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Dear Preachers:
Merry Christmas lovers of God’s
Word!
 The Isaiah reading is a favorite for
many readers of the Hebrew Scriptures. It certainly breaks a stereotype. You
know, the one that describes the “God of the Old Testament” as harsh, judging
and quick to punish. In contrast people describe the “New Testament God” as the
kind and benevolent God who took pity on us and sent us Jesus to save the world
from it’s sin. It is as if, at the end of the Old Testament, God went to an
anger management counselor and learned to be kind and forgiving and thus became
the benevolent God of the New Testament. Forgive my spoofing tendency, but I
still hear this “two-God-split” when people speak of the biblical God.
Israel had been in Babylonian exile for over a generation. The capital and holy
city Jerusalem were in ruins and the Temple torn down. Even if they could return
to their land they would find it in ruins. Weren’t they supposed to be God’s
chosen people and wasn’t their Temple supposed to be the dwelling place of the
living God? What went wrong? Had God deserted them? And if so, why?
Well, there was plenty of reason for God to abandon and punish Israel. The “God
of the Old Testament” would have had a good case against them. Their misplaced
political alliances had gotten them defeated. From their religious perspective
they would have seen their plight as a punishment for abandoning God in favor of
earthly powers. But the true God is about to shine forth for them and come to
their rescue. Isaiah’s words are charged with excitement as he pictures the good
news coming to the people in the form of a herald. These messengers would bring
news from a battle back to awaiting people. A messenger could be killed for
bringing bad news.
But the prophet-messenger is announcing good news: God is intervening on the
people’s behalf, rolling up sleeves (“the Lord has bared his arm”) to help a
depleted and dispirited people. Sometimes God is depicted in maternal images to
underline God’s tender care. But the people are enslaved and need a powerful,
strong-armed intervention on their behalf and that is what Isaiah is promising.
God is coming with help. Can you hear the excitement as Isaiah becomes a
cheerleader for God? “Break out together in song O ruins of Jerusalem!” Isaiah
is a gospel prophet announcing the good news of salvation. In their history the
people have known God as their Redeemer, a God who saves from impossible
situations. And that is what they were in… an impossible situation!,
We can pause here, before moving to the gospel, to reflect on what restoration
and deliverance we need in our lives right now. How are we experiencing exile
from the person we want to be and ought to be?
It seems in each parish where I preach I meet Catholics so scandalized by the
clergy sexual abuse of minors that they have gone into a voluntary exile from
the church – a church they feel is in ruins, similar to the destroyed Temple and
city of Jerusalem the defeated Israelites experienced. In the mess we church
people are in we can ask with the Israelites: “Where are you O God? Come to our
rescue for only you can save us!” We claim the promise Isaiah makes to us: God
has seen our plight, is rolling up sleeves and is coming to help.
Each of the Gospels begins with its own take on how God comes to us in the flesh
of Jesus Christ. Today as we celebrate the birth of Christ we have John’s
insight into the significance of what God has done and is doing for us now.
Wouldn’t one of the Nativity stories have been more appropriate today, instead
of what sounds like a dry, philosophical take on Christ’s birth?
In, “Jesus: A Gospel Portrait” (New York: Paulist Press, 1992, p.27), Donald
Senior, C.P., tells us that John:
“...reaches back into the vastness of the universe before creation and time
began, into the very life of God, and there finds the ultimate origin of Jesus
(Jn 1:1-18). The “word” spoken by God, a word that perfectly expresses God’s
love, arches into time and creation and takes flesh. Jesus’ life and ministry
began in the timeless love of God for the world.
When we want to assure someone we will be faithful to them, or that we are
telling them the truth we say, “I give you my word.” Which is what God has done,
spoken God’s Word into human flesh in Jesus Christ. God has made a promise to us
humans: “I give you my Word – my Son Jesus Christ.” That is the attractive and
compelling truth of the Incarnation. And that is what makes today’s gospel so
attractive to us.
The beginning of John’s Gospel is a profound statement about Jesus, which is
also echoed in our reading from Hebrews which ends, “Let all the angels of God
worship him.” In both readings the preexistence of Christ is clearly stated;
Christ was an agent of creation. The Word was there at the beginning – which
might sound lofty and detached – except the pre-existing Word entered our
history, lived our life, was rejected and died. The evangelist sums it up, “And
the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us….” Another translation puts
it this way: the Word “pitched a tent” among us. The “tent” is a reminder of the
tabernacle, God’s dwelling place, as the people traveled away from Egyptian
slavery. Where is our God? God is a “tent dweller,” who in Jesus, travels with
us through whatever wilderness we find ourselves.
Our contemplative Dominican sisters
sent us a prayer for Christmas:
“May the Word of God
spoken through each of our lives
bring love and peace to the world.”
Click here for a
link to this Sunday’s readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122524-Day.cfm
PRAYER OF BLESSING OF A CHRISTMAS MANGER OR NATIVITY
SCENE
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God of every nation and people,
from the very beginning of creation
you have made manifest your love:
when our need for a Savior was great
you sent your Son to be born
of the Virgin Mary.
To our lives he brings joy and peace,
justice, mercy and love. |
QUOTABLE:
Here is some good advice on the telling of the
Christmas story I found in CELEBRATING THE LITURGY (Resource Publications,
Inc.1995, p.93)
“No Room
in What Inn?”
Be careful how you tell the Christmas story.
Popular tradition, which probably developed from a medieval morality play, holds
that Joseph and his very pregnant wife travel wearily from door to door in
Bethlehem looking of a place to stay. After several doors slammed in their
faces, a kindly old man takes pity on them and shows them a cave or a stable out
somewhere in the boondocks.
There are problems with this telling. The first is that it tends to leave the
listener with an image of greedy Jewish innkeepers slamming the door on the
Christ. It’s not a good story for interfaith relations. Besides, it is not at
all biblical. The whole crèche scene and its attending story derives from a
single line from Luke 2:7. Some translations speak of an “inn.” In small
villages of this time and place, there were no inns. Travelers in normal times
would have gone to the village square, sat there, and waited. Villagers were
honor-bound to offer the travelers food and shelter. Hospitality was a core
value in te Middle East, then as now. Leaving a traveler stranded was
unthinkable. The villager who passed by the travelers without offering food and
lodging would have brought shame on the entire village. Bethlehem, about five
miles south of Jerusalem, would have swelled with pilgrimage during the three
great festivals of the year. Probably pilgrims would have stayed in an open air
camping area called a “caravansary” located near the center of town and the
markets. The caravansaries had no “innkeepers.” If Joseph and Mary happened upon
the caravansary, they could have seen for themselves that is was full and was
not, in any case, private enough for a woman about to give birth. If Bethlehem
was Joseph’s ancestral home, he would have been known to relatives who might
have found a place for him and his wife. Where? In a less crowed time, they
might have been shown to the guest room, most likely an “upper room,” which
might have been a lean-to on the roof. If that was crowded, perhaps they made
room for them downstairs, in the courtyard where the animals stayed. It wasn’t
the Taj Mahal, but it wasn’t Siberia either. Keep in mind that this account of
Jesus’ birth differs radically from the account in Matthew and that Mark and
John have no account of the birth of Jesus.
For further reading see THE BIRTH OF THE
MESSIAH, (Image Books) by Father Raymond Brown. You can still work
with the nativity scene. You might even add figures representing cousins, aunts,
and uncles. The shepherds might have been relatives. This helps give a more
culturally realistic picture of the Holy Family as well.
FAITH BOOK
Mini-reflections on the Sunday
scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also
brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.
From today’s Isaiah reading:
“The Lord has bared
his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.”
Reflection:
The prophet is announcing good news to the
people in exile. God is intervening on their behalf, rolling up sleeves to help
a depleted and dispirited people. Sometimes God is depicted in maternal images
to underline God’s tender care. But the people are enslaved and need a powerful,
strong-armed intervention and that is what Isaiah is promising.
So, we ask ourselves:
- How are we experiencing exile from the
person we want to be and ought to be?
- Can we hear and put trust in our God who
wants to do a powerful work on our behalf?
POSTCARDS TO DEATH ROW INMATES
“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation
to the death penalty is an inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in
whatever form it is carried out."
---Pope Francis
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten
people in the prison system. Each week I post in this space several inmates’
names and addresses. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to
let them know we have not forgotten them. If you like, tell them you heard about
them through North Carolina’s, “People of Faith Against the Death Penalty.” If
the inmate responds you might consider becoming pen pals.
Please write to:
- Edward E. Davis #0100579 (On death row
since 3/12/92)
- Kenneth B. Rouse #0353186 (3/25/92)
- Michael Reeves #0339314 (5/14/92)
----Central Prison, 4285 Mail
Service Center, Raleigh 27699-4285
For more information on the Catholic position
on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network:
http://catholicsmobilizing.org/resources/cacp/
On this page you can sign “The National
Catholic Pledge to End the Death Penalty.” Also, check the interfaith page for
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty: http://www.pfadp.org/
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If you are a preacher, lead a Lectionary-based
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4. “First Impressions” is a service to
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to a friend, send a note to Fr John Boll, OP at the above email
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS Archive
(The latest are always listed first.)
• HOLY FAMILY •
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• II ADVENT •
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