Be Vigilant: Daily Meditations for Advent by Michael Dubruiel

Author:Michael Dubruiel [Dubruiel, Michael]
Format: epub
Publisher: Smashword
Published: 2009-11-16T05:00:00+00:00

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

O Flower of Jesse's stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid.

Both of today's readings have the common theme of being annunciations of the birth of a child. In the first reading the birth of Samson is being announced. In the Gospel it is the birth of John the Baptist that Zechariah receives notice of while he is performing the priestly service in the Temple. Another common theme is that both potential parents are told that the child to be born to them is not to drink alcohol once they are born.

For some reason it is what jumped out at me when I read both this morning. We know that when Jesus compared what people said about him and John that it was Jesus who was labeled the drunkard, so he obviously enjoyed a drink now and then. So why couldn't John or Samson drink? Why did God command this of them from their conception?

There are those who think the prohibition reflects belief that grapes were the "forbidden fruit" that Adam and Eve had been forbidden to eat in the Garden of Eden. The prohibition enjoined on Samson and John from conception are then the same prohibition given by God to Adam and Eve. What is interesting about this is it kind of fits what the serpent says in reference to his take on God's prohibition to Eve when he says," you will become like gods" if you partake of this fruit--people who drink often start thinking highly of themselves.

It is even more interesting when connected with the Eucharist and Jesus taking the fruit of the vine and saying "this is the blood of the new Covenant"...thereby taking what had been the source of rupture with God and turning it into a that which restores humanity to God. One also would be struck by Jesus calling himself the "vine" and his followers branches of the vine.

So we have John in today's Gospel totally dedicated to God awaiting his coming. We also have a hint of what God will do when he comes to us.

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