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Christ Is Among Us
John the Baptist is portrayed as devoted in his mission – to make Christ known. Yet the Gospel also portrays John as not being entirely sure who Christ Jesus is, saying twice, “I did not know him.” John is willing to let the Spirit open him to Christ’s Presence. To be both devoted in…
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The Gift of Epiphany
To have an epiphany is to experience, suddenly, a lovely expression of the Fullness of Mystery in the world. Epiphany describes the experience of the Magi. The Magi are three wise travelers who seek the Fullness of Mystery and experience, suddenly, its lovely expression. Their experience is realized in the face of a child.…
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Giving Birth to Peace
Mary of Nazareth is undergoing a series of very trying experiences. She is pregnant under questionable circumstances. She is traveling a great distance on the back of a mule while pregnant. She is being forced upon this trip late in her pregnancy by an emperor who wants more tax money from working people. She…
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Spectrum of Learning: Power
A baby’s birth is celebrated today, one whose “life was the light of the human race; the light that shines in the darkness.” The darkness was and is a world of division, in which suffering is justified, and violence assumed as salvific. The light is that of Christ, a light shown as communion transcending…
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Spectrum of Learning: Illuminate
Joseph lives in the shadows of the Gospel with Matthew alone shining any light upon him. That light first comes in the form of Joseph’s genealogy which is used to provide Jesus some credibility with Matthew’s Jewish readers. The second light shown on Joseph, and the focus of this Sunday’s Gospel, is used to…
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Spectrum of Learning: See
We have been looking for a Messiah. He will be our savior to keep us pure, separate from the impure foreign infidels and their collaborators. We thought we found our savior in John and were baptized into his group. We had the sense we were emerging from this world’s darkness to find a light…
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Spectrum of Learning: Aware
The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Advent begins with John the Baptist. John is something of a fiery character. He makes the public aware of the injustice of rulers. John calls rulers a “brood of vipers.” The rulers are aware of his challenge and plan to extinguish him. That is how Militarism operates.…
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Spectrum of Learning: Awake
Jesus is encouraging those who want to learn from him to stay awake to a coming meaningful event. It is the coming of the Son of Man. It is a highly misunderstood and misinterpreted event. The coming of the Son of Man refers to Resurrection. Like Jesus’ coming at birth, soon celebrated in the…
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To Conspire
The setting is Golgotha. It is the place of skulls. Jesus is breathing his last. He is hanging on a cross. On either side is a criminal. They too, are gasping for breath. One criminal speaks to Jesus. His words reveal knowledge. He knows Jesus in this life. He hopes to know Jesus in…
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Hope Amidst Trials
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus speaks apocalyptically, saying of the Temple, “there will not be left a stone upon another stone.” He speaks of people who will start “wars and insurrections” and that “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Though his apocalyptic language may sound similar to current doomsdayers, to label…