Lion of Judah

Today Advent takes a special turn toward intensity. From now through the Christmas season, every day will have its own carefully tuned liturgical readings. I have to admit, though, that I have never been all that crazy about the readings for Dec. 17, prophetic though they be. The first reading is from Genesis: Jacob's prophecy over his son Judah. And the Gospel is Matthew's geneology of Jesus (with all the "begots"). This year, with the Chronicles of Narnia and the strong "Lion of Judah" imagery (no matter how the critics try to get around it), we have a representation of the Genesis prophecy: "Judah, like a lion's whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son... The scepter shall never depart from Judah." Only, as I meditated on this today, the image that came to me was God's inside-out way of fulfilling such prophecies: the Lion of Judah at the feet of his servants.
Tomorrow the community and staff will go to see the Chronicles of Narnia together. (That has become our Christmas party: to go as a staff to see a movie that we can then share reflections on.) I'm looking forward to seeing the majestic Aslan, of course, and above all his humble self-giving in sacrifice. It really sheds a wonderful light on Christmas.