Sunday Meditation: The Signs Point to Jesus

This Sunday we come to a new liturgical year, the year of St. Luke’s Gospel, Year C in the calendar, and with it comes Advent.  In Year A, the key words for the first Sunday of Advent was “Stay awake,” and in Year B “Be watchful,” but in Year C we could discern the key words to be “There will be signs.”  These signs point to one thing, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ and His coming.

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,

and on earth nations will be in dismay,

perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

People will die of fright

in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man

coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

But when these signs begin to happen,

stand erect and raise your heads

because your redemption is at hand.

 

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy

from carousing and drunkenness

and the anxieties of daily life,

and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

For that day will assault everyone

who lives on the face of the earth.

Be vigilant at all times

and pray that you have the strength

to escape the tribulations that are imminent

and to stand before the Son of Man.”

~Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

I’m going to have three videos for you today to fully grasp Advent and the importance of signs in today’s Gospel reading.  First, Dr. Brant Pitre explains Advent.

So consider as Dr. Pitre explains an Advent penitential exercise. 

Dr. Scott Hahn has a free Advent series that you can sign up for, and his introductory video further expands on Dr. Pitre’s explanation of Advent, and certainly worthy of watching.

 

So Christ’s coming is actually threefold.  This coming is not just at Christmas, nor just at the end of times, but every day with being in His presence.  You can sign up for Dr. Hahn’s the free course here.  

Finally to understand what the “signs” signify, Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P. from the Encyclopedia Catholic Theology explains it.

If you didn’t quite catch it, Fr. Cajetan said, “So in the context of ominous signs, our Lord calls us to heed Himself, from ominous signs to the salvific reality and identity of Jesus, the Son of Man…”  That is quite an observation.  The signs are important but ultimately the reality of Jesus is the more important thing. 

 

Sunday Meditation: "Pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

 

The Piano Guys have a great rendition on Piano and Cello of “O Come O Come Emanuel.”

 

Have blessed Advent.

Sunday Meditation: The Transfiguration in Matthew

In today’s Gospel, we encounter a theophany, God making Himself manifest in the Transfiguration, and as Dr. Scott Hahn says below one of the most undervalued feasts in the Catholic calendar.  First the passage.

 

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,

and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them;

his face shone like the sun

and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,

conversing with him.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,

"Lord, it is good that we are here.

If you wish, I will make three tents here,

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, behold,

a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,

then from the cloud came a voice that said,

"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;

listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate

and were very much afraid.

But Jesus came and touched them, saying,

"Rise, and do not be afraid."

And when the disciples raised their eyes,

they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

 

As they were coming down from the mountain,

Jesus charged them,

"Do not tell the vision to anyone

until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

~Mt 11:1-9

 

First, Dr, Brant Pitre breaks the passage down line by line.  How brilliant is this.

 

I have been trying to get an exegesis from Dr. Scott Hahn for a while.  So I am giving you two this Sunday, but Hahn’s explanation focuses more on why the Transfiguration is important while Pitre’s explains the connections with the Old Testament.  Here is Dr. Hahn’s.

 

Now in my study of this passage, a particular verse struck me that perhaps I never noticed before, and I have read this passage many times.  Let’s offer that verse up for meditation.

 

Meditation:

“But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid."

Can you imagine Jesus touching you?  If this passage is also a foreshadowing of our resurrection, I assume Jesus will touch us at that moment.  It is good to think on it.  I can almost feel it!