Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 21, 2023 - December 21
[Cant 2:8-14 or Zeph 3:14-18a and Luke 1:39-45]"And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." {Luke]
DECEMBER 21 COUNTDOWN DAY TO CHRISTMAS
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There is a lot of jumping around for joy in today's scriptures. The choice between the Song of Songs and Zephaniah is a choice between two exuberant anticipations, which then find an echo in the reaction accorded to the fetal John the Baptist when pregnant Mary approaches her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth. This is all good for the spirits in this season. Any expectant mom can find something to identify with in the scene! However, early Church Fathers and later scripture scholars point out that there is another agenda at work as well. The "infancy narratives" in the gospels according to Matthew and Luke are like overtures with themes that will be revealed fully later on in the life, death and resurrection of the adult Jesus. John the Baptist is recognizing Jesus as Lord and not the other way around. In the Gospel According to Luke, the infancy narrative features parallel stories of John the Baptist and Jesus with Jesus remaining more important. I have seen manger scenes with a figure of an adult John the Baptist gazing down with wonder at the baby Jesus!
None of this is meant to put a damper on the enthusiasm of the occasion, but rather to open up the bigger picture in which all of us have a part. That adult John the Baptist in a manger scene may be representing us. What are WE going to say about what we see? Will we be blessed because we believe that what the Lord has spoken to us will be fulfilled? AMEN