The Epiphany of the Lord

Who Were the Magi?

They might have been of the priestly class in Persia, or they were astrologers; either way they were highly proficient at reading the stars. (Astrology was not the same then as it is now – a major part of it was pure astronomy as they were considered one discipline then.) They were important figures in the Bible, due to their role in showing how Jesus fulfilled the ancient prophesy: “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel” (Nm 24:17). The traditional belief that there were three stemmed from the number of gifts given. Matthew does not indicate the number or country of the Magi; he only states that there were more than one. In the NAB footnotes for Matthew, it says, “[Ps 72:10, 15; Is 60:6] These Old Testament texts led to the interpretation of the magi as kings.” They were important figures who traveled far to see Christ.

Biblical Timing

We celebrate the Epiphany on a separate day, because quite contrary to how it is often depicted outside of the Bible (especially in nativity scenes), the Magi visit occurred much after Jesus’s birth. That is also why church choirs often wait until this feast day to sing “We Three Kings” or “What Child it This?” at Mass. Based on Herod’s selfish and evil command to kill all male children two years and younger born in Bethlehem, Bible scholars believe Jesus was between 12-18 months old when the Magi visited.

The Three Gifts

There is a significance to the Gifts given to Jesus. in “Against Heresies” by St. Irenaeus, in Book 3, chapter 9, paragraph 2, St Irenaeus explains that Gold represents Jesus’s Kingship, Frankincense represents His Divinity (because He is God), and Myrrh, which was used in funerary preparations, represented that He shall die and be buried for the human race. The Magi knew through the significance of the Star, that Jesus is the Savior. The gifts were both symbolic and thoughtful, things that could help Jesus growing up.

Whew!

This Herod was Herod the “Great.” He had what we would call “a mixed review” today; some considered him great because all the building he did, and many considered him tyrannical. Either way, he was still a puppet king installed by Rome. So imagine his distress, finding out from far-away strangers, that a new King was born in Bethlehem. His reaction to this situation (the massacre of the innocents) puts Herod squarely in the tyrant category of rule. In Herod’s eyes, any direct threat to his rule was to be dealt with before Rome could catch wind of it. Thankfully, Jesus was spared by the Magi being warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Then in Matthew 2:13 (the next verse after today’s Gospel ends), Joseph was warned about the danger, and the Holy Family fled to Egypt.

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Feast of the Holy Family

This week’s readings have options, and the Celebrant is allowed to choose from them. All of these scripture readings have a strong message in them about family, and the Gospel depicts The Holy Family as an example for us.
Read this week’s readings here.

A Power Imbalance? Not Really!

Among the choices for the second reading is from 3 Colossians, which is a brief version of Ephesians chapter 5. Paul goes more in depth with this concept in Ephesians chapter 5, so I will repeat my notes from August here. Ephesians has some amazing teachings on the sacrament of marriage, that on the onset, seem like supporting a power imbalance in marriage. However, this happens because parts of the reading are often taken out of context. Ephesians 5:22, for many women, is the uncomfortable verse, especially in modern times. “Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.” It is so out of context without the verse before it, “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” and the ones after: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her.”

In Paul’s day, this was radical teaching – supporting women, who were still sold into marriage with a mohar (a kind of dowry) and were mainly considered property in those days. In modern times, this reading in its entirety still rings true. The additional verses around verse 22 offer the balance. We are to be submissive and kind to each other. Make decisions together. Comfort one another. Trust each other and forgive each other.

The Holy Family as a Model Family

The Holy Family is very much a blended family. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. We hear this all the time, but pause and think about what this means for Joseph. His role was to be Jesus’s earthly parent, teaching Him the ways of the world as a Man, and protecting Him from harm until Jesus is of age. This is a role Joseph was exemplary at, as seen in Luke’s Gospel. He is the model for stepparents and foster parents. All parents can model the Holy family in their lives.

Even though it was a solemn observance, the number of pilgrims coming to Jerusalem created a crowded festival-like setting. The city was packed with visitors from all over the region, and contemporary chronicler Josephus documented that many protests and incidents happened during Passover in Jerusalem. We all can recall those moments when we were in a strange place, at a festival or at State Fair, and we turn around and one of the kids is nowhere to be seen. Often for us, we look around a bit and there they are, and we are so relieved. However, Mary and Joseph looked everywhere and Jesus was not there! So, the good parents they were, they left the caravan and went back to Jerusalem.

I Must Be About My Father’s Work

We can imagine the relief the felt when they saw Him in the Temple. When Mary asks Him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” and Jesus replies, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49) There is an interesting footnote in the NAB Bible about these two verses. It states, “I must be in my Father’s house: this phrase can also be translated, “I must be about my Father’s work.” In either translation, Jesus refers to God as his Father. His divine sonship, and his obedience to his heavenly Father’s will, take precedence over his ties to his family.” So, Jesus put God over His earthly family here.

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The Fourth Sunday of Advent

 Prepare the way for the Lord.  Read this week’s readings here.

Details From Mary

We move back again in time in this week’s Gospel, to where we find a very personal passage featuring Mary.  Luke’s Gospel is peppered with these unique moments, and Bible scholars believe that Mary, or someone very close to her, was an important source for Luke when he was writing his Gospel.  This theory is very logical, because there are a number of moments in this Gospel that only Mary would know this amount of detail. This moment is one of them.

Saying Yes to God’s Plan

Mary’s answer to the angel Gabriel was essential to the plan of salvation.  She was saying “yes” to a lot – women found to be pregnant (from another man) while engaged could be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24).  In the Gospel of Matthew (1:19-21), Joseph was going to divorce Mary quietly, to avoid her being stoned.  However, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and Joseph was reassured.  We say this in the Hail Mary all the time: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” In verse 42 of Luke chapter 1, Elizabeth says this to Mary when Mary visits her.  Mary agreeing to be the Mother of Jesus, and all she had to endure for all of our salvation, truly makes her the first of the saints, The Mother of God.

Truly, The Greatest Story Ever Told

• Jesus and John are relatives through their mothers
• John was chosen to be Jesus’s Messenger
• John’s Father Zechariah was a Temple Priest
• Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months
• Zechariah was mute until John was named
• Mary was a virgin; Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit
• Gabriel visited both Zechariah and Mary

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The Third Sunday of Advent

Prepare the way for the Lord. Read this week’s readings here.

Why Were Tax Collectors so Bad?

When we think of tax collection today, we think of the IRS and filing returns. Roman taxes were a bit different. Taxes were levied on products (goods) and property (land). There was also a poll tax. The Romans had a regressive tax policy, meaning the poor were taxed at a higher percentage rate than the rich. Often the aristocracy paid little or no tax. Citizens paid less than the occupied provinces did. Publicans (the tax collectors in the Bible) were local contractors in occupied areas who bid on the contracts to collect the tax, and they also bid on public building projects and other administration for Rome. Often they became rich by increasing rates even higher than the Roman levy and keeping the profit for themselves.

Were soldiers bad too?

Luke does not indicate whether the soldier asking the question was Jewish or Gentile. According to historical sources, there were Jewish men serving in the Roman army. Soldiers of any origin were looked down upon by the Jewish Pharisees, because they were working for the occupier Rome. The Sadducees a little less so, as the Sadducees were in favor of cooperation with Rome. Soldiers were not as well provided for as modern soldiers are, so plundering was a major source of wealth building if you were in the profession of war.

St. John the Baptist

All this political background sets up why St. John the Baptist’s preaching was so radical for its time. His message was for everyone, not just a select few. As a result, he attracted those who wanted a connection with God, but who were tossed aside by the local clergy who could have been bringing them to the Lord. He, instead of condemning people for their jobs, told them to “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” (Luke 3:13) He told the soldiers: “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” (Luke 3:13) He was preaching repentance and integrity in every day life, no matter what class, background or profession the people were.

Preparing for Jesus

John, with his practical and spiritual teaching, was getting everyone ready for Jesus to come. Charity and integrity are John’s teachings that we can apply even today. His humility is also something to behold. He is very quick to tell his followers that he is not the Messiah, and that the Messiah is coming. “John answered them all, saying, ‘I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.'” (Luke 3:16)

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The Second Sunday of Advent

 Prepare the way for the Lord.  Read this week’s readings here.

A Bit of Timeline Whiplash

The Lectionary does not always progress in chronological order – but, the most time travel in the Gospel readings is during Advent.  It is more important to look at the theme of each week, rather than thinking of things in chronological order.  In our time, Christ is here; He is present at every Eucharist.  However, we are preparing not only for His birth, but also for his returning, of which we do not know the day or hour.  These weeks are for spiritual growth, preparing for Jesus to be in our hearts and lives.

What is a Tetrarch?

The first thing we hear in Sunday’s Gospel is, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee.” (Luke 3:1)  Luke is setting the political scene here, in the days leading up to Jesus’s public ministry.  Herod was called tetrarch, which originally (in Greek) meant ruler of one fourth.  In the Roman Empire, it meant a subordinate ruler; Herod was a puppet king.  The Romans would often install local rulers to deal with the common people.  Herod had Pilate as his superior in governing the area where Jesus lived.

Herod Antipas

This Herod is Antipas, not Herod the Great – Herod the Great died shortly after Jesus was born – 1 or 4 AD in the modern calendar, depending on the historian. (Jesus was born 6 to 4 BC). As a Tetrarch, this Herod’s power was already limited.  In addition, John the Baptist was preaching against sin, and he preached against Herod Antipas’s scandalous personal life – that Herod discarded his original wife Phasa’el and married Herodias, his niece.

St. John the Baptist

John’s message and ministry is a spiritual first Advent.  His own birth was considered a miracle, as Mary’s kin Elizabeth gave birth to him despite being advanced in age.  Most importantly, John’s ministry was preparing the faithful.  He was preaching repentance for sins, baptizing with water, and getting the people ready for Jesus’s coming.  Sound familiar? Yup. It should!  “A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Luke 3:4)  There is good reason this is heard during Advent, as we prepare ourselves for the Lord – just as John the Baptist prepared Jesus’s early disciples. 

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The First Sunday of Advent

It’s here already!  Prepare the way for the Lord.  Read this week’s readings here.

Happy New Year?

Advent every year brings a new year with it – the Liturgical Year.  According to usccb.com, “The liturgical year consists of a seasonal cycle and a sanctoral cycle, called the Proper of Time and the Proper of Saints, respectively. Both are organized and published in a liturgical calendar, which is also enriched by observances proper to local Churches, whether national, diocesan, parish-level, or religious community.”

For the Sunday readings, we move into Year C, with the Gospel of Luke. The rumor that you read the whole Bible by going to Mass every three years is not quite accurate.  You do receive a lot of the Bible though, including 13.5 percent of the Old Testament (not counting the Psalms), 54.9 percent of the non-Gospel New Testament, and 89.8 percent of the Gospels. (Data is from Catholic Answers.)  So although you receive a lot of scripture at Mass, reading the Bible on your own is also a great way to pray, and reading the Bible for thirty minutes or more grants you a plenary indulgence, according to the Apostolic Constitution on Indulgences.

Advent History

The name Advent comes from the latin adventus, meaning “a coming.”  Although scholars believe it started earlier, the earliest documentation of the season is from about the year 480.  It originally lasted from the feast of St. Martin until Christmas on the old calendar, a period of 43 days. There was a fast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with Mass celebrated with the Lenten rite.  By the ninth century, it was set to four weeks, as evidenced by the correspondence of Pope St. Nicholas I to the Bulgarians.  Over time, Advent had less required fasting, and by 1281, only clergy was asked to adhere to abstinence during advent.  

The current schedule of Advent is about 1000 years old. while there may be regional differences as to what is observed, the theme of the season remains threefold.  It is to prepare for the liturgical coming of the infant Jesus, to prepare for Jesus coming into our hearts as  believers, and the eschatological second coming of Jesus as He promised He will do.

Be Vigilant at All Times

His eschatological second coming is what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel.  Jesus is telling us to keep our focus on Him.  We need to stay vigilant in our faith, even though the things of the holiday season can easily distract us.  In Luke 24:34-35, Jesus says, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”  Focusing our hearts on God is the most important part of the Advent observance.  This reading resonates now, with the secular Christmas season often overshadowing Advent.  Jesus is the reason for the season, and we can show this to all through our works.

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These links are articles I used for researching the Friday Update. 

Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The Solemnity of Christ the King is a relatively new Holy Day in our Catholic Christian calendar.  It was created in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, through the Encyclical Quas Primas.  Read this week’s readings here.

What is an Encyclical?

The word encyclical (latin: encyclicae) originates from the Greek egkyklios, meaning a circle.  It is a circular letter to either all bishops, or in some cases, a subset of bishops.  Unlike the more formal Papal bull, Encyclical letters tend to be written in a more personal style (much like the epistles in the New Testament), and they include teachings and guidance from the Bishop of Rome.  They are officially written in Latin, and they are translated into other languages by the Holy See.  For us, once these letters are made public, we can read and study them for the great wisdom they teach.

Why Christ the King?

Pope Pius XI was concerned by the seeping culture of secularism and atheism in the wake of World War I.  Politically, temporal kingdoms were collapsing all around Europe.  The Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman thrones all quickly collapsed. Political boundaries changed a lot during the Interwar period.
He created this feast day because, “When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.” (Quas Primas, Paragraph 6.) He wanted Christ to be declared King out loud – in a time where the Christian faith was beginning to be buried by secular politics.

My Kingdom Does Not Belong to This World

In today’s Gospel reading,  Jesus was discussing with Pilate whether or not He is King.  Pilate’s point of view is secular; his version of a King was a ruler over a territory. Pilate was baffled as to why the Jews (meaning the Sanhedrin) want to crucify Him.  Pilate was just, as an earthly judge, and he did not see Jesus as a threat. St Thomas Aquinas has said, “Pilate, since he was a just judge and dealt with everything with exquisite care, did not immediately give in to the accusation of the high priest.” 

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Times are Changing

The prophetic nature of Mark 13 can set readers on edge.  What is Jesus talking about here?  Is it the end of the world?  Read this week’s readings here.

War on The Horizon

We have to take a look at contemporary history sources to understand the climate of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. Israel and the surrounding communities were all under Roman occupation.  The crackling charge of war happening any minute was everywhere.  It is easy to forget about this reading certain parts of the Gospels, because of so many mentions of Herod.  However, he was a puppet king, and when the local government couldn’t handle things, Roman rule would suddenly be present, such as during Jesus’s passion and crucifixion.

Get Rid of Those Romans

According to Tacitus, a contemporary Roman chronicler and historian, “The Jews regard as profane all that we hold sacred; on the other hand, they permit all that we abhor.”  So while the Romans could conquer other peoples and pacify them by offering the benefits of Roman society, this never worked in Israel.  There was no way that the people of God would ever accept roman pagan rule. 

That is why many Jews doubted Jesus.  They wanted the Messiah to be the military leader who would build a Godly Jewish army that could drive the Romans out. However, Jesus was much more concerned with the eternal salvation of our souls than he was with making war with the Romans.  Jesus had been telling his disciples to worship in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23-24), and not only in the temple for some time.

A Startling Prediction

Still, Jesus makes this startling prediction during Mark’s Gospel. While modern readers might see this passage as an end-of-the-world prophesy that did not come to pass, it is not.  It is the prediction of first, the transfiguration of Jesus, and later, the destruction of Jerusalem. The transfiguration happens a week later than this passage, and it happens just as He describes it here, with Peter, James and John in attendance.  The destruction of Jerusalem (and the Temple) happens later, in 70 AD, just after the events in the Acts of the Apostles.  For us today, being watchful and vigilant is the lesson we should keep from this turbulent period of history.  Jesus is telling us to focus on our salvation, and less on things of the world, which can be distractions.  This is something we can heed in our modern lives.

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This is an interesting article from which I began my research from Catholic Answers here. I also dug in to Josephus Flavius and Tacitus contemporary histories for historical accounts.