Father Denny Dempsey

Epiphany B January 4, 2009

Gospel, Matthew 2:1-12

  The Magi were not themselves kings but, rather, a priestly group who sought knowledge from every imaginable source (the word “magic” is derived from their practices)and the ability to apply that knowledge to predict and prepare for the future. One of those sources of information came from watching the stars. According to the popular cosmology of the time, people believed the earth to be covered by a dome, across which God or gods caused the heavenly bodies to move in patterns thought to contain coded messages. Such was the logic behind astrology. From a science acceptable in our day, astronomers tell us that in 6 B.C. Magi in the region of Assyria and Babylonia would have been able to see Jupiter (which represented royalty) pass through Aries (representative of the Jewish people, perhaps due to their history as shepherds). The Magi would have interpreted this as a divine sign of the birth of a great Jewish king. On reporting their findings, their own king may have sent them as his representatives bearing gifts, a common way from kings of past to build alliances and secure peaceful relations.

King Herod ruled as King of Judah from 37 to his death in 4 B.C. Tyrannical and suspicious to the point of paranoia, he had all actual and presumed opposition eliminated including his wife and several other members of his own family. He built fortresses (including Herodium and Masada) around the country as places he could escape in case of a popular uprising. I have read that he had a list drawn up naming those most popular in every town and city of Judah with a standing order that they be killed in case of his own death…a unique sort of life insurance policy. His soldiers, however, refused to carry out the order when he did die. Such a person would be capable of commandeering soldiers to kill babies in Bethlehem on the possibility of one being a future king. No wonder both he and the people of Jerusalem, for different reasons, were troubled at the news brought by the Magi.

Placing Jesus’ birth a couple years prior to the death of Herod (the family was living in Egypt when they heard of Herod’s death) would put the birth of Jesus around 6 B.C. which aligns well with the appearance of the star. When the monk Dionysius Exiguus was commissioned by the pope in 525 A. D. to figure out the year Jesus was born and renumber all years accordingly, he was off by those six years…not bad given the information he had to work with.

Holy Family Sunday B December 28, 2008

note: in response to my notes from last week, a reader asked who is the "we" who believes that the conception of Jesus took place when Mary said "YES" to God.  It is the Catholic Church which, for that reason, assigns the date of March 25 (nine months before Christmas) as the feast of the Annunciation.

Gospel, Luke 2:22-40  According to Mosaic law (Leviticus 12:2-6), after giving birth to a male child, a woman was considered “unclean” for seven days. On the eighth day the child was to be circumcised. Then the mother spent 33 more days of ritual impurity during which time she was not permitted to touch anything sacred or enter the temple in Jerusalem. This impurity was in no way associated with seeing sex or childbirth as evil. It was, rather, related to the flow of blood which takes place in childbirth. Being in contact with blood, which belonged to God as the divine means of giving life, made one ritually impure. The waiting period before returning to physical contact with things sacred was a form of respect for having touched what belongs to God. At the end of the forty days, the woman was to offer a sacrifice of a lamb and a pigeon if the family could afford it, or two pigeons if they were poor.

It is curious that Luke would not only mention Anna’s name but her father’s name and tribe as well. We can presume that such information had special meaning to Luke and his audience or he would not have included it. The territory of the tribe of Asher was the farthest north of the twelve tribes and, therefore, the one closest to the Greek - Gentile communities to whom Luke’s gospel was addressed. Anna and Simeon were both devout and well along in years, two things that, for Luke’s readers, gave extra weight to their witness about Jesus.

Fourth Sunday of Advent B December 21, 2008

Gospel, Luke 1:26-38  The name Gabriel means “strong one of God” (the -el at the beginning or end of many Hebrew names refers to God). In the Old Testament the angel Gabriel was twice sent to Daniel, first to give him a message from God and, then, to help him understand the message (Daniel 8:16, 9:21). This is his second of two appearances in the New Testament, the first being to Zachariah announcing the birth of John the Baptist. His presence in the stories of both John and Jesus gives one more tie to draw followers of John the Baptist to take the next step to Jesus. Note how the story line of the first two chapters in Luke bounce back and forth with the situations surrounding the birth of both figures.

We believe that the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary took place at the moment she said “Yes” to God. That is why the feast of the Annunciation is placed on March 25, nine months before Christmas. How old was Mary at the time? We don’t really know, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating. The minimum age for marriage under Jewish law is 13 for boys, 12 for girls. The official betrothal (far more binding than our modern era understanding of engagement) could take place a year prior to the full-fledged marriage. The Talmud recommends that a man marry by the age of 18. Therefore, it would not have been unusual for Mary to have been betrothed to Joseph by the age of 15.

Did Mary understand what it would mean to be mother of Jesus? Although we believe that Mary was given a special gift to never experience an attraction to things contrary to the will of God (her immaculate conception), that does not mean she received a gift of intellectual understanding regarding her son’s full identity and mission. Note how confused she was (Luke 2:49) when twelve-year-old Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem and explained himself by saying, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Years later, Jesus’ relatives…presumably including Mary…go down to Capernaum to bring him home to Nazareth saying, “He is out of his mind” (Mark 4:21). Jesus was running into serious trouble with the Jewish authorities. The family probably did not really believe Jesus to be out of his mind. Since was an acceptable defense to get a person off the hook, the family was simply trying to get him out of danger. Still, such a statement indicates Mary’s lack of understanding regarding her son’s identity and mission. While this may at first seem to minimize the blessedness of Mary, it actually enhances my appreciation of her dedication to God and the divine will. Her “Yes” was not based on understanding but on faith.

Third Sunday of Advent B December 14, 2008

Gospel, John 1:6-8, 19-28  John the Baptist receives a great deal of attention in the gospels. John’s ministry, although relatively brief, had a tremendous impact. The fact that the gospel of John, written many years after the other gospels, gives such emphasis to John the Baptist indicates that the devotion through John was still strong. Even after the death and resurrection of Jesus, there were many people who had received John’s baptism and were disciples in his tradition…people who had not yet become followers of Jesus (see Acts 18:25 and 19:3). Rather than turn these people away, the scriptural writers wanted to bring them from John to Jesus…not deny the importance of John and his ministry, but show how even John saw himself as one preparing the way for Jesus. John’s gospel speaks of John the Baptist’s statements as giving “testimony” to Jesus, as to suggest that Jesus was on trial before the jury of the Jewish authorities throughout his ministry. This “testimony” theme runs throughout John’s gospel (see: 1:19, 1:32, 2:25, 3:32-33, 4:39, 5:31-37, 8:13-14, 13:21, 19:35 and 21:24). What kind of testimony do you give to your faith in Jesus?

Second Sunday of Advent B

Gospel, Mark 1:1-8  John was raised in a village near Jerusalem by a devout mother (Elizabeth) and a priest-father (Zechariah) who knew God would call their son to a special mission some day. His early formation included prayer and an in-depth understanding of the scriptures. Eventually he left home and went to live in the desert of Judea. The lay monastic community of Qumran was situated in that desert near the Dead Sea. This same community later put their library in large pottery jars and stored them in caves in the hills above their community center during the Jewish war for independence (c. 66-70 A.D.). When all died in the war, no one returned to Qumran, and their scrolls remained forgotten in the caves for 19 centuries before being discovered in 1947. The community had a great devotion to the prophets, a heavily eschatological interpretation of scripture, and a practice of frequent baptism as a sign of repentance. Since John the Baptist had these things in common with that community, it is possible that he lived there or had contact with the community during the years prior to the beginning of his public ministry. For reference to his outfit of camel’s hair and a leather belt, see 2 Kings 1:8. Such was the outfit of Elijah handed down to Elisha. By wearing it, John identified himself as a prophet in the same line. About his diet…I called a nutritionist at the University of Minnesota to find out if John’s diet was healthy. I was surprised to learn that locusts and wild honey was probably a more balanced and healthier diet than most of us eat…and John didn’t waste much time on food preparation.

Note how much attention is given to John the Baptist in the four gospels. It is probable that, even into the era when the gospels were being written, there were many people who had dedicated their life to God through John but had not come to believe in Jesus. Rather than put down the ministry of John, the gospels praise his ministry while indicating that John himself was preparing for Jesus. Adherents didn’t have to put John aside to go to Jesus…they could follow where John himself had pointed.