Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012.
These readings are scheduled for the 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eucharist services at St. Matthew’s. At the 10 a.m. Eucharist, we will have a traditional service of Lessons and Carols. Come, join us at any service: Everyone is welcome here, no matter who you are or where you are on your spiritual journey.
The Magnificat, the Song of Mary.
Micah, one of the earliest Old Testament prophets, warned the people of Jerusalem that their injustices against the weak and the poor would bring down God’s wrath. Having foretold the destruction of the city by the Assyrians, he promises that a new ruler would come from the village of Bethlehem – the birthplace of King David – to restore peace to the surviving remnant. Christians read this as a promise of Jesus as Messiah, but its broader message tells us that God desires justice and will reward righteousness with peace.
Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46b-55)
Today we sing the Magnificat, the song of Mary, who celebrates her coming child, Jesus, the son of a powerful and merciful God who loves us and calls us to acts of mercy and justice.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10
The Letter to the Hebrews, modern biblical scholars say, probably originates from the early 100s, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., when Christianity was separating from rabbinical Judaism. Perhaps intended to reach backsliding Christian Jews, it seems to suggest that God abolished the “empty” sacrifices of the Jewish Temple, replacing them with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. In modern times, especially after the Holocaust, we should try to avoid this view of Judaism as “abolished,” hearing instead the hopeful message that God’s promise to Israel at Sinai continues in us, the body of Christ, through Jesus’ incarnation, the Christmas miracle.
Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
This lovely short reading in Luke comes immediately before the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, which we heard earlier. Here we are told of Mary’s visit to her much older cousin Elizabeth. Both women are pregnant – Elizabeth with John, Mary with Jesus – and both conceived in miraculous ways, visited by angels with the news that they would give birth. When the women meet, Elizabeth feels her child leap in her womb with what she perceives as joy. Can we leap with joy as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas time?