14 December 2026 · Latin Rite
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“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17
Balaam was a pagan seer hired to curse Israel, but the Spirit of God came upon him and he could only bless. He sees from afar: “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” The Fathers saw this fulfilled in the star the Magi followed to Bethlehem. God can speak truth even through unexpected mouths.
In the Temple the chief priests challenge Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things?” He answers with a question about John's baptism: from heaven or human? They calculate and refuse to answer. Truth requires honesty; the leaders preferred safety. St John of the Cross, the Carmelite mystic, wrote that we must pass through the “dark night” of purification to reach union with God, and: “In the evening of life, we will be examined in love.”
Theme: “A star shall come out of Jacob.”
God's promise shines from afar; Christ's authority is from heaven; truth asks for honesty.
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites.” Numbers 24:17
“Asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”” Matthew 2:2
Apply: Put up your Christmas star with a prayer.
“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” Psalm 25:4–5
“When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”” Matthew 21:23
Apply: Let Christ's word have authority in one decision.
“See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” Malachi 3:1
“Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’”” Matthew 21:25
Apply: Face one truth you have avoided.
The star is rising; answer honestly.
In the evening of life we will be judged on love.
Take-home resolution: Make a quiet holy hour this week.
Dear friends, in the first reading a pagan prophet, Balaam, is hired by a king to curse Israel. Instead, the Spirit of God comes upon him and he blesses them. He sees from afar: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17). God can speak even through unexpected people.
The Church has always seen in this star a prophecy of Christ, and of the star that led the Magi to Bethlehem. Balaam saw him, but not now; beheld him, but not near. We, who have seen him come near, are more blessed.
In the Gospel the chief priests and elders challenge Jesus: by what authority are you doing these things? Jesus answers with a question: did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? They reason: if we say from heaven, he will ask why we did not believe; if we say of human origin, we fear the crowd. So they answer: we do not know (Matthew 21:23–27).
They were not really seeking the truth; they were calculating. Their answer depended on what was safe, not on what was true. Jesus would not play their game.
Today we remember St John of the Cross, who was imprisoned by his own brothers for seeking reform, yet in his dark cell wrote some of the most beautiful poems of love for God. He did not calculate; he gave everything.
Do I sometimes calculate in matters of faith? I will speak about God only if it is safe; I will go to Mass if there is nothing better to do; I will forgive if they apologise first. This Advent let us seek the truth honestly and follow it, like the star of Jacob, wherever it leads. Amen.
Children, a star led the wise men to Jesus. Ask Jesus to be the bright star that guides you every day!
Lord, star rising from Jacob, teach me your ways. Give me an honest heart that does not calculate but obeys, and lead me, like St John of the Cross, through every dark night to union with you. Amen.
A foreign seer, hired to curse Israel, finds that he can only bless, and he sees far ahead: “a star shall come out of Jacob”. In the Gospel the leaders of the Temple ask Jesus by what authority he acts, and he answers them with a question about John. The psalm prays, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord.” One man from outside Israel sees truly by God’s gift, while some leaders of the Temple decline to say what they see.
Setting.
Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, near the end of the desert journey. Balak, king of Moab, is afraid and hires Balaam, a well-known seer from the east, to curse them (Numbers 22–24). Three times he tries, and each time blessing comes out of his mouth. Our reading gives parts of his third and fourth oracles. Scripture elsewhere judges him severely for what he did afterward (Numbers 31:16; Revelation 2:14), but here God uses him as a true prophet.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!” (24:5)
Balaam looks at a camp of desert tents and sees a garden. He is seeing what God sees.
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near” (24:17)
The most mysterious line of the oracle. The seer truly sees, but from far away. Advent lives in that “not now”, and Christmas is the answer to it.
“a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;” (24:17)
The Greek Old Testament has “a man shall rise” in place of “a scepter”, which shows how early this verse was read as speaking of a person.
How the Church reads it.
St Justin and St Irenaeus read this star as Christ himself (in substance). The Church connects it with the star of the Magi (Matthew 2:2), who like Balaam came from the east. Origen thought that the Magi knew of Balaam’s prophecy (in substance). The Catechism sees the Magi as the first of the nations to come to Christ (CCC 528). The Book of Revelation calls Jesus “the bright morning star” (22:16).
Setting.
Jesus has entered Jerusalem in triumph and has driven out the sellers from the Temple (21:1–17). Now he is teaching in the Temple courts, and the people responsible for it come to question him. They are a small group of leaders, the chief priests and the elders. Their question is a natural one: who permitted these actions?
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
““By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”” (21:23)
“Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”” (21:25)
Answering a question with a question was a familiar way of teaching. It is also a true reply: the one who could accept John’s call would know where Jesus’ authority comes from.
“So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”” (21:27)
They do not say this because they have looked and could not tell, but because of the consequences. Those who will not say what they think cannot receive any further answer.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism explains that Jesus taught with an authority that went beyond the interpretation of the Law of his time, not as the scribes (CCC 581), and carefully says that the charges made by some leaders must never be laid on Jews in general (CCC 597). The question is one for each of us: do we ask about Jesus’ authority to obey it, or only to keep it at a distance?
How could God speak through a pagan seer like Balaam?
God can use anyone. Nothing about the gift of prophecy makes the prophet holy, and Scripture does not hide Balaam’s failings. God’s word stays true even when his messenger is flawed.
Today is the memorial of St John of the Cross (1542–1591), a Spanish Carmelite priest, who worked with St Teresa of Avila on the reform of their Order. Members of his own Order imprisoned him in Toledo in 1577–78, and in that dark cell he composed much of his great poem, the Spiritual Canticle. He wrote of the “dark night”, in which God draws the soul closer by means that it cannot yet see. He died at Úbeda on 14 December 1591, and Pius XI declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1926. Balaam’s star, seen “not now” and “not near”, suits him well. The Catechism quotes his saying: “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (CCC 1022).