Commentary
Sunday, 12/23/2018, Fourth Sunday of Advent
A Place Too Small
First Reading Commentary: Micah 5:1-4a
God promised David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16, to raise up a descendant from David who would build a house in God’s name. God promised that through this descendant, David’s throne would rule forever. Today’s prophecy from Micah is about the coming of the one who was promised.
The first thing that Micah says in this prophecy is, “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old.” Consider the words “too small.”
We can compare Bethlehem to an insignificant tiny little town that may not even show up on the map so that if you are not from the area, you have probably never heard of it. And, even if you have heard of it, if you don’t know where it is, you may never find it. But that is the kind of place that God chose for His Son, the King of Kings, to be born.
The manger in the barn, because there was no other place for Joseph to take Mary and all of the humble surroundings are always on our minds when we think of the birth of Jesus. I wonder how many Christmas cards have been made with an image of that scene.
But in telling us that the King is coming and what the King will do, Micah also directs our attention to the insignificance of Bethlehem—a place too small. We have all had experiences where we were surprised by something and when explaining what happened, we said something like, “It came from nowhere!” Bethlehem was like a nowhere. Interesting how some things that catch our attention in the most profound ways come from nowhere.
Today, we are called to understand that there is; no such thing as nowhere with God. God is everywhere and in all places! There is no such thing as an insignificant place or a place too small with God. Every place is a part of God’s creation and no place is more significant than another.
No matter where the place might be, think twice before saying, “This God forsaken place.” It is not the place that is God forsaken—it is probably what we are doing in that place that is God forsaken.
The Visitation
Gospel Commentary: Luke 1:39-45
Every once in a while, a gospel will appear in our liturgy that we will hear again in a matter of days. That is the case today as we hear the gospel of the Visitation which was a part of the liturgy of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th and the Immaculate Conception on December 8th.
The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Luke tells us that Mary made haste to a town of Judah and entered Zechariah’s house. Mary made this trip immediately after being told by the angel Gabriel that she would bare a son and so would her cousin Elizabeth in spite of her age. Remember again that in their time, traveling was difficult. But Mary had faith that both of these sons were to be important people in God’s plan.
Elizabeth’s baby, John the Baptist, leaped in her womb when Mary greeted her. Filled by the Holy Spirit, she cried out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” This is the gospel that this part of the prayer of the Hail Mary comes from. We know that Blessed, means happy so Elizabeth said happy are you and happy is your baby.
Elizabeth asked, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me…Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Elizabeth professed her faith in God and acknowledged Mary’s faith. Mary’s answer is the prayer of the Magnificat. It begins with the line, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Mary was the perfect person to be the mother of Jesus for many reasons. Two of those reasons were her willingness to go out of her way with her humble generosity and her zealous commitment to giving all of herself to someone else in need. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth demonstrated both of these traits. All good mothers possess a zealous commitment of giving all of themselves to their children. The thing that makes Mary a special mother is that she not only gave birth to Jesus, but as the New Eve, she is our mother in heaven.
When we meditate on the Visitation, we must consider the fact that Mary immediately began her role as the New Eve and our mother in heaven by going to assist Elizabeth in her final stages of pregnancy. Mary acts as our mother in heaven each and every time that she intercedes for us to her Son and allows herself to be the Mediatrix of all Grace.
We do not need a personal apparition by Mary to know that she is there for us. If we have faith in her Son, we know that she is there for us because it is her Son who appointed her as our mother in heaven. We know that Mary is always there for us because she is the Mediatrix of All Grace which means that all grace from God comes through her. That is because God Himself passed through Mary as Jesus came into this world and for that reason, we cannot celebrate Advent without celebrating Mary.
