+ On this final Sunday of Advent we focus on one rather obscure phrase in the
first reading today which actually summarizes everything about the Season that
we are in and the one that will begin this coming Thursday evening: the phrase
is: “he shall be peace!” He shall be peace refers to the shepherd who will stand firm by the
strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God; the shepherd
King of the House of David, from the town of Bethlehem-Ephrathah (too small to
be among the clans of Judah).
He
shall be peace! The one who is to come to first dwell in that
stable in Bethlehem will be peace-in-the-flesh.
To think that peace is simply the
absence of chaos, is to miss the whole concept of Christ completely. Peace is actually a human being and his
name is Jesus. All else that we relate to peace derives from his person. He is
the heavenly peace that he not only sleeps in, but also radiates at every moment of his existence. His is the peace that the world cannot
possibly know about, understand or desire in the slightest. His is the peace, nevertheless, that all people
thirst and yearn for to the depths of their beings. Yes, what we need in our lives is not just the absence of turmoil, but a
personal relationship with the Prince of Peace himself; and the only way we can
have that is in quiet, silent, reflection!
The gospel passage today tells
us what Mary did immediately after this Prince came to live within her who
consented to be his Mother, she felt the need to radiate that peace to others,
she was moved to holy action, and she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who
was also now with child (whose name would be John, and he would be the
Baptizer). John leapt for joy in his mother’s womb when Mary entered the house.
He was the first to recognize the unique presence that his cousin, the Prince of Peace was. A new day was
dawning and the One whose obedience would take away all of the bad of the old
dispensation is now months away from making his earthly appearance. As our
second reading today tells us, it would be in his “will” to do his Father’s
will – that would be the cause of our salvation!
May we in these last days
before Christmas take time each day to
reflect in silence the great mystery of the coming into the world, coming
into our lives of the Prince of Peace himself. And remember on Christmas Eve or
Day (whenever you will attend Mass to celebrate his birth) that you will
consume and eat in Holy Communion this “peace of God” who became a man, who became
that piece of bread for you, so that you can be that bread and the peace and
that Prince to others, all others, but especially the poor and needy –
not only on Christmas Day, but on every other day of the year as well!
Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace
to people of good will!
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