Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 1:67-69

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hand of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, has just given birth to their son, John the Baptist. John’s birth breaks the near year-long period of silence that Zechariah endured after doubting the archangel Gabriel’s proclamation that Elizabeth would bear a son.

As his lips are opened, he breaks out in song, praising God. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to his people and set them free.,” he sings. “And you, my child will go before the Lord to prepare his way.”

Zechariah is overwhelmed, not only by the joy of having a son, but also by the knowledge that his boy, John the Baptist, will prepare the way for the Lord.

What Zechariah – or anyone in Israel – didn’t know was what, exactly, God would be like when he came.

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The Greeks imagined God to be a passionless Being, beyond joy and sorrow, unmoved by the pleas of humanity. 

The Jews understood God to be litigious and demanding, yearning to bring his judgment upon the earth. Perhaps no one paints a clearer picture of this than John the Baptist, who preached of the coming “wrath.”

However, Jesus didn’t fit into either of these two molds. Rather, he revealed a God of unspeakable humility, who becomes a baby at Christmas and dies like a thief on Good Friday.

A God who is wildly in love with his people, who turns water into wine at a wedding, who isn’t afraid to associate with sinners, who forgives readily, whose heart breaks at the sight of a widow burying her son.

A God who promises grace to all who ask, who seeks to shoulder our burdens, who instructs his people, leads by example, and feeds the poor, not only with bread, but with his very Self. 

This is our God.

Yet how many of us still struggle to accept him as he is? Joyful, humble, meek, and mild.

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This Christmas, may we not only gaze upon the Christ-child in wonder, but also ask for the grace to become like him, who loves us and gives himself for us.

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Image credits: (1) Reform Magazine (2) Zechariah Holding John the Baptist, Catholic Daily Reflections (3) iStock

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Gospel: Luke 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born… and the day you know why.”

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In today’s Gospel, we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. From the moment of his birth, people were wondering, “Why was this child born? What will he become?”

They intuit John will do something great for God, simply because of the circumstances that surround his birth.

First, Zechariah was struck mute by the angel Gabriel in the Temple; then Elizabeth miraculously conceives this child in her old age; finally, the boy is not named after his father. 

Instead, his name is John.

In Hebrew, Jehohanan – or “John” – means, “God has been gracious.” After praying for their entire adult lives to have a child, God gives Elizabeth and Zechariah a son, whose mission will be to prepare the way of the Lord. 

Certainly, God has been gracious.

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John reminds us that we all have a “why,” a reason for our lives given to us by God. My mother used to say, her “why” was simply becoming a mother, much like Elizabeth and Mary.

My “why” has been serving God and his people as a priest. 

What is your “why”?

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Perhaps the answer changes, even simplifies, over time. 

But we can all be sure of this: the same Lord who breathed air into our lungs at birth also gives us a purpose – not only in the grand scheme of things – but also in the little tasks we are called to do each day.

May we discern his will and do it joyfully today. 

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) shashankadler (2) John the Baptist as a Child, Bartolome Esteban Murillo (3) Acuity Process Solutions

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Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, 
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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On my desk where I pray, I keep a small figurine of Saint Joseph. He’s asleep on his side in a green, homespun robe, half covered in a blanket – fading red on one side and mustard yellow on the other. His dark brown hair and full beard speak of an older, mature man. 

Of course, his eyes are tightly shut, as he slips into a dream.

Sometimes, I wonder, is Joseph just dozing off, unaware that his life is about to take another unexpected turn? Is he in the middle of that dream, when the angel appears and miraculously consoles him? 

Or is he processing what just happened with his eyes closed, resting, stealing a few more precious hours of sleep before sunrise, knowing that when he wakes, Mary and this mystery child are moving in?

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If Joseph writes this dream off as just that – a dream, an imaginary tale, a fictional slip from reality – and he makes his way down to the courthouse to file his divorce papers, then this whole story is over. 

Mary will be an outcast, reduced to a life of begging or stealing. Her child will be forever seen as illegitimate. And Isaiah’s ancient prophecy of a king coming from David’s line will go unfulfilled. 

According to Matthew, Joseph’s consent is as important as Mary’s. God needs Mary’s womb in order to become Man, but he needs Joseph to give him a name and a home.

Thus, the Christmas story is not just about God becoming flesh or Mary’s fiat, but it’s also about Joseph, a just man accepting what is unjust, naming, owning, and blessing a divine mess. 

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The night the angel appeared to him in a dream, Joseph was in real pain. Mysteriously, God allowed it. Even worse, it seems God wove this detail into his divine plan, knowing the risk, shock, and steps Joseph would have to take in order to bring Christ safely into this world. 

Joseph would have to journey from being an unsuspecting participant in salvation history to an active one. He would have to embrace the very thing he feared – scandal.

So much for karma.

Poor Joseph.

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His heartache and doubt ran so deep that he, too, needed divine intervention in order to accept God’s plan. As he goes to sleep that providential night, Joseph does so experiencing what other Saints have called, “a dark night of the soul.”

The belief or feeling that God has abandoned you.

So, the angel appears to Joseph in a dream, while he is defenseless. When sleeping, we cannot fight back, yell, question, or argue with God. We can only listen and receive.

Fortunately, Joseph awakens as a different man with his plans to divorce Mary foiled by grace. But his “yes” also speaks volumes about his faith, his character, and his conviction.

Even when he felt freshly betrayed – not only by his bride, but also by God – Joseph was willing to change directions and pivot into the unknown.

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No wonder the angel’s first words to Joseph were, “do not be afraid.” Similar words appear in the Bible more than 300 times, making them, perhaps, the most common words God uses when speaking to humanity.

“Do not be afraid.”

Do not be afraid when God’s plans for your life look entirely different than yours. Do not be afraid when you don’t understand certain life events, when others don’t understand, or when the only foundation you have to stand upon is an angel consoling you in a dream.

Do not be afraid to accept unwanted people into your life, to love someone, even your child, who enters this world unexpectedly, or who turns out to be different than you had hoped or imagined.

Do not be afraid to risk your reputation, to be changed by grace, to open your heart and home to people who challenge you, or to let others take center stage.

Do not be afraid to surrender to mystery, to accept what appears to be scandal, or to challenge your understanding of God. 

Do not divorce yourself from the mess. Embrace it.

That may be the very place where God is found.

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Joseph’s story of heartbreak, surprise, surrender, and triumphant faith is also our story… Like him, we seek to live upright lives, we desire to do God’s will. But we can also struggle to understand. As God says through the prophet Isaiah, “My ways are not your ways.”

This Christmas may God grant us the grace to embrace the unknown, to pivot into mystery, to welcome the Christ-child – and his plans – into our lives.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) The Dream of Saint Joseph, Philippe de Campaigne (2) Fontanini Sleeping Saint Joseph (3) Saint Joseph and the Christ Child, Guido Reni