Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 13, 2008 - St. Lucy, virgin and martyr
[Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 and Matthew 17:9A, 10-13]Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him and did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.
When the time came for the story of Jesus' life and ministry to be written in the gospels, the writers and the communities from which the gospels arose knew, of course, what had happened to Jesus and to John the Baptist. They were also aware of the prophetic tradition about the return of Elijah as reported in the Book of Sirach (an Old Testament book that is dated at a time relatively recent to the New Testament literature). In writing their gospels, Matthew and Luke, the only ones who provide us with any information about the birth of Jesus and of John the Baptist, took into account all that was known. The fundamental pattern is one of appearance and rejection which characterizes the lives of prophets in the Bible! In the case of Jesus, Matthew shows us that Jesus is rejected by Herod and the religious authorities to the extent that they try to kill him in a move similar to that of Pharoah trying to kill Moses by ordering that all male Hebrew children be drowned. Herod orders a general slaughter!!! In Luke, the rejection comes from the words of Simeon at the time of Jesus' presentation in the temple! Later on, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus confirms that the tradition concerning the return of Elijah refers to John the Baptist. Centuries later, we enter into each Advent to reflect on all that has been said and understood of Jesus and John the Baptist. We rejoice in the stories of their birth and their ministries, but we have to recognize that down the line, they will suffer and be rejected by the very people they were sent to serve! While that can put a damper on a celebration time, it's a vital part of understanding the entire lives of Jesus and John. We don't like to think that our cute little children may have to suffer terrible things, but as adults we know that's a possibility. It's no less the case with Jesus and John! We can be grateful we have the stories to tell! AMEN
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