21 Dec Saturday

” . . . that we may press forward all the more eagerly to the worthy celebration of the mystery of your Son’s Nativity.” This is the aspiration of the Communion Prayer this Sunday. Three things come to mind: how eager are we about the presence of Christ in our lives? What does a worthy celebration look like both at church and in our homes? What is the mystery here of Nativity?

Another lens through which to read the Gospel in immigration, refugees, and the displacement of peoples throughout the world today. Joseph, perhaps aware already of the threats of Herod and now with a dream to support his fears and solve his questions, flees with his family into Egypt. He is repeating the ancient biblical pattern of descent into Egypt (Joseph and his brothers) and ascent from Egypt (Moses and the Exodus). This is a kind of reflection of the pattern of the life of Jesus: descent from the cross to the tomb and the ascent from the tomb in resurrection and ascension. But, in what is this ancient pattern of God acting among us the pattern I can discern in my own life?