Sunday reflections

When Jesus says he is the light of the world what do we make of it? Have we ever experienced this light? Or do we live somewhere between the darkness and the promise of it, perhaps too caught up in the light of our phones to see the people around us?

Breaking boundaries is not always a good thing! In fact, we do well, for the most part, to stay within the boundaries set by family, community, workplace, church and state. However, if we are to grow in our calling to be missionary disciples of Jesus, we need to realise that Jesus himself was not afraid to question prejudices and break boundaries when the mission requires it.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for God’s glory, ‘kabod’, signifies the glorious manifestation of his presence. When this happens, the normally unseen and imperfectly known God makes himself known to his people in a visible and tangible way.

Vast, bare and silent, the desert is a place of spare and rugged beauty. It is also very confronting: an arid, barren environment with extreme temperatures, searing heat by day and freezing cold by night.

Australians have long grumbled about the “nanny state.” We roll our eyes at tobacco excises, plain packaging laws, bicycle helmet requirements, and bans on advertising to kids. Yet, if we’re honest, no one lying in a hospital bed with lung cancer, managing type 2 diabetes, or recovering from a head fracture, ever mutters, “This wouldn’t have happened if the government had just stayed out of my business.”

According to a book called The Life of Francis of Assisi, Francis invited a young monk to join him on a trip to town to preach. Honoured to be given the invitation, the monk readily accepted. All day long he and Francis walked through the streets, byways, and alleys, and even into the suburbs.

In this liturgical year, Year A, we focus on readings from Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew writes towards the end of the first century AD, for a Christian community comprised of Jewish converts. In his gospel, he strives to demonstrate for them how Jesus is the fulfilment of the faith, hopes and promises of their Jewish faith, the fulfilment of all that is in “the law and the prophets” (Mt 5:17).

Galilee was no one’s idea of a place that could launch a ‘world changing movement’. Galilee’s history was not glorious. The readings this week refer to it as the “land of Naphtali”, which was one of the breakaway tribes of the Jewish people that formed the northern kingdom of Israel.

When Joseph learns that his young fiancée is pregnant, he must have been quite distressed. He probably thought that she had been unfaithful, had been attacked, or was delusional. He knows that the child is not his, so his long genealogy linking the family to David would be irrelevant. We can only imagine the confusion, hurt, and anger of this ‘man of honour’.

“Stay awake!” It’s not exactly the most comforting advice for people who might already be tired at the end of a long year – especially as we join the throngs flocking to shops for the usual Christmas spend-up. Yet that’s the cry that greets us on this first Sunday of Advent. The season opens not with tinsel and cheer, but with Jesus telling his disciples to be alert, watchful, and ready for something new.