“ASSEMBLE!”
“O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.”
Antiphon for Vespers, Dec. 17th
A quick liturgy note to start. For all the Catholic liturgy geeks among us...it’s “O Antiphon” time! The days in Advent from Dec. 17 to Christmas Eve are set apart. They are a final liturgical stretch in our masses and the Liturgy of the Hours, and this is reflecting in the remaining Advent readings. The so-called “’O’ Antiphons” are taken from Vespers/Evening Prayer and reflected in the Gospel Acclamations for these days. Most, however, are probably familiar with them as the verses of the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Today’s readings call our attention to transition and fulfillment.
I couldn’t help it. Jacob’s call to his sons to “Assemble” brought to my mind the culminating battle scene of “Avengers: Endgame.” I did not grow up reading comic books, but even I was waiting for the payoff of FINALLY hearing Captain America say “Avengers...assemble!” Beside the cinematic evocation, the image in the reading of a father approaching death, in one room with all of his sons gathered was striking to me. (In the 21st Century depiction of Gen. 49, I hope we get the powerful scene of the Matriarchs to balance the scene, as we got in that Endgame battle, but I digress.) Though Jacob’s powerful language to Judah first inspired me with its vision of strength, honor, and fulfillment, it set me back on my heels too. “You have grown up on prey, my son.” Raised with a taste for blood and the hunt, this crouching lion sounds more like the villain of the Black Panther than T’Challa, the titular hero and noble ruler of the fictional Wakanda. (Sorry to mix Marvel metaphors.) The language is dangerously attractive in its depiction of strength and glory, striking down enemies as the Avengers did, but also suggesting tyranny and bloodlust. A flurry of cautionary tales from both scripture and cinema come to mind.
My prayer with these scriptures is also influenced by the fact that I know how the story goes. This first reading is the cliffhanger ending of Genesis. We leave Jacob’s sons growing in prosperity. Though they fear the retribution of their kinsman Joseph whom they mistreated; it doesn’t come. We skip right through their era of prosperity in Egypt to their enslavement in the opening verses of Exodus. The testimony of the genealogy in today’s Gospel is a testament that this turn of fortune – and how God brings blessing from both victory and tragedy – is a feature of the epic story of humanity and God’s chosen people.
So where does this cinematically-inspired reading of today’s scripture lead me? Superpowers don’t ultimately make superhero stories good. They look good on film, but what draws me to these superhumans (and various galactic demi-gods) is their humanity. Thor raining down lighting to strains of rock music is epic, but his “I am worthy” when his hammer returns to him, and his “I knew it” when it’s raised by another (no spoilers!) are what move me. The truly heroic comes when he can see the worth in his own brokenness, and to rejoice in confirming the worth he suspected in another all along.
Knowing how the story ends, it’s so easy for me to see the worth and heroism in the adulters, prostitutes and other sinners in Jesus’ family tree. Do I see the worth and heroic potential of the sinners around me, and in myself? How does God invite me today to foster “justice” and “fullness of peace”?
Jason Coito
Photo: Shutterstock