Third Thursday in Advent – December 19, 2024
Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25; Luke 1: 5-25
None of us is here by chance, we are here by choice; not our choice but that of the Lord – the Lord’s choice for the Reign to come! The Lord, as St. Paul would affirm in his letter to the Ephesians, has chosen us before the foundation of the world. The Lord’s care for the human race, is best manifested with the amount of thought that has gone before events of salvation and the quality of those thoughts right from eternity.
The first reading recounts to us the announcement of the birth of Samson; and the Gospel reports the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. The pre-announced choices are signs given to us to highlight two important facts: that we are loved and the Lord knows what is happening in our world.
One of the clear signs of love that one has for another is in the care that one shows. This care is exhibited in the form of forethought, a typical trait of a mother or father, or anyone who cares. Samson, John the Baptist, and many other similar persons of God, stand witness to this fact, and thanks to their faithfulness, God’s salvific plan has unfolded itself in phases although the times.
Secondly, the Lord is aware of what we are going through. At times people, or nations, or the powerful ones think that they are dictating everything in the world. But not too late, they do come to realise that they could be gone as a whiff in the wind. The Lord of history is forever in control and no one can gainsay that.
The Saviour to come, referred to as the root of Jesse, is an affirmation of this exact truth: that our God is the Lord of History.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005 and has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (specialisation in Catechetics). He has a Doctorate in Theology with specialisation in Catechetics and youth ministry at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the young towards a World of Peace and dialogue is the passion that fires him.