A Feast Rich in Names, Meaning and Mission, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God [Year A], By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

A Feast Rich in Names, Meaning and Mission

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God [Year A]

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, DEC. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Jewish Feast of Rosh Hashanah, meaning literally the “beginning of the year,” occurs on the first of the Hebrew month Tishre and inaugurates the solemn Jewish season that concludes with Yom Kippur.

In the Bible, the Jewish New Year Festival is called Day of the Sounding of the Shofar and Memorial of the Blowing of the Shofar (ram's horn). This instrument is designed to sound the alarm of the forthcoming solemn season, to awaken Jewry to prayer and repentance. It serves as a call to remember the historical events that made Israel a people, whether at Mount Sinai or on its entrance into Israel, or on the occasion of the proclamation of the Jubilee year. In Jewish liturgy, this feast also has two other names: Day of Memorial and Day of Judgment. Each of the different names of the festival conveys one of its special characteristics.

Rosh Hashanah is not an opportunity for excess and mirth. If Jews rejoice in the festival, it is only in the knowledge that life still holds out the promise of better things. It is the occasion of self-examination, a time when, in the words of their prayers, all creatures are remembered before God. It is a day of judgment, not only in the divine sense, but in the sense that on this day all Jews should judge their own actions. It is also a day of remembrance, not only of great events of the dim past, but also of the incidents of the human journey over the past year. Rosh Hashanah invites all Jews to recall with gratitude the many times they have been delivered from mishap and pain by the unseen hand of the Almighty One.

Jan. 1: The Christian New Year

The Christian New Year is celebrated on Jan. 1, one week after the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Like the Jewish feast of Rosh Hashanah, Jan. 1 has also been given several different names that reveal something of the nature of the feast. We could say that this feast is rich in names, meaning and mission. First of all, the Christian New Year is within the Octave of Christmas (i.e. eight days after the birth of Jesus.) Before the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the Christian New Year was called the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus or the Naming of Jesus (Holy Name of Jesus). After the Second Vatican Council, Jan. 1 was established as the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, and it has also been designated as the World Day of Prayer for Peace.

At first glance, we may ask ourselves if New Year's has accumulated so many different meanings that people no longer pay attention to the feast. Furthermore, is it also not true that the atmosphere of revelry attached to New Year's Eve hardly leaves anyone with the energy, desire or willingness to consider New Year's Day as a religious feast? Or, is it possible to consider the Christian New Year in light of the Jewish New Year, and try to find unity and meaning in the various traditions now associated with this feast?

Feast of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus

Let us consider some of the biblical foundations for the various meanings attached to the Christian New Year. In antiquity and in the Scriptures, it is a common belief that the name given to a person is not just a label but part of the personality of the one who bears it. The name carries will and power. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem to Jewish parents (Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2). At his conception, it was told by an angel that his name would be "Jesus." The Hebrew and Aramaic name "Yeshua" (Jesus) is a late form of the Hebrew "Yehoshua" or Joshua.

Eight days after his birth, Jesus underwent circumcision, the enduring sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people (Luke 2:21-24). The Greek christos translates the Hebrew mashiah, "anointed one;" by this name Christians confessed their belief that Jesus was the Messiah. In the New Testament, the name, person and work of God are inseparably linked to those of Jesus Christ. True disciples of Jesus are to pray in his name (John 14:13-14). In John 2:23 believing in the name of Jesus is believing in him as the Christ, the Son of God (3:18). The name of Jesus has power only where there is faith and obedience (Mark 9:38-39). Believing in the holy name of Jesus leads to confession of the name (Hebrews 13:15). Calling on this name is salvation.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of the Lord

"Mary" comes from the Hebrew "Miriam" whose etymology is probably from the Egyptian word meaning "beloved." She is the disciple par excellence who introduces us to the goodness and humanity of God. Mary received and welcomed God's word in the fullest sense, not knowing how the story would finally end. She did not always understand that word throughout Jesus' life but she trusted and constantly recaptured the initial response she had given the angel and literally "kept it alive," "tossed it around," "pondered it" in her heart (Luke 2:19). It was only on a Friday afternoon at Calvary, some 33 years later, that she would experience the full responsibility of her "yes."

Daughter of Zion

Vatican II gave Mary a new title and role in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" No. 52. For the first time, the Church officially referred to her as the "Daughter of Zion," a title with a rich Scriptural foundation. The title evokes the great biblical symbolism of the Messianic Zion. Mary is mother both of the Messiah and of the new people of God: the individual person and the whole people being very closely united, in line with the cultural structures of Israel. For the prophets the Daughter of Zion was the spouse of the Lord when she observed the covenant. As "Mother Zion," she not only welcomes and represents Israel, but the Church, the People of God of the New Covenant. Mary is the first Daughter of Zion, leading all of God's people on the journey toward the Kingdom.

Mary’s womanhood is not in itself a sign of salvation but it is significant for the manner and way in which salvation happens. There is salvation in no other name but that of the man Jesus, but through this woman, Mary, we have humanity's assent to salvation. The Holy Names of Jesus and Mary are joined together in a very special way.

World Day of Prayer for Peace

The most recent "theme" attached to the Christian New Year has been the "World Day of Prayer for Peace." Christians are invited to begin a New Year praying for peace. But this action is not limited only to those who celebrate New Year's on Jan. 1! The Jewish people, in particular, are deeply united with Christians in praying for peace and making peace. Our God is peace. Even though we Christians consider God's intervention in Jesus Christ to be decisive, this intervention did not represent the coming of the Messianic Kingdom for our Jewish brothers and sisters.

In contemporary Christian theology, we have placed a strong emphasis on the "not yet" dimension of the Christ-event. As we wait together and work together as Christians and Jews for this Messianic Kingdom, we must work together especially in the areas of justice and peace. The Jewish people are privileged partners with Christians in bringing about this kingdom of justice, love and peace. The Messianic Kingdom for both Christians and Jews still lies ahead. It is not enough for us simply to pray for peace. We must work for peace, together. That is the work of those who long for the Messiah's Kingdom to fully take hold of our lives and our world.

A time to remember and give thanks

New Year's is a time to reminisce about the past and to share hopes for the future. Authentic religion teaches us a reverence for life and gives us a sense of the holiness of God's name. When we consider the various meanings attached to Rosh Hashanah and to the Christian New Year, we see some clear parallels. The God that Jews and Christians worship does not seek the death of sinners, but that they may return to him and live. Both Judaism and Christianity teach that to destroy a single life is to destroy an entire world and to sustain a single life is to sustain an entire world.

The Jewish-Christian God speaks this word to all peoples: "Seek me and live," and "Choose life." Jews and Christians exist to reveal the holiness of God's name and God's sovereignty over all creation. In a world filled with so many voices and things demanding first place, Judaism and Christianity recognize God as sovereign over all creation. Finally, Jews and Christians yearn for the day when swords will be turned into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.

Rosh Hashanah and the Christian New Year are excellent opportunities for the celebration of life, a commitment to uphold its dignity and sacredness, and a plea for its continuance. They are feasts when we beg to be joined with women and men of good will everywhere, especially with those who know God as the God of the Exodus, and those who know God as the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the beginning of this New Year of grace, may the Lord give us an ever deeper sense of the holiness of the names of Jesus and Mary. May God send us out on mission, to be instruments and agents of life and peace.

[The readings for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God are Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21]

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Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Archdiocese of Washington

Don’t Be Liar at Christmas! A Meditation on Incarnational Faith

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

At Christmas we celebrate the fact of the Word becoming Flesh. But what does this mean for us today? Fundamentally what it means is that our faith is about things which are very real and tangible. As human beings we are persons with bodies. We have a soul that is spiritual but it is joined with a body that is physical and material. Hence it is never enough for our faith to be only about thoughts or philosophies, concepts or historical facts. While all these things our true, their truth in us ultimately must touch the physical part of who we are. Our Faith has to become flesh, it has to reach and influence our very behavior. If this is not the case the Holy Spirit speaking through John has something to call us: Liar!

God’s love for us in not just a theory or idea. It is a flesh and blood reality that can actually be seen, heard and touched. But the challenge of the Christmas season is for us to allow the same thing to happen to our faith. The Word of God and our faith cannot simply remain on the pages of a book or the recesses of our intellect. They have to become flesh in our life. Our faith has to leap off the pages of the Bible and Catechism and become flesh in the very way we live our lives, the decisions we make, the very way we use our body, mind, intellect and will.

Consider a passage from the liturgy of the Christmas Octave from the First Letter of John. I would like to produce an excerpt and then make a few comments.

The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. (1 John 2:3ff)

1. Faith is incarnational – Note first of all what a practical man John is. Faith is not an abstraction, it is not merely about theories and words on a page. I tcannotbe reduced to slogans or even to merely pious sayings. It is about a transformed life, it is about the actual love of God and his Commandments manifest in the way we live. It is about the actual love of of my neighbor. True faith is incarnational, that is to say, it takes on flesh in my very “body.”

As stated already, we human beings are not pure spirit, we are not intellect and will only, we are also flesh and blood. And what we are cannot remain merely immaterial. What we most are must be reflected in our bodies, what we actually, physically do as well.

Too many people often repeat the phrase, “I’ll be with you in spirit.” Perhaps an occasional absence is understandable but after a while the phrase rings hollow. Actually showing up physically and actually doing what we say is an essential demonstration of our sincerity. We are body persons and our faith must include a physical, flesh and blood dimension.

2. A sure sign – John says that The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Now be careful of the logic here. The keeping of the commandments is not the cause of faith, it is the fruit of it. It is not the cause of love, it is the fruit of it.

Note this too, in the Scriptures, to “know” is always more than a mere intellectual knowing. To “know” in the Scriptures means, “deep intimate personal experience of the thing or person known.” It is one thing to know about God, it is another thing to “know the Lord.”

So, what John is saying here is that to be sure we authentically have deep intimate personal experience of God is to observe the fact that this changes the way we live. An authentic faith, an authentic knowing of the Lord will change our actual behavior in such a way that we keep the commandments as a fruit of that authentic faith and relationship with the Lord. It means that our faith becomes flesh in us. theory becomes practice and experience. It changes the way we live and move and have our being.

For a human being faith cannot be a mere abstraction, it has to become flesh and blood if it is authentic. John later uses the image of walking in this passage: This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. (1 John 2:6) Now walking is a very physical thing. It is also a very symbolic thing. The very place we take our body is both physical and indicative of what we value, what we think.

3. Liar? - John goes on to say Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar. John uses strong language here. Either we believe and keep the commandments or we fail to keep the commandments and thus lie about really knowing the Lord.

But don’t all of us struggle to keep the commandments fully! John seems so “all or nothing.” But his math is clear. To know the Lord fully, is never to sin (cf 1 John 3:9). To know him imperfectly is still to experience sin. Hence, the more we know him (remember the definition of know above!) the less we sin. If we still sin it is a sign that we do not know him enough.

It is not really John who speaks too absolutely. It is really we who do so. We say, “I have faith, I am a believer, I love the Lord, I know the the Lord!” We speak so absolutely. Perhaps we could better say, I am growing in faith, I am striving to be a better believer, I’m learning to love and know the Lord better and better. Otherwise we risk lying. Faith is something we grow in.

Many Protestants have a bad habit of reducing faith to an event such as answering an altar call, or accepting the Lord as “personal Lord and savior.” But we Catholics do it too. Many think all they have to do is be baptized but they never attend Mass faithfully later. Others claim to be “loyal” even “devout” Catholics but they dissent from important Church teachings. Faithis about more than membership. It is about the way we walk, the decisions we actually make. Without this harmony between faith and our actual walk we live a lie. We lie to ourselves and to others. Bottom line: Come to know the Lord more an more perfectly and, if this knowing is real knowing, we will grow in holiness, keep the commandments be of the mind of Christ. We will walk just as Jesus walked and our calimto have faithwill be said in truth, not as a lie.

4. Uh Oh! Is this salvation by works? Of course not. The keeping of the commandments is not the cause of saving and real faith it is the result of it. The keeping of the commandments is the necessary evidence of saving faith but it does not cause us to be saved, it only indicates that the Lord is saving us from sin and its effects.

But here too certain Protestants have a nasty habit of dividing faith and works. The cry went up in the 16th Century by the Protestants that we are saved by faith “alone.” Careful. Faith is never alone. It always brings effects with it.

Our big brains can get in the way here and we think that just because we can distinguish or divide something in our mind we can divide it in reality. This is arrogant and silly. Consider for a moment a candle flame. Now the flame has two qualities: heat and light. In our mind we can separate the two but not in reality. I could never take a knife and divide the heat of the flame and the light of the flame. They are so together as to be one reality. Yes, heat and light in a candleflame are distinguishable theoretically but they are always together in reality. This is how it is with faith and works. Faith and works are distinguishable theoretically but the works of true faith and faith are always together in reality. We are not saved by works but as John here teaches to know the Lord is always accompanied by the evidence of keeping the commandments and walking as Jesus did.

Faith is incarnational. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, really and physically. So too our own faith must become flesh in us, really, physically in our actual behavior in our very body-person.

Here is a largely unknown Christmas Carol to Americans, unless you are familiar with Renaissance music. It is by an anonymous composer of the 16th Century and is an early Spanish Carol. The gist of the Carol is that the Word (Jesus) has shown his love for us by becoming flesh. Mary who has real faith would do anything for Jesus but has nowhere even to lay him down. The song then rebukes this rich world for its lack of faith manifested in love and cries out in effect, “Will you not at least offer some swaddling clothes to the one you have forced to be born in a smelly stable!” And thus the world’s true faith must be manifest by its acts of love. Here is an incarnational Christmas Carol. I provide the text and translation. Enjoy.

Verbum caro factum est (The Word was made flesh)

Porque todos hos salveis. (for the salvation of you all

Y la Virgen le dezia: (And the Virgin said unto him)

‘Vida de la vida mia, (‘Life of my life,)

Hijo mio, ¿que os haria, (what would I [not] do for you, my Son?)

Que no tengo en que os echeis?’ (Yet I have nothing on which to lay you down.)’

O riquezas terrenales, (O wordly riches)!

¿No dareis unos pañales (will you not give some swaddling clothes)

A Jesu que entre animales (to Jesus, who is born among the animals),

Es nasçido segun veis? (as you can see?)