2008 - Feast of Christ the King to 3rd Sun day of Advent

Sunday, 30 November 2008

1st Sunday of Advent - Lord, make us turn to You

Just a few lines about the Advent season before looking at today's readings.
From what I can discover, the Christmas - Epiphany circle was introduced into the liturgical year at the end of the 4th Century of the Christian era. By then, thanks to the emperor, Constantine, the Church had melded well and truly into secular society. It was in danger of losing fervor and hope in the kingdom of this world.
The purpose, for us, of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany is ceaselessly to re-animate in us that hope, that great expectation. We should not minimalise the meaning of these special, if short, seasons to a sentimental commemoration of Jesus' childhood, lest we forget the baby in the crib grows into the adult on the Cross.
So, now to Isaiah (Isaiah 63:16-17; 64:1.3-8). We need to recall often that in the 700s and 600s BC the Jews were devastated in turn by Assyrian and Babylonian invasions and occupation. To add to their misery, other neighbours launched looting raids across the borders. For succeeding generations of Jews, even today, the very mention of such treachery arouses a desire for revenge.
Today's poem of Isaiah (Isaiah 63:16-17; 64: 3-8) soothed a hurt nation. God promised to defeat all unbelieving treacherous invaders. Christians, reading this poem in the 1st century AD understood it in another prophetic sense. The hero rescuing His people for them was Jesus, covered in His own blood. This would be God's definitive victory and surprisingly, His way of reconciliation with humanity.
Our responsorial psalm (Ps. 79) is 'Lord, make us turn to you, see your face and we shall be saved.'
Mark's gospel is all about vigilance and commitment. These virtues were very much needed by Christians in Rome for whom Mark wrote, probably in the 60's AD before the destruction of Jerusalem and during a period of increasing 'incidents' throughout Palestine. The Roman Christians lived under threat of persecution. They, most of them convert Jews, were suspected to be sympathizers of the Palestine freedom fighters. This made them nervous about the troubles at home, a source of potential trouble for Jewish (and other) Christians living in the heart of the 'evil empire', Rome (Mark 13: 33-37).
Similarly, Vatican II's document, Church in the Modern World, instructs Catholics to be like the householder in today's parable.
Today's Catholics, full of hope, even great expectation, not just wishful thinking, need to be alert to what is going on in secular society so they can shed light where there is darkness. They also need to be alert because Our Lord is a God of surprises. If we are not awake, we shall miss the exciting experience of discovering God at work in the most unexpected people and most unlikely events. Prayer services on New Year's Eve would be a good opportunity for thanking God for all the surprises of the past one, ten or even a hundred years. Such gathering should also be used to express hope in the future.
Of all people, we Christians have been given the blessing of carrying to a discontented world the hope of a bright future.

Sunday, 7 December 2008

2nd Sunday of Advent - Lord, let us see Your kindness and grant us Your salvation

Today's first reading (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11) is from that section of 'Isaiah' attributed to an unidentified prophetic writer. Indeed, it seems to be a piece of what is known as resistance literature.
As you probably know by now, (because I've written about it a hundred times!), the Jews were in awful trouble with the Babylonians in the 6th century BC. Thousand of the best and brightest Jews, the intellectual and business elite had been frog-marched to Babylon. To mention Babylon to Jews, was like dropping the word Belsen on an audience of contemporary Jewish people.
Our prophet wrote in dangerous times and resorted to a kind of code language so the Babylonians wouldn't wake up to his subversive writings. News was already abroad that Persian King Cyrus just might do for Jewish POW's then what God had done for Moses and the Hebrews hundreds of years before. Deliverance was in the air. Hope was OK.
So, we hear inspiring things about a road to be built, right through the Arabian desert, from Babylon to Jerusalem. Indeed, Cyrus would recruit and pay unemployed Jews to help build such a road.
But, the real breakthrough would have to wait for a future date, wrote the prophets. God's Messiah would lead the Jews out of spiritual slavery into a spiritually restored homeland. Even the Temple would be reinvested with God's real presence.
In Jesus Christ, God once again leads His people across an unspiritual desert of time and place to a new Jerusalem, this one built from living stones.
Just as the liberated Jews of Exodus had to cross the river Jordan, so water was used by John the Baptist as a ritual of repentance and renewal.
Throughout Jewish history, prophets were always announcing the need for reform in the way worship was conducted in Temple/Synagogue. There were already ablutions, washings, practiced as religious rituals both in the Temple precinct and in Jewish homes.
John, himself the son of a priest, Zachary, would inaugurate a new meaningful washing - baptism, as the only way prospective disciples could enter the new and spiritual kingdom (Mark 1:1-8). There would be a new Kingdom and priesthood invested in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The office of priest would be joined with the mission of prophet in the case of the twelve apostles.
We can only begin to understand this dramatic, shocking change introduced by John the Baptist. As we now know, Jewish society, especially the religious leadership, could not accept this as good news. This new economy of spiritual realities was entrusted to faithful followers of Jesus, our ancestors in faith. Even John could not grasp the extent of change he was privileged to proclaim!
Modern local church communities need prophetic priests and lay people to further develop this gospel of renewal and reconciliation.

Sunday, 14 December 2008

3rd Sunday of Advent - My Soul Rejoices in My God

The first reading (Isaiah 61:1-2.10-11) is special in so far as the first few verses were used by Jesus to announce the beginning of His ministry at Nazareth.
The next verses express the feelings in Mary's heart as she responded to the message brought by Gabriel the angel. These verses too are borrowed from a spiritual descendant of the prophet Isaiah.
The original Isaiah wrote in to 700s BC. His spiritual descendants, about 150 years later, wrote the remaining twenty-six chapters. Let's recall that liberation from Babylon in 700s BC, just like the exodus from Egypt in 1500 BC, was a peak spiritual experience for the Jews.
Today's reading reflects the utterly joyful attitude of prisoners of war returned home. It must have been like heaven on earth, even for just a short time.
Reconciliation (penance) services during Advent, from all reports, create the same atmosphere of gratitude and joy among modern participants. Catholics, immersed in secular society most of their waking hours, will feel joy at celebrating, even fleetingly, a safe return to God's forgiving presence.
Not only that, faithful to the Isaiah prophetic insight, reconciled (forgiven) Catholics must also, become more open, more inclusive to strangers, those who don't share our cultural or spiritual heritage.
From us, at least, Aboriginal people, migrants (even boat people! Yet again) need to experience understanding and hospitality.
In place of a Psalm, the usual link between our two main readings, we have verses from Isaiah and Luke: My soul rejoices in my God!
Joy is an expectation all Christians need to have. Too often we feel close to God only when under pressure from people or events. What a pity! Admittedly, even then joy can be a great healer. We know we are in God's hands. He won't desert us ever!
John the Baptist had a terrible time of it, but he like Isaiah, was full of joy. This was the first prophetic voice heard by the Jews for about 300 years. During those years of prophetic silence, religious life had been directed by priests and lawyers.
In today's Gospel passage (John 1:6-8,19-28), we find representatives of the religious establishment visiting John the Baptist to check his credentials.
Their style of religion had to be orderly and practiced in Temple or Synagogue.
John, however, preached in the open and baptised recruits by immersion in the river Jordan. This was a breath of fresh air for ordinary people but a threat to the command structure of the hierarchy.
John unashamedly confessed to being only the voice of one crying in the wilderness a quote from Isaiah. Soon, he would be forced into retirement, leaving to the successor of the prophets, the ordinary people of all times and places, the responsibility for recognizing Him who stands at the door and knocks.
Worshippers need to be alert to the knock at the door whenever Word and Sacrament are celebrated. But, don't forget the Lord's real presence in the poor.