Advent, 21st December
Zephaniah 3:14-18 / Luke 1:39-45
The time is near; My lover comes leaping over the hills.
A popular film scene is an aerial view of two lovers, some distance apart, running toward each other with open arms. The length of the scene can vary, depending on how far apart the lovers are. Sometimes the director heightens the tension by doing the scene in slow motion. When the two lovers finally meet, they are swept up into each other's arms.
Today's reading sets before us an image very much like this. It compares Christ's coming on Christmas and our going forth to meet him to two lovers running toward each other. When you think about it, that image is a lovely one for expressing the tension and excitement of the days immediately before Christmas.
***
Do we see Christmas as a meeting of lovers? “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life." John 3:16
***
Few things, if any, are more beautiful on the human and the divine level than the encounter between persons. An encounter is a great joy and grace. The first reading speaks of the encounter between a suitor and the young woman he loves; this is probably an image of the love between God and Israel.
***
We may wonder why Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to see Elizabeth. Given the traveling conditions at that time, it was certainly not an easy or smooth journey. Besides she has just conceived and it would be better for her to rest and take care of herself and her health. But the blessing that she received at the Annunciation was so great that she wanted to share that blessing with Elizabeth, and also to share Elizabeth's joy of pregnancy.
The gospel passage is indeed about the joy of God's blessings. The 1st reading is also about the joy of God's blessings, which is described as shouting for joy, a rejoicing heart, with no evil to fear.
The 1st reading even describes how much God wants to give His blessings: He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you. Yes, God is so eager to give His blessings on us. We just have to ask and we will receive. And when we share God's blessings with others, as Mary did, then we will receive blessing upon blessing.
***
In the gospel, Elizabeth encounters Mary; even the unborn John the Baptist encounters the Savior and his mother. Deeper than meetings between people in business, science, politics, or their jobs, are the understanding, love and sharing of real human encounters. This is the kind of encounter that awaits us with the Lord on Christmas and in this Eucharist. Encounters are even deeper when God is present in them.
***
Prayer
God, we tend to lose ourselves in the bustle and stir of the day, in our work and our petty worries. Give us the freshness of heart to look for the things that matter, those that make our lives deeply human and at the same time, open us to your world and to your values. Make us long to encounter you with joy, that we may discover again the quality of gratuitous giving, of respect, and of carefree self-forgetting love, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
