DECEMBER 30, 2007: THE HOLY FAMILY

Readings:
Sirach 3:2-7, 12-14
Colossians 3:12-21
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

A friend recently told me that at one point during a parish council meeting she referred to Jesus being Jewish. Her remark caused another member of the council to blurt out, "He wasn't a Jew, was he?"

In this age of widespread religious education, it's hard to imagine the historical Jesus' "Jewishness" being off any Christian's radar. My friend's experience proved otherwise.

Though most of us (except for that one parish council member) acknowledge Jesus' earthly ministry revolved around reforming Judaism and not setting up a church as we know it, it's still difficult for some to recognize the Jewishness of many of our Christian sacred authors. We've probably heard it more than once, but we just don't remember.

In this December's National Geographic cover story on memory, Joshua Foer writes, "Most of the things that pass through our brains don't need to be remembered any longer than they need to be thought about." The things we choose to remember are in our brains to help us "develop a sense of what is happening in the present and what is about to happened in the future, so that we can respond in the best possible way." For a person of faith, the Jewish environment of our ancestors is a "keeper." It not only helps us better understand their faith; it provides a path for us to travel in both the present and the future of our own faith.

Family is an essential component of any Jew's life. That's evident when we hear Sirach's words in our first reading. He speaks about children's relations with their parents. "God sets a father in honor over his children, a mother's authority he confirms over her children. . . . Those who revere their father will live a long life; those who obey their father bring comfort to their mother." A life without good family ties is an unfulfilled life.

All students of the gospels immediately recognize that Matthew is the only evangelist who writes for a _Jewish_/Christian community. That's why his Jesus - the new Moses - must somehow come out of Egypt and travel to the Promised Land. It also explains why God's angels employ dreams to communicate with Joseph; a trademark of his namesake's communications with Yahweh in Genesis.

But in this period of mandatory celibacy for the Western Church's priests, it's easy for some to forget that Matthew presumes Jesus would have been raised within a normal, protective, nurturing Jewish family. (That could be the reason Matthew deliberately omits Mark's chapter 3 narrative describing Jesus' mother and brothers' attempt to "seize him" because they thought he was "out of his mind.") Matthew's Jesus could never forget his Nazareth family roots even when he was forming a new family of faith. He was Jewish.

Though a majority of Pauline scholars contend the Apostle didn't compose Colossians, they agree it contains many of his thoughts, especially his belief on how faith is to be lived within a family context. For Paul, family is at the heart of any Christian community.

Paul and his followers knew little of our modern concepts of equality, especially when the question of husband/wife and parent/child relations are addressed in our Colossians pericope. Today, having been made aware of horrible cases of abuse, we can find all sorts of exceptions to wives being subordinate to their husbands, or children obeying their parents "in everything." Yet no family can exist and evolve in any point of history unless its members are driven by "heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another."

No matter how family relations have changed over the centuries, they're still the litmus test, helping us judge whether or not we're living an authentic faith, and providing us with memories which most shape who we are.

DECEMBER 23, 2007: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24

Someone once mentioned that a real music connoisseur is a person who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of the Lone Ranger. In a parallel way, a real Scripture student is someone who can listen to today's Isaiah 7 passage and not think of Jesus of Nazareth.

During this part of the liturgical year, Isaiah's words to Ahaz play in the background of our minds when we think of Jesus' birth in the same way Rossini's music dedicated to a Swiss hero runs through our minds when we see the masked hero and his faithful Indian companion riding into the sunset. Neither Rossini nor Isaiah intended their compositions to be applied to the people who usually pop into our minds when we hear them today.

In some sense, there's less excuse for us to "eisegete" Isaiah than Rossini. We need only read the verses preceding our liturgical passage to discover that Isaiah couldn't have had Jesus in mind when he originally promised, "The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel." This pregnancy is the 8th century B.C.E. sign Ahaz needs to convince him not to join Israel and Syria in revolting against Assyria.

The king's overriding fear revolves around his family's safety. If he refuses to join this anti-Assyrian alliance, they'll be killed. If he does join the revolt and it fails, Assyria will also slaughter his family. Isaiah assures Ahaz that his wife's pregnancy is the sign he wants. (The Hebrew word "alma" isn't the technical word for a virgin. It simply refers to a woman who has yet to give birth. We have no parallel word in English for such a woman or girl. But we do have one for cattle: heifer.) The prophet can't help but add a slam at Ahaz in his proclamation The heir to the throne won't be a chip off the old block; he'll be a much better king than his father. His reign will so emphasize Yahweh's will that it'll be like having "God among us" - Emmanuel.

How could Matthew take these words out of their original context, latch on to just one meaning of alma, and make Jesus the Emmanuel? No problem. No one in the first century C.E. followed today's rules of exegesis. Taking sentences (and even words) out of context was not only permitted, it was expected. (Back then biblical scholars presumed that if two Scripture verses have the same number of syllables, they must be saying the same thing!).

Matthew is simply following the early Christian practice of finding Jesus tucked away in the words of the Hebrew prophets, turning these "consciences of their people" into predictors of what Christians experienced in their relationship with the risen Jesus. Christians eventually would even go so far as to change the order of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, placing the prophetic writings immediately before the gospels to emphasize their "prediction-fulfillment" theology.

Though we today dismiss Matthew's "fulfillment" passages as Christian eisegesis, no one can dismiss the effect the risen Jesus had in the lives of his first followers. Not only did it lead them to reinterpret their Scriptures, more importantly, it led them to reinterpret their daily lives.

Paul, for instance, reminds the Romans that his experience of Jesus
has forced him to change his basic direction in life. No longer is he
content just to follow the 613 laws of Moses, he's now received "the
grace of apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake
of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are
called to belong to Jesus Christ." Quite a change in lifestyle.

Perhaps if we spent less time trying to surface predictions of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures and more time surfacing the risen Jesus in our everyday lives, it would be easier to understand our sacred authors' frame of mind when they composed our Christian Scriptures.

DECEMBER 16, 2007: THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings:
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

Years ago some of my high school students presented me with a banner sporting a large image of Santa Claus against a green background and John's question from today's gospel printed in red letters under the picture. "Are you 'the one who is to come' or should we look for another?"

In his Jerome Biblical Commentary article on this Matthean passage, Benedict Viviano mentions something with which all scholars of the Christian Scriptures agree. "These verses contain a school debate, probably of post-resurrection origin, over the nature of Jesus' mission, held between disciples of John the Baptist and Christians.

Many naively believe all John's disciples instantly switched their allegiance to Jesus after the Baptizer's martyrdom. Such a general shift never happened. Some of John's followers eventually became Jesus' followers, believing him to be the Messiah they were anticipating. But most who thought John was the Messiah continued to do so even after his death. Historians tell us there were still followers of John active in their beliefs centuries after Jesus' death and resurrection. This provides the basis for Viviano's observation. John's disciples and Jesus' disciples debated their mentors' merits long after each had completed his earthly ministry.

Part of the argument John's followers employed revolved around a definition of terms. If Jesus were the Messiah, he certainly wasn't the Messiah the Israelites were anticipating. To call the Galilean carpenter Messiah was tantamount to creating a new definition for the title.

The fact that this pericope containing John's question is included both in Matthew and Luke, but is not found in Mark, tells us that Matthew and Luke copied it from the "Q:" a hypothetical very early Christian document containing sayings of Jesus which circulated among the churches before any of our four gospels were written. Its inclusion in the "Q" demonstrates its importance for even pre-gospel Christians. It also raises an interesting question. Just what Messiah are we "Messians" supposed to imitate? Matthew and Luke agree with the Q author that it's one who makes certain "the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." No wonder both evangelists add Jesus' comment, "And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me."

Jesus conceives his ministry to be a total giving of himself to others. That's why we keep looking for "someone else," someone not as demanding, someone who gives to us instead of insisting we give to others.

Seven hundred years before Jesus' birth, Isaiah believed Yahweh called him to a parallel ministry. "Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: 'Be strong, fear not! Here is your God . . . .' The eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing."

Throughout the history of faith, God's followers have always been tempted to expect a Santa Claus figure to suddenly step into their lives and give them the "goodies"' which will make their lives a happy, bearable experience.

James doesn't let us forget what both Isaiah and Jesus discovered: we're only truly fulfilled and happy when we're concerned with others' needs and not our own. "You too must be patient," he writes. "Steady your hearts . . . . Do not grumble against one another, my brothers and sisters." Faith-filled fulfillment is a life-time process. What Jesus achieved, we can achieve. If we're convinced of his unique messiaship we can pull it off.

Wish I still had that banner. A few days after I hung it in the high school chapel, someone stole it. Can't figure out why he or she took offense at it.

DECEMBER 9, 2007: SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

Isaiah sets the theme for today's celebration by passing on Yahweh's promise, "There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of Yahweh as water covers the sea." To biblically know something or someone means much more than just having an intellectual familiarity with the person or object. Our sacred authors presume we truly know only what we experience. So when the prophet speaks about "knowledge of Yahweh," he's actually talking about "experiencing Yahweh."

Isaiah deliberately compares his own Yahweh-experience to water covering the sea. For him, Yahweh's presence is as all-pervasive as water in an ocean. No part of creation is without God.

John the Baptizer says something similar in our gospel pericope. "Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand." For John and Jesus, "God's reign" refers to God present and working effectively in our everyday lives. Both contend that God's presence permeates all we do and are.

Though addressing faith communities over 700 years apart, Isaiah and John surface one of our most basic human longings. We want to know that God's somehow present at the core of our existence. No biblical writer believed we'd experience God only at the end of our natural lives. Each is convinced that if we're not recognizing God among us, we must not be living our faith correctly. God's as deeply embedded in our existence as water is involved in the existence of a fish. But just as a fish isn't always conscious of the water around it, neither are we conscious of God around us.

How do we raise (of deepen) our consciousness level? In both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the trick is to look at reality from a different perspective.

For Isaiah, Israel should be able to surface Yahweh's saving presence in their leaders' personality traits. If they discover wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and fear of Yahweh in them, then Yahweh's spirit must also be in them. If they find that their leaders treat the poor and afflicted justly, then Yahweh's acting through them. Only when and if the Chosen People demand such leadership characteristics will they begin to achieve the peace and tranquility which Yahweh's presence alone can guarantee. Even non-Jews will be attracted to such a way of life.

John also believes things must change before God's reign becomes evident. But this desert prophet looks beyond Israel's leaders. He zeros in on the changes which should take place deep down inside each of us. Our lives, not the lives of others, must be "reformed." Our value systems must do a 180. He reminds his audience that their formal religious affiliation or history is meaningless. "God can raise up children to Abraham from these very stones." Once we personally start to see our relationships with others from a new perspective, we'll also start to notice God present in our lives.

Paul learned not only John's lesson, but also Jesus' amplification of that lesson. "Live in perfect harmony with one another," he encourages the Romans, "according to the spirit of Christ Jesus . . . . Accept one another as Christ accepted you . . . ." The Apostle mirrors Isaiah's belief that such acceptance reaches out to all people, even Gentiles. No wonder biblically oriented Eucharistic presiders have replaced the traditional greeting, "God _be_ with you!" with "God _is_ with you!" Why would anyone wish for something that already exists? Our sacred authors would think it heresy to presume there might be a situation or person in which God is not present. Perhaps some use "be" instead of "is" simply because they don't want to do what's necessary to make God's presence a tangible reality in their lives.

DECEMBER 2, 2007: FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Readings:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44

Anticipation is an essential part of biblical faith. But it goes far deeper than just our liturgical anticipation of Christmas. None of today's readings originally had anything to do with Jesus' birth. They simply reflect a basic belief that Yahweh or the risen Jesus will enter our everyday lives at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.

Though Jews during the 8th century B.C.E. expected Yahweh to break into their lives and rescue them from their Gentile enemies, no one expected God to do it the way Isaiah predicts. Israelites won't have to worry about being hassled by Gentiles; the Gentiles will convert to Yahweh. "Come," the nations proclaim, "let us climb Yahweh's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his paths."

Once Gentiles actually walk Yahweh's paths, "they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again."

The prophet's most significant statement is at the end of our liturgical passage. "Let us walk in the light of Yahweh!" It sets the stage for Paul's instruction to the Christian community in Rome. "The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us live honorably as in daylight . . . ."

In both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, light imagery is a classic way of expressing the unique frame of mind with which people of faith view reality. Even today we talk about a "light turning on in our mind" when an insight suddenly comes to us. In Paul's theology, the light of faith directs us away from everything which destroys life, especially "carousing and drunkenness . . . sexual excess and lust . . . . quarreling and jealousy." Such actions are off the radar for Jesus' followers.

It's clear from today's gospel pericope that many early Christians questioned why they were drawn to and by this light of faith while others in their lives never seem to have been "taken" by that phenomenon.

Though Matthew frames this oft-asked question in the context of Jesus' delayed Parousia, he doesn't give us a precise answer. He simply states the issue in an intriguing way. "Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding meal; one will be taken and one left." To "be taken" here seems to mean taken by faith. Why, in the same set of circumstances, for similar people, does one person choose to imitate Jesus while another chooses a different path? There appears to be no answer. Confident in his or her call, one need only follow the road the risen Jesus points out, no matter what others do.

Here the evangelist believes such a faith endeavor takes place against the background of an anticipation of Jesus' Second Coming. "You must be prepared . . . . The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect."

Of course, we surface a huge problem when we hear this warning today. Jesus never came in the way Matthew and his community anticipated. By the time the next evangelist, Luke, writes, Christians are beginning to believe Jesus won't make such a return in their lifetime. A few years after Luke, John contends the Parousia has already taken place among us in a way no one in the first two generations of the faith anticipated.

The scriptural lesson is clear: followers of God must always "hang loose." Though we have specific ideas of what God will accomplish in the future, God almost always does it in a way no one could have predicted.

Today's three sacred authors are our witnesses to that unexpected phenomenon. After all, part of experiencing God in our lives is coming face to face with God's unpredictability.