Daily Scripture

The Nativity of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18

Reflection:

Let Us Dream

I have a hunch that the Wise Men would have liked Pope Francis.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Three were kings. No, they were astrologers — magi or magicians. But Matthew gives them lots of coverage, especially since Matthew was writing to the Jewish community, and the Three Wise Men were outsiders. But they had the courage to follow their star, and they became models of faith for us. Artists and musicians and writers need not romanticize the story; we learn from the stranger.

Each generation supposes it is unique in its experience. With the number of folks drifting from regular worship, the polarization in politics, and divisions in the Church, our democracy in jeopardy, and commentators writing often about our “post-truth” culture, it is easy to succumb to playing the “ain’t it awful” game when we gather with family, friends, or colleagues for the holidays. Too often we feel we are walking on eggshells, and hesitant to express our opinion about anything, lest we offend someone.

But Pope Francis often invites us to imagine, to dream. Maybe this Christmas we can see with new eyes. The Synod on Synodality helps us ponder that provocative passage from Isaiah 54:2: “Enlarge the space for your tent.”  The Magi found the Christ because they were willing to go deeper, to listen, to follow their dream.

The mystery of Christmas isn’t only about a baby in a manger. What happened long ago happens here and now. God is crashing into our lives, ever new. Emmanuel, God-with-us. If only we could imagine.

Fr. Jack Conley, CP, is the local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Fourth Sunday of Advent
Christmas Eve

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

Wernher von Braun played a prominent role in all aspects of rocketry and space exploration.  He was a key scientist in getting us to the moon.   He was once asked do you believe in God? He said: “Yes I certainly believe in God, but I will tell you He is a lot bigger than we thought!”

The space explorers confirm our age-old faith in the All-Powerful God, the Pantocrator of the Bible.  Telescopes have shown us billions of Galaxies.   Our galaxy, the Milky Way, takes our sun and our planets at a speed of around 448,000 mph 230 million years to get around it one time!  How unimaginably huge and powerful is our God Who created all this with a word!

Christmas celebrates the miracle of miracles of this great God’s embracing humanity by becoming human without losing His Divinity!   This wonderful mighty God now has a human face and a kind human heart that we can approach without fear. 

Pope Francis beautifully said: “This is the gift we find at Christmas.  We discover to our amazement that the Lord is absolute gratuity, absolute tender love!  His glory does not overwhelm us: His presence does not terrify us.  He is born in utter poverty to win our hearts by the wealth of His love!”  Jesus loved to remind us that He is not only God’s Son but also the “Son of Man”.  He said this 81 times in the Gospels!

Pope Benedict XV1 of blessed memory shares his reflection on Christmas:  “God is so great so that He can become so small.  God is so powerful that He can make Himself so vulnerable and come to us as a defenseless child so that we can love Him. God is so good that he can give up his divine splendor, and come down in a stable so that we might find Him, so that his goodness may touch us, and give itself to us and continue to work through us.”

Mary carried this tiny precious Divine and Human Being with “a love beyond all telling”!   Oh that we could receive this gift of all gifts, Jesus, like His mother! “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  John 1:11f

Christmas is the wonderful beginning of a new friendship with Jesus.  It is our yes to His invitation: Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mt 11:29

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, as we near the holy day of Christmas, we hear about the birth of John the Baptist. Just as it is with the birth of Jesus, the birth of John the Baptist was associated with remarkable events: The appearance of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah, who was made mute after having doubts that he and Elizabeth could have a child; the fact that Elizabeth had conceived in her old age, even though she was considered barren; the fact that when John was to be named, when Zechariah affirmed Elizabeth’s statement that he was to be named John, at that moment he was able to speak and gave praises to God. All these things told the people who knew Zechariah and Elizabeth that something special was planned for this baby: “What, then, will this child be?”

What spoke to me was the commotion around naming the baby John. The other people who were at the circumcision were ready to name him Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth told them that he would be named John. They pointed out to her that there was no relative with that name. That’s when they asked Zechariah about it, and since he couldn’t speak, he wrote on a tablet, “John is his name.”

The name “John” was a break from the past, and this might have been an indication of what John would be called to do. John was a continuation of all the prophets who foretold that the Messiah would come. But at the same time, he was the one who was preparing the people for the Messiah’s actual coming.

Like John, we have been called by name. Like John, we are called to point people towards Jesus. There might not have been extraordinary events surrounding our birth, but what Luke wrote about John is true for us: “For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.” Surely the hand of the Lord is with us. May we accept our call and herald the reality of God’s love in Jesus Christ, on the holy day of Christmas and throughout our lives.

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:

Mary, my mother; Your beautiful song of praise, “The Magnificat,” brings so many memories rushing in…   

As kindergarteners at St. Boniface in the mid-1950s, we were taught 1) that we were made to know, love and serve God, 2) how to fold our hands in prayer, and 3) what Sister Jean called, “the Mary songs”. We learned the words and sang along with the rest of the school at mass, “Ave, Ave, Ave Ma-RI-a….”   As the weather turned colder and December approached, Sister would gather us around the creche and there you always were, kneeling in front of St Joseph, staring at the empty manger, waiting for Jesus to arrive.

The first of May marked “Mary’s Month” and we would file out to the parish grotto to crown your statue with a woven ring of roses. “Tis the month of our mother:  Then, “Bring flowers of the fairest. Bring flowers of the rarest….”    

Freshman year at the Prep, the first song we learned in our Seminary Harmony Choir was, “Lo How a Rose ‘ere blooming, the Rose I have in mind.  With Mary, we behold it, the virgin Mother kind…  She bore to men a Savior when half-spent was the night.” 

I am an old man now, but I still turn to you, Blessed Mary, when I am troubled or weary of the world. I pray for your love and motherly care, and you always comfort me. Father Randal was fond of reminding us that as you stood at the foot of the Cross, you became the world’s first Passionist. Mother Mary, thank you for teaching me to know, love and serve your son. Jesus and Mary be praised, forever and ever.

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:

Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a,
Luke 1:39-45

Reflection:

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country of Judah where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. -Luke 1:39

Having learned from the angel that she will give birth to the Son of God, Mary set out to visit her pregnant relative, Elizabeth. Elizabeth greets Mary with honor even though Mary is an unmarried pregnant woman and could be socially ostracized, socially judged and shamed. Ellizabeth has experienced her own shame and exclusion. In the Hebrew culture of those times, a woman’s purpose in life was to bear children. Elizabeth was an elderly infertile wife that endured a lifetime of shame and exclusion. Elizabeth, being miraculously pregnant rejoices. “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.” (Luke 1:25) (Adapted from the Working preacher,  Judith Jones, Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C, December 20, 2015, p.2)

Both Mary and Elizabeth bestowed honor and blessings upon each other. They shower each other with inclusive love and acceptance. They both acknowledge God’s love at work even though they are shamed by their society. This Gospel reading should cause us to stop and ponder during this Advent season. Daily news broadcasts show people hating Jews, Palestinians and others causing harm and death. Look around, is God working through people that society exclude and treat as shameful? What is God doing through the vulnerable and forsaken in our society? How will we respond to poor people on the street corner begging for money to buy food?

May we, like Elizabeth and Mary, honor and bless each other and all those that have been excluded from society and shamed. May we, like Elizabeth and Mary welcome the needy who show up on our doorstep. May we, like them become a community that cares, and loves and supports each other as we wait and hope for Jesus. (Adapted from the Working Preacher, Judith Jones, Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C, December 20, 2015, p.2)

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Reflection:

With Christmas only eight days away, it is not surprising that each of today’s readings turns our attention to the birth that brought unconquerable hope to the world. In the gospel we hear the stirring proclamation of John the Baptist: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’” Those words instruct us to turn our attention to the “one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” Indeed, the gospel says that the whole purpose of John the Baptist’s ministry was “to testify to the light,” Christ, God’s anointed one who is about to enter the world.

The second reading from 1 Thessalonians could be viewed as a succinct and very practical guide for how to prepare for the coming of Christ. We are to “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances, give thanks” and, perhaps most importantly, “Refrain from every kind of evil.” If we do these things, we will be fully ready to receive the gift of abundant life and unsurpassable love with which God wants to bless us at Christmas.

Finally, the first reading from Isaiah, the powerful Messianic prophecy, tells us exactly what Jesus’ mission in the world will be. He comes not to bring glory to himself or to exalt himself over others; rather, in Jesus, God enters our world “to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.” Jesus comes to bring a harvest of justice and peace, particularly for those who are most often denied them. If this is so, perhaps the best way we can ready ourselves for the coming of Christ is to do now for others the very things that Jesus comes to do—and continues to do—for us.

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

Scripture:

Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13

Reflection:

The feats of the prophet Elijah are well-documented and well-known. He called down the fire of God and to mock the Baal priests and their sacrifice. Elijah was taken up to the heavens by chariots of fire. The reins were passed to Elisha, a rather fiery transition of power.

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah about who his son will be. “John will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

John is foreseen to come with the spirit and the power of Elijah. But he is not Elijah. He is the last of the prophets, tasked to “prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths.” Indeed, he will point to the Messiah.

The people in Jesus’ time were perplexed with the figures of John the Baptist and Jesus. How often we are too! What is Jesus waiting for?

We approach Gaudete Sunday and the lighting of the rose candle. The Church transitions from hopeful anticipation of the second coming to the joy of Christ’s first coming. Together, we wait to welcome the new Christ child once again in our lives.

Fr. Phillip Donlan, CP, is the Associate Director of Ministry at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California.

Scripture:

Isaiah 48:17-19
Matthew 11:16-19

Reflection:

Now that we are in the second week of Advent, the Lord’s message is getting a little more direct. We are still enjoying all the beautiful imagery that has been shared with us by Isaiah, the great prophet whose imagination has captured our minds and hearts in these early days of Advent.  But now Isaiah rightly shares with us another side of his prophetic message, a side that reveals no small amount of frustration with all those in his audience (and all of us today, too!) who simply don’t pay attention to what he is saying.  Imagine this fiery prophet, crying out to the crowds, who simply walk by as if they have better things to do – not unlike the mobs of shoppers in the stores and on the web today.  We hear but do not understand.  We are busy in our business and don’t have time to take seriously the word of God reveals to us through his prophet.

Hear these words then, dear reader:

I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.  If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea; your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains…

All we have to do is listen to the Lord and learn from all that He is teaching us!  All we have to do is listen and learn, and we shall prosper like a flowing river!

The message is no less forceful in today’s Gospel from Matthew:

We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’  For John came
neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed
by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

The frustration can even be heard in the voice of Jesus himself.  The Gospel is given to us, the wisdom of God is handed to us on a platter, and we are too busy looking for the latest bargain, the latest discount, so that we can store up things that will never last!  And then we wonder why there is so little peace on earth and turmoil in our own land. The key is to listen carefully to the Lord, hear his words, and take them seriously.  It’s not too late!

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.