Faith

Galilee of the Gentiles – Monday after Epiphany – Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

The text of today is preceded by the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Here we are at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He leaves Nazareth and settles in Capernaum, a busy fishing and trading centre on the Sea of Galilee. Zebulun and Naphtali are northern provinces (once tribes) and Capernaum is in Naphtali while Nazareth is in Zebulun. These provinces fell to the Assyrian KingTiglath-pileser III in 732 B.C., a full decade before the fall of the other provinces. Some might accuse Jesus of withdrawing to Galilee lest he share John’s fate, but Galilee is ruled by the same Herod Antipas who arrested John, so Jesus cannot escape danger there. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus goes to Galilee as a fulfilment of prophecy (v. 14).

Galilee was small geographically but had a large population; approximately 204 towns with populations of 15,000 or more people according to the historian Josephus. This provides opportunity for many people to hear Jesus’ message. Most of Jesus’ ministry will take place in Galilee.  Almost all of his teaching and healing ministries will take place in Galilee.  

One might wonder why Galilee is referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles”. Galilee was considered by some as a contemptuous place especially by the religious elite of Jerusalem in the south. The scrupulous people of Judea held Galileans in disdain. When Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46), his question reflected a general low opinion of Galilee and Galileans, half pagan in cult, and bilingual and the people spoke Greek as well as Aramaic.

When the Israelites first settled in Canaan, God said, “When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their figured stones, destroy all their cast images, and demolish all their high places” (Numbers 33:51-52). However, Naphtali, Asher, and Zebulun (three of the five tribes that settled Galilee) failed to drive out the Gentiles, but instead dwelled in their midst (Judges 1:30-33).

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Faith

A fingerpost pointing to the true Way  – January 2nd – John 1:19-28

John has been thrown into the witness box. He came to be a witness and hence testifying in any forum would have been second nature to him. So, when the priests and Levites who were sent by the Jews from Jerusalem to interrogate him ask him who he is he “confesses and does not deny it” that he is not the Messiah. John the Baptist identifies himself in, through, and by his relationship with Jesus. Whereas Jesus defines himself as “I AM,” John is clear to say, “I am not.” He is not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet. He is not the light that shines in the darkness.

 In the Synoptic Gospels, John the Baptist is a prophet who has an important ministry in his own right. He calls people to repentance and eventually dies as a martyr for daring to confront petty earthly tyrants with the word of the Lord. But in the Gospel of John, for the most part, he just points people to Jesus.

Obviously, there was some excitement in the air for the Jewish bigwigs to troop all the way to Bethany across the Jordan. John the Baptist was raising people’s expectations and at the same time upsetting the religious leaders. How had John, this eccentric preacher, become the talk of Jerusalem? Here was a man baptizing crowds and plunging them into the river Jordan. People sought him out; “what then should we do?” they ask him. But even more the question that loomed large was who was he? Was he Elijah, who had ‘ascended in a whirlwind into heaven’ but was to be sent back to the people before ‘the day of the Lord comes’ (Malachi 4:5).

The people of God had long been expecting the arrival on earth of the agent of God’s rule; the Messiah. But John is aware that when the Messiah actually comes many people may not give him due recognition: he will remain unknown to them because he may not fit their preset image of him. People will be too quick to judge by appearances. We all have to take Jesus on his own terms. We cannot prejudge in what precise way he may wish to affect our lives.

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Faith

Looking back, moving forwards – Seventh day within the octave of Christmas – John 1:1-18

We come to the end of a year and listen to what God’s word says to us. This Gospel holds an amazing attraction. It helps us look back to learn and look forward in hope. God’s word is a creative word who gives life to all, in love. Jesus is the Word uttered by the Father, the word of hope and promise. Jesus, is God’s message to us – he is our Good News. We know that God loved the world and sent Jesus among us.  

Each of the Gospels begins with an account of Jesus’ origins. Mark introduces Jesus to us as an adult, telling us that Jesus was “a man from Nazareth” whose advent fulfils the arrival of God’s salvation as foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Matthew and Luke’s narratives begin earlier still, rooting Jesus’ very conception and birth in the prophecies of old and God’s will to deliver humanity. John, however, pushes his account of Jesus, the Word, back to the beginning of time itself. Before anything else had been created, he was.    

Today’s Gospel invites us to experience and savour the drawing power of the mystery of love beyond all telling. A God who is Life, and Light, ‘The Word’ who moves house, not content to remain aloof from us. One theologian wrote, I searched for God in the heavens but found he had fallen to earth, so I must seek him among my friends. God moves his dwelling, his residence, his house and inserts himself fully into our human story of loneliness, pain, frailty and fragility.

To say that “the Word became flesh” in the first Christian century carried a variety of meanings. Platonists believed that the high god was transcendent and aloof from the world. They also believed that the mind was the superior part of human beings and that the mind had to control the flesh. The flesh was weak and leaned toward pleasure to the excess. The Word becoming flesh would have been a ridiculous statement for Platonists: while a god might assume human-likeness, surely no self-respecting god would actually become human.

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Faith

Looking beyond the past into the future – Sixth day within the octave of Christmas – Luke 2:36-40

In 516 BCE the reconstruction of the Temple was complete. King Herod renovated it in 19 BCE, expanding the facility to include what was basically a large shopping precinct, where you could buy religious goods and animals for sacrifice. It would have been a great sight to behold, especially for Mary and Joseph who had come from a very small town to the big city. Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews. They would have travelled for about a week to get there, at great expense. For them, observing the laws of purification was absolutely essential. They are here for the purification of Mary and the presentation of Jesus. It is here that they encounter Simeon and Anna.

The Christmas season celebrates the birth of a child but the Gospels include many venerable figures like Simeon, Elizabeth, Zechariah and Anna in these narratives.  We have already dwelt on Simeon, who as part of his bucket list (a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket”) desired to see the Lord’s Messiah. Today we are introduced to Anna in Luke 2:36.

Anna is a prophetess, another of the ‘Quiet in the Land’ who had lived to a great age. In a few words we are given a summary of her life – her name, her father’s name, her tribe and her long life as a widow. She is the only widow named in the Gospel of Luke.

Her story is one of sorrow. She was married for just seven years before her husband died. She was left as a young widow. She may have been in her early twenties when this happened. One would imagine that in her situation she would soon find another husband, or that her kinsmen redeemer would come and raise up children for her husband who had died. But this is not what happens. She decided to stay single. She took a path that many women of her time would run away from and even loathe.  

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Art/ Heritage

CHRIST-MASS – ‘The Nativity’ by Petrus Christus, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., c. mid – 1450’s (Part 2)

‘Christmas waves a magic wand over the world, and behold everything is softer and more beautiful’ – Norman Vincent Peale 

These words truly resonate with the spirit of Christmas. But what does the word Christmas mean? The Catholic Encyclopaedia states – ‘The word Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ.’ If Christmas spells Christ’s Mass how is it related to the Holy Eucharist? The answer to this question is revealed in today’s painting. Titled ‘The Nativity’ this devotional work of art dates back to the mid-1450 and was executed by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus.

Before reading further we encourage you to explore the profound prelude to the painting in Part 1 of this article. Having comprehended the context, we now move to the heart of this work of art. The scene is simple yet serene. It subtly illustrates the fulfillment of the Old Testament through iconography. The sculpted figurines on the arch depict the Fall of Humankind while the scene within it announces the Redemption. Thus the artist spares no effort to enhance the emotion and devotion to the Nativity of Christ.

Let’s sneak into the shed. At the centre of the scene, we encounter the Holy Family. The Immaculate Mother stands in awe before her little baby, yet a baby God. ‘How can this be?’ was her query to the Angel. Nine months later Mary marvels at her new-born for truly ‘With God nothing is impossible.’ Accompanying her in contemplation is the faithful St Joseph. His green and red robe are an instant indication of the colours of the season. 

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