Baptism of the Lord, cycle A

MATTHEW 3:13-17

MY MOTHER AND HER NINE SIBLINGS HAVE ALL PASSED ON TO THEIR FINAL REWARD. IT'S BEEN A WHILE AND I FIND THAT MY MEMORY OF HOW ANY OF THEM LOOKED IS FADING AS WELL. ONCE IN A WHILE I DIG OUT AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH TO REMIND ME. IF YOU LOOKED AT A PICTURE OF ALL TEN OF THEM, YOU WOULD PROBABLY NOTICE THAT FOUR OF THEM BEAR A RESEMBLANCE TO EACH OTHER, WHILE THE OTHER SIX LOOK LIKE EACH OTHER AS WELL. IF YOU HAD A PICTURE OF THEIR PARENTS IT WOULD BE CLEAR THAT SOME INHERITED THEIR LOOKS FROM THEIR MOTHER'S SIDE AND THE OTHERS, FROM THEIR FATHER'S SIDE.

I DON'T LOOK MUCH LIKE MY FATHER DID; I GET MY LOOKS FROM MY MOTHER'S SIDE. BUT I SEE A STRONG RESEMBLANCE TO MY FATHER IN ONE OF MY NEPHEWS.

FAMILY RESEMBLANCE ISN'T JUST ABOUT LOOKS. SOMETIMES IT'S IN MANNERISMS. I HAVE A NEPHEW WHO NOT ONLY LOOKS LIKE HIS FATHER, BUT TALKS LIKE HIM, GESTURES, LIKE HIM, WALKS LIKE HIM. HE COULD BE A CLONE.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I HAVE A GRANDCHILD THAT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE HIS FATHER, BUT HAS SOME TRAITS THAT REMIND ME OF MY SON-IN-LAW. HE HAS A CERTAIN WAY OF INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE THAT NONE OF HIS SIBLINGS SHARE, BUT IN THAT HE IS VERY MUCH LIKE HIS DAD.

THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT GOD MADE MAN IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS. PEOPLE HAVE PUZZLED OVER THIS STATEMENT FOR A LONG TIME. WHAT DOES IT MEAN, AND WHY DID THE INSPIRED AUTHOR USE TWO DIFFERENT HEBREW WORDS. FOR US, IMAGE AND LIKENESS MEAN THE SAME THING. BUT AS YOU GO THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT YOU FIND THAT THE TWO WORDS ARE NEVER USED TOGETHER AFTER THE STORY OF THE CREATION OF MAN. THERE ARE MANY REFERENCES TO MAN BEING MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE, BUT THE WORD “LIKENESS” ISN'T USED. SOME OF THE CHURCH FATHERS DECIDED THAT AFTER ADAM AND EVE SINNED, THEY LOST THE “LIKENESS” OF GOD, BUT RETAINED THE IMAGE. AND THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN, DOWN TO THE PRESENT, RETAINED THE IMAGE, BUT NO LONGER HAD THE LIKENESS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD? IT HAS TO DO WITH OUR ABILITY TO REASON, TO REMEMBER, AND TO ACT INDEPENDENT OF EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. GRANTED, THESE QUALITIES EXIST IN US IN A VERY IMPERFECT WAY; WE KNOW OUR LOGIC SOMETIMES LEADS US DOWN THE WRONG PATH; WE KNOW OUR MEMORIES ARE FLAWED; AND WE KNOW THAT MUCH OF WHAT WE CHOOSE TO DO IS IN RESPONSE TO SOME EXTERNAL PRESSURE. BUT WE SHARE THESE TRAITS WITH GOD. BUT SOMETHING ABOUT OUR VERY BODIES RESEMBLES GOD AS WELL; JESUS SAID, “IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER”. ALL HUMAN BEINGS POSSESS THE IMAGE OF GOD. IF WE LOOK AT EACH OTHER, WE CAN CATCH GLIMPSES OF GOD. WHETHER YOU ARE ADOLPH HITLER OR POPE FRANCIS, THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT RECALLS OUR FATHER; WE BEAR A FAMILY RESEMBLANCE.

TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE BAPTISM OF JESUS. JOHN HAD BEEN BAPTIZING PEOPLE AS A SIGN THAT THEY WERE COMMITTED TO REPENTANCE, TO TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES, TO RENEW THEIR EFFORTS TO FOLLOW GOD'S LAW. THE BAPTISM WAS SEEN AS A SIGN OF COMMITMENT; TO ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE PLUNGED UNDER THE WATER AND COME UP AGAIN SIGNALED A NEW BIRTH. BUT JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS MERELY A SYMBOL.

WHEN JESUS WAS BAPTIZED, HOWEVER, SOMETHING NEW HAPPENED. GOD'S SPIRIT DESCENDED UPON HIM IN THE FORM OF A DOVE, IT SAYS; AND A VOICE FROM THE HEAVENS CRIED OUT “THIS IS MY BELOVED, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED!” THOSE CHURCH FATHERS WHO THOUGHT ABOUT THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD IN HUMAN BEINGS THOUGHT THAT AT THIS MOMENT JESUS INITIATED THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM, AND IN BAPTISM, THE LIKENESS TO GOD WAS RESTORED.

SACRAMENTAL BAPTISM, ACCORDING TO SOME OF THOSE CHURCH FATHERS, RESTORES OUR LIKENESS TO GOD. AND WHAT IS THIS LIKENESS? IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCENDING ON US. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE BEGIN TO SHARE GOD'S LIFE. WE BEGIN TO HAVE SUPERNATURAL QUALITIES – FAITH – THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US; HOPE – THE ABILITY TO LOOK FORWARD TO A DESTINY THAT WE COULDN'T OTHERWISE EVEN THINK ABOUT; AND LOVE – GOD'S KIND OF LOVE, THE ABILITY TO LOVE IN THE WAY GOD LOVES. WE BECOME CAPABLE OF SELF-GIVING LOVE, LOVE WHICH EMPTIES US OUT SO THAT GOD CAN FILL US UP.

WHEN WE LOOK AROUND AT OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS, THE LIKENESS OF GOD SOMETIMES SHINES FORTH BRILLIANTLY AND OTHER TIMES, ONLY DIMLY. BUT ONE OF THE MARVELOUS THINGS ABOUT HAVING GOD'S LIKENESS IS THAT WHEN WE GET TOGETHER WITH EACH OTHER TO STUDY OUR FAITH, TO DO WORKS OF CHARITY, OR TO DO ANYTHING ELSE IN CHRIST'S NAME, EVEN SOCIAL EVENTS, THERE IS A MULTIPLIER EFFECT. EVERYONE'S LIKENESS SHINES FORTH, AND CHRIST BECOMES PRESENT. JESUS HIMSELF SAID THIS: “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE I AM”.

SO BAPTISM IS A WONDERFUL THING. IT GIVES US A SUPERNATURAL DIMENSION; IT MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO RECLAIM THE WAY WE WERE CREATED TO BE – LIKE ADAM AND EVE BEFORE THE FALL, BUT EVEN MORE, BECAUSE WE SHARE THE BAPTISM OF JESUS IT GIVES US A GODLY DIMENSION. ST. JOHN SAYS: “ DEAR FRIENDS, NOW WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND WHAT WE WILL BE HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE KNOWN. BUT WE KNOW THAT WHEN CHRIST APPEARS, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS.” WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM.

ISN'T THAT A WONDERFUL PROMISE? WE BELIEVE JESUS IS GOD AND MAN. EVERY TIME WE PUT A DROP OF WATER IN THE WINE THAT WILL BE CHANGED INTO THE BLOOD OF JESUS AT MASS, WE SAY THESE WORDS, “BY THE MYSTERY OF THIS WATER AND WINE, MAY WE COME TO SHARE IN THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST, WHO HUMBLED HIMSELF TO SHARE IN OUR HUMANITY.”

THAT'S THE AMAZING THING – THAT THROUGH BAPTISM WE BEGIN THE PATH TO BECOME LIKE JESUS, TO BECOME “DIVINIZED”. AND WE CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THIS.

BUT IT'S TRUE. AND BAPTISM OPENS THESE DOORS TO US. AND FOR EACH OF US WHO HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED, THOSE WORDS RING IN OUR EARS; “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.” BECAUSE, THE FATHER TELLS US, YOU LOOK LIKE ME, AND YOU ACT LIKE ME, AND YOU SHARE MY VERY SPIRIT, YOU BEAR MY IMAGE AND LIKENESS – THAT'S WHY YOU ARE MY BELOVED. AND IN OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS, AS WE RESPOND TO THE SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN US, IT'S WITHIN OUR POWER TO MORE AND MORE COME TO RESEMBLE OUR FATHER.

Feast of the Epiphany, 2014

MATTHEW 2:1-12

MY YOUNGEST GRANDCHILD IS ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD, AND OVER CHRISTMAS CAME TO VISIT US WITH HER MOM. NOW I AM VERY FOND OF ALL MY GRANDCHILDREN; EVERY ONE OF THEM IS UNIQUE IN SOME WAY. BUT LITTLE LEILA SPENT MUCH OF THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF HER LIFE LIVING WITH US IN OUR HOME, AND I HAD JUST RETIRED FROM MY JOB, AND SO SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH HER. WE BONDED.

LEILA IS STILL PRETTY HELPLESS AND DEPENDENT ON ADULTS FOR EVERYTHING. BUT SHE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT AND IS VERY PROUD OF HER ABILITY TO RUN. ON HER RECENT VISIT SHE WATCHED MARY POPPINS SEVERAL TIMES, AS WELL AS MONSTERS INC, HER TWO FAVORITE MOVIES. AND WHILE SHE WAS IN OUR HOME, EVERYTHING CHANGED. THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE REMAINED ON SHELVES NOW FOUND THEIR WAY TO THE FLOOR. THE TIMES WHEN EATING WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN CHANGED. THE SETTINGS ON THE TELEVISION WERE ALL SWITCHED TO UNFAMILIAR CHANNELS. LEILA QUICKLY BECAME THE CENTER OF ATTENTION AND WHEN SHE WOULD SEE HER COUSINS THEY WOULD CHANGE AS WELL; EVEN HER ALMOST FOUR YEAR OLD COUSIN DEFERRED TO HER; SHE DECIDED TO PLAY WITH ONE OF HIS CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, AND REFUSED TO GIVE IT BACK WHEN HE ASKED. INSTEAD OF FIGHTING WITH HER, LIKE HE WOULD HAVE DONE HAD THIS BEEN DONE BY AN OLDER BROTHER, HE QUICKLY GAVE UP AND FOUND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF POWER. A CEO OF A GIANT CORPORATION CAN HIRE AND FIRE PEOPLE; SHE CAN CLOSE DEPARTMENTS AND START NEW ONES; SHE CAN SINGLE-HANDEDLY CHANGE THE ENTIRE COMPANY. AN ATHLETE HAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER. A STAR QUARTERBACK CAN DO THINGS WITH A FOOTBALL THAT SEEM ALMOST MIRACULOUS. SOME OF THE GREAT BASKETBALL PLAYERS ALMOST SEEM ABLE TO FLY. AND THEN YOU HAVE A THIRD KIND OF POWER. IF YOU'VE EVER WATCHED A CONCERT GIVEN BY A POPULAR MUSICIAN OR MUSICAL GROUP, YOU SOON LEARN THAT IT'S NOT THE MUSIC THAT DRAWS PEOPLE; IT'S CHARISMA – THE ABILITY TO MAKE PEOPLE BE ATTRACTED TO YOU.

BUT LEILA HAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER. JUST BY BEING HER HELPLESS SELF, SHE CAN CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR OF A CEO, OR A STAR ATHLETE, OR A CHARISMATIC MUSICAL STAR; BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING IN ALL OF US THAT IS TOUCHED BY A SMALL CHILD; WE FIND OURSELVES WANTING THE CHILD'S ATTENTION, WANTING TO SEE THE CHILD SMILE, WANTING IN SOME WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE CHILD. AND IT'S INTERESTING THAT THE CLOSER YOU ARE TO THIS KIND OF POWER, THE STRONGER IT IS.

ON THIS FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY, WE SEE DIFFERENT KINDS OF POWER. HEROD HAS ABSOLUTE POWER OVER HIS SUBJECTS, THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH; IN FACT, HE HAD TWO OF HIS SONS EXECUTED BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THEY WERE TRYING TO OVERTHROW HIM. THE MAGI HAD POWER. THEIR POWER CAME FROM THEIR LEARNING, LEARNING WHICH HAD BEEN ACQUIRED OVER YEARS AND YEARS; THE FACT THAT THEY UNDERTOOK THE LONG TRIP FROM PERSIA TO ISRAEL ITSELF POINTS TO THE SELF-DISCIPLINE OF A SCHOLAR, AN ATHLETE, OR SOMEONE WHO UNDERTAKES A LONG AND DANGEROUS JOURNEY. AND THEY HAVE THE POWER THAT COMES WITH WEALTH AS WELL; THEIR GIFTS ARE NOT CHEAP.

BUT THE BABY, THE POWERLESS, TOTALLY DEPENDENT LITTLE HUMAN BEING – THE BABY HAS THE REAL POWER. POWER TO FRIGHTEN HEROD SO MUCH THAT HE WILL DESTROY OTHER HELPLESS CHILDREN OUT OF FEAR THAT HIS KINGSHIP IS THREATENED. POWER TO DRAW THE MAGI ACROSS DESERTS AND SEAS, THROUGH POTENTIALLY HOSTILE TERRITORIES; POWER TO MAKE THEM CHANGE THEIR PLANS AND RETURN HOME BY A DIFFERENT ROUTE, AS IT SAYS IN THE GOSPEL READING.

THAT'S THE POWER THAT JESUS HAS AS A BABY, AND THE POWER HE HAS HELPLESS, HANGING ON A CROSS, CONDEMNED TO DEATH. IT IS THE BASIS OF THE POWER OF GOD HIMSELF.

WE HUMAN BEINGS WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A GOD WHO COMES AMONG US AND SETS THINGS RIGHT BY SIMPLY USING HIS POWER. WAR? NO MORE. CANCER? FIXED. EVIL PEOPLE? ELIMINATED. WE ALL LONG FOR THAT PARADISE THAT WE DREAM OF, WHERE THERE IS NO WANT, WHERE WE NEVER AGE, WHERE WE HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER NATURE. AND WE WONDER, WHY DOESN'T GOD, WHO IS ALL GOOD AND ALL POWERFUL, FIX THINGS?

BUT THAT IS NOT HOW GOD WIELDS HIS POWER. IN FACT, WHENEVER THE NEW TESTAMENT REFERS TO JESUS' POWER, WHEN WORKING A MIRACLE FOR EXAMPLE, IT USES A UNIQUE TERM, EXOUSIA, WHICH MEANS AUTHORITY OR THE ABILITY TO TURN PEOPLE AROUND. THOSE WHO ACCOMPANIED JESUS DURING HIS EARTHLY LIFE WERE AMAZED AT HIM PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY SAW THIS KIND OF POWER.

WHY DID THE MAGI COME ALL THAT WAY TO SEE A HELPLESS BABY? AND WHY DIDN'T THE SCHOLARS OF THE LAW, WHO KNEW THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN BETHLEHEM, GET UP FROM THEIR BOOKS AND GO TO BETHLEHEM? I THINK THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ILLUSTRATION OF THE POWER OF JESUS. THINK ABOUT IT; THE WISE MEN SET OUT NOT KNOWING WHAT THEY WOULD FIND, OR WHERE. BUT AS THEY GOT CLOSER, AS THEY CONTINUED TO SEARCH, THEY WERE LED TO THE CHILD; AND WHEN THEY WERE THERE, THEY REJOICED AND DID HIM HOMAGE. WERE THEY CHANGED BY THIS ENCOUNTER? HOW COULD THEY NOT BE? TO GET CLOSE TO GOD YOU HAVE TO GIVE SOMETHING UP, YOU HAVE TO MAKE ROOM FOR HIM IN YOUR LIFE. THE MAGI GAVE UP THEIR TREASURES, AND RECOGNIZED GOD HIMSELF IN THE BABY. THEY WERE NOT JUST TOURISTS; THEY WERE THERE WILLING TO BE CHANGED, AND ALTHOUGH WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD, THERE ARE LEGENDS THAT THEY NEVER CEASED TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE, EVEN AS FAR AWAY AS SPAIN – THEIR ENCOUNTER WITH THE GOD WHO CHOOSES TO DWELL AMONG US.

THE SCHOLARS OF THE LAW, ON THE OTHER HAND, MADE NO EFFORT TO ALLOW THE POWER OF THE CHILD TO AFFECT THEM. BECAUSE THE CLOSER YOU GET, THE MORE YOU ARE DRAWN AND IT IS SAFEST NOT TO MOVE AT ALL IF YOU DON'T WANT TO RISK CHANGE.

THAT'S THE POWER OF THE BABY, THE POWER OF THE HELPLESS VICTIM ON THE CROSS, THE POWER THAT WE SEE IN POPE FRANCIS, OR IN ANY SAINT. TODAY LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL GET UP FROM OUR BOOKS AND MAKE OUR WAY TO THE CHILD, AND ALLOW HIM TO CHANGE US.

Feast of the Holy Family, cycle A

MATTHEW 2:13-15; 19-22

IF YOU'VE NOTICED THE SCRIPTURE CITATION ABOVE THE GOSPEL, YOU WILL SEE THAT IT'S ONE OF THOSE WHERE THEY LEFT SOMETHING OUT. WHAT WAS LEFT OUT WAS THE STORY OF HOW HEROD SENT SOLDIERS TO SLAUGHTER ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE – WE USED TO REFER TO THEM AS THE HOLY INNOCENTS. IN FACT, THEIR FEAST DAY WAS YESTERDAY. SO YOU MAY WONDER, WHY DID THE CHURCH LEAVE THAT PART OUT OF THE GOSPEL READING FOR TODAY?

WHEN YOU ACTUALLY READ THE WHOLE THING, WHAT YOU REMEMBER IS THE SLAUGHTER, AND MATTHEW'S COMMENT THAT THIS FULFILLED THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH WHO SPOKE ABOUT RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN AND REFUSING TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE. I THINK YOU WOULD AGREE THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE THINKING ABOUT THE RELATIVELY STRAIGHTFORWARD NARRATIVE YOU'VE JUST HEARD – JOSEPH BEING DIRECTED BY DREAMS, LEAVING BETHLEHEM, TAKING HIS FAMILY TO EGYPT, COMING BACK AND RELOCATING TO NAZARETH. AND YET THAT'S THE PART THE CHURCH WANTS US TO CONCENTRATE ON TODAY.

THE FIRST THING I NOTICE IS THAT IN A FEW SIMPLE SENTENCES WE GET A GLIMPSE OF A FAMILY THAT IS GOING THROUGH EXTRAORDINARILY HARD TIMES. MATTHEW WOULD HAVE US UNDERSTAND THAT JOSEPH AND MARY WERE LIVING IN BETHLEHEM; REMEMBER THAT IN THE OTHER STORY, FROM LUKE, THEY CAME FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM FOR THE CENSUS. SO IF THEY WERE LIVING IN BETHLEHEM, JOSEPH WAS ESTABLISHING HIMSELF AS A LOCAL CRAFTSMAN; JESUS WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A FEW DAYS OLD AND TWO, SO WE CAN BE SURE HE WAS A HANDFUL; AND THE YOUNG COUPLE WERE JUST STARTING TO PUT DOWN ROOTS WHEN JOSEPH IS WARNED TO TAKE HIS FAMILY AND FLEE TO EGYPT. OBVIOUSLY, THAT WAS A LONG WALK. ARTISTS HAVE OFTEN REPRESENTED THIS WITH JOSEPH LEADING A DONKEY ON WHICH MARY WAS RIDING WHILE HOLDING THE BABY. IT'S MORE LIKELY THAT JOSEPH AND MARY WALKED, AND IF THEY HAD A DONKEY, THEY PROBABLY PACKED THEIR POSSESSIONS ON THE BEAST, ESPECIALLY JOSEPH'S TOOLS. LIVING IN EGYPT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN EASY, EITHER; THEY WERE FOREIGNERS, DIDN'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE; AND JOSEPH PROBABLY HAD TO TAKE WHATEVER WORK HE COULD GET TO EARN A LIVING. WE KNOW THAT LABORERS WOULD CONGREGATE IN THE TOWN SQUARE AND PEOPLE WHO NEEDED LABORERS WOULD GO AND HIRE THEM FOR THE DAY. JESUS TALKED ABOUT THIS PRACTICE. EVERY DAY JOSEPH AND MARY WONDERED ABOUT WHETHER THEY WOULD BE EATING ANYTHING THAT EVENING. AND THEN, JUST ABOUT WHEN THINGS WERE SETTLING DOWN, JOSEPH HAS TO GO BACK TO ISRAEL, AND MATTHEW SAYS THAT HE GOES TO NAZARETH, A DIFFERENT CITY, A CITY IN THE NORTH, FAR FROM BETHLEHEM AND JERUSALEM; A CITY IN GALILEE. IF JOSEPH AND MARY WERE GOOD JEWS, AND WE KNOW THEY WERE, THIS MUST HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT AS WELL. IN ADDITION TO THE JEWISH POPULATION, THERE WERE ROMAN PAGANS THERE, AS WELL AS SAMARITANS. THE POINT IS THAT THIS FAMILY SUFFERED HARDSHIP; YOU DON'T SEE IT, BUT YOU CAN READ BETWEEN THE LINES. AND THE GREATER POINT IS THAT A MEMBER OF THIS FAMILY WAS GOD INCARNATE.

CAN GOD DO ANYTHING? OF COURSE. SO WHY DIDN'T HE MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR MARY AND JOSEPH? WHY PUT THEM THROUGH ALL THIS TROUBLE?

I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. BUT IT ISN'T UNIQUE. I SUSPECT THAT IT IS A QUESTION ON THE LIPS OF EVERY PERSON TRYING TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS. IT'S ON THE LIPS OR AT LEAST THE MINDS, OF AN ELDERLY COUPLE I VISIT. SHE HAS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND SITS LIKE A STONE ALL DAY LONG. HE HAS A BAD HEART AND IS LOSING HIS VISION – AND HE WORRIES ABOUT WHO WILL PAINSTAKINGLY FEED HER LUNCH WHEN HE ISN'T AROUND TO DO IT. COULDN'T GOD MAKE THINGS A LITTLE EASIER? AND WHAT ABOUT THE GOOD AND HOLY PRIEST WHO WAS MY PATIENT MANY YEARS AGO, WHO OVER ELEVEN MONTHS WENT FROM A VIGOROUS MAN TO SOMEONE WHOSE EVERY CONSCIOUS EFFORT WAS TRYING TO BREATHE. WHERE WAS GOD?

THE STORY TODAY TELLS US WHERE HE IS. HE'S WITH US, HE HAS PITCHED HIS TENT IN OUR MIDST, AS SAINT JOHN SAID. YOU AND I ARE MATERIAL BEINGS. SO WERE JOSEPH AND MARY. BEING MADE OF MATTER, WE HAVE IN COMMON WITH ALL MATERIAL BEINGS THAT WE ARE SUBJECT TO DEATH, PAIN, DECAY – AND WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE THESE THINGS ARE INEVITABLE. FOR REASONS WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH THE FALL OF ADAM AND EVE, HOWEVER WE UNDERSTAND THAT, IT IS NOT IN OUR POWER TO BE SPARED THESE THINGS; JOSEPH AND MARY WERE NOT SPARED.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE ARE GOD'S WEAKNESS. SAINT PAUL SAID ABOUT JESUS: HIS WAS THE VERY NATURE OF GOD, BUT HE DID NOT DEEM EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO BE GRASPED AT; RATHER HE MADE HIMSELF NOTHING BY TAKING ON THE NATURE OF A SERVANT.” YOU AND I MAY LONG FOR A MIRACLE, BUT THAT PROBABLY WON'T HAPPEN; A MIRACLE BY DEFINITION MEANS SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE REALM OF NATURE, AND WE ARE MEANT TO BE SUBJECT TO NATURAL PROCESSES. BUT THE PROMISE GOD MAKES AND DEMONSTRATES WITH MARY AND JOSEPH IS THAT HE IS WITH US, HE ACCOMPANIES US, IN EVERYTHING.

WE HEAR ABOUT HEROD. HEROD WAS A RUTHLESS TYRANT, WHO HAD TWO OF HIS SONS EXECUTED BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE PLOTTING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE. IT ISN'T SURPRISING THAT HE KILLED BABY BOYS FOR THE SAME REASON. BUT HEROD IS ACTING OUT OF FEAR; EVEN THOUGH HE HAS ABSOLUTE POWER WITHIN HIS KINGDOM, THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH, HE IS STILL FEARFUL, SO FEARFUL THAT HE IS PARANOID. MARY AND JOSEPH SEEM TO HAVE NO FEAR, DESPITE BEING HUNTED BY HEROD'S TROOPS, WALKING ACROSS A DESERT, LIVING IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND GOING THROUGH ALL KINDS OF HARDSHIP – BEFORE JESUS IS EVEN TWO YEARS OLD. THAT IS BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE THAT GOD IS WITH THEM, GOD ACCOMPANIES THEM IN EVERYTHING.

WE ARE GOD'S WEAKNESS; GOD WANTS TO BE WITH US. FOR REASONS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD, HE LOVES US. AND IF WE LET HIM ACCOMPANY US ON OUR LIFE'S JOURNEY, NO MATTER WHERE WE GO, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE IS WITH US SHOULD CAST OUT FEAR, BECAUSE PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR.

Christmas, 2013

LUKE 2:15-20

ON CHRISTMAS EVE WE HAVE SUPPER FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. I DON'T KNOW WHERE ALL THE TRADITIONS CAME FROM; WE BREAK AND SHARE A WAFER OF BREAD, THE OPATEK, A POLISH CUSTOM; WE EAT DRIED FRUIT – SOMETHING THAT CAME FROM MY GERMAN GRANDPARENTS WHO FARMED OUT IN MONTANA, AND COULD ONLY GET DRIED FRUIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WINTER; WE HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE SEA – THAT STARTED BACK WHEN CATHOLICS DIDN'T EAT MEAT ON CERTAIN DAYS, INCLUDING CHRISTMAS EVE; AND WE ALWAYS HAVE PICKLED HERRING, WHICH NO ONE REALLY LIKES BUT IT WOULDN'T BE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT IT. UP UNTIL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WE STARTED OUR CHRISTMAS MEAL WITH OYSTER STEW. NO ONE LIKED THAT EITHER, SO WE FIGURED WE'D JUST STICK WITH ONE THING WE DIDN'T LIKE, THE PICKLED HERRING.

TRADITIONS. YOU HAVE THEM, WE HAVE THEM. THEY ARE MEMORIES ACTED OUT. WE CONTINUE TO OBSERVE THEM BECAUSE THE MEAN SOMETHING TO US, EVEN IF TO NO ONE ELSE.

IN THE GOSPEL READING, IT SAYS THAT MARY “TREASURED ALL THESE THINGS AND REFLECTED UPON THEM IN HER HEART.” AND THAT TREASURING AND REFLECTING MUST HAVE GONE ON AND ON, EVERY YEAR, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE DATE OF HIS BIRTH. LONG AFTER JESUS HAD ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, LEGEND HAS IT THAT MARY REVEALED TO THE EVANGELIST LUKE THE EVENTS OF JESUS BIRTH – SHE WAS STILL REFLECTING, STILL TREASURING.

SHE REMEMBERED THE MOMENT WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT TOUCHED HER LIFE, AND SHE SAID, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD!” AND SHE BECAME PREGNANT. AND LIKE ANY PREGNANT WOMAN, IT WASN'T ALL BLISS; SHE HAD MORNING SICKNESS, FELT BLOATED, HER ANKLES SWELLED A BIT, AND SHE GAINED WEIGHT. AND THEN CAME THAT TIME WITH THE PAIN AND PRESSURE AND YES, FEAR, FOR THE LIFE OF THE CHILD, FOR HER OWN LIFE – AND THE INFANT BROKE THROUGH INTO THE WORLD.

WE CHRISTIANS ARE TOUCHED BY THE SPIRIT. WE CAN POINT TO A MOMENT IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO CONCEIVE CHRIST – OUR BAPTISMS. THAT INVITATION IS THERE ALL OUR LIVES, BUT THE SPIRIT WAITS, WAITS FOR US TO SAY, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD!” BECAUSE HE WILL NOT ACT WITHOUT OUR CONSENT. BUT WHEN WE CONSENT, JESUS BEGINS TO BE FORMED IN US. IT ISN'T EASY. WE HAVE TIMES OF DOUBT, OF MISUNDERSTANDING. SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THAT THE WORLD IS CONSPIRING AGAINST US. LIKE MARY, WE ALSO HAVE TO STRUGGLE AND PUT UP WITH OUR HUMAN NATURE, WHICH RESISTS THE CHANGES WE ARE BEING CALLED TO MAKE.

MARY REMEMBERED CHANGING DIAPERS, PUTTING UP WITH SLEEPLESS NIGHTS WHEN THE INFANT HAD COLIC. SHE REMEMBERED AS WELL HOW CUTE HE LOOKED WHEN HE WAS ASLEEP. SHE REMEMBERED HIS FIRST WORDS, AND HOW DELIGHTED SHE WAS AS SHE BEGAN TO SEE THE FRUITS OF HER EFFORTS, AS HIS PERSONALITY TOOK SHAPE, AND HE BEGAN TO GROW INTO THE MAN HE WOULD BECOME, A MAN OF COMPASSION AND LOVE, BUT ALSO A MAN WHO WORKED WITH HIS HANDS AND STUDIED HIS FAITH AND CARED FOR HER AFTER JOSEPH PASSED AWAY.

WHEN WE CHRISTIANS HAVE CONCEIVED CHRIST, THERE ARE MOMENTS OF JOY AS WE EXPERIENCE THE TRANSFORMATION GOING ON IN OUR PERSONS. SOMETIMES WE EXPERIENCE GREAT CONSOLATION, AND CAN ALMOST FEEL GOD'S PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES. A CHRISTIAN'S LIFE SHOULD BE TOUCHED WITH JOY. JESUS SAID THAT HE CAME TO SHARE HIS JOY, SO THAT OUR JOY WOULD BE FULL.

MARY REMEMBERED A DAY WHEN JESUS LEFT HOME. SHE REMEMBERED WHEN SHE AND SOME OF HIS RELATIVES TRIED TO TALK SOME SENSE INTO HIM AND HE TOLD THEM THAT HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE THOSE WHO HEARD THE WORLD OF GOD AND KEPT IT. THERE WERE MANY TIMES WHEN SHE FELT ABANDONED AS HE TRAVELED AROUND PALESTINE PREACHING AND HEALING. AND OF COURSE NOTHING COULD BE AS HARD AS STANDING AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS AND WATCHING THE LIFE LEAVE HIS BODY.

CHRISTIANS EXPERIENCE TIMES WHEN THEY FEEL ABANDONED. THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE; A PAINFUL DIVORCE; A CHILD WHO LEAVES HIS FAITH. WE FEEL ABANDONED WHEN CANCER HAPPENS, OR WE LOSE OUR JOBS, OR SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS THAT REMINDS US THAT WE ARE MORTAL, THAT WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL.

BUT MARY REMEMBERS THE RESURRECTION WHEN SHE TOUCHED HER SON AND SPOKE TO HIM, AND SAW HIM TRIUMPHANTLY ASCEND INTO HEAVEN. SHE SAW HOW HIS LIFE TRANSFORMED THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, AND WHEN SHE CLOSED HER EYES FOR THE LAST TIME, SHE HAD NO DOUBT THAT RESURRECTION WOULD FOLLOW FOR HER, AND HER JOY WOULD BE COMPLETE, AND THERE WOULD BE NO MORE FEAR OF DEATH.

AND FOR CHRISTIANS, THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS HOW WE MAKE SENSE OF OUR LIVES. ONCE WE SEE OUR LIVES IN THE LIGHT OF THE RESURRECTION, EVERY MOMENT, GOOD OR BAD, HAS MEANING. THE LIFE WE ARE LIVING BEGINS TO FORM A STORY LEADING UP TO A WONDERFUL CLIMAX, INSTEAD OF SIMPLY A LONG SERIES OF UNRELATED EVENTS.

MARY IS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN, INVITED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BRING CHRIST INTO THE WORLD. AND YET HER LIFE IS ORDINARY – THE ANGEL COMES AND GOES, AND HER LIFE IS LIKE YOURS AND MINE, TIMES OF JOY, TIMES OF SORROW, SOMETIMES FEELING ALONE AND ABANDONED, OFTEN FRIGHTENED. DID SHE HAVE DOUBTS LIKE YOU AND I DO? I THINK SO, BECAUSE REAL FAITH DOUBTS; AND THERE IS NO SHAME IN THAT. DID SHE HAVE TIMES WHEN SHE FELT LIKE SHE WAS SPINNING HER WHEELS AND HER LIFE WAS GOING NOWHERE? PROBABLY, BECAUSE THAT'S HUMAN TOO. WE DO THE SAME THINGS DAY AFTER DAY – LAUNDRY HAS TO BE DONE, MEALS PREPARED, THE CAR ATTENDED TO, THE DAILY COMMUTE.

BUT MARY TREASURED ALL THESE THINGS AND REFLECTED UPON THEM IN HER HEART. THAT'S THE SECRET SHE TEACHES US, TO LOOK FOR GOD'S PRESENCE IN OUR ORDINARY LIFE, AND THAT REQUIRES THAT WE BRING THESE THINGS OUT AND REFLECT ON THEM, PONDER THEM, THE GOOD AND THE BAD. THE ANGEL CALLED HER “MOST FAVORED DAUGHTER” AND SHE KNEW THAT EVERYTHING IN HER LIFE WOULD SOMEDAY BE REVEALED AS A BLESSING, A GIFT. AND YOU AND I ARE FAVORED AS WELL, AND THAT IS THE PROMISE – GOD MAKES TO HIS CHILDREN – EVERY MOMENT IS A GIFT.

MARY CONCEIVED CHRIST, GAVE BIRTH TO HIM, RAISED HIM IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD, AS EVERY MOTHER RAISES HER CHILDREN; THE MAN HE BECAME, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, IS THE PRODUCT OF MARY RESPONDING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, LIVING OUT THE JOYFUL CONSENT SHE GAVE, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” AND SHE IS THE EXAMPLE TO EVERY CHRISTIAN, BECAUSE EACH OF US IS CALLED TO BRING CHRIST INTO THE WORLD, TO GIVE FLESH TO GOD.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 1:18-24

THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY WHO WAS ASSIGNED THE ROLE OF THE INKEEPER IN THE ANNUAL NATIVITY PLAY. HE DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THE INKEEPER WAS SO COLD HEARTED, SO ON THE DAY OF THE PLAY, WHEN JOSEPH KNOCKED ON THE DOOR AND ASKED FOR LODGING, HE REPLIED, “SURE, COME ON IN!” I'LL GIVE YOU THE BEST ROOM IN THE HOUSE!” THE BOY PLAYING JOSEPH THOUGHT QUICKLY – HOW COULD HE SAVE THE PLAY? THEN HE TURNED TO THE GIRL WHO PLAYED MARY AND SAID, “MARY, THIS PLACE LOOKS LIKE A PIGSTY AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO SLEEP HERE. LETS GO OVER TO THAT STABLE.” AND THE PLAY WAS RESCUED.

A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT JESUS WAS BORN IN A STABLE AND LAID IN THE MANGER. YOU CAN THANK SAINT FRANCIS OR THAT, WHEN HE INVENTED THE NATIVITY SCENE. BUT ACTUALLY, IT ISN'T IN SCRIPTURE; IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, IT ONLY SAYS THAT HE WAS PLACED IN A MANGER AFTER HE WAS BORN, WHICH SIMPLY MEANS A TROUGH USED TO FEED ANIMALS. AND EVEN THAT WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING IN THOSE DAYS, UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS.

THAT STORY, BY THE WAY, IS FROM LUKE. MATTHEW ONLY SAYS THAT JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM. BUT IF LUKE WANTS TO MAKE A SCANDAL OUT OF JESUS' BIRTH, MATTHEW SEEMS ALMOST OBSESSED WITH THIS. IN THE FIRST CHAPTER HE GIVES THE ANCESTRY OF JESUS, AND HE EXPLICITLY INCLUDES FOUR WOMEN – RAHAB, THE GENTILE WHO WAS WHAT WE CALL A WORKING GIRL; SHE SHIELDED THE JEWISH SPIES IN RETURN FOR BEING ALLOWED TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY WHEN THE JEWS TOOK OVER THE LAND; TAMAR, WHO SEDUCED HER FATHER-IN-LAW SO THAT SHE WOULD NOT DIE CHILDLESS; RUTH, WHO SEDUCED HER FUTURE HUSBAND ON THE ADVICE OF HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; AND BATHSHEBA, THE WIFE OF ONE OF DAVID'S SOLDIERS, WHO TEMPTED DAVID AND LATER BECAME ONE OF HIS WIVES AND THE MOTHER OF SOLOMON.

AND FROM THAT MATTHEW GOES ON TO TELL THE STORY YOU'VE JUST HEARD. MARY WAS WITH CHILD; JOSEPH KNEW HE WAS NOT THE FATHER. BUT EVERYONE ELSE IN TOWN WAS SCANDALIZED BY MARY AS WELL, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE SEEMED OBVIOUS THAT SHE HAD BROKEN THE RULES. AND JOSEPH WAS SCANDALIZED. BEING A RIGHTEOUS MAN, HE COULD HAVE DEMANDED THAT SHE BE STONED; IT WAS RIGHT THERE IN THE LAW; BUT BEING KIND-HEARTED, HE CHOSE INSTEAD TO DIVORCE HER. HE WAS SCANDALIZED. AND YOU MIGHT REMEMBER LAST SUNDAY'S GOSPEL, ALSO FROM MATTHEW, IN WHICH JESUS TELLS JOHN'S FOLLOWERS, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT SCANDALIZED BY ME.”

I THINK MATTHEW'S POINT, AS HE BEGINS HIS GOSPEL, IS TO SAY THAT BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST IS NOT AN EASY UNDERTAKING; PREPARE TO BE SCANDALIZED.

JESUS IS GOING TO SAY MANY SCANDALOUS THINGS. HE IS GOING TO SAY THAT IF YOU LOOK AT A WOMAN WITH LUST, IT'S THE SAME AS ADULTERY. HE'S GOING TO SAY TO SOME PEOPLE THAT IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW HIM YOU HAVE TO SELL ALL YOU HAVE, AND GIVE IT TO THE POOR. HE'LL TELL YOU THAT IT'S BETTER TO PLUCK OUT AN EYE OR CUT OFF A HAND RATHER THAN SIN WITH THEM. HE'S GOING TO SAY THAT PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES LIKE THE PHARISEE AREN'T AT ANY ADVANTAGE BEFORE GOD; IN FACT THE TAX COLLECTOR, WHO SINCERELY ASKS FOR GOD'S MERCY, IS IN BETTER SHAPE. HE'S GOING TO TELL US THAT GOD IS NOT A KING WHO RULES HIS SUBJECTS WITH AN IRON FIST, WHO GETS HIS WAY BY PUNISHMENT AND THREAT, BUT INSTEAD HE IS LIKE A FATHER WHO WELCOMES BACK A SON WHO BY RIGHTS DESERVED TO BE DISOWNED.

JESUS EVEN SCANDALIZED HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS. HE TOUCHED LEPERS; HE SPOKE TO A SAMARITAN WOMAN. THEY KNEW HE WAS THE MESSIAH; BUT HE INSISTED THAT THE MESSIAH HAD TO SUFFER AND DIE, AND PETER SAID, “DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!” AND HE TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY WANTED TO HAVE LIFE WITHIN THEM, THEY HAD TO EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD; AND MOST OF HIS DISCIPLES LEFT HIM, SAYING “WHO CAN BELIEVE THAT!” IN FACT, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, WHEN JESUS GIVES US THE BEATITUDES, EACH OF THOSE ARE SCANDALOUS STATEMENTS – “HOW HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO MOURN! HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED!”

AND THE CROSS ITSELF. THE OLD TESTAMENT SAYS, “CURSED BE HIM WHO HANGS ON A TREE!” AND THIS QUOTATION IS OFTEN GIVEN BY JEWISH SCHOLARS AS TO WHY JEWS COULD NEVER BELIEVE THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH. AND DEATH ON A CROSS WAS THE ULTIMATE HUMILIATION, AS YOU HUNG NAKED IN FULL VIEW OF EVERYONE, HELPLESS, WITH EACH BREATH MORE DIFFICULT THAN THE LAST.

WE CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DISCIPLES. JESUS DOESN'T MAKE SCANDALOUS STATEMENTS JUST FOR THEIR RHETORICAL EFFECT. HIS WORDS AND ACTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE US THINK, TO MAKE US CHANGE, TO MAKE US CHOOSE BETWEEN HIS WAY OF LIFE AND WHAT THE WORLD OFFERS, AND THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN. AND IF WE LISTEN TO HIM, REALLY LISTEN, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BE SCANDALIZED.

JOSEPH WAS SCANDALIZED WHEN HE LEARNED MARY WAS WITH CHILD, OUT OF WEDLOCK; AND LIKE MOST OF US CHRISTIANS WHO GET SCANDALIZED BY JESUS, HE WANTED TO GET AS FAR AWAY AS HE COULD; HE WANTED THIS OUT OF HIS LIFE SO THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. WHEN WE CHRISTIANS READ THE SCRIPTURES, OR HEAR THEM PROCLAIMED, WE LISTEN FOR THE CONSOLING WORDS, THE EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS LOVE AND THAT JESUS IS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD. AND THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE AND REAL. BUT BEING A DISCIPLE MEANS GROWING UP, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, FOLLOWING OUR SHEPHERD WHEREVER HE LEADS US, DESPITE THE SCANDAL.

AND JOSEPH IN THE END DID THAT. SURE, AN ANGEL APPEARED, BUT IN A DREAM; AND WHEN YOU HAVE A DREAM, YOU WAKE UP AND YOU AREN'T SURE IT WAS REAL. IN OUR EXPERIENCE AS CHRISTIANS, THERE IS ALWAYS A CONTRAST, IN FACT A BATTLE, BETWEEN THE REALITY WE KNOW AND EXPERIENCE EVERY DAY AND THOSE THINGS WE KNOW BY FAITH – THAT BECAUSE OF BAPTISM WE REALLY ARE CHILDREN OF THE FATHER; THAT THE MASS IS REALLY A FORESHADOWING OF HEAVEN; THAT WE ACTUALLY CAN LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN THROUGH GOOD WORKS.

AND JOSEPH, OUR MODEL IN FAITH, TAKES MARY INTO HIS HOME, THUS BECOMING PART OF THE SCANDAL, NOW BECOMING PART OF THE GOSSIP AND SNIDE COMMENTS THAT MARY HAD TO ENDURE.

AND EACH CHRISTIAN ULTIMATELY HAS TO CHOOSE WHETHER TO BE SCANDALIZED, OR TO BECOME PART OF THE SCANDAL WHICH IS CHRISTIANITY.

Third Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 11:2-11

ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN OF OUR GENERATION PASSED AWAY THIS LAST WEEK. NELSON MANDELA HAD BEEN BORN INTO A TRIBE IN SOUTH AFRICA, ONE OF THE LARGER AND MORE PROSPEROUS TRIBES, PRETTY MUCH LEFT ALONE BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT. FOR THE MOST PART, THEY MANAGED THEIR OWN AFFAIRS, AND HAD MANDELA STAYED THERE, HE WAS IN LINE TO BE THE TRIBAL KING. HE CHOSE TO BECOME A LAWYER. AS A LAWYER IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, HE COULD HAVE PRACTICED LAW ANYWHERE. EVEN BLACK LAWYERS IN SOUTH AFRICA HAD A PRIVILEGED POSITION COMPARED TO ORDINARY BLACK AFRICANS. MANDELA COULD HAVE DONE GOOD AND LIVED WELL AS A LAWYER. BUT INSTEAD, HE BECAME A POLITICAL ACTIVIST, RALLYING HIS PEOPLE AROUND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM AND THE DESTRUCTION OF APARTHEID. HE WAS JAILED MANY TIMES, BEATEN, THREATENED WITH DEATH; AND FINALLY SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR TERRORISM. TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS WENT BY, UNTIL THE SOUTH AFRICAN STATE BEGAN TO TOPPLE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF NEARLY UNIVERSAL SANCTIONS. WHEN MANDELA WAS RELEASED, HE WAS 72 YEARS OLD, HAVING SPENT 27 YEARS IN PRISON.

INITIALLY MANDELA, THE HEAD OF THE FORMERLY OUTLAWED AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A COALITION GOVERNMENT WITH THE TASK OF TRANSITIONING TO A NEW REGIME IN WHICH APARTHEID WOULD NO LONGER BE THE LAW, AND A NEW CONSTITUTION, GRANTING EQUAL RIGHTS TO ALL CITIZENS, WOULD BE DEVELOPED. AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, MANDELA INSISTED THAT RECONCILIATION COUNCILS BE SET UP THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. PEOPLE WOULD COME FORWARD AND DESCRIBE THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH APARTHEID. ALL WERE INVITED, AND THE RESULTS WERE PUBLICIZED. NO ONE WAS PROSECUTED; EVERYONE WAS FORGIVEN FOR THEIR PART. BUT THE STORIES THAT CAME OUT AND MADE THE ROUNDS CHANGED THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE MIGHT HAVE DONE; BY THE TIME THIS PROCESS WAS OVER, THERE WERE VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO ADVOCATED GOING BACK TO THE OLDEN DAYS.

FINALLY, MANDELA WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT BY AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY, UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. HE INVITED HIS JAILERS TO THE INAUGURATION. HE WAS ASKED, “DIDN'T YOU HATE THEM?” AND HE REPLIED, “I DID HATE THEM. BUT I STOPPED WHEN I REALIZED THAT AS LONG AS I DID, I WAS STILL IN PRISON.”. MANDELA SPENT HIS PRESIDENCY AND MUCH OF HIS LIFE AFTERWORDS RECONCILING PEOPLE; HE NEGOTIATED THE END TO THE HORRIBLE WAR BETWEEN THE TWO MAJOR TRIBES IN BURUNDI, A WAS DESCRIBED AS A NEAR GENOCIDE. HE BECAME AN ICON, LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON OR ABRAHAM LINCOLN, TRUSTED AND REVERED BY WHITES AND BLACKS ALIKE.

IT'S INTERESTING THAT MANDELA DIED DURING THE SEASON WHEN WE ARE THINKING ABOUT JOHN THE BAPTIST. TODAY WE FIND HIM IN PRISON, AND WE HEAR THOSE PLAINTIVE WORDS, “ARE YOU THE ONE WHO IS TO COME, OR SHALL WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?” JOHN MUST HAVE WONDERED WHY HE WAS IN PRISON, IF GOD WAS WITH HIM, IF THE MESSAGE HE BROUGHT WAS TRUE. WE KNOW FROM OTHER GOSPEL ACCOUNTS THAT BEFORE HE WAS ARRESTED HE DESCRIBED JESUS AS “LAMB OF GOD” AND TOLD HIS OWN FOLLOWERS THAT “HE MUST INCREASE, AND I MUST DECREASE”. THE POINT OF COURSE IS THAT JOHN IS SHOWING HIS HUMANITY; EVERY HUMAN BEING HAD DOUBTS; YOU CAN'T HAVE FAITH UNLESS YOU CAN DOUBT. EVEN MARY SAID, “HOW CAN THIS BE?” BEFORE JOYFULLY SAYING “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”

LIKE MANDELA, JOHN HAD GIVEN UP EVERYTHING TO PREACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. HE HAD BEEN THE SON OF A PRIEST AND COULD CLAIM THE RIGHT TO BE A PRIEST. HE COULD HAVE LIVED A COMFORTABLE LIFE, REVERED BY THE PEOPLE, AND WELL PAYED. HE WAS WELL EDUCATED AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO DRESS LIKE ELIJAH THE PROPHET, AND HIS MESSAGE WAS TRUE TO THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS AS WELL-- A CALL TO REPENTANCE. AND HE INSTITUTED BAPTISM. LAST WEEK WE HEARD ABOUT HOW “EVERYONE” WAS COMING TO BE BAPTIZED, INCLUDING PHARISEES AND SADUCEES. BAPTISM WAS THE GREAT LEVELER.

AND WE CHRISTIANS HAVE INHERITED THAT RITUAL AND JESUS MADE IT A SACRAMENT. WHEN WE GO THROUGH BAPTISM, WE ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AND BECAUSE BAPTISM MAKES US BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF EACH OTHER AND OF JESUS HIMSELF, WE ARE GREATER THAN EVEN JOHN THE BAPTIST; WE HAVE CROSSED OVER, ENTERED A WORLD WHERE THERE IS NO JEW NOR GREEK, NO SLAVE, NO MASTER; NO MALE, NO FEMALE”. THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS LIVED THIS OUT; THEY HELD THINGS IN COMMON, THEY LOOKED AFTER EACH OTHER'S NEEDS, AND WHENEVER DIVISION ENTERED THEIR COMMUNITY, THEY WORKED TO RESTORE THE ORIGINAL UNITY. THAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF THE DIACONATE; WIDOWS OF JEWISH CHRISTIANS AND WIDOWS OF GENTILE CHRISTIANS WERE NOT BEING TREATED EQUALLY, AN THE APOSTLES APPOINTED DEACONS TO SEE THAT EVERYONE WAS TREATED THE SAME

MANDELA WORKED ALL HIS LIFE, NOT TO OVERTHROW THE WHITE PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA, BUT RATHER, TO CREATE A SOCIETY WHERE IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT COLOR YOU WERE; WHERE BEING SOUTH AFRICAN WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT TRIBE YOU BELONGED TO. HE WORKED TO CREATE A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AFTER EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL SOUTH AFRICANS. DID HE SUCCEED? NOT YET, BUT IT'S COME A LONG WAY.

AND JOHN THE BAPTIST STARTED THAT SAME PROCESS, A PROCESS TAKEN UP BY JESUS AND THE EARLY CHURCH, OF OVERCOMING ALL THE DIVISIONS WHICH STILL PLAGUE US TODAY, EVEN AMONG CHRISTIANS, EVEN WITHIN OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHENEVER A BAPTIZED PERSON DOES NOT SEE ANOTHER PERSON AS A BROTHER OR SISTER, THE KINGDOM TO COME IS DRIVEN A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY. WHEN WE SEE EACH OTHER AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHEN WE TREAT EACH OTHER THAT WAY, THE KINGDOM IS BROUGHT CLOSER.

MAKE YOUR RESOLUTION TODAY TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN BAPTISM. WHEN WE EXCHANGE THE SIGN OF PEACE, SMILE AND SHAKE HANDS, OR HUG, OR WHATEVER – BUT THIS TIME MEAN IT. MAKE A NEW FRIEND TODAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE CHURCH AND GET IN YOUR CAR. AND BRING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN A LITTLE CLOSER. YOU CAN BE ANOTHER MANDELA, ANOTHER MARTIN LUTHER KING, ANOTHER JOHN THE BAPTIST – EVEN ANOTHER JESUS CHRIST, IF YOU LIVE YOUR BROTHERHOOD THAT WAS GIVEN TO YOU IN BAPTISM.

Second Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 3:1-12

WE HEARD ABOUT THE LION LAYING DOWN WITH THE LAMB. THERE'S A STORY ABOUT A TOURIST WHO WAS VISITING A ZOO IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. THERE HE SAW A LION LAYING DOWN WITH A LAMB. “THAT'S AMAZING!” HE SAID TO THE ZOOKEEPER. “WHAT A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF COEXISTENCE. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?” THE ZOOKEEPER REPLIED, “IT'S EASY. JUST GIVE HIM A FRESH LAMB EVERY DAY.”

ISAIAH PAINTS A WONDERFUL PICTURE ABOUT THE FUTURE, WHEN THE MESSIAH COMES. JOHN IS ANNOUNCING THE MESSIAH AS WELL, AND THE PICTURE DOESN'T SOUND SO WONDERFUL. UNLESS YOU REPENT. JOHN BEGINS BY HURLING AN INSULT AT THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES – HE CALLS THEM A BROOD OF VIPERS. VIPERS DONT LAY EGGS; THEY GIVE BIRTH TO LIVE BABIES WHO WANDER OFF TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES. ANCIENT OBSERVERS INSISTED THAT THE BABIES WERE BORN BY BURSTING OPEN THEIR MOTHERS. TO CALL SOMEONE A VIPER WAS TO NAME THEM AS EXTREMELY UNGRATEFUL, AND JOHN IS ACCUSING THESE PHARISEES AND SADUCCEES AS BETRAYING THE GOD THEY PRETENDED TO WORSHIP. JOHN CRITICIZES THREE ERRORS PEOPLE MAKE WHEN THEY TRY TO BE RELIGIOUS. PHARISEES BELIEVED THAT IF YOU OBEYED ALL THE RULES EXACTLY AS THEY WERE WRITTEN DOWN, YOU WOULD BE FULFILLING GOD'S LAW. NOT ONLY DID YOU OBEY THE RULES, YOU MADE UP RULES ABOUT HOW TO OBEY THE RULES. SOME OF OUR JEWISH FRIENDS STILL KEEP TWO SETS OF DISHES, ONE FOR EATING MEALS WITH MEAT AND THE OTHER FOR EATING MEALS WITH DAIRY. THE SCRIPTURE ON WHICH THIS IS BASED SAYS THAT YOU CAN'T BOIL A BABY GOAT IN MILK FROM THE MOTHER. IF YOU INTERPRET THIS TO MEAN YOU CAN'T EAT MEAT AND MILK AT THE SAME MEAL, THAT'S ONE THING. BUT TO MAKE THAT POSSIBILITY SO REMOTE THAT IT CAN'T HAPPEN, YOU NEED TWO SETS OF DISHES.

SADDUCEES WERE THE PRIESTLY CLASS. IT ISN'T SURPRISING THEN, THAT THEY BELIEVED GOD WAS BEST WORSHIPED BY OFFERING SACRIFICES IN THE TEMPLE. THEY LOOKED AT THE STORIES OF THEIR ANCESTORS AND SAW THAT WHENEVER ONE OF THEM SINNED, BURNING AN ANIMAL SEEMED TO GET RID OF THE SIN; WHEN SOMEONE WANTED VICTORY OVER AN ENEMY SLAUGHTERING A FEW ANIMALS SEEMED TO IMPROVE THE ODDS. SADUCCEES DID NOT AS A RULE BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH; THEIR APPROACH TO RELIGION WAS TO TRY TO INFLUENCE THE HERE AND NOW BY OFFERING A SACRIFICE TO GOD.

JOHN THEN TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE CROWD, RECOGNIZING THAT THE REASON PEOPLE CAME TO BE BAPTIZED RIGHT THERE AT THAT SPOT ON THE SHORES OF THE JORDAN RIVER WHERE JOSHUA HAD LED THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL INTO THE PROMISED LAND WAS BECAUSE FOR A LONG TIME THAT HAD BEEN AWAY OF RE-AFFIRMING YOUR IDENTITY AS A JEW. YOUR ANCESTORS HAD CROSSED THE RIVER THERE, AND WHEN YOU WENT INTO THE RIVER YOU WERE AFFIRMING YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH THEM. AND JOHN SAYS, BEING A DESCENDENT OF ABRAHAM DOESN'T GET YOU ANY CLOSER TO GOD EITHER.

I THINK ALL OF US CAN SEE OURSELVES IN THESE THREE GROUPS. IF WE FOLLOW THE RULES, GOD OWES US; IF WE GIVE MONEY OR TIME TO THE CHURCH, GOD CERTAINLY SHOULD PAY US BACK. AND IF WE ARE CATHOLICS, WE HAVE A SNEAKING SUSPICION THAT WE ARE A LEG UP ON PEOPLE WHO AREN'T CATHOLIC. AND JOHN SAYS, NONE OF THE ABOVE.

REPENTANCE, JOHN TELLS US, IS OUR ONLY HOPE. THAT WORD OCCURS THROUGHOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT AS WELL AS THE NEW. THE PROPHETS PREACH IT, JESUS USES IT, AND THE APOSTLES WRITE ABOUT IT. SO WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN? WHEN WE USE THE WORD TODAY, WE THINK IT MEANS TO BE SORRY FOR OUR SINS. BUT IT MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHEN IT FIRST CAME INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, SOMETHING CLOSER TO THE GREEK WORD USED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WHICH IS “METANOAIA”. THAT WORD LITERALLY MEANS “A CHANGE OF MIND”. THE HEBREW WORD IS TESCHIVA, WHICH MEANS TO REMEMBER AND RETURN. AND JOHN AMPLIFIES THIS WHEN HE SAYS “BEAR FRUIT AS EVIDENCE OF YOUR REPENTANCE.” IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU HAVE REALLY PUT ON A NEW MIND, IF YOU'VE REALLY DECIDED TO PUT YOUR SINS BEHIND YOU AND RETURN TO GOD, THEN OF NECESSITY YOUR LIFE HAS TO CHANGE, OTHERWISE, YOU WEREN'T MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A SNAKE THAT DESTROYS IT'S MOTHER IN BEING BORN.

ADVENT IS A TIME WHEN WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND ASK, HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR? HAS THERE BEEN PROGRESS IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE? IF NOT, WHY NOT? AFTER ALL, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT.

REPENTANCE IS NEVER SOMETHING THAT WE DO ONCE. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO REPENT CONTINUOUSLY. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE GO AROUND FEELING SORRY FOR EVERY LITTLE AND BIG THING WE'VE DONE. IN FACT, IF OUR PAST MISTAKES MAKE US FEEL SORRY, IT MEANS WE HAVEN'T ACCEPTED GOD'S FORGIVENESS. BUT REPENTANCE DOES MEAN THAT WE'VE TAKEN SERIOUSLY THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE TO STRIVE TO DRAW CLOSER TO GOD; WE HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST. SAINT PAUL TELLS US TO “PUT ON CHRIST” AND FOR CHRISTIANS THAT'S A GREAT DEFINITION OF REPENTANCE. IT SEEMS TO BE AN OVERWHELMING TASK, BUT GOD STANDS READY TO GIVE US THE GRACE WE NEED; JESUS HAS ALREADY SHOWN US HOW TO DO THIS; AND THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVES WITHIN US, CONCEIVING CHRIST AS HE DID IN MARY. ALL YOU AND I HAVE TO DO IS LET THE TRINITY WORK IN US.

THERE ARE ONLY TWO THINGS THAT STAND IN THE WAY; ONE IS ME, MYSELF. AS LONG AS I AM THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE FOR MYSELF, GOD CAN'T BE. AND TO LET GO OF THAT CONCEPTION IS VERY HARD; BUT IT CAN BE ONE, A LITTLE AT A TIME, BY GIVING OURSELVES AWAY. THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES TO OTHERS, THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD, THE MORE WE EMPTY OURSELVES TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD. THAT, BY THE WAY, IS THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF MARRIAGE – A STATE OF LIFE IN WHICH EACH PARTNER GIVES HIMSELF OR HERSELF TO THE OTHER, AND AS TIME GOES ON, TO CHILDREN. OUR FAMILIES ARE SUPPOSED TO KICK-START THE PROCESS OF EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD.

THE OTHER BARRIER IS BASICALLY, “STUFF”. OUR LIVES ARE CLUTTERED WITH STUFF – MATERIAL GOODS, YES, BUT MANY OTHER THINGS AS WELL. WE ARE ALWAYS IN DANGER OF PLACING OUR JOB, OUR HOBBIES, ALL THE MULTITUDE OF THINGS THAT EAT AWAY AT OUR TIME AHEAD OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. AND JUST AS WE HAVE TO EMPTY OURSELVES TO GET RID OF THE ME, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR STUFF BY FREQUENTLY EXAMINING WHETHER THINGS ARE PROPERLY BALANCED. GOD ISN'T SAYING WE NEED TO GO OUT INTO THE DESERT AND EAT LOCUSTS AND HONEY; BUT HE DOES EXPECT US TO USE EVERY GIFT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE USED, AND NOT LET HIS GIFTS TO US CROWD HIM OUT OF OUR LIVES.

IN ADVENT REFLECT ON YOUR SPIRITUAL PROGRESS SINCE LAST YEAR THIS TIME. IF YOU CAN'T REALLY SAY YOU'VE MADE ANY, THEN LISTEN TO JOHN; THE AXE IS EVEN NOW AT THE ROOT OF THE TREE.