The Lord is Near
Reflections for Liturgical Year C
DEACON CHARLES PAOLINO
Reflections for Liturgical Year C
DEACON CHARLES PAOLINO
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Introduction
The actor Judd Hirsch appeared many times in Art, a play by Yasmina Reza. Hirsch’s character, Marc, who considers himself a connoisseur, is enraged because a friend bought an expensive oil painting without consulting him. Marc is even more enraged when he sees the painting, which is a white canvas with a few white lines.
Having seen Hirsch in that role more than once, I asked him how he was able to react in each performance as though it were the first time he had seen that painting. He answered, “It is the first time.”
I suppose that’s a challenge for every actor—to experience a play in each performance as though it had never happened before. Something similar might be a worthy goal for us as we begin our observance of Advent and look forward to our celebration of the Nativity. For many of us, these seasons involve a lot of repetition. We send greeting cards, buy gifts, decorate a tree and our homes—often in exactly the same way each year, we host or attend parties and prepare dinners with the same ingredients that Mom and Grandma used. We attend Mass on the Sundays of Advent and on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, as we always have.
There are several reasons for this sameness in Advent and Christmas, nostalgia among them. These seasons often evoke memories of childhood, of homes left behind, of friends and family members now gone.
But Advent and Christmas are not about where we’ve been so much as where we are going. Indeed, Advent—from the Latin word that means “coming”—anticipates our celebration of the birth of Jesus but also his coming at the end of time, the whole sweep of his ministry. We who are his disciples are not stuck in a moment in history; rather, we are on a mission, here and now, to spread his gospel far beyond the shepherds and magi to whatever corners of the world we touch.
The sessions and reflections in this book provide us with daily opportunities during Advent to read the Gospels and reflect on their meaning in our lives today. This book also encourages us to think anew about how we carry out, today, our Christian mission of generosity, hospitality, mercy, and justice, and how we might carry it out tomorrow.
First Sunday of Advent
SUGGESTED ENVIRONMENT
A small table with one burning candle, perhaps in an Advent wreath. Consider decorating the table in violet, the liturgical color of the Advent season.
LITURGICAL READINGS
✧ Jeremiah 33:14–16
✧ Psalm 25:4–5, 8-9, 10, 14 (1b)
✧ 1 Thessalonians 3:12–4:2
✧ Luke 21:25–28, 34–36
FOCUS
We live by God’s word because of our love and gratitude.
OPENING PRAYER
Form two groups and pray together from Psalm 25 with everyone repeating the response.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice and teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him, and his covenant for their instruction.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD
“Your redemption is at hand.”
Read aloud Luke 21:25–28, 34–36
REFLECT
What word, phrase, or image from the scripture reading touches your heart or connects to your experience? Share with the group or write your response here.
OLD TESTAMENT CONNECTIONS
In the summer of 70 AD, the Roman army scaled Jerusalem’s city walls and slaughtered not only residents who chose armed resistance but virtually everyone. One of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world was reduced to rubble. Jesus’ prediction was fulfilled in more gruesome fashion than was conveyed by his simple statement, “not one stone will be left upon another” (Lk 21:6).
Most citizens of the Roman Empire at the time Luke wrote, perhaps in the 80s AD, knew of the destruction of the Holy City. Jews, as well as the non-Jewish followers of Jesus, needed an explanation for the pagans’ success in razing God’s Temple and the city.
This passage clarifies the issue. First, it separates the collapse of Jerusalem from the end of the age. Second, it turns to the Hebrew prophets for evidence of the possibility of this destruction of Jerusalem. Several prophets had warned of the dispersion of Israel if it failed to observe the Covenant. Additionally, the whole theology of the book of Deuteronomy was based on a single strong premise: fulfill the Law and live; reject the Law and forfeit both the land and the religious identity of the community (Dt 28:58–68).
The popular explanation of the catastrophe for Jews, and for the followers of Jesus in the earliest days after the event, was that the priests of the Temple and the people of Jerusalem had, in some enormous way, offended God. This answer was based on the theology of the past. Those who break the covenant lose their privileged relationship to the Lord.*
But things have changed since then because of Jesus’ teaching about a loving God. This gospel passage, in its diverse examples, sees any destruction that may come to us as self-administered; the result of times when we and our fellow humans turn to violence and selfishness, instead of to concern and care for others. Although the end of the age is described with graphic imagery, followers can stand straight, knowing that it signals not their destruction but their vindication.
Jesus speaks, as did the apocalyptic text of Daniel, about a time of final resolution when the Son of Man will come. That will be a time of release and redemption for the faithful, not a time of horror, precisely because those who have remained in the community of Jesus will be saved.
Adapted from Luke: My Spirit Rejoices! by Martin Lang, from RENEW International
REFLECT
Critics of the Catholic Church frequently accuse it or its leaders of fostering guilt and fear of punishment in its members. How have these concepts affected you? How has your understanding of them evolved over your lifetime?
MEDITATE
“He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good….”
* The theology of the Book of Deuteronomy is applied to the history of the kings of Israel in which both northern and southern kingdoms were destroyed because the Israelites failed in their covenant relationship with the Lord.
Those are the opening lines of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” a popular tune written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. This song has been getting children psyched up for Christmas for 90 years, but the lyrics, read without the upbeat music, can paint a grim picture of Saint Nick as a lurking figure waiting to ship coal to the first kid who gets out of line.
There always have been schools of thought that project a similar notion of God, and no wonder, what with warnings of nations in dismay, people dying of fright, and imminent tribulation—the images that greet us in the gospel reading as Advent begins.
Of course, Jesus used those descriptions of the end times to inspire a sense of urgency in his disciples. The verses to be read at Mass this Sunday come at the end of a longer discourse in which Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, wars, insurrections, and persecutions.
Jesus began that discussion when he heard people admiring the costly adornments in the Temple, and he cautioned his companions that the things of this world, including the Temple, would not last and should not be the focus of their attention. If, on the other hand, they were vigilant about keeping their interior lives and their relations with other people consistent with the will of God, then, “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”
There is a perennial debate about whether the Santa Claus legend teaches children that the only purpose of good behavior is to get a reward, and the answer depends on how the legend is presented by parents and others. With respect to our faith, we do not live by the Commandments only to gain a reward—to get to heaven, as we say. Rather, we do so because we are grateful for God’s love, and because we love God above all things and for that reason want to please God and live in his presence forever.
REFLECT
What motivates you to keep the Commandments and live according to Jesus’ teaching and example? How has your motivation changed over your lifetime?
ACT
Begin the Advent season by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation. Throughout the experience, intentionally focus not on guilt or punishment but on your relationship with a loving and forgiving God.
CLOSING PRAYER
Pray together:
Loving God, through the Commandments revealed to Moses and the Good News proclaimed by Jesus Christ, you show us the path to living in peace with you, with each other, and with creation. May your Holy Spirit guide us as we travel that path because of our gratitude for all your gifts and because of our love for you. Amen.
LOOKING AHEAD
To prepare for the next group session, read Luke 3:1–6.
Daily Meditations
First Week of Advent
First Monday of Advent
BEGIN
Let your heart prepare him room.
Take a moment to recall that Advent is about awaiting the coming of our Savior at his birth and at the end of time.
PRAY
Come and save us, Lord our God; let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
~ Alleluia verse, (Psalm 80:4)
Read Matthew 8:5-11
LISTEN
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”
~ Matthew 8:8
Spend two minutes in silence. Then, repeat this passage from Scripture and let it speak to your heart.
MEDITATE
Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and theologian, was surprised when a trapeze artist who routinely flew through the air to be caught by another man said there was “nothing” to it. Nouwen learned that from Rodleigh Stevens, founder of The Flying Rodleighs troupe that performed in a German circus.
Stevens said that while the public might view him as the star of the act, the real star was the “catcher,” a guy named Joe. “The flyer does nothing, and the catcher does everything,” Stevens said. He had only to stretch out his arms and wait for Joe to catch him. He added that “the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.”*
It’s all about faith, something that, on a higher plane, is at the heart of the gospel passage read in today’s Mass. The centurion, a military man normally in command of his surroundings, can do nothing about the illness of his servant. We don’t know how the centurion gained this insight, but the gospel makes clear that he believed that if only he reached out to Jesus, the “catcher” par excellence, Jesus would do the rest.
As we anticipate our celebration of the Nativity and our expectation of Jesus’ second coming, it would be well to reflect on the level of our faith in him. We have limited control of the world we live in, including those events and circumstances that might prompt us to sin by what we do or what we fail to do.
When we, rather than our “servant,” need healing, when we do fail in some way, do we think we can manage our lives on our own? Do we think that Jesus may or not “catch” us if we reach out to him? Or do we have the level of faith that the centurion had and put our cares, weaknesses, and mistakes in Jesus’ hands, knowing, if we reach out, he will never let us fall?
ACT
As a part of my prayer at the end of each day, I will ask the Lord, with confidence in his mercy, to forgive any act, thought, or omission of mine that was contrary to God’s will.
PRAY
Lord, Jesus Christ, you urge us to come to you with our burdens and promise to give us rest. May I not live with guilt or remorse over my mistakes but always reach out to you for forgiveness and renewal. Amen.
* Henri Nouwen (Modern Spiritual Masters): Writings Selected with an Introduction by Robert A. Jonas. Copyright 1998 by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York