Mary and Joseph find Jesus
Among the doctors in the Temple in Jerusalem
Luke 2: 41-52
1. Opening prayer
Father in heaven, You are my creator. You welcome me through Jesus Christ Your Son. You guide me by Your Holy Spirit. Enlighten my mind so that I may understand the meaning of the life You have granted me, the plan You have for me and for those You have placed at my side. Enkindle fire in my heart so that I may follow Your revelation joyfully and enthusiastically. Strengthen my weak will, unite it to the will of others so that together we may do Your will and thus build the world as one family more and more in Your image. You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
2. Lectio: A reading of Lk 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.
3. A time of silence
that the Word of God may enter our hearts and enlighten our lives.
4. Meditatio: A few questions
to direct our meditation and practice.
Why does Luke, the Evangelist, tell us this story in Jesus’ life? Where is the climax, the center of the passage? There are times when family (community) relationships become tense and difficult and misunderstandings take place. Do we seek autonomy and independence? Who or what becomes more important at a particular time in our life? Can we organize hierarchically our relationships, our self-affirmation, our values, our tasks, our morality? Today, we often find “extended” families (multi-ethnic communities) with re-married parents, partners, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, grandparents, parents of one partner and not of the other. On whom can we rely? Can we submit to one person or just rebel?
5. A key to the reading
We find ourselves among the so-called infancy stories according to Luke (chap. 1-2). This is the final passage, a theological and Christological prologue rather that a historical one, where we are presented with motifs that recur later in Luke’s catechesis: the Temple, the journey towards Jerusalem, divine filiation, the poor, the merciful Father, etc. Reading back, in Jesus’ childhood there already appear signs of His future life. Mary and Joseph take Jesus to Jerusalem to take part in one of the three pilgrimages (the Passover, Pentecost and the feast of the Tabernacles) prescribed by the law (Deut 16:16). During the seven days of the feast, people took part in the cult and listened to the Rabbis, who discussed beneath the portico of the Temple. “The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem”, the city the Lord chosen for His throne (2 Kings 21:4-7; Jer 3:17; Zech 3:2), and where the Temple is found (Ps 68:30; 76:3; 135:21), the only place of worship for the Jews (Jn 4:20). Jerusalem is the place where “all that was written by the prophets concerning the Son of man will be fulfilled” (Lk 18:21), the place of “His departure” (Lk 9:31,51; 24:18) and of His appearances after the resurrection (Lk 24:33,36-49). His parents “sought Him” anxiously and troubled (2:44,45,48,49). How is it possible to lose a son, not to realize that Jesus is not in the caravan? Is it Christ who has to follow others or vice versa? “Three days later” the “passion” ends, and they find Jesus in the Temple, among the doctors, teaching to the amazement of all. The characteristics of His mission begin to unfold and this mission is summarized in the first words that Jesus speaks in Luke’s Gospel “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be busy with My Father’s affairs?” But who is His father? Why seek Him? This is the same father mentioned in Jesus’ last words, in Luke, on the cross: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (23:46) and at the ascension into heaven “And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised” (24:49). Above all, we must seek to obey God, as Peter well understood after Pentecost (Acts 5:29), seek the Kingdom of God and His justice (Mt 6:33), seek the Father in prayer (Mt 7:7-8), seek Jesus (Jn 1:38) and follow Him. Jesus proclaims His dependence - “I must” – on His heavenly Father. He reveals the Father in His immense goodness (Lk 15), but He thus creates a distance, a break, with His family. Before all affective ties, all personal fulfillment, all affairs… comes God’s project. “Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, let Your will be done, not Mine” (Lk 22:42). Simeon’s prophecy (Lk 2:34) begins to happen for Mary, “but they did not understand”. His parents’ lack of understanding is also that of His disciples concerning the foretelling of the passion (18:34). Rebel? Submit? Walk away? Jesus “went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority”, says Luke, and Mary “stored up all these things in her heart”. Mary’s attitude expresses the development of faith in a person who grows and progresses in knowledge of the mystery. Jesus reveals that obedience to God is the essential condition for fulfilling one’s life, for a way of sharing in the family and in community. Obedience to the Father is what makes us brothers and sisters, teaches us to obey each other, to listen to each other and recognize God’s plan in each other. Such an atmosphere creates the conditions necessary to grow “in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and men” and to journey together.
6. Oratio: Psalm 83 (84)
The pilgrim’s hymn
How lovely is Thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, at Thy altars,
O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Thy house,
ever singing Thy praise!
Blessed are the men whose strength is in Thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear,
O God of Jacob!
7. Contemplatio: Closing prayer
I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have revealed to me Your goodness and Your love. You really are the only One who can give full meaning to my life. I love my father, but You are my Father; I love my mother, but You are my Mother. Even if I had not known the love of my parents, I know that You are love, You are with me and You are waiting for me in Your eternal dwelling place prepared for me from the beginning of creation. Grant that, together with me, the members of my family, sisters and brothers, all those who journey in community with me, may do Your will so as to foreshadow on earth and then enjoy in heaven the wonders of Your love. Amen
The Prologue of John’s Gospel
John 1:1-18
1. OPENING PRAYER
In the darkness of a starless night,
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered, through the attractive radiance of
forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
2. READING
a) The text:
1 In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. 4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; 5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. 6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, he was to bear witness to the light. 9 The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise him. 11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believed in his name 13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or human will but from God himself. 14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because he existed before me.' 16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -- one gift replacing another, 17 for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
b) A moment of silence:
Allow the voice of the Word echo within us.
3. MEDITATION
a) Some question for reflection:
- God who is light has chosen to dispel the darkness of man by making himself darkness. Man is born blind (cfr Jn 9:1-41): blindness is his condition of creature. The symbolical gesture of Jesus in gathering mud to spread over the eyes of the man born blind in John, signifies the newness of the incarnation: it is a gesture of new creation. The blind man whose eyes are still covered with the mud of creation is asked to make not an act of faith but one of obedience: to go to the pool of Siloe, which means “sent”. The one “sent” is Jesus. Are we able to obey the Word, which comes to us every day?
- The blind man in the Gospel of John is poor: he has no pretence and asks for nothing. We often live in daily blindness, resigned that we do not deserve better horizons. Can we see ourselves as having nothing so that the gift of God may be ours too, a gift of the redemption of the flesh, but above all a gift of light and faith?
- «The law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (Jn 1:17-18). The knowledge of what happens in the story of our lives leads us to get out of the blindness of presumption and to contemplate the light that shines on the face of the Son of God. Our eyes, flooded with light, become open to events. When shall we be able to see God in our midst?
b) A key to the reading:
John was someone who was able to see the light shining, who saw, heard and touched the light. In the beginning was the Word: constantly turned towards the love of the Father, the Word became the Father’s true explanation, his only exegesis (Jn 1:18), the revelation of his love. In the logos was life and life was light, but the darkness did not welcome the light. In the OT the revelation of the Word is the revelation of light: to this corresponds the fullness of grace, the grace of grace, given to us in Jesus, the revelation of God’s unlimited love (Jn 1:4-5, 16). The whole witness of the OT is a witness of light: from Abraham to John the Baptist, God sends witnesses to his light. John the Baptist is the last of these: he announces the light that is to come into the world and recognises in Jesus the long awaited light (Jn 1:6-8;15).
Dabar IHWH is God’s communication with man, which took place with all those whom God has called and to whom the word of the Lord came (cfr Is 55: 10-11). As Augustine says: The Word of God is the true light.
The word comes from the mouth of God, but it keeps its full force, and it is a person who creates and sustains the world. This word that creates and saves is identified with the Torah, which for Israel is the divine revelation in its totality, with Wisdom: The law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh from Jerusalem (Is 2:3).
The memra (aramaic) is the concept used by John to go from the dabar to the logos: in the targum the memra has a creating function, but above all a revealing function that is expressed particularly through the image of light. In the Targum Neophiti, the famous poem of the four nights on Ex 12:42 it is written: «The first night was when IHWH revealed himself above the world to create it: the world was desert and empty and darkness covered the face of the abyss. And the memra of IHWH was the light that shone». In the Targum Jerushalaim manuscript 110 says: «With his word IHWH shone and shed light».
The midrash stresses that the law was before the world, it was life, it was light: «The words of the Torah are light for the world» (Midrash Dt Rabba 7.3). Only daughter of God, the Torah was written with black fire in the white flame and sits on God’s knees while God sits on his throne of glory (cfr Midrash on Psalm 90:3).
The logos-light becomes present in the world. All is life in him: the Word takes the place of the Torah. The signs are transcendent, and more than a substitution we see a fulfilment. If for the Jew the Torah is God’s daughter, John shows that she is the logos that from the beginning is with God, is God. This logos becomes flesh: man, frail, limited, finite, placing his glory in the flesh. He put down his tent, skené, among us, he became the shekinah of God among us, and he showed his glory, the overwhelming presence of God to men. The glory that dwelt in the tent of the exodus (Ex 40:34-38), that dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8: 10), now dwells in the flesh of the Son of God. This is indeed an epiphany. The shekinah is made visible, because the shekinah is Christ, place of the presence and of the divine glory. There is one who has seen the glory of God: the only Son full of grace and truth; he comes to reveal to us the face of the Father, the only one who can do this because he has his existence in the bosom of the Father. From this fullness of life comes the new creation. Moses gave the law. Christ gives grace and truth, love and fidelity. In the Son we can contemplate God without dying because whoever sees the Son sees also the Father: Jesus is the exegesis, the narration of the divine life.
And the place of revelation is his flesh. This is why John says at the time of fulfilment: “We have seen his glory” (Jn 1: 14), when at the “time of glorification” there is only darkness. The light is hidden when it gives its life for love of men, love to the very end, without restriction, respecting the freedom of man to crucify the Author of life. God is glorified at the moment of the passion: a love completed, definitive, unlimited, a love shown even to its extremist consequences. This is the mystery of the light that becomes a way in the darkness, because love likes the darkness of the night when life becomes more intimate and one’s words die to live in the breath of the words of the person loved, the light is in the love that gives light to that hour of expropriation, the hour when one loses oneself to find oneself again in the embrace of life.
4. PRAYER
Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,
put on the beauty of God's glory for evermore,
wrap the cloak of God's saving justice around you,
put the diadem of the Eternal One's glory on your head,
for God means to show your splendour
to every nation under heaven,
and the name God gives you for evermore will be,
'Peace-through-Justice, and Glory-through-Devotion'.
Arise, Jerusalem,
stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east:
see your children reassembled from west
and east at the Holy One's command,
rejoicing because God has remembered.
Though they left you on foot driven by enemies,
now God brings them back to you,
carried gloriously, like a royal throne.
For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain,
of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk safely in God's glory.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel,
at God's command;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory,
with the mercy and saving justice which come from him.
Baruc 5,1-9
5. CONTEMPLATION
Father of light, I come to you with my whole being. After going through times of goodness and times of slipping into evil I finally understand, because of my experience, that alone I only exist in shadow and darkness. Without your light I cannot see anything. Indeed, you are the source of life; you, Sun of justice, who opens my eyes, you the way that leads to the Father. Today you have come among us, eternal Word, as light that goes on crossing the pages of history to offer humankind the gifts of grace and joy in the desert of famine and emptiness: the bread and wine of your holy Name, which at the hour of the cross will become visible signs of consummated love, give us birth with you from that fertile side that is the Church, the cradle of your life for us. Like Mary, we wish to stay by your side to learn to be like her, full of grace from the Most High. And when our tents will welcome the cloud of the Spirit in the radiance of one more word, we shall understand the Glory of your Face and we shall bless in an adoring silence without any further hesitation the Beauty of being one with you, living Word of God.
The Elective Chapter of the Carmelite Monastery of Ravenna, Italy, was held 21 November 2012. The following were elected:
- Prioress: Sr. M. Anastasia Cucca, O.Carm.
- 1st Councilor: Sr. M. Pia Malmesi, O.Carm.
- 2nd Councilor: Sr. M. Elena Pasca, O.Carm.
- 3rd Councilor: Sr. Hilda Maria Duràn, O.Carm.
- 4th Couniclor: Sr. M. Maddalena Ennas, O.Carm.
- Director of Novices: Sr. M. Elisabetta Mambelli, O.Carm.
- Treasurer: Sr. M. Pia Malmesi, O.Carm.
- Sacristan: Sr. M. Barbara Stella, O.Carm.
Appointment as bureau chief of the editorial office of the Vatican Publishing House
On the 24th November 2012 the Holy Father Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Edmondo Caruana, O. Carm. (Maltese Province), official of the Vatican Publishing House, as bureau chief of the editorial office of the same organisation. Fr. Edmondo is a member of the community of S. Albert's International Center (CISA) in Rome. To Fr. Edmondo we offer our most cordial good wishes and congratulations.
From the 29th of October to the 3rd of November, 2012, an International Congress was held at Sassone (Italy), on the theme, “Fr. Lorenzo van den Eerenbeemt, O.Carm., a gift of the Spirit for Carmel and for the Church”. The congress was organised by the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. A sizeable number of friars, sisters and lay people from a number of different countries (Brazil, Canada, Philippines, Tanzania, Malta, Rumania and Italy) took part, with great interest and attention.
Cardinal João Bras de Aviz, the Prefect of the Congregation for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life opened the congress. The other speakers included, Don Giorgio Rossi, Carmelite friars, Emanuele Boaga, Giovanni Grosso, Cosimo Pagliara and Carmelite sisters, sr. Marianerina de Simone and sr. M. Cecilia Tada. Each one illustrated different aspects of this very captivating figure. Two round-tables, Sr. Alice Rodrigues Costa, Mons. Amleto Alfoni, P. Nazareno Mauri, O.Carm. e Luciano Pranzetti on the panel, added further to the picture. The aim of the congress was to get to know the person, the work and the spirituality of Fr. Lorenzo who, along with Blessed Maria Crocifissa Curcio founded the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionary Sisters of the St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The congress was closed by the Prior General, Fr. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., who in his address highlighted the values of “carmeliteness”, ecclesiality, mission and formation in Fr. Lorenzo.
by Fr. Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm.
Vocations
Despite the best efforts of vocation promoters, it seems that new vocations will be very few, at least for the foreseeable future, especially in the West. This will have major implications for the Church, the Order and each Province. To face up to closing houses or withdrawing from certain apostolic commitments can be very painful. However it is absolutely essential to prune the branches so that others may grow. If we do not close communities when necessary, it will mean that the men will suffer because they will have to do more and more work to cover what was done by more people in the past. Community life will also suffer. So, am I willing to let go of my apostolate and my house if the discernment of the brothers goes in that direction?
If our prayer is authentic, if it is a personal encounter with the One whom we know loves us, it will transform us from those who work for God into those who do God's work. We will begin to see people and situations no longer merely with our limited human sight but through the eyes of God. Our judgments will no longer be so conditioned by selfish considerations but our minds and hearts will be informed by the will of God. This will transform our way of being in the world. We will realise that we must plant or water the garden but only God can grant the growth.
Formation
Formation lasts at least a lifetime; we are not finished with it when we are solemnly professed. We have very good Constitutions and formation document. We have many more Carmelite resources available to us than in the past. Great progress has been made in the area of research and publishing. However, do we take the opportunities presented to us to read and reflect on this material so that we can deepen our understanding of the vocation to which we have been called?
What is formation for? It is an important ongoing process of growth. There is a need for continual Carmelite formation but we cannot be good Carmelites if we are not good human beings. There are certain basic human skills, which are required to make life in society bearable. If these have not been learned in the home environment, they must be quickly instilled at the beginning of formation. What happens when these ordinary human virtues are not learned during initial formation? Each of us has to ask ourselves whether we make community life pleasant or unpleasant for the others? There are several elements that must be borne in mind in the formation process. There is the human level, the intellectual level and the spiritual level. These elements obviously influence one another. All of these must be worked upon throughout the whole of life. These three elements are like the three legs of a stool. If one is out of balance, the whole stool is unbalanced. What about our lives? If there is an imbalance somewhere in our lives, what are we going to do about it? Formation is to help us in our becoming mature human beings, mature followers of Christ and mature Carmelites.
No one of course is perfect but hopefully all of us are on the spiritual journey. This journey requires a great deal from us because we are called to pass through the desert where we are purified and we grow to maturity in Christ. It is a great temptation to give up the journey because it is too difficult and settle down to mediocrity In the post-synodal document Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul II pointed out the importance of the various phases of the formation process. He writes of the middle years that this phase can present the risk of routine and the subsequent temptation to give in to disappointment because of meagre results.
In this document it is also said, "Those in charge of formation must therefore be very familiar with the path of seeking God, so as to be able to accompany others on this journey."4 Those who know something of the path of seeking God, know that there are moments of disappointment and disillusionment, times perhaps when we feel like the Prophet Elijah who sat under a bush and had no desire to continue. (I Kings 19, 4) It is vitally important, I believe, that in the process of formation, which lasts the whole of one's Carmelite life, we should be helped to first of all be aware that darkness, disillusionment and disappointment are normal stages on the journey.
We have a profound impact on those who come to us, even if they decide not to continue walking the same path as we walk and so we have a sacred duty to give our candidates the best formation we can possibly give them. What must we do to be continually faithful to this duty? We also have a great impact on those we serve in our apostolic activities. What kind of impact do we have?
by Fr. Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm.
Mt. 28, 18 — "Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
This text spells out our task in the present and the future. We, as members of the Church, are to carry on the mission of Christ. The end of our Rule points us towards the future. Like the innkeeper in the story of the Good Samaritan, we continue our work while keeping an eye on the horizon waiting for the Master's return.
More and more people in our western societies no longer count themselves as Christians. In some societies I suspect that the number of non-Christians and those who are actively opposed to the Catholic Church is growing. More and more children are being brought up with no sense of God. In fact, God does not enter into the thought of a number of people and is being excluded from many areas of human life. Religion is slowly being relegated to the private sphere as a personal hobby so long as it does not interfere with anyone else. Abortion is often presented now as a human right and those who are opposed are painted as enemies of women and of human progress.
Creative Fidelity
In the midst of our changing world, the primary challenge for us as individuals and as an Order is unchanging. We are called to be constantly faithful to the charism that God has given to us in trust for the Church and the world. Being faithful does not necessarily mean repeating what has gone before. Times change and so we must change our way of living and presenting the charism so that it can be an effective vehicle of evangelisation in a new era. We do not of course change the charism but we can and do change the way it is presented; we also add to it and enrich it by how we live it in our own day. We can learn a great deal from the prophet Elijah in this connection.
God speaks to us in many ways. One of these ways is through the cultural changes that our world is undergoing at present. We cannot claim to be faithful to God if we do not ponder the Scriptures but equally we cannot claim to be faithful if we do not listen to what God is saying to us from the heart of the world. A new kind of evangelisation is required for a new situation. We must seek to understand what is going on and why and then respond the best way we can. Perhaps we hide the face of Christ from some people by our tired words and tired ways. We must be careful lest we find ourselves speaking in a language of yesterday to the people of tomorrow.
All consecrated men and women "must continue to be images of Christ the Lord, fostering through prayer a profound communion of mind with him (cf Phil 2, 5¬11), so that their whole lives may be penetrated by an apostolic spirit and their apostolic work with contemplation." There can be no doubt that in the eyes of most people Carmel stands for prayer, contemplation, and the interior life. Carmelites do many different things, and that is one of our strengths, but in all these different apostolic works we are expected to express our spirituality. What we do must spring from what we are. We are most faithful to God when we are faithful to the vocation that has been given us. There is a distinction that I have always found helpful between working for God and doing God's work. We work for God in all sorts of ways and our apostolic labours may be very laudable but are they all according to the mind and heart of God? To do God's work means to do what God really wants of us. Our charism is spelled out clearly in our official documents. How do I incarnate this Carmelite vocation of living in allegiance to Jesus Christ through prayer, service and fraternity according to the inspiration of Our Lady and the Prophet Elijah?
The fundamental thrust of our lives has to do with the contemplative aspect of our charism. This does not mean that we all must become hermits but that we must be contemplatives in the midst of the different activities in which we are involved. Our prophetic and apostolic activity will naturally flow from our contemplative life. We cannot be contemplatives if we do not spend time alone with God but more than that, it is a process whereby God purifies and transforms our hearts so that we become like God. This process requires our consent to the action of God in our lives and a recognition that God works often in very human ways. The whole thrust of our spiritual tradition is about this process in which God transforms our selfishness into pure love. God will use all the ordinary events of daily life to reveal to us who and what we are. This is a very painful process and therefore it is much easier to forget about prayer and immerse ourselves in working for God while perhaps forgetting to do God's work. Am I faithful but also creative? Are we, the Carmelite family, faithful to God and yet creative, so that we can proclaim the Good news in a way that people in our own culture can actually hear it?
to be continued
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 5, 1952, and a graduate in law, Fr. Joseph Chalmers entered the Carmelite Order in 1975. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome) with a license in spirituality which won the Papal Gold Medal.
In 1981, a year before finishing his studies, Fr. Joseph was ordained priest in Glasgow by the Cardinal, Archbishop Thomas Winning.
From 1995 to 2007, Fr. Joseph was a Prior General of the whole Carmelite. after two terms as Prior General he retured to his own province and served as Novice Director for the past four years at Aylesford Priory in Kent. Fr. Chalmers recently joined Saint Luke Institute as Director of Formation.
As Prior General of the Carmelite Order between 1995 and 2007, Father Joseph is very well known across the international Carmelite Family and beyond. Since returning to ministry in his native province of Britain, he has published a number of best-selling books, including The Sound of Silence: Listening to the Word of God with Elijah the Prophet, and Let It Be: Praying the Scriptures in company with Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Mary’s visit to Elisabeth
God reveals himself in the simplest things
Luke 1:39-45
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create silence within us so that we may listen to Your voice in creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A key to the reading:
Today’s Gospel describes Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. They knew each other. They were related. But during the meeting, they discover in each other a mystery that they did not yet know and that fills them with great joy. How often does it happen that we meet people whom we know, but who surprise us by their wisdom and by their witness of the faith! It is thus that God reveals Himself and allows us to know the mystery of His presence in our lives.
The text of this Gospel of the fourth Sunday of Advent does not include Mary’s canticle (Lk 1:46-56) and barely describes Mary’s visit with Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-45). In this brief commentary we take the liberty of including Mary’s canticle, because it helps us better understand the meaning of the two women’s experience at the moment of this visit. The canticle reveals that what Mary experienced when Elizabeth greeted her helps her perceive the presence of God’s mystery not just in the person of Elizabeth, but also in her own life and in the history of her people.
As you read the text, try to pay attention to the following: “What gestures, words and comparisons made by Mary and Elizabeth express the discovery of God’s presence in their lives?”
b) A division of the text to help with the reading:
Luke 1:39-40: Mary leaves home to visit her cousin Elisabeth
Luke 1:41: When Elisabeth hears Mary’s greeting, she experiences God’s presence
Luke 1:42-44: Elisabeth greets Mary
Luke 1:45: Elisabeth praises Mary
Luke 1:46-56: The Magnificat (Mary’s canticle)
c) Text:
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 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."
Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-56):
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
3. A moment of prayerful silence
that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What pleased or touched you most in this text? Why?
b) What gestures, words and comparisons express Elizabeth’s discovery of the presence of God in her life and in Mary’s?
c) With what gestures, words and comparisons does Mary express her discovery of God’s presence in her life, in Elizabeth’s, and in her people’s history?
d) What is the source of the joy of both women?
e) What symbol from the Old Testament is recalled and realized in the description of this visit?
f) Where and how does the joy of God’s presence occur in my life and in the life of my family and community?
5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme
a) Yesterday’s and today’s contexts:
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ childhood is centered on the figure of Joseph, Jesus’ putative father. It is through “Joseph the husband of Mary” (Mt 1:16), that Jesus becomes David’s descendant, able to fulfill the promises made to David. On the other hand, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus’ childhood is centered on the person of Mary, “the betrothed of Joseph” (Lk 1:27). Luke does not say much about Mary, but what he does say is very deep and important. He presents Mary as model of life for Christian communities. The key to seeing Mary in this light is what Jesus says to His mother: “More blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28). In the way Mary relates to the Word of God, Luke sees the best way for the communities to relate to the Word of God: hear it, incarnate it, deepen it, ponder it, give birth to it and make it grow, allow oneself to overwhelmed by it even when one does not understand it or when it brings pain. This is the background to chapters 1 and 2 of Luke’s Gospel when they speak of Mary, Jesus’ mother. When Luke speaks of Mary, he is thinking of the Christian communities of his time that lived spread out in the cities of the Roman Empire. Mary is the model of the faithful community. And, faithful to this biblical tradition, the last chapter of “Lumen Gentium” of Vatican II that speaks of the Church presents Mary as model of the Church.
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth shows another aspect typical of Luke. All the words, actions, and, above all, the canticle of Mary are one grand celebration of praise. It is like the description of a solemn liturgy.
In this way, Luke creates a double atmosphere: the prayerful atmosphere in which Jesus is born and bred in Palestine, and the liturgical and celebratory atmosphere within which Christian communities live their faith. He teaches the transformation of a visit by God into service of the brothers and sisters.
b) A commentary on the text:
Luke 1:39-40: Mary’s visit with Elizabeth.
Luke stresses Mary’s haste in responding to the demands of the Word of God. The angel informs her that Elizabeth is pregnant, and immediately Mary begins her journey to see what the angel had told her. She leaves home to help someone who needs help. It is more than 100 kilometers from Nazareth to the mountains of Judea. There were no coaches, no trains. Mary hears the Word and puts it into practice in the most efficient way.
Luke 1:41-44: Elizabeth’s greeting.
Elizabeth represents the Old Testament, which is coming to an end; Mary represents the New, about to begin. The Old Testament greets the New with gratitude and confidence, recognizing God’s free gift, which is given to realize and fulfill the expectation of the people. In the meeting of the two women, the gift of the Spirit manifests itself and causes the child in Elizabeth’s womb to rejoice.
God’s Good News reveals His presence in one of nature’s most common events, two women who visit together to help each other. Visit, joy, pregnancy, sons, mutual help, house, family: Luke wants the communities (and us) to see and discover the presence of the Kingdom in these things.
To this day, Elizabeth’s words are part of the best known and most recited Psalm in the whole world, the Hail Mary.
Luke 1:45: Elizabeth praises Mary.
"Blessed is she who has believed in the fulfillment of the word of the Lord". This is Luke’s message to the communities: belief in the Word of God that has the power to bring to pass what it says. It is the Word that creates. It gives birth to new life in the womb of a virgin, in the womb of the poor and abandoned people who welcome it with faith. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary is brought to completion when Jesus praises His mother: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28).
Luke 1:46-56: Mary’s canticle.
It is most probable that this canticle was known and sung by the Christian communities. It teaches how one must pray and sing. It is also a kind of measure that reveals the level of the knowledge of the communities in Greece for whom Luke was writing his Gospel. To this day, it is possible to evaluate the level of awareness of communities from the canticles that we hear and sing there.
Luke 1:46-50:
Mary begins by proclaiming the change that has taken place in her life under the loving gaze of God who is most merciful. Thus she sings joyfully, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant. Yes, from now on all generations will call me blessed for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is His name, and His faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him.” In order to understand the meaning of these very well known words, we need to remember that this is a very young girl, perhaps 15 or 16 years old, poor, from a remote village in Palestine, on the periphery of the world, but one who clearly knows her situation and mission, both hers and her people’s. Mary imitates the canticle of Anna, mother of the prophet Samuel (1Sam 2:1-10).
Luke 1:51-53:
Then Mary sings of Yahweh’s fidelity towards His people and proclaims the change that the power of God’s arm was accomplishing in favor of the poor and hungry. The expression “the arm of God” recalls the liberation of the Exodus. This change takes place by the grace of the saving power of Yahweh: He has routed the arrogant of heart (1:51), He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly (1:52), He has filled the starving with good things and sent the rich away empty (1:53). Here we see the level of awareness of the poor in Jesus’ time and in the time of Luke’s communities, who sang this canticle and probably knew it by heart. It is worthwhile comparing this canticle with the canticles that today’s communities sing in church. Do we have the political and social awareness that we find in Mary’s canticle? In the 1970’s, at the time of the military dictatorships in Latin America, for the military Easter celebrations this canticle was censored because it was considered subversive. To this day, Mary’s awareness, the mother of Jesus, is still discomforting!
Luke 1:54-55:
Finally the canticle reminds us that all this is an expression of God’s mercy towards His people and of His fidelity to the promises made to Abraham. The Good News is not a reward for the observance of the Law, but an expression of the goodness and fidelity of God to His promises. This is what Paul taught in his letters to the Galatians and to the Romans.
c) Further information:
Luke 1-2: the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament
In the first two chapters of Luke, everything revolves around the birth of two persons: John and Jesus. These two chapters give us a pleasurable taste of Luke’s Gospel. Their tone is that of praise and gentleness. From beginning to end, the mercy of God is praised and sung, a mercy that finally breaks out to fulfill its promises. These promises are fulfilled in favor of the poor, the anawim, of those who know how to wait for their fulfillment: Elizabeth, Zachary, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, the shepherds and the three magi.
The first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel are well known but only superficially. Luke writes in imitation of the Old Testament scriptures. It is as though the first two chapters of his Gospel were the last of the Old Testament, thus opening the way for the coming of the New. These two chapters are the threshold between the Old and New Testaments. Luke wishes to show to Theophilus that the prophecies are being fulfilled. Jesus fulfills the Old and begins the New.
These two chapters of Luke’s Gospel are not history in our present day understanding of history. They act much more like a mirror where those for whom the Gospel is written, the Christians converted from paganism, discover that Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and to respond to the deepest aspirations of the human heart. They also symbolize what was happening in their communities in Luke’s time. The communities originating from paganism will be born from converted Jews. But they will be different. The New does not completely correspond to what the Old imagined and hoped for. It was a "sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34), caused tensions and was a source of much pain. In Mary’s attitude, Luke presents a model of how to react and persevere in the New.
6. Praying Psalm 27 (26)
The Lord is my light, whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is my light and my salvation,
whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life,
whom should I dread?
When the wicked advance against me to eat me up,
they, my opponents, my enemies,
are the ones who stumble and fall.
Though an army pitch camp against me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
my trust will never be shaken.
One thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out His temple.
For He hides me under His roof on the day of evil.
He folds me in the recesses of His tent,
sets me high on a rock.
Now my head is held high above the enemies who surround me;
in His tent I will offer sacrifices of acclaim.
I will sing, I will make music for Yahweh.
Yahweh,
hear my voice as I cry,
pity me, answer me!
Of you my heart has said,
“Seek His face!”
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
do not turn away from me.
Do not thrust aside Your servant in anger;
without You I am helpless.
Never leave me.
Never forsake me,
God, my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
Yahweh will gather me up.
Yahweh, teach me Your way,
lead me on the path of integrity because of my enemies;
do not abandon me to the will of my foes
-- false witnesses have risen against me,
and are breathing out violence.
This I believe:
I shall see the goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh,
be strong,
let your heart be bold,
put your hope in Yahweh.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
More...
John the Baptist’s preaching
in preparation for the coming of the Kingdom
Luke 3:10-18
1. LECTIO
a) Opening prayer
Come, Spirit Creator, enlighten our minds and fill the hearts You have created with Your grace. Be light to our intellect, ardent flame in our hearts; heal our wounds with the balsam of Your love. Light of eternal wisdom, reveal to us the mystery of God the Father and of the Son united in one single love. Amen.
b) Gospel reading
The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.
c) Prayerful silent time
that the Word of God may enter into our hearts and enlighten our life.
2. MEDITATIO
a) A key to the reading
An integral part of Luke’s Gospel message is the need for conversion: metanoia, that is, a change of mind to a way of thinking and acting that is divine. Very often we meet in Luke’s Gospel scenes where the mercy of God manifests itself in Jesus Christ towards the poor and humble of heart (Lk 1:46-55; 2:1-20; 5:12-31; 6:17-38). These scenes stand in contrast to the severe treatment reserved for the rich and proud whose heart is hard and closed to God and the needy neighbor (Lk 16:19-31; 17:1-3).
The text of this Sunday’s liturgy presents us with this theme. The passage, 3:10-18, is part of Luke’s presentation of John the Baptist’s preaching in preparation for the mystery of Jesus. John the Baptist proclaims the imminent coming of the day of the Lord: “Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming?” (Lk 3:7). The prophets had proclaimed the coming of this day of wrath and salvation, as also the coming of a messenger known as Elijah (Sir 48:11), who would prepare the way before the Lord (Mal 3:1-5). In Christian tradition, John the Baptist is the messenger who prepares for the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah: “someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am” (Lk 3:16). In fact, John’s ministry takes place at a time of great messianic expectations: “A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people” (Lk 3:15) and asks of the Baptist whether he is the Messiah. Later, this question is put to Jesus too (Lk 9:7-9, 18-21) who then reveals His identity in the implicit confirmation of the profession of faith made by Peter.
In verses 3:1-18 of Luke’s Gospel, we have everything concerning the ministry and mission of John the Baptist. He was sent to baptize as a sign of repentance and to preach the conversion that brings salvation: “produce the appropriate fruits” (Lk 3:7); “I baptize you with water” (Lk 3:16). Through his preaching, John “announced the good news” (Lk 3:18) that salvation was not only reserved for some of the elect but is offered to all, including publicans and soldiers (Lk 3:10-14), to all those who live and act justly and with charity. Jesus, in His turn, will further clarify this truth by His merciful attitude towards publicans, sinners and those marginalized (Lk 7:1-10, 36-50; 17:11-19; 18:9-14). In fact, the theme of salvation became tied to the coming of the Kingdom of God, which is in our midst (Lk 17:20-21) and implies social justice and equality among all people (Lk 3:10-14). Hence salvation is not just an abstract and personal quality but is real and collective. This salvation is offered to us by God in those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire (Lk 3:16b). “His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out” (Lk 3:17). Following the Gospel story, we see that several times Jesus will make similar references concerning the coming of the Kingdom through warnings and parables (Lk 13:1-5; 17:22-37). We can say that in looking at the ministry and mission of Jesus, Luke lets us see the perfecting of the proclamation and preaching of John. Here we may remember what Jesus said in the synagogue in Nazareth, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen” (Lk 4:21).
b) A few questions
to direct our meditation and practice.
a) The need for conversion: metanoia, that is, changing one’s imperfect way of thinking to the divine way of thinking and acting. Do I feel this need?
b) God’s mercy towards the poor and humble of heart manifests itself in Jesus Christ. Do I identify myself with these?
c) “A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people” (Lk 3:15). The early Christians anxiously awaited the second coming of the Lord: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’ Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come’ “ (Rev 22:17). Do I await the coming of the Lord, or am I so busy with material life that I am inordinately attached to all things passing?
d) In Christian tradition, John the Baptist is the messenger who prepares the people for the first coming of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. The Church has received the same mission of preparing the way of the Lord who will come: “I shall indeed be with you soon!” (Rev 22:20). What can I do to prepare for the second coming of the Lord?
e) Salvation is not reserved for a few elect but is offered to all, including those considered “unworthy” of the salvation of God. In Jesus’ time, those included among the “unworthy” were the publicans and pagans. Who are those frequently considered “unworthy” of salvation in our day?
f) The theme of salvation is closely related to the coming of the Kingdom of God and has social justice implications: “Now I am making the whole of creation new” (Rev 21: 5). What can I do to promote justice in a way that will affect the structures of social injustice?
3. ORATIO
a) Psalm 97 (96, 1-7, 10-12)
The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are round about Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him,
and burns up His adversaries round about.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim His righteousness;
and all the peoples behold His glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before Him.
The Lord loves those who hate evil;
He preserves the lives of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to His holy name!
b) Closing prayer
Word, splendor of the Father, in the fullness of time You came down from heaven to redeem the world. Your Gospel of peace frees us from every fault, pours out light into our minds and hope into our hearts. When, among the splendors of heaven, You will return as judge, welcome us to Your right hand in the assembly of the blessed. Praise be to Christ our Lord, to the Father and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
4. CONTEMPLATIO
Contemplation is knowing how to adhere with one’s mind and heart to the Lord who by His Word transforms us into new beings who always do His will. “Knowing these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13:17)
John the Baptist’s preaching
Prepare for God’s coming
Luke 3:1-6
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create silence within us so that we may listen to Your voice in creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, Son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A key to the reading:
The Gospel text of the second Sunday of Advent speaks to us of John the Baptist, prophet, in the desert preparing the way for the Lord. For centuries, people were living in expectation of the coming of the Messiah, and the ever more burdensome Roman occupation increased the desire for the coming of the Liberator, the Savior. The presence of John in the desert was a sign that God was once more visiting His people. Redemption was close at hand!
Luke is careful to place the coming of John the Baptist within the socio-political and religious context of the time. On the socio-political level, Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod governor of Galilee, and Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. Then, using a biblical text, Luke places John within the religious context of God’s plan and says that he came to prepare the realization of the secular hopes of the Messiah’s coming.
b) A division of the text to help with the reading:
Luke 3:1-2: Placing John’s action in time and space
Luke 3:3: A summary of John’s political activities
Luke 3:4-6: Biblical light shed on John’s activities
c) Text:
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
3. A moment of prayerful silence
that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What pleased or struck you most in this text? Why?
b) Where and when does John come on the scene? What is the significance of this specifying of the time and place?
c) What is the significance of the biblical references for an understanding of John’s activities?
d) Desert, way, paths, valley, mountain, hill, winding ways, rough roads: what is the significance of these images to understand better Jesus’ activities?
e) What is this text’s message for us today?
5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme
a) Yesterday’s and today’s contexts:
* Luke places John’s activities in the 15th year of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome. Tiberius was emperor from 14 to 37 A.D. In 63 B.C., the Roman emperor had invaded Palestine and imposed a severe form of slavery on the people. Popular uprisings followed each other, especially in Galilee, but were harshly suppressed by the Roman legions. From 4 B.C. to 6 A.D., that is, while Archelaus was governor, violence broke out in Judea. This fact forced Joseph and Mary go back to Nazareth in Galilee and not to Bethlehem in Judea (Mt 2:22). In 6 A.D., Archelaus was deposed and Judea became a Roman province whose procurator was appointed directly by the Emperor of Rome. Pilate was one of these procurators. He ruled from 25 to 36. This change in the political regime brought a great calm, but occasional uprisings, such as the one of Barabbas (Mk 15:7), and their immediate repression by the Romans (Lk 13:1) were reminders of the extreme seriousness of the situation. Any little spark was enough to create the fire of revolt! Calm was just a truce, an occasion offered by history, by God, for people to look again at the journey they had undertaken (cf. Lk 13:3, 5) and thus, avoid complete destruction. Rome was cruel. Any revolt would spell the end of the Temple and the Nation (Jn 11:48; cf. Lk 13:34-35; 19:41-44).
* It is in this context, about the year 28 A.D., that John the Baptist comes on the scene as prophet in the desert. Luke speaks of the great expectation that arose among the people concerning the preaching of John the Baptist, who proclaimed a baptism of conversion for the forgiveness of sin. Today, too, there is a great desire for conversion and reconciliation with God, which manifests itself in various ways: the search for meaning in life, the search for spirituality, the international movement of the World Social Forum: “A different world is possible!”, and many other religious movements. Social workers and politicians are searching for a more human world and thus confirm this desire for conversion or reconciliation with God. Advent is the proper time to renew in us this desire for change, for conversion and for coming closer to God.
b) A commentary on the text:
Luke 3:1-2: Recalling the old prophets.
The way Luke introduces the preaching of John is very similar to the introduction to the books of the old prophets. These mentioned the names of the kings of the time of the prophets’ activities. See, for instance, Isaiah (Isa 1:1), Jeremiah (Jer 1:1-3), Hosea (Hos 1:1), Amos (Am 1:1) and others. Luke does the same thing so as to say that if for nearly 500 years there was no prophet, now a new prophet has come by the name of John, son of Zachary and Elizabeth. Luke is concerned with placing these events in time and space. He introduces the names of the governors and describes the places where John worked. In fact, salvation history is not separate from human and personal history.
This concern of Luke’s arouses our curiosity. Today, when a person is ordained to the priesthood or professes final vows, it is customary to print a holy card recalling the date and place of ordination or profession, and some meaningful phrase from the Bible or a saint is included to express the significance of the ordination or profession in the life of the person concerned. However, we never come across a holy card saying, for instance, “In the fifth year of Bush, president of the United States; Blair being president of the council of the United Kingdom; Prodi president of the council of Italy; Zapatero president of the council of Spain; and Joseph Ratzinger Pope, named Benedict XVI, I received my priestly ordination to proclaim the Good News to the poor, to give sight to the blind, to free the oppressed and to proclaim a year of grace of the Lord!” Why does Luke choose to give the dates of salvation history together with those of the history of humankind?
Luke 3:3: Repentance and forgiveness.
John goes through the region of the Jordan preaching a baptism of penance so as to obtain pardon for one’s sins. Repentance (in Greek: metanoia) means change, not just in one’s moral behavior, but also and above all in one’s mentality. Change in one’s way of thinking! People were to become aware that their way of thinking, influenced by the “yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod” (Mk 8:15), that is, by the government’s propaganda and by the official religion, was wrong and had to change. Pardon brings with it reconciliation with God and with the neighbor. In this way, John was proclaiming a new way for the people to relate to God. Reconciliation will also be the mark of Jesus’ preaching: reconciliation even “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22).
Luke 3:4-6: A definition of John’s mission.
Luke quotes the following text from Isaiah to assist readers to better understand the meaning of John’s preaching: “A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make straight path for our God across the wastelands. Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be leveled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain; then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken’” (cf. Isa 40:3-5). In this text, Isaiah proclaimed the people’s return from exile to Palestine and he described it as though it were another Exodus. It was as if the people, coming back from the servitude of Babylon, were leaving Egypt and entering once more into the desert. For Luke, Jesus begins a new exodus prepared by the preaching of John in the desert.
The Gospels of Matthew (Mt 3:3) and Mark (Mk 1:3) also quote the same section of Isaiah, but they only quote the first part (Isa 40:3). Luke quotes the full text up to the point where Isaiah says, “and all humanity will see the glory of the Lord” (Isa 40:5). The expression “all humanity” means every human being. This little difference shows Luke’s concern for the communities, that the prophets had already foreseen this openness to the pagans! Jesus came not only for the Jews but so that “every human being” might see the saving power of God. Luke wrote his Gospel for the community in Greece who, for the most part, were converted pagans.
c) Further information:
John, the prophet – Since the sixth century before Christ, prophecy had ceased. "No prophet any more", it was said (Ps 74:9). People lived in expectation of the prophet promised by Moses (Deut 18:15; 1 Mac 4:46; 14:41). This long waiting period ended with the coming of John (Lk 16:16). The people did not consider John as a rebel like Barabbas, or like a scribe or Pharisee, but as a prophet longed for by all (Lk 1:76). Many thought he was the Messiah. Even in Luke’s time, in the 80’s, there were still those who thought John was the Messiah (Acts 19:1-6).
John appears and proclaims, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand!" (Mt 3:2). He was jailed because of his courage in denouncing the errors of the people and of those in authority (Lk 3:19-20). When Jesus heard that John was in prison, He went back to Galilee and proclaimed the same message as John: "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the gospel" (Mk 1:15). Jesus carries on from where John left off and goes further. The Old Testament ends with John and in Jesus the New Testament begins. Jesus even says, “I tell you, of all the children born to women, there is no one greater than John, yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Lk 7:28).
The content of John’s preaching (Luke 3:7-18) – John draws the crowds by preaching a baptism of change and forgiveness of sins. This shows that people were ready to change and wanted to relate to God in a new way. John denounced errors and attacked privileges. He said that being children of Abraham was no guarantee nor did it give any advantage before God. For God, he said, the stone and the child of Abraham were the same, because "God can raise children of Abraham from these stones!" (Lk 3:8) What advances a person in God’s sight is not the privilege of being a child of Abraham but actions that produce good fruit.
Luke talks of three categories of people who ask of John, “What must we do?”: the people (Lk 3:10), the publicans (Lk 3:12) and the soldiers (Lk 3:14). The answer for the people is simple: “Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone with something to eat must do the same!” (Lk 3:11) This is a clear answer: sharing of goods is the condition for receiving God’s presence and to pass from the Old to the New Testament. In his answer to the publicans (Lk 3:13) and to the soldiers (Lk 3:14), John asks for the same thing, but applies it to their situation. The publicans must not receive more than is permitted. The exploitation of the people by the publicans was a plague in the society of those days. Soldiers must not resort to extortion or false accusations and must be satisfied with their wages.
In the 80’s, when Luke is writing, many people still thought that John was the Messiah (cf. Acts 19:3). Luke quotes John’s own words to help readers to place the figure of John within the framework of salvation history. John acknowledges that Jesus is stronger. The difference between him and Jesus is in the gift of the Spirit who will be transmitted through Jesus. Luke shows that John’s concept of the Messiah was incomplete. For John, the Messiah would be a severe judge, ready to pass judgment and to punish (Lk 3:17). Perhaps that is why John, later, had difficulty recognizing Jesus as the Messiah (Lk 7:18-28), since Jesus did not behave like a severe judge who punished. Rather He said, “I judge no one!” (Jn 8:15; 12:47) Rather than judging and punishing, Jesus showed tenderness, welcomed sinners and ate with them.
6. Praying Psalm 15 (14)
Lord, who can enter your sanctuary?
Yahweh, who can find a home in Your tent,
who can dwell on Your holy mountain?
Whoever lives blamelessly,
who acts uprightly,
who speaks the truth from the heart,
who keeps the tongue under control,
who does not wrong a comrade,
who casts no discredit on a neighbor,
who looks with scorn on the vile,
but honors those who fear Yahweh,
who stands by an oath at any cost,
who asks no interest on loans,
who takes no bribe to harm the innocent.
No one who so acts can ever be shaken.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
through Your Son You made us a new creation.
He shared our nature and became one of us;
with His help, may we become more like Him,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - John 3:22-30
Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing. John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned. Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings. So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him." John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease."
3) Reflection
• Both John the Baptist and Jesus indicated a new way to the crowds. But Jesus, after having adhered to the movement of John the Baptist, and after having been baptized by him, advanced a step ahead and created His own movement. He baptized people in the Jordan River when John the Baptist was also doing it. Both of them attracted the poor and abandoned people of Palestine by announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
• Jesus, the new preacher, had a certain advantage over John the Baptist. He baptized more people and attracted more disciples. Thus, a tension arose between the disciples of John and those of Jesus, concerning the “purification,” that is, concerning the value of baptism. The disciples of John the Baptist experienced a certain envy and went to John to speak to him and informed him about the movement of Jesus.
• John’s response to his disciples is a beautiful response, which reveals his great spirit. John helps his disciples to see things more objectively. He uses three arguments: a) Nobody receives anything which is not given by God. If Jesus does such beautiful things, it is because he receives them from God (Jn 3:27). Instead of having envy, the disciples should feel joy. b) John reaffirms once again that he, John, is not the Messiah but only the precursor (Jn 3:28). c) In the end, he uses a comparison taken from the wedding feast. At that time, in Palestine, on the day of the wedding, in the house of the bride, the so called “friends of the bridegroom” waited for the arrival of the bridegroom to present him to the bride. In this case, Jesus is the bridegroom, the crowd is the bride, John the friend of the bridegroom. John the Baptist says that, in the voice of Jesus, he recognizes the voice of the bridegroom and can present him to the bride, to the crowds. At this moment, the bridegroom, the people, leave the friend of the bridegroom and follow Jesus, because they recognize in Him the voice of their bridegroom! And for this reason the joy of John is great, “complete joy”. John wants nothing for himself! His mission is to present the bridegroom to the bride! The last sentence summarizes everything: “He must increase, I must decrease!” This statement is also the program for anyone who follows Jesus.
• At the end of the first century, in Palestine as well as in Asia Minor, where there were some communities of Jews, there were also people who had been in contact with John the Baptist or who had been baptized by him (Acts 19:3). Seen from outside, the movement of John the Baptist and that of Jesus were very similar to one another. Both of them announced the coming of the Kingdom (cf. Mt 3:1-2; 4:17). There must have been some confusion between the followers of John and those of Jesus. And because of this, the witness of John about Jesus was very important. The four Gospels are concerned about transmitting the words of John the Baptist saying that he is not the Messiah. For the Christian communities, the Christian response, John’s response, “He must increase but I must decrease” was valid not only for the disciples of John at the time of Jesus, but also for the disciples of the Batiste or Cambric community of the end of the first century.
4) Personal questions
• “He must increase, I must decrease”. This is John’s agenda. Is this also my agenda?
• What is important is that the bride finds the bridegroom. We are only spokespersons, nothing more. Am I this?
• Here John shows the essence of humility, which has many forms. In what ways do I exemplify humility?
5) Concluding prayer
They shall dance in praise of His name,
play to Him on tambourines and harp!
For Yahweh loves His people,
He will crown the humble with salvation. (Ps 149:3-4)
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful Father,
You have made known the birth of the Savior
by the light of a star.
May He continue to guide us with the light,
for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 5:12-16
It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately. Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them." The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments, but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
3) Reflection
• A leper came close to Jesus. He had to live far away from others, because whoever touched him remained impure! But that leper had great courage. He transgressed the norms of religion so as to be able to get close to Jesus. He said, “Sir, if You want, You can heal me!”That is to say, “It is not necessary for You to touch me.” It is sufficient for the Lord to want it, and He cured him! The sentence reveals two evils: a) the evil of leprosy which renders him impure; b) the evil of isolation, to which he was condemned by society and by religion. This also reveals the man’s great faith in the power of Jesus. Jesus, profoundly moved, heals him from both evils! In the first place, to cure the isolation, He touches the leper. It is as if He said, “For Me you are not excluded. I accept you as a brother!” And then He cures the leper saying, "I do will it. Be made clean."
• The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the law. Jesus also, in order to be able to help that excluded man and reveal to him a new face of God, transgresses the norms of His religion and touches the leper. At that time, whoever touched a leper became impure according to the religious authority and by the law of the time.
• Jesus, not only cures, but also wants the cured person to be able to live with others. He once again inserts the person in society so that he can live together with others. At that time for a leper to be accepted again in the community, he needed a certificate from a priest, that he had been cured. It is the same today. The sick person leaves the hospital having a document signed by the doctor. Jesus obliges the person to go and look for the document, so that he can live normally with the others. He obliges the authority to recognize that this man has been cured.
• Jesus forbids the leper to speak about the healing. The Gospel of Mark informs us that this prohibition was not effective and went unheeded. The leper went away, but then started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but stayed outside in deserted places (Mk 1:45) Why? Jesus had touched a leper. For this reason, according to the opinion of the religion of the time, now He Himself was impure and should be far away from everybody. He could no longer enter into the cities. Mark says that the people did not care at all about these official norms, in fact, people came to Him from all parts (Mk 1:45).
• The two-fold message which Luke and Mark give the community of their time and to all of us is the following: a) to announce the Good News means to give witness of the concrete experience that one has of Jesus. What does the leper announce? He tells the others the good that Jesus has done to him. That is all! All this! This is the witness which impels others to accept the Good News of God, that brought by Jesus. b) In order to take the Good News to people, it is necessary to not be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which render communication, dialogue and the lived experience of love difficult, even if this implies difficulty for the people, as happened with Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• In order to help the neighbor, Jesus transgresses the law of purity. In the Church today, are there any laws which render difficult or prevent the practice of love toward neighbor?
• In order to be cured, the leper had the courage to challenge the public opinion of his time. Do I have such courage?
• Do I treat the homeless on the street as a leper? Think of all the times. Do I reach out and hold a hand, or give a hug, or do I cross the street or pretend they aren't there?
• Jesus gave what the leper needed, not a donation or some money. When I am asked for help, do I take the time to give the help that is needed to “cure” the problem, or do I offer some token donation (if at all) and just keep walking?
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.
For He gives strength to the bars of your gates,
He blesses your children within you. (Ps 147:12-13)
