The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation
The Second Thursday of Advent (Year
A)
A Homily -
2022.12.08
First
reading – Genesis 3:9-15,20 ©
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4
Second
Reading – Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 ©
Gospel
Acclamation – cf. Luke 1:28
Gospel
Reading – Luke 1:26-38 ©
(NJB)
Listen!
The
reading today from the book of Genesis ia a reading from a book of fables,
it is myth and metaphor; we cannot take this narrative literally.
Eve
is not the mother of all human beings. The garden of Eden was not paradise, it
is a reference to one of the early agricultural societies, or to the promise of
agriculturalism in general.
Adam
did not violate God’s trust; this is not a narrative about the creator and the creation
of the universe.
This
fable narrates a critical moment in the history of the Hebrew people (also
known as the Habiru, the Apiru, the Iberu et al, depending
on what dialect was spoken) , it is the remembrance of a time when they lived
in a civil-state that was safe and secure, a place in which they had long life,
from which they were exiled on account of some violation of their agreement with
the rulers of that society; this may well be a retelling of the exodus-narrative,
the memory of which would have been lingering in the minds of the people for about
two hundred years before they began to be written down at the beginning of the
Davidic period. It could recall an earlier event, or it could recall a
conglomeration of events. It is myth—not history, it is metaphor—not a factual
accounting, it is a braided narrative, it is a fable.
Even
when we confront the hard truths of our faith and its traditions it is still right
and good to praise God, the creator of the universe, because creation is
miraculous, and the divine power that brought us into being is remains beyond
the scope of human comprehension. It is right and good as the psalmist says.
Know
this!
God
is not a giver of victories. God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all
things exist and have their being…in God there is no conflict.
It
is never God’s justice that is demonstrated in the actions of human beings, it
is human justice, and when human justice approximates the justice of God, when
we reach justice through justice and mercy; then and only then are we approximating
the good.
God
is kind and faithful to all people; equally.
God’s
power is everywhere, God’s spirit animates the voices that give God praise.
If
you are an instrument of justice: judge fairly, judge kindly, reflect on the
love of God.
Remember
the life of Jesus, and God whom he called Father
Consider
this: Is God glorious? What is glory anyway? What use does God have for it?
God
is the creator of the universe, but God does not sit on a throne like some
dread lord dressed in glory, God’s desire is merely to be in relationship with
us, as a loving parent to a child…in humility not glory.
I
share the desire of the apostle that each and every one of us may come to the
full knowledge of God, because there is hope in the knowledge of God.
Remember
that the hopes you have for yourself and those you love, are meant to be extended
to everyone, even those you do not love, for that is the way that leads
to the knowledge of God and understanding of our relationship to the divine,
which we only find in relationship to one another.
If
you tout the notion that God promises riches and glories as the inheritance of
the saints, remember this, the first will be last and the last will be first; spiritual
riches are not counted in the pecunia of gold and silver and precious
things, but in companionship and love of friends.
Consider
the Gospel reading for today:
Whatever the truth is regarding the birth of Jesus, known
by his people as Joshua son of Joseph (if in fact there was such a child born
to Joseph and Mary, if fact Joseph and Mary are actual historical persons), whatever
the truth of his birth and heritage is, the mission of Jesus as reported in scriptures,
the way of Christ is not served by false narratives.
The stories of Jesus’ birth, of the annunciation as
we have it presented here, these are myths and metaphors just like the myth and
metaphor of Genesis, to say otherwise is to deal in propaganda and lies.
The way of God is not served by lies; the creator of
the universe, is the God of truth.
The Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation
The Second Thursday of Advent (Year
A)
First
reading – Genesis 3:9-15,20 ©
The
Mother of All Those Who Live
After
Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he
asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid
because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked
‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It
was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the
Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The
serpent tempted me and I ate.’
Then
the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be
accursed beyond all cattle, all wild beasts.
You
shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life.
I
will make you enemies of each other:
you
and the woman, your offspring and her offspring.
It
will crush your head and you will strike its heel.’
The
man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4 (NAB)
The
LORD is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad.
Cloud
and darkness surround the Lord; justice and right are the foundation of his
throne.
Fire
goes before him; everywhere it consumes the foes.
Lightning
illumines the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The
mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.
The
heavens proclaim God's justice; all peoples see his glory.
All
who serve idols are put to shame, who glory in worthless things; all gods bow
down before you.
Zion
hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice because of your judgments, O
LORD.
You,
LORD, are the Most High over all the earth, exalted far above all gods.
The
LORD loves those who hate evil, protects the lives of the faithful, rescues
them from the hand of the wicked.
Light
dawns for the just; gladness, for the honest of heart.
Rejoice
in the LORD, you just, and praise his holy name.
Second
Reading – Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12 ©
Before
the World was Made, God Chose Us in Christ
Blessed
be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the
spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before
the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless,
and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his
adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise
the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved, and it is in him
that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined
plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will; chosen to
be, for his greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ
before he came.
Gospel
Acclamation – cf. Luke 1:28
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Hail
Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!
Blessed
art thou among women.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Reading – Luke 1:26-38 ©
'I
Am the Handmaid of the Lord'
The
angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin
betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name
was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is
with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this
greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you
have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must
name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The
Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the
House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the
angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit
will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will
cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son
of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself
conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month,
for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary
‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.
The Feast of the Immaculate
Conception, A Holy Day of Obligation
The Second Thursday of Advent (Year
A)
