The Gospel for Christmas Eve, the Benedictus, is a
messianic, thanksgiving prayer, prayed by Zechariah at the birth of his son
John the Baptist (Luke 1: 68-79). From
the sixth century to this day the Benedictus is prayed daily by all who pray
the Divine Office. Christmas Eve is a most apt time for this Gospel to be
prayed for this is the time we praise God for delivering us from darkness and
the shadow of death.
Christmas celebrates the gift of God’s
fullness to humanity. The promised, tender love of God dawns to life in the
person of Jesus. He is the one who wipes away every tear and urges us to grow
into the people God intends us to be.
A sung, translated version of the Benedictus by
Bernadette Farrell’s verse five reads:
“The tender love God
promised from our birth is soon to dawn upon this shadowed earth, To shine
on those whose sorrows seem to never cease, To guide our feet into the path
of peace.”
The second part of this verse catches my attention. All
over the world there are persons whose lives are filled with sorrows that
persist and never cease. Each time we
sing this verse I am reminded of several women who have participated in my
groups at prison. These women have identified with a horrific expression of
“throw away people.”
The first memory of one woman was literally being thrown
in a trash can by her parents. Her story never got better. Reared in chaotic
and often violent homes the sense of self-worth of these women was shattered
from the beginning.
Though many of us
have not experienced sorrows as deep as these women, most of us have known
tragedy and wondered if and when we would recover. Christmas celebrates the
dawning of a new day when the promised One will “deliver us from the land of
gloom and guide our feet into the way of peace.” And, at the same time the
Christ summons us to manifest the loving-kindness of God and reveal the
Christ-light. We must speak his healing words, be his tender hands, and be his
living compassion allowing it to “shine on those who sorrows seem to never
cease.”
Sr. Aileen Bankemper, OSB
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