Claire Smith

Christmas Eve

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Luke 1:67-79

Reflection:

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace. -Luke 1:78    

We find in this passage from Luke on Christmas Eve a beautiful meditation on the reason for the season.            

It starts with one of the most passionate and tender words for the compassion of God in the Greek New Testament.   The Greek word for tender compassion is splagchnon. What the word means is our innermost parts.  What we feel rises from the depths of our being.  It means God’s feelings for us come from the depths of His Being. The Divine decision to share our human nature is the most stupendous creation of God.  It is the most astonishing design He could plan for our poor humanity.  He “visits” us.  In the inspired Greek text “visit” comes from the word skeptomai (to look carefully, consider)and epi (upon).  The loving eye of God smiles on us. This is “peace”!   It is a beautiful thing to be kissed by God!

Christ is like the sunrise shining on us and obliterating the deep darkness of our lives!   When He took on our nature He become vulnerable and incredibly close to us.  A very early Scriptural verse in Phil 2:5f wonderfully articulates this for us.  “Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.   Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  

The Almighty God, Who keeps billions of galaxies in existence, shows us how much our little lives matter to Him.  This is the wonder of Christmas!  It is beautifully expressed in Titus 3:4f  “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,   He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy.”   “Kindness” has to be one of the most meaningful descriptions of God.  Don’t you love a kind person!

 Merry Christmas!

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Luke 1:57-66

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, we hear about the birth of John the Baptist. The circumstances about John’s birth are almost as remarkable as those concerning Jesus! When the people reflected on the fact that Elizabeth even conceived a child, and then, when Zechariah had confirmed in writing (because he was struck mute by the angel Gabriel) that the baby’s name was to be John, and then he was able to speak, they began to ask each other, “What, then, will this child be?” For, as Luke writes, “The hand of the Lord was with him.”

What, then, did John the Baptist turn out to be? For us Christians, John the Baptist became the fulfillment of the prophecies that told of a messenger that would come before the appearance of the Messiah. In our first reading, God speaks through the prophet Malachi: “Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me.” And later, we hear, “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”

John the Baptist came and preached repentance as preparation for the coming of the Messiah, exhorting the people to turn back to God. One of the ways we demonstrate our turning back to God is to turn our hearts to each other.

In these last few hours of Advent, we can still make room for Jesus in our hearts by making room for others. Sometimes the Christmas season is a time of stress, and tensions within a family are heightened, not eased. But maybe, just maybe, this Christmas can be different. May we let the Baptist’s call for repentance open our hearts to turn toward Jesus and toward each other.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:24-28
Luke 1:46-56

Reflection:

Lord, the family Christmas tree is finally up in the great room, full of twinkling lights and sparkling garlands. Nestled within its branches, shining ornaments of silver and gold make way for the important ornaments that each mark a special family moment:

“Our first married Christmas 1977”, three “My first Christmas” ornaments for the births of Joe 1981, Jen 1985, and Ken 1989. “Our new home  2002.” Then the cycle repeats itself with two “My first Christmas 2018” ornaments for David and Jack, Grandsons Extraordinaire.

Beneath the tree, as one has been since my birth, the nativity scene is laid out. The wooden stable covers Mary  and St Joseph, standing with two cows, a donkey and three geese, (one of which has lost its beak some ages past).  To the left of the manger, seven “steps” away, are the three kings walking or riding their camels, making their way to Bethlehem over white linen “sand” dotted with palm trees.  To the right, shepherds guard their sheep and goats  beneath the twinkling lights on the tree limb above them. 

My eyes return to Mary waiting silently in the dark, desert cold. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.”

This girl, who knowingly faced great danger in accepting the will of God, waits in the shadows and chill of the desert night as Joseph strives to make his young wife as comfortable as possible in their meager shelter, and prepares the manger with fresh hay and a cloth covering for the child soon to come.   

I too silently wait, reflect for a few quiet moments amidst the excitement of family arriving soon, choir rehearsals, and the “faithful friends, who are dear to us, gathering near to us once more.”  

I am grateful, my Father, for all the joys of this holy season, for the love of family and friends, and please bless my Passionist family who have done so much for me. Happy and holy Christmas to all.

Ray Alonzo is the father of three children, grandfather of two, and husband to Jan for over 45 years. He is a USN Vietnam Veteran, and a 1969 graduate of Mother of Good Counsel Passionist Prep Seminary. Ray currently serves on the Passionist Alumni Council.

Scripture:

Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18
Luke 1:39-45

Reflection:

Our first reading comes from the Song of Songs which has often been seen as an allegory of God’s love for his people.  In this passage the groom represents God, and we see God inviting the beloved to come and live with God in happiness.  In the alternate reading from the Prophet Zephaniah the people are told to rejoice for the Lord is in their midst.  God has protected them from their enemies.  In the gospel text we see Mary traveling to visit Elizabeth  and her unborn son rejoicing for Mary is carrying the Lord and therefore is blessed.
(Adapted from Reflections on the Daily Readings; The Irish Province of the Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.) http://www.carmelites.ie/prayer.html)

There are just a few more days till Christmas.  These texts remind us that God is renewing us with affirming love.  Have you ever thought that God is glad because of you and me?  This fills me with Advent hope.  The first two texts are about living our life in union with God and about our  being restored in God’s life and love.  “God sings joyfully because of you” (Zephaniah 3: 18).  Can we imagine that God is singing joyfully because of us?  Like Jerusalem, we too have fallen short of our best self at times.  Our God yearns to be one with us.  God is the Great Restorer.  In these final days of Advent let us take some time to be mindful and joyful as we prepare for Christmas.  Take a moment to find someone in need of help and like Mary then go in haste. (Adapted from Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B., Living Faith, October, November, December 2019, Saturday, December 21, 2019)

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.
 

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:10-14
Luke 1: 26-38

Reflection:

In five days, we will celebrate the feast of Christmas.  Hovering over the Scripture readings for today is the question, “How prepared are you?”  This question is not raised in some kind of judgmental way, implying that you’re not prepared.  Rather, it is raised as an invitation to open your heart even more to the saving coming of the Son of God.

In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear again the prophecy that God will save his people.  The sign that the fulfillment of this prophecy is at hand will be a virgin who conceives and bears a son and names him Emmanuel.

In the Gospel, we recall that astounding moment.  The Angel Gabriel invites Mary, a virgin, to be the Mother of the Son of God, and she accepts.  The promise and the fulfillment.  God is faithful.  Are we ready?

The story of the Annunciation illustrates for us the attitude of heart we need to be fully prepared.  Mary is puzzled by the words of the Angel for she can’t imagine how these things could come about.  Though puzzled and questioning, she nonetheless accepts whatever God is asking of her.  In her heart she so totally trusts in God that she is able to say an unequivocal “yes” to whatever God wants.  And, at the moment of her “yes” the Son of God is conceived within her!

So emerges the question for us, “How prepared are we?”  Are we ready to open our hearts to accept whatever God is asking of us?  Can we move beyond our fears and insecurities to unequivocally trust in God’s will for us?  The prayer that emerges from these readings and the feast of Christmas could well be, “Come, Lord Jesus into my heart.  Help me to trust in you and your loving presence in my life.”

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of retreats at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Genesis 49:2, 8-10
Matthew 1:1-17

Reflection:

In eight days, Christians will again celebrate the miracle that forever changed the world. When God became one of us in Jesus, being born into our world in Bethlehem, we received a promise of hope we never thought possible and a blessing of joy we never believed our hearts could know. This is why Christians profess that in Jesus we meet our king and redeemer, our savior and messiah.

But Jesus will be a king dramatically unlike other kings and a savior it is easy to overlook. Today’s reading from Genesis foretells the royal life of Israel. Jacob announces to his son Judah that he, like other kings, will conquer his enemies, receive homage from the people, and be like a lion, “the king of beasts,” that everyone fears to approach. By contrast, the psalm response envisions the reign of God that will break into the world in Jesus. Jesus will rule with the wisdom, mercy, and goodness of God. Under his kingship, the world will overflow in justice and peace. The poor will not be trampled, crushed, and forgotten, but liberated. The suffering will not be overlooked or ignored but comforted and healed.

The gospel passage from Matthew recounts the genealogy of Jesus. What can seem like a bewildering chronicle of names nearly impossible to pronounce reveals something wonderful: God works through human beings—including some who were dramatically flawed—to bring about something extraordinarily blessed. But it is easy to miss the blessing because God enters our world not in wealth and majesty, but as a helpless child in a family looking for shelter.

Today’s scriptures remind us that to prepare for the coming of Christ we must look for Jesus where perhaps we least expect to find him. Jesus is right before us, once more beseeching our help, in the stranger, in the lonely and loveless, in the emotionally and spiritually wounded, in the poor and homeless, in people of other races and cultures and religions, who, like Joseph and Mary and Jesus, are in need of assistance. Are our hearts open to receiving them? Are our hands ready to help? If our answer is yes, then God can work through us to achieve something extraordinarily blessed, just as he did with Jesus’ ancestors.

Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family.