Shawn The Baptist - Sunday Scriptures

Discover the unique relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary as spouse of the Holy Spirit and the qualities of married love.

A Date With History

In the ancient world, years were often reckoned according to the reign of the current leader. The current year might be given as "The 7th year of the reign of Octavian" or "The 8th year of Augustus". For the past 2000 years, we have derived our calendar year from the birthof Jesus. Our readings today prophesy about this event that would so change the understanding of God that his title and even the calendar would have to change as a result. Despite attempts to remove Jesus from our culture and our calendar, his birth remains single most important event in history, the date on which God became man.

A Star to Guide Our Way

Today's first reading tells of the little known prophet Balaam. He is best known for his prophecy foretelling that "A star shall advance from Jacob." This prophecy is often interpreted as referring in part to the star of Bethlehem seen at the birth of Jesus. The readings today remind us that God has a plan for all of history. If we are going to find fulfilment and happiness then we need to conform our lives to that plan. We need to follow the star.

A change of mind leading to a change in action. That is what we are called to do this Advent, to think differently so as to act differently.

Being in Tune with God

The Gospel today speaks of children who are upset because people aren't dancing along with the various tunes they are playing. Society plays many tunes for us and often we do in fact dance right along without giving much thought. It's just easier to go with the flow and do what everyone else is doing. If we refuse we get singled out like those mentioned in the Gospel. Yet, this is what we are called to do. Let's be careful who's music we're following. Let's try to stay in tune with God.

Catholic Predestination

We might think of predestination as a Calvinist idea that rightly no Christian could hold. While this is true of Calvin's and many Protestant understandings of predestination, there is a clear teaching on predestination that Christians can find acceptable. Our readings speak of this today. God has predestined each of us for holiness. We were made to be with him forever in heaven. We celebrate Mary's immaculate conception today as a sign of what we are all called to be. We are all called to be free from sin. This is the gift given us in baptism and restored in the sacrament of penance. Withe the Blessed Mother as our example let us all realize our common destiny, to be holy and to be with God forever in heaven.

A Little Help From Our Friends

Today Jesus shows us in the Gospel that he has the power to forgive sins. He also shows us that sometimes we need a little help getting to the point of forgiveness. The man int he Gospel is paralyzed and it is the faith of his friends that brings about his healing. We all need to be forgiven, to be healed, but we don't have to do this alone. St. Ambrose is a great example of a friend who helped bring many people to know Jesus. His most famous convert is the great St. Augustine. Who are the people in our lives who have helped us come to know Jesus? Who do we need to reach out to and help? With a little help from our friends, and God's grace, we can do a lot more than just get by.

This season can become so busy with all the extra things we add. What we need is to slow down, take time for prayer, and simplify our lives.

Following Jesus Even When We're Blind

Today's Gospel tells of two blind men who, despite not being able to see, are described as "following" Jesus as he passes by and then "approaching" him when he goes inside. Have you even thought how difficult that must have been? We all go through periods of darkness in our lives when it seems hard to see Jesus. We know Jesus is there, but the situation is so difficult or God seems so far away that it's like we're blind. The men in the Gospel give us a great example today. When things are difficult and it's hard to see, we've got to keep going and keep following and approaching Jesus. After all, we walk by faith and not by sight. A little blindness now and then can be a great opportunity to strengthen our faith.

Taking the Gospel to Scotland and Beyond

St. Andrew is best known in the Gospels as being the brother of St. Peter. He is in fact the one who introduces Peter to Jesus according to St. John's Gospel. We know very little else about St. Andrew, but we do know that he gave his life in witness to Christ, probably on this day in A.D. 60. It is said that, like his brother, he felt unworthy to be crucified after the manner of Our Lord, so he was crucified on a cross in the shape of an 'X' as opposed to the familiar 'T'. This cross has come to be known as the St. Andrew's Cross. St. Andrew is also the patron of Scotland whose flag bears his cross. In the early Middle Ages, the relics of the saint were taken to Scotland, the "end of the earth" at the time, to keep them safe. Since that time, St. Andrew has been helping keep the faith in Scotland safe. We pray that he may inspire us to continue to take the Gospel to the "end of the earth" in our day. That might even mean to members of our family. Maybe we too have a "brother" who needs to hear about Jesus.