All Four Candles Burning Brightly
December 20, 2009: Third Sunday of Advent
Micah 5:1-4 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
December 20, 2009: Third Sunday of Advent
Micah 5:1-4 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
First reading from the prophet Micah
The Lord says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest town in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times.” So the Lord will abandon his people to their enemies until the one who is to give birth has her son. Then his fellow countrymen who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. When He comes, He will rule His people with the strength that comes from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God Himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge His greatness, and He will bring peace.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.
As soon as the angel Gabriel left, Mary dashed off into the hill country with utmost speed, to a town in Judah. There she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. I can hardly believe that the mother of my Lord should come to visit me. When you came in and greeted me, the instant I heard your voice my baby within me leaped for joy. You believed that God would do what He said, and that is why He has given you this wonderful blessing.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
----------------
Introduction
All four candles burning brightly
Introduction
All four candles burning brightly
Winter begins tomorrow, Monday, December 21st. The Old Farmers' Almanac shows the period between December 17th and December 25th as the darkest of the entire year; it has 15 long hours of darkness and only 9 short hours of light. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, December 20th, we light all four candles of the Advent wreath to dispel the physical and psychological darkness of these concluding days of 2009.
Early Advent: a wearisome litany of promises
In the liturgical books Advent is divided into Early and Late Advent. Early Advent begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent and continues till the 17th of December. The readings at Mass from the prophet Isaiah offer a wearisome litany of promises. The verbs in the Isaian readings are all in the future tense, because that’s the tense of promise. E.g.,
“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.” Etc. (Is 41: 18)
By the end of Early Advent, we have become wearied a bit by Isaiah’s litany of future-tense verbs foretelling good things to come, and we find ourselves exclaiming, “What about now!”
“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.” Etc. (Is 41: 18)
By the end of Early Advent, we have become wearied a bit by Isaiah’s litany of future-tense verbs foretelling good things to come, and we find ourselves exclaiming, “What about now!”
Late Advent: a delightful litany of stories
With the beginning of Late Advent on December 17th (called also the Novena of Christmas) everything dramatically changes. Suddenly all the verbs of the gospel readings at Mass are in the past tense. That’s the tense of story, for every good story begins with ”Once upon a time there was….” The readings no longer gaze into the future and offer a wearisome litany of promises. Instead they gaze back into the past and offer a litany of delightful stories – all of them circling around that great event of history when “Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the king.” (Mt 2:1) Because Late Advent tells one story after another, the readings at Mass these days (unlike the Isaian readings) delight the child in us, and set the season doing what it does best: telling stories.
After Jesus’ genealogy is traced through forty-two generations in the gospel reading at Mass on the 17th (Mt. 1:1-17), there follows a litany of stories. On the 18th the story is told of Joseph who’s puzzled about his espoused wife being with child. (Mt 1:18-24) On the 19th the story is told of aged Zachariah, priest of God, to whom an angel of the Lord appears at the time of incense in the Temple and tells him his barren and aged wife Elizabeth will conceive a child. (Lk 1: 5-25) On the 20th the story is told of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive and bear a Son whom she will name Jesus. (Lk 1: 26- 38) On the 21st the story is told of Mary hastening over hill country to visit and minister to her cousin Elizabeth who’s already six-months pregnant. (Lk 1: 39-45) On the 22nd the story is told of Mary singing her Magnificat magnifying God her Savior, in response to Elizabeth’s exalted greeting,. (Lk1:46-56) And on the 23rd the story is told of old Zechariah prophesying that his son John would go before the Lord to prepare straight paths for Him. (Lk 1:67-79)
After Jesus’ genealogy is traced through forty-two generations in the gospel reading at Mass on the 17th (Mt. 1:1-17), there follows a litany of stories. On the 18th the story is told of Joseph who’s puzzled about his espoused wife being with child. (Mt 1:18-24) On the 19th the story is told of aged Zachariah, priest of God, to whom an angel of the Lord appears at the time of incense in the Temple and tells him his barren and aged wife Elizabeth will conceive a child. (Lk 1: 5-25) On the 20th the story is told of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive and bear a Son whom she will name Jesus. (Lk 1: 26- 38) On the 21st the story is told of Mary hastening over hill country to visit and minister to her cousin Elizabeth who’s already six-months pregnant. (Lk 1: 39-45) On the 22nd the story is told of Mary singing her Magnificat magnifying God her Savior, in response to Elizabeth’s exalted greeting,. (Lk1:46-56) And on the 23rd the story is told of old Zechariah prophesying that his son John would go before the Lord to prepare straight paths for Him. (Lk 1:67-79)
Mary with a basketful of compassion
The story of Mary’s visitation is told also on this fourth Sunday of Advent. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, she didn’t become immobilized with surprise and awe at her great dignity. Instead, she became highly incentivized; as soon as the angel Gabriel left, Mary grabbed her bonnet and basket filled with compassion. Then she flew out of the house and “dashed over hill country with utmost speed to a town in Judah” (Lk 1:39) to visit and minister to her cousin Elizabeth who is elderly and pregnant, and in great need of help. Gabriel’s annunciation and Mary’s visitation together deliver a simple message: in the age of the Messiah, people filled with compassion will dash with utmost speed to help another in need.
A Muslim with a basketful of compassion
In tune with the spirit of Late Advent which delights in telling stories, the media recently has been recounting over and over again the story of a wonderful Muslim named Mohammad Sohail. Like Mary filled with compassion he helped another in great need.
Sohail, who moved to the United States from Pakistan about 20 years ago, was getting ready to close his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21, when a man in his 40s entered with a baseball bat in his hand and with no-good intentions in his head. Sohail tried to stall him off for a moment and then grabbed a rifle he keeps behind the counter and ordered the assailant to drop the bat.
To Sohail’s great surprise the would-be thief dropped to his knees. Crying like a baby, he begged Sohail, '”Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.” "I felt bad for him,” Sohail later remarked. Then to the would-be thief’s surprise, Sohail moved with compassion gave the poor guy a loaf of bread and $40! Yes, he gave $40 to a man who almost robbed him, and then he sent him on his way.
The story would be astounding enough if it ended right there, but it doesn’t. Two weeks before Thanksgiving this year, the would-be robber surprised Sohail again: he sent him a typewritten letter postmarked November 11, 2009, with no return address and mailed on Long Island. In the letter the man apologized to his would-be victim. He wrote,
Sohail, who moved to the United States from Pakistan about 20 years ago, was getting ready to close his Long Island convenience store just after midnight on May 21, when a man in his 40s entered with a baseball bat in his hand and with no-good intentions in his head. Sohail tried to stall him off for a moment and then grabbed a rifle he keeps behind the counter and ordered the assailant to drop the bat.
To Sohail’s great surprise the would-be thief dropped to his knees. Crying like a baby, he begged Sohail, '”Don't call police, don't shoot me, I have no money, I have no food in my house.” "I felt bad for him,” Sohail later remarked. Then to the would-be thief’s surprise, Sohail moved with compassion gave the poor guy a loaf of bread and $40! Yes, he gave $40 to a man who almost robbed him, and then he sent him on his way.
The story would be astounding enough if it ended right there, but it doesn’t. Two weeks before Thanksgiving this year, the would-be robber surprised Sohail again: he sent him a typewritten letter postmarked November 11, 2009, with no return address and mailed on Long Island. In the letter the man apologized to his would-be victim. He wrote,
First of all I would like to say I am sorry. At the time I had no money, no food on the table, no job and nothing for my family. Now I have a new child and good job, make good money, staying out of trouble and taking care of my family. You gave me forty dollars, thank you for sparing my life. Because of that you changed my life.
Then to top things off, he enclosed a fifty dollar bill in the letter! Sohail joked, "When you do good things for somebody, it comes back to you. I gave him $40, and he sent me back $50. It was a good investment.”
“It was a good investment.”
As all good stories do, this story spread swiftly and repeatedly through the media, and Sohail has received several hundred-dollar checks in the mail. That money he now uses to offer free bagels, rolls and coffee in his store every night after 9 o'clock.
Conclusion
All four candles burning brightly
These are gloomy days with 10.2% unemployment, with constant bickering over healthcare reform, with a never-ending war in Afghanistan and with the recent massacre in Fort Hood, Texas. In that horrific event an extremist Muslim, Nidal Hasan, killed 13 and wounded 29 as he cried out “Allahu Akbar!” (Allah is great!). In the face of all that bad news, we are delighted to hear and tell the story of another Muslim - Mohammad Sohail. He, too, was an extremist -- not in his anger or hatred but in his compassion: to a man who tried to rob him he gave a loaf of bread and $40 cash.
The Sohail story quickly hit all the news media, for down deep within us all is the yen to tell or hear a good heart-warming and light-infusing story, especially during the Christmas season. The Sohail story sets all four candles on the Advent wreath burning brightly in the physical and psychological darkness of these days.
The Sohail story quickly hit all the news media, for down deep within us all is the yen to tell or hear a good heart-warming and light-infusing story, especially during the Christmas season. The Sohail story sets all four candles on the Advent wreath burning brightly in the physical and psychological darkness of these days.
