We have finally come to the last stretch of our preparation for Christmas. For the past weeks, we have seen how God prepared his people for the coming of the promised Messiah. Contrary to Israel’s expectation of a glorious savior and a triumphant entry, God chose to send his Messiah quietly (even surreptitiously). God chose to send his Son into the world by way of humility. The setting, the people and the circumstances that led to the first Christmas – all speak of humility.
The first reading tells of God’s choice of the insignificant town of Bethlehem to be the birthplace of his Son. When Joshua partitioned the promised land and listed the towns apportioned to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, Bethlehem was not in the list of those allotted to Judah. Absent from the map, it had to be associated with Ephrathah to distinguish it from the more familiar Bethlehem of Zebulun. Thus, Micah writes, “You, Bethlehem of Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah…”
Likewise, the gospel reveals that God tends to work in unexpected ways through unexpected people. To carry out his saving plan, God chose two unknown women, both humanly incapable of child-bearing: a young virgin from Nazareth (what good can come from Nazareth!) and an elderly barren woman from some hill country of Judah. The first was to be the mother of the Son of God and Savior of the world, and the other was to be the mother of the great prophet and precursor of the Messiah.
Benedict XVI comments that the meeting of the two mothers-to-be is “not merely a courteous gesture, but portrays with great simplicity the encounter of the Old Testament with the New. Indeed the two women, both of them then pregnant, embody expectation and the Expected One. The elderly Elizabeth symbolizes Israel which is awaiting the Messiah, whereas the young Mary bears within her the fulfilment of this expectation for the benefit of the whole of humanity.”
Meanwhile, another meeting happened between Jesus and John when they recognized each other even in their mothers’ womb. Elizabeth affirmed that when she heard Mary’s greetings the baby within her leaped for joy. This recalls to mind the exuberant dance of David before the Ark of the Covenant, the bearer and symbol of God’s presence among his people. John too could not contain himself and leaped with joy in the presence of his Lord, carried by the mother. Thus, Mary has been invoked since the early days of Christianity as the Ark of the new Covenant and the Tabernacle of God.
The Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams made an interesting comment about Mary as the first missionary, the first messenger of the gospel. Indeed, during her visitation, Mary brought the Good News to Elizabeth and John simply by carrying Jesus in her womb. More than preaching and delivering a verbal message, mission is primarily about bringing the Christ in our heart to others. When people recognize Christ’s presence in us, they will experience his joy and love, and like Elizabeth and John, they too will shout aloud in blessing and leap for joy.
I’m glad to know that the cause for canonization of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot is well on its way. They say that as a young priest he was assigned to a town that had considerably turned Aglipayan. During his first days, he found himself celebrating daily Mass alone or with just a few old women attending. Instead of waiting for the people to come to church, he started to visit their homes, befriending them and their children, attending to their sick… He did this every day for twelve years until he came to know every family in his parish. By the time he left for his new assignment, the whole town had returned to the Catholic faith.
There was really nothing extraordinary that the young parish priest did. He simply brought Christ’s love and joy to his parishioners in their homes. And because Fr. Lolong (as he was fondly called) was a simple and humble man, God found in him a perfect instrument to do his marvelous work.