Fourth Sunday of Advent- O Little Town of Bethlehem

There is a Christmas song that says of Bethlehem: “Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light.” Bethlehem is a suburb of Jerusalem. Its main tourist attraction in the time of Jesus was that it was the birthplace of David. Though today it has many modern homes and buildings, you can still see that it is part of “the hill country…of Judah.” (Lk 1:39) It is not too far from En Kerem, where John the Baptist was born, and apparently where this weekend’s Gospel takes place.

We see in the Gospel reading how Elizabeth and her unborn child rejoiced at the news of Jesus’ coming birth. The story implies that Mary went to see Elizabeth as soon as the angel told her about Jesus. Maybe it was easier to tell her cousin, who was also with child, than her fiancé. Perhaps talking about it made this miracle more real, just as talking about our faith makes it more real to us.

Jesus is the “everlasting Light” mentioned in the song.  That light shines today, not just in Bethlehem, but everywhere that his followers bring it. When we console someone who is mourning, that light shines. When we offer to help someone in need, it shines brighter. When we forgive someone who hurt us, the light is burning. When we offer to sponsor a candidate in the OCIA, the light grows. When we teach a child how to pray, it shines even brighter.

Our dark streets need the everlasting Light today as much as they did 2000 years ago. Today we remember how Mary and Elizabeth shared their faith in God. They did so much like we do today. Mary could not see her unborn son yet but helped Elizabeth to believe by her words. Jesus, who seems to be invisible today, is seen in the shared faith of those who bring him into the world by their words and actions.  -Tom Schmidt, Diocesan Publications

---

TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION

In ancient pagan Rome, these days in mid-December were a time for general slacking off at work and far too much rejoicing. The period of leisure after the harvest and a whole cluster of pagan festivals were a force for the church to reckon with. The Saturnalia, breaking out on December 17, was a time of high living and loose morals. Christians were advised by their bishops to drop out of the mayhem and do some serious fasting. A famous church council at Saragossa in Spain made a season of fasting mandatory from December 17 to December 23, exactly coinciding with the Saturnalia. The bishops at that time were perhaps less concerned with preparing for Christmas than with resisting the kind of loose living going on.

Modern times have restored a bit of the Saturnalia spirit to our culture, so that a general period of partying with a vague connection to religion is now upon us. How does a Christian keep balance? The practice of charity by remembering the poor in our gift giving, of hospitality in finding a place at our holiday tables for the poor and lonely, and of daily prayer in the home and at church are great helps. Although Advent is not a penitential season like Lent, it is a time for making room in our lives for what matters most.

– James Field, Diocesan Publications