Catholic Caucus: Advent Reflections for All -- 2003

Each of the four Gospel writers wrote their Gospels from a specific vantage point and usually with a particular audience of readers in mind. The Gospel writer for lectionary Cycle C, Luke, wrote his Gospel in the middle 80's CE. Luke was probably a non-Jew who wrote to offer those who were already Christians help in understanding their faith. Luke stresses the mercy and compassion of Jesus and that the Christian message is for everyone: Gentiles, men, women, rich, poor, etc. Luke constantly reminds his readers of the joy that is shared by those who experience God's forgiving love in Jesus and emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life.

During Advent the Gospel readings from Luke highlight:
· the constant prayer needed by disciples to remain faithful to their mission
· the call of Christians to be advocates of justice (hesed)
· John the Baptist's call to repentance and penance
· the tension of maintaining the proper balance between passive waiting and proactive waiting
· Advent's wake-up call to the world-a countercultural plea to engage in the deeper meaning of the season.

The Gospel for the first Sunday of Advent deals with two primary issues: the need to give witness to Christ in the face of impending religious persecution and the necessity of persevering while waiting for his return.

The Gospel for the second Sunday of Advent introduces us to John the Baptist who called for a baptism of repentance. John called for nothing less than a complete metanoia, a turning away from sin and a turning toward the God who transforms and heals.

In the Gospel for the third Sunday of Advent, Luke insists on practical commitments when it comes to issues of conversion. Neither tax collector nor soldier was to exploit for purposes of self-gain. The citizens on the other hand were to act justly toward the needy.

On the last Sunday of Advent, Mary and Elizabeth, two great women of Scripture, listen to God and become the ultimate paradigm of disciple.

Advent at a Glance Let's explore the central themes of Advent as presented through Luke's wisdom and experience.

1. Luke's community seeks to deal with the pastoral reality that Jesus' return is not as imminent as the earlier church community believed. Luke was concerned with issues of relationship, relationship with God and with one another, while still focusing on and hoping for the parousia. The end would come soon enough; disciples must keep a watchful, hopeful vigil, but they must also maintain an active pryer life if they are to withstand the temptations of their present reality. Only through constant prayer will the work of transformation and ongoing relationship with Christ grow.

>> How can Advent be a time of renewed prayer for myself and my community?

2. The Scriptures of Advent challenge us to wait for the day of the Lord, but they also demand that justice reign. In the biblical sense, justice (Hebrew: hesed) refers to right relationship with God as evidenced by one's behavior toward God and God's people. The demands of justice are not suggestions, they are commands. Advent asks the tough question: How are we living hesed relationships with our God? If we are God's people, if we are in covenant relationship with God, then we must be advocates of justice wherever injustice takes center stage.

>> How can Advent be a time of renewing our understanding of justice and practicing it more fully?

3. Another theme that echoes through the season is penance. God's people are to recognize, name, and lament over the evil that permeates the world and work to eradicate it. Throughout Advent we hear the ancient prophets who cry, "Repent and change your lives!" The prophets' cry is as relevant today as it was then. They foretold the light that would shine in the darkness. Christ is that light. We are to embrace the light and become the light of Christ in the world.

>> How can Advent be a time of chasing away the darkness in our lives and in our world?

4. Advent explores two realities: the kingdom here and now and the kingdom yet to come. We live in the midst of that tension. We struggle just as Luke struggled to maintain the proper balance between passive waiting and proactive waiting. When we are proactive we cooperate in the work of history making. We enter salvation history with God and seek to alter injustice when we see it. We enter the struggle of the kingdom here and now with a vigilant eye and hopeful anticipation of the kingdom yet to come.

>> How can Advent be a time of entering into salvation history with God?

5. Advent is a wake-up call to the world. Advent's message is a countercultural plea to engage in the deeper meaning of the season. It is a mandate to reflect upon and prepare for the second coming of Christ while looking forward to the celebration of the incarnation, the ultimate gift of God's personhood to the world. We can do nothing less than ask ourselves the questions of human response and responsibility in the face of such a gratuitous gift.

>> How can Advent be a time of challenging the values of our culture that are not in harmony with Gospel values?

[Adapted from Word and Worship Workbook for Year C. Mary Birmingham. New York: Paulist Press, 1998, pp. 44-45.]

Advent! One of the most beautiful seasons in the christian calendar!

Sometimes called the root of Jesse or radix Jesse in Latin, the Jesse tree is a visual representation of Jesus' genealogy which dates back to the father of David who was Jesse. The biblical references used habitually to establish Christ's descent from David are the following:

Isaiah 6,14; 11,1; 53,2
Num 24,17
Mat 1,1-16
Lk 3,23-38
Rev 22,16

In sacred art Mary is also depicted as part of Christ's family tree named after Jesse.

The Fathers of the Church and Latin hymns refer to the tree of Jesse not only when speaking about the line of David (radix Jesse) but also when speaking of Mary (virga ex radice = branch or offshoot of the root of Jesse) and Jesus (flos ex virga = flower that blossoms on the branch). Based on these literary sources, the visual rendering of the Jesse tree shows Jesse in reclined and slumbering position, a tree growing out of his body on whose branches a changing and diverse group of ancestors can be observed.

The tree which is patterned after the tree of life in paradise and the cross as the definitive tree of life habitually shows a series of kings of the Solomonic line, or prophets and evangelists. The top of the tree is composed of Mary, Jesus and angels, sometimes with reference to the gifts of the Spirit. But variations are frequent. The artistic motif of the Jesse tree is known beginning in the 11th century and seems to have disappeared in the 16th century. During the time of bloom it found many and diversified ways of realization from illuminations to bronze doors (for example, St. Zeno, Verona). The example here presented is taken from a psalter of the 13th century, the so-called Ingeborg Psalter (1210) conserved today in Chantilly, Paris.

The tree is highly stylized and of sophisticated ornamentation. Jesse is lying on his bed more pensive than slumbering. He wears the typical Jewish hat. From the mid-section of his body or rather behind it, the trunk of the tree rises to a height of four levels or tiers each once of them in the shape of a chalice.

They show in ascending order [from left to right] Abraham, David, Mary and Jesus Christ. It is the royal line. For this reason all figures except Christ wear crowns.


Abraham	David	Mary	Jesus Christ

They are flanked by Old testament figures on both sides. We have on the left: Malachi standing next to Jesse followed by Daniel and Isaiah in ascending order.


Malachi	Daniel	Isaiah

To the right of Jesse we have Aaron, Ezekiel, and an exception to the group of prophets, a feminine figure which represents the Sybil of Cumae.


Aaron	Ezekiel	Sybil of Cumae

These figures are in all likelihood characters taken from a mystery play, the so called mystery of Rouen. They present, with the exception of Aaron who is designated as high priest and holds the blooming staff, open scrolls with part of their vision about the coming Savior (not necessarily corresponding to the exact Scripture quote). The Cumaean Sybil reminds the reader of the finiteness of all creation. Ezekiel speaks about the closed door (reference to Mary's virginity) through which God alone will proceed. Malachi proclaims the grandeur of God's name, whereas Daniel in his visions of the four beasts celebrates God's definitive victory over evil. Isaiah announces the rule of Immanuel. The dove next to the prophet's head indicates the presence and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ, who is enthroned at the top of the tree which, in fact, is not a tree but an edifice symbolizing the house of David, rules as the Pantokrator both blessing (right hand) and judging (book in the left hand). He is surrounded by two worshiping angels and the seven doves, symbols of the seven gifts of the Spirit: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11,2-3).

The Sunday Gospels

The Scriptures read at Sunday Mass are not arbitraily chosen by the pastor or parishioner. The Church has a three-year cycle of set readings.

In this cycle, Year One centers on Matthew's Gospel, Year Two on Mark, and Year Three on Luke. (Passages from Hohn are interspersed in the sequence of Gospels every year.)

The Weekday Gospels

The weekday Gospels, however, are the same every year. Since there are many more weekdays than Sundays, they cover a greater part of all four Gospels.

Generally speaking, the weekday Gospels use passages that are never read on Sundays

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During Advent we will use the Gospel passaged assigned for the weekday Masses. This will give many a chance to reflect on and pray passages of the Gospels that they have seldom heard proclaimed or preached at Liturgy.

Today the Church lights the first of four candles on the Advent wreath. Perhap[s you will want to light a candle at home also.

Dceember 1, 2003, Monday, First Week of Advent

Easter, Lent and Advent

From the beginning, the main Christian feast was Easter, and this is still true today – Holy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday are the holiest days of the year. And, every Sunday is called a “Little Easter.” (That is why, from early times, penitential actions – such as fasting and kneeling – were prohibited on Sundays, even during Lent.)

The death/resurrection of Jesus took place during the feast of Passover. But there is no way of knowing what time of the year Jesus was born. In the fourth century, the feast of his birth began to be celebrated on December 25, apparently to replace the pagan feast of the “unconquered sun” (the time of year when the days started getting longer again). The feast of the re-birth of the sun was replaced by the feast of the birth of the Light of the World.

Just as there was a time of preparation for Easter (Lent), there also developed a time of preparation for Christmas – Advent. This season varied in length, but eventually the practice of beginning Advent on the fourth Sunday before Christmas became the norm.

Take another look at the Advent plans sketched or written out yesterday.

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully,” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (Mt 8:5-11)

As the above passage continues, Jesus will marvel at the faith of this Gentile centurion. He will then send the centurion home with the assurance that his servant is healed. Matthew will note: “And the servant was healed at that very moment."

The centurion had no doubt that Jesus could heal from a distance. It was only a question of whether Jesus would choose to heal the servant at all. When Jesus says to him, “Go. Let it be done for you according to your faith,” the centurion fully believes that the servant is indeed healed.

It might be worthwhile to think about the level of my faith. When I pray and ask God to do something and it doesn’t happen, what kinds of thoughts cross my mind?

· Do I wonder if God could really do it?

· Do I believe that God could, and trust that God didn’t because there’s more to it than I can see?

· Do I believe that God could, and wonder why God wouldn’t, and decide that it’s more or less because of my own sinfulness?

Don’t answer too quickly.

Talk to the Lord about it.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 2, 2003, Tuesday, First Week of Advent

The El Salvador Martyrs

In 1980, Ita Ford, a Maryknoll sister serving in El Salvador wrote a letter to her 16-year-old niece and godchild, Jennifer Ford. In it, she said:

“I hope you come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for – maybe even worth dying for, something that energizes you, enables you to keep moving ahead.

”I can’t tell you what it might be – that’s for you to find, to choose, to love. I can just encourage you to start looking and support you in the search.”

Three months later on December 2, Sister Ita and three other women missionaries were killed by a death squad in El Salvador

Take another look at the Advent plans sketched or written last Sunday.

Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” (Lk10: 21-24)

This small section of Luke’s Gospel has what would be called a “very high theology” which emphasizes the divinity of Jesus

In the story of his birth, the angel Gabriel said to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…..Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

Make no mistake about it. The child born in Bethlehem is not simply a great prophet…..not simply a miracle-worker…..not simply someone specially chosen by God. The child born in Bethlehem is the Son of God.

In our relationship with Jesus, we always have to balance intimacy and reverence. Jesus did not come for us simply to look at him in distant adoration. He came so that we could join intimately with him and share in his own relationship with the Father.

On the other hand, we need to be reverent. We need to be aware of who it is we are relating to so closely…..whom we are joining with in the Eucharistic prayer…..whom we are receiving when we take the Bread and the Cup.

·Intimacy and reverence. I could work on both right now as I spend some time with the Lord.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 3, 2003, Wednesday, First Week of Advent

Miracles

First of all, what is a miracle? A miracle is an event that is real (not imagined)…can be seen…is beyond what any human being or natural power can accomplish…and is the result of a special act of God.

That’s why the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not a miracle. It fits all except one of the above criteria – it can’t be seen.

Miracles are sometimes spoken of as having been done by a particular person. God may do a miracle in response to the prayer or action of a human being (living or dead), but it is God and only God who can perform a miracle.

Second, what is the purpose of miracles?

Miracles are not arbitrary exhibitions of divine power. They are signs that summon believers to a deeper understanding of the faith. In his healings, for example, Jesus wasn’t saying, "Watch me prove to you that I am the Son of God.” Jesus was teaching that he had come to heal all creation and bring about the Kingdom of God. A miracle is a vehicle of teaching.

Jesus cautioned against focusing on the spectacular. When the crowd sought him out after the feeding of the multitude, he said: “you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” (Jn 6:26)

[Note:The chapter and verse references for the Gospel passages on the next post cite the entire passage assigned for the Mass each day, not simply the excerpt at the beginning of the post.

Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.” (Mt 15:29-37)

Jesus came to reshape human society and create a new order in the world – the reign God. These miraculous healings are signs of what Jesus came to accomplish.

Jesus isn’t showing off his power. Nor is he scrambling to go around and heal every sick person in the world. He is preaching through signs that show what the reign of God is like. He is showing us the future and calling us to be part of bringing it about.

Even though we can’t perform miracles, we can join in the Lord’s work through acts of kindness, forgiveness, and peace. These signs change the world (and us) for the better, and help reveal the reign of God.

Christmas is three weeks away. There is a spirit of friendship in the air that actually makes it easier to reach out to others. No one would think us strange if out of the blue we “miraculously” touched another person’s life with a simple note, a Christmas card, a phone call, a visit, a kind gift, a word asking forgiveness…a word giving forgiveness.

It is in the air, there for the asking.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 4, 2003, Thursday, First Week of Advent

St. Barbara’s Branch

According to legend, Barbara was the daughter of a third-century pagan name Dioscorus. She was very beautiful and to protect her from harm, he imprisoned her in a tower whenever he was away.

Despite her father’s overprotectiveness, Barbara discovered the Christian faith and decided to convert.

When Dioscorus learned that his daughter had become a Christian, he flew into a rage and ordered that she be tortured and beheaded.

In the days before her execution, imprisoned in the tower, Barbara found a dried-up cherry tree branch in her cell. She began to moisten it daily with a few drops from her ration of water and, just before her execution; the branch bloomed with beautiful cherry blossoms.

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Until the post-Vatican II reform of the liturgical calendar, today was the feast of St. Barbara.

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“St. Barbara’s Day” is celebrated in many German-speaking countries. A small cherry branch is placed in water and kept in a warm room. If all goes well, the branch blooms on Christmas day, and this is considered a good sign for the future.

Jesus said, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse. It had been set solidly on rock.” (Mt 7:21, 24-27)

Jesus says that if we take to heart his words and make them the basis of our actions, our lives are built on a rock-solid foundation

That raises some questions. First have I built a set of convictions that I try to live by? (These would be comparable to the house in the parable above.) Or, do I more or less operate on a vague desire to do right?

If I do have convictions, then another question is this: What are they based on? The “rock” of God’s word? Or the shifting sands of what seems generally acceptable in our society?

When the rain and floods and winds come into my life – and they do – I need solid footings. As a disciples of the Lord, I commit myself to more that following the Gospel whenever possible and/or convenient.

Just for starters…Do I forgive when I feel like it, or do I have a conviction based on the “solid rock” of what Jesus taught about forgiveness? Or prayer. Do I pray “when I get a chance,” or do I have a rock-solid pattern of prayer?

I need to spend some time taking stock of the foundations on which I have built my life.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 5, 2003, Friday, First Week of Advent

Animals at the Birth of Jesus

Christmas cribs usually include various animals. This because Luke’s account say that “they laid him in a manger” because there was no room for them in the inn. This suggests that Jesus was born in a place where animals were kept thus the popular reference to a “stable”. In the Gospel text, however, there is no mention of animals.

· The Gospel does mention shepherds, and that is undoubtedly why sheep are frequently in nativity scenes.

· Camels are often included because they were popularly associated with the Magi.

· An ox and a donkey are popular too. Artists included them because of the (unrelated) passage in Isaiah 1:3 which has God saying: “An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger; but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”] Legends tell of how the ox and donkey breathed on the infant Jesus to warm him on a winter’s night.]

Even a lion is sometimes included, along with other animals, because of another passage from Isaiah: “Then the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, with a little child to tend them.”

Other animals placed in various nativity scenes or legends include the lizard, leopard, goat, peacock, owl, stork, and badger.

As Jesus passed on, two blind men followed him crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” (Mt 9:27-31)

Each time we read a passage about a miracle, we need to remind ourselves that Jesus performed miracles, not to prove something, but to teach something.

In curing these two blind men, Jesus is teaching us that we aren’t going to “see” the deeper truths of human life and the world around us unless we too let him open our eyes. He is very glad to do this…if we only let him.

Christmas is 20 days away. We’re trying to widen, deepen our awareness of who Jesus is. We’re also trying to become more aware of his presence all around us.

Take a moment now to look around you (if there’s a window, look outside too.) Ask the Lord to help you see everything with the eyes of faith.

How do I do that?

I simply see whatever I see as God’s creation. I realize that Jesus became part of this creation and is still part of it.

It’s a different world. Try it.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 6, 2003, Saturday, First Week of Advent

Feast of St. Nicholas

Since the fifth century the feast of St. Nicholas has been celebrated on this date. In recent centuries, this beloved saint who gave gifts to the poor has “evolved: into Santa Claus.

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Perhaps the best known portrait of Santa is the one drawn by Thomas Nast who, in the latter part of the 19th century was a political cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly. (He is also the artist who created the Democratic donkey, the Republican elephant, and Uncle Sam.)

In 1863, President Lincoln asked Nast to draw a picture of Santa in the midst of the Union troops (the purpose being to demoralize the Confederate Army). Nast used the images of Clement Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas: to create the image of Santa best known today.

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Thomas Nast was extremely anti-Catholic, with the Irish immigrants and the Vatican as favorite targets in some of his cartoons. This did not bode well with his readers, and he left Harper’s Weekly in 1886, after a disagreement with the owners.

Thomas Nast died December 7, 1902.

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:35-10:1, 6-8)

During these 25 days of Advent 2003, we’re trying to draw closer to the Lord.

Our preference might be to have a biography, even a picture of Jesus, but the Gospel writers don’t give us that kind of information. Except for the story of his birth in Matthew and Luke, they tell us only about his last years.

What was he like – tall, short, thin, heavy? Did he laugh much? Did he have a roundish face of a square jaw? Was there a twinkle in his eye or a more stern look? Did he come off as formal or folksy?

The evangelists don’t get into this. They want us to know who Jesus is, not what he looked like.

There is, however, one trait they stress: He was compassionate. On eight different occasions he is described as having pity -- and the Greek word used is particularly strong. On two occasions they note that he wept – at the death of his friend, Lazarus, and also over the city of Jerusalem.

The “Word became flesh” -- truly one of us. It helps to keep that in mind when spending some quiet time with him.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 7, 2003, Sunday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of St. Ambrose

Ambrose was governor of a region in northern Italy, with his headquarters in Milan. When the bishop of Milan died in 374, the people had a hard time electing a replacement (that’s how they chose bishops back then) because of angry factions

Worried about civil disorder, Ambrose went to the basilica and told the wrangling parties to conduct themselves peacefully. Someone shouted, “Ambrose for bishop!” and the crowd picked up the refrain. Ambrose fled, but they tracked him down and insisted that he become their bishop.

There was one problem. Actually, two problems. First of all, he wasn’t a priest. Second, he wasn’t even a baptized Christian. In the space of a week, Ambrose was baptized, confirmed, ordained a priest, and ordained a bishop

Ambrose began an intensive study of Scripture, sold his property, lived an ascetic life, reached out to the poor, and immersed himself in the pastoral care of his people. He turned out to be a holy bishop, and a major leader in the Church. When he died 23 years later, the people acclaimed him as a saint.

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There was another young man in Milan at the same time who, as Ambrose had been, was a non-Christian pursuing a civil service career. Ambrose instructed him and received him into the Church. This new convert because a great theologian, a bishop and a saint. His name was Augustine.

(On Sundays we’ll look at some of the key figures in Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the birth of Christ.)

Angels play a significant role in the Christmas story of both Matthew and Luke.

Belief in angels is rooted in Jewish tradition, which regarded angels as manifestations of God’s presence. (The word “angel" is a Greek translation of a Hebrew word meaning “messenger.”)

Jewish belief in angels went beyond the Scriptures and spoke of choirs or groups of angels (a concept not found in Scripture) and names of angels. In Scripture only three names are given – Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

The Christian tradition has retained a strong belief in angels. The New Testament has over twice as many references to angels as the Old Testament. However, in the Gospels, angels appear and speak only in the Infancy Narrative and at the empty tomb.

The Church has made few pronouncements about angels. It teaches that angels are created beings (not mini gods)…that they are personal (not simply “forces”)…and that they don't have a material body (though when necessary, they can appear in a human form).

People find comfort in created beings who can use their power to help them, and although the Church has no official teaching about them, in thinking about “guardian angels" who watch their every step.

December 8, 2003, Monday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, often mistakenly thought to refer to the way Mary was conceived, or to the way she conceived Jesus in her womb.

The phrase “immaculate conception” means that what a person receives at Baptism, Mary received at her conception. From the first moment of her conception, she was free from sin – immaculate.

This feast was celebrated in England as early as the 12th century, and in the 18th century was made a feast of the whole Church. In 1846, the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore made this the patronal feast of the Church in the United States. In 1854, after consultation with the bishops of the world and with theologians, Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a doctrine of the Church.

Reading Scripture is not simply information, it is formation – God is shaping our thoughts and feelings through these words. Read the Gospel text in the next post slowly.

Some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in from of Jesus. When he saw their faith he said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” (Lk 5:17-26)

You know the rest of the story. The scribes and Pharisees think that, when Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven.” he is committing blasphemy. After all, only God can forgive sins.

Jesus ask them, “Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” Or to say, “Rise and walk?”

Think about it. Which is easier? Don’t answer too quickly.

It’s easier to say ”your sins are forgiven,” because no one can tell if they are forgiven. The harder thing to say is, “Rise and walk,” because the result (or lack of result) is easily seen.

So, as a sign that he “has power on earth to forgive sins,” Jesus says to the paralytic: “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

Which is exactly what the (former) paralytic does. Jesus can forgive sins. Case Closed.

But will he forgive my sins?

Ask him.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 9, 2003, Tuesday, Second Week of Advent

Can ‘others’ be saved?

God is showing some people around heaven. They walk by one area with a high wall around it. God tells them to be very quiet as they walk by. One person asks why and God says, “Because that’s where the Catholics are, and they think they’re the only ones here.”

The Second Vatican Council put that caricature to rest in paragraphs 16 and 17 of the Constitution of the Church.

· The Council speaks first of Christians of other faiths and says that “they are joined to us in the Holy Spirit, for to them also He give His gifts and graces.

· The Council then turns to those who are not Christian. It speaks first of the Jewish people and says, “This people remains most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts he makes.”

· The Constitution then speaks of Muslims and says that along with us they “adore the one and merciful God.”

· The text goes on to speak of “those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God.”

· Finally, “Nor does divine Providence deny the help necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, but who strive to live a good life.

We’re approaching the halfway mark of Advent. It would be a good time to go back and look at my Advent plans at the beginning of these Reflections.

Jesus said to his disciples, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the 99 in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it…he rejoices more over it than over the 99 that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost? (Mt 18:12-14)

Luke’s version of this parable is better known because it is read on Sundays. We call it the “parable of the lost sheep.”

But Matthew uses the word “stray” instead of “lost” (“stray” appears three times in this passage). Getting “lost” often means accidentally losing the way. To “stray” can imply deliberately roving from the course we know is right.

When we sin, we probably see ourselves more in the “stray” category – deliberately leaving the right path. We can identify with the words ascribed to St. Paul:

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience.” (1 Tim 1:15-16)

We have to be sure to take in the whole first sentence of that quote: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

The Lord doesn’t say to a sinner, “Why did you stray?” He simply says, “I came into this world for you.”

Our celebration of Christmas isn’t simply that Christ came into the world. It’s that he came into the world…for sinners.

For me.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 10, 2003, Wednesday, Second Week of Advent

Alfred Nobel

The Swedish chemist Alfred Bernhard Nobel died on this date in 1896. He left the bulk of his fortune in trust to establish what has become one of the most highly regarded international awards – the Nobel prizes. For the past 102 years, the prizes have been awarded on December 10.

Nobel developed a factory in Sweden for the production of a liquid explosive – nitroglycerin. In 1864 the factory blew up, killing his youngest brother and four others. The Swedish government forbade him to rebuild the factory.

In 1867, working on a barge in the middle of a lake, Nobel discovered a way to combine nitroglycerin with other substances so that it could be used in non-liquid form. This was much safer and more effective. He called it “dynamite.”

Nobel developed other explosives and amassed an immense fortune. Essentially a pacifist, he hoped the destructive powers of his inventions would bring an end to war.

*****

The word “dynamite” is from the Greek dynamis which means “power.” It is the same Greek word regularly used in the Gospels for the “powerful acts” of Jesus, translated “miracles” in English

***** Among those who have received the Nobel Peace Prize are Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1979), Polish Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa (1983), and Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo of East Timor (1996)

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

This is one of the most loved of all Gospel passages.

A yoke is a curved piece of timber that links two draft animals, one to the other. The Jewish people used the yoke image for the Mosaic Law. Linked to the Law, one traveled right paths.

Jesus takes that image and applies it to himself. ”Come to me…Take my yoke upon you…

Then he says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden light.” And he means it.

We tend to have the general impression that, while it is a fine thing to be a disciple of the Lord, it is a long, burdensome road we have to walk.

But the Lord says something quite different: “You will find rest for yourselves…my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

It is my yoke that is heavy, not the Lord’s. We all have our own burdens. It may be my job, family struggles, my terrible self-image, the mess I’m in, the weight of past sins…Jesus knows all about me, and he says, “ Come to me…learn from me…and I will give you rest.”

And he will.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 11, 2003, Thursday, Second Week of Advent

’High Flight’

”Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings…”

John Gillespie Magee was born in 1922 in Shanghai. His father was a U. S. citizen and his mother was British. They were serving as missionaries in China.

In 1939, John won a scholarship to Yale. However, after completing his freshman year there, he wanted to do his part to resist the Nazi threat. In 1940, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, was trained as a pilot, and in 1941 was sent for combat duty in England.

During a flight one day in late summer, he scribbled “High Flight” on the back of an envelope, and later sent a copy to his parents.

On December 11, 1941, his Spitfire collided with another plane and the 19-year-old pilot crashed to his death.

“And while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.”

Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Mt 11:11-15)

Jesus talks about John the Baptist. But John isn’t there to hear him because at this moment he is in Herod’s prison.

John’s crime was to criticize Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. John will pay the full price for this when, late one night, an executioner is sent from Herod’s birthday banquet to cut off John’s head.

There had been many prophets in Israel’s history. Jesus says that John is the greatest of all because he was privileged to see the fulfillment of what the prophets had proclaimed – the Kingdom of God present in a new way in Jesus.

We live in the time after Jesus – the final stages of God’s plan. It may be a long stage (perhaps millions of years), but it is the final stage. We need to remind ourselves of how different creation is because Jesus is now part of it.

All that remains is for the human race gradually to live the way we were created to live – in peace, love, and forgiveness. That’s how the kingdom of God comes about. (That’s also why it might take a few million years.)

So, because of the coming of Christ, the reign of God is present in a new way, and I am to help make it more present. That has some implications for the way I live my life today. Like what?

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 12, 2003, Friday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

On December 9, 1511 (10 years after the Spanish conquest), Mary appeared to Juan Diego (a native Aztec recently canonized by Pope John Paul II) along a country trail near present-day Mexico City. The striking thing was that Mary’s features and clothing were Aztec, and she spoke to him in that language. Mary instructed Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site to replace a pagan shrine.

Juan’s efforts to convince the bishop failed. Finally, in her third appearance to Juan, Mary told him to take nearby roses (unusual at that time of year) as a sign. Juan put some in his cloak. When he came to the bishop and unfolded the cloak, imprinted on it was the painting of Mary that has become famous.

Juan Diego’s cloak now hangs in the huge church of Our Lady of Guadalupe built on that site. After nearly 500 years, the picture on the cloak shows no sign of deterioration, and artist have been unable to duplicate the combination of materials used in the paint.

***

The feast of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on Dec. 9.

Jesus said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”” (Mt 11:16-19)

The homespun parable of the little children playing in the marketplace describes two groups of youngsters who can’t agree on whether to “play wedding” or “play funeral.”

For centuries, scholars have tried to clarify its exact meaning and application, but parables are sometimes hard to nail down that way.

Many would apply it in this way: The group of children inviting the others to play wedding or funeral represent John and Jesus. The group of children who pout and refuse to join in represent the people who wouldn’t accept either John’s ascetic style or Jesus’ joyful style. These people refuse to be satisfied with either style because they’ve made up their mind not to accept John or Jesus.

One could make an analogous application to parish life today. To be a disciple of the Lord means being part of a group. Always did. Always will.

Being part of a group requires a certain amount of flexibility, adaptability. The bond among parishioners is not ultimately ethnicity, political preference, economic status, or like-mindedness. It is the Lord.

We’ve probably all got something to learn from the homey parable of Jesus.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 13, 2003, Saturday, Second Week of Advent

The Prophet Elijah

To understand the biblical meaning of “prophet”, one has to distinguish it from the popular notion that a prophet predicts the future. A person who claims to do that is more along the lines of an “oracle" -- someone who is asked a question, consults the divinity, and gives a response.

The word “prophet” comes from a Greek word that means “one who speaks on behalf of another.” In the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the “another” is God. Thus, prophets are those who speak on behalf of God. They have the gift of seeing things from God’s perspective and their primary focus is on the present. Insofar as they talk about the consequences of the present course of action, they also look to the future. It would be best to say: “Prophets forewarn; they don’t foretell.

The prophet Elijah (mentioned in the Gospel passage in the next post) was one of the greatest prophets in Israel, even though he left no written works. He was a solitary figure, and lived in caves.

Elijah was noted for his emphasis on Yahweh as the one and only God. When King Ahab married Jezebel (a pagan), she introduced rituals to the god Baal. Elijah strongly objected, and he had to flee for his life.

***

In the three-year cycle of Sunday scripture readings during Advent, the first reading always describes the words and/or actions of one of the prophets.

As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking about John the Baptist. (Mt 17:10-13)

The 2nd Book of Kings describes Elijah, in his final days, talking with the prophet Elisha when…”a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” Thus it was believed that he did not taste death.

Some 300 years later in the books of Malachi, God says “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes.” Jewish theologians took this to mean that Elijah would return before the Messiah came.

So the disciples ask: If Elijah hasn’t returned, how could Jesus be the Messiah? Jesus gives the answer: John the Baptist is the Elijah figure prophesied by Malachi.

The Gospel writers do not give us a biography of Jesus, but answer the question: Who is Jesus?

All four Gospels answer: He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He has come to begin the final preparation for the kingdom of God.

Picture Jesus saying to you (as he once said to the disciples): Who do you say that I am?

Give your answer – not in the abstract, but to him

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 14, 2003, Sunday, Third Week of Advent

Why Am I Doing This?

She lived alone, as so many do. And she felt it especially at Christmas, as so many do

Decorating her Christmas tree, she began to argue with herself, an argument she’d had several times before in these days before Christmas. “Why am I doing this? No one will see it, and I don’t need it.”

Then she heard herself say, “You have to do this. Not so that others will see it, but to remind yourself that the hope is real – not just words or a dream. It’s real. Jesus really did come. And so you really have a tree, and you decorate it, and you buy real gifts, and you go to Midnight Mass, and you have a real Christmas dinner. This is how you keep the hope alive and real.

***

The Parents of John the Baptist

Zechariah was one of approximately 18,000 Jewish priests in Palestine at the time of Jesus.

They were divided in 24 groups of 750 each. Twice a year, each group came to the Temple in Jerusalem to serve for a week. Their roles during this week of service were chosen by lot. Some of them, in a given week, weren’t chosen to do anything.

Each morning four lots were cast to decide who would carry out the four tasks at the altar. Then in the afternoon a fifth lot was cast to determine who would enter the Holy Place to offer the evening incense. This extraordinary privilege usually came only once in a lifetime.

In Luke’s account, when the afternoon lot was cast, Zechariah was chosen to enter the Holy Place and offer the evening incense. It was there that the angel appeared to him to announce the birth of John

***

The name “Elizabeth” was not a common name in Jewish culture. The Hebrew word, “El”, means “God”. The name Elizabeth means “God is the fullness.”

Since she was a descendant of Aaron, Elizabeth was of priestly stock. This meant that any of her sons would be eligible to serve as a priest in the Temple.

Elizabeth, childless for many year, conceived and gave birth to the child about whom Jesus would one day say, “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist."

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 15, 2003, Monday, Third Week of Advent

’Gone with the Wind’

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1900, Margaret Mitchell was the daughter of an attorney father and a devoutly Irish Catholic mother.

Margaret was always interested in her city’s history. At one time she wrote feature articles on Atlanta’s historical roots for the Atlanta Journal’s Sunday magazine.

In 1926 she left this job to become a full-time housewife, doing some free-lance writing on the side. When one day, she broke her ankle and was confined to her small apartment, she voraciously read the countless library books her husband would bring home to her. Jokingly, he told her that if she was going to have anything left to read, she’d have to write a book herself.

So she did. It would take her 10 years to finish it, but Margaret Mitchell sat down and began to write “Gone with the Wind.”

***

The movie “Gone with the Wind” starring Vivian Leigh as the Irish Catholic Scarlett O’Hara premiered on this date in 1939.

***

“I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn’t.” (Margaret Mitchell)

When Jesus had come into the Temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” (Mt 21:23-27)

If Matthew’s Gospel were being performed as a drama, this is the point where the orchestra would suddenly strike an ominous chord. Something bad is about to happen.

Up north in Galilee, Jesus had been confronted at times by Pharisees and scribes. But how he is in the big city, and in the Temple area. Suddenly, for the first time, the chief priest and the elders appear on the scene.

These people have power. These people are the most threatened by what Jesus has just been doing – entering the city like a messiah, predicting the destruction of the Temple, driving the sellers and buyers from the Temple area.

These are the people who will succeed in having Jesus executed. And now, here they are looking him in the eye.

Why do we have a Gospel like this – which seems like it belongs in Lent – when we’re 10 days away from Christmas?!

Because we’re preparing to celebrate the birth of the child whose death will make our death a birth.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 16, 2003, Tuesday, Third Week of Advent

The Boar’s Head

Over time, the wild boar became a symbol of evil. Killing, roasting and eating the boar was the celebration of the victory of good over evil. This came to be associated with Christmas because the birth of Christ was the turning point in the great struggle between good and evil.

Henry VIII made wild boar the official Christmas dish in England. Eventually the wild boar was hunted to extinction in England, and was replaced at Christmas by pig, turkey, or goose.

The Wassail Bowl

The word “wassail” comes from Old Norse “vas heil” – a toast meaning “good health.”

The wassail bowl was a wooden bowl into which people dipped their cups for a beverage in preparation for a toast on ceremonial occasions.

At Christmas, the poor in England would “go wassailing,” which meant dancing and singing in the neighborhood streets, hoping that householders would give them a warm drink from their wassail bowl.

Jesus said, “What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, “Son go out and work in the vineyard today.” He said in reply, “I will not,” but afterward he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, “Yes, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?”(Mt 21:28-32)

Our first thought on this passage might be: Actions speak louder than words. But let’s take it a little deeper.

Most of us were baptized as infants, and somebody else said the “yes” for us. At some point we implicitly said the “yes” – insofar as we chose to continue as members of the Church. But we need to make our “yes” explicit.

Even after we do that, it’s not over. Our decision is a living commitment. It has a life. We can’t simply store it in a safety deposit box.

When the decision becomes my own, there is initial contentment. This may continue for a long time. But I can expect some crises/temptations along the way. I deal with those, and each time it becomes a new decision to be a disciple of the Lord.

During the Advent season, we think about Mary’s ultimate “yes” to God. There is certain exhilaration in making a decision like that, being aware of it along the way, and consciously renewing it from time to time.

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.

December 17, 2003, Wednesday, Third Week of Advent

How Long is Advent?

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before December 25. It always has four Sundays, but the total number of days can vary.

For example, if Christmas falls on a Monday, then Advent lasts three weeks and a day.

If Christmas falls on a Sunday, Advent lasts four full weeks.

***

Regardless of when Advent begins, every year the same Scripture readings are used from December 17 – 24. The Gospels on these days describe events leading up to the birth of Christ:

December 17: The genealogy of Jesus (Matthew)
December 18: The annunciation to Joseph (Matthew)
December 19: The annunciation to Zechariah (Luke)
December 20: The annunciation to Mary (Luke)
December 21: Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Luke)
December 22: Mary’s “Magnificat” (Luke)
December 23: The birth of John the Baptist (Luke)
December 24: The “Benedictus” of Zechariah (Luke)

Don’t skim the Scripture passages in these postings. Read slowly. Let the Lord speak to you through these words.

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