December 17, 2008
|
Breaking Open the Word By James Cavanagh Dec. 21: 4th Sunday of Advent Scripture readings: Theme: God’s plan fulfilled. After decades of war Israel was finally at peace. But David wasn’t. According to our first reading, “The Lord had given him rest from his enemies” but the Ark of the Covenant, the most sacred object in Israel and sign of God’s presence, did not have a proper dwelling place. David’s primary concern was not for himself or the future of his kingdom, but for God: “Here I am living in a house of cedar,” he says, “while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan the prophet assures David that one day a holy place for God would be built. God also promised that David’s kingdom would last forever and his own offspring would inherit the throne. God’s promise, however, would not be realized as David expected. The new “ark” would not be a container made of wood, but a vessel of flesh and blood. And the new “temple” would not be made of lifeless stones taken from the earth, but of “living stones” hewn from humanity. God’s promise to David was fulfilled some 900 years later when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father.” Key verse: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus (Lk 1:31). “Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “From all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee: The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life’” (No. 487-488). Pope Benedict XVI: “The ‘fiat’ of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world because it brought the Savior into the world. As the true ‘Daughter of Zion’ Mary is the image of the Church, the image of believing man who can only come to salvation and to himself through the gift of love— through grace” (“Let God’s Light Shine Forth”). Application: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Paul reminded the Christians at Corinth (1 Cor 3:16). God is not limited to a single location, but moves about with his people. God’s plan for a holy temple was fulfilled, but not in the way David or Israel expected. Mary is the model for the Church, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, for “Where there is Jesus Christ, there is the Catholic Church” (St. Ignatius of Antioch; CCC No. 830]). |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In the News |