Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 6, 2020
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
When I first started to reflect on this gospel reading, I noticed that this is the very beginning of the Gospel of Mark, chapter one, verse one. I didn’t know that before. I always think of the story of Jesus’ birth as the beginning of the Gospel message or the famous “In the beginning was the Word…” verse from the Gospel of John. But I learned that Mark starts the story of Jesus right here, with John the Baptist.
This is very meaningful for me as I meditate on the season of Advent. I was thinking about the nativity of Jesus as the beginning of the story but, in Advent, that is actually the goal of our preparation, not the start of it. In light of this, it is appropriate to consider John the Baptist as the central figure of Advent. He is the one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight his paths.” That is what Advent is all about.
That thought led me to a further realization: John’s message in announcing the Messiah is all about “repentance and the forgiveness of sins.” I often overlook this aspect of the season of Advent. How can we prepare for the coming of the Lord without repentance? How can we welcome the one who forgives our sins if we haven’t done the work of reckoning with our own sinfulness? We usually think about Lent as the time for this type of spiritual discipline, but it is certainly just as important for Advent.
As I enter more fully into the season of Advent, I need to resolve to “make straight his path” in my life by examining my sins and striving for true repentance. God’s promise is that this spiritual discipline will be rewarded with the full joy of Jesus’ birth at Christmas.
Prayer
Gracious Father, we ask forgiveness for sins of pride, which shut us off from the knowledge of you. Grant us the grace of humility, which alone enables us to see you, hear you, and experience you every day. Instead of forming you in our image and likeness, may we become the person you created us to be. Generations of prophets and kings have longed to experience you and know you, but you hand yourself to us in your Word and in the Eucharist. May we hold you close. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Nicholas is one of the most-loved and venerated saints in our tradition and is reportedly one of the most commonly painted saints. He was bishop of Myra, a city in what is now Turkey during the Church's turbulent fourth century. Legends of his life have filled in the large gaps in historical knowledge about his life.
One of the most famous stories celebrates Nicholas' generous gift-giving. Nicholas' parents died when he was young and left him with a large inheritance. Nicholas resolved to use the money for charitable works and learned of a man who had fallen into poverty. This man had three daughters, but because he could not support them nor provide a dowry for their marriage, he was going to sell them into slavery.
Nicholas learned of this family’s situation and, under the cover of darkness, tossed a bag of gold through the family’s window. The oldest daughter was soon married. The saint returned and performed the same act of kindness for the second daughter. When he approached to help the youngest daughter, the man was waiting for him and when he recognized Nicholas, he was overwhelmed with gratitude, prostrating himself before the bishop in thanks.
After being chosen as bishop of Myra, Nicholas was imprisoned and tortured during the persecutions of Christians in the early fourth century. When the Christian emperor Constantine released Christians from prison, Nicholas returned to Myra, where he confronted pagans and those who distorted the faith among the people in his region.
According to tradition, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicea in 325, which established Christ as truly one in being with the Father, not a subordinate deity. Legend has it that Nicholas became so infuriated with Arius, who opposed the idea that Christ was fully equal to the Father—"there was a time when the Son was not," as his rallying cry went—that Nicholas slapped him across the face.
Because, for a long while, Nicholas was the only major saint located with his particular region of Turkey, there was fierce competition for his relics among the towns near Myra, and his remains were transported from town to town. The reliquary chapel in the Basilica, which, indeed, holds some relics of St. Nicholas, contains a stained glass image of his relics being transferred to Italy, where they putatively rest today. A recent discovery, however, shows that his body has returned to Turkey. Today's featured image shows St. Nicholas as bishop and comes from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus.
St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Russia and Greece and is also the patron saint of children and newlyweds. Catholics in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands developed the custom of giving presents in his name on today, his feast day. Catholics still put out their shoes for sacks of gold coins, candies, or small gifts. Eventually, this practice of giving gifts on St. Nicholas Day grew into our contemporary American custom of giving gifts on Christmas Day.
St. Nicholas, whose generosity has inspired Christians for ages—pray for us!
To learn even more about Saint Nicholas, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
Image Credit: Italian, Portrait of a Figure Wearing a Mitre; Saint Nicholas, 18th century, pencil on laid paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, Gift of Luigi Gregori, AA1972.031.169.