Plus: First! The Christmas Price Index of the 12 Days of Christmas items!
What is the cost of the 12 Days of Christmas items if one were to buy them in 2023? PNC Bank has totaled what it will cost you in $46,729.86 Now, if you’re buying all 12 gifts online, the bank said you will pay more with a total of $52,024.03
So, it’s a bit hard to be a true love that’s giving things away for 12 days. Maybe it’d be better trim down or skip some items like the 5 golden rings and the hiring of 11 pipers or purchasing 7 swans a-swimming. How about a cheaper ring, one piper and one swan to get costs down?! ☺
CHRISTMAS OCTAVE HOMILY Dec. 31 Sunday Fr. Barry
It is the 7th Day after Christmas, but the Gospel today leaps us to the 40th Day after Christmas, at the Presentation of Baby Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem.
We do so because there is not a lot written in the Gospels about what happened after Christ’ Birth on that Blessed Night and Morn. Briefly, though, there is news given about the 8th day of the Christ Child, of that it is when He was named Jesus and circumcised, and it’s in one verse of Luke’s Gospel on our the January 1st Mother of God Mass. Many weeks later on the scene are the Magi’s coming, but we’ll observe it next Sunday as what’s called “Little Christmas.” But on this Sunday of the 7th Day of Christmas we take note that Jesus was born into a family, the model God has given from the start for humanity. You heard some Scripture selections on family for the feast, and in the Gospel we see how the Holy Family has gone from Bethlehem to go up to Jerusalem on this 40th day of the Blessed Babe’s life. Why so? It is because Joseph and Mary are a devout Jewish couple that will (as soon as lawful and possible) present Jesus their boy in a ceremony in the great Holy Temple, God’s House. They have traveled the 7 miles to get up there, with Mary and donkey again, with Joseph in front leading them, but maybe with several relatives, neighbors and a mid-wife assistant from Bethlehem going along. They’ll likely see some of Mary’s kin and relatives in this city visit, though it’s quietly efforted. The Holy Family is just slipping in unnoticed into Jerusalem as just any average couple asking for this religious rite for their male first-born. Joseph knows to bring along two turtledoves to offer for the appropriate Temple sacrifice. Simeon comes forward to do the duties there in the Temple, and there’s the elderly woman Anna who attends as a witness. Mary and Joseph see how Simeon and Anna somehow recognize the Jesus is Messiah, that He is The One. They listen to some amazing, prophetic things being said by Simeon and Anna. All of this is purposely done on the 40th day of Jesus, as is many things in the Bible have a “40” associated with it, such as legal dedications to God with a first-born son.
It could have us wonder: What Is the Significance of “40 Days” in the Bible? The number 40 appears often in the Bible, in ways that have symbolic meaning and importance. Stretches of 40 days in the Bible accounts have a prominent place or message – such as when God flooded the Earth for 40 days, or how Jesus spent specifically 40 days in the bookends of His ministry, one in the wilderness after His baptism, and then again exactly 40 days in appearing to people as Risen between His Easter and Ascension mysteries. Have you noticed it? Have you counted how many times that “40 Days” is mentioned in the Bible? Aha! You’d like me to surprise you and say that it is exactly 40 times?! Not quite! It’s over 2 dozen times. Here are highlights of those instances.
►Genesis records God describing his plans for dealing with the rampant sin on our planet, way far back in history: “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” That’s in chapter 7, but the Bible shows God’s mercy through to chapter 8 on the faith-filled Noah and the Ark. The timing of the extreme precipitation stops at day 40. Then, Noah and the travelers float on and God’s elect are saved. They land and start again. What does the “40” mean in that account? (It is that) God gives restarts. Let God be justly upset with the world and its sin—but then, Lord Have Mercy—there is a way provided for people of faith to follow to keep going on in relationship with God.
►In Exodus 24 it says: “Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” In verse 28 it says how then “Moses wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments.” It’s that ‘40 thing’ again! What was going on? It was like a retreat, ending in Moses knowing what 10 Commandments would help guide humankind to know God’s playbook for life. For us—the “40 plan” might be our need for that enlightenment of study with God. Moses was so enlightened, it said he was glowing bright.
►In 1 Kings 19:8, we read about how the prophet Elijah similarly has a faith journey that includes 40 days and nights for travels, “until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.” Sometimes “the 40 thing” is just realizing how life is a journey and God is the destination.
► The Philistine soldier Goliath threatened the Israelites for 40 days before God sent the courageous shepherd David to defeat Goliath against all odds. It’s in 1st Samuel chapter 17. I think its “40 lesson” is God’s call to Israel to see who would be strong and courageous of faith, and of deep trust in God. I think God is still calling us so. Joshua chapter 1 and 1st Corinthians 16 both urge the God follower to “be strong and courageous.” David of Bethlehem steps up. He’ll prevail. There is one thing that David had going—he had 40 days to prepare. It’s Day 40 he executed his slingshot plan.
►Here’s two more “40 Thing” accounts. God instructed the prophet Ezekiel to lay on his right side for 40 days to symbolically bear the sins of Judea for rebelling against God for 40 years. It doesn’t say if it was a nice couch he was laying on. We Catholics imitate it a bit in the symbolic signs of our 40 days and fasting and conversion habits being fashioned in our Lenten Season works.
Then in Jonah chapter 3, the reluctant prophet, with an assist from a whale, got to the city of Nineveh to prophesy of how God would overthrow it: “Jonah proclaimed, ‘Forty days of prophetic convincing you have of me, but if falls on hard hearts, without a repentant response, the end result will be that God finishes you off.’ The people of Nineveh took that warning seriously and used the 40 days to repent of their sins. As a result, God spared them. Maybe it was Jonah’s walking out of a whale that got their attention! Yet in applying it to ourselves, God may ask of us for a special time of witness, to convince others that God is real and His call is real and that people do need a holy fear of Him (and of their death in sin without Him). We are always witnessing to The Lord as the God Who Saves; sometimes it’s ‘a 40 thing.’ Maybe not walking out of whales with a Repent message, but perhaps a walking by faith witness of something hard, where its seen that God is with you.
►Go to the New Testament, and you see Jesus keeping the 40 Thing going in Scripture and Godly intercession and intervention. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert wilderness before He began His public ministry, being first tempted by evil to sin in ways that are common to all humanity in this fallen world. After his Resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days of appearances in visiting with people of faith, and hundreds of people saw and spoke with him before his Ascension into heaven. Acts 1:3 reports: “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
What Is the Meaning of 40 Days in the Bible? What is significant about it, or its lesson for us?
The phrase “40 days” in the Bible designates a period of time to go through something with God or to complete an important spiritual challenge. In the most dramatic one, I think, “40 days” of the Risen Jesus gave the First Church a special encounter of the Victorious Lord. Jesus mentions in his appearance to Thomas that, while Thomas could touch the flesh, others later in the fold would not see Jesus physically as such he did, but they would still believe by signs of God. St. John explains early in his gospel that such a major sign is the Eucharist, as Jesus is “The bread of Life.” Our Lord established it so at the Last Supper to “know” Him in the breaking of the bread ahead.
Just like all biblical symbolism, the significance of 40 days is multifaceted and deep. It may seem mysterious. Jesus wants to show that He means to build His people up people into a process of God-reliance and trust. So the major hint of “40” is given at Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple in the First Christmas. He was presented on the 40th day. God would like to get started early in people’s lives for an encounter with Him.
40 is not a magic number or the so-called best or lucky number. Nor are we at all into the sinful area of numerology. That would be dabbling in the occult realm, so watch out!
Maybe we could call it “Route 40” –the route of trust in God, with a process of waiting on God, or serving Him, or finding how to be strong and courageous.
Jesus’ Presentation was on Day 40 of His coming—so now you know that this “40 thing” was no coincidence at all of Him in being at the Temple. There was something to it. The Lord of the Temple was in it 33 years prior to when He would be preaching at it and turning over things. Before He’d topple sin and death for us.
Christmas Homily
It’s Christmas again, and I am reminded of a Monopoly Game I got one year under the Christmas tree. It’s a game where you keep going on the board back to the start or “Go.” The more you go about the board for another pass, you hope to build and get richer and win. Well, we have been around the board of our Faith in the seasons of faith over and over, all to return to the Christmas square—Square One is Jesus’ Birth. This is Christmas number 66 for me; returning to the start and revelation of Christ’ in His Nativity Mystery–how about you? How many Christmases?
It means that we are still going on in ‘the Game of Life’ and it’s good to reach Christmas again, for the Church’s great holy day of when “He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” (Borrowing a line from our O Holy Night song.)
Christmas takes us to the start of all things, the meaning of all things in Christ Jesus. John’s gospel opens with “In the beginning, God…. and His Word always (the Son)…and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” At Christmas Masses, we come to a pause in the Creed today/tonight at “became man,” and then we continue. It’s a special rubric we do with the Christmas Mass.
It’s because of Jesus that we have new birth and grace and friendship with God (as Adestes Fidelis sings “God and sinners reconciled).”
So the Word was made flesh is saying our salvation is come. God is now here in a personal way. Offering Himself to us in love, as Gift from Abba Father.
God made Christmas so that we now have Him here. A Savior is come to a people needing to be saved. Us.
Christmas and the Square One concept is a reminder in Christianity that it all begins and ends with Jesus, as He is the Alpha and the Omega, as St. John would put into his Revelation writings.
Looking at Christmas as a “Restart” square—we see how the mystery is meant to work: “the Word became flesh and dwelled/tabernacle among us” but for an action to occur, and John 1:12 includes “and as many received Him, did He them give right to become children of God, even to those who believe upon His Name.”
So we pass Go, or land on it tonight/today and pray: We do believe upon His Name and Christmas is our joy. In the Christmas liturgy, we highlight that because of this Moment in History we have freedom. And where the Spirit of the Lord is there’s freedom. That’s 2nd Cor. 3:17.
The monopoly, one might say, of sin and death and all the worse things of a fallen human race and planet have been interrupted— we may let the reign of God come in by Jesus Christ the Lord. Go and announce the gospel of the Lord!
As we come back to the Nativity start on the board of life, we know there is a “go to glory” dimension on the board, we shall not be here on earth too long, but there is a victory in the Game of Life as we celebrate we’ve already won in the Name of Jesus and the power of His Spirit. As the game of life goes on, about the board, we grow in the kingdom of God. We are nourished in grace by sacraments. We are being made holy. The manger of Bethlehem for the Christ is now the manger of the heart for each of us; in the community, the place of Bethlehem, known as “house of bread” is now the Church, whose churches are houses of the Bread of Life, the Eucharist. Eat this bread, on the journey in life, and you shall live forever, says Our Lord in John 6.
“For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33.
Eucharist is partaken by a member who is in submission to the kingdom of God life within us—and linked to the body of believers in such a poor-in-spirit manner. Jesus is Lord is the prayer of the penitent, born-anew person. We are not competitors in the game of life, but cooperators, and it’s not all about you—but it is about God’s glory being given.
For the homily, I did a little research on the game of monopoly. Not all spaces in Monopoly are created equal. Based on average die rolls and the cards in the decks, “Jail” is the most landed on space. Oh no! The most common roll on 2 dice is 7 so in the first round, every seventh space has a better probability than any of the others. I’ve noticed that’s how people roll a lot in life without Christ. They end up in slavery or in prison to sin and selfishness and pride—and there stuck in that place. Desperately they look for a get out of jail free card. In real life, that card says: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner. May you be first in my life, and help me to a re-start in you.” You don’t need the card actually, just the prayer.
Where do you go? On God’s board, the repentance square is right before “Go” instead of Boardwalk, as its added. Maybe the Short Line Railroad is sacrificed to fit it in—for there’s no short line, short cut railroad to Glory. Yet there is a Gospel Train to Glory, and one day passing “Go” you’ll hear God call you to get aboard—for you are leaving the game of life to “go” up.
Until then, I wish you a good year ahead in the game. Where are the Catholic squares in Monopoly? I’d aim for St. Charles Place—or St. James Avenue—those two spots sound Catholic to me! If there is Greencastle Road instead of Baltic Avenue, then aim for it…or for Riderwood Gardens instead of Marvin Gardens.
Jesus said: Those who acknowledge Me, then in turn shall I have the Father acknowledge you to glory. Play the spaces of life as “through Him, with Him, In Him” (as our Eucharistic Prayer concludes with a chorus of Amen). You need The Lord and His Spirit with you. Jesus urges: “Abide in Me, and I in you. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. I am the Vine and you are the branches, so cling to Me and the Church, for I am gathering you into one people, my espoused.” End.