Homily
4th Sunday of Advent B
22 December 2012
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
Daily Readings
Audio
It's hard to overestimate the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth. The magnitude of what is happening is mind-blowing. Meditation on the scene of this Gospel should complete our Advent preparation. It can make us perfectly ready for Christmas. That's why it's placed here, the 4th and final Sunday of Advent.
Mary didn't have a smart phone to text Elizabeth the great news. But she got the news to her cousin as quickly as she could. Newly pregnant, Mary nonetheless ran to share the good news. Filled with excitement, she went in haste to the hill country.
The visitation was also the chance for John to meet Jesus in utero. Yet the scripture passage is clear. There is no interaction between John and Jesus. John erupted at the sound of Mary's greeting. He responds to the voice of Mary.
John the Baptist as we know will soon be the greatest prophet in Israel. Yet the forerunner of the word is small compared to Mary. She is no mere forerunner of the word. She is the the bearer of the Word. She will give birth to the word. Her fiat is the most profound word ever spoken by a prophet. Her Magnificat is worth more than all the prophetic words that John will ever say. So at her few words, John the Baptist leaps for joy in the womb. John the Baptist was foretold to be greatest man ever born of a woman. Yet he is small in the presence of the Immaculate Conception.
King David danced a thousand years before when the ark of the covenant was brought triumphantly from the hill country to the holy city. So too, John the Baptist dances because of the closeness of the new temple that is Mary. The promise made to David that a son of his would rule forever, haunted Israel until this day, for the David kingdom had done nothing but fade since the time of Nathan's prophecy.
These promises dramatically reappear in the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary. Just as the stump of Jesse, the least of shepherd boys in the forgettable town of Bethlehem, was chosen by the Lord to become the greatest King of Israel, so now in this time, the most hidden of all women, is chosen for the fulfillment of a promise that had seemed lost. The angel Gabriel says to Mary. Your son Jesus will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give him the throne of David his father, and of his kingdom, there will be no end.
Imagine the situation of Elizabeth. Imagine telling the story of how she conceived in her old age, and of her husband Zechariah being struck dumb, and the prophecy of carrying in her womb the greatest baby ever conceived, and knowing the sex in advance without benefit of a sonogram! Imagine telling the greatest story ever, only to find out it's the second greatest story ever. Such was the incomparable good news shared by these two holy woman, our final Advent prophets.
If you've had a great Advent, let the scene just described to us be the perfect completion of this season. If you've had a lukewarm Advent, let these ladies come to your rescue. Ask Mary to give you just the tiniest piece of her Advent expectation. Ask her to help you feel just a bit what was going on in her mind and heart and body in those final hours before giving birth to Jesus. If Mary our mother will do that for us, we will be perfectly ready for Christmas.
4th Sunday of Advent B
22 December 2012
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
Daily Readings
Audio
It's hard to overestimate the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth. The magnitude of what is happening is mind-blowing. Meditation on the scene of this Gospel should complete our Advent preparation. It can make us perfectly ready for Christmas. That's why it's placed here, the 4th and final Sunday of Advent. Mary didn't have a smart phone to text Elizabeth the great news. But she got the news to her cousin as quickly as she could. Newly pregnant, Mary nonetheless ran to share the good news. Filled with excitement, she went in haste to the hill country.
The visitation was also the chance for John to meet Jesus in utero. Yet the scripture passage is clear. There is no interaction between John and Jesus. John erupted at the sound of Mary's greeting. He responds to the voice of Mary.
John the Baptist as we know will soon be the greatest prophet in Israel. Yet the forerunner of the word is small compared to Mary. She is no mere forerunner of the word. She is the the bearer of the Word. She will give birth to the word. Her fiat is the most profound word ever spoken by a prophet. Her Magnificat is worth more than all the prophetic words that John will ever say. So at her few words, John the Baptist leaps for joy in the womb. John the Baptist was foretold to be greatest man ever born of a woman. Yet he is small in the presence of the Immaculate Conception.
King David danced a thousand years before when the ark of the covenant was brought triumphantly from the hill country to the holy city. So too, John the Baptist dances because of the closeness of the new temple that is Mary. The promise made to David that a son of his would rule forever, haunted Israel until this day, for the David kingdom had done nothing but fade since the time of Nathan's prophecy.
These promises dramatically reappear in the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary. Just as the stump of Jesse, the least of shepherd boys in the forgettable town of Bethlehem, was chosen by the Lord to become the greatest King of Israel, so now in this time, the most hidden of all women, is chosen for the fulfillment of a promise that had seemed lost. The angel Gabriel says to Mary. Your son Jesus will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord will give him the throne of David his father, and of his kingdom, there will be no end.
Imagine the situation of Elizabeth. Imagine telling the story of how she conceived in her old age, and of her husband Zechariah being struck dumb, and the prophecy of carrying in her womb the greatest baby ever conceived, and knowing the sex in advance without benefit of a sonogram! Imagine telling the greatest story ever, only to find out it's the second greatest story ever. Such was the incomparable good news shared by these two holy woman, our final Advent prophets.
If you've had a great Advent, let the scene just described to us be the perfect completion of this season. If you've had a lukewarm Advent, let these ladies come to your rescue. Ask Mary to give you just the tiniest piece of her Advent expectation. Ask her to help you feel just a bit what was going on in her mind and heart and body in those final hours before giving birth to Jesus. If Mary our mother will do that for us, we will be perfectly ready for Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment