Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 22 December 2024

Visitation, Pelendri

Fourth Sunday of Advent
22nd December 2024

As we move into the season of the feasts of the Nativity, each one comes with a gift of light for our way the darkness of our world. We remind ourselves this is known to us as a two fold gift, the symbol of eternity seen in the star over the place where Jesus lay and in the moving luminary the magi followed, but also internal to ourselves and found in the inner light of divine love discovered in the hearts and lives of Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and those wonderful and mysterious magi, but also in our own hearts now. This last Sunday of advent is like the launching pad for this great explosion of brilliant joy! These words from the prophecy of Micah, which form part of the first reading this Sunday, hint at what this is all about:

'Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

when she who is to give birth has borne,*

Then the rest of his kindred shall return

to the children of Israel.'(Mi 5:2)

This oracle of God reminds us all that the Covenant God made with Israel has never been broken, that even in a world of sin the promises will be fulfilled in that first coming of Christ amongst us, which we will know, even if we do not fully understand.

Even though the Lord Christ has come to us firstly in flesh through his mother, our Lady Saint Mary, Advent has kept our eyes focussed on that final coming, at a time we do not know, but it also points to another coming, which St Bernard of Clairvaux calls the third coming hidden between the other two, this is the coming of Christ into our every day experience of presence, in his gift of sacrament, of Word, of love for our neighbour. And in all of the human daily encounters in which the Christ is revealed to us, as well as in our own deep search for him in prayer. This third coming is where we should be at this moment in Advent, for to truly enter the mystery of Jesus' incarnation and birth, we need to put ourselves into the human story. We have this opportunity in our gospel today, for two women reveal their encounter of a third coming, showing us how deeply rooted in the hiddenness, we might even call it the lowliness, of human life is the story of our salvation in Christ.

Mary and `Elizabeth take centre stage, unlike many of the men in the story of Christ's nativity, these ladies catch the heart of God's Spirit at work in their lives, there is no fear here, nor deep doubt. Luke puts the two women in a setting of deep human empathy, one cousin reaching out to another at a time of social tension. We have to realise that this is not fairy tale stuff, in fact it is a dangerous time. Mary is young, she is pregnant, and more than that, has conceived a child in a way that few might understand and we put her at the mercy of harsh religious laws. We know from the story of Joseph, that although betrothed to her, he is nevertheless puzzled and anxious about her pregnancy, a state of affairs that could end in disaster for her. Her cousin Elizabeth is also in a dangerous physical situation, well past the time of childbirth, she is old, but like Mary she too is with child, and like Mary faces what could be a disaster. In her case not the rubrics of the Law, but medical uncertainty over the procedure of childbirth. Young and old, two groups in human life that are often in opposition to each other, but here in Mary and Elizabeth that gift that they are, the light and life that they bring unite them in being the kindlers of the light of Christ revealing that third coming of him at their moment of great need.

I would like to leave us at the greeting of the two women , and suggest we too might profit from meditating on what their relationship means and what it says about our own relationships today and that hidden third coming for us. Christ is not the preserve of any one person, Mary does not claim him for herself, she gives him to us. Elizabeth sees this gift, and in her turn hands over the life and voice of the prophet John, her son, to us all. Neither of them claim special honour, but both of them should be honoured as standing for all, particularly women who bring up their children, and then hand them to the world for service. This is a reminder of the true gift of the love that is in the heart of Mary and Elizabeth, a love that nurtures, nourishes but does not cling, allowing John and his cousin, to whom he gave the title 'Lamb of God', to become part of all our lives, for ever. All of us are familiar with that beautiful prayer to Our lady, the Hail Mary, which make these words Elizabeth familiar to us: 'Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb'.(Lk 1:42) Maybe this Sunday and in these last few days before the Nativity we can ponder in our hearts the words of Elizabeth, and remind ourselves that age is no barrier to bringing Christ to birth in our world. That all of us, young, old, middle aged have a calling to be like Mary and Elizabeth, recognising in each other those who are those who take these words to heart:

'Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled' (Lk 1: 45)

Let us reveal the Lord in our lives.

Lectio

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St Bernard of Clairvaux

The Three Comings

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible.

THREE COMINGS OF THE LORD

In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.

THIRD OR MIDDLE COMING

In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself says: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him [Jn. 14:23].

There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God's word. Where is God's word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.

Keep God's word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.

OUR REST & CONSOLATION

Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.

If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam's sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.