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There and Back Again: A Christmas Tale by Michael Underfoot

Concerning Michael
I like to be in the center of the action - which often leads me to the kitchen where all the adults are gathered - so my Papa and Uncles started calling me "Michael Underfoot."  I can claim connections with two important families of the Shire/Breeland: the Proudfoots and the Underhills.

Chapter 1: Feast of St. Nicholas
To celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th we shared our stocking gifts.  Daddy had to open mine - I wasn't quite sure what my crazy parents were trying to get me to do.  But once I discovered the rainbow goldfish I was very happy!

Chapter 2: Lincoln
I was SO excited to go see Grandma and Grandpa in Lincoln that I tried to ship myself there a little early.  It didn't work, so I had to wait until Mama and Daddy were done with work and we could all drive out together.

Grandma and Grandpa have some great toys.  One of my favorites was this shape-sorter - and they even let me take it home with me!  I love putting all the shapes in (with a little bit of help so I know where they go) over and over (and over and over and over...).  Sometimes after the fourth or fifth time in a row I Mama distracts me and then it disappears... I think she hides it so she can have a break.

Another favorite toy was the doorstop.  Nobody minded when I played with it, but they didn't seem to approve when I tried to eat it.  Grandpa caught me here...

The Christmas donkey tasted almost as good as the doorstop.

I spent a lot of time in baby-jail (as opposed to puppy-jail, which was on the other side of the gate).  I don't know why - the stairs were very fun.

The dishwasher had the best buttons!

Sometimes I crack myself up.

Chapter 3: Aunt Dene' & Uncle Tyler

I got in some quality time with Uncle Ty watching the many (many, many) bowl games.  He's such a great uncle - he even let me have the remote (after he disabled it... but I just wanted to press buttons, I didn't care if the buttons did anything!).

I also got some great cuddles and playtime with Aunt Dene'.  She is SO much fun!

I also had a lot of fun playing with Aunt Dene' & Uncle Ty's dog, Frannie.  She was great to play with, until she decided to lick my face - I'm not such a fan of having my face licked.

Chapter 4: Grandma and Grandpa
It was wonderful to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa.  They sure love me an awful lot!!!

Grandpa took me outside and helped me climb the big tree.

I taught Grandpa how to play cards.  This is one of my favorite games!

I love my Grandma!

Especially when she feeds me lunch!

Chapter 5: Christmas!
This was the best Christmas EVER!  Okay, so it was my only Christmas ever, but even so it was pretty awesome.

Grandma made me an amazing stocking (and it was easier to get stuff out of it this time around).  

Grandma and Grandpa also got me a super cool firetruck. 

 But in all honesty the best part about presents was the ribbon.  I just know someone was waiting to steal my ribbon - but I wasn't going to let that happen!

Can't you see how cool this stuff is?!

The End.

Advent Reflections IV

One final (belated!) reflection as we prepare to celebrate this joyous feast of Christmas!  Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121811.cfm.

"Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2 Sam 7:16).  You can't "out-give" God - as David surely realized when he expressed his desire to build a house for God and was told instead that God would turn David's line (bayit, "house" in Hebrew) into an everlasting royal dynasty.  True to his word, as long as there is a king in Judah that king is a descendant of David.  Fourteen generations later the Babylonian exile strikes a devastating - but not fatal - blow to the kingdom and especially to the royal line.  When the exiles are allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple under king Cyrus of Persia they do so under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a descendant of David.  At this point the Davidic line goes underground, so to speak, and the identity of the heir to the throne is no longer public knowledge - or at least it is no longer recorded in Scripture.  So the next time you are sitting in Mass listening to the beginning of the gospel of Matthew (this very Christmas Eve, if you get the long version of the gospel reading) and the priest or deacon is rattling off that list of tongue-twisting names, imagine the shock and excitement of a first century Jew hearing that genealogy: "And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel" - so far so good, this is well-known history - "and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim..." (Matt 1:12-13 RSV).  What?!  God really is faithful - the line continued, and there is no longer any question who the rightful ruler of Israel is: "and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ" (Matt 1:16).

That's all well and good, you might say, and it's nice to know that those genealogies aren't included just to trip Father up while he's proclaiming the gospel - but Joseph is only Jesus' foster father, and so shouldn't we be more concerned with Mary's genealogy if we're going to try to establish Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy to David in 2 Samuel 7?  There is a tradition that Mary is also of the royal line, but although Joseph is not Jesus' biological father his genealogy is of primary importance in this case.  Joseph is the legal heir of the Davidic throne, as evidenced by the genealogy in Matthew 1, and Jesus is his legal son - therefore Jesus is the legal heir of the throne, regardless of Mary's lineage.

This beautiful fulfillment of the promise to David in Christ Jesus is part of the "revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings" to which St. Paul refers at the end of his letter to the Romans (16:25-26).

All of this explains how the angel Gabriel is able to tell Mary that Jesus will receive "the throne of David his father" in this Sunday's gospel (Luke 1:32).  As the mother of the new king, Mary holds the royal office of giberah, or Queen Mother.  Gabriel honors her in his greeting and calls her κεχαριτωμενη (kecharitomene) in the Greek; the RSV and NAB translate this as "full of grace," but the verb tense is past perfect, which makes the literal translation "one who has been and continues to be graced."  This verse provides an important foundation for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: that Mary was conceived without original sin and remained sinless throughout her life (by the power of God and the saving sacrifice of Christ working back in history, not by her own merit - an important distinction!).

Another key Marian doctrine with a foundation in this passage is the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity.  The Church teaches that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ.  Mary herself gives us a clue concerning this in her reply to Gabriel's announcement that she would have a son.  Mary responds, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" (Luke 1:34).  St. Luke has already told us that Mary is betrothed to Joseph (1:27).  Our modern concept of betrothal is that of an engagement: a plan to marry, but not yet a marriage.  However, in the first century Jewish world marriage was a two-step process.  The first step was betrothal, which was essentially the marriage without the wife going to live in her husband's home.  For a husband and wife to consummate their marriage during this period may have been looked down upon, but it would not have been unheard of.  For Gabriel to tell an engaged woman that she would bear a son at some point in the future would not have been surprising; to give the same message to a woman who was essentially already married should not have elicited a response of "how can this be?"  Mary's response only makes sense if she was not planning on having relations with her husband.  This supports the tradition that Mary had made a vow of perpetual virginity.

This passage also echoes the theme of God's house in the language about the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary - this is the same language used when God's presence descends on the Tabernacle in the wilderness and on the Temple in Jerusalem.  This points to Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant.  The original Ark contained a jar of manna (bread from heaven), the tablets of the law (God's word), and Aaron's budding staff (priestly authority).  For nine months Mary carried in her womb the true Bread come down from heaven, the incarnate Word, and the new and eternal High Priest.

To end I'll leave you with the last verse of my new favorite Advent/Christmas song, A Messenger to Mary Came (full lyrics here: http://www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com/Portals/0/Member_Christmas2.pdf, I also highly recommend the CD!):

With that, the angel parted thence
And Mary wondered in her heart;
'As God in his benevolence
Has chosen me to play this part,
So let me follow undeterred
According to the Father's word,
And show him right obedience.'

Have a merry, blessed Christmas!!!

Advent Reflections III

I'm pretending this isn't over a week late... or pretending that some deeper significance about waiting can be drawn out of a very belated reflection...

The readings for the Third Sunday of Advent can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121111.cfm.  This third Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word meaning "rejoice."  In the midst of this penitential season of Advent we take this day to rejoice that our hope is near - it is almost Christmas, but also as we await the second coming of our Lord we rejoice that He is ever present with us in the Eucharist.

The first reading for this Sunday is another thrilling reading from Isaiah.  It is also one of the easiest Old Testament prophecies for which to pinpoint a fulfillment in the New Testament: in Luke 4:16-30 Jesus reads this passage from Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth and tells us point blank, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21 RSV).  This passage proclaims a Jubilee year - the time legislated in Leviticus 25 to be celebrated ever fiftieth year to remind the Israelites of the freedom granted them in the Exodus and to prevent them from being reduced to the kind of slavery they experienced in Egypt.  The failure to observe the Jubilee year was one of the reasons the kingdom of Judah suffered the Exile (cf. Jer 34:8-22), and so this prophecy from Isaiah about the coming messiah (anointed one) who would proclaim the Jubilee year (year of the Lord's favor) offered much-needed hope.  Jesus initiates the ultimate Jubilee, freeing us from the bondage of sin and death.

In the second reading St. Paul talks gives the Thessalonians - and us - some much-needed advice for waiting. The Thessalonians excelled in the virtues of faith and love (cf. 2 Thess 1:4), but they needed some counseling in the area of hope.  In this passage St. Paul tells them how they are to conduct themselves in waiting and hoping for the return of Christ.  As we rejoice in the presence of Christ with us, prepare to celebrate his birth, and continue to wait and hope for his second coming, this counsel guides our behavior as well.  We are living in the messianic jubilee, but that is an exhortation to vigilance rather than a free pass to do what we will.  We too must continue to pray, give thanks, discern the good, and avoid evil.  All of this is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

The gospel sounds like an echo of the previous week's gospel as we hear John's account of the ministry of John the Baptist.  This passage gives a beautiful picture of the Baptist's humility as he is questioned concerning his identity but shifts the focus from himself to "the one who is coming after me" (John 1:27).  However, one of his answers can be a little confusing.  The priests and Levites ask John if he is Elijah because the last prophecy they received was a promise from the Lord that he would send Elijah before the coming of the messiah (Malachi 4:5).  So when John the Baptist appears at the Jordan River - the last place where Elijah was seen before being taken up to heaven - dressed in the same type of clothing as Elijah, eating the same type of food as Elijah, proclaiming the same type of message of repentance as Elijah - the Jews have good reason for thinking that Malachi's prophecy may be fulfilled, and the arrival of the messiah may be imminent.  Jesus himself says that John was Elijah (Matt 11:14, 17:12-13).  Why then does John deny that he is Elijah when he is asked?  A clue may be found in Luke's gospel.  The archangel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his son John will "go before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).  Clearly John is being associated with Elijah in fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy, but he is also clearly not Elijah in a literal sense.  John may be responding to an assumption of his questioners that Elijah himself will literally return, therefore he answers that he is not Elijah.

This third Sunday of Advent is also an opportunity to remember an important liturgical fact: real men wear rose :)

Advent Reflections II

Better late than never :)  Readings for the second Sunday of Advent: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120411.cfm

One of my favorite things about Advent is all of the readings from Isaiah - and this Sunday's readings include one of my favorite passages.  I love the opening words of this Sunday's first reading from Isaiah: "Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God" (40:1).  I get a thrill every time I hear this verse.  This is truly one of those "life verses" that jumps right out of the Bible and speaks directly to me - a reminder that the Bible is indeed God's love letter to me.  But even more important than the moral sense of my own comfort are the literal and allegorical senses of this passage.  Isaiah has just spent the past 39 chapters informing the kingdom of Judah of their impending exile as a consequence of their sin and lack of repentance; this first section is often called the Book of Woes, as it is full of Judah's unfaithfulness to God.  But chapter 40 takes a new tone and offers comfort (giving chapters 40-66 the name of the Book of Consolations): God will not abandon Judah, even though they have broken the covenant.  God will remember his promise to his people and send them a savior - Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who will feed his flock and gather and lead us with care.

The second reading, from the second letter of St. Peter, is an elaboration on this comfort promised by Isaiah: "The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard 'delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (3:9).  So many times in my life it has seemed like God was indeed delaying his promise.  But just as God did not delay his fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy of salvation but rather waited for the fullness of time in which to deliver his people, so also in my life God's blessings come in his perfect time, not mine.  Surely Israel would have been thrilled to receive the messiah when they returned from exile in Babylon instead of waiting another five centuries, but although that would have been a good, it would not have been God's best.  The messiah was to come not only to save and lead Israel but to gather all the nations into the worship of the one true God.  And so in the fullness of time Jesus came and founded his Church, in the midst of an empire that would facilitate the spread of the gospel and an intellectual tradition that had reached as high as the human mind could on its own.

This reading includes a slightly confusing statement: "conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (3:12).  Wait... we can make Jesus return sooner?  In a certain sense... yes!  St. Peter gives the reasoning behind this in the verse quoted above: "he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (3:9b).  Conducting ourselves in "holiness and devotion" hastens the "coming of the day of God" because God desires that "all should come to repentance."  While it can be easy to look at how broken our world is and to think that the end has to be near (how much worse will God let things get before He returns?!), this passage from 2 Peter instead indicates a different way of looking at it: the sooner we allow God's grace to transform our own lives and invite our family and friends to allow Him to transform their lives, the sooner Christ will return.

The gospel reading from Mark gives us a picture of just what kind of messiah God has sent for our comfort and salvation.  After a lengthy description (for the concise St. Mark) of John the Baptist identifying him as the new Elijah (promised in Malachi 4:5, the last prophetic word in the Old Testament), John states that "One mightier than I is coming after me.  I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals" (Mark 1:7).  This statement gives us insight into the humility of the Baptist and the dignity of Christ, but it also goes further.  The Greek word which both the NAB and RSV translate as "worthy" is hikanos - which more specifically means "sufficient."  To quote my Greek professor, the rugged John the Baptist, dressed in camel hair and eating locust (something even the toughest men I know would probably rather avoid), is saying "I am not man enough to even untie the sandal of the messiah."  What does this tell us about Jesus?  Well, basically that The Passion of the Christ is a better depiction than Jesus Christ Superstar - but you don't need to know Greek to figure that out!

Come, Lord Jesus!

Not in line with John the Baptist's statement...
or much of anything Scriptural... catchy tunes, though!
(credit: http://www.religionfacts.com/jesus/images/jesus-christ-superstar.jpg)