Marvels of Mass

We are now settling down into Ordinary Time for a few weeks between the Christmas season and Lent.  We start to hear of Christ’s public ministry which began last week with the first miracle at the wedding at Cana of changing water into wine.  Over the next weeks, we’ll start to hear more about who Jesus is, he’ll gather his apostles, and we’ll hear the Sermon on the Mount.  We’ll learn how we are to live.

 

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.  The Gospel tells us of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. After the baptism, “a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22)

 

Our opening song, “When Jesus Comes to Be Baptized”, speaks of this baptism.  The tune is one we know to the words of an Advent song – “On Jordan’s Bank”.  The tune is called Winchester New.

 

In many liturgical scholars’ thoughts, this feast of the Epiphany of the Lord should begin perhaps its own liturgical season, separate from Christmas and encompassing the next three Sundays.  The word ‘Epiphany’ is often referred to as a manifestation, or an experience of striking and sudden realization; its actual etymology comes from Greek and means ‘to appear’.   This weekend, with the Three Kings, we have the first of these ‘epiphanies’.

Today’s liturgical feast of the Holy Family honors Jesus; his mother, Mary; and his foster father, Saint Joseph; and their model as a family for all Christians.  It was instituted in 1893 by Pope Leo XIII with the date of the feast to fall on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany (January 7 – 13).  With the revision of the Roman calendar in 1969, the feast is now celebrated within the Octave of Christmas – meaning, it always falls on the Sunday following Christmas.  

 

Your kindness should be known to all.  The Lord is near.” (Philippians 4: 4-5)

 

Each year on the 4th Sunday of Advent, we hear some reference to the visitation of the angel Gabriel to Mary, announcing that she has conceived and will bear a son.  This year we hear of it through Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.  “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant [John the Baptist] leaped in [Elizabeth’s] womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Jesus)” (Luke 1:41-42)

This Second Sunday of Advent we encounter John the Baptist in our readings as ‘one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”’  We sing of John the Baptist and his role in salvation history in our music this weekend.  Our opening hymn comes from deep within our hymn tradition in Germany in 1690.  Just think about that – how many other tunes are 300+ years old that are still being sung?  The original text to the hymn was written in the early 1700’s and re-translated in the 1800’s.  Sorry about the digression!

Today we begin a new liturgical year and we’re in Cycle C.  We hear from the Gospel of Luke almost in its entirety during this year with a few other Gospel writings added in, normally from John.   One of the main themes of every Advent is presented in the readings today – “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.“ (Luke 21:28)  As we await Christ’s coming as a commemoration of his birth in Bethlehem, we also await his Second Coming at the end of time.  There is also a ‘present’ coming – as Christ comes into our life every time we receive the Eucharist.