A Blessed Harmony

A Blessed Harmony

Marital harmony is not a headline maker in the way that, sadly, marital disharmony is. Such negativity reflects, again sadly, the state of this and other western nations. Affluence does not automatically bring harmony.

It is fascinating that today’s Gospel extract has a wife accompanying her husband in the praise of God. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, had endured nine months of being without speech. He had questioned the veracity of the Archangel’s Gabriel’s message about becoming a father. When his wife Elizabeth gave birth to their son, Zechariah, overcome with joy and thanksgiving burst into speech praising God. We know his prayer as ‘The Benedictus’: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, He has visited his people” … It is used daily in the Morning Prayer of the Church.

When Elizabeth was well advanced in her pregnancy, her cousin Mary of Nazareth, herself now miraculously expecting, came to visit. The suggestion that Mary make that journey was implicit in the ‘Annunciation’ message that the Archangel Gabriel brought to Mary:
“The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
(Luke 1: 36-37)

Arriving at her cousin’s home, Mary was greeted by a complimentary inspired outburst from Elizabeth:
“Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1: 39ff)

The spontaneous complementarity of both husband and wife, Zechariah and Elizabeth, in praising God speaks volumes. For such spontaneous prayer to pour forth implies that both were deeply God-loving and prayerful people who had known deep suffering in their marital lives. Until she conceived John the Baptist in her past-childbearing age, Elizabeth was looked down upon as barren. For the Israelites then and now, childbearing is a privilege and a divine blessing because it ensures the continuance of the race of God’s ‘chosen people’ who have known such persecution over the centuries. Therefore, not to have had children would have been interpreted as sign of God’s disfavour, if not the couple’s sinfulness. We are not told, but Zechariah possibly had to run the gauntlet of disapproval whenever it was his turn to officiate at the Temple. Among women, Elizabeth too would have encountered critical, negative comment.

Remaining loyal to God in decades of emotional and physical hardship is a pilgrimage of faith. Zechariah and Elizabeth made that journey together. No doubt there were times when one or the other stumbled in their belief because of other people’s hard glances or words. Together they continued their pilgrimage until that day in the Temple when Zechariah heard the Archangel’s message.
His resulting silence now spoke for him. Elizabeth would not have needed his words to understand. Like long-term, close, loving married people each can know the thoughts of the other without words being exchanged. The discovery of her own utterly unexpected pregnancy would have required time for both she and her husband to adjust. Being told what was to happen and finding it actually happening are distinct steps along a pilgrim’s route.

By the time the newly pregnant Mary arrived, Elizabeth, at six months, would have acclimatised to the magnitude of God’s graciousness. To both Zechariah and Elizabeth’s lips, six months apart, came the word ‘Blessed’.
“To be blessed” historically means ‘to be favoured by God’. One of the first incidences of blessing in the Bible is in Genesis (12:1-2) where Abram – his name like his faith has yet to be expanded into the fullness of his relationship with God – is ordered by the Lord to leave his country and is told:
“I will bless you, I will make your name great.”
Blessings originate with and come directly from God. To bless another is to bestow on that person a wish that they may experience the favour of God in their life now and hereafter.
“May you have a blessed Christmas“, can be translated as: “May you experience the favour of God during this Christmas period and throughout the coming year.”

God’s blessing, his favour, can only come upon people who have opened themselves or are willing to be open themselves to receiving the grace to believe in God. This belief is not notional. For the believer, it must grow to become an integral part of each breath of each day. As you compose your thoughts for Christmas greetings to loved ones and friends, ask yourself – Does my choice of graphics and words convey my belief in God and my hope and prayer that this may also be true or become true for those who receive my greeting?

Parents have the most powerful blessing for their children.  Zechariah blessed his newborn son, named John as the angel instructed:
“As for you, little child,
you shall be called a prophet of God, the most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him.”

God nominates parents to be his personal representatives in nurturing the lives they bring into this world and eternity. If you are a parent do you bless your child(ren) daily? Do your children, whatever their age, hear your words of blessing as they feel your hand on their head? If you have blessed them from their infancy, this will have become one of their most treasured memories of your love. Cardinal Vincent Nichols recalls vividly, to this day, how, when he and his siblings were tucked up for the night, their mother would gently trace the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads and bless them. If your children are far from you, your blessing will be conveyed by the Holy Spirit.

A Biblical blessing that any believer can use is found in Numbers 6: 24-26. It is a priestly blessing and so can be used by members of the priesthood of the Baptised laity as well as those who have received the Sacrament of Order:
May the Lord bless you, and keep you;
May the Lord make His countenance shine upon you,
 and be gracious to you;
May the Lord turn His countenance to you and grant you peace.

What must we do?

In today’s Gospel  (Luke 3: 10-18) John the Baptist tells various groups of people the works of justice and charity they must do in order to prepare for the Lord’s coming and to escape His searching judgment.

Being a very practical man, he gave them  down-to-earth advice.
He said to all:  “Share your surplus food and clothes with the starving and the naked”
To tax collectors he said:  “Do not rob the people.  Just collect what you are entitled to and no more.”
To soldiers he said:  “Do not abuse your power.  Do not intimidate people, or use violence against them.”

Christianity is a very practical religion.
The foundation of everything is of course our relationship with the Father in and through Christ His Son.
To strengthen and deepen this relationship we need prayer.
Sadly, however, it could happen that it all ends there.  It does not flow over into our ordinary lives and show itself in the way we treat other people.
Without this second dimension, religion is little better than smoke without fire; or blossoms without fruit.
Yes indeed – Faith without good works is dead.

How will Christ come to us at Christmas?
Yes, of course, He comes bearing gifts a–plenty for the asking.   Ask and you shall receive.

But, He also comes in disguise – and at the oddest of times, and wearing all sorts of disguises.
Do I recognise Him in the stranger or even in the nuisance I know, who disturbs my routine in quest for something quite trivial to my way of thinking?  How do I treat this seeming “pain-in-the-neck”!
Are there people  whom I exclude – avoiding their company like the plague?

In my conversations, am I inclined to find fault with others who are not present to defend themselves, perhaps even
unjustly maligning their character by spreading false rumours about them?  Am I judgmental?
In short, am I really Christ-like in my dealings with others?!

On this Rejoicing Sunday, let us now look at some practical ways  in which we might aim at being Christ-like.
Taking the Beatitudes as our guide, we must surely be able to give a positive tick to some of the following:-

I was hungry for a smile and you smiled at me.
I was hungry for a word of encouragement and you praised me.
I was hungry for a word of appreciation and you thanked me.

I was thirsty for a word of recognition and you took notice of me.
I was thirsty for a sign of friendship and you wrote me a letter.
I was thirsty for a little companionship and you stopped to chat with me.

I was a stranger and you made me feel welcome.
I was a young  person from a bad area, and you gave me a job.
I was socially inferior to you but by your acceptance you built me up.

I was naked for the want of self-worth, but you covered me with esteem.
I was naked for the loss of my good name through an untrue story, and you clothed me with the garment of truth.

I was sick with doubt and worry, and with your cheerful attitude you lightened my burden.
I was wounded by failure and disappointment  and with your understanding and support you healed me.
I was in a prison of nerves, or loneliness or guilt, and through your calm, friendship, or forgiveness you
released me from my bondage.

St. Paul in the second reading tells us:
“The Lord is very near, so there is no need to worry    If you need anything, pray for it.”