Brave
17-year-old Abdullah
Serving Despite the Rough Terrain
First
reading from the prophet Micah
But you, 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. Therefore 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.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory
to you, Lord.
After
the angel Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was already six months
pregnant with John the Baptist, Mary went with great haste over rough terrain to a town in Judah, to be of service to
her pregnant cousin. There Mary 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.
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Introduction
All four candles lighted
to dispel the darkness
On Friday, Dec. 14th 2012 Adam Lanza (20 years) opened fire at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The school teaches children aged 5 to
10. Lanza killed 28 people, 20 of them children, before turning the gun on
himself. Newtown, an affluent town about 80
miles northeast of New York City, mourned its dead in community vigils.
President Barack Obama wiped away tears as he
told the nation in a television address on Friday: "Our hearts are broken.”
And on Sunday, Dec. 16th Obama flew to Newtown to personally console
those very deeply and personally
impacted by the massacre, and to promise the nation that in coming weeks he would use “whatever power this
office holds” to prevent mass shootings like the horrific one in Newtown.
Exactly
one week after the horrific massacre at
Sandy Hook Elementary School, winter began on Friday Dec. 21st. The Old Farmers'
Almanac
shows the period between Dec. 17th and 25th as the
darkest of the entire year; it has 15 long hours of darkness and only 9 short
hours of light. On this 4th
Sunday of Advent, Dec.23rd
all four candles on the Advent wreath are lighted to dispel the physical
and psychological darkness of this fast departing year of 2012. On Dec. 14th.that
darkness was horrifically climaxed by the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary
School.
Early Advent: a wearisome litany
of promises
Advent is divided
into Early and Late Advent. Early Advent
begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent and continues till the 17th
of December. In Early Advent the readings at Mass are from the prophet Isaiah,
and they offer a wearisome litany of promises:
“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)
Etc.
By the end of Early Advent, we are wearied by
its litany of promises made but as yet not fulfilled.
Late Advent: a delightful litany of stories
With
the arrival of Late Advent on Dec. 17th (called also the Novena of
Christmas) everything changes dramatically and pleasantly. The wearisome litany
of promises gives way to a wonderful litany of stories:
After Jesus’ genealogy is traced through 42 generations in the gospel
reading at Mass on the Dec. 17th (Mt. 1:1-17), there follows a
litany of stories: On the Dec.18th the story is told of Joseph who’s puzzled about his
espoused wife being with child. (Mt. 1:18-24) On the Dec.19th the story is told of aged Zachariah who
is told by an angel that his barren and aged wife Elizabeth will conceive a
child. (Lk. 1: 5-25) On the Dec.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)
Then on the Dec.21st the story is told of Mary who in her
compassion hastens over rough terrain to serve her aged cousin Elizabeth who is
already six-months pregnant with John the Baptist. (Lk .1: 39-45) Mary’s
visitation to Elizabeth is told not only on Dec. 21st (the 5th
day of the Novena of Christmas) but also on this 4th Sunday of
Advent (Cycle C). Mary, who has just been told by the angel that she is to
become the mother of the Messiah, is not immobilized by the incredible news.
Instead, as soon as the angel leaves she grabs her basket and bonnet, and
hastens across rough terrain to serve her aged and pregnant cousin who is in
great need of help.
Message
of the Visitation
There is a shining message here in Mary (mother of the Messiah) hastening
across rough terrain to visit Elizabeth and serve her in her confinement: In the
Messianic age, people shall hasten to serve those in
need, even though the terrain is rough.
Abdullah slinking over rough terrain
It’s the season to tell stories, especially in Late Advent. There is the
recent story of brave
17-year-old Abdullah, and the rough terrain over which he had to slink on his belly, in order to serve someone in utterly dire need.
That story went viral; on Dec. 13, 2012, CNN released a video
footage of Abdullah’s daring attempt to rescue a wounded woman whom he didn’t
even know. In the video he’s seen slinking over rough pavement on his belly
toward the wounded woman, while gunfire erupts all around him. He successfully
manages to tie a rope around the woman to pull her away from the area of rapid gunfire. The woman’s son waits nearby,
hoping his mother will make it out alive. Despite Abdullah’s efforts, the woman
dies. The grieving son is led away from his dead mother who is covered up and
carried away. Abdullah later told CNN: “I had
a
feeling she was still alive. I wanted to save her, and get her to a hospital. I
said to myself that if I die, it’s God’s will that I die next to this woman.”
Conclusion
All four candles burning brightly
The physical and psychological darkness of this fast departing year of 2012
was horrifically intensified on Friday, Dec. 14th by the massacre at
Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Conn. There is, indeed, great evil in the world. But the
story of Abdullah, who slinks on his belly in a daring attempt to rescue a wounded woman, sends a consoling message: there is, indeed, great good in the world. On
this 4th Sunday of Advent 2012, the four candles on the Advent wreath
burning brightly do twofold service: they lightened up a world darkened by
great evil, and they reflect the light with which people like Abdullah glow.
