REFLECTION

What Child is This?

Contributed by Father Jack Melito, CM

Like the Gospels of the final Sundays of the year that usually offer accounts of widespread destruction suggesting the end of time, our own world of 2005 A.D. mirrors similar litanies of distress—wars and rebellions, hurricanes and earthquakes, floods, famines and fires—so much so that one would think that these disasters could mark the actual end of time. However, there is no finale, triumphant or otherwise. In­stead, the aftermaths of most ordeals mark new beginnings for each site in our weary world, as its population struggles to emerge from the debris with a determination to rebuild its cities and re-start its residents’ lives.

It is a fortunate moment for the Season of Advent to arrive at this juncture. The occasion offers calm and reassurance amid the underlying agitation, and it points in the direction of hope—to Bethlehem—for the arrival of the newborn Prince of Peace. “What child is this?” sings the carol; it answers, “Christ the King…Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.” This query announces the spirit of the season: an invitation to reflect with hope on the mystery that this Child’s birth proclaims.

He is the fulfillment of the journey that Israel began long ago, guided by maps of the roads laid out by the patriarchs and the prophets that would lead, ultimately, to Bethlehem and beyond. Within these maps are the signposts that the ancient spokesmen left behind as records of God’s guiding interventions in their history, as he gradually unfolded the meaning of events and their ultimate destination.

In the Advent liturgy, Isaiah’s is the strongest and most eloquent voice, his words a rich source for mining the significance of the Promised One. Indeed, the words of Isaiah (61, 1ff.) form a link with Jesus, as history moves from promise to fulfillment. Jesus appropriated the words of the prophet (Luke, 4, 18 ff), identifying himself as the one whom “the Spirit of the Lord” anointed. Moreover, in that same breath, Jesus revealed the directions his saving ministry would take: “to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners…” He confirms his status by asserting, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

“What Child is this?”…Mary was the first person to face the question about the mystery it held. After her, all Christians must eventually confront it themselves. In solidarity with Mary, the Church, during Advent, invites all the faithful to stand alongside her in contemplation of this mystery of the Word made Flesh.