faith

SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2025: THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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The Calling of St. Peter, Philippe de Champaigne undated, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”   Luke 5:8.

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There is a bit of a tradition in England that men who deal with fish are renowned for their foul language. Its source, it is said, comes from the Billingsgate Fish Market which used to be in the Pool of London, which is to say the part of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The market has since been moved downriver, but the rather splendid building remains. It has fish finials on the roof!

Old Billingsgate Fish Market, London.

I say this not to insult the good workers of the fish market, but rather to suggest a clearer picture than painted in today’s gospel. A holy man, Jesus, happened upon a bunch of fishermen who were cleaning their nets. There was such a crowd following Jesus that he asked, no doubt politely, if he could borrow one of their fishing boats, pull out a little from the shore so that he could address the people in a way they could see and hear him. No doubt with a nonchalant shrug, Peter agreed, and presumably continued his net cleaning. Afterwards this holy man suggested to Simon, Peter’s birth name (Jesus was to give him his new name later), that he pull out into deep water and let down his nets down once more. He was then told that the fishermen had been laboring all night long and had caught nothing. Now consider: Simon Peter was exhausted, no doubt dog-tired, angry, disappointed and had nothing to show for all his work. Here was this holy man telling him to pull out once more. Today’s gospel has the fisherman’s response as “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” Bear that response in mind and consider this. In early 19th century England there was a good country doctor, Dr. Thomas Bowdler, who lived near Bath in the West Country. He decided he would publish the works of Shakespeare with all the dirty bits removed, which, as he said, would allow “a father to read aloud to his family without fear of offending their susceptibilities or corrupting their minds.” Hence the verb “to bowdlerize” entered the language. I say this to suggest that today’s gospel has been subjected to just such an exercise. Put yourself into the wet, cold slippers of this exhausted fisherman cleaning his nets with which he had caught nothing all night long. Now tell me, in all honesty, what would YOU have said to the holy man (who probably knew nothing about fishing) if he told you to go out and cast your nets again? I can’t prove it, but I smell bowdlerization at work here. It certainly makes Peter’s exclamation to the Lord when he returned, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” much more understandable (look at the painting above). But clearly Peter, for all his gruffness, saw in Jesus something very special to go ahead and do what Jesus suggested. He must have sensed here the presence of the real thing, as it were. And afterwards he dropped everything to follow this wonderful man! And so, in many ways, have we. Here is someone who has changed peoples’ whole lives, possibly beginning with St. Peter himself. We Christians in our heart of hearts know how we should respond to life’s dramas and problems. We might, or might not do what we know we should do, and thereafter we might scourge ourselves with remorse. Guilt is not unknown in Christian circles. All this because we try to model ourselves on the way Jesus would deal with every situation, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. 

Now look at today’s first reading, from Isaiah: Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” I fear many of us could identify with that man. In his case, the reading continues, “…one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it, and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” This person was cleansed by God, and in a way it parallels Peter’s experience at Lake Gennesaret (another name for Lake Tiberias or, more commonly, the Sea of Galilee). Jesus’ response to Peter’s almost certain declaration as to what Jesus could do with his suggestion and where and how he could do it, aligns with Isaiah’s plea for forgiveness as a person of unclean lips. In asking Jesus to leave him because of his almost certain bad behavior, Simon Peter was greeted instead with Jesus’ total acceptance of him, his utter forgiveness, and bestowing on him his new vocation, to be a fisher of all who would listen to him and follow the Lord, as indeed he did now do.

Today’s second reading talks of an even more dramatic conversion to serve the Lord. Paul, who, as Saul, had set out to destroy the infant Christian communities in Jerusalem and Damascus (and almost succeeded) was approached by Jesus in an even more dramatic way, leading to a complete about turn and preach the Good News instead of destroying it. Does this mean that Jesus seeks us out in the same way, to overwhelm us with an incredible experience? Well, perhaps, but it is more likely with a still small voice, just as the prophet Elijah heard but in dramatic circumstances. Perhaps the lesson is that we should always be aware of the possibility of the Lord speaking through major life dramas, or in the still small voice of those more frequent moments when we can reflect on how good a servant of the Lord we have been, and promise better in the future, or give thanks for the guidance and the satisfaction of doing one’s best. No matter which one it is, as we can see from today’s lesson, we are always accepted and loved. 

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SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2025: THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD: CANDLEMAS.

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The Presentation in the Temple, Alvaro Pirez 1430, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA.

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord….”   Luke 2:22-23.

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The birth of a first-born son is a special event in a Jewish family. He, and all other boys born into the family, must be circumcised, according to the ancient tradition dating back to God’s direct instruction to Abraham: “You must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old…” (Genesis 17:11-12). But, as seen in today’s gospel, the boy must also be presented to God in the Temple and be “redeemed” by the sacrifice of an animal. Although scholars think that the tradition of presenting one’s first born son to God, and then redeeming him through sacrifice of animals, sprang from the death of the firstborn as the 10th plague resulting in the release of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, Abraham’s sacrifice of his son Isaac represents another, perhaps more profound, possible source for this tradition. Whatever it was, a tradition developed among the Hebrew people to “redeem” their first born sons by offering something in his place. For Mary and Joseph it was two turtle doves when they presented Jesus in the Temple, as stated in today’s gospel. Acceptable sacrifices were oxen, sheep, goats, turtledoves or pigeons, depending on the ability of the family to afford the sacrifice. But the boy was clearly redeemed for God. You should also know that first-born male child sacrifice, which God originally ordered Abraham to do, had been a culturally and religiously acceptable, albeit very harrowing, tradition in ancient pre-Jewish Canaan. This was clearly abhorrent to God, and it is this author’s opinion that it is the reason God intervened in our history at all! The generally accepted root of this tradition, however, was the 10th plague in Egypt, the death of the first-born male, from the son of pharaoh to the lowest beast of the field. But the blood of a sacrificed lamb was to be placed on the doorposts of the Hebrew homes, and the angel of death would “pass over” those homes, and their first-born sons would live (Exodus chapter 12). Following on that event, all first-born sons, as Jesus was, were to be presented to God in the Temple and then redeemed. But whatever events triggered this tradition it was one of the oldest in the Christian calendar, being described by Egeria in the 4th century in Jerusalem. It was once called the feast of the Purification of Our Lady. All about that here. Clearly it was important enough for Joseph and Mary to take the long journey to present Jesus to his Father in the Temple in Jerusalem. And it was at this time that Simeon, the old man in today’s gospel, took the baby Jesus in his arms. He had been promised by God’s Holy Spirit that “he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord”. It was at that moment he said, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace”, the famous “Nunc Dimittis” prayer traditionally sung at Evensong. He accepted that he would now be called by God from this life.

Also attached to this day is a festivity involving candles. In fact another name for today is “Candlemas”. That springs ultimately from another non-Christian tradition but this time taken not from a Jewish source, but from a pagan celebration at the time of the early church. You can find out about at least one possible source (there are several) here. The church has a long tradition of taking ancient pagan feasts and adapting them into a Christian celebration, most importantly Christmas itself! The connection with candles probably comes from Simeon’s prayer, which goes on to say, “…my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Apart from the sun, moonlight at certain times of the month and fire, candles were the only source of bright light for most people. Hence the light of Christ became associated with that most familiar source. Whatever it was, the image of light to the world is an image of the Lord who lights the way for all of us, and as ever, it is up to us to follow that light, the surest pathway to God and eternal happiness.

Feast of our Lord Entering The Sanctuary, Bodour Latif and Youssef Nassief 1992, St-Takla.org.

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SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2025: THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Christ in the synagogue of Nazareth, Anonymous c.1350, Visoki Decani Monastery, Kosovo.

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[Jesus said] “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”   Luke 1:21

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Firstly today’s gospel is in two parts, the first verses are from the very beginning of Luke’s gospel, and the second part taken from chapter 4. Luke begins by assuring his reader, Theophilus, that everything that follows are the testimonies of eyewitnesses, checked by Luke himself, assuring him of the source of the teaching he had already received. One small point here. The Acts of the Apostles begins in a similar way, also addressed to Theophilus, and so this gospel and the Acts came from the same hand. Additionally, Luke begins his gospel with the birth not of Jesus but with the earlier drama of the birth of John the Baptist. Acts ends with St. Paul arriving in Rome where he lived in a place “he rented for himself” and preached boldly and freely about the Kingdom of God (Acts 28:30-31). That makes Luke the second longest book of the New Testament. Mark is the shortest, beginning with Jesus’ baptism and ending with the empty tomb (in the opinion of most scholars). And John, which begins before all things (“In the beginning was the Word”), and with the same author writing the Book of Revelation, ends with the ending of all things, is the longest in time. And Matthew fits in after Mark and before Luke, with the birth of Jesus and ending with the Risen Lord commanding his followers to go preach to the world. There also seems to be a temporal sequence here too, with Mark the earliest and John the last, again the the opinion of most scholars.

Now, when Jesus arrived back in his home town of Nazareth, he was fresh from the revelation that he was the Son of God, declared so by a voice from heaven no less at his baptism, and his lengthy meditation on what had happened for 40 days in the wilderness. So it can be assumed he had come to some understanding of what had happened at his baptism, which is probably why he said what he said in the Synagogue on one of the earliest Sabbaths after his return. There he announced that he was the incarnation of the prophecies of Isaiah with the boldness, not to say innocence, of youth. Well, it is hardly surprising that this was greeted with incredulity, even violence as they tried to throw him over a cliff! He was the son of Joseph, not the Son of God! Such arrogance! Such sinful pride! Such blasphemy! Clearly Jesus learned the hard way how to reveal truths, but clearly the hand of God protected him at this time, saving his entire ministry, as he “walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way” (Luke 4:30). But he had spoken the truth…

Jesus’ boldness had come straight from Scripture, as we can see from today’s first reading. Here Ezra the priest read from the book of the law of God to the universal approval of the people who “bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground”, (possibly the origin of the Muslim tradition of honoring God). There was nothing but approval and honor in what Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites, the assistants in the Temple, all received from the people. Clearly Jesus was expecting a similar reception, but… It was a pretty brutal beginning which was to be echoed at the end of his ministry with total rejection, opprobrium and violent death. However, it was the vocation God had given him, and it was his duty to fulfill it completely to the best of his ability. But faced with God’s universal gift of freedom, which we all enjoy to this day, even the Lord could not make people believe in him.

And then there is Paul’s teaching in today’s second reading, where he compares the Christian community to the human body. When all parts are in harmony, then there is peace and happiness (clearly not to be found in today’s gospel). He likens each individual Christian as responsible for keeping the Christian body alive and well. Each person has a role to play, some great, some not so great, but all in a way dependent on each other to make the whole thing work properly. Disputes, such as found in today’s gospel, are dangerous to the whole body and should be addressed to prevent chaos. And Paul points out that we should not complain if we do not have a very prominent role to play. I like to think of an example here. Suppose you bash your little toe against the doorway getting up in the morning…. But it’s only a little toe…. Er- yes! But… We all have an important part to play and should be happy playing it. And I think this image came straight from his experience when, as Saul, he was trying, successfully, to destroy the first Christian communities of converted Jews beginning in Jerusalem. Traveling to do the same in Damascus, a flash of light threw him from his horse and a voice said “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me” (Acts 9:4). It was Jesus’ voice, and he identified all Christians as his body. Attack one and you attack all and you attack Jesus! Saul/Paul must have contemplated that experience deeply, and arrived at the conviction that we are all part of the Body of Christ, each with an important part to play from the Pope on down. And we should be at our best when everything is working properly, when we feel well and healthy and able to do that which God calls us to do. That will depend on God’s gifts to us – our talents. They are the engine which drives us through life, doing what God wants us to do. So harmony seems to be the key here, a very happy and content life, fulfilling God’s will by serving God, then our neighbor and then ourself. That’s the Christian life plan, that is the source of happiness for us and the pathway to eternal peace.

The Body of Christ, Pastor Jason Flores 2025, Gospel Light Bible Baptist Church, Auckland, New Zealand.

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SUNDAY 19 JANUARY 2025: THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Wedding at Cana, Creative Icons By Irina, nd.

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them,“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine……  John 2:7-9.

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Jesus’ first miracle, in John’s gospel, is set in Cana, near Nazareth where Jesus grew up. Of all his miracles, this is perhaps the most social, if you like, sparing the happy bride and groom deep embarrassment on their wedding day from running out of wine. And Jesus did not want anything to do with it judging from the somewhat curt response to his mother who asked him to do something to save the situation: “Woman, how does your concern affect me? One also wonders if addressing one’s mother as “woman” was socially acceptable at that time… Or was he upset that this situation did not fit into his picture of himself as Messiah, the Anointed of God, being asked to turn water into wine! And then there is the question of wine itself. I did a little research on viticulture, and if it produced anything like what we call wine today. Well your first question might well be, was it alcoholic? The answer is yes. It is thought that usually it was not especially strong, perhaps 3% proof, way below our usual 14%, but some experts say that there is evidence for much stronger wine, even up to today’s levels of alcohol. Whatever it was, it was still strong enough to get drunk on: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” as St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus (5:18). How old is viticulture? It dates back almost 8000 years! It originated, it is thought, in the country now known as Georgia and spread from there throughout the Mediterranean region. Almost all the experts say that regular wine back then tasted horrible, which would certainly account for the headwaiter to say following the miracle: “you have kept the good wine until now”. Note also that Our Lady ignored her son’s reluctance to save the day: “Do whatever he tells you” she told the servants, clearly knowing he would respond appropriately to his mother’s wish. Mary the Intercessor! And finally, taking the cue from today’s first reading, God blesses rejoicing and happiness in the union of two people for life, even with a little help from an alcoholic beverage (though with about 150 gallons of wine at the event in Cana there can be very little doubt about that).

The second reading also talks about spirits – but this time with a different meaning! Jesus in today’s gospel is clearly still pondering the meaning of being the Messiah, and having the powers of God invested in him. He is clearly able to do anything! Paul, in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, talks about the talents, the gifts, the abilities the Holy Spirit of God has given to each of us. Obviously, from what has just been said, Jesus is invested with the power of God, and stands supreme as a result. Then each of us is invested with God’s Spirit in some way, manifested in our talents. And everyone is talented in some way or another. It is the sacred job of education to uncover our talents and develop them. Clearly talents have not been distributed evenly – many people are more talented than I am, some less. So be it. Jesus even has a parable of the talents to enlighten us. And no matter how unevenly they might be distributed, from Paul’s letter today it is clear God expects us to recognize them, develop them and serve others with them as God wills. It could be said that it is an insult to God if we do not do that. I recall a young man who was my student when I taught in Washington DC. Teachers can always recognize their most gifted students in the way they respond in class, and some are even more intelligent than their teacher! This fellow was very gifted but idle, refusing to do his work. I last saw him pushing gas on North Capital Street. It was deeply painful to me as it must have been to God. Each one of us has a deep responsibility to recognize and develop those gifts God has been generous enough to give us. They are the strengths with which we will make our way through life responding to God’s call to love God, our neighbor and ourself, even when we might be reluctant, as Jesus himself was in today’s gospel. God calls for acceptance, gratitude and response from each one of us in this life until that day when we hope to hear “Well done good and faithful servant….” 

The Marriage at Cana, Gerard David c.1503, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.

January 18-25 has been designated a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It recalls that blessed time when all Christians were united under one leadership, all acknowledging the same truths of the Faith and united in belief and peace. We have come a long way since the disgrace of Christians taking up the sword against other Christians in the religious wars which have blackened many years of history. Now we recognize the Christian beliefs of others as worthy of respect even if they differ from our own. So now we pray that the Holy Spirit of God will guide us to a Christian foundation of true partnership and co-operation with the hope of an eventual  type of unity acceptable to all.

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SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2025: THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD.

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The Baptism of Jesus, Francesco Albani c.1624, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

…heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”   Luke 3:22.

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And so, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, there was a full revelation of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Certainly no-one there at the time would have known that, but it certainly set the scene for all that was to follow. Even the very human Jesus would have perhaps been unaware of the reality of this spectacular revelation of such a profoundly Christian, even baffling, foundational truth. Mark’s gospel even begins with this vitally important scene. Jesus himself had to spend the next 40 days in the wilderness to try and come to terms with what had happened to him. It marked the beginning of his ministry, the moment when he was given his identity as he was proclaimed the Son of God by the voice from heaven. Then because God’s Holy Spirit descended on him, anointing him, he became the Messiah, which is a Hebrew word, translated Christos in Greek, both meaning Anointed in English. This was because God’s Holy Spirit had descended upon him and it revealed his vocation, his job, as it were, in this life. And note that all four gospels state God’s Holy Spirit descended on him “like a dove”. It is quite rare for all four gospels to state the exact same event, but here it does. In him all the prophecies of the ages were to be fulfilled as he was the Messiah, and what he said and did were to be the actions of God’s Son. Each of us Christians underwent the exact same experience at our baptisms, when we became children of God, our divine identity and Christ to the world, our divine vocation. We have been adopted by God, and in each of our circumstances, whoever and whatever we may be, we are to behave and give witness to our vocation as Christ to the world because we are children of God!

Now I could not resist doing a little research into the choice of God’s Holy Spirit to appear as of a dove. At the present time, the dove is highly symbolic of peace. Going back into Scripture, remember that it was a dove through which Noah had the first sign that the flood waters of the world had receded. Doves were often sacrificed in the Temple as they were considered pure. Mary and Joseph offered Passover doves to the Lord when they traveled to Jerusalem with the young Jesus. The only sacrifices permitted in the Temple in Jerusalem were oxen, sheep, goats, turtledoves and pigeons. The symbolism of the spotless dove, however, has continued on down to the present. I found that in Hebrew the word for dove, יוֹנָה pronounced yownah, is feminine in gender. That therefore aligns with the words spirit and wisdom in Hebrew, also feminine. And one final thing. The Holy Spirit also appeared at Pentecost, this time in the form of flames of fire, signifying the birth of the church. The Hebrew word for fire, אֵשׂ pronounced aysh, is also (guess what) feminine in gender. So Spirit, Wisdom, Dove and Fire are all of them feminine in gender in the language of Jesus. From every angle, therefore, we who speak English, in which language gender means a great deal especially today, all the words associated with God’s Holy Spirit are feminine in Jesus’ own language! I leave you to draw your own conclusion.

Now about baptism. It would be quite understandable that we Christians would assume that the practice began with John the Baptist. Wrong! The idea of ritual cleansing goes way back before John. The Old Testament Book of Leviticus states that priests had to bathe in water before dressing for their ceremonies. Aaron also had to do this before entering the Tent of Meeting with God. Hence we Christians are cleansed from all sin when baptized. Some think that the first Christian emperor Constantine deliberately waited until his deathbed to be baptized for that very reason! In fact the very earliest baptisms, which were always adult, took place in a pool with three steps on one side and another three on the other, deep enough for the baptized to be under water completely. The symbolism here was that you died to your old life of sin on stepping down and then rose to the new life with God as you stepped up.  

The 4th century Baptistry of St. John, Poitiers, France, thought to be the oldest Christian building in the country.

 Now you might wonder why Jesus, of all people, would submit to baptism, something which occurred to John himself as reported in Matthew’s version of this event. Jesus simply said “Let it be so now; it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Perhaps Jesus was simply demonstrating the importance of the sacrament: to be a Christian you have to be baptized, you must renounce your old life and enter upon the new. 

So just as this event inaugurated Jesus’ mission, our baptism began our new life as a Christian, abhorring what is contrary to Jesus’ teaching and example and striving for that which would pleasing to the Lord of all. So in a sense each of us must be John the Baptist calling all, by our example, to be disciples of the Lord. John was known to be a man of prayer and holiness. So should we be. He presented himself as a person of integrity, so must we. He recognized his lowliness when meeting the Lord. So should we. He was fearless when speaking the truth. So must we be. And so on. All that is not easy, but it is what the true Christian is called to. But we are not alone in doing all that. We have Jesus alongside us, and hopefully good friends as supports, as we are for them. Our Christian community has lasted for 2000 years, and will continue to do so until the end of time. It is right and just!

The Baptism of Christ, The Neonian Baptistry c.510, Ravenna, Italy. 

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SUNDAY 5 JANUARY 2025: THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD.

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Adoration of the Magi, Baptistry of Florence Cathedral c.1250-1330, Pinterest.com.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.    Matthew 2:11.

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Today’s gospel is one of the most famous, and fascinating, events in the life of the Lord. First of all, who on earth were the Magi? That word itself is not Greek (in which all our Christian scriptures are written). It is written μάγος (magos) but that word comes from Old Persian “magosh” meaning priest. But back then that meant one versed not only in the holy scripture of their religion (whatever it was) but also in divination and astronomy. Our own word “magic” comes from this root word. They might well have been Zoroastrians, a very ancient religion, with belief in One God, predating Christianity, and still practiced today. And note also that there is no mention of how many visitors there were to the stable. The three gifts and their value have led to the tradition of three kings. So this whole episode is a mysterious part of the story of Jesus. Scholarly tradition has it as the initiation of the Gentiles into the Lord’s mission, even as a new born. The shepherds represent the Hebrew people into whom Jesus was born, poor, like them, and the wise men are the Gentiles, recognizing him almost at the same time, but much more wealthy with their precious gifts. This is the message in the second reading today. Here was Jesus, even in his first days, welcomed as the apostle to the whole world, in the original sense of the word, as a plenipotentiary sent with the full power of the one who sent him (Hebrews 3:1). And clearly, judging from today’s first reading, this event was considered to be the fulfillment of the prophecy recorded in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah, with the telling omission of myrrh. That “treasure”, as today’s gospel puts it, was used in those days, among other things, for embalming a dead body. 

Ah yes, those three treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. What did they symbolize? Clearly they are not traditional Christmas gifts! The gold would be quite welcome by anyone of course, but those other two…. Most Catholics are familiar with incense, that substance placed on burning coals in the thurible during Mass or Benediction, producing a strong fragrance, the most spectacular of which can be seen here. Among other things, it is symbolic of our prayers rising to heaven and to God. So it is priestly. Gold, of course, is symbolic of power and wealth, such as that of a king. But myrrh is different. It is still used in a variety of ways today, mostly in support of good health. But 2000 years ago this gum resin from certain trees was also employed in lessening suffering from ill health and also embalming the dead, which possibly was the symbolic reason it was presented to the infant Jesus. Hence King, Priest and Suffering Servant were the symbolic meanings of these three gifts. They summed up the entire mission of the Savior even at his birth. And it was the Gentile visitors who gave them.  

These 12 verses in Matthew, the only gospel to mention the Wise Men, have given rise to an array of speculation and argument, even to the extent of naming them: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar! And the name of this special, unique event is the Epiphany, or the recognition, the manifestation, of God in the newborn Jesus to the Gentiles. As mentioned, many scholars suggest they were possibly Zoroastrian priests, known for their ability to interpret divine meaning from celestial events (which would explain them following the Star). There was much admiration of them in the Roman world, and the East was often considered to be rich in wisdom and knowledge, which admiration can be found even today. But it also seems that most scholars look upon the entire story as somewhat mythological, and that any serious effort to identify them as real will end in career death. The Wise Men, according to most scholars therefore, should be taken as symbolic rather than real. There are some exceptions, but that is the opinion of most scholars of the New Testament. Be that as it may, Matthew clearly thought it important that it be clearly stated that the Lord had been born for all peoples in all places. That cannot be denied and is as true today as the day he wrote it. Jesus is for all people and all time, the Savior and the Lord of all.

Shrine of the Three Kings 1180-1225, Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Cologne, Germany.

HAVE A HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR 2025!

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SUNDAY 29 DECEMBER 2024: FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH.

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The Holy Family, Kristyn Brown n.d.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them;  and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.      Luke 2:51-52.

(Apologies for this late posting; I was visiting family in London and control of the website is a challenge from a distance. I will keep this posting up until Friday, then publish the reflection on next Sunday’s Epiphany on that day)

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The family can be considered to be the primal human society. It is there that we each begin, totally dependent on someone else, helpless and utterly vulnerable. We learn slowly and hesitantly how to manage our own bodies and begin to examine the world around us. The hope is, of course, is that this world is a world of unconditional love. That will become the solid foundation on which we will stand for the rest of our lives. And our perfect model is the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (or, as they would call themselves, Y’shua, Miriam and Yosef). In some respects it is my opinion that this is, in many ways, a reflection of the Holy Trinity itself, the burning source of all love and life. There is a father figure present and there is a child of God, and Mary is in some ways a representation of the Holy Spirit of God. Remember that in Hebrew and Aramaic, Jesus’ language, the words spirit and wisdom are feminine. John tells us that God is love (1 John 4:7-12), and so the holy family can be considered to be the essence of love in practice. It is our perfect model of family life and love. We all tend to be reflections of our parents for better or worse. If that reflection is founded in love, we are set for a very happy life; if not, then challenges await. But the Holy Family is a perfect model of love in action, even if the actual described events are scarce. Joseph is super protective, responding positively and immediately to the warnings concerning the threats to the life of the newborn by King Herod. And the child was not even his own! Mary accepted God’s will by accepting the miracle conception of her son, then showing her generosity and concern for Elizabeth her kinswoman. And Jesus in today’s gospel shows the earliest response and acceptance to God’s will for him. So here we have a model of what family life should be like. Considering the adult Jesus and the way he conducted his life, we may safely assume that his childhood gave him a solid grounding in compassion and acceptance which he showed under all conditions.

The other two readings seem to reflect on parents and their attitude to God and the children’s respect for their parents. Mutual support and understanding are called for with children taking care of parents even if their minds fail. “Kindness to a father will not be forgotten” Sirach says. “Heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” is encouraged between couples, which must also include forgiveness. And then of course, “put on love, that is, the bond of perfection”, according to Paul. So, adding all this together, we have a recipe for a happy, long-lived devoted family, each one looking out for the others. All of which is appropriate for a Sunday dedicated to the Holy Family. Each and every member of the family has obligations and expectations all grounded in God’s will. When all that is functional, then God’s will is obeyed and the result, according to today’s holy scripture, is the profoundest happiness any one of us can expect in this life. Indeed, it is a reflection of the eternal happiness of heaven. So when each of us finds that perfect other, and accepts the full consequences willingly, happily and with gratitude, and when the other gives themselves totally to us, then we may expect a happiness in this world that looks forward to a happiness which is eternal, beyond all imagining. The Holy Family went before us; and we follow in love and faith, and with the hope that we leave this world (and this year) a little bit better than we found it. Amen.

The Holy Family, Bohemian Beachcomber n.d.

a very happy and holy NEW YEar 2025 TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

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SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER: THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: GAUDETE SUNDAY.

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Pope Francis Celebrates Gaudete Sunday with the Filipino Community in St. Peter’s in 2019.

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Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Letter to the Philippians 4:6-7.

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“Gaudete” means Rejoice in Latin. Look at today’s readings. The first, from the prophet Zephaniah, begins, “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” The second, from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, begins, “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again:  rejoice!” And in the gospel, John the Baptist “Preached good news to the people”. Why all this rejoicing? Because we are roughly at the half-way mark to Christmas, the ultimate good news, when God became one like us, when we were considered to be good enough to have God come dwell with us and be one with us. Even the celebrant at Mass may wear rose-colored vestments, one of only two Sundays that is permitted (the other is Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent. That Latin word also means “rejoice” but to express it externally; gaudete means to rejoice internally). Even the third candle on the Advent wreath is usually rose colored! It all signifies a lightening in the somber atmosphere of Advent and we should all reflect the joy and conviction that the incredible is about to happen, as it does each year, that God – God! – wanted to be one like us in all things but sin.

So what does that all mean? Do we jump up in the air and dance around like Scrooge in the classic 1951 version of Christmas Carol when he realizes his true identity – vocation even – of being fully human with all its implications. Well, maybe, if we fully realize and accept that we are all considered to be good enough and worthy enough to have God come live among us out of pure love. That would certainly invite us all to be truly happy and even excited to be a child of God! What more could one ask? Well, patience to wait for the real day, and the time left to prepare for it in the best possible way. Joy does not have to expressed in outward, extravagant ways, though at Christmas time it is almost required! But we are just half way there. For us, the joy expressed in today’s name and readings should perhaps be the joy of preparing for the arrival of the Christ Child. There is a special joy in such activity. Imagine a most welcome Christmas visit of a beloved relative from afar; all must be ready. The house must be clean, the crystal immaculate, the china sparking – everything. Apply that each to ourself, our soul, our innermost self. Getting rid of the nonsense – the stuff which clogs things up for no good reason – and clean the inner crystal and gold, the inner soul, the real me. The thought that I – you – we are doing all that brings with it a joy which is palpable. It is the “I can’t wait” moment we felt as a child, especially when allied to the major effort to bring ourselves into a state of grace ready for the arrival of the author of all joy. What a welcoming person each of us will be. It is a golden opportunity once more to restart anew. Under the loving eye of the Father, let us ask the Holy Spirit of God to infuse us with the energy, the strength, the excitement to be completely ready for The Day.

The Blessed Trinity with Saints, Durante Alberti 1581, The Venerable English College, Rome, Italy.

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SUNDAY 8 DECEMBER 2024: THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT.

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Emperor Tiberius 42BC – 37AD, Vatican Museums, Vatican City State.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea…..    Luke 3:1.

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Today’s gospel reads more like a history lesson than a Christological teaching. Clearly Luke wants to assure his readers that he is not talking about some mythological, fairy tail time but a real, actual time frame into which he will place his characters. Given the detail of this passage, scholars seem to be fairly certain that Luke is talking about events in or around 27AD-29AD. And most, if not all, of the persons named were pretty brutal and corrupt, from the emperor on down, though Tiberius apparently began his reign with competence and success. All ages, I suppose, present challenges for the upright and godly, but that time in the Roman Empire did eventually become rather worse than usual. And it was at this moment, Luke says, that John the Baptist began his mission of a “A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”. As this prophecy was originally proclaimed by Isaiah, John became the first one to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed of God and reveal him as such. Today’s other readings seem to envision a world of justice, perhaps in contrast to the world that the Baptist knew: “God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory…” says Baruch in the first reading, and Paul says to the Philippians, “And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…” So it seems that there is a deliberate contrast between the world the earliest Christians lived in, and the ideal world envisioned by Baruch and Paul. If that is so, then John’s voice is truly a voice crying out in the wilderness!

It could be said, I suspect, that every age has its tears and its happiness. The poor we always have with us, as Jesus himself said (Matthew 26:11). And each age will have its horrors. We just had one with the COVID pandemic. There are always threats, or worse, of violence, whether it be between individuals or between nations. Somehow we don’t seem to be able to avoid it, even today with weapons that can blow our whole world to pieces! And then there is the world of Baruch and Paul: “For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship” (Baruch), and “And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value” (Paul). And I would dare to say that this ideal world is the one we all of us desire, believer or unbeliever. And yet it seems to be impossible. Perhaps this is because of a lack of love and faith, leaving only hope to get us to the Promised Land of peace and positive co-operation.

Which brings us back to Advent, a time of not only waiting, but of preparing. Few of us can influence the great affairs of state where questions of life and death are settled; but we can control our own affairs, making peace where acrimony may exist, offering a handshake instead of a threatened fist. If each one of us becomes an island of peace and tranquility and offers that to all who come our way, wouldn’t that be a pleasing offering to the Lord as a Christmas present? It might well make the humble crib into which baby Jesus was lowered a little softer…

First Baptist Church, Southington, Connecticut, USA.

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Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

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