Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122311.cfm

The recent fall at MSF

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

In his book Called to Communion, written before he was elected pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger speaks of the necessary and unbreakable link between morality, guilt and expiation. One who violates the moral law is guilty and must make atonement, or expiation. Denying or ignoring one’s guilt does not dissolve the link between them. Excuses, explanations, blaming, rationalizing, and diminishing the seriousness of the offense: none of these erase guilt and none can atone for wrongdoing. Every responsible human being, regardless of culture or background, is subject to the moral code. Claiming a different faith or moral code neither diminishes one’s guilt nor exempts one from its consequences.

The Prophet Elijah -- among the prophets, second only to Moses -- represents this stern law. He is the prophet who appeared with Moses, speaking to Jesus on Mount Tabor. If Moses presents the patient, merciful face of God, Elijah shows his punishing, uncompromising face. He is a terrifying figure in the history of Israel: he called down fire upon an army who were sent to arrest him; he commanded the heavens not to give rain and not a drop fell for three years; he challenged five hundred Canaanite prophets to a ritual dual and when they lost he personally cut their throats. You don't mess with Elijah! His return might be welcome if he is preparing the way for the Messiah, but it is nonetheless dreadful.

Christians understand John the Baptist as Elijah returned. He did not wreak havoc as Elijah had, but his message was fiery and his hearers knew he spoke truly of God’s righteousness. They trekked down to the Jordan River Valley and its muddy stream to hear his preaching, confess their sins and repent. They were happy to discover God's gentle mercy through John's baptism, especially as they recalled Elijah's savage ferocity. 

In his gospel Saint Luke braids the disparate stories of Jesus’ and John’s birth into an unbreakable cable. The high point of this narrative is not the birth of Jesus but the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary, when the unborn Baptist dances for joy at the coming of the Messiah while the women sing God's praises. 

Our salvation is also braided with our readiness to confess our guilt and make atonement. We know that by ourselves it is impossible. Our sins are too great; our merits too weak. But Jesus has offered himself in expiation for us; we have only to bring ourselves to his self-sacrifice to be swept into that redeeming whirlwind of mercy. Come, let us worship.