Saturday of Week 2 of Advent – First Reading

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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Saturday of Week 2 of Advent – Gospel

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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