BIBLE STUDY: December 18th

Antiphon:

Cf.
ecce virgo concípiet et páriet fílium et vocábitis nomen ejus Emmánuel [Isaiah 7:14]
Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.
and
Dóminus enim judex noster, Dóminus légifer noster, Dóminus rex noster ipse salvábit nos [Isaiah 33:22]
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: he will save us.
and
véniat qui mitténdus est et ipse erit expectátio géntium [Genesis 49:10]
he shall come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

The Meeting

The meeting opened with prayer.
 

Luke 1:1 to 2:20
Over the past six weeks we have seen how Christ is foretold in the Old Testament. He is the eternal Word, true God from true God, by whom all creation takes its being; he is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, the exspection of both Jew and Gentile. Christ is Emmanuel, "God with us", in the Holy Scrament of the Eucharist until he comes again.

So we finished our Bible Study sessions by turning to the New Testament and reading the opening two chapters of St Luke's Gospel: the Birth & 'Hidden Life' of John the Baptist, the 'second Elijah' and forerunner of the Messiah, and of Jesus, the Messiah, "the one whom the peoples await and their Saviour."

We read from Luke 1:1 to 2:20 in six sections, thus

1. Prologue (Luke 1:1-4 )
   

   1

   Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us,

   2

   just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,

   3

   I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,

   4

   so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

   We found that Luke was a Greek-speaking Syrian from Antioch in Asia Minor, a physician by profession, who accompanied Paul on some of his journeys. At this time physicians were often very highly trained (and expensive) slaves; they were not the rich people that one might think a physician was. It is clear that Luke is a free man when he accompanies Paul, but he well have come from a slave background.

   From the Acts of the Apostles we learn that Luke first joined Paul's company at Troas in about the year 51 AD and accompanied him into Macedonia where they travelled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi (see Acts, chapter 16). When Paul left Philippi, Luke remained there to o encourage the Church there. Seven years later Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5,we find that Luke leaves Philippi and rejoins Paul in Troas again. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, to Jerusalem.

   Luke loyally stays with Paul when he is imprisoned in Rome about the year 61; Paul writes: "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers" (Philemon, verse 24). After everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains with Paul to the end; as Paul wrote to Timothy: "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).

   Luke was not among the eyewitness of Christ's ministry. He is a second (or third) generation Christian of gentile origiin. Indeed, Luke makes it clear in this prologue that he is using material from eyewitnesses and others. It is fairly certain he would have known Mark's Gospel; he also had access to some of the material used by Matthew. He also appears to received from Our Lady information about the births of John the Baptist and of Jesus.

   We do not know who 'Theophilus' was. The name means "God's friend" and was probably a pseudonym. Some think that Luke simply means "you, dear reader"; but it would be unusual to address the general reader as 'most excellent' (kaátistos). This was a title normally used for Roman citizens of senatorial ranlk. It has been suggested that Theophilus was a Roman senator who was so impressed by Paul when he appeaed before the Emperor that he converted and asked Luke to tell him about Jesus.

   We are equally uncertain about what happened to Luke Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. asome say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. We simply do not know. Nor is there any evidence for the later tradition tat he was an artist. The several images of our Lady claimed to have been painted by Luke have proved to be false.

2. Birth of John the Baptist foretold (Luke 1:5 - 25)
   

   5

   In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

   6

   Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

   7

   But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

   8

   Once when he was serving as priest in his division's turn before God,

   9

   according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.

   10

   Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering,

   11

   the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense.

   12

   Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

   13

   But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.

   14

   And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,

   15

   for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb,

   16

   and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

   17

   He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord."

   18

   Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."

   19

   And the angel said to him in reply, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.

   20

   But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time."

   21

   Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.

   22

   But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

   23

   Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

   24

   After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,

   25

   "So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others."

   Luke relates the story of salvation history to events in contemporary history. Here he connects his narrative with events in Palestinie (whereas, we are going to see. the narrative of Jesus is connected events of Roman history). Herod the Great, the son of the Idumean Antipater, was declared "King of Judea" by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C., but became the undisputed ruler of Palestine only in 37 B.C. He continued as king until his death in 4 B.C.

   The 'priestly division of Abijah' is a reference to the eighth of the twenty-four divisions of priests who, for a week at a time, twice a year, served in the Jerusalem temple. The priestly rotation began in the Hebrew month of Nissan (mid-March to mid-April), and therefore the division of Abijah would have served at the end of Iyyar (mid-April to mid-May) and again at the end of Marheshvan (mid-October to mid-November). We cannot, however, be sure whether the events mentioned by Luke took place during the week of his division's spring or autumn service.

   Zechariah is also known in English as 'Zacharias' or 'Zachary'. His wife Elizabeth was one of the "daughters of Aaron,Quot; that is the daughter of a priest. It was common in that period to refer to people of priestly stock as descendants of Aaron. There are many rabbinic traditions attesting that during the Second Temple period it was quite common for a priest to marry a woman from a priestly family.

   Childlessness was looked upon among the Jews of that time as a curse or punishment for sin, Elizabeth is in a situation similar to that of some of the great mothers of important Old Testament figures: e.g. Sarah, mother of Isaac (Genesis 15:3; and 16:1); Rebekah, mother of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:21); Rachel, mother of Joseph (Genesis 29:31; and 30:22); the mother of Samson (Judges 13:2-4); Hannah, mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1:5-6, and 1:20).

   The name 'John' means "The LORD has shown favour," and is an indication of John's role in salvation history. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink for, like Samson (Judges 13:4-5) and Samuel (1 Sam 1:11), John is to be consecrated by Nazirite vow. He is to be the messenger sent before the LORD, as described in Malachi 3:1-2. He is cast in the role of the Old Testament reformer and prophet Elijah, who is sent before "he great and terrible day of the Lord comes" (Malachi 3:23). John is the 'second Elijah.

   The "angel of the Lord" is identified as Gabriel, the angel who in announces the seventy weeks of years and the coming of an anointed one (Daniel 9:20-25) , i.e. the Christ. It is appropriate, therefore, that Gabriel is the angel who annouces the comimg of Christ and of John the Baptist who is to precede the Christ.

   Gabriel is one of the three archangels named in the scriptures; the other two are Michael and Raphael. There may of course be other archangels. Jewish tradition names at least seven archangels, and the Eastern Orthodox tradition also mentions seven archangels. We just do not know; but we can be certain that there are at least the three actually named in scripture.

   We have seen above that Gabriel is the angel of revelation and promise. He is most especialy the angel who, as we shall see, announces the promise of the Incarnation. (He is, by the way, the angel Muslims believe revealed the Koran to Muhammad - thus the same tradition of Gabriel being the angel of revelation and promise is found in Judaism and Islam as well as in Christianity.)

3. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)

   26

   In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

   27

   to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

   28

   And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."

   29

   But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

   30

   Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

   31

   Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

   32

   He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,

   33

   and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

   34

   But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"

   35

   And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

   36

   And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;

   37

   for nothing will be impossible for God."

   38

   Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

    

   The sixth month refers to the sixh month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

   Some commentators point out that word 'parthénos' did not necessarily mean 'virgin' in ancient Greek; it could just mean 'young girl'. They point out that the same is true of the Hebrew word used Isaiah's famous prophecy: "the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). While this is true, it should be pointed out that:

   • Even in ancient Greek, 'virgin' was the prominent meaning of parthénos and that by the time of the Koine Greek of the New Testament it was the normal meaning of the word.
   • Mary's reply in verse 34 makes it abundantly clear that she is a virgin.

   There cannot be any doubt that St Luke means 'virgin' in the passage we are considering.

   In the old Douai-Rheims translation, Gabriel geets Mary with the words: "Hail, full of grace." They are, of course, the opening words, without the name 'Mary', of the 'Hail Mary.' Indeed, the prayer began in popular devotions of the 11th and 12th centuries as this angelic salutation to which was added Elizabeth's greeting: "Blessed art thou amomg women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" (Luke 1:42 - we shall consider this in the next study). During the 13th century, the names 'Mary' and 'Jesus' were added.

   So what has happened to 'full of grace' in the translation above? 'Favored one' does not mean the same, does it?

   It is not only Mary who was troubled by Gabriel's words. Many modern exegetes (interpreters of scripture) are also troubled. Let us look at the words as recorded by Luke: "khaîre, kekharitōménē."

   The arguments over how these first two words should be translated are:

   1. khaîre
      This is often translated as 'Hail', 'Greetings' or some similar word. Others translate it as 'Rejoice'. In truth, khaîre is the imperative of the verb khaírein (to rejoice); but even as early as the Homeric writings of the 8th century BC, we find khaîre (plural khaírete) commonly used both as a greeting 'hail, welcome' and as a valediction 'farewell, good-bye'. This, in my opinion and that of many others, is what St Luke means here.
      Those who adopt the translation 'Rejoice', see in Gabriel's greeting a reference to Zephaniah's prophecy: " Rejoice, exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!" (Zeph. 3:14). As Mary does not rejoice but, it would seem from verse 30, actually shows some alarm, it seems to me that to posit an illusion to an Old testament prophecy in just this one word is unlikely.
   2. kekharitōménē.
      This is grammatically 'the feminine form of the perfect passive participle' of the verb kharitoûn This verb is derived from the noun stem kharit- which had a wide range of meanings in ancient Greek, such as 'favour, grace, beauty, kindness, goodwill, gratitude.' Among New Testament writers it is used with the special meaning of "gratuitous gift that God gives us to make us participants in his trinitarian life and able to act by his love" (Compendium of the Catechism 423).
      The verb kharitoûn means 'to show [someone] favour', 'to endue [someone] with grace'. The question is whether the word used by Gabriel just had the general idea of 'grace and favour' or whether it carried the more specific idea of Christian 'grace', that is, of God's "gratuitous gift".
      In ancient Greek the 'perfect' tenses, participles and infinitives had a stricter and more limited meaning than the those forms labelled 'perfect' in English and many other modern languages; they denoted a state which resulted from prior action. Thus, kekharitōménē may denote (a) a woman who is in a privileged position because someone has shown her favour, or (b) a woman who is in a state of grace because God has endued her with his "gratuitous gift" to make her a participant "in his trinitarian life and able to act by his love."
      The second meaning was clearly that understood by Jerome when he translated kekharitōménē as 'grátia plena' (full of grace) in the Vulgate version of Luke 1:28. Indeed, in verse 35, we read that the Holy Spirit will come upon Mary, that she will be overshadowed by the power of the 'Most High' (the Father), and she will bear the Son of God. Truly Mary was about to participate in the life of the Holy Trinity in a most unique and privileged way. Yes, Mary was truly favoured, but how could she have this most intimate participation in the divine life of the most holy Trinity without also being full of grace?

   Gabriel's reply in verse 30 could also be translated "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace from God. "

   Jesus is the English form of the Greek Iēsoûs. This was the Greek rendering of the Aramaic Yēshūa῾, a name which appear in the Old Testament in the Latinized spelling 'Jeshua' in English versions. It is the same as the Hebrew name 'Joshua' (or, more accurately, 'Jehoshua'); in fact both Jeshua and Joshua appear as Iēsoûs in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. The name was understood to mean "the LORD saves."

   Mary would have understood the Messianic references in verse 32 and 33. Being a virgin, espoused to be married, she would have been a girl in her early teens, about 14 years old. But instead of being overawed at the prospect of being the mother of the Messiah, she merely asks how it is possible because she is a virgin.

   Indeed that she was espoused to be married, may make her question seem somewhat naive, if not downright silly. Mary's question only makes sense if she intends to remain a virgin that is, has taken a vow of virginity. Gabriel's reply reassues her tthat her virginity will be maintained. It clearly indicates that the conception will be virginal, and effected by Mary's most unique and intimate participation in the life of the most holy Trinity. Gabriel also informs Mary that her relative (kinswoman), Elizabeth, was now bearing a child (the actual relationship between Elizabeth and Mary is unknown).

   What more can we say about verse 38? We can only contemplate in awe and wonder the humble acceptance by this young girl of such a great and mysterious message of universal signficance, and of her complete trust in God.

4. The Visitation (Luke 1:39-56)

   39

   During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,

   40

   where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

   41

   When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,

   42

   cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

   43

   And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

   44

   For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

   45

   Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

   46

   And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

   47

   my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

   48

   For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

   49

   The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

   50

   His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.

   51

   He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.

   52

   He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.

   53

   The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.

   54

   He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,

   55

   according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

   56

   Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

    

   What did Mary do after Gabriel had left? Did she, just a young girl in her early teeens, start to have second thoughts? Did she start to wonder about herself and what might be said when it was known she was pregnant? Not a bit of it! Far from thinking of herself, her thoughts turned to her kinswoman, Elizabeth, a much older woman than Mary and, indeed, thought to be now past child-bearing age. Perhaps Elizabeth would need help? She would surely welcome company.

   We do not know how closely related Mary and Elizabeh were. They are often referred to as "cousins", but that should be understood in the older English meaning of 'kinsmen, blood-relations'. The Greek just has syngenís, 'some one in the same génos (clan, family group)', that is, 'a kinsman, a blood-relation.' More than that is speculation.

   Although we may not know how closely or distantly related Mary was to Elizabeth, we do know they lived distantly from one another. Mary lived in Nazareth in Galilee; Elizabeth lived much further south in the Judaea. Indeed, we know that her husband, Zechariah, was a priest in the Temple at Jerusalem, so the town where he and Elizabeth lived must have been reasonably near Jerusalem; Hebron, about 19 miles south of Jerusalem, the ancient sacerdotal city of Jutta, about seven miles south of Hebron, and Ain-Karim, nearly four miles west of Jerusalem have all been suggested. We do not know; but we do know that Mary's trip was long, uncomfortable and not without danger. But that did not stop her.

   She would, of course, not have trevelled alone. It has been suggested that Joseph went with her; but none of the evangelists record that. It is more likely, I think, that she would have been accompanied by sevants or members of her own immediate family or possibly joined one the groups going south fora Temple festival in Jerusalem. But all the same, the journey would be just as long, and still arduous for a young girl. It is clear from Luke's account that the visit was Mary's idea; and that was truly a labour of love on Mary's part.

   Mary reached her Zechariah's house and was the first to greet Elizabeth, whereupon two remarkable things happened:

   • The child, who was to be John the Baptist, leapt while still in Elizabeth's womb;
   • Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and, with a loud voice, greeted Mary with the astonishing words: "Most 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? ...".

   The infant John leapt in his mother's womb because he felt the presence of Jesus, his divine Saviour, and thereopon he, who was to proclaim the Saviour's coming, was cleansed from original sin and filled with the grace of God; this was in fulfilment of Gabriel's annoucement to Zechariah that John would "be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15).

   This is a truly Trinitarian episode. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and acknowledges the child in Mary's womb as her Lord. She acknowledges the second person of the blessed Trinity and her own child is cleansed from original sin and filled with grace. The Father, the father of the unborn Saviour, the infant Jesus, was presiding over all.

   On the human level we see, side by side, the two women: Elizabeth, apparently too old to have a child, but destined to bear the last prophet of the Old Covenant, the precursor of Christ; and Mary, hardly yet ready to have a child, but destined to bear the One who was to institute the New and Everlasting Covenant by the breaking of his own body and the shedding of his own blood.

   And consider Elizabeth's greeting:

   1. Elizabeth acknowedges the blessedness of both Mary and the child in her womb:
      "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
      This is, of course, the next part the 'Hail Mary' which follows Gabriel's angelic salutation.
   2. Elizabeth acknowedges Mary's unborn child as her Lord:
      " And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
      This will have been revealed to her by the Holy Spirit which filled her and 'Lord' was the title Jews gave to God. Elizabeth, by divine inspiration, is the first to acknowledge Mary as Mother of God.
   3. She tells Mary that as soon as the child in her womb heard Mary's greeting, he leapt for joy. The joy was that of being filled with God's grace and so being cleansed of original sin. Thus we see already Mary exercising her unique role of cooperation in the divine plan of salvation in which she "gave herself entirely to the person and work of her Son Jesus, espousing wholeheartedly the divine will regarding salvation" (Compendium of the Catechism 97).
   4. "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
      Elizabeth knew, of course, that her own pregnancy had been proclaimed by Gabriel. Clearly Mary's child, her Lord, must have had divine proclamation also and Elizabeth was in no doubt that Mary believed what the angel had said. This contrasts with her husband, Zechariah, who had doubted Gabriel's words and had been made dumb until John should be born.
      It is true that Mary had asked "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?", but that was because she was concerned about her vow of virginity. When Gabriel explained that the Saviour's conception would be virginal, she simply replied: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Mary believed and humbly accepted God's will.

   Elizabeth's wonderful and astonishing greeting is followed by something even more wonderful and amazng: the 'Magnificat', the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is reminiscent in many places with the Canticle of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and to several of the psalms (33:3-5; 34:9; 137:6; 70:19; 125:2-3; 110:9; 97:1; 117:16; 22:10;112:7; 22:11; 97:3; 131:11) and other parts of Old Testament. Mary, steeped in Old Testament scriptural thought and filled with the Holy Spirit, breaks forth in a canticle which is thus the culmination of the canticles of the Old Testament; it is also the first canticle of the New Testament. The canticle tells of the fulfilment of promises made to Abraham and the prophets of the Old Covenant and proclaims the New and Everlasting Covenant.

   Some have questioned whether Mary ever said this, claimimng that it does not really fit the occasion; they suggest that Luke has inserted an early Christian hymn here. But this most surely mistaken; indeed, it is the wrong way round. Yes, the Magnificat is a very revered Christian hymn, or canticle; but it is so, because it was the canticle uttered first by Mary.

   In the western Church, this canticle is sung in the evening office, or Vespers. All stand when it is said or sung and cross themselves at the opening words. At solemn Vespers the altar is incensed during the recitation of the canticle. It has also been retained in Lutheran and Anglican worship. But this great honour is shown to the canticle because it was first sung by Mary, the Mother of God; it is the canticle that proclaims the fulfilment of the Old Convenant and the coming of the New Covenant, and is thus entirely appropriate.

   Palestrina, Bach, Vivaldi and many other composers have set this canticle to music. But great though they all may be, none can surely compare with the freshness and spontaneity when the young girl, Mary, sang this canticle at her meeting with Elizabeth. It must surely have been a source of great wonder and grace to those present on that occasion.

   Three months would be close to the birth of John the Baptist. Some have argued from this that Mary must have remained until after John was born; but others argue that this cannot be inferred from Luke's account. We simply do not know. It may be that Mary was among the relatives who shared the joy of John's birth (Luke 1:58). But it would appear from Luke's account that Mary had gone before John's circumcision a week after his birth,

   It has been suggested that Joseph came to accompany Mary home and that it was then that he found her with child and thought to divorce her informally, but was reassured by an angel that appeared to him in a dream that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18). This is possible, but neither Matthew nor Luke make it clear that it was so. It may be the incident recorded by Matthew hapened after Mary had returned to Nazareth.

5. The birth and early life of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80)

   57

   When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son.

   58

   Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.

   59

   When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,

   60

   but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John."

   61

   But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name."

   62

   So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.

   63

   He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.

   64

   Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.

   65

   Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.

   66

   All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.

   67

   Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:

   68

   "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.

   69

   He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant,

   70

   even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:

   71

   salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

   72

   to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant

   73

   and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,

   74

   rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him

   75

   in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

   76

   And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

   77

   to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

   78

   because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us

   79

   to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

   80

   The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

    

   By recounting the birth, circumcision and 'hidden life' of John after the account of Mary's Annunciation and Visitation and before the account of Jesus' birth, Luke emphasizes the crucial roles of John and Jesus in the fulfilment of the promises of the Old Covenant and in the inauguration the New Convenant, thus emphasizing also the continuity of the old Isreal and with the Church, the new Israel.

   The ancients always reckoned time inclusively, that is, they counted in both the start and finish times. In modern usage, we would say "the seventh day" or "a week's time". It was more usual to name a son after his grandfather, but naming after a father is not unknown. However, it is clear that 'John' was not a name used in Zechariah's family; but John ('The LORD has shown favour') is the name Gabriel had told Zechariah the child should be called (Luke 1:13). When the child is named in accordance with Gabriel's instruction, Zechariah's speech returns. Although the neigbours and relatives were not fully aware of the significance of all this, they realized that John's birth had been unusual and wondered what it all meant.

   The heart of this passage is Zechariah's canticle, known as the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79). It is the second of the Gospel canticles and is said or sung towards the end of the Morning Office (or Lauds) in the western Church. As for the Magnificat at Vespers, the people stand for its recitation and cross themselves at the opening words.

   Notice again that this canticle is uttered by a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit and, like Mary's Magnificat, it draws heavily on Old Testament imagery and tells of the fulfilment of the promises of the Old Covenant and inauguration of the New Covenant. The canticle, indeed, falls into two parts:

   • the first part (verses 68-75) gives thanks for the realization of the Messianic hopes of Isreal;
   • the second part of the canticle is an address by Zechariah to his own son, who was to play such an important a part in the scheme of the Redemption.

   Gabriel had told Zechariah that John was to go before the Messiah "in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers towards children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord" (Luke 1:17). John was to be a 'second Elijah', to be the last of the Old Covenant prophets, and to preach the remission of sins before the coming of the'daybreak from on high' (or 'dawn from on high'); and he will have known from Mary that her son was to be the Messiah.

   Zechariah says that John "will be called prophet of the Most High" for he "will go before the Lord to prepare his ways" (Luke 1:76). This is, of couese, an allusion to the well-known words of Isaiah "A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! " (Isaiah 40:3). Indeed, years later John himself stated quite clearly that these word's of Isaiah were prophesying his mission as the precursor of Christ (John 1:23-27).

   Gabriel had told Zechariah that John would "drink neither wine nor strong drink" (Luke 1:15); in other words, John, just like Samson (Judges 13:4-5) and Samuel (1 Sam 1:11), was to be consecrated by Nazirite vow and set apart for God's service. All Luke tells us is that John became spiritually strong and, presumably after boyhood, lived in the desert until the time came for his mission to prepare the way for Christ, in 28 AD, the "fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar" (Luke 3:1).

6. The Nativity of our Lord: Luke 2:1-20

   1

   In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled.

   2

   This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

   3

   So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.

   4

   And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

   5

   to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

   6

   While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,

   7

   and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

   8

   Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.

   9

   The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

   10

   The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

   11

   For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

   12

   And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."

   13

   And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

   14

   "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

   15

   When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."

   16

   So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

   17

   When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

   18

   All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

   19

   And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

   20

   Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

    

   Although Luke appears to date the year carefully, in fact he has given us some notorious problems in the first two verses. No one doubts that Jesus was born during the reign of Caesar Augustus; he was emperor from 27 BC till 14 AD. It is also clear from both Matthew and Luke that Herod the Great was King of Judaea when Jesus was born. Herod, the son of the Idumean Antipater, was declared "King of Judea" by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C; he continued as king until his death in 4 B.C.

   From Matthew's account of the visit by the Magi and Herod's subsequent massacre of infant boys in Bethlehem, it would seem that Jesus was about 18 months or so at the time of the visit and the massacre. This would suggest somewhere around 6 BC as the birth of Jesus (it has long been known that the Anno Domini dating, worked out by Dionysius Exiguus in Rome in 525 AD, is not accurate in its dating of Christ's birth).

   The problems Luke has given us are to do with the census or enrolment:

   • We know that under Caesar Augustus there were universal registrations of Roman citizens in 29 BC, 8 BC and 14 AD; we know also that enrolments of those who were not Roman citizens (and Joseph was certainly not a Roman citizen) took place at other times in individual provinces . There is, however, no evidence of a universal census of the whole Roman world, both citizens and non-citizens, under Caesar Augustus, except for this reference in Luke.
   • After Herod's death in 4 BC, Augustus had divided Herod's kingdom between his sons, who were given the title 'ethnarch' (national leader). Archelaus became ethnarch of Samaria and Judaea but things became so bad under him that Augustus had Archelaus exiled and Samaria and Judaea were formally annexed to Syria in 6 AD, when Publius Sulpicius Quirinius became governor ('legátus Augústi') of the province. A provincial census of Judaea was taken up by Quirinus at that time. But 6-7 AD is far too late for the birth of Christ as Herod had been dead some ten years and also it would have meant Jesus was about 20 when he began his ministry, whereas in chapter 3 Luke tells us that Jesus was about 30 at the time (Luke 3:23).

   The decree that "went out from Caesar Augustus" probably refers to the universal census of Roman citizens in 8 BC. It is possible that Augustus also requested provincial governors to make a census of non-citizens. In the case of Herod's kingdom, we do have some evidence that pressure was put on him by the Roman authorities to hold such a census and that it took place in 6 BC. At the beginning of that year Sentius Saturninus was governor of Syria and, indeed, the early Christian writer, Tertullian, does seem to have had 'Saturninus' in his version of Luke's gospel. But there is no other manuscript evidence that Luke originally wrote 'Saturninus'. Also Publius Quinctilius Varus took over as governor during that year.

   It has been suggested that when Varus took over as governor of Syria, Qurinius was given special command to oversee the census in Herod's kingdom. Also Luke does not in fact unambiguously say that Quirinius was governor of Syria; he uses a present pariciple hēgemoneúontos [genitive singular]. While this may mean 'being governor', it could equally well mean 'being leader' or 'having military command'; thus the phrase Luke used could be translated 'Quirinius having (special) command in Syria' which could well tie up with his role of overseeing the census in the territory of Herod, a Roman 'client' king.

   The general opinion, however, is that Luke has confused the earlier census of 6 BC with Quirinius' later census. In conveying his message to us over the centuries, God uses fallible humans. We, as Catholics, believe that the Sacred Scriptures are inspired by the Holy spirit and " teach without error those truths which are necessary for our salvation" (Compendium of the Catechism 18). It is not necessary for our salvation that Luke gets the details of the census 100% correct! But who knows? It might be that some future discovery shows that Luke was not confused at all.

   Although Joseph "was of the house and family of David" (Luke 2:4), he would not have been required to go to Bethlehem to enrol unless he held property there - but the infant Jesus would hardly have had to be placed in a manger if this was so. Certainly Mary, in an advanced state of pregnancy, would not have been required to leave Nazareth. The most likely explanation is that Mary and Joseph, being well aware of Micah's prophecy "But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me [says the Lord] one who is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:1) and both insisted on making the journey to Bethlehem for the enrolment to ensure that Jesus would be born there. So although Mary could easily have excused herself from making the journey, she chose to ignore her own convenience and comfort and make the hazardous journey because it was important to her that Jesus, the Messiah, should be born in the town where the Messiah's "origin is from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:1). Joseph must surely have had misgivings about the journey because of Mary's advanced pregnancy, but he trusted God's will and, as a caring husband, accompanied Mary to Jerusalem.

   Jesus is described as Mary's "firstborn" and some have seen this as implying that she must have had other sons. This is not so. 'Firsborn' (prōtótokos - primogénitus) was simply a legal description, indicating that Jesus possessed the rights and privileges of the firstborn son (see Genesis 27, Exodus 13:2, Numbers 3:12-13 and 18:15-16, Deut. 21:15-17). There is no reason to suppose Mary did not maintain her vow of virginity.

   There is no ox or ass mentioned nor, indeed, any stable. Luke tells us merely that Mary laid Jesus in a manger because there was no place for them in the katályma. Although this is traditionally translated here as 'inn', it is not the normal ancient Greek word for 'inn'; the normal word was pandokeîon or, at a later date, pandokheîon. The latter, indeed, is the very word used by Luke in his account of the parable of the 'good Samaritan' (Luke 10:34).

   The word, katályma, is used by Luke when Jesus is telling his apostles where he will eat what will be his last Passover meal with them. Jesus says to them: "a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters and say to the master of the house, 'The teacher says to you, "Where is the katályma where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'" (Luke 22:11). Here katályma is usually translated as 'guest room' or 'guest chamber' or something similar. In Greek katályma means no more than a 'dwelling, lodging or guest room'.

   If Joseph "was of the house and family of David" (Luke 2:4), he must have had relatives living in Bethlehem. Surely Joseph would have entrusted his young, pregnant wife to relatives rather than to a travellers' inn; such inns were not the safest of places in the ancient world. Indeed, although we refer to Bethlehem as the 'City of David', it was only a small village and may well not have had an inn at all! Also it is unthinkable that anyone at that time would turn away relatives, no matter how distant the relationship might be; indeed it would be have been considered a point of honour to provide such hospitality.

   The ancient 'city' of Bethlehem was built on the slope of a chalky hill, and on the incline were numerous homes. Generally, the front was of stone and closed the entrance to a cave, which served as the rear of the house. Many such dwellings may still be found in Bethlehem and in Beit Sahour, the village of the shepherds, to the east. In an ordinary Middle Eastern peasant home, both then and now, the house is usually one large room, raised above ground level to provide living accommodation for the family, while the lower section is where the animals are kept at night; it did not only keep the animals safe, but also added warmth to the house. In the sort of dwellings on the Bethlehem hillside, the natural cave at the rear served as the animal shelter. Feeding troughs, or 'mangers', were cut into the chalky cave side.

   It is probable that Joseph and Mary were not the only relatives that were being lodged in this particular dwelling, so the living area, the katályma, is likely to have been a bit crowded at the time of the enrolment. It does not require too much imagination to see that there was not likely to be any suitable spot in the katályma and that for the sake of Mary's own comfort and privacy, they were moved into the animal shelter and used a manger as a crib. It would be warm and, laid out with clean straw, a clean place in which to lay the newborn baby.

   So the traditonal Christmas card inn-and-stable scene vanishes; that is not such a bad thing. The sentimentality attached to that scene so often makes Jesus too distant from us - a character in a fairy story. Instead we find ourselves back in the tradition of the earliest Christian writers such as Justin Martyr and Origen, namely that Jesus was born in a cave. Indeed Origen tells us explicitly that "In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and the rumor is in those places and among foreigners of the Faith that indeed Jesus was born in this cave" (Contra Celsum, I, li.). It is, in fact, over that cave that the Church of the Nativity in Bethelehem was built and the cave, the 'grotto of the Nativity', is still revered by pilgrims as Christ's birth place.

   Jesus, the eternal Word of God made flesh, was born a real human baby. We see poor people helping one another out as the poor are accustomed to do the world over, and a baby born into a crowded household and placed in whatever suitable thing is at hand for a craddle - the fate of so many babies over the ages and, indeed, of so many even today. Thus, as we saw in Luke's account of the Annunciation, the lowly are singled out as the recipients of God's favours and blessings.

   The first non-family people to hear of Christ's birth are common shepherds keeping watch in the hills around Bethlehem. It is generally thought that 'the angel of the Lord' was Gabriel, as he had played such an important part in the announcements of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus; but Luke does not name the angel so we cannot be certain.

   Regrettably, time was against us and we were not able to reflect further on the salutation to the shepherds or on their visit to the child Jesus.

 
Lenten Bible Studies
Those present expressed a wish to continue the Bible Study sessions in the new year. It was decided we would resume again on the first Tuesday in February, i.e. on Shrove Tuesday, 5th February. We will base our studies on the Stations of the Cross as used by Pope John-Paul II in 1991 and several times since, including by Pope Benedict XVI this year.

Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.