Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Until He Comes

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Christ has come, yet his glory has not yet been revealed. “For we are the children of God, and what we shall become has not yet appeared. We know that, when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” St. John says in his letter.

What shall we do till he comes? Study him as he appears to us now, as a servant. Follow him in his humanity, St. Augustine says. See him one with the leper, the poor, those cast aside. Until he comes:

“Until this comes to pass, until he gives us the sight of what will completely satisfy us, until we drink our fill of him, the fountain of life — while we wander about, apart from him but strong in faith, while we hunger and thirst for justice, longing with a desire too deep for words for the beautiful vision of God, let us fervently and devotedly celebrate the anniversary of his birth in the form of a servant.

We cannot yet contemplate the fact that he was begotten by the Father before the dawn, so let us hold on to the fact that he was born of the Virgin in the night. We do not yet understand how his name endures before the sun, so let us acknowledge his tabernacle placed in the sun.

Since we do not, as yet, gaze upon the Only Son inseparably united with His Father, let us remember the Bridegroom coming out of his bride-chamber. Since we are not yet ready for the banquet of our Father, let us acknowledge the manger of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Lectionary Readings after Epiphany: Matthew 4

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The gospel readings at Mass after the Feast of the Epiphany are connected to that great feast.

The Magi represent the nations, the Gentiles, seeking Jesus as their Savior. In our reading for Monday Jesus after his baptism by John goes into Galilee. Matthew’s gospel calls it “The Galilee of the Gentiles.” Jesus brings light “to a people who sit in darkness.” (Matthew 4,12-17,24-25) In Galilee Jesus fulfills the promise made to the Magi.

He repeats the words John used to define his ministry: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Yet, while John speaks to the Jewish world, (Saturday, John 3,22-3); Jesus calls a Gentile world as well to turn to God, for the kingdom of God at hand.

Humanly speaking, it wasn’t a good time for such a mission. It’s “after John was arrested,” a dangerous time. Galilee, when Jesus began his mission, was ruled by Herod Antipas, who imprisoned John and then beheaded him. (Matthew 4, 12-25)

It probably wasn’t a good time either for the Magi to come to Bethlehem, in the days of Herod the Great. But God’s time is not our time; God’s ways are not our ways. We can miss the opportunities of grace when we think of time in too human a way.

Accounts of the miracle of the loaves and the crossing of the Sea of Galilee from Mark’s gospel are read on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Commentators note that in Mark’s gospel the Sea of Galilee is a stormy path Jesus takes to reach the Gentile world of his day. The other side of the lake, the western side, was predominantly a Gentile area. They are given the same Bread he provides for the children of Israel.

It’s to “all of Galilee” that Jesus goes and consequently “his reputation traveled the length of Syria. They carried to him all those afflicted with various diseases and racked with pain: the possessed, the lunatics, the paralyzed. He cured them all.” (Matthew 4, 23-25)

Jesus brings good news to both Jew and Gentiles in Galilee, the”Galilee of the Gentiles.”

The Word:December 31

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Adoration of the Shepherds, Giorgone , National Gallery

We end the year reading from the 1st chapter of St. John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Word of God begins all things and in the Word all find their completion.

The responsorial psalm for today calls the heavens to sing and the earth to rejoice.

  Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
    let the sea and what fills it resound;
    let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD.

Creation today needs the blessing of the Word, doesn’t it?

St. Bridget of Sweden influenced 15th century artists, like the one above, with her vision of the Nativity. Instead of in the stable, Mary places her Child on the earth outside so that the earth –all creation– might receive his blessing along with Joseph and the shepherds.

The Word, who made all things, became flesh to bring blessings to all that came to be.

Listen to Maximus, the Confessor, speak of the marvelous adaptability of the Word made flesh:

“The Word of God, born once in the flesh (such is his kindness and his goodness), is always willing to be born spiritually in those who desire him. In them he is born as an infant as he fashions himself in them by means of their virtues. He reveals himself to the extent that he knows someone is capable of receiving him. He diminishes the revelation of his glory not out of selfishness but because he recognizes the capacity and resources of those who desire to see him. Yet, in the transcendence of mystery, he always remains invisible to all.

For this reason the apostle Paul, reflecting on the power of the mystery, said: Jesus Christ, yesterday and today: he remains the same for ever. For he understood the mystery as ever new, never growing old through our understanding of it.”

God’s love is an adaptable, respectful love. That’s the way God loves us, that’s the way he loves all creation; that’s the way we should love.

Feast of St. John:December 27

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The Feast of John the Apostle, like the feasts of Stephen and the Holy Innocents, immediately follows the birth of Jesus. The feasts help us understand the mystery of his Incarnation.

John’s Gospel is the earliest gospel read on the Christmas feast, answering the great question: Who is this Child? The Child is the Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

John was one of the first disciples whom Jesus called. He knew Jesus from his early years in Nazareth; he knew his family; he accompanied Jesus on his ministry in Galilee and on his journey to Jerusalem. John saw him transfigured in glory on the mountain. he sat beside him at the Last Supper; he went into the Garden of Gethsemane with him, then he stood beside his cross with Mary, his mother. Jesus gave Mary into his care.

The gospel reading for his feast reminds us that John was a key witness to the resurrection of Jesus. At the empty tomb he recognized Jesus risen from the dead. “‘It is the Lord,’ he said to Peter”. At the Lake of Galilee he again recognized the Risen Christ.. (John 21, 7) John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” knew Jesus, human and divine. 

The 1st Letter of John is our lectionary reading during the Christmas season. It tells us to know Jesus Christ through his humanity, just as the apostles did. The One we know in his humanity is also the Word of God, who is God.

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life —for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you.” 1 John 1-4

The feast of John the Apostle is a feast for exploring the mystery of the Incarnation.

God, our Father, you have revealed the mysteries of your Word through John the apostle. By prayer and reflection may we come to understand the wisdom he taught. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,  One God, forever and ever.

December 24: Jesus, Son of David

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What does our reading today from the Book of Samuel say about the birth of Jesus Christ? King David tells the Prophet Nathan that he’s going to build God a kingly palace like his own. The grand palace in our picture above is what he plans to build.

In reply God says: “Should you build me a house to dwell in? I took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel.I have been with you wherever you went.” There is no way you can match the love of a God who humbles himself to come in a stable, David is told, A stable door, always open, is more easily entered than the door to a palace..

“The LORD also reveals to you

that he will establish a house for you.

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,

I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,

and I will make his Kingdom firm.

I will be a father to him,

and he shall be a son to me.

Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me;

your throne shall stand firm forever.’” (2 Samuel 7)

In this great prophecy, called the “Dynastic Oracle,” God promises to be with David and his descendants forever. God will give him an heir whose kingdom will be firm. “I will be a father to him and he a son to me.” Even if his descendants  are unworthy, sinful, God will not turn away, as God did with Saul. His promise stands unbroken, forever.

How often in the gospels Jesus is called “Son of David.” No passing visitor, who come and goes, his kingdom endures; his throne stands forever. He will never turn away. His door is always open. Each morning at prayer we hear Zachariah’s canticle.” The tender compassion of our God. like the dawn, is ours each day.

December 23: Birth of John the Baptist

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Luke’s gospel today recalls in detail the birth of John the Baptist . “The hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.” (Luke 1:80)

Just as Luke recognizes the role of Mary and Joseph in the birth and raising of Jesus, he recognizes the role of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the birth and raising of John. Each help John grow and become strong in spirit. However lonely and independent he appears later in the gospels, John was influenced by them and the extended family that surrounded him from his birth.

Luke’s gospel often see one person’s fidelity influencing another. “The hand of the Lord was with him,” Luke writes, but human hands were on him as well.

John had faith like his mother Elizabeth who recognized the Spirit’s presence in her pregnant relation Mary visiting from Nazareth. John later would point out the Lamb of God among all those who came to the Jordan River for baptism.

He had faith like his father Zechariah who devoutly celebrated the mysteries of God in the temple of Jerusalem as a priest. At his birth, Zechariah signs away the gift of his name– and probably his hope that his son would follow in his steps. John would have a different calling. At the Jordan River, John called pilgrims to prepare the way of the Lord as they made their way to the temple and the Holy City, Jerusalem.

Undoubtedly, John was a unique figure, a messenger from God, a voice in the desert preparing the Lord’s way. But there were faithful people behind him, as they are behind us.

Don’t forget his relative, Mary of Nazareth. At the end of his account of her visit with Elizabeth, Luke mentions “Mary stayed with her for three months, then returned to her home.” (Luke 1:56) That would mean she stayed on till the birth of John, wouldn’t it?

I don’t see Mary in the icon of John’s birth (above), but was she there? Were there other times too these families met? Artists portray the children playing together later. They could be right. We influence one another more than we think.

December 20: The Annunciation

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St. Luke’s account of the Annunciation to Mary, read today at Mass,  follows the announcement of the birth of John to Zechariah in yesterday’s advent readings. Mary responds to the angel so differently than the priest Zechariah. (Luke 1, 5-25,)

In the temple where great mysteries are celebrated, the priest won’t believe he and his wife can conceive a child. They’re too old. He doubts.

In  Nazareth, an unlikely place for a great revelation, the angel approaches Mary with a message far more difficult to grasp. “ The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

Mary believes and does not doubt and by God’s power conceives a Son who will be born in Bethlehem. “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word,”

This is a golden moment, the 13th century painting above by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi indicates. Mary is at home in prayer when the angel comes. Prayer enables her to believe and accept what is revealed. That’s true for all of us: prayer helps us discern and say yes to what God reveals.

“How can this be. I do not know man?” Mary says to the angel. Our painting seems to capture that moment in our gospel passage, but Mary will go on to respond in faith, “Be it done to me according to your word.” Mary is a woman of faith; we learn from her.

Today we pray:

O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid. 

Readings www.usccb.org

The Gospel of St. Matthew and the Virgin Birth

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holy family

“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about,”  Matthew’s gospel  describes the birth of Jesus  through the experience of Joseph, the husband of Mary. It’s summarized  in the creed. “I believe in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God…who by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.”

Is this true? Here’s Pope Benedict XVI:

“The answer is an unequivocal yes. Karl Barth pointed out that there are two moments in the story of Jesus when God intervenes directly in the material world: the virgin birth and the resurrection from the tomb, in which Jesus did not remain, nor see corruption.

“These two moments are a scandal to the modern spirit. God is “allowed” to act in ideas and thoughts, in the spiritual domain–but not in the material. That is shocking. He does not belong there. But that is precisely the point. God is God and he does not operate merely on the level of ideas. In that sense, what is at stake in both of these moments is God’s very godhead. The question that they raise is: does matter also belong to him?

“Naturally we may not ascribe to God anything nonsensical or irrational, or anything that contradicts his creation. But here we are not dealing with the irrational or contradictory, but precisely with God’s creative power, embracing the whole of being. In that sense, these two moments – the virgin birth and the real resurrection from the tomb–are the cornerstones of faith.

“If God does not have the power over matter then he is simply not God. But he does have this power, and through the conception and resurrection of Jesus Christ he has ushered in a new creation. So as the Creator he is also our Redeemer. Hence the conception and birth of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary is a fundamental element of our faith and a radiant sign of hope.”

(The Infancy Narratives: Jesus of Nazareth, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, pp 56-57 )

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December 17: The Tree of Jesse

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From December 17th until Christmas, we read from the infancy narratives  of Matthew and Luke to prepare for the  Christmas feast.

  Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ traces his ancestry as “the son of David and the son of Abraham.” Descended from Abraham Jesus fulfilled the promise God made to the patriarch: “in your descendants all nations would be blessed.” Matthew ends his genealogy with “Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah. ” In our portrayal above Mary points to Joseph as the one who can explain it to us all.

Matthew’s genealogy offers a Messiah whom Jew and Gentile can claim for their Savior. His ancestors reach beyond Palestine; his roots are worldwide. He’s not just a Jewish Messiah in Matthew’s listing either. His bloodline includes women like Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba– foreigners and even women with questionable backgrounds.

 In his humanity,  Jesus didn’t come from perfect ancestors or untainted Jewish royalty ; he’s rooted in all humanity. His bloodline includes saints and sinners; he comes from a line of sinners and some saints. He shares our human DNA.

Matthew obviously wants us to look at Jesus’ family tree and see it as our own. We’re at home there. The Tree of Jesse, based on Matthew’s genealogy  was a favorite subject for medieval artists working on illuminated manuscripts or creating stained glass windows for churches. A great way to see the humanity of Jesus Christ.

Luke’s genealogy goes further and brings Jesus beyond Abraham to Adam. He becomes the new Adam. We are born from his side, we share his blood; he is the first born of many like us. So we pray:

“O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature…your Only Begotten Son, having taken to himself our humanity, may you be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity.” (Collect)

O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!

Feast of The Immaculate Conception

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Why does Mary, the Mother of Jesus, have such a big place in our church? The words of the angel in Luke’s gospel, words we often repeat in prayer, are an answer: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”

Mary is filled with God’s grace, gifted with unique spiritual gifts from her conception, because she was to be the mother of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.

She would be the “resting place of the Trinity,” and would give birth to, nourish, guide and accompany Jesus in his life and mission in this world. To fulfill that unique role she needed a unique gift. She would be free from original sin that clouds human understanding and slows the way we believe God and his plan for us.

“How slow you are to believe” Jesus said to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. Jesus made that complaint repeatedly as he preached the coming of God’s kingdom. “How slow you are to believe!” “What little faith you have!” “Do you still not understand!” Human slowness to believe didn’t end in gospel times. We have it too.

Mary was freed from that slowness to believe. “Be it done to me according to your word,” she immediately says to the angel. Yet, her acceptance of God’s will does not mean she understood everything that happened to her. “How can this be?” she asks the angel about the conception of the child. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”  But the angel’s answer seems so incomplete, so mysterious.

Surely, Mary would have liked to know more, but the angel leaves, never to return. There’s no daily message, no new briefing or renewed assurance by heavenly messengers. The years go by in Nazareth as the Child grows in wisdom and age and grace, but they’re years of silence. Like the rest of us, Mary waits and wonders and keeps these things in her heart.

That’s why we welcome her as a believer walking with us. She is an assuring presence who calls us to believe as she did, without knowing all. She does not pretend to be an expert with all the answers. She has no special secrets she alone knows. “Do whatever he tells you,” is her likely advice as we ponder the mysteries of her Son.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated 9 months before the feast of the Birth of Mary (September 8). The feast  was extended to the universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1708.

 Pope Pius IX solemnly proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854: “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Ineffabilis Deus, 1854)

Do Whatever He Tells you