Advent Daily Devotionals: Peace Himself: 23rd Dec

PEACE HIMSELF

Sunday 23^rd December: 4^th Sunday of Advent

Readings of the Day:

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Gospel, Luke 1:39-45

Reading 1, Micah 5:1-4

But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, from you will come for me a future ruler of Israel whose origins go back to the distant past, to the days of old. Hence Yahweh will abandon them only until she who is in labour gives birth, and then those who survive of his race will be reunited to the Israelites. He will take his stand and he will shepherd them with the power of Yahweh, with the majesty of the name of his God, and they will be secure, for his greatness will extend henceforth to the most distant parts of the country. He himself will be peace! Should the Assyrian invade our country, should he set foot in our land, we shall raise seven shepherds against him, eight leaders of men.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Over Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh; rouse your valour and come to our help. God, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be safe. Protect what your own hand has planted. They have thrown it on the fire like dung, the frown of your rebuke will destroy them. Never again will we turn away from you, give us life and we will call upon your name. God Sabaoth, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be safe.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

And that is why he said, on coming into the world:

You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but you gave me a body. You took no pleasure in burnt offering or sacrifice for sin; then I said, 'Here I am, I am coming,' in the scroll of the book it is written of me, to do your will, God.

He says first “You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the cereal offerings, the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them”; and then he says: “Here I am! I am coming to do your will”. He is abolishing the first sort to establish the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ made once and for all.

Gospel, Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'

Writer’s Reflection

I follow Sister Aletheia (@pursuedbythruth) on Instagram. She did a video last month on giving her book ‘Momento Mori’ as a gift to family members this Christmas. Several people unfollowed her after she suggested that, at Christmas, reminding Christians that they are going to die is a good thing. Today’s readings are a perfect example of why she is right. Bear with me…

The first reading shows us that Mary birthing Christ in Bethlehem was long foretold. What’s more, people joyfully anticipated that ‘He himself will be peace!’. I know it sounds silly, but when I read that, I think: ‘I know Him! Peace! Yeh, His name is Jesus’. That is a blessing in and of itself – to be able to recognise Him now, from what was prophesised of old.

The Gospel tells us, moreover, that Mary was ‘blessed’ because she ‘believed the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled’. Even before knowing Christ, Mary believed that God the Father would send a saviour to the world. This saviour would not be like the prophets of old, nor the kings, nor priests offering repeated sacrifice. As St Paul says, ‘He abolishes sacrifices, because He gave himself as the eternal sacrifice’.

Every Advent, we join in the waiting of generation after generation of people, who hoped for a saviour and eternal life with God. The birth of Jesus signifies the giving of that gift to us. But Jesus saved us through His death, and we can only enter into eternal life with Him once we die.* The birth of Jesus may have pointed towards the past, as it was prophesised, but Christmas should point towards our future too. One day we will die, and the sacrifices we make in our lives will only be relevant to the extent that they are joined to the ‘eternal sacrifice’ of Jesus’ death.

St Therese of Lisieux has a beautiful quote saying, ‘the world is thy ship and not thy home’. What a reminder. I can get so bogged-down in the cares of this world and forget that it is not my home. Though Jesus became man, this world was not His home either. Our home is in heaven, and Jesus died so we could be there with Him (‘To live in heaven is to be with Christ’ – CCC #1025).

The readings remind me that I should jump for joy, like Elizabeth, when I am moved by the Holy Spirit, I should believe all His promises for me will be fulfilled. Most of all, I am reminded that dying is not such a morbid thing after all. Jesus’ whole reason for coming to earth was to release us from the chains of death and make it a joyful thing. For whilst we can know ‘peace himself’ in this life, only in the next can that be made perfect and everlasting.

Perhaps Saint John the Baptist leapt in the womb at Christ’s presence, because already he knew his destination.

*CCC 1025 To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." The elect live "in Christ,"⁶⁰⁰ but they retain, or rather find, their true identity, their own name.⁶⁰¹ For life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is life, there is the kingdom.⁶⁰²

Prayer

Please join me in praying for the dead, especially all the souls in purgatory, that they might soon see the face of God:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Writer Bio: Miriam David

Hello, my name is Miriam. I am 21 and currently praying my way through the fourth and final year of a Politics degree at the University of Exeter.

I secretly still want to be in Canada, where I spent my year abroad pretending to study Politics and actually learning how to be a multiplying missionary disciple for Christ with the help of Catholic Christian Outreach. When I look back on my faith journey, I can see how important it was that other Catholics my age loved me as an individual and took the time to help me grow in faith.

Reader, please do that for someone. Attend a Catholic event this week, invite someone else along, step outside of your comfort zone, and offer to pray with them. If you are invited, please remember our Blessed Mother, and say ‘yes’.