Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 - December 19
[Judg 13:2-7, 24-25a and Luke 1:5-25,1367]There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you shall conceive and bear a son.....It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. [Judges] "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." [Luke]
DECEMBER 19 "LEAD-UP" DAY TO CHRISTMAS
Occasionally, (depending on the solar calendar), the liturgical season of Advent gets compressed. We get four Sundays of Advent, but only three full weeks. The fourth week of Advent is usually a special time leading up to the Nativity. So, that time has been moved up to take over the third full week because Christmas falls this liturgical year on the Monday after the fourth Sunday!!!
The conception of Samson in the Book of Judges joins the conception of John the Baptist to highlight the intervention of God in history. Samson's mom even gets some good pre-natal advice from the angel: Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean. These two interventions (and others) precede the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary. As the angel Gabriel said to her: For nothing shall be impossible for God.
These days before Christmas will focus on the foreshadowing prophecies and particular events and characters that fulfill those prophecies. In remembering these through the scriptures, we proclaim the good news in advance, as it were. The challenge is to not see it as ancient history but as a birth occurring in our own times and our own hearts. AMEN