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December 09: Passover

Traditional Ornament: Doorpost

Reading: Exodus 12

“Seeing the blood on the lintel and the doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and not let the destroyer into your house.” (Exodus 12:23)

In Exodus, we see God in “full father mode” working through Moses to keep the promise He made to Abraham – to make his descendants a great nation – but first He must free them from bondage in Egypt. God instructs Moses on what to say, “So you will say to Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn. I said to you: Let my son go, that he may serve me. Since you refused to let him go, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”  (Exodus 4:22-23)  The Passover in Exodus marks the deliverance of the Israelites from their captivity in Egypt. We remember the Passover during Advent because it foreshadows the reason for Christ’s coming –  to deliver us. Just as the blood of an innocent lamb was shed to spare the lives of the Israelites, Christ’s blood was shed to save us all. The Israelites were told to eat the meal with their loins girt, a metaphor for preparedness. This metaphor applies to us as well. In Advent, when we look forward to the second coming of Christ, we recognize that we must be prepared and ready at all times.

Jewish people celebrate the Passover every year to recall their salvation from slavery in Egypt. We eat the Eucharist at Mass and recall the great sacrifice that Jesus made and the ransom that He paid for us.

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide

December 08: Joseph

Traditional Ornament: Coat of Many Colors

Reading: Genesis 37, 39-45, 50

“God, therefore, sent me on ahead of you to ensure for  you a remnant on earth and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance.” (Genesis 45:7)

Joseph’s story is prominent in the book of Genesis. Although the lineage of Jesus does not pass through Joseph, he is remembered each Advent in the Jesse Tree, because his story is rich with parallels to Jesus’ own life.

After his brothers sell him into slavery,  Joseph rises to a position of authority in Egypt because of his ability to interpret dreams. At one point in the story, Joseph is in a situation where he could seek revenge against his brothers, who were starving and seeking food for their families. But Joseph realized something more important. Although his brothers’ jealousy had led to his enslavement, it was God who took his situation and brought forth good from it. Joseph recognized that it was God’s continued guiding presence in his life that not only brought about his salvation from life as a slave but salvation from famine for his family.

Joseph shows us that we can place our trust in God when we experience hardships or suffering in life, and know that there is a purpose to our suffering – a lesson to be learned, a greater good to come about. We may not know that purpose today, but we can rest assured that God is always in control.

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide

December 07: Jacob

Traditional Ornament: Ladder/Stairs

Reading: Genesis 28

“I am with you and will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land.” (Genesis 28:15)

The people God chooses to work through are not perfect. Jacob is no exception. His past sins cause him to flee his home and settle far away from his brother, Esau, whose birthright he had stolen. On his journey. Jacob stops for the night to rest and has a dream where he sees a stairway reaching into the heavens with angels going up and down. God speaks to Jacob in the dream, assuring him that He will always be with him.  God affirms that Jacob will receive His blessing – the same blessing given to his father Isaac, and Abraham, before him.

We might wonder why God would allow His blessing to pass to someone who had obtained it through trickery and deceit. Perhaps even Jacob wondered if he was worthy to receive it. When Jacob wakes from his dream, he is amazed and names the place “Bethel” which means “house of God.”  Jacob’s dream reminds us that God is always with us and at work in our lives too. Wherever we are in life, God descends to us and is there to accompany us on our journey.  Today’s reading is a good opportunity to reflect on how God is working in our lives, and whether we are receptive to His presence.

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide

December 06: Isaac

Traditional Ornament: Ram

Reading: Genesis 22: 1-18

“Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh; hence people today say, ‘On the mountain the Lord will provide’.” (Genesis 22:14)

Abraham and Sarah had waited a long time for a child.  To say that Isaac was the “apple of his father’s eye” would be an understatement. If we read today’s Scripture passage without any context, what God commands of Abraham seems beyond cruel; God submits Abraham to a trial, directing him to sacrifice his only son. But, if we’ve been following the story, we know that God is revealing something about Himself and His Son, and His plan for us. Abraham’s trial foreshadows our Heavenly Father’s great love for us when He sacrificed His only begotten Son on the cross.

The story is rich with parallels. Isaac carries the wood for the fire, just as Christ carried his own cross. Isaac does not protest when his father binds him on the altar, just as Christ perfectly obeyed his Father. An innocent animal was substituted as the sacrifice, just as Christ, who was innocent of all sin, died for our sins. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide

December 05: Call of Abraham

Traditional Ornament: Tent/Camel

Reading: Genesis 12-13,15-17

“No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17:5)

God speaks to Abraham and tells him that he has big plans for him and his wife Sarah.  Despite their advanced age, God wants him to pack up and move to another land.  A land where he and Sarah will be strangers.  They will know no one. They won’t even be able to speak the language. Of course, we all know that God’s plan went beyond just moving to a new zip code.  Abraham is the first patriarch, he became father to a nation.  But, why do you suppose God chose Abraham?  Perhaps it was because there was already a close connection there. Abraham was already open and receptive to God’s call, and he could trust in what God was telling him to do. As crazy as God’s plan must have sounded, Abraham’s closeness to God gave him the trust and confidence to follow the will of God.

We can begin to have that same kind of closeness with God by opening ourselves up to Him in prayer.

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide

December 04: The Flood

Traditional Ornament: Ark

Reading: Genesis 6: 5 – 9: 17

“I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:13)

It’s difficult to read about the wickedness of the world during Noah’s time.  It’s even harder to read about God’s regret in making man.  Looking out over His once perfect creation and seeing the moral wasteland that it had become, can we really blame Him?

Even though we don’t know a lot about Noah, we know what is most important. God found him to be a righteous and faith-filled man. He obeyed God’s command to build the ark and save his family and the animals. He put his trust in God alone, and was not concerned with what anyone else may have thought. In our own lives, we may be tempted to hide our faith, or forego doing the right thing, if we think that others will laught at us. Sometimes it may feel safer to just go along with the crowd. We have to ask ourselves, who are we trying to please? Whose approval do we seek?

© 2017 Catechist’s Aide