Advent

Jan 24 2025

A No Can Open Up to a Yes from God

In today’s Gospel, the Baptizer shakes his head and says no to his questioners: No, I am not the light; I am not the Christ; I am not Elijah; I am not the Prophet. No, no, and no.

We often hear about Mary’s yes and how we should imitate her. What about John the Baptist’s no? Should we imitate his no too? What if the man crying out in the desert had answered yes? What if he had taken the praises he received as his due, puffed out his camel hair–covered chest and said, “Yes, I am Elijah. I am good. I am the Prophet. Look at me!” He could have. But he would have lost his way.

I was pondering that no a few days ago as I walked to my office. I was treading one of the numerous sidewalks on the Notre Dame campus, the one that leads from my car to the theology building. Directly in front of me was one clear line where the concrete sections came together. I put my left foot on that crack and tried to walk straight and stay straight. I imagined, “Hmmm . . . so this one is my line, my path.” If I turn aside from that line, through envy or the distraction of wishing that I were on someone else’s route, I could lose my way and miss what I was created to do.

John the Baptist stuck to his path. He was as at home with who he was not. His clear no opened the space for the grander yes of his particular mission: he readied the world for Jesus.

We can imitate that no to what we are not. You and I are unique children of God, each with a unique mission. We too can ready the world for Jesus.

Consider/Discuss

Who are you? Who are you not? To what identity does God ask you to say no? How can you and I lose our way, wishing we were someone else?
Where are the small ways we say no in our lives? Saying no to that slice of double-chocolate cake may open the space for a slimmer figure. Telling ourselves no to that extra fifteen minutes of sleep after the alarm rings opens space for a healthier breakfast and a more relaxed preparation for work. How can no open the space for God’s vision for us of a bigger and grander yes?

Living and Praying with the Word

Savior of the World, here we are. As we are. You have anointed us to bring glad tidings to this world. Give us the courage to imitate John the Baptist’s no. Strengthen us, so that we are people of honesty, clarity, and valor, willing to say no to anything that does not further your glory. For you are coming soon. We rejoice heartily that you want to use our unique gifts and talents to help to prepare this world for your coming. Come, Lord Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Jan 24 2025

Scripture Study for

Despite the promises of glorious restoration given through earlier prophets, decades after the Exile, Jerusalem and Judah remained small and poor. Isaiah’s answer to the question “Why isn’t God doing anything?” has two aspects. The first answer is to be patient and trust, with a hopeful confidence that what God has promised will be done. The second aspect is captured by the phrase “wrapped me in a mantle of justice.” The people must also take responsibility for the problems that led to the Exile in the first place, especially widespread injustice, which seems to have continued after the Exile. Trust in God’s fidelity had to be combined with resolve to mend their ways and live within God’s will.

Saint Paul concludes his First Letter to the Thessalonians by encouraging a people that has struggled to make sense of the apparent delay in the return of Christ. It is difficult to maintain religious fervor and faith under such circumstances, and the tendency was to grow doubtful or negligent. But the Thessalonians should rejoice and keep up their prayer, especially thanksgiving. Attend to the gifts that God has given, Paul says, but do not be naïve: everything must be tested for its goodness. The letter ends with a prayer that God will preserve the Thessalonians during this difficult time, keeping them holy and blameless. God is faithful. The promises given in Christ will come to pass.

As in last week’s Gospel, John the Baptist announces that he is preparing the way for one greater than himself. In response to a challenge from the priests and Levites, who want to know what role John believes he plays in the expected coming of the Messiah, he assures them that he is not the Messiah, nor Elijah (see Malachi 3:23–24), nor “the Prophet” promised by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), understood by some Jews in the first century to be a messianic figure. By what authority, then, does he baptize, if he has no messianic pretensions? John affirms that he has no authority; his role is simply “to testify to the light” coming into the world.

Jan 23 2025

The Status Un-quo

It was a football weekend at the University of Notre Dame. Sacred Heart basilica was packed. People from all over streamed forward in a straight line, holding open their hands—tender hands with well-formed nails, broad hands accustomed to strength. A few opened their mouths. All had straight white teeth. And I kept saying it: “Body of Christ.” And they replied: “Amen.” “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” The multitudes streamed toward the Lord.

Then I saw him in line. He didn’t fit among the well-dressed crowd. Scraggly long hair. Shorts (in November?). Hiking boots. Gray wool socks with red stripes. He might have walked in straight from the Appalachian Trail. What was he doing here? He stopped in front of me and opened his hands to receive the One who was mightier than he. Eager for the One he so obviously loved, his eyes gleamed with joy.

I wondered, if John the Baptist were here among us, is this what he would look like? Would he choose to deliberately unsettle the status quo? Would he intend to show us how transitory this life is? Would he want us to be cognizant that all earthly things will pass away? That this glorious building, with these good-looking people celebrating this famed football team—would John the Baptist rail at us not to forget that all is nothing compared to the grandeur of the One who comes to us at Christmas? In spite of our self-assurance that we control the present, would he remind us that we are simple Advent people—never secure in the now, always on a tenuous trek to something more? Maybe he would. Maybe he should.

I focused back on my task for those who flowed forward, offering food for the journey: “Body of Christ.” “Amen.” “Body of Christ . . .”

Consider/Discuss

Unexpected events unsettle our surety. What has sharpened our focus, made us realize that this earthly life is not sufficient, not all there is? Where has God been in those moments?
In this tenuous Advent of our lives, paths are not always straight, mountains can seem high, valleys can feel abysmally low. How can we be like John the Baptist for each other, helping to prepare the way for the Lord?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, with you, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day. Yet we can become so focused on what we are doing right here and now that we lose sight of your bigger picture. Sharpen our eyes to see your broader vision. You alone are enough. Ready us to receive your forgiveness as we prepare for your coming, eager to be found without spot or blemish. Come, Emmanuel, come and be born in our hearts!

Jan 23 2025

Scripture Study for

The beginning of this passage from Isaiah combines fierce language of the Divine Warrior with pastoral images of the Divine Shepherd. Together the two metaphors evoke confidence in God’s power and desire to save, which is motivated by care for God’s “flock.” The highway in the wilderness is the path of the Divine Warrior, who marches into Babylon to retrieve Israel. The language of “reward” and “recompense” refers to plunder that a warrior could expect to gain from pillaging conquered lands. Here the “war booty” is God’s own people. God gently scoops them up and brings them home. The overall image is of a fiercely loyal Warrior on a rescue mission, marching into enemy territory to retrieve (redeem) the Chosen People.

The community to which Peter in his Second Letter writes has struggled to be faithful in the face of persecution, and has doubts about the delay in the Lord’s return or the coming of the day of the Lord. The apparent delay also challenges fervor and perseverance in discipleship. Peter first assures them that the “delay” is only from their limited human perspective; in fact, it is for their benefit that the Lord does not return right away, as it gives time for repentance. But be assured, he says, that the day of the Lord will come and when it comes, the Lord will want to find this people faithful, holy, devoted, “without spot or blemish.”

Last week’s Gospel reading featured Jesus warning his listeners not to put off repentance. At the beginning of today’s Gospel, we have John the Baptist also warning his listeners to be prepared for the (first) coming of the Son of God. The baptism John preaches is one of both repentance and forgiveness. His message is not simply “repent,” but also “allow yourselves to be forgiven.” Both repentance and forgiveness prepare the crowds for the One who is coming, the One who will complete the work by making it possible for the people to receive the Holy Spirit, the divine agent of sanctification, ensuring that repentance and forgiveness bear lasting fruit.

Jan 23 2025

Advent Is Calling!

She stokes the fire and stirs the logs so that they get more air. From upstairs, she hears the breathing machine, whirring in and out, bringing oxygen to the one she loves. She cannot see the air around the logs. She cannot see the oxygen in the machine. But she is continually attentive to its movement. It is always there. It is always moving. Something could happen. She needs to be ready.

He is chopping onions, humming a tune. A pan lid clangs. A grunt sounds as a diaper plops to the floor. From the corner of his eye, he sees movement and then feels a tug on his pant leg. He reaches down to lift his beloved onto his hip. He slides vegetables into the skillet. The toddler is always there. He is always moving. His dad is continually attentive to his noises, alert to his motion. Something could happen. He needs to be ready.

For Israel, the Lord is always present, always active, always moving. The prophet Isaiah is alert to that invisible motion. He pleads to the Redeemer who has been faithful in the past, for his people are at risk: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” Today’s psalmist begs, “Come, come to save us!” The divine “you” is constantly in Israel’s awareness as their enduring reality: always present, continually moving, forever acting.

It may not be the noise of the breathing machine in Mary Oliver’s poem “Oxygen.” It may not be the crawling boy in my son’s kitchen. But you and I, we too may have seasons of hyper-alertness at the edge of consciousness. In situations that carry some risk, we are ready.

Jesus alerts us today: The One we love is here. Something is happening. Be attentive. Watch!

Consider/Discuss

Consider the times in your own life when you have had that attentiveness at the edge of consciousness. What was the situation? Who was the beloved? What was the risk?
Like the oxygen that continually flows within us, the Spirit of God breathes in our lives right now. Like the toddler crashing pan lids around us, the Spirit is active and moving in this world. As we begin anew this Advent, how can we allow the grace of God to cultivate within us a livelier attentiveness to this divine movement?

Living and Praying with the Word

Savior of the world, you are the Prince of Peace. We are not at peace. We feel some risk. You have always been faithful to us. We are not always faithful to you. As we move into Advent, bring us to deeper conversion. You ask us to be more aware of your presence. You are here. You are active. You are always moving in our lives. Thank you for rescuing us in our past. We trust you to take care of our future. O come, Emmanuel. Come and save us!