Tuesday, December 23, 2008

December 23

199 December 23

CCC Cross Reference:
Lk 1:68 422, 717

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O Antiphon for this date: [1]

O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the
nations, Savior of all people: Come and set us
free, Lord our God.

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
expectratio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos,
Domines, Deus noster.

Reading 1
Mal 3:1-4, 23-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

R. (see Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.

Gospel
Lk 1:57-66

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

First reading Malachi 3:1-4,23-24

The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.

Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24(25):4-5,8-9,10,14

Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

Lord, make me know your ways.
  Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
  for you are God my saviour.

Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

The Lord is good and upright.
  He shows the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble in the right path,
  He teaches his way to the poor.

Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

His ways are faithfulness and love
  for those who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;
  to them he reveals his covenant.

Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.

Gospel Luke 1:57-66

The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbors and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.

Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbors were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible

December 23 in Advent

From: Malachi 3:1-4; 4:5-6 -- RSVCE (3:1-4; 23-24 -- NAB)

Shortcoming of Priests (Continuation)
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(The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.)
[1] "Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. [2] But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

"For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; [3] he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the LORD. [4] Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years."

[4:5] "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. [6] And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."

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Commentary:

2:17-3:5. As at the start of the book, the question raised here is a fairly general one: What is the point of keeping the Law if those who do evil are the ones who have success in life? The question focuses on rewards in this life only (cf. 2:17), but the prophet's reply extends beyond that: he announces a day of judgment when priests and ritual will be purified (3:3-4) and the oppressed will receive justice (3:5); on the day of the Lord, God will set everything right.

However, the force of the oracle lies not so much in the fact of divine judgment as in the mysterious way in which that day is announced (3:1-2). We are told that the Lord of hosts himself will come to His temple, and his coming will strike fear into the hearts of men. The passage, in fact, seems to be speaking about three different personages--the messenger who will precede the coming of the Lord and who later on, in the epilogue, is identified as the prophet Elijah (cf. 4: 5); the Lord himself; and the angel (literally the "messenger") of the Covenant (3:1). In mentioning the first (the messenger who prepares the way: 3:1) the prophet may have in mind the sort of protocol used by kings who had a herald announce their arrival. This personage's role is similar to that described in Isaiah 40:3ff. However, a little further on there is the "messenger of the covenant". It is not clear what this means; it could be the Lord himself; a further messenger, whose role is similar to that of Moses, that is, a mediator of the Covenant; or, finally, the messenger mentioned earlier, the herald, who is now being given a new role. No clear interpretation can be established beyond doubt.

The New Testament will resolve this question of interpretation. The Synoptic Gospels (cf. Mk 1:2) and Jesus himself (Mt 11:7-15; cf. Lk 7:24-30) identify the first messenger, the one who prepares the way, with Elijah, and sees his fulfillment in the person of John the Baptist. This makes Jesus the Lord who comes to his temple. The Church reads it that way when the liturgy of the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:22-40) includes Malachi 3:1-4 as a first reading. But as can be seen from many passages of the New Testament (for example, the episode of the Transfiguration: Mt 17:1-13 and par.), Jesus is also the mediator of the New Covenant.

In the tradition of the Church, the ambiguity here is seen as a way of indicating the two-fold coming of the Lord -- in the humility of the flesh, and in the glory and splendor of the End: "We proclaim the coming of Christ: he comes not once, but twice, and the second coming will be more glorious than the first. The first was a time of suffering; in the second, however, he will wear the crown of divine kingship. Almost everything in the life our Lord Jesus Christ has two meanings. He was born twice: once, of the Father, from all eternity; and then, of the Virgin, in the fullness of time. He comes twice, too: he came first in silence, like rain falling on wool; and he will come again in glory. First, he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger; when he comes again, he will be robed in light. First, he shouldered the cross, without fear of suffering; when he comes again, he will come in glory, surrounded by the hosts of angels. Let us consider not only the life of the Lord, but also his future coming [...]. Because of his great mercy, he was made man to teach men and persuade them; when he comes again, all men, whether they want to or not, will be made subject to the power and authority of the King. The words of the prophet Malachy refer to both of these events" (St Cyril of Jerusalem, "Catecheses Ad Illuminandos", 15, 1-2).

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From: Luke 1:57-66

The Birth and Circumcision of John the Baptist
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[57] Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. [58] And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. [59] And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, [60] but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." [61] And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." [62] And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. [63] And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marvelled. [64] And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. [65] And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; [66] and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

[80] And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

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Commentary:

59. Circumcision was a rite established by God under the Old Covenant to mark out those who belonged to His chosen people: He commanded Abraham to institute circumcision as a sign of the Covenant He had made with him and all his descendants (cf. Genesis 17:10-14), prescribing that it should be done on the eighth day after birth. The rite was performed either at home or in the synagogue, and, in addition to the actual circumcision, the ceremony included prayers and the naming of the child.

With the institution of Christian Baptism the commandment to circumcise ceased to apply. At the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15:1ff), the Apostles definitely declared that those entering the Church had no need to be circumcised.

St. Paul's explicit teaching on the irrelevance of circumcision in the context of the New Alliance established by Christ is to be found in Galatians 5:2ff; 6:12ff; and Colossians 2:11ff.

60-63. By naming the child John, Zechariah complies with the instructions God sent him through the angel (Luke 1:13).

64. This miraculous event fulfills the prophecy the angel Gabriel made to Zechariah when he announced the conception and birth of the Baptist (Luke 1:19-20). St. Ambrose observes: 'With good reason was his tongue loosed, because faith untied what had been tied by disbelief" ("Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam. In loc.").

Zechariah's is a case similar to that of St. Thomas, who was reluctant to believe in the resurrection of our Lord, and who believed only when Jesus gave him clear proof (cf. John 20:24-29). For these two men God worked a miracle and won their belief; but normally He requires us to have faith and to obey Him without His working any new miracles. This was why He upbraided Zechariah and punished him, and why He reproached Thomas: "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (John 20:29).

80. "Wilderness": this must surely refer to the "Judean wilderness" which stretches from the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea to the hill country of Judea. It is not a sand desert but rather a barren steppe with bushes and basic vegetation which suit bees and grasshoppers or wild locusts. It contains many caves which can provide shelter.

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

[1] The Roman Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. (USCCB)

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