, we read about an old commandment, a word that has already been heard. But then the author has second thoughts: “On second thought, the commandment that I write you is new.” We have all probably had the experience of hearing or reading a Scripture story many times. The Christmas story, for example, may be almost memorized. Yet there comes a moment when we think, “I never noticed that before.” That second thought is new. Or maybe we are new. Our spirituality may have become deeper. Our understanding of Scripture may have risen to a new level. Maybe God was tapping at our heart in a way we never experienced before. Thank God for you “second thoughts.”
When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, the angel delivered a nightmarish message: “Take the child and flee.” Joseph’s response: “He left that night.” I imagine his heart raced to wake Mary, urging her to pack a few provisions, while he got the donkey, a bag of grain and a skin of wine. Scooping up the bundled Infant, they looked around their little house one last time. Drawing a deep breath and a deeper prayer of trust, they set out.
How do we respond to inspirations, an idea for a kind act, an urge to perform a good deed, a spiritual tug to pray more, a pang of conscience to be reconciled? Is our response “right away” as was that of Joseph and Mary?
Like all families, the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph must have had some tense moments and challenging days. Imagine racing to Egypt to escape a tyrant or losing a child for three days somewhere in Jerusalem. Yet Jesus apparently had a very blessed and happy childhood. Otherwise would he have spoken so often about children? Would being a child have become a requirement for entrance into the Kingdom of God? When you see a child today, squint and imagine the Boy Jesus. Then remember that Jesus the Christ is the “image of glory.” Embracing humanity, the Incarnate Word looks like us.
If Covid has prevented you from seeing your family at Christmas, take a moment today to phone or text a family member to tell of your love and appreciation, perhaps along with a childhood memory.
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. Silent Night
3. What Child Is This?
4. O Little Town of Bethlehem
5. Good Christian Friends
6. We Three Kings
How well did you do??
“The kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared,” and shepherds “went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Infant” (Christmas Mass at Dawn). It’s Christmas! How will we go in haste to find the Holy Family?
Some families, especially those with little children, might sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus today. A fitting song amid the beautiful carols. Today we celebrate more than a birthday and historical event, however. Every day of the year, every solemnity, feast and season of the Church Year celebrates the whole life of Christ focusing especially on the dying and rising of Christ. Like the Sacred Three Days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, the time of Advent-Christmas can be called the winter pasch. We celebrate God in our midst, God’s birth in all the baptized who are the Body of Christ
Have you ever noticed how many references to the death and resurrection of Jesus, obtaining our salvation, are in our Christmas carols? Can you guess the titles of these lines?
- Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die. Born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth.
2. With the dawn of redeeming grace.
3. The King of kings salvation brings.
4. Cast out our sins and enter in, be born ins us today.
5. He has opened heaven’s door., and we are blessed forever more
6. King and God and Sacrifice.
Answers tomorrow!!
When Scrooge awakes from his nocturnal visits of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Future and Present, he makes this promise: “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirit of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” Liturgy holds together the past, the present, and the future. All are celebrated in every Mass, Sacrament, or Liturgy of the Hours. At the Christmas Masses we celebrate the past when we remember the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. We also look to the future when the Incarnation will be completed in the Second Coming, when God comes in full glory as King of the Universe. Most immediately, we live in the present and incarnate Christ in our lives through goodness. Scrooge’s conversion led him to believe that Christmas and every other day of the year has a past, present, and future. Let us remember the past historical events of Bethlehem, the future events to which Advent points, and the importance of living the life of the Incarnate Word today.
Each of us has a particular role in the Body of Christ. To discern our role takes constant purification and conversion, so that we can receive more light. Poor Zechariah! He always wanted a child even into his old age when he knew his longing for a son would never be fulfilled. But then one day an angel appeared to inform him that his prayer had been heard, and “your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.” But then he blew it. His disbelief left him speechless. For five long months he was unable to speak. Writing on a tablet left him little opportunity to express the wonderment, the anticipation, and the “joy and gladness [with which] many will rejoice at his birth.” Everyone in the village assumed the baby would become Little Zack or Zechariah Junior. But Zechariah had five months of soul-searching, conversion, and enlightenment. With his parental authority, Zechariah wrote “His name is John.” The meaning of John— “The Lord has shown favor”–would characterize the prophet and precursor of the Messiah from babyhood to martyrdom.
Today reflect upon your role in the Body of Christ. How has the season of Advent helped you live your role more fully?
Mary’s Magnificat completes the story of the visit between Mary and Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth was the first to hear the beautiful words, had Mary sung it in her heart before? Did the refrain “My spirit rejoices in God my savior” match her steps on the road to Ein-Karim? Did the clip-clop of the donkey provide a cadence for “holy is his name”? Along the miles did Mary remember God’s many “promises of mercy”? I cannot imagine the beauty of the soul of Mary—she the one whom “all generations will call . . . blessed.” There would be at least thirty years ahead of her—years filled with all the emotions of a wife and mother. Some days would be excruciatingly difficult; many would be filled with joy. Her faith knew that God would always “come to the help of his servant” Mary. No matter what the day held, I imagine that Mary always found a way to proclaim “the greatness of the Lord.”
As Advent comes to a close and last-minute Christmas preparations fill the day, ask Mary to help you recognize “the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
Had Mary and Elizabeth ever met before the visitation recorded in today’s lectionary reading from Luke? Did they know of each other through stories from their parents? Whatever their previous knowledge or acquaintance, this particular visit lasting three months cemented their friendship. Hardly had Mary finished her greeting, when Elizabeth “filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.’” Perhaps Mary was relieved that Elizabeth recognized her as “the mother of my Lord.” Mary could save the details of the Angel Gabriel’s appearance for later. They would have three months of intimate, deeply spiritual conversation. Artists’ renderings of the visitation portray the two women in a warm reverent hug, while their eyes suggest experiencing something mysterious and holy beyond themselves.
I hope you have a deep spiritual friendship. If so, “blessed are you.”
Mary, the Mother of God, teaches us what to do when the odds are not in our favor: Trust that all is possible with God. The Annunciation story in the original Greek sounds stronger than that in English. It suggests Mary’s plan is shattered by the message of the Angel Gabriel. The pieces no longer fit together. Mary wasn’t expecting to become pregnant, she didn’t plan on traveling miles to her relative Elizabeth, she didn’t intend to cause Joseph unimaginable anxiety. Like a broken jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of Mary’s future lay at her feet. But in her heart, she had a promise that nothing is impossible with God, and in her womb God was growing.
For many people very little was in their favor this year. When the odds are not in your favor, how do you respond? Mary teaches us: “May it be done to me according to your word.”