Gospel for December 15, 2019

This fresco is on the ceiling of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta, and it was painted by Mattia Preti.
[Photo and caption by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.]

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 11:2-11
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

John the Baptist has experienced a serious transition in his life.  The prophet who roamed the desert, eating locusts and wild honey, preaching repentance and baptizing those who confessed their sins, has been arrested by Herod Antipas.

John has done what so many prophets before him and since have done — he has spoken truth to power.  And for his truth, he will suffer.  He has denounced Herod Antipas for the king’s immoral marriage to Herodias (she had been married to Herod Antipas’ brother Herod II. Herod Antipas had divorced his wife Phaesalis, and Herodias had divorced Herod II in order to marry each other). This was a violation of the Law of Moses.

Before his death, while John languished in Herod’s lonely, dank dungeon, he may have wondered whether he’d gotten it right after all.  John had baptized Jesus, inaugurating Jesus’  ministry.   He’d identified Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:36).  But after his arrest, he seemed to have a moment of doubt.  He sent some of his followers to ask Jesus:

Are you he who comes, or should we look for another? (Matthew 11:3).

Jesus reassures John by telling his followers:

Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,  the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.

Jesus doesn’t attempt to justify himself theologically by attesting to Scriptural prophecies and claiming that he has fulfilled them.  He points to his works.  Who else could do the remarkable works that he is doing except the Messiah?  And he seeks to encourage John’s flagging faith:

Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.

It is clear that John, like Jesus, had gathered disciples devoted to him and his teaching.  And Jesus honors his kinsman for his ministry and integrity.  Jesus recognizes that multitudes had come out into the wilderness drawn by John’s charismatic ministry.  With a rhetorical flourish, he tells them what they did not find:

A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in king’s houses.

John was not a weak reed, blown to and fro and easily uprooted. There may be a double meaning here also — a reed was depicted on some of the coinage minted during Herod Antipas’ reign. Nor was John a rich man in soft clothes — a sly reference to the soft and comfortable king, perhaps.  No, John had chosen an ascetic lifestyle, and devotion to proclaiming God’s word:

 But why did you go out? To see a prophet?

Jesus confirms that John is a prophet — and much, much more:

Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet.  For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

Jesus quotes Malachi 3:1, which describes the forerunner of the Messiah who is to come.  The belief in the ‘advance man’  who makes the preparations for the Messiah and announces his coming was very strong among the Jews at this time.  Malachi goes on to say:

 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5-6).

Jesus proceeds to confirm in this same passage that John is the Elijah figure who is the sign that the Messiah has come:

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come (Matthew 11:1-14).

Jesus honors John for this role:

Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

The interpretation of the last phrase is a little tricky.  Does Jesus mean that he himself is the least of the Kingdom of Heaven, but is greater than John?  This would certainly be true based on the fact that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.  How then is Jesus the least?  Again, a little later in this passage Jesus affirms his own humility:

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 (Matthew 11:29).

APPLY:  

Circumstances have a tendency to test our faith.  It is one thing to profess our faith when the crowds are big, the people around us are responding to the message of the Gospel, and we are sure of God’s presence and power.  It is quite another when we suffer adversity or persecution, or simply undergo setbacks.

John does the right thing, when he finds himself in Herod’s dungeon facing eventual death.  He seeks answers from Jesus himself.

When we are faced with discouragement, depression, defeat, we must do the same.  Search the Scriptures, study church history and the stories of the saints who have overcome through faith, look around us at the triumphant testimony of Christians around us, and remember what God has done in our own lives.

Then we can face whatever may come in our lives.

RESPOND: 

In my private devotions I have been praying through a book called The Book of Uncommon Prayer.  I ran across a poem in this unusual book by Victor Hugo that makes me think of the uncertainty that John the Baptist experienced:

LIFE UNCERTAIN
What matter it though life uncertain be
To all? What though its goal
Be never reached? What though it fall and flee —
Have we not each a soul?
Be like the bird that on a bough too frail
To bear him gaily swings;
He carols though the slender branches fail —
He knows he has wings!

We live in a time of uncertainty, in our nations, our culture, our churches, our lives.  We may feel at times that we are in a dungeon awaiting we know not what.  But we are reminded that we have wings, thanks to he who calls himself  least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Lord, when doubts come amidst uncertain times, remind me to look at what you have done — the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news preached to them — now and in the future that you are bringing.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
"St John the Baptist imprisoned" by Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Epistle for December 15, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
James 5:7-10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The letter of James is one of the 23 out of 27 books of the New Testament that mentions the Second Coming of Jesus.  This is interesting because we don’t think of James as a “theological” or “doctrinal” book.  James deals with practical matters concerning faith and works, the dangers of the tongue, impartiality concerning the rich and poor, etc.

But here, James (who is identified as the brother of Jesus and the first bishop in Jerusalem) takes it for granted that the Lord will return.  What he counsels, as the church waits for Christ’s kingdom, is patience.

He draws an analogy between the patience of a farmer and the patience required of a believer.  The farmer must wait on the early and late rain in order for the crops to grow.  So must the believer trust in something that he/she cannot control — but wait with patience.  However, there is also this exhortation and assurance:

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Then James gives practical advice for how they may establish their hearts:

Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

As with other aspects of James’ advice, his concerns for the Christian community are about relationship.  He knows that grumbling, and the misuse of the tongue in gossip and poisonous speech can tear the community apart.

Finally, he reminds them of their spiritual predecessors from the Old Testament:

 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

APPLY:  

This is a helpful word for Advent.  Like the growth of crops and the eventual harvest, the coming of the Lord is inevitable.  But also like the farmer, we must be patient until the time is right.

It is so important to remember that the coming of the kingdom, like the growth of crops, is not something that we can control.  What we can control is our own actions — for example, not grumbling about one another as we wait.  Other passages remind us to love one another, feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, etc.

And we are not only to emulate the suffering and patience of the prophets — we are also to speak in the name of the Lord until he comes!

RESPOND: 

Although I’m not a farmer, I am somewhat acquainted with how farmers think.  My mother grew up in West Texas in a family of cotton farmers.  And over the years I have occasionally served in churches located in the Arkansas Delta, with a high number of farmers in the congregations.

I admire farmers. I learned that farmers are extremely versatile and resourceful.  They know how to operate heavy machinery; they can fix most things that break down; they understand seeds and soils; and they are astute about markets and commodity prices.

And they are also patient.  I might even add, whimsically, they are longsuffering.  But what inspires that patience, ultimately, is faith.  The farmer has faith that the processes of nature and growth will continue.  The believer has patience because we have faith that God will keep his promises.

Lord, when the world around me seems to be falling apart, remind me to have patience — your kingdom is coming!  And give me the power to treat others according to your teachings.  Amen.   

 PHOTOS:
"James 5:7b" by Sapphire Dream Photography is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Psalter Reading for December 15, 2019

“Visitation” by Franz Anton Maulbertsch (1724-1796)

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 1:46b-55
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is an excerpt from the famous passage known traditionally as The Magnificat.

Here is the context — Mary, upon being told by the Angel Gabriel that she will be the virgin mother of Jesus, is also told that her relative Elizabeth is expecting a child as well. So, like many expecting mothers who welcome fellowship with other moms-to-be, she travels from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea where Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah live (Luke 1:26-45).

The occasion for this poem of superlative beauty is the instant recognition by Elizabeth that the child within Mary is divine. Elizabeth says to Mary:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!  Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!” (Luke 1:42-45).

Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s inspired greeting is her song of praise to Almighty God.  The song seems to come from somewhere deep within her soul as she praises God for what he has done for her and for all people through her.

Mary is aware that she has been tremendously honored by this unique visitation — that God has exalted her despite her humble origins.  And she also is keenly aware that this experience will transcend her own humble existence:

For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

She recognizes that what is happening to her is of great historical significance.

At the same time, she is very careful to ascribe all honor and glory to God:

For he who is mighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name.

This is a very theocentric, i.e., God-centered hymn of praise.

Then, in verses 50-55, the song’s scope expands to include all generations, and sounds a theme of social justice that resonates with the same concerns lifted up by the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament.

She focuses on God’s mercy that is offered to all who fear him down through the ages; but she also lifts up the same concern for the poor and the oppressed and the hungry that was voiced by Isaiah and Amos and Micah and other prophets.  Mary’s  song proves to be quite counter cultural — the proud are scattered, rulers are deposed from their thrones, the rich lose all that they have!

In contrast, the humble are lifted up, the hungry are satisfied with food, and Israel is helped by the mercies of God.

All of this is in keeping with the promises of those same prophets cited earlier — that God has kept faith with the descendants of Abraham.

It is clear that this song of praise is consistent with the Old Testament and the prophetic tradition of social justice and deliverance, and that the promises to Abraham and to Israel are kept inviolable.

APPLY:  

It has been said that the Magnificat is one of the most powerful revolutionary documents in all of Scripture, if not all literature.  Even a shallow reading leads to the conclusion that God is definitely going to turn the tables on the rich and the powerful, and the poor and humble will be lifted up.  There will be a reversal of status and position.

It has even been said that a British bishop in a third world country cautioned his priests against reading this passage aloud in church to the oppressed citizens of their colony, because it might lead to social upheaval and revolution!

But it begins in the life and literally in the womb of a young woman.  Her consent to the news that she was to become the mother of the Messiah is a pivotal act in history.  By saying, as she does, let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38), she sets a revolution in motion.

It is not to be a violent revolution, except for those who resist the coming of the Messiah.  It is to be a revolution of mercy, lifting the humble from their oppressed social status, and feeding those who are hungry.

The violence that occurs because of the coming of the Messiah is from reactionaries — from those who are aware that they will lose their power and prestige, and who see this woman’s son as a threat to the status quo.  They react to his teaching and his healing and his “hunger relief program” by crucifying him, and then by persecuting his followers.

But all of that is to come later — as will the mighty deeds that God will accomplish with his arm. The birth, life, ministry, cross and resurrection of Jesus have indeed:

 scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

And it all begins with the blessed Virgin Mary and this great thing that God has done for her and through her.

RESPOND: 

I sometimes forget that the Scriptures we so glibly read in worship services during this season of Advent are RADICAL!

True, all generations are blessed by that child that has been conceived in Mary.  But if I take the words of Scripture seriously, they call me to examine which group I’m a part of —  am I arrogant or humble, ruler or ruled, full or hungry?

But more importantly, what am I to do about it?  Fear God, humble myself  before him, and identify with the poor and the oppressed?  I think so.

Our Lord, I cannot improve on Mary’s words. But I am aware that as with Mary you have honored me with your favor simply by offering me your grace and mercy.  Forgive me when I crow with the proud, and seek to be imperious like the rulers.  Give me an identification with the humble and poor so that I might be in ministry to them — because that’s where you are.  Amen.

PHOTOS:

"Visitation" by Franz Anton Maulbertsch is in the Public Domain.

Old Testament for December 15, 2019

Hope for the future….
‘For the waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and stream in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.’  Isaiah 35:6a-7
[by Knight Lightness]

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 35:1-10
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Isaiah’s oracle is a word of hope for Israel.  Once again, there are debates about the time and context of this prophecy.  For traditional interpreters, Isaiah is a unified work, written by one man who began to prophesy in the mid-8th century in Judah.  If some of his prophecies seem to relate to events that are many years later than his likely lifespan, this is to be explained as the product of divine inspiration.

On the other hand, interpreters who accept the historical-critical method believe that there are three Isaiahs:

• The Isaiah whose ministry began in 742 B.C. and continued through 689 B.C. at the very latest. According to this theory, his work was comprised of Isaiah 1-23 and 28-33. He prophesied during a time when Assyria threatened Israel and Judah, and eventually conquered Israel (721 B. C). Although Judah (the Southern Kingdom) was invaded in 701 B.C., it retained its political integrity and autonomy.
• Second Isaiah, an anonymous prophet, is credited with the oracles included in chapters 34-35 and 40-55, dating from around 540 B. C. after the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. These oracles provide hope that God hasn’t forgotten his people, and will bring them back from exile.
• Third Isaiah, these interpreters would say, includes chapters 24-27 and 56-66, dating from after 537 B .C., and the beginning of the return of the exiles to Judah.

Each reader of Scripture must determine for him/herself what they believe concerning these contending theories.  What ultimately matters is that the church has declared that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, and that they convey God’s truth to us.

Isaiah paints a picture in this oracle of a highway that passes through an arid desert.  Other than the references to Lebanon, Carmel and Sharon, which are used merely to describe the beauty of a blossoming land,  there are no geographical points. We don’t know exactly where this highway might be, except that it leads back from exile.  (As we consider this description of return from exile, we are reminded that there were several  deportations in the history of Israel and Judah. There were those that occurred when Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. There were also two major deportations by the Babylonians — one when they conquered Jerusalem in 598 B.C., and the other after Jerusalem is utterly destroyed in 587 B.C.)

What Isaiah wishes to depict is that:

The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
It will blossom abundantly,
and rejoice even with joy and singing.
Lebanon’s glory will be given to it,
the excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

The wilderness, which was so forbidding to the exiles, will become like a garden for those who return.

Therefore Isaiah urges the exiles to:  

Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Tell those who have a fearful heart, “Be strong.
Don’t be afraid.”

Isaiah’s metaphor of the highway is a kind of two-way street. On the one hand, God is coming to vindicate his people:

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution.
He will come and save you.

On the other hand, it seems that God’s coming will truly prepare his people for a journey that lies ahead of them.  Those who are infirm will be healed, and there will be water for the thirsty travelers:

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame man will leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute will sing;
for waters will break out in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of jackals, where they lay.

The prophet then describes the highway itself, and gives it a name:

A highway will be there, a road,
and it will be called The Holy Way.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it will be for those who walk in the Way.

And he further declares that there will be no obstruction or threat from Wicked fools or lion or ravenous animal on this road, but that those who have been bought back  from their exile will travel safely.  He says:

The redeemed will walk there.
The Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return,
and come with singing to Zion;
and everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

APPLY:  

The imagery of exile can apply to our lives at many levels.  When we have turned away from God, or when we feel distant from God because of tragedy or other circumstances, we can feel that we are in exile.

Isaiah 35 suggests hope for all who have ever felt exiled from God, from home, from hope.  God is the one who builds a highway through the deserts of our lives so that we may return to him.  The blind, the lame, the mute, those with feeble knees will be enabled to walk this highway called the Holy Way. 

What makes this description of the highway more poignant is Jesus’ description of himself in John 14:

 I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

And the language Isaiah uses describing the exiles as redeemed and ransomed reminds us of the language of the New Testament concerning the redemption of sinners from bondage to sin:

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,  that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children (Galatians 4:4-5).

Jesus himself speaks of his own ministry as the act of purchasing the freedom of those who are in bondage:

the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).

RESPOND: 

When I was in a church young-adult group in college, there was one guy who always requested the same old song during our sing-along time:

You gotta walk that lonesome valley
And you gotta walk, walk it by yourself
Nobody else can walk it for you
You gotta walk, walk it by yourself.

That was the only refrain that seemed to stick with me, and it seemed pretty discouraging.  The guy who requested the song had experienced some tough knocks in his life. He lived in a tiny room in a boarding house, and was often seen at the church’s food pantry.

I wonder if he heard any hope in the second stanza of the song:

Jesus walked this lonesome valley
And he had to walk it by Himself
Nobody else could walk it for Him
He had to walk, walk it by Himself.

Still, even that stanza seems to be rather hopeless, unless we recognize that Jesus walked this lonesome valley for us!   When Isaiah describes  The Holy Way, it is full of hope for the hopeless — the feeble knees, the blind, the lame, the mute.   And all of us who have experienced exile from God have been redeemed and ransomed:

Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return,
and come with singing to Zion;
and everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Our Lord, thank you that you have prepared the Holy Way for us that we might return to you, and that You are the way the truth and the life! Lead us back to you with singing and joy. Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Hope for the future….” by Knight Lightness is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.