Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 21, 2021 - December 21
[Cant 2:8-14 or Zeph 3:14-18a and Luke 1:39-45,1369]"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!" [Song of Songs] Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem." [Zephaniah] "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." [Luke]
Today's gospel scripture is a repeat of last Sunday's because the scriptures of the 4th Sunday of Advent replaced the usual ones for December 19. The alternative first scriptures for December 21 from the Song of Songs and Zephaniah, however, lend a distinctively feminine flavor to this moment of
advent anticipation - of promise and fulfillment.
Early Christian reflection identified the Church as "the bride of Christ." [cf. Ephesians 5:22-33]. The image in the Song of Songs is that of an anticipated lover. In Zephaniah, the "bride" is a collective one: "Zion," "daughter Jerusalem!" The meeting of the two pregnant women, Mary and Elizabeth, highlights the crucial cooperation of women in the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation. "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
The all-too-human side of the Church continually struggles on many levels with its role as "bride of Christ." Perhaps a deeper recognition of the active (and not merely passive) role of women in bringing about the anticipated birth of "the Body of Christ" can help move this centuries-old struggle in more positive directions. This is one promise that still awaits complete fulfillment. AMEN
sa