Liturgically speaking today is a very strange one. On the one hand, it’s the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Yet it’s also December 24th and Christmas Eve. Usually, we have more time between the last Sunday before Christmas and Christmas, itself, to prepare for the holiday. But here we are: with the celebration of Christmas finally upon us. Some of us, however, may say that it’s none too soon; that we have had enough of the preparation for Christmas, what with all of the shopping, both in malls and over the Internet, with all of the rushing about.
However, there may be others who are not yet quite finished. Between the end of mass this morning and Christmas mass this afternoon or evening, there are still those last minute things to do in order to get ready for company, for those visitors who have joined us, or will join us, over the next few days. Yes, this is the time for visitors. In fact, the Fourth Sunday of Advent might be called “Visitors’ Sunday”. So it’s appropriate for the focus for today’s reflection to be on visitors, on hospitality for those who briefly share our lives.
To begin our reflection, we might recall today’s gospel reading and a biblical woman who could be our model for hospitality towards visitors. Normally this is the time of year to reflect on Mary; but I have another woman in mind for today: Elizabeth. Elizabeth, whom Mary visited.
Now then, for those of you who have been wondering when would I get around to my ususal Sunday homily question, here it is. And you don’t need to answer out loud. My question is this: How do you, yourself, prepare for visitors? For those who enter your life for a brief time and then go off again?
If you’re a housewife, do you spend a lot of time dusting and putting stuff back in place? And if you’re the husband, or the kids, do you find yourself being told not to mess up what has already been hidden away? Well for all of us who have difficulty in preparing for the arrival of either friends or strangers, perhaps we need to take a closer look at someone who might be the patron saint for visitors: Elizabeth.
Her story begins when Zechariah, her husband, was serving as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were, according to Luke, “advanced in years,” which means they were probably somewhere in their sixties! Then, one day while Zechariah was alone in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and said that Elizabeth was going to conceive and bear a son. Like any normal man who has a sixty-year-old wife, Zechariah didn’t believe the angel. As a result of his lack of belief, he was literally struck speechless by the angel. So when Elizabeth became pregnant, he wasn’t able to tell her what had been predicted.
Have you ever wondered what effect all of this might have had on Elizabeth? There she is. In her sixties and pregnant. And her husband seems to have had some kind of stroke and can’t speak. I would guess that she is under at least a little bit of stress!
From a human standpoint, the chances are that Mary, too, was under some stress when she arrived at the home of Elizabeth. After all, the same angel who had appeared to Zechariah had also come to her. And now here she was, an unwed, pregnant teenager. It’s likely her own parents may have lacked a complete understanding of what had happened. Instead of staying in Nazareth with them, she proceeds, according to Luke, “in haste” to her relative’s home in Judah. The angel had told her that Elizabeth was also pregnant. Perhaps Mary needed reassurance from this older woman that miracles do happen.
And so we come to today’s gospel reading. What does Elizabeth do when they meet? As I suggested, Elizabeth probably had her own stress. But she seems to immediately put it aside and offers comfort and a triple blessing to her young relative. How does she manage to accomplish this? Again, according to Luke, Elizabeth was “filled by the holy spirit” and cried out her greetings and her blessings.
Having been moved by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth has a different perception. She does not see an unwed, pregnant teenager there before her. Rather she sees the woman whom she calls “the mother of my lord.” With Elizabeth as a model, is it possible for us to be filled with that same Holy Spirit and to have our own perceptions radically changed when we see those who visit us? Those who come into our lives?
One of the basic questions of our faith is this: can I see the Christ-child in those who visit me? When I am under my own stress, can I still offer comfort and blessings to those who come into my presence? Can I welcome them?
Although I began this reflection by focusing on visitors in our homes at this special time of the year, perhaps we also need to think about others who only momentarily come into our daily lives. Those strangers who enter our lives where we work, where we shop, where we learn, where we play. We speak of hospitality in our homes; but what about hospitality in our lives? Some of us might be called to be hospitable in large ways; but small ways are equally important.
Our first reading for today reminds us that it is not always the big places and large events in our life that are the most important. The prophesy we heard about in the first reading from Micah, reminds us that God chose, not the great city of Jerusalem, but rather insignificant Bethlehem, for the birthplace of his son. His son who was to rule not as a king, but rather one who would be like a lowly shepherd. And so, according to the prophet Micah, nothing is too insignificant to be used for the work of God. No place, too small; no task, too menial; no person, too unworthy.
Our second reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Hebrews reminds us that it is not mere ritual which God desires but rather our active participation. It is not ritual sacrifices and offerings by the fire of holocausts, but rather “doing the will of God” that is desired.
And what is the will of God? That’s what the entire Good News is all about. It’s all about love of God and love of neighbor. About hospitality to strangers. About all who come as visitors into our lives. Yes, there are the visitors we know and the ones we do not know. We tend to help all kinds of visitors in our lives during the season of Advent. And it is right that we do make a special effort at this time of year. But it is equally important to recognize that there are hungry people every day of the year and not just during the days between Thanksgiving and December 25th. It might be easier if gift-giving and hospitality were entirely concentrated on one day a year and we could forget about other people for the remaining three-hundred-sixty-four days.
Yes, when Mary arrived on her doorstep, Elizabeth could have said: “There’s a marvelous inn here in town. I’ll pay for you to stay there.” But instead, Elizabeth opened up her home to this young girl; a place where Mary stayed for three months. Now I am not suggesting that visitors in our homes continue to stay beyond the holiday season; but what if they would? When a visitor stays with us for an extended time, certain accommodations must be made. There must be differences in how we would spend our daily life.
Although many visitors enter and leave our lives, perhaps we are called to make one particular visitor a permanent resident in our life. Accommodating, making room, changing our lives for this one visitor would make it infinitely easier to accommodate other visitors throughout the entire year.
For some people, Jesus as the Christ-child, is only a temporary guest. As quickly after December 25th as possible, he is put away with the strings of lights and all of the decorations. But what if this visitor were to become a permanent resident within us? What accommodations would need to be made if he is to live in our lives on a daily basis? What changes would need to be made if Jesus is not merely a visitor, but a permanent member of the family? How do I prepare for this radical change?
For an approach to an answer, perhaps we need to return to our earlier reflection on Elizabeth and her hospitality, her going beyond her own concerns and her welcoming Mary and the child she carried. Elizabeth did not do it alone. The Holy Spirit came to her and enabled her to recognize the Christ-child within her visitor.
● The Holy Spirit enables us to see the Jesus within others.
● The Holy Spirit enables us to see the Jesus within ourselves.
● The Holy Spirit enables us to have Jesus the Christ as a permanent resident and not just a once-a-year visitor.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit remains with us as we continue to prepare for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us.
Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 24, 2000
Micah 5:1-4; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45