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(Note: This Reading is used in those regions where the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on a Sunday rather than on January 6.)

Commentary on 1 John 5:14-21

We come today to the last part of John’s Letter. It forms a kind of postscript to the rest of the work, much as chapter 21 is an epilogue in John’s Gospel. The passage consists of two parts: a prayer for sinners, and then a final summary of the main points in the Letter.

The section begins with an important definition of true prayer:

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Sometimes in our prayer when we are just asking for something that we want, it can happen that we feel disappointed or even angry when we do not get it.

But true prayer consists in trying to discover what exactly God wants of me, under the firm conviction that he always wants the very best. It is not a question of my demanding that God give me what I want or I think I need. Nor is it fatalistically submitting to a God who does things I don’t want to happen. Rather, it is a matter of God’s will and mine being brought fully into harmony, so that I really want (and not just am prepared to accept) what he wants. In this case, my will and God’s will coincide. I am doing what he wants and I am doing what I want! The secret of much happiness is right here and is the ultimate goal of Christian living.

One thing we are particularly urged to pray for here are brothers or sisters who have gone astray in their faith or morals, so that life might return fully to them. However, there are some who have committed “deadly” sins and the writer tells us:

I do not say that you should pray about that.

This is to say, the author suggests there may not be much use in praying.

What is such a “deadly” sin? In the Gospel, the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is, the sin of totally closing one’s mind to truth (see Matt 12:31-32). Once we have taken such a step and remain in that state, there is no way that we can be reached by a loving and forgiving God. As long as a person is in this state, they are beyond help. Nevertheless, despite what the writer implies, it would seem that we could certainly pray that such an attitude might change.

In the context of this letter, “deadly sin” may refer to those who have abandoned their Christian faith and become apostates, perhaps under the pressure of persecution. To save their skins, they have given up the Truth that is Christ; they have closed a door which only they can reopen.

Additionally, it could also refer to those heretics who denied the ‘Sonship’ of Jesus, either partially or totally. Similarly, it could refer to those who had taken up a Gnostic position which, on the one hand, believed in separating oneself entirely from all that is material in this world and then, by a perverted kind of logic, believed in living a totally amoral life. (Their thesis was: If physical matter is an evil to be avoided and is destined to non-existence, does it really matter what you do with it? Does it matter what you do with your body or someone else’s?)

Yet another view is that a deadly sin is so serious that it results in physical death, hence putting the person beyond prayer.

In the final summary of his letter, the writer makes three statements all beginning with: “We know that…” The first is:

We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.

As long as one is consciously committed to Christ and has totally submitted his or her life to his Way, sin is a contradiction. The two cannot co-exist.

The second statement says:

We know that we are God’s children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.

Being a Christian (in a real and not just a notional sense) and being under the influence of the “world” are again mutually exclusive.

And the third says:

…we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.

By being “in” Jesus Christ we are also “in” God who sent him among us. This is the blessed role of Jesus, to be God made visible so that we know how and where we can find God in our lives.

In conclusion, we are warned to be on our guard against idols. There is a sharp antithesis between the children of God and those belonging to the world and to the ‘evil one’. In the context of the letter, it is a warning against the many idols in which the surrounding peoples believed, and in the idol of the emperor as a divine being to which no Christian could give an allegiance which was due only to God. Many died martyrs because of their refusal to worship the emperor’s image. But there must have been many who caved in because of fear.

Perhaps we are not touched by such idols today (even when we live in places with statues of gods and deities), but there are many other idols of a more subtle kind which we can easily fail to recognise as such. These include materialism and consumerism, the obsession with money and wealth, the cult of sex and even of the body (through slavery to image and fashion), and the cult of the hero whether in the media or in sports (‘fans’ = fanatics, a word used to describe the actions of frenzied worshippers in another age). Obsession with such idols can blind us to the very real needs—material, social and spiritual—of those around us. Then we fail in the essential quality of being a child of God—love for each other.

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Commentary on 1 John 2:22-28

Again today we discuss the ‘fourth condition’ for ‘walking in the light’, which continues the warnings about the antichrist and false teachers in the community.* In today’s text, an “antichrist” is defined as someone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. The antichrist is a “liar”; he is totally opposed to Jesus Christ, who is the Truth:

I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

The writer says:

No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also.

This comment seems to refer to the Gnostic Cerinthus. He taught that the Son of God entered the man Jesus only at his baptism and left before the Passion. But Jesus emphatically affirms elsewhere:

The Father and I are one. (John 10:30)

The reading continues:

As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, so you do not need anyone to teach you.

This needs to be properly understood. Since the Bible constantly advocates teaching (Matt 28:20; 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11; Col 3:16; 1 Tim 4:11; 2 Tim 2:2,24), John is certainly not ruling out human teachers and in fact he refers to them (“…what you heard from the beginning…”). At the time when he was writing, Gnostic teachers were insisting that the teaching of the Apostles needed to be supplemented with the ‘higher knowledge’ that the Gnostics claimed to possess.

John is saying that the teaching the Christians have received from their Spirit-guided teachers is not only enough, but is the only reliable source of the true message. The author appeals to his readers to remain faithful to the teaching they heard from the beginning and not to be led astray. And it is not enough just to have heard the teaching or to know its content (for the Gnostics, knowledge was everything). The message of the teaching has to be totally assimilated so that it becomes part of ones’s whole life—words, actions and relationships. As Paul said to the Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. (Gal 2:19-20)

Through this assimilation one becomes a ‘new’ person.

The promise being given is that of eternal life. And that life is not just at some future time, but begins immediately we attach ourselves to Jesus and his Way. Using a favourite expression, the writer of the letter says:

…you will abide in the Son and in the Father.

That is the source of the life to be experienced here and now.

Through that union with Son and Father, one is ‘anointed’ by the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand all we need to know to live the life that Jesus proposes to us. It is for us to remain in him, and then and only then will we be ready when he comes to call us to himself:

…so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

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*The first part of John’s Letter describes four conditions for ‘walking in the light’. See 1 John 1:5—2:28.

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Commentary on Genesis 15:1-6;17:3-5,15-16;21:1-7; Hebrews 11:8,11-12,17-19; Luke 2:22-40 Read The Holy Family (Year B) »

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Some may find it strange that there is no direct mention of Christmas in the Christmas Day Mass readings. While we do recall the story of Jesus’s birth during the Midnight Mass after Christmas Eve, the theme of the Mass during Christmas Day is the real identity of this helpless little baby in the manger:

What child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?

This baby is the Word of God. In his inner being he is with God and is God.

Word
God expresses himself through his Word, just as we do. Our words can often be wild, superficial and meaningless, but God’s word is active and creative, as ours also can be. Think of Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven and all the great architects and painters. They create, make new things and move us. Through God’s Word everything came into being. The Infant is surrounded by his own creation.

Light
The Word is light. Christmas is a winter feast, when days are darkest, but beginning to get longer. So it is very much a feast of hope. Jesus is the Light of the World. We too are called to be the light of the world, a candle shining in darkness.

Rejected
Jesus came to his own—those he had made and especially those he had called as his own people and showered them with his blessings—and they rejected him.

Flesh
The Word was made “flesh” (Greek, sarx). Jesus was not just a human, but someone totally immersed in our world. This starts with the birth itself. He is born far from home, constrained to use an animals’ feeding box as his bed. He is visited by marginalised people and outcasts—the shepherds. He will soon be a refugee, on the run, threatened by violence.

Liberation
All this is part of a process of liberation. Jesus came to liberate people, to lead them out of their poverty, their rejection, their marginalisation, and from being victims of oppression, exploitation, violence and abuse. He came to heal individuals and societies and make them whole.

Let us pray today for our own en-light-enment, our liberation, and our co-creativity with the Word of God.

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John was one of two sons of Zebedee, and tradition gives their mother’s name as Salome. From the Gospel, we learn that John, with his father and brother, were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee. He, along with his brother James and of course Peter, belonged to the inner circle of disciples around Jesus. As one would expect, there is no record of the year or place of his birth. John, with Peter and his brother, were privileged witnesses of certain events in the Gospel story.

They were with Jesus when he restored the daughter of Jairus to life (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), at the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28) and also during his Agony in the Garden (Matt 26:37; Mark 14:33). It was John who went with Peter into the city to make the preparation for the final Passover meal (the Last Supper, Luke 22:8). It is possible that John was the other disciple who “who was known to the high priest” and went with Peter as Jesus was brought into the high priest’s house (John 18:15). But this phrase may also refer to the ‘Beloved Disciple’.

John and his brother were called Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17) by Jesus because of their fiery temperament, revealed when they suggested Jesus should call down fire from heaven on some Samaritans who would not provide hospitality to Jesus and his disciples as they were passing through the territory (Luke 9:54).

John and James also aroused the ire of their fellow apostles by asking Jesus privately to grant them the privilege to sit on Jesus’ right and left in his Kingdom—in other words, having the places of greatest honour. And, when asked would they be able to go through an experience similar to that Jesus was about to face in his Passion, they boldly said they could. Jesus told them they were right, but it would only happen after they had fully absorbed the way and thinking of Jesus. For instance, they had to understand when he told them that true greatness was not in having places of honour, but rather in outdoing everyone in loving service to others.

The name John is traditionally linked with New Testament writing. Three different authors with the name John have been identified. First, there is the author of the Gospel according to John and the First Letter of John, commonly referred to as John the Evangelist and also identified with John the Apostle. The authorship of books in ancient times was quite loose, and the name attached to a book may not indicate that that person actually wrote it, although he may have inspired it in some way. However, the same person does seem to have authored these two books.

Second, both the Second and Third Letter of John have the same author, who calls himself the Presbyter or Elder and is sometimes identified with a person known as John the Presbyter.

And, third, the author of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse (the Greek word for ‘revelation’) calls himself John, but the book’s whole way of thinking, style and content make it very unlikely he was the one who wrote the Gospel. He says that, because of his Christian faith, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos, but he does not claim to be John the Apostle, although some early writers so identified him.

The Gospel according to John clearly emphasises the divine nature of Jesus, as both Light and Life and the Word of God incarnated into the human family. This Gospel also puts love (Greek, agape) as the vital bond between Father and Son, and between Christ and his disciples, and also the bond between disciples. Traditionally, John the Apostle wrote his Gospel towards the end of his life, at the end of the first century.

Another tradition identifies John the Apostle with the ‘Beloved Disciple’ in the Gospel of John, however, this is questionable. The Beloved Disciple seems rather to represent the perfect or model disciple, one who has none of the defects and faults of the Twelve, all who reveal clear weaknesses, including John.

After the Resurrection, John was prominent in the early Church. Not only would he have been among the early witnesses of the Risen Lord, but also would have been involved in the early preaching. Chapter 3 of the Acts of the Apostles speaks of Peter and John going into the Temple to pray at 9 o’clock in the morning. At the Temple gate they saw a man, “lame from birth” who was brought there every day. When he begged money from the two Apostles, they both fixed their gaze on the man and asked him to look at them. Then Peter said to him:

I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.
(Acts 3:6)

Then Peter pulled the man to his feet. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping about, and praising God. As the crowds gathered in wonder, this gave Peter the opportunity to preach to them about Jesus Christ. While they were still addressing the crowd, the Temple guard and some Sadducees came and arrested the two Apostles and put them in jail for the night. The following day, they were brought before the Sanhedrin and again, Peter took the opportunity to speak about Christ and why they believed in him. Eventually, divided among themselves, their judges sent them away with a warning never to speak about Jesus again.

The last appearance of John the Apostle in the New Testament is in chapter 8 of Acts. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had “accepted the word of God”, Peter and John were sent to evangelise them. The people there had “only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”, but the Spirit had not yet come down on them. The two Apostles then laid their hands on the people and they received the Spirit.

Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:25)

It is not certain how long John, with the other Apostles, would have stayed in Jerusalem. However, 12 years later, during the persecution of Herod Agrippa I, they would have scattered to other parts of the Empire. John may have gone to Asia Minor. It seems there was already a Christian community in Ephesus before Paul first went there, and John has always been linked with that city. He would probably have returned to Jerusalem for the Council held in 51 AD.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul refers to John, together with Peter and James, as “the acknowledged pillars”, in other words, the most prominent figures in the Jerusalem community (see Gal 2:9).

There is a long-standing tradition that John the Apostle settled in Ephesus. Various legends are told of him there by people like Clement of Alexandria. It was said he feared that the baths at which the heretic Cerinthus was bathing would collapse because he was in them. It was also said that he repeated his exhortation to his followers to love one another to the point of tedium. He emphasised it because “it is the word of the Lord and, if you keep it, that is enough”. His message is similar to St. Augustine’s later saying: “Love and do what you like.”

An old tradition holds that John was banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek island of Patmos. According to Tertullian, John was banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and suffering nothing from it. It is said that the entire coliseum was converted to Christianity upon witnessing this miracle.

The vestments for John’s feast are white, indicating he is not regarded as a martyr. Artistic representations of John reflect other legends. He is shown holding a cup with a viper in it, calling to mind a challenge from the high priest of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus to drink a poisoned cup. In his role as evangelist, his emblem is an eagle.

John is the patron of theologians, writers, and all who work at the production of books. The dedication of the church of St John before the Latin Gate on 6 May commemorates his escape from being put into a cauldron of boiling oil under the Emperor Domitian.

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Commentary on Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22

Some might find it strange that this feast of a martyr should follow immediately after the joyful celebration of the Birth of Jesus. Yet, it is very fitting that the first feast celebrated after Christmas should be that of the first person recorded as giving his life in the service of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ, and for the vision of life that the Gospel represents.

The Christmas story itself is full of challenge, as Mary and Joseph are forced to leave their home in Nazareth just when she is going to have her baby. And, after the long journey to Bethlehem, there is no decent lodging. They have to take shelter in a stable where animals were kept.

Is this how the Son of God, our King and Lord, is to appear in our world? Yes! Jesus’ mission of self-giving begins right here, in the stable in Bethlehem. And this is the first step in the saga that will eventually bring him to the high point of his mission—his suffering, death and resurrection. What could be more fitting than, on the day after Jesus’ appearance among us, we recall the first disciple of his Way to follow in his footsteps—and to do so all the way.

The Gospel reading from Matthew could almost have had Stephen in mind. It is taken from the discourse given by Jesus (chapter 10), where he sends out his disciples on their mission to do the same work he is doing. He also warns them of the kind of reception that they can expect to meet.

In the verse before today’s reading, Jesus tells them that he is sending them out:

…like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. (Matt 10:16)

As our passage today begins, Jesus spells out just what that means. They are to be on their guard because:

…they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues…

Some of their fellow Jews will be doing this to them. And Jesus says, they:

…will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.

People of other religions, and none, will also act against them.

At the same time, when they are handed over, they are not to be anxious about what they should say in their defence or how to say it:

…do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

We can see much of this taking place in the martyrdom of Stephen. He was both clever and highly intelligent, but also totally innocent of any of the charges laid against him. He was hauled before a court. He knew exactly what to say, and the only reply his accusers could make was to stone him to death in anger. But he was at peace and, in his dying moments, forgave his killers.

The First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, recounts the story of the disciple Stephen who was called to more than just corporal works of mercy. He was a powerful voice in proclaiming the message of Jesus.

The verses describe his encounter with the “Synagogue of Freedmen”. These people may have been descendants of Jews carried off to Rome by Pompey in 63 BC. They were sold into slavery, but later released. They might also have been former slaves who came from North Africa or Asia Minor. When it comes to race or religion, exiles can be far more fanatical than those living ‘at home’. Hence, Hellenist Jews who became Christian were targets of the Freedmen’s anger.

What truly roused them was that they could not better Stephen in their arguments. Like Jesus, he was filled with wisdom, and was guided by the Spirit in all that he said. Eventually, opposition grew to such an extent that Stephen was arrested and brought to trial in Jerusalem.

It is not recorded in today’s reading, but in the course of his defence he gave his judges a lesson in salvation history. As he spoke, Stephen explained clearly how Jesus was the expected culmination of all that happened in the course of God’s intervention among his people over the centuries.

The reading skips straight to Stephen’s last moments. Filled with the Holy Spirit (as Jesus had earlier promised his disciples), he told the assembly about the vision he had of Jesus sitting at the Father’s right hand. The crowd blocked their ears to prevent themselves from listening to such blasphemies. The Scriptures had long ago said that no one could look on the face of God and live. Stephen had made it worse; he had put the man—Jesus—side by side with Yahweh.

He was then rushed out of the city for immediate execution and stoned to death. And as we saw, there was a young man named Saul, at whose feet the executioners left their clothes. He looked on with total approval. This act would see the beginning of a great persecution against the church community in Jerusalem, led by Saul. Yet, as Jesus had said of himself:

…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…
(John 12:24)

How much did the death of Stephen really influence Saul? Was he actually the instigator of all that was happening? Saul would show himself a zealous persecutor of these ‘Christians’—these heretical Jews who had to be crushed. But his time would come, and there would a miraculous turnaround.

Out of Stephen’s tragic death would come the conversion of Saul to become Paul. Far from being a fanatical Jew, Paul would become the Apostle to the Gentiles, bringing the Word of Christ not only to his own people, but even more, to the whole world. Could it be that the words of forgiveness uttered by Stephen as the stones rained down on him began to change Saul? As Tertullian, the second century church father, would say later on:

…the blood of martyrs is the seed of faith.

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All that we know of the life of Stephen is contained in two chapters (6 and 7) of the Acts of the Apostles. The date and place of his birth are not known. He was a Hellenistic Jew, his name is Greek (coming from the word stephanos, meaning ‘crown’) and he probably was born and even lived outside the borders of Palestine. But we do not know when or where or how he was converted to Christianity.

The first Christians held what they owned in common, so that the needs of each person were taken care of. However, Acts tells us that the Hellenists, the Greek-speaking members of the community, were complaining that some of them, especially the widows, were not being looked after properly. The Apostles, busy with their work of evangelising, felt they did not have time to take care of this problem. So seven good and prudent Hellenist men were chosen to take care of the situation. The seven were prayed over and ordained by the imposition of hands.

The names of the seven are given. Stephen, who heads the list is a man:

…full of grace and power…filled with the Holy Spirit…
(Acts 6:8; 7:55)

As well, there is Philip, known as “the Evangelist”, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas—all Greek names. Nicholas, we are told, was a convert to Judaism. They were appointed by the Apostles to look after the distribution of alms and would be called ‘deacons’. The word ‘deacon’ (diaconus) means ‘one who serves’. They also helped in the ministry of preaching.

Early on, Stephen showed himself to be a formidable debater with some of the Jews. We are told that:

…some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. (Acts 6:9-10)

These people, injured to the quick, had charges brought against Stephen, saying that he had spoken blasphemies against Moses and against God.

Stephen was then arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, the same court that Jesus had to face during his Passion. False witnesses attested that Stephen never stopped speaking against the holy place (the Temple) and the Law (of Moses). They claimed they heard him say that “Jesus the Nazorean” would destroy the Temple and change the customs which Moses had handed down.

These, of course, were distortions of what Jesus actually said. He did say that if the Temple was brought down he would raise it in three days, referring to the Temple that was his own Body. And he explicitly said that no one should change one jot of the Mosaic Law, but he also said that one had to go further than the letter of the Law in interpreting its meaning (see Matt 5:17-48). Acts says that during all these accusations Stephen’s:

…face was like the face of an angel… (Acts 6:15)

Stephen, in response to the high priest’s request, then made his defence in a long speech. It took the form of a quite detailed summary of the history of the Jewish people and their stormy relationship with God, which often involved the rejection of the leaders that God had appointed to lead them. Even allowing for some editing by the author of Acts, Stephen was clearly well versed in the Scriptures and in the history of the Jewish people, as well as being an eloquent and powerful speaker.

His defence of his beliefs was that God does not depend on the Temple which, like the Law of Moses, was temporary in nature and waiting to be replaced and fulfilled by the Christ, the Messiah and Prophet foretold by Moses, and for whom the Jewish people had been waiting so long. He said, quoting from Isaiah:

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says,

‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?’ (Acts 7:48-49)

Stephen concluded by calling his hearers:

…stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears…
(Acts 7:51)

These were the same people who had over the centuries refused to listen to God and the leaders he appointed:

Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his [Jesus’] betrayers and murderers. (Acts 7:52)

Not surprisingly, this speech did not go down very well:

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. (Acts 7:54)

Then Stephen, echoing the words of his beloved Master and filled with the Spirit of God, cried out:

Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! (Acts 7:56)

His hearers, shocked by what they regarded as absolute blasphemy (as in the case of Jesus), rushed forward, dragged Stephen out of the city and began to stone him to death.

As the men stripped to do the stoning, they piled their clothes at the foot of a young man who looked on approvingly—he was the zealous Pharisee, Saul. And as Stephen lay dying beneath the barrage of stones he was heard to cry—again in imitation of his Master on the cross:

Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:59-60)

And then he died. This occurred probably around the year 35 AD (assuming that Jesus died about the year 33).

At least since the 4th century (or earlier), Stephen’s feast has been observed in both the Eastern and Western Churches. His cult received a boost when what was believed to be his grave was found by a priest, Lucian, at Kafr Gamala in 415. Later, his relics were moved to Constantinople, and then to Rome together with some stones believed to have been used in his martyrdom.

From early times he was the patron of deacons. He has been named patron of many churches, including a number of French cathedrals such as Bourges, Sens and Toulouse. Many churches in England were dedicated to him, especially after the Norman Conquest.

In art, he is often shown holding a book of the Gospels with a stone and sometimes a palm of martyrdom. There is a fine cycle of pictures by Fra Angelico now kept at the Vatican.

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Commentary on Luke 1:67-79

The Gospel is the great Benedictus hymn (meaning ‘Blessed’ from its opening word in Latin), which is sung or said every day in the Divine Office at the end of Morning Prayer or Lauds.

Luke puts it into the mouth of Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth and father of the newly born John the Baptist. Because he doubted the word of the angel, Zechariah had been struck dumb, but when—at the circumcision of his son—he confirmed that the boy’s name would be John, he recovered his speech and broke out into this song of praise.

God is praised and blessed because:

He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David…

This is a clear reference to Jesus.

Zechariah thanks God for having—in the person of Jesus—visited his people “and redeemed them”, just as he had promised through the mouths of the prophets down the ages:

…he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies…

Our ‘enemies’ are not those to whom we are hostile, for there should be no such people. Rather, they are those who wish us harm, simply because of our adherence to the vision of life that Jesus has given us.

What was the purpose of this deliverance? Was it so that we could gloat over the defeat of those who wish us harm? No, it was that we:

…might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.

There is enough there already for us to reflect on with deep gratitude.

But Zechariah goes on to speak of his newly-born son:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways…

That will be John’s special role, to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus our Saviour. He will do that by giving:

…his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

This will be a salvation that will come through Jesus giving his people the experience of being reconciled and reunited with their God.

It is clear that what is said by Zechariah of his son John applies very much to us also. For it is our calling to “go before the Lord to prepare his ways” for others.

All this will happen because of:

…the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us…

That “dawn” of course, is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus.

Jesus will give light:

…to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death…

That surely includes all of us in some way. In the brightness of that light, he will:

…guide our feet into the way of peace.

The realisation of that peace and harmony in each one, in every community and throughout every society, is a sign that the Kingdom has come.

We all realise how much that peace is needed in our world, in our own society, in our own communities, in our homes and in our own selves. May the Prince of Peace come and dwell among us this Christmas.

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Commentary on 2 Samuel 7:1-5,8-11,16

The reading from the Second Book of Samuel speaks of David’s concern to build a fitting house for the Lord. David has just settled into his new palace and it is becoming a source of embarrassment to him that, while he lives in such comfort, the Lord—whose presence is represented by the “ark of God” (Ark of the Covenant)—is still housed in a tent, as it was during the long years of wandering in the desert. This was the case from the time the Law was given on Mount Sinai up to the present situation, where David now rules as king in Jerusalem.

When David tells the prophet Nathan about this, the prophet seems to agree:

Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.

Nathan seems to have made this statement on his own initiative, because:

…that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?”

The Lord then goes on to say (not part of today’s reading):

I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. (2 Sam 7:6)

What is more, the Lord never once complained about this arrangement; he never once was heard to say:

Why have you not built me a house of cedar? (2 Sam 7:7)

There is some conjecture that here we have an echo of an opinion that was opposed to having a temple, which seemed to make Israel follow the religious practice of some of its hostile enemies, especially the Canaanites. And, of course, with the death of Jesus, the Temple came to an end for his followers, and the Lord’s presence was henceforth found in his people.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?….For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Cor 3:16-17)

The new and enduring temple is the Christian community, which is the Body of the Risen Christ, his visible presence on earth.

But the Lord goes on to say that David had been taken “from the pasture” (where he was a shepherd boy) and made prince over his people Israel. God has been with David and his people, has protected them from their enemies, and will make David’s name great. It is a new development in the people’s relationship with Yahweh. From Moses’ time, Israel was a people of twelve tribes. Now it will be a nation organised in their own land, with a central and stable authority—David and his successor kings.

In due course, the Lord will give his people a house where he will dwell. It will not be built by David, but by his offspring, specifically, his son Solomon. Eventually a magnificent temple will be built, one of the wonders of the ancient world. It would be rebuilt even more magnificently by Herod the Great and, in fact, the construction was not yet finished in the lifetime of Jesus.

Today’s passage ends with the words:

Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

The key to understanding the whole of this passage (and there are verses omitted in our reading) is to be aware of the meanings given to the word ‘house’. It refers to the palace that David has built for himself, the temple that Solomon will build and the dynasty which David will inaugurate. David will not be the one to build a house for the Lord in the sense of a temple building, but he will lay the foundations for a different kind of house, the House of David, the dynasty and long line of kings who will come after him—some of them good men and others utter scoundrels. Nor, in fact, did David’s dynasty last for ever. It fell in the year 587 BC, probably after these words were written.

Nevertheless, in the New Testament the line of David is seen reaching down to Jesus, who in the Gospel is often referred to as “Son of David”. And the Gospel for today is the Benedictus, the hymn of praise sung by Zechariah after the birth and circumcision of his son, John the Baptist. There we read:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people
and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David… (Luke 1:68-69)

The implication of this passage for us in today’s Mass is that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the new temple where God lives. We call her the new ‘Ark of the Covenant’. She is a fitting place, a place of perfection without any trace of sin or evil. But later on, Paul will remind Christians that each one of them too is now a temple of God, of the Spirit of Jesus. In the New Covenant there is no longer any temple building, but “you are God’s temple”, a temple of which each one is a constitutive part.

And so we could well remember that what pleases God is not so much the beautiful churches we build for him, but the spiritual temple he wants us to build in people themselves. Once again, we ask the Prince of Peace to come and take up his abode in each one of us and let us radiate that peace to all we meet.