Lean into the Yearning: A Reflection for the Fourth Week in Advent

The following reflection refers to the Mass readings found here.

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The Bible can be a heartbreaking book. It’s about people, after all. Every story, every narrative, every parable—they may surprise and puzzle us, they may challenge us, but they always speak to something deep within us. We know these stories. We live them every day.

Today’s readings tell the stories of two couples who yearned so hard for something they did not have. They had no child. The painful word used to describe this situation is “barren.” We all know what barren means. It means lifeless, desolate, empty, dry. It means hopeless. It means heartbreak.

The yearning of the wife of Manoah, of Elizabeth and Zechariah, we feel it deep in our gut. We have all yearned this hard and come up barren. We have all felt dry and desolate. Barrenness is not only about the presence or absence of children. It is about being human. It is about yearning.

The sacred answer that emerges from this barrenness is the promise of divine faithfulness. And whether the promise is for children or salvation, it always leads to new life. This story of longing and fulfillment, of desiring and promising, of palpable need and abundant gift, is the story of the Bible from creation to gospel—from the barren earth, void and lifeless, to the incarnation, God-literally-with-us.

As Advent leans toward Christmas, we lean even harder into this yearning. And just there—on the horizon, where the days begin to lengthen—we can see it: a child is born, the fulfillment of all our yearning.

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Amy Ekeh, “Lean into the Yearning” from the December 2022 issue of Give Us This Day, www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022). Used with permission.

A sun dog on a wintry day in central Minnesota. Photo by Hans Christoffersen.

A Marian Reflection

Hello, all! And happy Feast of the Birth of Mary! I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch and not blogging for some time. I hope to get back on track with monthly posts. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy this reflection. I originally wrote it for the Assumption of Mary, but I thought it was appropriate for the Birth of Mary also, the day her body made its appearance. Blessings!

The Body of a Life Well Lived

Blessed as she was among women, Mary’s day-to-day life was much like everyone else’s—a life that no doubt took its toll on the body. Scars, sunspots, wrinkles—she would not have escaped them. And why would she want to? Life tells its sto­ries and leaves its beautiful marks on every body.

Like you, I’ve lived into every scar on my body. I’ve earned these wrinkles! Every sunspot is a part of my story—a story of long childhood days in the Texas sun, of every moment I can squeeze into my backyard garden. Every ache and pain is a reminder that I’ve birthed children, carried them on my hip long past when I should have, hauled baskets of laundry up and down basement steps for decades, bent my knees infinity-plus-one times for weeds, socks, and Legos.

My body hasn’t been through as much as Mary’s, working as she did in heat and sun, carrying water, walking great distances, toughing out pain. But it has its own good stories to tell.

Mary always goes before us—but not to show us how dif­ferent she is. Sometimes the likenesses are what prod us for­ward, to know what it really means to be Marian. Clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet, crowned with stars—sun­tanned, vibrant, aging, loved—the body of a life well lived.

She goes before us, body and soul, and we will follow. In heaven as on earth, our bodies will tell their stories.

Amy Ekeh, “The Body of a Life Well Lived,” from the August 2022 issue of Give Us This Day, www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022). Used with permission.

All Souls Prayer

My prayers are with each of you on this All Souls Day, especially with those who have lost loved ones, friends, coworkers, and companions of all kinds this past year. May our Healing God comfort you. May the memory of every life that touched yours be a blessing forever. Amen.

All Souls Prayer

Holy One, Creator of all,
today we pray in gratitude for every life that has gone before us.
For those who were faithful, we bless you.
For those who were searching, we praise you.
For those who were lost, we implore you.
We remember those who have recently died:
   the terminally ill, those we lost suddenly,
   those with cancer, those with COVID,
   the lonely, the suicidal,
   the young, the middle-aged, the old.
For every life, we thank you.
For every life, we praise you.
For every life, we bless you.
Amen.

Prayer by Amy Ekeh, © Liturgical Press 2020, published with permission

Glass window, Holy Infant Church, Orange, CT

5 Proverbs to Live By

Like many of you, I was saddened to hear that after more than eight decades in circulation, Catholic Digest ended its print run with the Summer 2020 issue. I have enjoyed writing my “Bible in 5” column for the Digest these past two years. Below is a column I especially had fun with and that readers seemed to enjoy. I hope you like it, too.

5 Proverbs to Live By

The book of Proverbs—a collection of wise sayings—is classified as “wisdom literature.” This means it is primarily focused on how to live a good, faithful, meaningful life. Wisdom literature relies on human experience and an awareness of God’s presence in our world and in our daily lives. In this column, we’ll explore five proverbs that are as relevant now as they were over two thousand years ago when they were first written. Here’s to good advice for a meaningful life!

1. How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver (16:16). In a world where we want everything fast and easy, and where we’re always expected to have a clever comment or a quickly-formed opinion, wisdom is no longer the valued commodity it used to be. Wisdom grows slowly from experience, patience, and listening. Those who have wisdom know its value. They know its value is greater than anything money could buy or anything that comes quick and easy. There is a great irony here—those who already have wisdom know its value; those who don’t may never be wise enough to seek it!

2. Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing (12:18). As a society, we are all too aware of the pain caused by harsh words. Bullying and cyber-bullying weigh heavily upon our collective conscience. And yet we continue to judge and lash out, whether online or in our homes, schools, or workplaces. It is partly comforting and partly disturbing to know that these “sword thrusts” have been a problem for human beings from ancient times. Once again, wisdom offers a corrective. The “tongue of the wise” not only makes better choices and refuses to inflict pain—it brings healing. What a gift—to be wise, and to heal others with one’s words. Lord, give us wisdom, that we may heal rather than harm!

3. Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full (19:17). Here is a rich proverb, and one that echoes throughout the pages of Scripture in both testaments. It seems that the way we treat the poor is the way we treat God (Matt 25:35). In other words, God identifies closely with the poor because he loves them so dearly. The poor are not always able to repay the good done on their behalf. Jesus will later preach that this is good—we should try to do things for people who cannot repay us (Luke 14:12)! This is because we should do things out of love, and not for our own gain. And yet the words of this proverb and the words of Jesus both tell us that God himself will repay us when we love and help those who have less than we do (Luke 6:35; 14:14).

4. Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it (15:17). What a wonderful image! I imagine my own family with a pizza delivery, or another night of pasta. But we are happy. There might be another family down the street or across the world that has a mansion, a personal chef, and a gourmet meal. But they may not have love for each other. And when there is no love, the food just doesn’t taste as good. I’ll take vegetables over a “fatted ox” any day. How about you?

5. Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life (16:31). Well, here’s a proverb we can all rally behind! Gray hair comes to us all, and although we may resist it with a variety of tactics, we can’t stop time. This proverb is about so much more than our hair color. It means that the longer we live, the more potential we have to live righteous lives. The longer we live, the more potential we have for wisdom, which is the crown of a life well-lived. Our modern American culture may not equate age with glory, but the Bible certainly does. So hold your head high and wear that crown of glory! You’ve earned it!

This column originally appeared in the February 2020 issue of Catholic Digest.

5 Bible Facts for Advent....and other news

Hello, my long lost friends! And blessed Advent to you! I pray that you all are well in this season of hope and light, even in the midst of winter’s dark and cold days. Please enjoy the article below, “Five Bible Facts for Advent,” which was originally published in Catholic Digest. Below the article are some announcements and tidbits.

Advent is the perfect time to learn more about the Gospel stories of Jesus’ conception, birth, and infancy. We call these stories the “infancy narratives.” We are already quite familiar with these stories, but you may find something new or surprising in this month’s list of five!

1. Only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us about Jesus’ birth. While all four Gospels tell us about the death of Jesus, only two of them tell us about his birth. Mark’s Gospel launches very quickly into the ministry of Jesus with no mention of his birth or origins. John’s Gospel describes the preexistence of Jesus with God, and he does say that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14), but John does not provide any details about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Interestingly, only the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke are devoted to the stories surrounding the conception, birth, and infancy of Christ.

2. Matthew’s infancy narratives tell us more about Joseph, while Luke’s tell us more about Mary. Although Matthew and Luke both tell stories about the birth of Jesus, they tell these stories in very different ways. For example, in Matthew the Annunciation is made by an angel to Joseph, while in Luke the Annunciation is made by an angel to Mary. In Matthew’s Gospel, we are told that Joseph has dreams that reveal God’s will and allow him to keep Jesus safe from those who wish him harm. In Luke’s Gospel, we are told a great deal about Mary: She visits her cousin Elizabeth, sings a canticle of praise, receives foreboding words from a prophet, and “[keeps] all these things in her heart” (2:51). Joseph’s name peppers Matthew’s account, while Mary’s name is mentioned 12 times in Luke’s account!

3. Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus is dark in tone, already foreshadowing the cross. Another way Matthew’s infancy narratives differ from Luke’s is that they are very different in tone. In Matthew’s account, the cross—an event which we do not typically associate with the birth of Jesus—already looms over his infancy. A decidedly dark note is sounded in the jealousy of King Herod, who wants to “destroy” Jesus when he hears of the “newborn king of the Jews” (2:2; see 2:13). In a horrifying and violent scene, Herod orders the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem age two and under. The jealousy, deception, and death of innocents highlighted in Matthew’s account all foreshadow the cross of Jesus. Of course the Resurrection is also foreshadowed: The infant Jesus is saved from destruction by the plan of God and lives on to become the savior of his people. As usual God has the last word, and it is a victorious one.

4. Your manger scene at home is likely a combination of details from Matthew and Luke, as well as some traditions that are not in the Bible. If you’re looking for an interesting Advent activity, read the infancy narratives (Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2) and compare what you read with what you see in your manger scene. Which Gospel mentions a stable? Which one mentions the Magi? What about shepherds, camels, angels, a star, and a manger? You’ll find that many of these things are found in one Gospel but not both. You may even find that a few items in your manger scene are not mentioned at all; for example, your Magi may be wearing crowns, but there is no mention of “three kings”! This can be a fun and informative activity for families. It helps us distinguish between the two different accounts of the birth of Jesus and enhances our awareness and appreciation of the diversity found within Scripture.

5. Jesus was born into a family. We may take this fact for granted, but it is worth some reflection this Advent season. Jesus did not appear on earth out of nowhere. He wasn’t like Superman, landing in a pod sent from another world. Rather, the Son of God was born of a human mother, emerging from her womb and into her arms just like every other child, just like each of us. He felt cold and hunger; he cried for his mama just like we did. Jesus is one of us. As St. Paul wrote, “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). It is this reality—God with us—that is at the heart of the Advent season. 

(This article, which was originally published in Catholic Digest’s Bible in 5 column, is reproduced with the permission of Bayard, Inc. Reproduction of this material, in any form, requires the written permission of Bayard, Inc.)

Announcements:

• As many of you know, I’m taking a year off from speaking engagements, but I will be giving an Advent Evening of Reflection (with music by Brian Rucci) at St. Robert Bellarmine Church (52 S Elm St, Windsor Locks, CT) on Wed., Dec. 11, from 6:30-7:45 p.m. All are welcome! There is no cost and no need to RSVP.

• Sr. Lany Jo Smith, ASCJ, will be offering an Advent Afternoon of Reflection entitled “Mary: The Heart of Advent” with the Saint Ann Choir at Saint Ann Church (501 Naugatuck Ave, Milford CT) on Sun., Dec. 8, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. She’s a beautiful soul, and they’re a beautiful choir. You can’t go wrong here.

• Speaking of beautiful souls, if you’re looking for a nice Christmas gift for yourself or someone else, consider Benedictine Sister Macrina Wiederkehr’s new book The Flowing Grace of Now: Encountering Wisdom through the Weeks of the Year. If you’re familiar with Macrina’s work, you know she’s a fine teacher, a clear writer, and a mystical, prophetic voice. This is Macrina’s first book in a decade, and there’s no better time to start reading it than at the start of a new year. Sr. Macrina selects “52 Teachers”—one for every week of the year—to guide you to recognize and live the “flowing grace of now.” The teachers are biblical and creative—like blindness, simplicity, and silence. Weekly prayers and inspiring spiritual quotes finish out this beautiful little book. Find it here, and learn more about Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr here.

• And my Advent book is available on the Little Rock Scripture Study site with free shipping through Dec. 13 and bulk rates on 6+ books! Here it is.

• From my home to yours, may your Advent season be one of peace. May every light, and every gift, and every quiet moment, remind you of Christ.