Today's gospel (Luke 1: 57-66) sees the birth and naming of John the Baptist, and the miraculous lifting of the curse or burden that had struck Zachariah nine months earlier. Elizabeth's word was discounted when she wanted to name her son John. And yet it was ratified by Zachariah who then miraculously opened his mouth and began that hymn of praise we know as the Benedictus:
He will give light to those in darkness,
Those who dwell in the shadow of death,
And guide us into the way of peace.
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Yet there is no place left now for further distraction, nor for lending our minds to other mysteries. Today we sing the last O Antiphon "O Emmanuel" and the final capital letter completes the mnemonic we have been forming since 17 December:
E*R*O C*R*A*S
Tomorrow will I be.
The Lord is at hand; come let us adore Him.
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"Silence is God's first language," wrote St John of the Cross. Stillness is the mood of the approaching mystery. The Word takes flesh, but breathes no word. The angels sing but men fall silent, overcome by a Presence which is more than any present they can receive. Bethlehem's streets are full of self-serving tumult, last minute Christmas shoppers and drunken visitors to town, but the stable stands quiet, the straw bedding like a muffle over the ring of thoughtless bustle in the crowded streets above.
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It is good for us to be here. It is good for us to remain here in this moment of sublime stillness that is otherwise forgotten and ignored. This is the holy place where we must remove the shoes that carry our thoughts away to other places and other concerns; where we must unshoe our wandering hearts so they can wander no more. Let it be enough for us that a Child is born. And let all revelry hereafter sit still first a while, breathing in this inspiration and breathing out its adoration.
Christ is born in Bethlehem. Come let us adore Him.
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The blog will now be in recess until 13 January.
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