December 30, 2009
The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever. 1 John 2:15-17
And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. Luke 2:38-40
Piety
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me.
Mold me.
Fill me.
Use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Study
The Gospel as we have been reading in daily Mass has skipped around a bit putting the story of Jesus teaching in the temple ahead of the presentation in the temple where Mary and Joseph encounter the holy pair Anna and Simeon.
Anna and Simeon represent the kind of people described in the letter that makes up the first reading today. After becoming a widow, Anna devoted her life to the temple. She was not enticed by the world but by doing the will of God.
After her encounter with Jesus, Anna is another in the list of humble people who had the initial contact with infant and were immediately moved to take her obedience to another level by sharing the experience through her witness to “all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.”
What makes it so hard for us to act like this…immediate and constant obedience and life long humility? Were these attributes as rare then as they are today? Are the few great examples all concentrated in the Gospel stories? Or has the world gotten so pervasive and permissive, so tempting and tantalizing with almost constant overt references to sexuality. We don’t even resort to the “hidden persuaders” any longer. There is nothing subliminal about the kind of advertising that seduces us today.
Is there an obedience gene that guides behavior? Is this trait nurtured in people or is it there by nature? Jesus had it because the “favor of God” was vested in his life. How can and do we earn the favor of God?
We all are born with it. However, to help it grow, the power of our individual and collective experience of the encounter with Jesus nurtures this in us. We all have the capacity for such behavior but recognizing the experience of our encounter triggers a life of faithful obedience and humility in some people while it lays dormant in others who do not leave themselves open to this encounter.
Action
The more examples that we can study in sacred scripture along with those whom we experience and get to know in the world today will help nurture the seed of our obedience and humility.
Who are the real-life examples of such faith in your life? Who are Simeon and Anna to you? Who are Elizabeth and Zachary to you? Who are Mary and Joseph to you?
Can you nurture your faith through the power of your encounter with Jesus to become Simeon or Anna and witness the life of Christ in the world to others?
