BIBLE STUDY#118


FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

December 23, 2012



READING 1

MICAH 5:1-4A



Thus says the LORD:

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah

too small to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel;

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient times.

Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

when she who is to give birth has borne,

and the rest of his kindred shall return

to the children of Israel.

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock

by the strength of the LORD,

in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

and they shall remain, for now his greatness

shall reach to the ends of the earth;

he shall be peace.



The Word of the Lord



READING 2

HEBREWS 10:5-10



Brothers and sisters:

When Christ came into the world, he said:

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.

Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,

behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"



First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,

holocausts and sin offerings,

you neither desired nor delighted in."

These are offered according to the law.

Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."

He takes away the first to establish the second.

By this "will," we have been consecrated

through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.



The Word of the Lord



GOSPEL

LUKE 1:39-45



Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

"Blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled."



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



Today’s Gospel passage is known as the “Visitation” and comes right after the Gospel passage known as the “Annunciation” in which Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she is to conceive and bear a son by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that this son will be the Son of God. She is also told that her cousin Elizabeth has conceived a son in her old age.



Mary then sets out “in haste” to “a town of Judah” to visit Elizabeth. It seems to indicate that Mary went alone because no one else is mentioned escorting her. I suppose we can assume that some people did escort her, but Luke’s intent here is not historical but theological. He wants Mary to be with Elizabeth to make a statement.



The first point Luke makes is that John is to be the precursor of Jesus. Elizabeth has prophetic insight and knows that Mary has been chosen by God for a special task; she knows without being told that Mary is pregnant and that Mary’s child will have a greater significance than her own son.



Elizabeth calls Mary’s child “my Lord” which is first of all a title for God. This title for Jesus is a resurrection title, so the shadow of the cross is there even before Jesus is born and implies the nature of Jesus mission. While Elizabeth recognizes Jesus as ‘master,’ there is a deeper dimension implied here.



Elizabeth recognizes Mary as blessed, because God h as chosen her for a special mission but also because she said yes to God and tries her best to follow God’s will for her life.



John leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Why? Because he recognizes Jesus as being superior to himself, showing that he is the precursor and not the messiah. Notice that Jesus doesn’t leap for joy at being in john’s presence. Something terrific is about to happen, and John is glad to be a part of it.



The second point Luke makes is Mary’s Magnificat otherwise called The Canticle of Mary (not included in today’s gospel). She begins by giving all the praise, glory, and honor to God. Mary recognizes that whatever happens is not accomplished by her own power but that of God’s. She proclaims God’s mercy, and says that in days to come, the messiah will turn things around: rulers are thrown down and the lowly are lifted up; and the hungry are fed, but the rich are empty. God promises not to forget his people.



The first reading is from the prophet Micah who lives 700 years before Jesus. Micah is concerned about the threat of an Assyrian invasion. Preparing for this invasion is expensive and causes poverty among the people. Micah is outraged against social injustices and about the corruption and greed of the leaders. He trusts that God will send a new king like David. Since Bethlehem was David’s hometown, the new king would have roots in that city. The early Christian community saw Jesus as the new king reflected in this prophecy.



In the second reading from Hebrews, the author agrees with Luke that a Christian is a person of action. Jesus is the perfect Christian whom we should be imitating, the one who does God’s will.







Fr. Phil