Feast of the Epiphany

 One of the dangers of being Christians in 2024 is that we lose a sense of how radical it was for non-Jews, that is, Gentiles, were invited to participate fully in the grace of Jesus of Nazareth, who was truly revealed as the Messiah, in his resurrection. The conflict which occasioned the Council of Jerusalem and the letter to the Galatians went to the heart of the implications of the Incarnation and the Resurrection for both Jews and Gentiles. As we hear in todays Second Reading: "In former generations this mystery was not made known to humanity as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have becomes fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." (Eph 3: 5-6) The Magi represent the journey of faith, brought about through the use of science and reason, to arrive at a desire for God which opens us to his mercy and grace which find their confirmation in the promises of the Scriptures.

Feast of Mary, Mother of God

 This is the Octave of the Nativity. It deepens the insight given the Church regarding the Incarnation and the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Jesus, born of the Virgin, is truly human and as second person of the Holy Trinity is truly God. The Virgin, therefore, is revealed as Theotokos, the God-bearer and hence Mother of God. Through baptism we are incorporated into Christ Jesus. Thus, God becomes our Father, as he taught us to pray and his mother becomes our Mother. As we hear in the Second Reading: "But when the fulness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (Gal 4: 4-5) We become temples of the Holy Spirit. As a result we live no longer for ourselves but for the one who gave his life for us: "... for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise."(Gal 3: 29) The Holy family becomes our family and we live as part of the household of God which is the Church: "... you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the loving God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth." ( 1 Tim 3: 15) For this great blessing we can join with the shepherds who: "... returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." (Lk 2: 20)

Feast of the Holy Family

 The gospel for this feast reveals the implications of the Incarnation. The word made flesh, becoming human through the Blessed Virgin Mary, is born into space and time. The Roman Empire, the customs of the Jewish religion, the devout Jews who frequent the Temple all help to paint the picture. Above all, however, there is the Holy Family. Mary and Joseph, both of whom have had to suffer and live by faith in responding to God's will, are shown as beginning life as a family and living out that life in accord Jewish Law. It is a challenge to contemporary families to likewise be faithful to their culture, heritage and religion. There are so many distractions and temptations. The Simeons and Annas in our parishes are wonderful in the support they can offer to young couples and families. It is in this way that faith can be maintained and a solid foundation given to family life which is a testimony to God's love for us.

The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

 I encourage all parishioners to go into their Sunday Missals and read all of the readings for Christmas. These readings are for the vigil, the night Mass, Mass at dawn and Mass during the day. What a wonderful treasure trove of Scripture to helps us delve into the mystery of the Incarnation! The prophecies of the Old Testament are gloriously fulfilled in the birth of a son to a lowly, artisan Jewish couple who are unable to find suitable accommodation. The only fitting response to such news was then and is still today joy. Joy is the fulfilment of hope. Whatever our life circumstances we can all find joy at Christmas because we know that in Jesus there is the "yes" to all of God's promises and that he is indeed faithful. St Paul wrote to the Romans: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to the grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that , but we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Rm 5: 1-5)

4th Sunday of Advent

 Last Sunday the focus of the gospel reading was on John the Baptist. This week it is on Our Lady. Mary of Nazareth, teenage daughter of Anne and Joachim, future Blessed Mother of our Lord is human like us. She seems to have been taken aback by the appearance of the angel: "But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be." (Lk 1: 29) This is even before the proposal to become the mother of Jesus, without the assistance of her betrothed, is made to her. Once this is broken to her she replies: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Lk 1: 34) This indicates that the future Queen of Heaven understands the stakes. She knows that getting pregnant outside of having sexual relation with her husband, or indeed with anyone, is, to put it mildly, problematic The archangel Gabriel, whose name in Hebrew translates as "the Power of God" invites her to put her faith in God: "For nothing is impossible with God." (Lk 1: 27)The absolute trust and faith of the Immaculate Conception reveals her courage and her humility: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." (Lk 1: 38) Let us pray that we can have even a fraction of the faith of Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven, this Christmas so that God's Word may be fruitful in us!

3rd Sunday of Advent

 This gospel is unusual in that its focus is entirely on St John the Baptist. There is no mention of Jesus, even in utero. However, the message of John, and the response to him (Jn 1: 25), are much the same as those to Jesus  (eg. Mk 8: 27-28). One important detail to notice is that John, the son of a priest, operates not in Jerusalem but in the wilderness near the River Jordan. In this way he can be seen as mounting a critique of the priestly elite in Jerusalem especially in their running of the Temple. By baptizing he is effectively inviting his followers to "re-Judaize" themselves. The society has been so compromised by Hellenization, that is, Greek and Roman cultural influences, that it needs to be cleansed and purged so as to bring about a renewal ahead of the impending arrival of the Messiah. The first followers of Jesus were also followers of John the Baptist. They were dissatisfied with the situation of Israel and longed for a righteous government not by the priestly elite but by God. Likewise: "... we wait for a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home." (2 Pt 3: 13) That is why we stand in the tradition of those early disciples who followed John the Baptist and found the Messiah he preached about in Jesus Christ. We also find the inbreaking of the new heavens and the new earth in the Church which continues the mission and presence of the risen Christ.

2nd Sunday of Advent

 St Mark begins his Gospel, most likely the first gospel to ever be written, thus: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God." Elsewhere in the Bible we have the start of the Book of Genesis: "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1: 1) and the Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." (Jn 1: 1) There is no clear conclusion to the original ending for the gospel of Mark: "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid." (Mk 16: 8) The onus is left on the reader. In Advent we still await the conclusion of the Gospel. We are parties to the working out of God's plan and we are not meant to run away in terror and amazement. There is still work to be done. St Paul tells us that: "Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power." (1 Cor 15: 24) In a world afflicted by pain and conflict we can be tempted to lose hope as we wait for God to bring the world to its fitting and decisive fulfilment. This was also the case for the first generation of Christians. St Peter advises them: "Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation." (2 Pt 3: 14-15)