The metaphor of light is often used in the Bible. The Jews spoke of Jerusalem as “a light to the Gentiles.” But Jerusalem does not produce its own light. It is God who lights the lamp of Israel. Moreover, Jerusalem, a city on a mountain top, cannot hide its light. At the start of his ministry, St. Matthew portrays Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, namely, that he is ‘the great light’ that will disperse the shadow of death and the darkness of sin, that have enveloped the world. When Jesus commanded his followers to be the light of the world, he demanded nothing less than that they should be like him, the One who isthe Light of the world. “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (Jn 9:5). Christ is the “true” or “original” Light (Jn 8:12). Citizens of the kingdom are simply “luminaries” reflecting the One True Light, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun (2 Cor 4:6). The radiance which shines from the Christian comes from the presence of Christ within the Christian’s heart as the radiance of a ‘radiant bride’ comes from the love in her heart. Christians are to be torchbearers in a dark world. We should not try to hide the light which God has lit in our lives. Rather, we should let it shine so that others may see our Grace-born good deeds and praise God for them. St. Paul exhorts the Christians in Philippi “to be blameless and innocent in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world” (Phil 2: 15).
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: January 29, 2023
SOURCE OF REAL HAPPINESS
Today’s Gospel reading tells us that real happiness lies in what are known as “the Beatitudes.” “Beatitudes” are technically known as “macarisms,” (blessings – from the Greek makarios, meaning “blessed” or “happy”). These beatitudes echo Isaiah 61:1-2. Other examples of macarisms can be found in the Book of Proverbs, the Psalms, and even in the book of Revelation. There are thirty-seven beatitudes in the New Testament, seventeen of which are sayings of Jesus. Matthew presents Jesus as the new Moses who teaches us from the mountain that Christianity is more than obeying the Ten Commandments. The Sermon on the Mount is almost surely a collection of Jesus’ teachings rather than a sermon delivered in one sitting. The beatitudes of Jesus were taught in Aramaic. They are not simple statements; rather they are exclamations, i.e.,” O! The blessedness of the poor in spirit!” (Compare Psalm 1 for a similar Hebrew version.) Matthew presents the Beatitudes as coming at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. He gives eight Beatitudes (the ninth being explanation of the eighth). In both Matthew and Luke, the Beatitudes are a “series of bombshells” or “flashes of lightning followed by thunder of surprise and shock” because Jesus reverses our “natural” assumption that happiness lies in riches, power, pleasure, and comfort.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: January 22,2023
LIGHT AND DARKNESS
Terry Anderson, a journalist for the Associated Press, was seized and held hostage in Lebanon for seven years; blindfolded almost all of that time, Anderson described his experience in this way, “Deepest darkness, fumbling, uncertainties are frightening. More frightening is the darkness of the mind, when outside light makes no impression and inner lights go dim. . .” [Den of Lions, Crown Publishers, Inc. (New York: 1993).] In November of 1965, a power failure plunged seven northeastern U.S. states and Ontario, Canada, into a darkness which lasted for more than thirteen hours. About thirty million people living in eighty thousand square miles of territory were affected. In 1977, another, less severe, power failure darkened New York City for fifty-two minutes. Losses due to accidents and looting were in excess of one billion dollars. — In the Holy Scriptures, light and darkness serve as symbols for good and evil. In today’s first reading and in the Gospel, Jesus is presented as the One sent to remove the darkness of sin from the world. Through Isaiah, God promises that His people will see an end to the darkness of oppression and separation. Today’s Gospel shows us how the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in Jesus.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: January 15, 2023
JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE ESSENE PREACHER
When John’s parents died, he may well have been still too young to be on his own. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been very old when John was born, so that would not have been a surprise, but apparently nothing was done to prepare for it just the same. According to tradition, the rest of the family had gone north to Nazareth because of political problems, and John, left alone, was taken in by a group of old men who lived in a little village down by the Dead Sea. The place was called Qumran, and the men were known as the Essenes. No one agrees just where the Essenes came from originally, but most agree that they had come to Qumran to get away from the “corruption” they believed was taking place in the Temple in Jerusalem. You could say they were religious fanatics, who spent the days and nights copying Scripture with its prophetic scrolls about how one day, God was going to send His Messiah and flush that filth right out of Jerusalem. Since many of them were unmarried, it was common for them to “adopt” homeless children and raise them, teaching them to continue the Essene lifestyle. One of those homeless children may well have been the young boy John. Years later, when he appears just a few miles north of Qumran, he preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” These are Essene words, pure and simple. –- But even when he became a popular preacher, John still had the humility to acknowledge and introduce Jesus as “the Lamb of God” and the expected Messiah.
Epiphany of the Lord: January 08, 2023
THE STAR
Commentary on the Torah by Jewish rabbis suggests that a star appeared in the sky at the births of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. Similarly, in the Book of Numbers, the prophet Balaam speaks of “a star that shall come out of Jacob.” Stars were believed to be signs from God, announcing important events. Thus, the brightness of the Light to which Magi were drawn was made visible in the star they followed. (In the last 40 years, a number of scientists and astronomers have pointed to particular clustering of planets or stars around the time of Jesus’ birth, which would have created an unusual or dramatic heavenly “portent,” suggesting that perhaps Matthew’s account is more historical than some exegetes might choose to believe). The star which shone over the area and served as a beacon for the astrologers can be explained scientifically. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a German astrologer and mathematician, calculated that the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn which occurred ca 7-6 B.C.E. could have produced such an illumination in the sky over Bethlehem. However, the star featured in Matthew’s narrative figures more importantly because of its theologicalsignificance. No doubt, Matthew, with his mission to demonstrate that Jesus was the Promised One and the fulfillment of all Jewish hopes and prophecies, intended his readers to recall the story of Balaam in the book of Numbers (chapters 22-24). Therein, Balaam, a pagan seer from the East was co-opted by Balak, king of Moab to cursethe Israelites. Prevented by Yahweh from uttering the curse, Balaam blessed Israel and prophesied, “a star shall rise from Jacob and a scepter shall arise out of Israel” (Nm 24:17). Matthew portrayed the astral herald that proclaimed the appearance of Jesus and beckoned the Gentiles to salvation as the fulfillment of Balaam’s prophesy.