December 23, 2007, 4th Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24
To the church in the diaspora[1]
& to the church of the unchurched[2]
First reading
The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky.” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.----------------
Introduction
Here already!
We wish that Lent (that somber season of penance) would speed by half as fast as Advent does. Lent lags on through 40 dreary days in late winter until early spring. Advent with its long list of things to do speeds by so fast that Christmas Eve is always upon us before we’re ready. Here it is December 23, 2007, the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, and tomorrow, ready or not, will be Christmas Eve.
Early Advent: a litany of promises
In early Advent (which began December 2) the readings at Mass are from the prophet Isaiah. They gaze into the future. They are a relentless litany of promises that everything that’s wrong with the world will be put right at the end of time. All the verbs in Isaiah are in the future tense, because that is the tense of promise.
“In those days they will melt down their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation will not raise the sword against another, and they will no longer train for war again" (Is 2:4-5). "In those days the wolf will be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid"(Is 11:6). "In those days the deaf will be able to hear a book being read out loud and the blind who have been living in darkness will open their eyes and see“ (Is 29:18). “In those days the Lord God will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry land into flowing springs” (Is 41: 18).
That relentless litany which promises that everything will be set right at the end of time bores us a bit and makes us a bit impatient. We find ourselves uttering under our breath, “Yes, but why at the end of time? Why not now!”
Late Advent: a litany of stories
In late Advent (which began on December 17 with the Novena of Christmas), the readings at Mass no longer gaze into the future. They gaze now into the past — to that moment of history when Christ the Lord came a first time as a baby boy born in Bethlehem. Suddenly the verbs of the scripture readings are all in the past tense because that is the tense of history. It is also the tense of story, for every good story begins with, “Once upon a time there was….”
The readings at Mass in late Advent are no longer a litany of promises but a litany of stories. The readings now do what Christmas does best: they tell one story after the other (a welcome relief from Isaiah of early Advent). They now are a litany of stories which do not bore us or make us impatient. Rather, they perk up our ears and delight the child in all of us.
That litany of stories goes like this: Once upon a time, there was an old priest named Zachariah offering incense before the altar of the Lord. And behold an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him and told him not to be afraid. Then he surprised the old man announcing that his barren wife Elizabeth was going to have a son whom he should name John (Lk 1: 5-25).
Once upon a time there was a maiden at prayer. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to her announcing that she had found favor with God. She shall conceive a son and call him Jesus. And what’s more, her cousin Elizabeth, barren and well-up in years, also was going to have a baby boy (Lk 1: 26-38).
That triggers another story. As soon as the angel Gabriel departed, Mary grabbed her bonnet and basket and sped off into the hill country to visit her aged cousin Elizabeth and minister to her in her confinement. When she arrived at Zachariah’s house, the old lady greeted Mary and the infant in her womb leapt for joy at the infant in Mary’s womb (Lk 1:39-45).
The angel’s annunciation to Mary in turn triggers off another story. When Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was shocked to see Mary pregnant, he decided to quietly divorce her. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and announced that what was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit, and he shouldn’t be afraid to take Mary as his wife (Mt 1:18-24).
Then there is the great story of Christmas -- the one toward which all the other little stories of Christmas build. It is read at Midnight Mass. “Once upon a time there were shepherds in their fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to them, saying, `Do not be afraid! I bring you tidings of great joy for all the people. In the city of David is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was a heavenly multitude with the angel, praising God and singing, `Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth’” (Lk 2:1-14).
That sets the scene for a final story which brings down the curtain on the Christmas drama and season. In those days when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of King Herod, three magnificent magi bearing gifts from the East followed a star until it came to rest over the spot where the child lay with Mary his mother. Overcome with joy they worshipped him and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:1-12). That’s late Advent’s litany of stories, and it delights the child in us.
A time for childlike ears/a time for adult ears
The Book of Ecclesiastes says there’s a time for everything under the sun. “There’s a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to embrace and a time to abstain, a time for war and a time for peace” (3:1-8). At this time of the rolling year, we add one more line to that oft-quoted litany: “There is a time for everything under the sun. There is a time to hear the stories of Christmas with childlike ears, and a time to hear them with adult ears.
There is a time to be simple and uncomplicated about the stories of Christmas and hear them with the ears of children. There is a time not to second guess words but take them at their face value, as children do -- words like “angels announcing” and “babes leaping in wombs” and “heavenly multitudes singing” and “infants wrapped in swaddling clothes” and magnificent “magi bearing gifts.”
But there is also a time to hear the stories of Christmas with adult ears. There is a time not to be literal and not to take words at their face value, but rather to go in search of the meanings behind the words. That is not to say that the ears of adults are any better than those of children. But growing up into adult bodies means also growing up into adult faith. St. Paul writes, “When I was a child, I heard and heeded as a child. I thought and talked as a child. But now that I am a fully-grown man, I have put away the things of a child” (I Cor 13: 11).
Adult ears and the story of virgin birth
On this fourth and last Sunday of Advent (Cycle A), Dec. 23, 2007, we tell the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Joseph Mary’s virginal conception and birth of Jesus. Then tomorrow Dec. 24 (the Vigil of Christmas), we will tell the very same story again!
At the end of the day, the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus does not fly well in our culture. In a culture where breasts are bared and bursting as never before, and where torsos are twisting and turning right square in our faces, the story of virgin birth does not fly well. Such a culture simply does not deem the story as worthy of a second thought, or it dismisses the story out of hand as quite incomprehensible and even offensive to human nature.
How in the world can such a culture (and how can we ourselves) hear the story of Christmas without tongue-in-cheek! How can the story of Mary’s virginal conception be told in such a way as to give no offence but rather satisfy the adult in ourselves and others? This is a task that is long overdue for centuries.
A positive statement about Jesus
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus cannot be a negative statement about sex. It cannot be a negative statement that when the Son of God comes into the world, it is below his dignity to be conceived in the very same way that all other babies are conceived. It cannot be a negative statement that God, who in the beginning created the world male and female, repented of such an indecent creation and decided now to do things the right way, that is to say, to do things virginally, at least in this one very special case. What an affront that is to every mother and father and to every child born into the world! (I always thought that the story of virgin birth was just that -- a negative statement about sex, until I finally grew up into a thinking adult priest and preacher!)
The story of the virginal conception is not a negative statement about sex; it is a positive statement about Jesus. He is much more than just man’s gift to man; he is especially God’s gift to us. Jesus is more than just the conception of man; he is especially the conception of God.
A positive statement about woman
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about woman – the female. When the Novena of Christmas begins on the 17th of December, the gospel opens with that long male-driven genealogy from Matthew: "Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. And Judah begot Perez and Zerah.” That genealogy runs through 42 generations of men begetting sons! (Who in the world ever heard of men begetting babies!) That male-ridden genealogy comes to a screeching halt with these words, "And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and it was of her [not of Joseph] that Jesus who is called the Christ was born” (Mt 1:1-16).
With one powerful stroke the story of the virgin birth puts an ax to the quiet lie that lines up only men behind the great historical moments of history. Behind an event which divides time for many into B.C. and A.D., there stands no man at all--only a woman. Upon a momentous page of history a woman (and not a man) puts her signature. That’s not a feminist statement. That’s a Christmas statement which convicts and challenges the churches and society.
A positive statement about man
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about man—the male. In the drama of Christmas Joseph steps aside and resigns his sexual prowess. He does so in order to let the message get through that Jesus is not just his gift to us but is also and especially the gift of the Father in heaven. Stepping aside is a big order for men who are used to center stage, and who do not resign power easily. That is a big order for men who do not countenance their power being threatened. At the end of the day, that might be the real but unspoken reason why women never get ordained in the Catholic Church except by an act of disobedience.
There are those who concentrate with all their might on the miraculous character of the virgin birth. That’s fine. There are others, who in adult bodies seeking adult faith, concentrate on the religious meaning behind the story of virgin birth. That’s better yet.
Conclusion
Xmas is also for big kids
Hearing the stories of Christmas either as children or as adults is not a matter of chronology: first we hear them as a child, and then we grow up and hear them as an adult. We vacillate between the one and the other at various stages in the journey of our lives. Sometimes we stand before the stories of Christmas as grown-ups with lost innocence -- filled with doubt or anger or even unbelief. Sometimes we stand before them as innocent children filled with unquestioning faith and Christmas anticipation.
Christmas is for little kids. It’s also for big kids. It’s also for adults who can still be turned on by “angels announcing” and “babes leaping in wombs” and “heavenly multitudes singing” and “infants wrapped in swaddling clothes” and magnificent “magi bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
1] Diaspora is a Greek word meaning dispersion. Originally it referred to the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside Palestine after the Babylonian exile. It’s now come to mean the migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland or parish!
[2]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
Isaiah 7:10-14 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24
To the church in the diaspora[1]
& to the church of the unchurched[2]
First reading
The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky.” But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, Lord.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.----------------
Introduction
Here already!
We wish that Lent (that somber season of penance) would speed by half as fast as Advent does. Lent lags on through 40 dreary days in late winter until early spring. Advent with its long list of things to do speeds by so fast that Christmas Eve is always upon us before we’re ready. Here it is December 23, 2007, the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, and tomorrow, ready or not, will be Christmas Eve.
Early Advent: a litany of promises
In early Advent (which began December 2) the readings at Mass are from the prophet Isaiah. They gaze into the future. They are a relentless litany of promises that everything that’s wrong with the world will be put right at the end of time. All the verbs in Isaiah are in the future tense, because that is the tense of promise.
“In those days they will melt down their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. One nation will not raise the sword against another, and they will no longer train for war again" (Is 2:4-5). "In those days the wolf will be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid"(Is 11:6). "In those days the deaf will be able to hear a book being read out loud and the blind who have been living in darkness will open their eyes and see“ (Is 29:18). “In those days the Lord God will turn the desert into pools of water and the dry land into flowing springs” (Is 41: 18).
That relentless litany which promises that everything will be set right at the end of time bores us a bit and makes us a bit impatient. We find ourselves uttering under our breath, “Yes, but why at the end of time? Why not now!”
Late Advent: a litany of stories
In late Advent (which began on December 17 with the Novena of Christmas), the readings at Mass no longer gaze into the future. They gaze now into the past — to that moment of history when Christ the Lord came a first time as a baby boy born in Bethlehem. Suddenly the verbs of the scripture readings are all in the past tense because that is the tense of history. It is also the tense of story, for every good story begins with, “Once upon a time there was….”
The readings at Mass in late Advent are no longer a litany of promises but a litany of stories. The readings now do what Christmas does best: they tell one story after the other (a welcome relief from Isaiah of early Advent). They now are a litany of stories which do not bore us or make us impatient. Rather, they perk up our ears and delight the child in all of us.
That litany of stories goes like this: Once upon a time, there was an old priest named Zachariah offering incense before the altar of the Lord. And behold an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him and told him not to be afraid. Then he surprised the old man announcing that his barren wife Elizabeth was going to have a son whom he should name John (Lk 1: 5-25).
Once upon a time there was a maiden at prayer. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to her announcing that she had found favor with God. She shall conceive a son and call him Jesus. And what’s more, her cousin Elizabeth, barren and well-up in years, also was going to have a baby boy (Lk 1: 26-38).
That triggers another story. As soon as the angel Gabriel departed, Mary grabbed her bonnet and basket and sped off into the hill country to visit her aged cousin Elizabeth and minister to her in her confinement. When she arrived at Zachariah’s house, the old lady greeted Mary and the infant in her womb leapt for joy at the infant in Mary’s womb (Lk 1:39-45).
The angel’s annunciation to Mary in turn triggers off another story. When Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was shocked to see Mary pregnant, he decided to quietly divorce her. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and announced that what was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit, and he shouldn’t be afraid to take Mary as his wife (Mt 1:18-24).
Then there is the great story of Christmas -- the one toward which all the other little stories of Christmas build. It is read at Midnight Mass. “Once upon a time there were shepherds in their fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to them, saying, `Do not be afraid! I bring you tidings of great joy for all the people. In the city of David is born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was a heavenly multitude with the angel, praising God and singing, `Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth’” (Lk 2:1-14).
That sets the scene for a final story which brings down the curtain on the Christmas drama and season. In those days when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of King Herod, three magnificent magi bearing gifts from the East followed a star until it came to rest over the spot where the child lay with Mary his mother. Overcome with joy they worshipped him and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:1-12). That’s late Advent’s litany of stories, and it delights the child in us.
A time for childlike ears/a time for adult ears
The Book of Ecclesiastes says there’s a time for everything under the sun. “There’s a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to embrace and a time to abstain, a time for war and a time for peace” (3:1-8). At this time of the rolling year, we add one more line to that oft-quoted litany: “There is a time for everything under the sun. There is a time to hear the stories of Christmas with childlike ears, and a time to hear them with adult ears.
There is a time to be simple and uncomplicated about the stories of Christmas and hear them with the ears of children. There is a time not to second guess words but take them at their face value, as children do -- words like “angels announcing” and “babes leaping in wombs” and “heavenly multitudes singing” and “infants wrapped in swaddling clothes” and magnificent “magi bearing gifts.”
But there is also a time to hear the stories of Christmas with adult ears. There is a time not to be literal and not to take words at their face value, but rather to go in search of the meanings behind the words. That is not to say that the ears of adults are any better than those of children. But growing up into adult bodies means also growing up into adult faith. St. Paul writes, “When I was a child, I heard and heeded as a child. I thought and talked as a child. But now that I am a fully-grown man, I have put away the things of a child” (I Cor 13: 11).
Adult ears and the story of virgin birth
On this fourth and last Sunday of Advent (Cycle A), Dec. 23, 2007, we tell the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Joseph Mary’s virginal conception and birth of Jesus. Then tomorrow Dec. 24 (the Vigil of Christmas), we will tell the very same story again!
At the end of the day, the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus does not fly well in our culture. In a culture where breasts are bared and bursting as never before, and where torsos are twisting and turning right square in our faces, the story of virgin birth does not fly well. Such a culture simply does not deem the story as worthy of a second thought, or it dismisses the story out of hand as quite incomprehensible and even offensive to human nature.
How in the world can such a culture (and how can we ourselves) hear the story of Christmas without tongue-in-cheek! How can the story of Mary’s virginal conception be told in such a way as to give no offence but rather satisfy the adult in ourselves and others? This is a task that is long overdue for centuries.
A positive statement about Jesus
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus cannot be a negative statement about sex. It cannot be a negative statement that when the Son of God comes into the world, it is below his dignity to be conceived in the very same way that all other babies are conceived. It cannot be a negative statement that God, who in the beginning created the world male and female, repented of such an indecent creation and decided now to do things the right way, that is to say, to do things virginally, at least in this one very special case. What an affront that is to every mother and father and to every child born into the world! (I always thought that the story of virgin birth was just that -- a negative statement about sex, until I finally grew up into a thinking adult priest and preacher!)
The story of the virginal conception is not a negative statement about sex; it is a positive statement about Jesus. He is much more than just man’s gift to man; he is especially God’s gift to us. Jesus is more than just the conception of man; he is especially the conception of God.
A positive statement about woman
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about woman – the female. When the Novena of Christmas begins on the 17th of December, the gospel opens with that long male-driven genealogy from Matthew: "Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. And Judah begot Perez and Zerah.” That genealogy runs through 42 generations of men begetting sons! (Who in the world ever heard of men begetting babies!) That male-ridden genealogy comes to a screeching halt with these words, "And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and it was of her [not of Joseph] that Jesus who is called the Christ was born” (Mt 1:1-16).
With one powerful stroke the story of the virgin birth puts an ax to the quiet lie that lines up only men behind the great historical moments of history. Behind an event which divides time for many into B.C. and A.D., there stands no man at all--only a woman. Upon a momentous page of history a woman (and not a man) puts her signature. That’s not a feminist statement. That’s a Christmas statement which convicts and challenges the churches and society.
A positive statement about man
The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about man—the male. In the drama of Christmas Joseph steps aside and resigns his sexual prowess. He does so in order to let the message get through that Jesus is not just his gift to us but is also and especially the gift of the Father in heaven. Stepping aside is a big order for men who are used to center stage, and who do not resign power easily. That is a big order for men who do not countenance their power being threatened. At the end of the day, that might be the real but unspoken reason why women never get ordained in the Catholic Church except by an act of disobedience.
There are those who concentrate with all their might on the miraculous character of the virgin birth. That’s fine. There are others, who in adult bodies seeking adult faith, concentrate on the religious meaning behind the story of virgin birth. That’s better yet.
Conclusion
Xmas is also for big kids
Hearing the stories of Christmas either as children or as adults is not a matter of chronology: first we hear them as a child, and then we grow up and hear them as an adult. We vacillate between the one and the other at various stages in the journey of our lives. Sometimes we stand before the stories of Christmas as grown-ups with lost innocence -- filled with doubt or anger or even unbelief. Sometimes we stand before them as innocent children filled with unquestioning faith and Christmas anticipation.
Christmas is for little kids. It’s also for big kids. It’s also for adults who can still be turned on by “angels announcing” and “babes leaping in wombs” and “heavenly multitudes singing” and “infants wrapped in swaddling clothes” and magnificent “magi bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
1] Diaspora is a Greek word meaning dispersion. Originally it referred to the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside Palestine after the Babylonian exile. It’s now come to mean the migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland or parish!
[2]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!
