5A :  Isaiah 58:7-10.  This reading has something of the corporal works of mercy in Matthew 25: 31-46.  The reward here is not as in the Last Judgment but that the Lord will treat one generously in this life.  It will be as if one’s light will always shine and the darkness or gloom will never envelope you because God blesses your righteousness.

 

Matthew 5:13-16.  These verses follow the beatitudes in Matthew’s Chapter 5.  It is as if when you practice the beatitudes, then you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  In their goodness the works of the followers of the Christ never leave the world in the darkness or fed with the insipid or the decayed and rancid.   We are Christ’s beacon of light to all the world; we are the Holy Spirit’s bright light shining in the household of Jesus’ followers, reinforcing their faith.  The good deeds of Christians give glory to our heavenly Father by showing that we are fruitful through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5.   Paul proclaims the mystery of God not out of his own “sublimity of words” or of his wisdom.  He writes, “I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling” because he realized that on his own he could not bring people to faith.  It was only through the power of God that the Corinthians could come to faith.  In other words, Paul was learning to become fully dependent on God and not on himself.  Not I, Lord, but it’s always you that makes it (the good) happen!

PresA20.   Malachi 3:1-4.   The Lord God himself speaks that he is to send a messenger ahead of him who will burn away all impurity, “like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye.”  “But who will endure the day of his coming?” Purification for the Hebrews was an essential custom among the people.  God is the One and only Almighty One and everyone who belongs to him and stands before him must be ritually pure in Judaism.

Luke 2: 22-40.   “When the days were completed for their purification according to the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord.”  What the law or Torah required was that, since the first born male belonged to the Lord, he had to be redeemed or bought back from God so to live as a member of his birth parents by an offering of five shekels.  Secondly any discharge of blood during the woman’s delivery required an offering of a lamb or, if the family were poor, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” to render her pure “in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.” There were two special holy people of the temple, one man Simeon, one woman, Anna who were witnesses with the greatest of credentials that this is the child for whom “all who were awaiting the redemption of Israel.” “Simeon blessed them (Jesus parents) and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel (and everywhere else), and to be sign that will be contradicted – and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” In our own lives do we from the very depths of our being show that Jesus is our Messiah and Savior?  Do we accept Jesus as the life giving force of our life that shares/inserts some of his divinity or grace into our lives or do we choose to be just another earthly animal devoid of the spiritual? Jesus said in John 6:54-6, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”  He gives us something of his very self so that we have him as our spiritual life.  Without Jesus we are just the dirt of this earth. It is our choice to fall into hell or to rise into heaven with the acceptance or rejection of God’s help, his life or grace within us.

Hebrews 2:14-18.   “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them” by sacrificing his own blood and flesh so that he might redeem us from our sinfulness. Our sinfulness rejects, while living on this this earth, the heavenly life, and in the end be buried in this world’s sinfulness, its dirt.  “Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people” by offering himself up on the cross.  He was subjected to “the refiner’s fire,” “the fuller’s lye” to make us acceptable to his and our Father.

3A20.   Isaiah 8:23-9:3.   “First the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.”  Long ago the Assyrians had conquered the tribes of that region and carried them off as slaves.  God in turn conquered the darkness of their subjection with a great light.  “The yoke that burdened them,” “you have smashed.”  “You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.” This is a prophesy that was also fulfilled at a much later time in Jesus.  Our psalm 27 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

Matthew 4:12-23.  Jesus spent much time preaching and working miracles in Capernaum which is close to Zebulun and Naphtali.  Now that John’s ministry had ended because had been arrested, Jesus began his ministry announcing that for those who repent the gates of heaven are about to be opened.  The Israel of the Old Covenant is to be dispensed with and the new Israel with its New Covenant is to be established in the twelve Apostles who are to replace the old Israel of the twelve sons of Jacob.  Jesus went “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.”  Though Jesus begins his ministry among the Chosen People, his new kingdom is meant for all peoples.  He is the light that takes away the darkness.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17.  “It has been reported to me” “that there are rivalries among you.”  “I urge you” “that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.”  Christ sent Paul “to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.”  Paul is saying that in suffering and dying with Christ there is salvation that requires of us to surrender our own will and preferences for the common good of the Church.

3A

Isaiah 8:23-9:3.  The land and the people of Zebulun and Naphtali were looked down upon and their fortunes dim but in the end he brought glory, great light, rejoicing merriment and joy instead of darkness, gloom and distress.  Eight centuries before the time of Jesus, the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun were conquered and taken off into captivity by the Assyrians (see 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26).  Isaiah was prophesying that these lands, who were first to be degraded or fall before the eventual complete conquest of all the tribes of Israel and Judea, would be the first to see the light of God’s salvation, the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 4:12-23.  “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,” “he left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum,” “in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,” thus bringing a great light to a people who had sat in darkness,”  “in a land overshadowed by death.” Although John said that he was preparing the way for Jesus, apparently he did not fade away with appearance of Jesus but continued his ministry as before.  Perhaps Jesus did not want to seem to be in competition with John.  However when John was taken out of the spotlight by his arrest, that was the signal to Jesus to bring the fullness of God’s light to the forefront.

Jesus preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Then he started choosing his 12 apostles as a way of establishing his new kingdom on earth replacing the old kingdom of the 12 tribes of Israel.  He called them and immediately they left their boats and nets and followed him, as he “proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom, and cured every disease and illness among the people.”  He was really calling upon the people to leave behind their worldly ways to live by heavenly ways while still living in the world.  The call to repentance is a call to separate ourselves immediately from the past and now to belong to and follow Jesus only.  The Old Law of the Old Testament is now obsolete.  The New Law is the Will of God/following Jesus.

 

1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17.

“I urge you” ”that there be no divisions among you.”  “

For it has been reported to me about you” “that there are rivalries among you.” “Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”  In other words Christ is all.  It is he, and he alone, that we follow.  He is the Lord and Master of us all.  He died and rose for us.  We are baptized in him.  We “are united in the same mind and in the same purpose” because we have Jesus as Lord and king over us.

Paul writes, Christ sent me “to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.”  From the Acts of the Apostles we learn that Paul had gone to Athens, historically the world’s center of human wisdom from ancient times, and tried his best with human eloquence to convince them of Christianity.  He failed miserably but learned that it was not eloquence that was the center of our faith, but rather, the cross. Next he went to Corinth, starting his ministry by centering on the cross of Christ.  We follow Jesus to the cross and beyond.

 

2A20.   Isaiah 49:3, 5-6.   The Lord said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory.”  “I will make of you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”  I imagine that these words first referred to both Israel and Isaiah; however, in the long term, they refer to Jesus.  He is the light like the star that leads us to God in heaven.

John 1:29-34.  John the Baptist announces the presence of the Lord who brings the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, no longer, just water.  Water is the symbolic cleansing of the soul/spirit; whereas, the cleansing that the Holy Spirit provides is not symbolic but real.  After Jesus left this earth in his human form, he sent the Holy Spirit who not only cleanses us of sin but enables us to grow in the presence of God within us.  He is the light to the nations that guides us to eternal salvation.  God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s choice is our choice.  As John stepped aside to allow for the predominance of the Christ, so too we must relinquish dominance over our own lives that he may be our leader and our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:1:3.    “To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.  Grace to you and peace.”  The call to be holy is the call that requests us to say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit who proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God calls us to be holy, no longer confined to be just animals and creatures of this earth but heavenly Sons and Daughters of Jesus the King.  As through Mary we shared our humanity with Jesus, Jesus shares something of his divinity with us by calling us through baptism to members of his family.

2A                         Is. 49:3, 5-6.  Israel was first chosen to be God’s people and they alone, as the text says, “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory.”  However, through Isaiah God later expands the call to other peoples, telling Isaiah, “I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” and not just to the tribes of Jacob.

John 1:29-34.  John presents Jesus as the sacrificial offering who will redeem us from our sins, when he says, “Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”   John gives testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.   Also he contrasts his baptism as being merely of water but Jesus’ baptism as being infinitely superior because he baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 1:1-3.  Paul addresses “the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”  This is Paul’s way of saying that not just Jews but all people, who recognize Jesus as their Lord, are God’s people.  We who belong to Jesus are made holy in him.  The blessing at the end says that we as God’s people can bring God’s blessing to one another.

 

BaptA20.  Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7. “Thus says the Lord: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit.”  God chooses and sends one at various times to serve his Will putting his divine pleasure and spirit in him.  It is God himself working in and through his servant.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:40,   “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” “I formed you,” as “a light for the nations,” for “those who live in darkness.” We have celebrated the Epiphany in which the light that is the star leads the magi to the light of the world Jesus our Savior.  We understand this first reading as a prophecy of the coming of Jesus.

Matthew 3:13-17. “After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus, by having John the Baptist baptize him, was declaring that now he was taking over the role of John in leading the people to God.   However more importantly, God the Father’s announcement and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus was the heavenly declaration that God in the person of Jesus had come into our midst as a man just like us.  Jesus has now been formally presented to this world as the Christ, the Messiah.

Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38.   From the Hebrew perspective just the Hebrews belonged to God likewise God belonged only to the Hebrews and so could not belong to any other peoples.  The Hebrews viewed the gentiles as worthless, polluted, foul trash who had many ridiculous sham pseudo gods. They viewed themselves as a people, pure, clean, set apart from the debased and defiled. The Hebrews believed that they had the one and only true God.  There was none other and he was theirs and theirs alone.  From the Jews point of view Peter, a Jew, defiles himself by entering the home of a gentile.  Peter’s response was, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”  He is not Lord of just the Jews but the Lord of all.  God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” to bring God’s goodness to all.  “God shows no partiality.”  This was a truly momentous time in the development of Christianity because there were many who saw Christians as just another Jewish sect.  Now Christianity, though rooted in Judaism, was to be taken as something entirely new, based in a God that is Trinitarian, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which was never a Jewish belief.

EpiphA20.  Isaiah 60:1-6.  “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come.” “Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your brilliance.” “All shall come bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”  Isaiah the prophet of God prophesies the coming of all nations to recognize Immanuel, the God of all peoples among us.  He is the light of the eternal truth that had not been seen before among the nations. Before, the nations of the earth other than Israel, had been wondering in the darkness of ignorance. Now no longer!

Matthew 2:1-2.  Herod stands as an extreme example of the darkness, shutting any possibility that there is a God to whom he must be subject.  He attempts to make himself his own god and god of all that is around him.  John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  After the magi had left the darkness that was the presence of Herod, the star shown again, “and stopped over the place where the child was.” “They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  They were open to seeing the light of the divinity in the helpless baby in the manger.  Despite the fact that they were pagans, they had let the light of God shine into their hearts and minds in their past lives that enabled them to immediately recognize the light of God in the baby Jesus.  People of the darkness deny there is any such thing as the light because they let the darkness blind them.

Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6.  God enlightens those who are open to give themselves over to him, taking God as the Lord of their lives.  Paul was enlightened by God so to bring all to see Jesus as Lord of all.  The mystery that had not been revealed to past generations was the lordship of our messiah and savior Jesus.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:18: “May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.” He, who is the God of all, calls all people to be his own.

Epiph17

“Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.  Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar.”  All nations come to worship Yahweh, not just a select Chosen People, the Jews.  All peoples are God’s peoples.

Matthew 2:1-12.  The magi come following the star that leads to the “newborn king of the Jews.”  The star is the light that leads to Jesus.  It shines for all peoples. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has no overcome it” (John 1: 5).  King Herod was the darkness who wanted to extinguish the light but was destined to fail because the source of the light (God) is infinitely more powerful than the source of darkness (the devil).  See how diabolic Herod is when he sends the magi to seek Jesus and says, “When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”  The darkness that is so deep seeks to devour the light that is the Christ.  The non-Jews, the magi, “prostrated themselves and did him homage.  They opened their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  The star was God’s way of inviting in the Gentiles to take Jesus as their Messiah.  They followed the light sent by God to lead them to eternal life.  The Holy Spirit does that for us daily.  “What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race” (John 1: 3c-4).

Hebrews 1:1-6.  “The mystery was made known to me by revelation.  It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body.”  The revelation is the light that takes away the darkness.  Jesus is the revelation that he is the Messiah, Savior of all peoples.  We who daily follow the light, the Holy Spirit,

shall be people of eternal life.  “Then you shall be radiant at what you see.” (from the first reading)

FamA19.   Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14.   To have a family that is based in God, i.e., his way of thinking and of ordering, each person’s position in the family must be respected.  God rewards the children who honor their parents’ authority: atonement for sins; having God give special attention to one’s prayers; a long life.  Happiness on earth requires of us to live according to God’s Will, God’s order or sense of organization.

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23.   An important task of an angel was to speak God’s message to the ones he had chosen to hear it.  The prophets also did the same thing.  We also are chosen by God at times to deliver his message, as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, priests, religious or by anyone else as God chooses make known to others what God wants them to hear.  God not only listens to our prayer requests but also daily speaks to us, often through others around us.  The Holy Spirit aids us daily in our spiritual growth to be able to sense or discern the Voice of God.  To live a life of faith in God means to be always in the loving presence of our God, who is not passive but active in our lives.  The science of zoology, which is a part of biology, lists human beings as an animal of this earth.  The Holy Spirit builds the supernatural on the natural.  By our baptism God is our Father and we are his children with the right to have our inheritance in heaven.  That means we must live as his children now on earth.  The Holy Spirit enables us to live the spiritual life while we are here on earth.  On our own without the Holy Spirit we, as animals of this earth, cannot live spiritually.  In our gospel God seems to be quite comfortable communicating with Joseph through the angel.  He, as God, is quite comfortable communicating with us also but only in a way that a person of faith can discern, since God does not speak out loud or audibly.  A loving God is not a silent God.  Life in this world is a life that has many difficulties and challenges, as it did for Joseph, Mary and Jesus in the womb.  As Emmanuel, God is with us in our ups and downs.  As a loving parent, God cannot be but with us to help us by being endlessly engaged in our lives to bring us as his beloved children to our home with him in heaven.  God is our daily bread, not only in Holy Communion, but by nourishing our spiritual life every moment of our lives.  God is family now by living with us, loving us every moment of our lives.

Colossians 3:12-21.    Paul begins with the words, “Put on,” as though we are clothing our earthly bodies with heavenly clothes. “And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts.”  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”  Not only are we to be clothed in Christ on the outside but also filled with Christ on the inside. “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  Paul calls upon us to thoroughly be a heavenly people while still here on earth.  With God as our Father here and now we should grow as his children spiritually in holiness.  Not only should heaven be the household of God but also this world.  Family is a relationship in which we not only grow physically but also mature spiritually, caring for one another, nurturing one another through the presence of Jesus within us individually and in our midst as a community.