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Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

Jesus’ Baptism Continues Christmas Tidings

Posted in Baptism of the Lord, Christmas, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for January 12th:

  1. Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11 or Isaiah 42:1–4, 6–7
  2. Psalm 28(29):1-4,9-10 or Psalm 104:1b–2, 3–4, 24–25, 27–28, 29–30
  3. Acts 10:34–38 or Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–7
  4. Luke 3:15–16, 21–22

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

The feast we celebrate today commemorates a turning point. Today is the last day of the liturgical Christmas season. It’s the end of the beginning.

In today’s gospel passage, we see that Jesus has grown into a man. And yet the message of today’s readings is still the message of Christmas. That message is that God is with us. One of the ways God is with us is by being one of us.

In all the gospel passages associated with Christmas, including today’s, most people don’t understand who Jesus is until God reveals the identity of the only begotten Son in unusual ways. These unusual ways include an announcement from an angel, the radiance of a star, and, in the case of today’s story, a disembodied voice.

But the heavens don’t open, and that voice doesn’t speak until Jesus places himself among sinners — this time in a more conscious and open way than ever before. He’s no longer the infant visited by shepherds and astrologers. His ministry is no longer that of a carpenter in a single village. He’s a man now, free to go where He will without making his mother worry that she’s let God down.

Where He goes is to John. He goes to John to model repentance. He models of the death of the old self and the birth of a new one. His coming to John for baptism foreshadows His death and Resurrection that made ours possible. As part of His baptism, He allows Himself to be submerged in the Jordan River. He then lets the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, come to rest on Him. He offers himself to unite the natural world with God. He teaches that all of this world points to God. It points to God for those who are willing and able to follow where it leads.

All the options for this week’s readings do the same. They point to God being in our midst everywhere, at all times if we know how to look.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us. You call all people your beloved children. Guide us to treat ourselves and others the way You call us to. Amen.

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Isaiah 60:5 — An Epiphany Reflection

Posted in Christmas, Epiphany, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for January 5th:

  1. Isaiah 60:1–6
  2. Psalm 72:1–2, 7–8, 10–11, 12–13
  3. Ephesians 3:2–3a, 5–6
  4. Matthew 2:1–12

What stands out to me from this week’s readings:

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow . . .

Isaiah 60:5

The Old Testament passage for January 5 describes God’s light drawing the members of the tribes of Israel together and to itself. The verse above, particularly its second line, is what stands out to me from the passage and from this week’s readings.

It doesn’t surprise me that this verse is the one that jumps out at me from all the ones chosen for this week. Romantic themes and imagery are what resonate with me. I watch, read, and write stories about what it means to love.

When I think about the feast we celebrate today, I think of a brilliant light leading wise men who are not Hebrews to baby Jesus. I think of how the magi bring him gifts that don’t seem appropriate for a baby.

Nonetheless, these gifts teach Jesus’ spiritual family members about who He is and what His mission is. I think of how, while what the New Testament passage calls a star leads the wise men from afar to Jesus, the magi don’t tell Herod where to find Jesus. In other words, I engage my mind and its ears and eyes in the story.

But when I read the second line of Isaiah 60:5 this time around, the story of the Magi seeking the infant Jesus took on a new dimension for me. Or at least I received the story’s message in a new way. I imagined the Incarnation of Christ as a physical sensation within me. It

Isaiah 60:5 says the experience of Christ in the flesh cannot be contained in any way, not even within a single time period, space, or culture. And yet it is tangible everywhere.

It reminds me I’m called not just to follow the Light but to let the pain and pleasure of it in. I’m to be a vessel as much as the next person, and the next. The Light has the weight and power of water as much light. It is as much like a swollen river as it is an astronomical occurrence that makes night like day.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

The “Hark!” podcast from America Media explores the history and messages of various Christmas carols. (If you can’t access the link in this section without subscribing to America, I encourage you to search for the podcast and the “We Three Kings” episode in particular in the podcast player of your choice.) Each episode is named for the title of the carol featured in it. This episode about “We Three Kings” discusses the familiar components and interpretations of this week’s gospel passage. It also offers some insights I’d never heard before. Here’s a teaser: maybe the gifts of the magi were for Mary too.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, open the eyes of my soul so I can follow Your light. Make me “be radiant at what [I] see” (Isa. 60:5). Make my heart “throb and overflow” (Isa. 60:5). Amen.

Work cited (but Not Linked to):

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. “The Epiphany of the Lord – Mass of the Day Sunday 5 January 2025: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.198, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 13 Dec. 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

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