December 13, 2025
Memorial of Saint Lucy,
Virgin and Martyr
Lectionary: 186
Reading
1
In those days,
like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord's word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
and who falls asleep in your friendship.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16,
18-19
R. (4) Lord,
make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be
saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be
saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be
saved.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As they were
coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
"Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121325.cfm
Commentary on Sirach
48:1-4,9-11
For today we leave aside ‘Second Isaiah’ and have a single
reading from the book of Sirach, which is also known as the book of
Ecclesiasticus. Sirach is one of the so-called ‘apocryphal’ books, which are
part of our Catholic Bible, but are not included in the Bibles of the Jews or
other Christian denominations. It is not to be confused with Ecclesiastes, a
book accepted by all denominations.
This part of Sirach consists of a long list of eulogies of
various personalities in the Old Testament. As the New Jerusalem Bible comments:
“This eulogy shows how a devout Jew of the 2nd century
before Christ thought of the history of his people.”
The eulogy in today’s reading is about the prophet Elijah.
He is praised as the prophet of the Northern Kingdom who prophesied in the name
of God against King Ahab around 869 BC. He also denounced the worship of the
god Baal. Elijah’s dramatic story can be found in the First Book of Kings
(chaps 17-19) and in the first two chapters of the Second Book of Kings.
Mendelssohn has a magnificent oratorio based on Elijah’s exploits. A number of
his deeds are referred to in today’s reading.
Why read this passage today? There are at least two reasons.
One remarkable thing about Elijah is that he did not die naturally. As today’s
reading says, he was:
…taken up by a whirlwind of fire
in a chariot with horses of fire…
It was witnessed by Elisha, who took over his prophetic
mantle. But it was expected that one day Elijah would come back to earth, and
that his return would signify the imminent coming of the Messiah. He was:
…to calm wrath before it breaks out in fury,
to turn the hearts of parents to their children
and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Whether Elijah has returned yet or not, we do not really
know, but the Gospel—and Jesus himself—implies very strongly that the role as
forerunner of the Messiah has been in fact filled by John the Baptist. And some
of the texts that we have been reading this week from Isaiah are applied by the
Gospel to John.
Another reason for this reading from Sirach is that today’s
Gospel is a passage immediately following the story of the Transfiguration in
which Elijah appears with Moses talking with Jesus.
We can apply the final passage of the reading to ourselves:
Happy are those who saw you [Elijah]
and were adorned in love!
For we also shall surely live.
The exact reading and meaning of the sentence is not clear
because of defects in the original texts that have been handed down. But those
who would see Elijah return would also see the Messiah who followed soon after.
We are among those fortunate to welcome the Messiah, Jesus
Christ, into our lives and to learn from him the Way in which our lives are to
be lived. And happy those who were “adorned in love” (in this context,
‘adorned’ means fallen asleep in death). For filled with the love of God, a
life face to face with God forever is assured.
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Commentary on
Matthew 17:10-13
As mentioned in the First Reading commentary, today’s Gospel
also references the prophet Elijah. The passage follows immediately after the
Transfiguration, when three of Jesus’ disciples—Peter, James and John—were
given a glimpse of Jesus as the glorious Son of his heavenly Father. During
that experience, they saw Moses, representing the Law, and Elijah, representing
the prophetic tradition, speaking with Jesus. As such, this clearly endorses
the mission of Jesus as Messiah, including what he had told them about his
suffering, dying, and rising again. This was a prophecy which had upset them
very much.
On the way down from the mountain, the disciples ask Jesus:
Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come
first?
Jesus replied:
…I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did
not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased.
Jesus does not really answer the question, but confirms that
Elijah will come again. In fact, says Jesus, he has already come, but he was
not recognised and he was mistreated, just as Jesus himself will not be
recognised and be rejected. The disciples immediately realised that Jesus was
speaking of John the Baptist.
The role of the returned Elijah was to pave the way for the
coming of the Messiah, and that is exactly what John the Baptist did. The First
Reading from the book of Sirach is a panegyric of Elijah, but much of it can be
applied to John the Baptist.
Once again, let us see ourselves in the role of John,
sharing with him the responsibility of preparing the way for Jesus to come into
people’s lives. And, like John and as disciples of Jesus, we too can expect to
have to face challenges, opposition and perhaps hardships because:
A disciple is not above the teacher… (Matt 10:24)
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1027g/
Saturday,
December 13, 2025
2nd Week of
Advent
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
let us never become indifferent to
the ardent message which your Son speaks to us in the gospel
When we have become inattentive and
uninvolved, send us again prophets to wake us up and to make us attentive again
to make your kingdom among us a reality of love of you and of people, of
justice and serving love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 17: 9a, 10-13
And the disciples put this
question to him, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'
He replied, 'Elijah is indeed coming,
and he will set everything right again; however, I tell you that Elijah has
come already, and they did not recognize him but treated him as they pleased;
and the Son of man will suffer similarly at their hands.'
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the
Baptist.
Reflection
The disciples have just seen Moses and
Elijah before Jesus in the Transfiguration on the mountain (Mt 17: 3). In
general, people believed that Elijah had to return to prepare the coming of the
Kingdom. Prophet Malachi said: “Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah
before the great and awesome Day of Yahweh comes. He will reconcile parents to
their children and children to their parents, to forestall my putting the
country under the curse of destruction!” (Mal 3: 23-24; cf. Eccl. 48: 10). The
disciples want to know: What does the teaching of the Doctors of the Law mean,
when they say that Elijah has to come before?” Because Jesus, the Messiah, was
already there, had already arrived, and Elijah had not come as yet.
Which is the value of this teaching of the return of Elijah?
Jesus answers: “Elijah has already come
and they have not recognized him; rather, they have treated him as they have
wanted. In the same way, they will also make the Son of Man suffer.” Then the
Disciples understood that Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist.
In that situation of Roman domination
which disintegrated the clan and the familiar living together, people expected
that Elijah would return to reconstruct the community: to reconcile the parents
to their children and the children to their parents. This was the great hope of
the people. Today also, the neo-liberal system of communism disintegrates the
families and promotes the masses which destroy life.
To reconstruct and remake the social
fabric and the community living of the families is dangerous because it
undermines the basis of the system of domination. This is why John the Baptist
was killed. He had a project to reform human living together (cf. Lk 3: 7-14). He carried out the mission of Elijah
(Lk 1:
17). This is why he was killed.
Jesus continues the same mission of
John: to reconstruct the life in community. Because God is Father, we are all
brothers and sisters. Jesus joins together two loves: love toward God and love
toward neighbor and makes them visible in the form of living together. This is
why, like John, he was put to death. This is why Jesus, the Son of Man, will be
condemned to death.
Personal Questions
•
Placing myself in the position of the disciples:
does the ideology of consumerism have power over me?
•
Placing myself in the position of Jesus: Do I
have the force to react and to create a new human way of living together?
Concluding Prayer
May your help be with the man of
your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Then we
will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your
name. (Ps 80)
