Jesus our hope

Cycle C – The Immaculate Conception

FIRST READING: Genesis 3: 9-15, 20 – After Adam had eaten of the tree, the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise its heel.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

SECOND READING: Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 26-38 – The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

____________________

Mary is not a goddess, much less God. Mary is not a redeemer, much less the Redeemer or the Mediator of salvation. Some really go over the top. Mary, like all of us, is part of Jesus’ community; one amongst all, even if the most excellent.

The story of Adam and Eve is just a story. It never happened. It is a story with a moral, and a very important one at that. It reminds us that life on earth is a conflict which we all have to undertake. This conflict is against all those who are in opposition and go up against any community living, preferring to disunite us in order to manipulate us and exploit us. This hostility is basically against equality, freedom and fraternity. It is what we have to put up with because of people’s greed and lust for power.

 We are called to love, as Paul reminds us, and love is not about greed or power; it is about regarding everyone on an equal footing, respecting everyone’s freedom of thought and action, and endeavouring to build up the community amongst all human beings.

 Jesus, the ‘great’ one, is the way to this new creation. His coming into this world through the womb of Mary is what gives credence to our faith, reason to our hope, and joy to our love.

The 'impossibity' of the Christmas event

Cycle C – Advent 1


FIRST READING – Jeremiah 33: 14-16 – “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous branch to spring forth for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

SECOND READING – 1 Thessalonians 3: 12-4:2 – May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men, as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 

GOSPEL – Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36 – Jesus said to his disciples, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.” 

____________________

Before the Israelites’ exile to Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah had warned them severely that their hierarchical social structure, blindly copied from godless nations, shall lead them into serious trouble. Nevertheless, when this came about Jeremiah saw it as a blessing in disguise: he foretold that a remnant shall survive the terrible ordeal, and finally organise society in a just and righteous way; a society of equality, freedom and sister/brotherhood. Only such a society will be able to guarantee the people’s possibility to “dwell securely”.

The same hope in despair is expressed by Paul while writing to the Christians of Thessalonica. Though he had preached to them the gospel of righteousness and freedom, the Jewish Christians, obsessed with sectarian and intransigent beliefs, rescinded most of his work there. Nevertheless, a remnant survived which remained faithful to his teachings. This was the community of equality, freedom and sister/brotherhood which Jeremiah envisaged.

Jesus’ language, while recalling that of the prophets, is thoroughly symbolic. Since the gospels were written solely for Christian communities, this passage fully recognises Christians’ discouragement by what they see and hear in the Church and around them, and exhorts them to be steadfast in their faith and not lose heart.

Like some Israelites in Babylon, some Christians in Thessalonica, and some Jews in Jesus’ time, some Christians today may indeed perceive that the community of equality, freedom and sister/brotherhood willed by God for his Church is, indeed, not be a universal reality. Unfortunately, signs of sectarianism and intransigence are everywhere. Nevertheless, there are realistic indications of hope, particularly with Christians (laity, religious, priests, bishops and cardinals) who are tuned to the demands of such a community. This hope is expressed in the ‘impossibility’ of the Christmas event.