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Pastor's Meanderings 10 – 11 December 2016 Third Sunday

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Pastor's Meanderings 10 – 11 December 2016 Third Sunday PASTOR’S MEANDERINGS 10 – 11 DECEMBER 2016 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT GAUDATE SUNDAY STEWARDSHIP: Each of us has his or her own role to play in the coming of the kingdom of God. John the Baptist was called to be the herald of the Messiah, preparing the way of the Lord. To what is the Lord calling me? St. Teresa of Avila “Patient endurance attaineth to all things.” READINGS FOR FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 18 DEC ‘16 Is. 7:10-16: King Ahaz of Judah, one of the successors to David and a king who is beset on all sides by enemies and would-be conquerors, is challenged by the prophet Isaiah who holds out a word of hope: ‘The maiden is with child and will give birth to a son… Immanuel, a name which means “god-is-with-us’. That prophecy finds it eventual fulfilment at Bethlehem. Rom. 1:1-7: Paul is writing to relatively new Christians without much background in the Jewish scriptures, trying to introduce them to the character of Jesus as one who has long been predicted to come as the ‘Son of God.’ Mt. 1:18-25: Matthew takes Isaiah’s words about the Lord’s sign to the people that God would always be with them – a child named Immanuel – and applies them to the coming birth of Jesus. St. Athanasius of Alexandria “He became what we are that He might make us what He is.” ICON AT ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH THE VIRGIN OF THE SIGN Figures with hand raised in prayer, the “Orans” pose, date from earliest Christian art and even before. Icons of Mary in this pose were first painted sometime in the 4th cent. An example, including the Savior on her breast but without a surrounding medallion, may be found in the Roman catacomb of ”Cimitero Majore.” The medallion of Christ Immanuel as we see it here dates from the 9th cent., inspired by a custom of the Byzantine imperial court. Empresses and other court dignitaries wore embroidered emblems of the emperor on their chests as signs of his supreme authority. The particular source that our iconographer used for this pattern is a famous Russian icon from the city of Yaroslavl now preserved in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. It is variously called “The Virgin of the Sign of Yaroslavl” or “The Great Panaghia” (all holy). It was commissioned by Constantine the Wise for the cathedral in Yaroslavl sometime around the time of its dedication in 1215. Theology and Symbolism “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name Him Immanuel.” This icon is the visualization of this familiar passage from Isaiah chapter 7 which is the first reading on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, next week. Gold leaf is used on her halo and that of Jesus to express unearthly light, the divine origin of sanctity. Greek letters are inscribed on the background. “ICXC” is an abbreviation for Jesus Christ, Iesous Khristos. “MPOY” is an abbreviation for Mother of God, Meter Theou. Jesus is present to us as Christ Immanuel, portrayed as a youth rather than as a baby. His halo is inscribed with a cross and the Greek letters omicron, omega, nu, spelling “HO ON.” In English, this becomes “Who Am,” the name used for God in Exodus 3:14. His forehead is very broad, symbolic of great spiritual strength. He is wearing a cloak called in Greek a himation. The cloth is woven with gold thread, symbolic of His divine dignity and royalty. The embroidered yoke on His tunic is a Russian touch. Jesus is surrounded by a circle called a mandorla. Mary wears a homophorion, or a combined veil and mantle over her dress. The dress features nice Russian embroidered cuffs. The homophorion is adorned with three stars on the head and shoulders. These are symbolic of Mary’s perpetual virginity; before, during, and after her Son’s birth. In 431 AD, the Council of Ephesus officially declared that Mary is the Theotokos, or “God Bearer,” she who provides the vital link between the divinity of God and humanity. Two angels carrying the Holy Eucharist marked with a cross complete the design: “Behold the Lamb of God! Behold Him who comes to take away the sins of the world!” SAINT OF THE WEEK OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE 12 DEC As I was writing this week’s Meanderings I began to consider the importance of the coinciding of two significant Marian feasts with the mid-point of this Advent Season; it sometimes takes a while for the quarter to drop. Thursday we celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the U.S. and Monday we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe the patroness of the Americas. In both cases, these two aspects, images of Mary, and in the prayers woven through the liturgies celebrated we are called to celebrate the joy associated with Gaudete Sunday. Not because we are half way through Advent and closer to Christmas; but, because we are called to share in the joy that permeated Mary’s acceptance of her role in bringing God’s Son into the world, providing His divinity with her humanity, her flesh so that He could share our life and brings the Father’s revelation to its fullness. In both aspects of who she is Mary continually points the way to Jesus Christ and in the process challenges us to model her total commitment to her Son through our own dedication. This title refers to the apparition and icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, considered as the empress, patron saint, and mother of the Americas. The first apparitions took place between December 9 and 12 of 1531 in Tepeyac, a poor area on the periphery of Mexico City. She appeared to the Amerindian Juan Diego, then to his dying uncle Juan Bernardino (whom she healed), and finally, miraculously printed on the mantle (tilma) of Juan Diego, to the bishop and others present. The icon remains in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac; where millions from the Americas and around the world go on pilgrimage every year. Scientific investigations have attested to the authenticity of the cloth and to the unexplainable nature of the painting. Many miracles continue to be attributed to the Virgin, yet the greatest is the ongoing response of the people. In order to appreciate the full religious impact of Guadalupe, it is necessary to situate it historically and anthropologically. Historical Background: The devastating and unequal encounter in the early sixteenth century between the European and native American world was a violent and devastating clash between two vastly different cultures represented by the empire of Christian Spain and the Aztec Nahuatls of Central America. The culture of the former was based on the anthropology of reason, individual struggle, and conquest while that of the latter was based on the anthropology of ritual, cosmic communion, and submission to the gods. Both relied on violence to achieve their aims; the Spanish in order to conquer and suppress the native population to acquire the land and to reap profits from the natural resources; the Aztecs performed human sacrifice for the sake of cosmic harmony. Militarily, the Spanish proved to be more advanced in technology and power than the Amerindians and no compromise between the two worlds seemed possible or desirable. With the bloody defeat of the Aztec Empire in 1521, the entire native population of Central America was in effect was dominated. The conquered had no option but to submit or die and their population due to introduced disease was drastically decreasing. At this moment of collective death the totally unsuspected event of Guadalupe took place at Tepeyac. For the defeated peoples of the Americas, it functioned as a resurrection event - no longer victory7 or defeat but the birth of a new people. Some may argue about what really happened at Tepeyac in 1531, but there is no doubt about its phenomenal effects: the Mestizo Church of the Americas was born. The Apparition: Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl, with its rich religious imagery, but her message was new both to the native population as well as to the Spanish. The Aztecs had demanded human sacrifice and the missioners had spoken of judgment, punishment, and eternal damnation, but she spoke to Juan Diego of love, compassion, and hospitality. She presented herself to Juan Diego as the Mother of God, but Juan Diego in turn presented her to the bishop as the mother of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. In the depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, based on Juan Diego’s report of the apparition, she is neither a native goddess nor a European Madonna, but combines both in a new way. Her dress is European while the decorations on the dress are indigenous and her face is Mestizo. She appears very human but her whole self-radiates divinity. The mantle of the Lady is blue-green or turquoise. To the native people, this was the color of the gods and of royalty. It was also the color of the natural forces of life and fecundity. In Christian art, blue is symbolic of eternity and immortality. In Judaism, it was the color of the rode of the high priest. The limbus or gold border of her mantle is another sign of nobility. The color of the Madonna’s dress is rose or pale-red. Some have interpreted this as the color of dawn symbolizing the beginning of a new era.
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