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| “Visitation” by Juan del Castillo, 1630s |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Micah 5:1-4a
Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the
clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for
me
one who is to be ruler in
Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give
them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth
has borne,
and the rest of his kindred
shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and
shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the
LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for
now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of
the earth; he shall be peace.
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Commentary on Mi 5:1-4a
The Prophet Micah,
a contemporary of the Prophet Isaiah,
speaks in the voice of God (“Thus says the Lord…”) prophesying that the Messiah will come from the
Clan of Ephrathah, a group synonymous in the day with the town of Bethlehem roughly
5 miles South of Jerusalem(see Joshua
15:59 and Ruth 4:11). The reference to the origin of the ruler as
being “of old” is a reference to the ancient line of Kind David.
Eight centuries before Christ
he foresees Israel’s domination by foreign powers will end only with the Messiah. The intervening years are seen by Micah as
analogous to the labor pains of child birth and his prophecy is consistent with
the Immanuel oracle from Isaiah
7:15. The passage concludes with the
attributes of the future monarch concluding with the statement that he will not
only bring peace but “he shall be peace” (even clearer in the Jerusalem translation “He himself will be peace.”)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your
face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel,
hearken,
from your throne upon the
cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and
see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right
hand has planted
the son of man whom you
yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man
of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you
yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw
from you;
give us new life, and we will
call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to
you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
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Commentary on Ps 80:2-3,
15-16, 18-19
Here the psalmist implores the Lord to send the Messiah (“Rouse your power,
and come to save us.”) This will be the gift that fulfills all hopes
(“Then we
will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your
name.”)
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Reading II: Hebrews 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the
world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you
did not desire,
but a body you prepared for
me;
in holocausts and sin
offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written
of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your
will, O God.’“
First he says, “Sacrifices
and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor
delighted in.”
These are offered according
to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come
to do your will.”
He takes away the first to
establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been
consecrated
through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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Commentary on Heb
10:5-10
The words of Psalm 40:7 are attributed to
Christ at his incarnation; “Sacrifice
and offering you did not desire”. The St. Paul continues
by referring to the four main types of Jewish sacrifices; peace offerings,
cereal offerings, holocausts, and sin offerings. God is less interested in the prescribed
time, place and form of the offering as he is the heart’s intent. Christ annuls the Law requiring sacrifices of
this type and becomes the sacrifice, the sin offering that fulfills the
requirement of the law for all time.
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Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill
country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where 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 and
said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of
your womb.
And how does this happen to
me,
that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
For at the moment the sound
of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped
for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you
by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
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Commentary on Lk 1:39-45
St. Luke’s
nativity story continues with Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth. In this
passage we see the first meeting between John the Baptist (the child in
Elizabeth’s womb) and Jesus (now growing in Mary’s womb). Here also is one of
the foundational scripture passages for the “Hail Mary” prayer “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the fruit of your womb”.
This greeting of Elizabeth’s sets the stage for the beautiful Canticle of Mary
which follows immediately.
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Reflection:
The final candle is lighted
in the Advent Wreath and we come together on this, the fourth Sunday of our
Advent journey to worship the one who came, who is, and who is to come. Scripture recalls the prophecy of his first
advent. The Prophet Micah sees the
coming of the Messiah in his prophetic vision.
He sees the great shepherd being born to be peace for all
mankind. We hear his words and have a
better understanding of the poor Chief Priests and Scribes who heard the
Prophet’s words “his greatness shall
reach to the ends of the earth”. How could they know that the Messiah’s
greatness was not warped in majestic purple robes but in swaddling clothes – in
a manger?
How could they understand,
those religious leaders who prided themselves on performing ritual sacrifices
of all the prescribed types, that the Messiah they expected would come to be a
sacrifice that would end the need for any other sacrifice for all time? The reality of Messiah was coming to bring a
salvation that they could not, in their most pious dreams, conceive.
Our anticipation of the
Nativity of Christ grows as the Gospel of St. Luke relays the story of how the
Blessed Mother, after being told she was to be with child by the Archangel
Gabriel travels to see for herself that the second part of the angels message
to her was true. Elizabeth, her cousin
and the wife of Zachariah, was indeed with child. Surprising since she was thought to be barren
and was now clearly pregnant.
The meeting of these holy
women and the response of the fetal St. John the Baptist gives us a prelude to
the joy that will be announced by the angels in Bethlehem at the birth of the
Savior. St. John leaps with joy in
Elizabeth’s womb giving us words we pray so frequently “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of
your womb.”
For us this day is one to put
aside the stress the commercialization of the season causes and to join with
St. John, leaping for joy at the coming our the sacrifice that makes us
whole. We will celebrate that nativity
in a few short days, now we recall his purpose in coming – leading us home to
the father as was his intent.
Pax
In other years: December
23rd
In other years: Optional Memorial
for Saint John of Kanty, Priest
[2]
The picture is “Visitation” by Juan del Castillo, 1630s
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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