A JESUIT'S BLOG
Tuesday, 24 December 2024
Christmas - December 25, 2024
December 25, 2024 - Christmas - You can be more
The
Introduction and the Entrance Antiphon of today’s liturgy makes clear that for
those who celebrate Christmas the word of God is no longer merely the message
spoken by the prophets, but the messenger of God in person. The Word of God is
a child born for us on whose shoulder dominion will be laid. This is seen
clearly in the readings that have been chosen for today.
In
the first reading from the Second Book of Isaiah which is a prophetic oracle of
salvation, the prophet announces through a messenger the return of the exiles
to Jerusalem. Jerusalem which had experienced war, destruction and sorrow will
now experience peace, unity and happiness. This is the good news that is
proclaimed.
The
letter to the Hebrews takes up the theme of the good news spoken through God’s
word in a variety of ways. In the old days, this was spoken through the
prophets, but in the now, the new days God will not content himself with merely
speaking through intermediaries but speaks through a part of himself when he
speaks through his son. His speaking is definitive not because God will not
speak again, but because in Jesus, God has said all that he would want to say.
God will not need to speak like this anymore.
This
is also the theme of the prologue of the Gospel of John. However, John puts it
even more elaborately than Hebrews does. Jesus is here described as the one who
was with God from all eternity, who was, is and will be divine. This Word “became flesh and dwelt among us.” But again this totally other "Word"
has a history and a purpose. He comes
into the world as life and light. He
asks to be accepted in faith. His own
did not accept him; throughout history he offers himself to all of good
will. Those who do accept him he
empowers to become children of God, to have a new birth, to be born of God in
the new birth of the Spirit.
The
impossible has become possible, the totally incomprehensible has become
somewhat comprehensible and our humanity is never again to be seen as a
limitation but as an advantage. We have been blessed with a new and radiant
vision. God could not be seen, but now in Jesus he is visible. Our God is not a
God out there or up there, but a God who is with us and for us and showed us
this in the unique and astounding way of becoming like us. We share through the
Incarnation in the very life of God. Our cry after the Incarnation is not a
plaintive “I’m only human”, but an exuberant, “I’m human”. This is what
Christmas means and this is what the birth of the Christ child is saying.
Before the Incarnation of Jesus, we human beings thought we could be only this
brave, but the Incarnation has shown that we can be braver. Before the
Incarnation we thought we could only love so much, but the Incarnation has
shown that we can love even more and to the very end. Before Jesus’ incarnation
we human beings thought we could be only so much, but the Incarnation of God
shows us that we can be more. We have become through the incarnation, children,
women and men of the Magis, the greater, the more. The Incarnation has made
each of us aware of the immense potential that exists in us because we have
been graced through the humanity of the divinity. Christ became human to show
us that even in our humanity we can become divine. The Incarnation does not
simply invite us to be good men and women, rather through the Incarnation;
Jesus makes us into people who can use all their strengths and defects to the
service and the glory of God. This is the proof to us that it is not by our own
will power that we are able to become children of God. It is by God's grace, by
God's unmerited and unconditional love of us.
Thus,
Christmas is not merely the celebration of a historical birth or a birth that
took place over two thousand years ago. It is about becoming conscious of who
we really are as human beings. It is the celebration of life in all its
fullness. It is the celebration of the transformation of limit to
limitlessness, of selfishness to selflessness, of bondage and fear to freedom
and unconditional love.
Christmas
belongs not only to a few who call themselves Christians but to the entire
earth. The lowly animals, birds, plants, trees indeed the whole of nature
participates in this nativity of the divine light at Christmas. Our compassion
for our human brothers and sisters is increased when we realize that the
animals, birds, plants, trees and the rest of nature is also made up of
wondrous beings in even more humble, limited and unrecognizable form than
ourselves.
As
the Logos (Word) descends into the earth and becomes sarx (flesh) to bring
Light to the world, we realize that it is in and through this Light that we
have life.
Monday, 23 December 2024
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 - Does fear still rule the larger majority of your actions? What will you do about it today?
To
read the texts click on the texts: 2 Sam 7:1-5, 8-12.14.16; Lk 1:67-79
Zechariah’s
song, which is traditionally called “The Benedictus” (Blessed), is the text
which the Church reads on the day before Christmas. It may be seen to be
divided into two parts. The first part praises God for his messianic
deliverance and the second speaks of John the Baptist’s role in this
deliverance. The progression of thought
in the Benedictus shows that the true end of God’s redemption is not merely
deliverance from political domination, but the creation of conditions in which
God’s people can worship and serve God without fear. When people are released
from external domination, they can worship in peace. The people of God are a
covenant people, saved and rescued by the hand of God. God has thereby fulfilled the promises to
Abraham and to David. Holiness and righteousness are to mark God’s people “all
the days of our life”. The hymn comes to a climax as it describes the place of
John in God’s redemptive work. John’s birth announced God’s new deliverance.
John would be a prophet who would go before the Lord. Four infinitives outline the progress of
God’s redemptive work. The first two describe the role of John the Baptist. The
last two allude to the inauguration of the kingdom, “when the day shall dawn
upon us from on high”.
The
mark of the redeemed is that they live out of the knowledge of God that has
been given to them. Darkness is dispelled by the revelation of God’s being and
God’s grace toward us. Finally, through John’s call for justice and
righteousness, and far more through Jesus’ unique ministry, God would “guide
our feet into the way of peace”
The
Benedictus links the promise of salvation and redemption inseparably to the
achievement of peace. God’s people cannot have redemption without peace, for
each is necessary for the realization of the other. It affirms that God’s
purposes are being fulfilled in the delivering of his people from the hands of
their oppressors. Their feet are being guided in the way of peace so that they
may worship without fear.
Monday, December 23, 2024 - Will you speak God’s word to at least one person today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Mal3:1-4, 23-24; Lk 1:57-66
Two days before the birth of the Messiah, the Church invites us to reflect on the birth, naming, and circumcision of his precursor or forerunner, John the Baptist.
Luke does not give us too many details about the birth of John, and he narrates it with a short sentence. He focuses more on the events that follow the birth and, through them, show that God’s word spoken through the angel, Gabriel, is being fulfilled. Elizabeth does bear a son and the people rejoice at the birth because of the great mercy shown by God.
Circumcision of the child on the eight day was in accord with Gen 17:9-14 where God makes circumcision on the eight day a sign of the covenant with Abraham. It was the father who normally named the child and, in doing so, recognized the child as his own. Sometimes, the child was named after the father, especially if the father was a person who was highly esteemed. Objections were raised to the name “John” (“God had been gracious”), chosen by Elizabeth. That the people made signs to Zechariah to ask him what he wanted to name the child indicates that, besides being dumb, he was also deaf. The moment Zechariah writes the name “John” on a writing tablet, Zechariah regains his speech. Once again, God’s word comes to pass. The fear and amazement with which the people respond to these happenings is an indication that they experienced God’s awesome power. The question that the people ask, about what the child would turn out to be, is answered in summary form by Luke when he ends this narrative by stating that “the hand of the Lord was with him.”
God’s word is a word of power and will
come to pass, no matter how many obstacles we may put in its way. It is a word
that enhances and builds up, a word that gives life. To be sure, we may not
always be able to understand and accept it for what it is, but in the final
analysis, it is always a word that is for our good and for his glory.
Saturday, 21 December 2024
Sunday, December 22, 2024 - Believe that you have received it and it will be yours.
To read the texts click on the texts: Mic 5:1-4; Heb10:5-10; Lk 1:39-44
The visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is often
interpreted as Mary’s concern for Elizabeth. Mary had heard from the angel that
Elizabeth was in her six month and so rushes to her aid. This is true but only
at the very superficial level. If this were the only point, then it would seem
strange that Mary who rushed to Elizabeth’s aid would leave after three months
of her arrival there i.e. soon after Elizabeth’s delivery of John – a time when
she should really get all the help that
she would need. Thus Luke makes a deeper point when he narrates the incidents
of the visitation. It is that Mary was so full of the ‘good news’ that she
could not contain it within herself but had to share it. It was ‘good news’ not
only for her but for the whole world.
This good news is what Micah speaks about in the
first reading of today. The ruler of Israel is struck upon the cheek with a
rod, things seem to be totally out of control and there is a feeling of being
closed in all sides and defeat is staring us in the face. Yet, there shall come
forth one who is to rule and take control over the most distressing situation.
This movement from suffering to hope reminds us that God is at work to see that
our individual life-pilgrimage will move in the same direction. Micah’s words
repeat again and again the liberating intention of God not to let people remain
trapped in their experience of exile. It is important to note that these
hopeful words from Micah do not belittle the reality of suffering. Pain is
taken seriously and is part of the human condition. However, the point is that
even in the midst of pain there is hope. God is working to make all things
well. The mention of both Bethlehem and Ephrathah makes a double connection
with David, including both geographic location and family identification. The
small size of Bethlehem, which is one of the little clans of Judah, is of no
consequence to God, When God is about to do something great, human estimates of
status, size, power, and influence are completely irrelevant. In fact, God
often deliberately chooses someone whom we would probably dismiss as the most
unlikely candidate for carrying out God’s mission.
This is evident in the choice of Mary chosen by God
to bring Jesus into the world. She was from Nazareth, an obscure village, from
which the Messiah was not expected. She was a simple village girl. Yet, it was
she who was chosen, to be part of the earth shattering event that would change
the course of history forever. The Incarnation occurred within a very real
world, a limited world, a broken world, a world that was very much in need of
healing.
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was done in haste or
urgency. Mary wanted to share such wonderful news. Elizabeth responds to Mary’s
visit with four oracles. The first declares the blessedness of Mary. Elizabeth
recognizes that Mary is blessed by God because of her openness and generosity.
The second oracle discloses the identity of the child in Mary’s womb. The child
is indeed the Lord. The third explains the leap that the child in Elizabeth’s
womb gives. It is a leap of joy. Even in the womb of his mother, John the
Baptist begins his role as the precursor or pointer to Jesus. The fourth and
final oracle speaks of unconditional faith and trust. It speaks of the courage
to believe even when things are in the future. It speaks of total confidence in
God’s word, knowing fully well that even if all evidence seems to point to the
contrary, God will fulfill what is promised. This is the confidence of Mary. It
is the confidence with which she dared not merely to say Yes to God but to add
that it be done to her according to God’s will. This was because she knew that
what God could do in her would be infinitely greater than when she could ever
do, even with God’s help. This attitude of Mary resulted in her womb becoming
the location in which the greatest of all events would take place. Her womb
became the place in which all expectations would be exceeded. Her womb became
that place in which not merely would a ruler be born, but in which the king of
all kings would take residence. Her womb became God’s first home on earth.
The letter to the Hebrews confirms Mary’s
disposition and attitude when it speaks about the disposition and attitude of
Jesus. His focus was to do God’s will and to let it be done to him. Like Mary,
Jesus too knew that what God could accomplish in him would be infinitely
greater than anything else.
As we stand at the threshold of Christmas, we are
invited to adopt the attitude of Mary. It is true that even today things are
not as they ought to be. It is true that injustice, prejudice, disharmony,
intolerance and fanaticism still raise their ugly heads. It is true that the
poor are becoming poorer today than they were some years ago and the rich have
only gotten richer and often at the expense of the poor. Like Mary we are
challenged to believe that if we let it be done to us, Christ will be born in
our minds and hearts and the vision of Micah for a just world will be fulfilled
because our God lives in our world.
Friday, 20 December 2024
Saturday, December 21, 2024 - Are you generally a happy person, or do you go about life as if the burden of the whole world is on your shoulders? Will you give up that burden today?
To read the texts
click on the texts: Song 2:8-14; Lk 1:39-45
The text of today,
which concerns Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, is also the scriptural basis for the
second Joyful mystery of the Rosary.
Since the angel does
not ask Mary to visit Elizabeth, or even suggest it, the alacrity with which
Mary goes to visit Elizabeth expresses clearly that Mary trusted the angel’s
word. Mary’s greeting of Elizabeth results in a sign which is that the baby in
Elizabeth’s womb leaps and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. This could
also indicate that the announcement of the angel to Zechariah that their child
would be filled with the Holy Spirit is being fulfilled. Being filled with the
Holy Spirit, Elizabeth is also able to utter an oracle which seems to have as
its source, the Spirit of God. She recognizes Mary and the child in her womb as
blessed. Not only has Elizabeth been blessed, because God answered her
prayer for the gift of a child, she has also been blessed by a visit from the
one who is called to be the mother of her Lord. The leap of the babe in
Elizabeth’s womb was a leap of joy. John has already begun to fulfill his
calling as one who would declare the Lord’s coming and prepare the way for him.
Mary is blessed because she dared to believe in God’s word.
When joy or happiness is shared it is
doubled; when sorrow or sadness is shared it is halved. The joy of Elizabeth
and Mary on their respective vocations is shared by the other and hence, both
experience a doubling of their joy. This joy is experienced by even the child
in Elizabeth’s womb, because it is a genuine joy felt by its mother.
Life is too short to cry or be sad.
Life is too short not to be happy or not to share in the joy of others.
Thursday, 19 December 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024 - Do you believe that God can do the impossible in your life? How will you show this belief?
To read the texts
click on the texts: Isa 7:10-14; Lk 1:26-38
The text of today’s Gospel relates a
scene immediately after the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and
contains the announcement of the birth of Jesus. There are many similarities in
the annunciations to Mary and to Zechariah. The angel Gabriel is the one who
makes both announcements. Both Zechariah and Mary are called by name and
exhorted not to be afraid. Both ask a question of the angel, and it is the
angel who tells them what name each child is to be given. It is the angel
who predicts what each child will turn out to be. However, even as there are
similarities, there are differences in the narratives. While the announcement
to Zechariah comes in the Temple and as a result of his fervent prayer, the
announcement to Mary comes (apparently) when she is in her home and it is
unanticipated. While Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth are advanced in age, Mary
has not yet stayed with her husband, and so is a virgin. The birth of John to
parents who are past the age of child bearing is a miracle, but even greater is
the miracle of the birth of Jesus, who would be born through the Holy Spirit,
and to a virgin. Even as John the Baptist goes with the spirit and power of
Elijah, Jesus will be called “Son of God”. Luke clearly wants to show John as
great, but only the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus, who is greater.
Here, too, like in the
case of the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, God intervenes in
human history. Mary though betrothed or engaged to Joseph, who was of
David’s family, had not yet lived with him. This she would do only after
marriage, which would be one year after the betrothal. The angel greets Mary as
the recipient of God’s grace. She has opened herself to the promptings of God’s
Spirit. While Zechariah was gripped with fear at the very appearance of the
angel, in the case of Mary, it is the angel’s greeting that perplexed her. The
angel reassures Mary and makes the announcement, not only of Jesus’ birth, but
of who he will be and all that he will accomplish. In response to this
announcement Mary, like Zechariah, asks a question. While both questions seem
similar, it is clear that Zechariah’s question expressed doubt and asked for a
sign, as is evident in the angel’s words before Zechariah is struck dumb. Mary’s
question, on the other hand, is a question asked in faith. Mary did not
question the truth of the revelation like Zechariah did. She asked only for enlightenment on how God would accomplish this
wonderful deed. This will be accomplished in Mary through the work of God’s
spirit. This is why the child will be called holy. Luke probably also intends
to convey here that it is not merit on Mary’s part that obtained for her what
she received, but God’s generous gift in the Spirit.
The evidence that what
the angel has announced will indeed take place is the pregnancy of Elizabeth,
for nothing is impossible for God. Mary responds, not merely with a Yes, but by
asking that the Lord work in her to accomplish all that he wants. The
annunciation would not have been complete without Mary’s trusting, obedient
response.
Today, many assume that those whom God
favors will enjoy the things we equate with a good life: social standing,
wealth, and good health. Yet Mary, God’s favored one, was blessed with having a
child out of wedlock who would later be executed as a criminal. Acceptability,
prosperity, and comfort have never been the essence of God’s blessing. The
story is so familiar that we let its familiarity mask its scandal. Mary had
been chosen, “favored,” to have an important part in God’s plan to bring
salvation to God’s people, but it is unthinkable that God would have forced
Mary to have the child against her will. Mary is an important example,
therefore, of one who is obedient to God even at great risk to self.
When we think of or reflect on Mary,
the one word that comes to mind to describe her whole life is the word, AMEN, a
word which may be translated, “so be it”, “your will be done”, “do whatever you
want to do in my life”. This was, indeed, Mary’s constant response to every
situation in her life, especially when she could not understand why things were
happening the way they were. The text of today is, then, a call and challenge
to each one of us, that we, too, like Mary, might be able to say YES to all
that God wants to do in our lives. It is a challenge to be open and receptive
to the Spirit of God, so that we, too, might be able to give birth to the
Saviour in our hearts.