FOURTH DAY: DECEMBER 19   (from the book: Where is the Child? by Fr. R. Marcos (Makati: St Pauls);  pls responsibly acknowledge source when using publicly)   fr tam nguyen’s photo   First Reading: Judges 13:2-7; 24-25a There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her: Though you are barren and have had no children, you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to take no wine or beer and to eat nothing unclean, for you will conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God from the womb.  It is he who will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines. The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, fearsome indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son. So drink no wine or beer, and eat nothing unclean.  For the boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death.’ ” The woman bore a son and named him Samson, and when the boy grew up the LORD blessed him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him for the first time. A. Short Background on the First Reading 1. We have here the depiction of events surrounding the birth of a great and admired personage in the Old Testament, the strongman Samson. The mother of Samson could not bear a child because she was barren. An angel of the Lord came to her to announce what is truly good news: that she would soon give birth to a son. The woman readily accepted the angel’s word and with enthusiasm shared this with her husband Manoah. Though the husband’s reaction was not recorded, it seems implied that he was unable to receive this angelic proclamation with the same faith as her wife. Every disciple of the Lord is challenged today and always to follow the example of Samson’s mother, her openness and responsiveness to the Word, and to avoid the attitude of Manoah who was foolish and slow to grasp the Word of the Lord. The First Reading provides an appropriate introduction to the Gospel about the conception of John the Baptist. 2. The story of Samson’s conception and birth amazes us. It is a case of God’s miraculous intervention in the lives of his people. The mother is told not to take any wine or beer and as for Samson, “No razor shall touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite for God from the womb. It is he who will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.” This is what it meant to be a Nazirite: a man taken by God to become his instrument in the history of humanity. In this story, the intervention of God surpasses the insurmountable human difficulty of sterility. God demonstrates that it is he who is to intervene, it is he who is to set his people free. Through Samson, God will work out a political liberation from the oppression of the Philistines. Samson will oppose the idolatry and depravity of his people. God is the God of the impossible. He surpasses the greatest difficulties because of his will to save. B. Reflections on the First Reading Reflection 1: Spirit-filled Why is the story of Samson’s birth an Advent-Christmas story, too? His is one favorite story in Bible lessons for children, but specially his adult adventures in fighting. Children are fascinated by a superhero defeating enemies, beating up his foes, and in the end, dealing the final blow on his oppressors. The birth of Samson, however, clearly shows us the presence of the Holy Spirit in his personal history; he was a man filled with the Holy Spirit, just like Mary and Joseph and the other characters of the infancy narratives. The holy Spirit raises up men and women in times of great need. Samson filled that need when people needed a liberator from the Philistines. Jesus, God’s Son, is the liberator of all people in all times and in all places.  Who are the Spirit-filled people who are instruments of God in today’s situations of poverty and oppression? Are there politicians, economists, teachers, media men and women who allow the Spirit to move them as they serve the good of their neighbor? Let us pray for an army of men and women filled with the Spirit who will lead the Church and society today. Reflection 2: Miracles Do you notice the emphasis given to barren women in the Bible? They are everywhere, from the Old to the New Testament. Suspicious, though, is the absence of stress on the sterility of men. It seems that the problem is always with the women! Faith in the God who works against barrenness is an affirmation of faith in God, worker of miracles. This God can produce fruitfulness in the midst of barrenness. Many people today contend that though they believe in God, they do not believe in miracles anymore. How can you believe in miracles when you can clone animals, produce artificial rain, and apply stem-cell solutions to even the most difficult medical problems? Christmas is a reminder, though, that only God can save us. He is the Creator of the material world and therefore is higher than his creation. Miracles still happen, they do happen, because God is supernatural and not merely natural. If we open our eyes to the presence of the Lord, there are daily miracles, big and small, happening before our eyes. GOSPEL: Luke 1:5-25 In the days of Herod, King of Judea, … Continue reading SIMBANG GABI DAY 4: READINGS AND REFLECTIONS