Octave of Christmas, 29th December, St. Thomas Becket
1 John 2:3-11 / Luke 2:22-35
Gnosticism. was a thorn in the side of the early Church. This heresy derived its name from the Greek word for “knowledge." Gnosticism took many twists and is difficult to define. At the risk of oversimplification, Gnostics held that salvation came through “knowledge” or faith, not good works. In other words, if you were “in the light and believed, you could do pretty much what you wanted, even ignore the essential needs of your brothers and sisters.
John condemns this heresy, saying, “Whoever says that he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is in the darkness.”
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Do we consider ourselves disciples of Jesus, yet turn our back on the needs of our brothers and sisters? "If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples." John 13:35
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God comes to his temple today as if incognito, as a child carried in the arms of its mother. Simeon, the old man in the Temple, took Jesus in his arms and recognized this child as the Savior expected by the Jews in the Old Testament but also as the salvation of all people. In him the old Israel can fade away in peace. This child was to be the glory of Israel, yes, but also the light to enlighten pagans, everyone. He comes to us now not merely to be the light of us Christians. He does not belong to us alone but to all. St John tells us how to reflect the light of Christ: all those who love their neighbor are living in the light.
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On this fifth day in the octave of Christmas, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr. He was born in London and after studying in Paris, entered the service of Archbishop of Canterbury, became Lord Chancellor under King Henry II in 1155, and in 1162 Archbishop of Canterbury. He went from being "a patron of play-actors and a follower of hounds" to being a "shepherd of souls" as he absorbed himself in the duties of his new office, defending the rights of the Church against king Henry II. This prompted the king to exile him to France for six years.
After returning to his homeland, he endured many trials, and agents of the king travelled to Canterbury and fell upon the bishop while he was attending evening prayer. His priests rushed to his aid and tried to bar the church door; Thomas opened it himself with these words: The house of God will not be defended like a fortress. I gladly face death for the Church of God.
Then to the soldiers: I command it in the Name of God: No harm may be done to any of mine. Thereupon he cast himself on his knees, commended his flock and himself to God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to St. Denis and other holy patrons of the Church, and with the same heroic courage with which he had withstood the king's laws, he bowed his holy head to the sacrilegious sword on December 29, 1170." St. Thomas Becket saw the light, the real light that was already shining, as the 1st reading puts it, and hence he was courageous in life as in death.
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Like Simeon in the gospel, St. Thomas Becket also saw the light, and it was a light that shone in the darkness, a darkness of rejection and persecution and trial and finally martyrdom. St. Thomas Becket became a beacon of light for the Church, so much so that in 1539, king Henry VIII ordered his remains to be burned, and that was like 400 years after his death.
Yes, darkness can never overcome or overpower the true light. May we see that light, follow that light, be enlightened by that light and become beacons of light.
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Feast Day December 29
Thomas was a tall, handsome, intelligent, young legal clerk. He had a magnetic personality and made friends easily. His remarkable memory and business ability attracted the attention of the archbishop. The archbishop brought him to Canterbury. Noticing that Thomas was an excellent speaker and could solve complicated problems, he felt Thomas would be a good match for the King of England, Henry II. At the archbishop’s recommendation, Thomas was made chancellor of England, a post he held for eight years.
Thomas loved his life. He spent money on clothes, entertainment, hunting, and good times. A strong friendship developed between him and the king. Unfortunately, Henry II wanted complete control of his kingdom, including the Church. He wanted to take some powers away from the Church, and he needed an archbishop to support him. Henry believed Thomas could do this. Thomas objected to the plan, but Henry had his way. Thomas became the archbishop of Canterbury.
Faced with the responsibility of leading the people of God, Thomas changed his manner of living. He resigned as chancellor, sold his mansion, and went to live in a monastery. He sold his rich clothes and furnishings and gave the money to the poor. His personality was the same, but more noticeable were his generosity and determination to protect the Church. Thomas opposed Henry’s taxation of the Church. He refused to allow Henry to make Church appointments that suited him and blocked his other attempts to control the Church.
The king turned on the archbishop, threatening imprisonment and death. Thomas fled to France and took refuge in a Cistercian monastery for six years. Both Thomas and the king appealed to the pope. After the pope condemned some of Henry’s demands, Thomas returned to England.
There was peace until Henry had his son crowned by bishops who supported him instead of the archbishop of Canterbury who had the right to do so. When the pope cut these bishops off from the Church, Thomas upheld that decision. One night, in a rage, the humiliated king exclaimed before his knights, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” Four knights rode to the monastery where Thomas lived. They did not succeed in making Thomas change what he believed was his obedience to the pope. When Thomas went into the cathedral to pray, the monks begged him to lock the doors. Thomas insisted that they remain unbolted. The knights entered the cathedral and murdered Thomas near the high altar by the bishop’s chair. Thomas’s last words were, “I accept death for the name of Jesus and for the Church.”
People called Thomas a saint, and Henry II did public penance to be absolved. Miracles were reported to occur at Thomas’s tomb and many pilgrimages were made there. Thomas was the most famous martyr of the Middle Ages.
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Prayer
God, Father of light, the old man Simeon recognized your Son as the light that would shine on all. May we too recognize Jesus, even if he comes to us in a humble way, in the shape and person of children, of old people, of the poor, and the little ones? Make us receive him too as the light not only of our lives but as the bright dawn for all nations. For you are the Father of all and Jesus belongs to all as their Savior and Lord, now and forever.
