LUKE 2:22-40
ON TUESDAYS AND FIRST FRIDAY AT SAINT MARY'S CHURCH THE EUCHARIST IS PLACED IN A GOLDEN RECEPTACLE CALLED A “MONSTRANCE” AND PLACED ON THE ALTAR. CANDLES ARE LIT ON EACH SIDE TO SIGNIFY THE DIVINE PRESENCE. JESUS SITS ON HIS THRONE TO BE AVAILABLE TO HIS PEOPLE. AND PEOPLE COME; SOMETIMES THERE IS ONE, SOMETIMES THERE ARE AS MANY AS FIVE WORSHIPERS WHO SIT IN SILENT CONTEMPLATION, IN DIALOG WITH OUR LORD. ONE PROTESTANT MINISTER ONCE SAID THAT IF HE REALLY BELIEVED IN THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN THE EUCHARIST, HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STAY AWAY.
SIMEON AND ANNA WERE SOMETHING LIKE THOSE LONELY WORSHIPERS. THE TEMPLE CONSISTED OF COURTS; THERE WAS AN OUTER COURT FOR GENTILES WHO BELIEVED IN GOD BUT WERE NOT READY TO BECOME JEWS. THERE WAS A COURT FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN, AND A COURT FOR MEN, AND IN THE VERY CENTER OF THE TEMPLE WAS THE HOLY OF HOLIES, WHICH HELD THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD. THE TEMPLE WAS FILLED TO THE RAFTERS ON FEAST DAYS AND CELEBRATIONS; AND THERE WAS A CONSTANT FLOW OF PEOPLE IN AND OUT WHO CAME TO PERFORM RITUALS, OR HAVE THE PRIESTS OFFER SACRIFICES. BUT PEOPLE WENT ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS BARELY CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT GOD WAS PRESENT THERE.
EXCEPT FOR PEOPLE LIKE SIMEON AND ANNA. ANNA BELONGED TO THE ORDER OF WIDOWS. WIDOWS HELD A SPECIAL PLACE AMONG THE JEWS, BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURES SAID THAT GOD WAS THE PROTECTOR OF ORPHANS AND WIDOWS, AND THEY HAD A CLAIM ON THE TREASURES OF THE TEMPLE, THE CHARITY OF THE PEOPLE. BUT IN RETURN, WIDOWS TOOK ON TASKS; IN THE TEMPLE THEY MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN HELPING NEW PARENTS WHO CAME TO HAVE A CHILD CIRCUMCISED. THEY MIGHT ASSIST WOMEN WHO HAD GIVEN BIRTH AS THEY WENT THROUGH THE RITUAL BATH OF PURIFICATION. SIMEON WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE TEXT SAYS, A PIOUS MAN OF GREAT YEARS WHO MADE HIS WAY TO THE TEMPLE TO PRAY EVERY DAY, BECAUSE THERE WAS THE PRESENCE OF GOD, THE SAME GOD WHO LED THE PEOPLE ACROSS THE DESERT AND INTO THE PROMISED LAND, THE GOD WHO HAD PROMISED THAT HE WOULD SEE THE MESSIAH.
AND ALTHOUGH THE STORY DOESN'T SAY SO, WE CAN IMAGINE THAT THEY WERE BOTH ALONE. PERHAPS THERE WERE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, BUT BOTH SEEMED TO SPEND THE BULK OF THEIR DAYS IN THE TEMPLE.
AND IT IS TO THESE TWO ELDERLY PEOPLE THAT A POOR YOUNG FAMILY COMES TO GO THROUGH THE RITUALS THAT WERE REQUIRED OF THEM.
SO WHAT IS A FAMILY? IF YOU LOOK UP THE WORD, YOU FIND ALL KINDS OF DEFINITIONS. BUT THE CHURCH POINTS TO JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH AND SAYS, “THIS IS THE HOLY FAMILY”. SO THAT IS WHERE WE HAVE TO START. AND WE CAN ASK, WHEN DID THIS FAMILY BEGIN? NOT WHEN MARY OR JOSEPH WERE BORN; NOT EVEN WHEN THEY WERE ENGAGED TO EACH OTHER, OR WHEN THEY MARRIED. THE HOLY FAMILY BEGAN WHEN JESUS WAS BORN. A FAMILY, IT SEEMS, MUST BE WHERE HUMAN BEINGS ARE GENERATED AND NURTURED. THE GENERATION AND NURTURING IS NOT “ONE WAY” FROM THE PARENT TO THE CHILD. ONCE THE CHILD IS PRESENT, THE LIFELONG PROCESS OF MOLDING AND SHAPING EVERY MEMBER BEGINS; WIFE BECOMES MOTHER AND HUSBAND BECOMES FATHER; THE CHILD BECOMES SON OR DAUGHTER; AND THESE ARE NOT JUST CHANGES IN NAME, THEY ARE DEEP CHANGES THAT CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
THE SECOND THING ABOUT A FAMILY, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE HOLY FAMILY, IS THAT EACH MEMBER LOVES THE OTHER MEMBERS. LOVE, OF COURSE, DOES NOT MEAN AN EMOTION; IT IS AN ACT OF WILL. AND REAL LOVE MEANS THAT I DESIRE THE BEST FOR YOU, AND THE BEST FOR YOU IS THAT YOU WILL ENJOY THE PRESENCE OF GOD FOR ALL ETERNITY. THIS WAS WHAT JESUS AND MARY AND JOSEPH WILLED FOR EACH OTHER. OUR CONTEMPORARY FAMILIES, UNFORTUNATELY, OFTEN CHOOSE THE GOOD AND NEGLECT THE BEST. WHEN WE MAKE DECISIONS THAT AFFECT OUR CHILDREN OR EACH OTHER, DO WE EVEN THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE DECISION ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE ONE WE SAY WE LOVE? IS IT A GOOD THING TO SEND MY CHILD TO A COLLEGE WHERE HE IS LIKELY TO LOSE, RATHER THAN STRENGTHEN, HIS OR HER FAITH? HOW AM I HELPING MY SPOUSE ACHIEVE HIS OR HER VOCATION? OR AM I PUTTING BARRIERS THERE? DOES OUR MARRIAGE BRING US CLOSER TO OUR GOAL OF HEAVEN, OR FURTHER AWAY?
THE THIRD THING ABOUT A FAMILY IS THAT IT IS INCLUSIVE. EACH OF US CAN SEE THAT OUR FAMILY HAS LAYERS UPON LAYERS; COUSINS, UNCLES AND AUNTS, GRANDPARENTS; AND THEN CLOSE FRIENDS, AND CO-WORKERS; AND THEN CASUAL ACQUAINTANCES. ALL THESE RELATIONSHIPS ARE MEANT TO BE SHAPED, AND ALL THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE MEANT TO BE LOVED. SOME HAVE LESS CLAIM THAN OTHERS, BUT ALL HAVE A CLAIM ON OUR CARE, OUR LOVE, ESPECIALLY THE ANNAS AND SIMEONS, THE LONELY, THE POOR, THE DISTRESSED.
BUT FAMILY ALL BEGINS WITH A CHILD. AND ANNA AND SIMEON, WHO SPEAK FOR THE FORGOTTEN, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DISCARDED, RECOGNIZE IN THIS CHILD THE SEED OF A NEW FAMILY, A FAMILY THAT WILL EMBRACE JEW AND GENTILE ALIKE, A FAMILY THAT WILL GO DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.
AND ON THIS FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE PART OF THAT FAMILY, THAT WE ARE CALLED TO NURTURE EACH OTHER, TO LOVE EACH OTHER ENOUGH TO SACRIFICE OURSELVES, NOT FOR MATERIAL GOODS, BUT INDEED FOR THAT GREATEST GOOD, SALVATION. AND WE ARE CALLED TO CONSTANTLY INVITE OTHERS INTO OUR FAMILY; THE FAMILY THAT IS DEFINED BY A CHILD, A CHILD CALLED GOD-WITH-US, THE CHILD WHO COMES TO US AS BREAD AND WINE, THE CHILD WHO IMPRISONS HIMSELF IN THE TABERNACLE AND AWAITS THE PRESENCE OF HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas Day, 2008
JOHN 1:1-18
IF YOU HAD COME TO MASS YESTERDAY, OR AT MIDNIGHT, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THOSE FAMILIAR GOSPELS; THE STORY OF JOSEPH THE JUST MAN, WHO TOOK MARY INTO HIS HOME AFTER AN ANGEL CAME TO HIM IN A DREAM. THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM, THE MANGER, THE SHEPHERDS, THE CHORUS OF ANGELS. BUT THE CHURCH HAS ANOTHER STORY ABOUT THE COMING OF JESUS, AND WE LISTENED TO THAT STORY IN THIS GOSPEL. “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. ALL THINGS COME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM; HE IS LIFE, HE IS LIGHT, AND HE CHOOSES TO DWELL WITH US.
THAT GOSPEL USED TO BE READ AT THE END OF EVERY MASS IN THE DAYS WHEN I WAS AN ALTAR BOY, AND I LIKED THE POETRY OF THE GOSPEL SO MUCH THAT I USED TO BE ABLE TO RECITE IT FROM MEMORY.
AND THERE IS ONE LINE: “THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS, BUT THE DARKNESS DID NOT OVERCOME IT.” WHAT THAT USED TO MEAN TO ME WAS THAT THE LIGHT WOULD TRIUMPH, THE DARKNESS WOULD VANISH AND BE NO MORE. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE TEXT SAYS. THE DARKNESS REMAINS, BUT CANNOT OVERCOME THE LIGHT.
IMAGINE BEING IN A ROOM, AS BIG AS A FOOTBALL FIELD, WITHOUT WINDOWS, A ROOM WHERE THE DOOR SEALS OUT EVERY RAY OF LIGHT FROM OUTSIDE. YOU ARE IN THIS DARKNESS. YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING, NO SHADOWS, NO MOVEMENT. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN THIS KIND OF DARKNESS, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. YOU LOSE TRACK OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME; YOU BEGIN TO LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BREATHING. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE A FEELING OF PANIC. YOU ARE DISORIENTED, AND IN YOUR ANXIETY AND DISORIENTATION, YOU CAN THINK OF NOTHING BUT YOURSELF. WHAT WILL BECOME OF ME IN THE DARKNESS?
AND THEN SOMEONE LIGHTS A CANDLE – NOT A BIG CANDLE, JUST A LITTLE ONE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT LIGHT, EVERYTHING CHANGES. YOU STILL CAN'T SEE VERY FAR INTO THE DARKNESS; THE LIGHT FROM THE CANDLE ISN'T THAT BRIGHT. BUT NOW YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. YOU CAN SEE THE EXPRESSIONS ON THEIR FACES; YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU TALK, THEY WILL ANSWER. YOU CAN COME TO KNOW THEM BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THEM, EVEN IF ONLY A LITTLE BIT, AND YOUR ALONE-NESS BECOMES LESS LONELY.
AND YOU CAN EVEN COME TO KNOW THE FLAME OF THE CANDLE, THE SOURCE OF THE LIGHT WHICH ILLUMINATES YOU AND THE OTHERS IN THE ROOM.
BUT THE DARKNESS DOES NOT GO AWAY; WHEN YOU TURN YOUR EYES AWAY FROM THE CANDLE, YOU SEE THAT THE DARKNESS IS STILL THERE.
THIS, I THINK, IS THE IDEA THAT JOHN IS DESCRIBING. A LIGHT, YES, BUT NOT ONE WHICH ILLUMINATES EVERY CORNER OF THE ROOM; A LIGHT THAT IS FAINT AND TENTATIVE, JUST ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN SEE A LITTLE, ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN SEE THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE, THAT WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THAT IN SOME WAY, THE ONE LIGHT TIES US TOGETHER. THE LIGHT CANNOT BE SNUFFED OUT BY THE DARKNESS, BUT THE DARKNESS REMAINS, IT LIVES ON THE EDGES IN A SORT OF A TENSION WITH THE LIGHT. IN THIS VERY LARGE ROOM, IF YOU CHOSE, YOU COULD EVEN WALK AWAY FROM THE LIGHT BACK INTO TOTAL DARKNESS, DARKNESS WHERE YOU WERE AWARE ONLY OF YOURSELF, WHERE YOU WERE AGAIN ALONE; BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE LIGHT COMES TO HIS PEOPLE, NOT ALL ACCEPT THE LIGHT. THERE ARE SOME WHO STILL PREFER TO LIVE ONLY FOR THEMSELVES.
PERHAPS YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE, OR PERHAPS YOU ARE SOMEONE, WHO LONGS FOR THE COMPANY OF OTHER PEOPLE. IT'S SO TRUE OF MANY SENIOR CITIZENS, WHO SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME BY THEMSELVES. IF YOU WERE TO WALK THROUGH A HOSPITAL OR A JAIL OR A NURSING HOME, YOU WOULD FIND SOME WHO HAVE NO VISITORS, NO ONE WHO COMES TO SEE THEM. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO LONG FOR THE PRESENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE, AND THIS FEELING BECOMES SO MUCH STRONGER AROUND CHRISTMAS. BUT WE ALL ARE LONELY SPIRITUALLY.
EVEN WHEN WE ARE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE, OVERWHELMED BY FAMILY, THERE IS A PART OF US THAT IS STILL ALONE, A PART THAT SITS ALONE IN THE DARKNESS, IN THE SPIRITUAL DARKNESS THAT BEGAN WHEN OUR FIRST PARENTS CHOSE TO DISOBEY GOD AND LEAVE HIS PRESENCE.
AND THAT IS WHY THE WORD COMES TO DWELL WITH US, OR AS IT SAYS IN ANOTHER TRANSLATION, TO PITCH HIS TENT WITH US. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DARKNESS AND LONELINESS ON THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE, SOME DAYS MORE, SOME DAYS LESS. BUT THE WORD WHICH COMES TO US AND BECOMES THE LIGHT, GIVES US REASON TO HOPE. THE LIGHT REVEALS THAT WE ARE NEVER ALONE, AND THROUGH THE LIGHT WE CAN RELIEVE THE LONELINESS OF EACH OTHER, IF ONLY PARTLY, IF ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
BUT THE LIGHT CANNOT BE SNUFFED OUT, THE DARKNESS CANNOT OVERCOME IT.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT THAT COMES INTO THE WORLD, THE LIGHT THAT REVEALS US TO OURSELVES, REVEALS OTHERS, REVEALS ITSELF; THE LIGHT THAT IS THE SOURCE OF HEAT AND WARMTH AND REVELATION.
SO THE STORIES OF CHRISTMAS ARE WONDERFUL, THEY FIRE OUR IMAGINATIONS, AS WE FEEL JOSEPH'S PAIN WHEN HE BELIEVES HIS MARY HAS BETRAYED HIM; AS WE ACCOMPANY THE HOLY COUPLE LOOKING FOR SOMEPLACE WARM AND OUT OF THE WIND WHERE THE BABY CAN BE BORN. WE SEE THE REVERENCE OF THE SHEPHERDS, AND WE IMAGINE THAT EVEN THE DUMB BEASTS WORSHIP THE CHILD. WE WATCH THE WISE MEN AS THE ANGEL TELLS THEM TO RETURN BY A DIFFERENT ROUTE, RATHER THAN REPORT BACK TO KING HEROD. THESE IMAGES OF CHRISTMAS ARE ALMOST MAGICAL IN THE PICTURES THEY INVOKE, THE MEMORIES OF PAST CHRISTMASES THEY CALL UP.
BUT JOHN REMINDS US THAT THE REAL MIRACLE IS A LIGHT, A HEAVENLY LIGHT WHICH ENTERS OUR DARKNESS, BRINGING LIFE AND HOPE AND WARMTH AND CONNECTION WITH EACH OTHER. AND THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TO CARRY INTO THE NEW YEAR – THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT THE LIGHT ACCOMPANIES US NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THE LIGHT THAT NO DARKNESS CAN OVERCOME.
IF YOU HAD COME TO MASS YESTERDAY, OR AT MIDNIGHT, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THOSE FAMILIAR GOSPELS; THE STORY OF JOSEPH THE JUST MAN, WHO TOOK MARY INTO HIS HOME AFTER AN ANGEL CAME TO HIM IN A DREAM. THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM, THE MANGER, THE SHEPHERDS, THE CHORUS OF ANGELS. BUT THE CHURCH HAS ANOTHER STORY ABOUT THE COMING OF JESUS, AND WE LISTENED TO THAT STORY IN THIS GOSPEL. “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. ALL THINGS COME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM; HE IS LIFE, HE IS LIGHT, AND HE CHOOSES TO DWELL WITH US.
THAT GOSPEL USED TO BE READ AT THE END OF EVERY MASS IN THE DAYS WHEN I WAS AN ALTAR BOY, AND I LIKED THE POETRY OF THE GOSPEL SO MUCH THAT I USED TO BE ABLE TO RECITE IT FROM MEMORY.
AND THERE IS ONE LINE: “THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS, BUT THE DARKNESS DID NOT OVERCOME IT.” WHAT THAT USED TO MEAN TO ME WAS THAT THE LIGHT WOULD TRIUMPH, THE DARKNESS WOULD VANISH AND BE NO MORE. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE TEXT SAYS. THE DARKNESS REMAINS, BUT CANNOT OVERCOME THE LIGHT.
IMAGINE BEING IN A ROOM, AS BIG AS A FOOTBALL FIELD, WITHOUT WINDOWS, A ROOM WHERE THE DOOR SEALS OUT EVERY RAY OF LIGHT FROM OUTSIDE. YOU ARE IN THIS DARKNESS. YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING, NO SHADOWS, NO MOVEMENT. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN THIS KIND OF DARKNESS, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. YOU LOSE TRACK OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME; YOU BEGIN TO LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BREATHING. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE A FEELING OF PANIC. YOU ARE DISORIENTED, AND IN YOUR ANXIETY AND DISORIENTATION, YOU CAN THINK OF NOTHING BUT YOURSELF. WHAT WILL BECOME OF ME IN THE DARKNESS?
AND THEN SOMEONE LIGHTS A CANDLE – NOT A BIG CANDLE, JUST A LITTLE ONE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT LIGHT, EVERYTHING CHANGES. YOU STILL CAN'T SEE VERY FAR INTO THE DARKNESS; THE LIGHT FROM THE CANDLE ISN'T THAT BRIGHT. BUT NOW YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. YOU CAN SEE THE EXPRESSIONS ON THEIR FACES; YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU TALK, THEY WILL ANSWER. YOU CAN COME TO KNOW THEM BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THEM, EVEN IF ONLY A LITTLE BIT, AND YOUR ALONE-NESS BECOMES LESS LONELY.
AND YOU CAN EVEN COME TO KNOW THE FLAME OF THE CANDLE, THE SOURCE OF THE LIGHT WHICH ILLUMINATES YOU AND THE OTHERS IN THE ROOM.
BUT THE DARKNESS DOES NOT GO AWAY; WHEN YOU TURN YOUR EYES AWAY FROM THE CANDLE, YOU SEE THAT THE DARKNESS IS STILL THERE.
THIS, I THINK, IS THE IDEA THAT JOHN IS DESCRIBING. A LIGHT, YES, BUT NOT ONE WHICH ILLUMINATES EVERY CORNER OF THE ROOM; A LIGHT THAT IS FAINT AND TENTATIVE, JUST ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN SEE A LITTLE, ENOUGH SO THAT WE CAN SEE THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE, THAT WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THAT IN SOME WAY, THE ONE LIGHT TIES US TOGETHER. THE LIGHT CANNOT BE SNUFFED OUT BY THE DARKNESS, BUT THE DARKNESS REMAINS, IT LIVES ON THE EDGES IN A SORT OF A TENSION WITH THE LIGHT. IN THIS VERY LARGE ROOM, IF YOU CHOSE, YOU COULD EVEN WALK AWAY FROM THE LIGHT BACK INTO TOTAL DARKNESS, DARKNESS WHERE YOU WERE AWARE ONLY OF YOURSELF, WHERE YOU WERE AGAIN ALONE; BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE LIGHT COMES TO HIS PEOPLE, NOT ALL ACCEPT THE LIGHT. THERE ARE SOME WHO STILL PREFER TO LIVE ONLY FOR THEMSELVES.
PERHAPS YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE, OR PERHAPS YOU ARE SOMEONE, WHO LONGS FOR THE COMPANY OF OTHER PEOPLE. IT'S SO TRUE OF MANY SENIOR CITIZENS, WHO SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME BY THEMSELVES. IF YOU WERE TO WALK THROUGH A HOSPITAL OR A JAIL OR A NURSING HOME, YOU WOULD FIND SOME WHO HAVE NO VISITORS, NO ONE WHO COMES TO SEE THEM. THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO LONG FOR THE PRESENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE, AND THIS FEELING BECOMES SO MUCH STRONGER AROUND CHRISTMAS. BUT WE ALL ARE LONELY SPIRITUALLY.
EVEN WHEN WE ARE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE, OVERWHELMED BY FAMILY, THERE IS A PART OF US THAT IS STILL ALONE, A PART THAT SITS ALONE IN THE DARKNESS, IN THE SPIRITUAL DARKNESS THAT BEGAN WHEN OUR FIRST PARENTS CHOSE TO DISOBEY GOD AND LEAVE HIS PRESENCE.
AND THAT IS WHY THE WORD COMES TO DWELL WITH US, OR AS IT SAYS IN ANOTHER TRANSLATION, TO PITCH HIS TENT WITH US. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DARKNESS AND LONELINESS ON THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE, SOME DAYS MORE, SOME DAYS LESS. BUT THE WORD WHICH COMES TO US AND BECOMES THE LIGHT, GIVES US REASON TO HOPE. THE LIGHT REVEALS THAT WE ARE NEVER ALONE, AND THROUGH THE LIGHT WE CAN RELIEVE THE LONELINESS OF EACH OTHER, IF ONLY PARTLY, IF ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
BUT THE LIGHT CANNOT BE SNUFFED OUT, THE DARKNESS CANNOT OVERCOME IT.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE LIGHT THAT COMES INTO THE WORLD, THE LIGHT THAT REVEALS US TO OURSELVES, REVEALS OTHERS, REVEALS ITSELF; THE LIGHT THAT IS THE SOURCE OF HEAT AND WARMTH AND REVELATION.
SO THE STORIES OF CHRISTMAS ARE WONDERFUL, THEY FIRE OUR IMAGINATIONS, AS WE FEEL JOSEPH'S PAIN WHEN HE BELIEVES HIS MARY HAS BETRAYED HIM; AS WE ACCOMPANY THE HOLY COUPLE LOOKING FOR SOMEPLACE WARM AND OUT OF THE WIND WHERE THE BABY CAN BE BORN. WE SEE THE REVERENCE OF THE SHEPHERDS, AND WE IMAGINE THAT EVEN THE DUMB BEASTS WORSHIP THE CHILD. WE WATCH THE WISE MEN AS THE ANGEL TELLS THEM TO RETURN BY A DIFFERENT ROUTE, RATHER THAN REPORT BACK TO KING HEROD. THESE IMAGES OF CHRISTMAS ARE ALMOST MAGICAL IN THE PICTURES THEY INVOKE, THE MEMORIES OF PAST CHRISTMASES THEY CALL UP.
BUT JOHN REMINDS US THAT THE REAL MIRACLE IS A LIGHT, A HEAVENLY LIGHT WHICH ENTERS OUR DARKNESS, BRINGING LIFE AND HOPE AND WARMTH AND CONNECTION WITH EACH OTHER. AND THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TO CARRY INTO THE NEW YEAR – THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT THE LIGHT ACCOMPANIES US NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THE LIGHT THAT NO DARKNESS CAN OVERCOME.
Christmas Vigil, 2008
MATTHEW 1:18-24
I'VE JUST READ THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, CHAPTER 1, VERSES 18 TO 24. IF WE HAD READ VERSES 1-17, WE WOULD HAVE HEARD 42 LINES THAT ALL HAD THE SAME REFRAIN: ABRAHAM WAS THE FATHER OF ISAAC, ISAAC THE FATHER OF JACOB, JACOB THE FATHER OF JUDAH AND HIS BROTHERS – AND SO ON DOWN TO ELEAZAR THE FATHER OF MATHAN, MATHAN THE FATHER OF JACOB, JACOB THE FATHER OF JOSEPH; AND THEN WE HEAR, JOSEPH THE HUSBAND OF MARY, OF WHOM WAS BORN JESUS, WHO IS CALLED CHRIST. IN LUKE'S STORY, WE HEAR THAT JESUS WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT BEFORE MARY AND JOSEPH LIVED TOGETHER; MATTHEW IS MAKING MUCH THE SAME POINT IN HIS GENEALOGY; HE WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND THAT IN SOME WAY JESUS IS A LINEAL DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM, AND DAVID, AND MANY OTHERS, SOME OF WHOM WERE FAMOUS AND SOME OF WHOM WE NEVER HEARD OF; BUT IN ANOTHER WAY, JESUS IS SET APART, BECAUSE JOSEPH IS THE HUSBAND OF MARY, BUT OF ALL 42 INDIVIDUALS NAMED IN THIS GENEALOGY, JOSEPH IS THE ONLY ONE NOT REFERRED TO AS FATHER.
THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE SEEMS TO BE MORE ABOUT JOSEPH THAN EITHER JESUS OR MARY. MATTHEW HAS JUST ESTABLISHED THAT JOSEPH IS NOT THE FATHER OF JESUS IN HIS GENEALOGY. THEN HE SHOWS US THAT JOSEPH IS A MAN OF GREAT COMPASSION. THE LAW SAYS THAT IF A WOMAN IS CAUGHT IN ADULTERY, YOU CAN TAKE HER OUT TO THE EDGE OF TOWN AND STONE HER TO DEATH; IN THE TIME OF JESUS, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WAS RESERVED FOR THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT, BUT MOBS STILL FORMED TO STONE THOSE SEEN AS SINFUL, AND IF THEY COULD NOT, YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE WOMAN WOULD BE SHUNNED AND ABUSED, AS WOULD BE HER CHILD. AND THE WORD OF JOSEPH, A MAN, OVERWHELMED WHATEVER MARY MIGHT HAVE SAID, SINCE SHE WAS A WOMAN. SO THE FIRST THING WE NOTICE ABOUT JOSEPH IS THAT HE IS WILLING TO BREAK THE LAW; HE IS WILLING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TRUE, NAMELY, THAT THE CHILD IS HIS, BUT HE NO LONGER WANTS MARY AS HIS WIFE. JOSEPH IS WILLING TO SHARE IN THE SHAME THAT MARY WILL INCUR, BECAUSE OF HIS COMPASSION.
JOSEPH THEN HAS A DREAM. HOW MANY OF US WOULD SO RADICALLY CHANGE OUR LIVES BECAUSE OF A DREAM? YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT MARY, WHO WAS WIDE AWAKE WHEN SHE MET AN ANGEL, BELIEVED THE ANGEL; AND ZACHARY, WHO WAS WIDE AWAKE WHEN HE MET AN ANGEL, BALKED AT WHAT THE ANGEL TOLD HIM, AND HAD HIS ABILITY TO SPEAK TURNED OFF IN A MINUTE. BUT IN A DREAM? I THINK, THOUGH, THAT THIS IS HOW GOD SPEAKS TO MOST OF US – IN DREAMS, IN FLASHES OF INTUITION, IN IMPULSES THAT SEEM TO ARISE OUT OF NOTHING, BUT WE FEEL A COMPULSION TO FOLLOW THEM, EVEN THOUGH WE USUALLY DON'T. I THINK, ALL THROUGH OUR LIVES GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THESE LITTLE WAYS, WAYS THAT WE CAN EASILY DISREGARD, BECAUSE HE LEAVES US FREE. BUT IF WE FOLLOW THOSE DREAMS, THOSE HUNCHES, GOD SPEAKS TO US MORE CLEARLY, UNTIL FINALLY WE ARE IN A STATE OF CONVERSATION WITH GOD. MANY SAINTS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS PHENOMENON. ST. FRANCIS, ST. JOHN BOSCO, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA – THEIR STORIES SHOW THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN ACHIEVE THIS INTIMACY. AND JOSEPH, WHO HAD A DREAM, AND ABRUPTLY ROSE AND DID AS HE WAS TOLD, MUST HAVE HAD THAT INTIMACY AS WELL. THE PERSON WHO LIVES IN COMMUNION WITH GOD DOESN'T NEED PRODDING TO DO HIS WILL; TO DO GOD'S WILL IS “MEAT AND DRINK”, AS JESUS PUT IT.
SO JOSEPH IS A MAN OF GREAT COMPASSION; JOSEPH IS ATTENTIVE TO THE WHISPERS OF GOD; AND JOSEPH LEAPS UP FROM HIS REST TO DO WHAT GOD COMMANDS, EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO WHAT HE HIMSELF INITIALLY WANTED.
IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE, WE HAVE NO WORDS OF JOSEPH. MARY AND THE APOSTLES, PONTIUS PILATE, HEROD, AND MANY OTHERS ARE GIVEN AT LEAST BIT PARTS. BUT JOSEPH SAYS NOTHING. AND YET, THE WORDS OF JOSEPH DO LIVE ON; HIS INFLUENCE ON THE CHURCH IS FAR GREATER THAN WE IMAGINE. JESUS GREW UP IN JOSEPH'S HOME. HE NEEDED FORMING, AS ALL HUMANS DO. CERTAINLY MARY HAD A PART IN FORMING HIS CHARACTER, BUT JOSEPH PERHAPS HAD A GREATER PART. THE VERY COMPASSION JOSEPH SHOWS, THE WILLINGNESS TO GO AGAINST THE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE SAKE OF ANOTHER, IS THE SAME COMPASSION THAT JESUS SHOWS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE DESIRE TO DO GOD'S WILL, THE WILLINGNESS TO PUT THAT FIRST, EVEN IF IT MEANS DYING ON THE CROSS – JOSEPH SHOWED JESUS THAT THAT WAS WHAT A MAN OF GOD DID. THE WORDS THAT COME OUT OF JESUS' MOUTH, MANY OF THOSE WORDS, THOSE STORIES, THOSE ATTITUDES, CAME FROM JOSEPH. SO WE HEAR JOSEPH, AND OUR CHURCH OWES SOMETHING TO JOSEPH, NOT JUST THE FACT THAT HE PROTECTED JESUS AND MARY, BUT THE FACT THAT HIS HUMAN COMPASSION AND HIS HUMAN DESIRE TO DO GOD'S WILL WERE PASSED ON TO THIS CHILD GOD GAVE HIM TO RAISE.
WE THINK JOSEPH DIED LONG BEFORE JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY. HE DIED WHILE JESUS WAS STILL JUST A CRAFTSMAN, GRADUALLY TAKING OVER HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS. JOSEPH LIVED AN ORDINARY LIFE, FULFILLED ORDINARY OBLIGATIONS, ALWAYS TRIED TO SERVE GOD AS WELL AS HE COULD, ALWAYS TRIED TO EXERCISE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS .
AND YET WE KNOW THAT GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH, GOD LIVED IN JOSEPH'S HOME, GOD ATE THE FOOD JOSEPH PROVIDED, GOD LEARNED WHAT JOSEPH TAUGHT SO PATIENTLY.
AND THAT IS WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS. GOD IS WITH US. IMMANUEL. WE MAY NOT KNOW IT OR FEEL IT MOST OF THE TIME; JOSEPH PROBABLY WAS THE SAME. BUT BECAUSE GOD IS WITH US, EVERY LITTLE PART OF OUR LIVES HAS AN IMPACT DOWN THROUGH ALL THE GENERATIONS OF TIME; EVERYTHING WORKS TOGETHER TO FULFILL GOD'S PLAN; AND OUR MOST INSIGNIFICANT ACTION TAKES ON COSMIC MEANING.
AND THIS ORDINARY MAN WHO DID HIS BEST LEFT US ONE WORD THAT WE KNOW HE HAD TO SAY; JESUS. BECAUSE JOSEPH RECEIVED THE INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE OF NAMING THE SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE.
I'VE JUST READ THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, CHAPTER 1, VERSES 18 TO 24. IF WE HAD READ VERSES 1-17, WE WOULD HAVE HEARD 42 LINES THAT ALL HAD THE SAME REFRAIN: ABRAHAM WAS THE FATHER OF ISAAC, ISAAC THE FATHER OF JACOB, JACOB THE FATHER OF JUDAH AND HIS BROTHERS – AND SO ON DOWN TO ELEAZAR THE FATHER OF MATHAN, MATHAN THE FATHER OF JACOB, JACOB THE FATHER OF JOSEPH; AND THEN WE HEAR, JOSEPH THE HUSBAND OF MARY, OF WHOM WAS BORN JESUS, WHO IS CALLED CHRIST. IN LUKE'S STORY, WE HEAR THAT JESUS WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT BEFORE MARY AND JOSEPH LIVED TOGETHER; MATTHEW IS MAKING MUCH THE SAME POINT IN HIS GENEALOGY; HE WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND THAT IN SOME WAY JESUS IS A LINEAL DESCENDANT OF ABRAHAM, AND DAVID, AND MANY OTHERS, SOME OF WHOM WERE FAMOUS AND SOME OF WHOM WE NEVER HEARD OF; BUT IN ANOTHER WAY, JESUS IS SET APART, BECAUSE JOSEPH IS THE HUSBAND OF MARY, BUT OF ALL 42 INDIVIDUALS NAMED IN THIS GENEALOGY, JOSEPH IS THE ONLY ONE NOT REFERRED TO AS FATHER.
THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE SEEMS TO BE MORE ABOUT JOSEPH THAN EITHER JESUS OR MARY. MATTHEW HAS JUST ESTABLISHED THAT JOSEPH IS NOT THE FATHER OF JESUS IN HIS GENEALOGY. THEN HE SHOWS US THAT JOSEPH IS A MAN OF GREAT COMPASSION. THE LAW SAYS THAT IF A WOMAN IS CAUGHT IN ADULTERY, YOU CAN TAKE HER OUT TO THE EDGE OF TOWN AND STONE HER TO DEATH; IN THE TIME OF JESUS, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WAS RESERVED FOR THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT, BUT MOBS STILL FORMED TO STONE THOSE SEEN AS SINFUL, AND IF THEY COULD NOT, YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE WOMAN WOULD BE SHUNNED AND ABUSED, AS WOULD BE HER CHILD. AND THE WORD OF JOSEPH, A MAN, OVERWHELMED WHATEVER MARY MIGHT HAVE SAID, SINCE SHE WAS A WOMAN. SO THE FIRST THING WE NOTICE ABOUT JOSEPH IS THAT HE IS WILLING TO BREAK THE LAW; HE IS WILLING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TRUE, NAMELY, THAT THE CHILD IS HIS, BUT HE NO LONGER WANTS MARY AS HIS WIFE. JOSEPH IS WILLING TO SHARE IN THE SHAME THAT MARY WILL INCUR, BECAUSE OF HIS COMPASSION.
JOSEPH THEN HAS A DREAM. HOW MANY OF US WOULD SO RADICALLY CHANGE OUR LIVES BECAUSE OF A DREAM? YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT MARY, WHO WAS WIDE AWAKE WHEN SHE MET AN ANGEL, BELIEVED THE ANGEL; AND ZACHARY, WHO WAS WIDE AWAKE WHEN HE MET AN ANGEL, BALKED AT WHAT THE ANGEL TOLD HIM, AND HAD HIS ABILITY TO SPEAK TURNED OFF IN A MINUTE. BUT IN A DREAM? I THINK, THOUGH, THAT THIS IS HOW GOD SPEAKS TO MOST OF US – IN DREAMS, IN FLASHES OF INTUITION, IN IMPULSES THAT SEEM TO ARISE OUT OF NOTHING, BUT WE FEEL A COMPULSION TO FOLLOW THEM, EVEN THOUGH WE USUALLY DON'T. I THINK, ALL THROUGH OUR LIVES GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THESE LITTLE WAYS, WAYS THAT WE CAN EASILY DISREGARD, BECAUSE HE LEAVES US FREE. BUT IF WE FOLLOW THOSE DREAMS, THOSE HUNCHES, GOD SPEAKS TO US MORE CLEARLY, UNTIL FINALLY WE ARE IN A STATE OF CONVERSATION WITH GOD. MANY SAINTS HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS PHENOMENON. ST. FRANCIS, ST. JOHN BOSCO, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA – THEIR STORIES SHOW THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN ACHIEVE THIS INTIMACY. AND JOSEPH, WHO HAD A DREAM, AND ABRUPTLY ROSE AND DID AS HE WAS TOLD, MUST HAVE HAD THAT INTIMACY AS WELL. THE PERSON WHO LIVES IN COMMUNION WITH GOD DOESN'T NEED PRODDING TO DO HIS WILL; TO DO GOD'S WILL IS “MEAT AND DRINK”, AS JESUS PUT IT.
SO JOSEPH IS A MAN OF GREAT COMPASSION; JOSEPH IS ATTENTIVE TO THE WHISPERS OF GOD; AND JOSEPH LEAPS UP FROM HIS REST TO DO WHAT GOD COMMANDS, EVEN THOUGH IT IS IN DIRECT OPPOSITION TO WHAT HE HIMSELF INITIALLY WANTED.
IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE, WE HAVE NO WORDS OF JOSEPH. MARY AND THE APOSTLES, PONTIUS PILATE, HEROD, AND MANY OTHERS ARE GIVEN AT LEAST BIT PARTS. BUT JOSEPH SAYS NOTHING. AND YET, THE WORDS OF JOSEPH DO LIVE ON; HIS INFLUENCE ON THE CHURCH IS FAR GREATER THAN WE IMAGINE. JESUS GREW UP IN JOSEPH'S HOME. HE NEEDED FORMING, AS ALL HUMANS DO. CERTAINLY MARY HAD A PART IN FORMING HIS CHARACTER, BUT JOSEPH PERHAPS HAD A GREATER PART. THE VERY COMPASSION JOSEPH SHOWS, THE WILLINGNESS TO GO AGAINST THE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE SAKE OF ANOTHER, IS THE SAME COMPASSION THAT JESUS SHOWS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE DESIRE TO DO GOD'S WILL, THE WILLINGNESS TO PUT THAT FIRST, EVEN IF IT MEANS DYING ON THE CROSS – JOSEPH SHOWED JESUS THAT THAT WAS WHAT A MAN OF GOD DID. THE WORDS THAT COME OUT OF JESUS' MOUTH, MANY OF THOSE WORDS, THOSE STORIES, THOSE ATTITUDES, CAME FROM JOSEPH. SO WE HEAR JOSEPH, AND OUR CHURCH OWES SOMETHING TO JOSEPH, NOT JUST THE FACT THAT HE PROTECTED JESUS AND MARY, BUT THE FACT THAT HIS HUMAN COMPASSION AND HIS HUMAN DESIRE TO DO GOD'S WILL WERE PASSED ON TO THIS CHILD GOD GAVE HIM TO RAISE.
WE THINK JOSEPH DIED LONG BEFORE JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY. HE DIED WHILE JESUS WAS STILL JUST A CRAFTSMAN, GRADUALLY TAKING OVER HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS. JOSEPH LIVED AN ORDINARY LIFE, FULFILLED ORDINARY OBLIGATIONS, ALWAYS TRIED TO SERVE GOD AS WELL AS HE COULD, ALWAYS TRIED TO EXERCISE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS .
AND YET WE KNOW THAT GOD WAS WITH JOSEPH, GOD LIVED IN JOSEPH'S HOME, GOD ATE THE FOOD JOSEPH PROVIDED, GOD LEARNED WHAT JOSEPH TAUGHT SO PATIENTLY.
AND THAT IS WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS. GOD IS WITH US. IMMANUEL. WE MAY NOT KNOW IT OR FEEL IT MOST OF THE TIME; JOSEPH PROBABLY WAS THE SAME. BUT BECAUSE GOD IS WITH US, EVERY LITTLE PART OF OUR LIVES HAS AN IMPACT DOWN THROUGH ALL THE GENERATIONS OF TIME; EVERYTHING WORKS TOGETHER TO FULFILL GOD'S PLAN; AND OUR MOST INSIGNIFICANT ACTION TAKES ON COSMIC MEANING.
AND THIS ORDINARY MAN WHO DID HIS BEST LEFT US ONE WORD THAT WE KNOW HE HAD TO SAY; JESUS. BECAUSE JOSEPH RECEIVED THE INCREDIBLE PRIVILEGE OF NAMING THE SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle B
LUKE 1:26-38
THERE ARE MANY TRANSLATIONS OF WHAT THE ANGEL SAID TO MARY. IN THE READING TODAY, IT IS “HAIL, FULL OF GRACE!” IN SOME BIBLES, IT IS “REJOICE, HIGHLY FAVORED DAUGHTER.” IN THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, IT SAYS “REJOICE, YOU WHO ENJOY GOD'S FAVOR!” THESE ARE ALL TRANSLATIONS OF THE GREEK. OF COURSE MARY DIDN'T SPEAK GREEK, BUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE CAN GO BACK ONLY TO THE GREEK, BECAUSE LUKE WROTE IT IN GREEK. AND THE GREEK WORDS HAVE A NICE RING: CHARI KACHERI TOMENI. THAT SOUNDS A LOT MORE LIKE SOMETHING AN ANGEL WOULD SAY. CHARI KACHERI TOMENI.
WE OFTEN THINK ABOUT THIS SCENE. WE CHRISTIANS GET THE IDEA OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH FROM THIS PASSAGE, AND WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT MARY WAS SINLESS; BECAUSE THE ANGEL CALLS HER “HIGHLY FAVORED” OR “FULL OF GRACE” OR “KACHERI TOMENI”, WE CONCLUDE THAT SHE WAS BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. AND WE ARE ALWAYS A LITTLE AWED BY HER READY ACCEPTANCE OF GOD'S PLAN FOR HER, EVEN THOUGH IT WILL TOTALLY DISRUPT HER LIFE -- “LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU SAY.”
THESE ARE ALL WONDERFUL IDEAS, AND CERTAINLY WORTH OUR MEDITATION. BUT THIS PASSAGE IS NOT REALLY ABOUT MARY; IT IS ABOUT GOD.
THERE ARE MANY STORIES IN THE BIBLE ABOUT WOMEN WHO HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A CHILD, BUT GOD INTERVENES, AND THEY DO. THE MOTHER OF SAMSON; SARAH THE WIFE OF ABRAHAM; RACHEL, THE WIFE OF JACOB; HANNAH, THE MOTHER OF SAMUEL; AND EVEN ELIZABETH, THE MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. ALL OF THESE WOMEN WERE BARREN, BUT IT WAS NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT THEY MIGHT CONCEIVE; JUST UNLIKELY. BUT IN MARY'S CASE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE; SHE IS A VIRGIN; HER STORY IS CATEGORICALLY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OTHERS; GOD IS THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE; NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
WE KNOW THAT MARY IS SPECIAL; WE KNOW THAT SHE IS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH; BUT MARY DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEN, NOR DID ANYONE ELSE. MARY IS CHOSEN BY GOD'S GRACE; THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT HER THAT DESERVES THE HONOR SHE IS GIVEN. HER PLACE IN HISTORY, IN SALVATION, IS ENTIRELY A GIFT OF GOD. GOD IS THE GOD OF GRACE, THE GOD WHOSE EVERY INTERVENTION IN YOUR LIFE AND MINE IS PURE GIFT, PURE GRACE, UNDESERVED; AND WHOSE EVERY INTERVENTION IS ULTIMATELY GOOD.
AND MARY ANSWERS, “I AM THE SLAVE (A BETTER TRANSLATION THAN 'HANDMAID') OF THE LORD. LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU SAY.” WE MAKE A LOT OF THE SECOND SENTENCE, BUT WE FORGET THE FIRST. IT IS TRUE THAT MARY GAVE HER CONSENT TO THE GRACE OF GOD, THE IMPOSSIBLE THING THAT GOD WAS ABOUT TO DO; BUT FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT, COULD SHE DO OTHERWISE? GOD HAS SPOKEN, IT IS HAPPENING; IF YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AS MARY DID, CAN YOU DO OTHERWISE THAN EMBRACE HIS WILL? ST. PAUL WAS BLINDED BY A BOLT OF LIGHTNING FROM HEAVEN WHICH HALTED HIS PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH AND MADE HIM A SLAVE OF THE GOSPEL, AS HE CALLED HIMSELF. WHEN WE WILLINGLY EMBRACE THE WILL OF GOD FOR OURSELVES, WHEN WE ACCEPT THIS BEING A SLAVE, THEN AND ONLY THEN DO WE BECOME TRULY FREE. WHEN GOD'S WILL BECOMES THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE, THEN ALL THE CHAINS THAT BIND ME TO THIS EARTH FALL AWAY, AND I BECOME FREE.
AND FINALLY, THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT GOD'S WORD. IF WE COULD READ GREEK, WE WOULD SEE THAT THE ANGEL SAYS TO MARY, “NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD” AND MARY SAYS, “LET HIS WORD BE DONE TO ME.” GOD'S WORD – BRINGS THE WORLD INTO BEING; IMPRISONS THE DIVINE IN MARY'S WOMB; RAISES JESUS FROM THE DEAD; GOD'S WORD CHANGES BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS; GOD'S WORD MADE YOU AND I BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS AT OUR BAPTISMS; GOD'S WORD GIVES US THE GIFT OF GOD'S SELF.
SO THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT GOD, FOR WHOM NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE; ABOUT GOD, WHO IS A GOD OF GIFT, OF GRACE; ABOUT GOD, WHO INVITES US ORDINARY HUMAN BEINGS TO BE HIS SERVANTS, FOR HIS PURPOSES; ABOUT GOD, WHO SPEAKS A WORD, AND LIVES IN US AND MAKES US A NEW CREATION.
THE PASSAGE IS ABOUT MARY AS WELL, BUT ALSO ABOUT YOU AND I. LIKE MARY, GOD HAS CHOSEN US, GRACED US, GIVEN US AN IRREPLACEABLE ROLE IN HIS CREATION; LIKE MARY YOU AND I ARE GOD BEARERS, WITH ALL THE JOYS AND DIFFICULTIES, HARDSHIPS AND PRIVILEGES THAT THIS IMPLIES. AND THE ANGELS WHO LIVE IN GOD'S PRESENCE, COULD SAY TO US, “HAIL, FULL OF GRACE” -- “CHARI KACHERI TOMENI” BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT CONCEIVED HIS CHRIST IN ANY ANGEL; BUT HE HAS DONE SO IN YOU AND I.
ADVENT IS NEARLY OVER. ON THIS FOURTH SUNDAY, WE ARE WITNESS TO THAT CENTRAL MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, WHEN GOD HIMSELF BREAKS IN TO HISTORY, WHEN THE DIVINE TAKES ON OUR MORTAL FLESH AND BONES, WHEN THE ETERNAL ONE CHOOSES TO BE BORN AND TO DIE. THIS IS THE MOMENT THAT ALL CREATION HAS AWAITED, THE MOMENT THAT TAKES ALL THE RANDOMNESS, ALL THE BLIND ALLEYS, ALL THE FAILURES, ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING AND INJUSTICE WHICH HAS GONE BEFORE AND WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON UNTIL JESUS COMES AGAIN, AND IN A BLINDING MOMENT MAKES SENSE OF IT ALL, REVEALS DIVINE PURPOSE WHERE NO PURPOSE WAS SEEN AND REVEALS THAT SOMEHOW ALL THINGS WORK FOR THE GOOD THAT GOD DESIRES.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS A MOMENT WHICH IS DUPLICATED IN YOUR SOUL AND MINE, AS GOD BREAKS IN TO OUR LIVES, AS GOD DOES HIS IMPOSSIBLE WORD IN US, AS GOD GIVES US HIS GRACE,HIS GIFT. AND IT IS OURS TO EMBRACE WHAT GOD DOES, AND SUBMIT COMPLETELY, AND BE HIS SLAVE, AND SO ENTER IN TO FREEDOM, FREEDOM LIKE WE HAVE NEVER DREAMED OF, FREEDOM AS BEFITS THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
SO TO EACH OF YOU, HAIL, YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVORED. HAIL, FULL OF GRACE. CHARI KACHARI TOMENI.
THERE ARE MANY TRANSLATIONS OF WHAT THE ANGEL SAID TO MARY. IN THE READING TODAY, IT IS “HAIL, FULL OF GRACE!” IN SOME BIBLES, IT IS “REJOICE, HIGHLY FAVORED DAUGHTER.” IN THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, IT SAYS “REJOICE, YOU WHO ENJOY GOD'S FAVOR!” THESE ARE ALL TRANSLATIONS OF THE GREEK. OF COURSE MARY DIDN'T SPEAK GREEK, BUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE CAN GO BACK ONLY TO THE GREEK, BECAUSE LUKE WROTE IT IN GREEK. AND THE GREEK WORDS HAVE A NICE RING: CHARI KACHERI TOMENI. THAT SOUNDS A LOT MORE LIKE SOMETHING AN ANGEL WOULD SAY. CHARI KACHERI TOMENI.
WE OFTEN THINK ABOUT THIS SCENE. WE CHRISTIANS GET THE IDEA OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH FROM THIS PASSAGE, AND WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT MARY WAS SINLESS; BECAUSE THE ANGEL CALLS HER “HIGHLY FAVORED” OR “FULL OF GRACE” OR “KACHERI TOMENI”, WE CONCLUDE THAT SHE WAS BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. AND WE ARE ALWAYS A LITTLE AWED BY HER READY ACCEPTANCE OF GOD'S PLAN FOR HER, EVEN THOUGH IT WILL TOTALLY DISRUPT HER LIFE -- “LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU SAY.”
THESE ARE ALL WONDERFUL IDEAS, AND CERTAINLY WORTH OUR MEDITATION. BUT THIS PASSAGE IS NOT REALLY ABOUT MARY; IT IS ABOUT GOD.
THERE ARE MANY STORIES IN THE BIBLE ABOUT WOMEN WHO HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A CHILD, BUT GOD INTERVENES, AND THEY DO. THE MOTHER OF SAMSON; SARAH THE WIFE OF ABRAHAM; RACHEL, THE WIFE OF JACOB; HANNAH, THE MOTHER OF SAMUEL; AND EVEN ELIZABETH, THE MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. ALL OF THESE WOMEN WERE BARREN, BUT IT WAS NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT THEY MIGHT CONCEIVE; JUST UNLIKELY. BUT IN MARY'S CASE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE; SHE IS A VIRGIN; HER STORY IS CATEGORICALLY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OTHERS; GOD IS THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE; NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
WE KNOW THAT MARY IS SPECIAL; WE KNOW THAT SHE IS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH; BUT MARY DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEN, NOR DID ANYONE ELSE. MARY IS CHOSEN BY GOD'S GRACE; THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT HER THAT DESERVES THE HONOR SHE IS GIVEN. HER PLACE IN HISTORY, IN SALVATION, IS ENTIRELY A GIFT OF GOD. GOD IS THE GOD OF GRACE, THE GOD WHOSE EVERY INTERVENTION IN YOUR LIFE AND MINE IS PURE GIFT, PURE GRACE, UNDESERVED; AND WHOSE EVERY INTERVENTION IS ULTIMATELY GOOD.
AND MARY ANSWERS, “I AM THE SLAVE (A BETTER TRANSLATION THAN 'HANDMAID') OF THE LORD. LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU SAY.” WE MAKE A LOT OF THE SECOND SENTENCE, BUT WE FORGET THE FIRST. IT IS TRUE THAT MARY GAVE HER CONSENT TO THE GRACE OF GOD, THE IMPOSSIBLE THING THAT GOD WAS ABOUT TO DO; BUT FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT, COULD SHE DO OTHERWISE? GOD HAS SPOKEN, IT IS HAPPENING; IF YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, AS MARY DID, CAN YOU DO OTHERWISE THAN EMBRACE HIS WILL? ST. PAUL WAS BLINDED BY A BOLT OF LIGHTNING FROM HEAVEN WHICH HALTED HIS PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH AND MADE HIM A SLAVE OF THE GOSPEL, AS HE CALLED HIMSELF. WHEN WE WILLINGLY EMBRACE THE WILL OF GOD FOR OURSELVES, WHEN WE ACCEPT THIS BEING A SLAVE, THEN AND ONLY THEN DO WE BECOME TRULY FREE. WHEN GOD'S WILL BECOMES THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE, THEN ALL THE CHAINS THAT BIND ME TO THIS EARTH FALL AWAY, AND I BECOME FREE.
AND FINALLY, THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT GOD'S WORD. IF WE COULD READ GREEK, WE WOULD SEE THAT THE ANGEL SAYS TO MARY, “NO WORD IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD” AND MARY SAYS, “LET HIS WORD BE DONE TO ME.” GOD'S WORD – BRINGS THE WORLD INTO BEING; IMPRISONS THE DIVINE IN MARY'S WOMB; RAISES JESUS FROM THE DEAD; GOD'S WORD CHANGES BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS; GOD'S WORD MADE YOU AND I BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS AT OUR BAPTISMS; GOD'S WORD GIVES US THE GIFT OF GOD'S SELF.
SO THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT GOD, FOR WHOM NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE; ABOUT GOD, WHO IS A GOD OF GIFT, OF GRACE; ABOUT GOD, WHO INVITES US ORDINARY HUMAN BEINGS TO BE HIS SERVANTS, FOR HIS PURPOSES; ABOUT GOD, WHO SPEAKS A WORD, AND LIVES IN US AND MAKES US A NEW CREATION.
THE PASSAGE IS ABOUT MARY AS WELL, BUT ALSO ABOUT YOU AND I. LIKE MARY, GOD HAS CHOSEN US, GRACED US, GIVEN US AN IRREPLACEABLE ROLE IN HIS CREATION; LIKE MARY YOU AND I ARE GOD BEARERS, WITH ALL THE JOYS AND DIFFICULTIES, HARDSHIPS AND PRIVILEGES THAT THIS IMPLIES. AND THE ANGELS WHO LIVE IN GOD'S PRESENCE, COULD SAY TO US, “HAIL, FULL OF GRACE” -- “CHARI KACHERI TOMENI” BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT CONCEIVED HIS CHRIST IN ANY ANGEL; BUT HE HAS DONE SO IN YOU AND I.
ADVENT IS NEARLY OVER. ON THIS FOURTH SUNDAY, WE ARE WITNESS TO THAT CENTRAL MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, WHEN GOD HIMSELF BREAKS IN TO HISTORY, WHEN THE DIVINE TAKES ON OUR MORTAL FLESH AND BONES, WHEN THE ETERNAL ONE CHOOSES TO BE BORN AND TO DIE. THIS IS THE MOMENT THAT ALL CREATION HAS AWAITED, THE MOMENT THAT TAKES ALL THE RANDOMNESS, ALL THE BLIND ALLEYS, ALL THE FAILURES, ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING AND INJUSTICE WHICH HAS GONE BEFORE AND WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON UNTIL JESUS COMES AGAIN, AND IN A BLINDING MOMENT MAKES SENSE OF IT ALL, REVEALS DIVINE PURPOSE WHERE NO PURPOSE WAS SEEN AND REVEALS THAT SOMEHOW ALL THINGS WORK FOR THE GOOD THAT GOD DESIRES.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS A MOMENT WHICH IS DUPLICATED IN YOUR SOUL AND MINE, AS GOD BREAKS IN TO OUR LIVES, AS GOD DOES HIS IMPOSSIBLE WORD IN US, AS GOD GIVES US HIS GRACE,HIS GIFT. AND IT IS OURS TO EMBRACE WHAT GOD DOES, AND SUBMIT COMPLETELY, AND BE HIS SLAVE, AND SO ENTER IN TO FREEDOM, FREEDOM LIKE WE HAVE NEVER DREAMED OF, FREEDOM AS BEFITS THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
SO TO EACH OF YOU, HAIL, YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVORED. HAIL, FULL OF GRACE. CHARI KACHARI TOMENI.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
3rd Sunday of Advent, cycle B
JOHN 1: 6-8, 19-28
YOU FIND JOY IN ODD PLACES. I’VE SEEN IT IN A LADY WHO IS A PATIENT OF MINE, WHO IS ALWAYS IN PAIN, AND WHO HAS TO GET AROUND ON CRUTCHES. SHE HAS NO MONEY AND LIVES ALONE AND KNOWS SHE WON’T BE AROUND FOR NEXT CHRISTMAS. BUT SHE SAVORS EVERY MOMENT, AND HER CHEERFULNESS IS CONTAGIOUS. OF COURSE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE JOY, HANG AROUND WITH LITTLE KIDS. THEY CAN’T NOT BE JOYFUL FOR TOO LONG – ALL THEY REQUIRE IS THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT SOMEONE LOVES THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE.
THIS IS THE SUNDAY WE LABEL “GUADATE”, WHICH MEANS “JOYFUL”. THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS AND THE PSALM SPEAK ABOUT REJOICING. HOWEVER, I THINK THE GOSPEL GIVES US A FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHT INTO WHAT JOY REALLY MEANS.
BECAUSE JOY IS NOT HAPPINESS, IT’S NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING PROSPEROUS OR RICH OR IN GOOD HEALTH.
THEY CAME TO JOHN AND ASKED HIM IF HE WERE THE MESSIAH, OR ELIJAH, OR THE PROPHET. AND HE SAID, “I AM NOT.” THE FIRST PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE NOT, TO KNOW THAT FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE.
IF YOU LIVE IN ANY KIND OF RELATIONSHIP, YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHAT A GUILT TRIP IS. THAT IS WHEN SOMEONE FOR WHOM YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF RESPECT OR AFFECTION TRIES TO MAKE YOU FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR SOMETHING WHICH UP TILL THEN YOU HAVEN’T. IT MAY BE THAT YOU SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE, BUT THAT’S BESIDE THE POINT. THE SUGGESTION THAT YOU ARE NOT LIVING UP TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES DISTURBS YOUR JOY; THE IDEA THAT YOU SHOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE UPSETS YOUR INNER TRANQUILITY. JOHN KNEW HE WAS NOT THE MESSIAH, NOT ELIJAH, NOT EVEN “THE PROPHET”. EARLIER THIS WEEK JESUS REFERS TO JOHN AS “THE GREATEST BORN OF A WOMAN” AND REFERS TO HIM AS “ELIJAH, IF YOU CAN ACCEPT IT”. OUR LORD, OF COURSE, SAW IN JOHN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY THAT ELIJAH WOULD COME TO ANNOUNCE THE MESSIAH. JOHN KNEW THAT REGARDLESS OF THIS COMPLEMENT, HE WAS NOT ELIJAH. HE WOULD NOT ACCEPT WHATEVER THAT RESPONSIBILITY MEANT.
THE SECOND PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE, AND FOR WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE, JOHN KNEW HIS WHOLE PURPOSE WAS TO BE A POINTER, TO POINT TO THE COMING LORD, TO WARN THE PEOPLE AND DO ALL HE COULD TO GET THEM TO FREELY REPENT AND CHANGE THEIR WAYS, AND TO BECOME READY TO RECEIVE THE MESSIAH. “I AM THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,” HE SAID. HE DID NOT SAY, “I AM JOHN, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS.” HE KNEW THAT HIS PERSON WAS NOT IMPORTANT, BUT HIS PURPOSE WAS, AND HE DID NOT SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS PURPOSE. KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVES GREAT CLARITY, AND CLARITY IS A PART OF JOY.
THE THIRD PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS KNOWING THAT YOU ARE DOING THAT FOR WHICH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. JOHN KNEW HE WAS TO BAPTIZE WITH WATER, AND LEAVE THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UP TO THE ONE WHO WAS TO COME. WHEN JOHN BECAME CERTAIN THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH, HE SENT HIS DISCIPLES TO FOLLOW JESUS, AND SAID, “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” WITH THE MESSIAH PRESENT, THERE WAS NO MORE NEED FOR ONE TO PREPARE THE WAY, TO BE THE POINTER.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT JOY IS THAT IT CAN’T BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE THROWN IN PRISON AND EXECUTED, AS JOHN WAS, JOY TRANSCENDS EVEN DEATH. AND THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT. BY NOW YOU HAVE PROBABLY GUESSED THAT JOY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH KNOWING YOURSELF, KNOWING YOUR LIMITATIONS, KNOWING WHY YOU WERE PUT ON THIS EARTH AND ACTING ACCORDINGLY. JOY HAS TO DO WITH LIVING IN THE PRESENT, AND MAKING THE VERY MOST OF EACH MOMENT THAT WE HAVE. AND WHEN WE DO THAT, WE COME INTO CONTACT WITH GOD, WHO DEALS WITH US ONLY IN THE PRESENT, NOT THE FUTURE, NOT THE PAST. IF WE ARE FULLY IN THE PRESENT, WE ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER GOD THAN IF OUR MINDS DWELL IN WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, OR IN SOME WISHFUL FUTURE.
SO ON THIS GUADATE SUNDAY, ON THIS THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, LET REFLECT ON WHETHER WE ARE JOYFUL, AND IF NOT, WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BECOME JOYFUL. LET US RECALL, LIKE JOHN MUST HAVE, THAT WE ARE NOT JESUS, AND EVEN IF WE HAVE GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES, WE CAN TAKE COMFORT IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD’S PLAN IS ALREADY ONGOING, AND WILL SUCCEED, THANKS TO JESUS. JOHN THE BAPTIST KNEW WHO HE WAS NOT, KNEW WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, AND DID IT. AND JESUS SAID OF HIM, “AMONG THOSE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS NOT RISEN ANYONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST,” – WHO LEFT NO BOOK, WHO FOUNDED NO RELIGION, WHO SIMPLY CRIED OUT IN THE DESERT, “PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.”
YOU FIND JOY IN ODD PLACES. I’VE SEEN IT IN A LADY WHO IS A PATIENT OF MINE, WHO IS ALWAYS IN PAIN, AND WHO HAS TO GET AROUND ON CRUTCHES. SHE HAS NO MONEY AND LIVES ALONE AND KNOWS SHE WON’T BE AROUND FOR NEXT CHRISTMAS. BUT SHE SAVORS EVERY MOMENT, AND HER CHEERFULNESS IS CONTAGIOUS. OF COURSE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE JOY, HANG AROUND WITH LITTLE KIDS. THEY CAN’T NOT BE JOYFUL FOR TOO LONG – ALL THEY REQUIRE IS THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT SOMEONE LOVES THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE.
THIS IS THE SUNDAY WE LABEL “GUADATE”, WHICH MEANS “JOYFUL”. THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS AND THE PSALM SPEAK ABOUT REJOICING. HOWEVER, I THINK THE GOSPEL GIVES US A FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHT INTO WHAT JOY REALLY MEANS.
BECAUSE JOY IS NOT HAPPINESS, IT’S NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING PROSPEROUS OR RICH OR IN GOOD HEALTH.
THEY CAME TO JOHN AND ASKED HIM IF HE WERE THE MESSIAH, OR ELIJAH, OR THE PROPHET. AND HE SAID, “I AM NOT.” THE FIRST PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE NOT, TO KNOW THAT FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE.
IF YOU LIVE IN ANY KIND OF RELATIONSHIP, YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHAT A GUILT TRIP IS. THAT IS WHEN SOMEONE FOR WHOM YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF RESPECT OR AFFECTION TRIES TO MAKE YOU FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR SOMETHING WHICH UP TILL THEN YOU HAVEN’T. IT MAY BE THAT YOU SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE, BUT THAT’S BESIDE THE POINT. THE SUGGESTION THAT YOU ARE NOT LIVING UP TO YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES DISTURBS YOUR JOY; THE IDEA THAT YOU SHOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE UPSETS YOUR INNER TRANQUILITY. JOHN KNEW HE WAS NOT THE MESSIAH, NOT ELIJAH, NOT EVEN “THE PROPHET”. EARLIER THIS WEEK JESUS REFERS TO JOHN AS “THE GREATEST BORN OF A WOMAN” AND REFERS TO HIM AS “ELIJAH, IF YOU CAN ACCEPT IT”. OUR LORD, OF COURSE, SAW IN JOHN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY THAT ELIJAH WOULD COME TO ANNOUNCE THE MESSIAH. JOHN KNEW THAT REGARDLESS OF THIS COMPLEMENT, HE WAS NOT ELIJAH. HE WOULD NOT ACCEPT WHATEVER THAT RESPONSIBILITY MEANT.
THE SECOND PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE, AND FOR WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE, JOHN KNEW HIS WHOLE PURPOSE WAS TO BE A POINTER, TO POINT TO THE COMING LORD, TO WARN THE PEOPLE AND DO ALL HE COULD TO GET THEM TO FREELY REPENT AND CHANGE THEIR WAYS, AND TO BECOME READY TO RECEIVE THE MESSIAH. “I AM THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,” HE SAID. HE DID NOT SAY, “I AM JOHN, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS.” HE KNEW THAT HIS PERSON WAS NOT IMPORTANT, BUT HIS PURPOSE WAS, AND HE DID NOT SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS PURPOSE. KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVES GREAT CLARITY, AND CLARITY IS A PART OF JOY.
THE THIRD PART OF BEING JOYFUL IS KNOWING THAT YOU ARE DOING THAT FOR WHICH YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE. JOHN KNEW HE WAS TO BAPTIZE WITH WATER, AND LEAVE THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UP TO THE ONE WHO WAS TO COME. WHEN JOHN BECAME CERTAIN THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH, HE SENT HIS DISCIPLES TO FOLLOW JESUS, AND SAID, “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” WITH THE MESSIAH PRESENT, THERE WAS NO MORE NEED FOR ONE TO PREPARE THE WAY, TO BE THE POINTER.
THE GREAT THING ABOUT JOY IS THAT IT CAN’T BE TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE THROWN IN PRISON AND EXECUTED, AS JOHN WAS, JOY TRANSCENDS EVEN DEATH. AND THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT. BY NOW YOU HAVE PROBABLY GUESSED THAT JOY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH KNOWING YOURSELF, KNOWING YOUR LIMITATIONS, KNOWING WHY YOU WERE PUT ON THIS EARTH AND ACTING ACCORDINGLY. JOY HAS TO DO WITH LIVING IN THE PRESENT, AND MAKING THE VERY MOST OF EACH MOMENT THAT WE HAVE. AND WHEN WE DO THAT, WE COME INTO CONTACT WITH GOD, WHO DEALS WITH US ONLY IN THE PRESENT, NOT THE FUTURE, NOT THE PAST. IF WE ARE FULLY IN THE PRESENT, WE ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER GOD THAN IF OUR MINDS DWELL IN WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, OR IN SOME WISHFUL FUTURE.
SO ON THIS GUADATE SUNDAY, ON THIS THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, LET REFLECT ON WHETHER WE ARE JOYFUL, AND IF NOT, WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO BECOME JOYFUL. LET US RECALL, LIKE JOHN MUST HAVE, THAT WE ARE NOT JESUS, AND EVEN IF WE HAVE GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES, WE CAN TAKE COMFORT IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD’S PLAN IS ALREADY ONGOING, AND WILL SUCCEED, THANKS TO JESUS. JOHN THE BAPTIST KNEW WHO HE WAS NOT, KNEW WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, AND DID IT. AND JESUS SAID OF HIM, “AMONG THOSE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HAS NOT RISEN ANYONE GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST,” – WHO LEFT NO BOOK, WHO FOUNDED NO RELIGION, WHO SIMPLY CRIED OUT IN THE DESERT, “PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.”
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Second Sunday of Advent, cycle B
MARK 1:1-8
MANY YEARS AGO I WAS VISITING MY GRANDMOTHER ON A SUNDAY. THE TELEVISION WAS ON – IT WAS BLACK AND WHITE, CATCHING A SIGNAL FROM AN ANTENNA, PICKING UP THE ONLY STATION IN HELENA, MONTANA. SHE WAS WATCHING ONE OF THOSE PREACHERS, I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE, BUT I REMEMBER THE MESSAGE. THE THEME OF THE SERMON WAS THAT BECAUSE JESUS HAD DIED FOR OUR SINS, WE WERE FORGIVEN! THAT STRUCK ME AS MILDLY HERETICAL. I DIDN'T DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENT – JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS, HE'D PAID THE PRICE, BUT AS A STUDENT IN A PRE-VATICAN II CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, I HAD MEMORIZED A MILLION CATECHISM QUESTIONS, AND WE WENT TO CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, SOMETIMES MORE OFTEN, AND WE DID OUR PENANCES, AND DURING LENT WE FASTED, AND IT SEEMED TO ME THAT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO BE FORGIVEN. WELL, I WAS THE HERETIC. BUT SO WAS THE PREACHER. TODAY, THE GOSPEL TELLS US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT FORGIVENESS. FORGIVENESS REQUIRES REPENTANCE, BEING BAPTIZED INTO GRACE REQUIRES CONFESSION OF SINS. AND ON THIS SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, PERHAPS WE NEED TO THINK A BIT ABOUT SIN.
FIRST OF ALL, WE ARE ALL SINNERS. MOTHER THERESA CONSIDERED HERSELF A SINNER. SO DID ANY GREAT SAINT YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE YOU ARE A SINNER, YOU ARE EITHER THE VIRGIN MARY OR YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND. WE CAN'T GO THROUGH A DAY, EVEN AN HOUR, WITHOUT COMMITTING SIN, UNLESS WE ARE ASLEEP OR UNDER ANESTHESIA. NOT BIG SINS, NOT MURDER, ADULTERY, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT LITTLE SINS, SINS THAT WE WOULD HARDLY EVEN CLASSIFY BY THE OLD TERM “VENIAL”. THE CONSTANT SOURCE OF OUR SINS IS OUR PRIDE, OUR SELF-CENTEREDNESS. WE ARE HURT BECAUSE SOMEONE SLIGHTS US; THE PAIN COMES BECAUSE WE SEE OURSELVES AS BEING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT OTHER PERSON SEEMS TO THINK WE ARE. WE HURT OTHERS BECAUSE IN OUR HURRY, WE IGNORE THEM. WE DON'T SEE THEM AS EQUALS, WE DON'T LOVE THEM AS WE LOVE OURSELVES, THEY ARE JUST BUMPS IN OUR ROAD. WE HAVE TASKS TO DO, BUT WE WASTE TIME. WE DON'T NEED TO EAT THAT EXTRA PIECE OF PIE, WE KNOW ITS BAD FOR US, BUT WE EAT IT. WE LIGHT UP ANOTHER CIGARETTE, WE HAVE ANOTHER MARTINI. WE SIT BACK IN THE EVENING AND WATCH SEX IN THE CITY; WE ARE SPORTS JUNKIES, OR NEWS JUNKIES, OR YOU NAME IT. AND YOU SAY, “THOSE AREN'T SERIOUS, THOSE AREN'T IMPORTANT.”
C.S. LEWIS SAID THAT THERE ARE THREE ERRORS PEOPLE MAKE ABOUT SIN. THE FIRST IS THAT A SIN, EVEN A SERIOUS SIN, COMMITTED A LONG TIME AGO ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS ONE WE COMMIT RIGHT NOW. SOMEHOW, PEOPLE FEEL THAT TIME HAS A WAY OF DIMINISHING A SIN. NOT TRUE. A SIN IS A SIN, AND TIME DOES NOTHING TO DECREASE ITS SERIOUSNESS. THE SECOND IS THAT WE LOOK AT SINS, AND I LISTED MANY ABOVE, AND SAY “THEY AREN'T A BIG DEAL, THEY AREN'T SERIOUS ENOUGH TO MATTER.” NOT TRUE, BECAUSE EVEN A LITTLE SIN, EVEN A LITTLE FAULT, IS A GRAVE OFFENSE AGAINST GOD. EVEN A LITTLE SIN IS A POISON, BECAUSE GOD CREATED US IN THE HOPES THAT WE WOULD FREELY SURRENDER OURSELVES TO HIM, SO THAT HE COULD MAKE US HAPPY, SO THAT HE COULD BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM WITH OUR COOPERATION AND HELP. AND ANYTHING WE DO THAT INTERFERES WITH THIS IS A SLAP IN HIS FACE. THE THIRD MISTAKE IS THAT WE SAY “I'M ONLY HUMAN” -- THAT IS, WE FORGIVE OURSELVES. AND THAT'S NOT TRUE, BECAUSE WE CAN'T FORGIVE OURSELVES FOR AN OFFENSE AGAINST GOD, AND WHEN WE MAKE THE EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, WE ARE BASICALLY SAYING THAT GOD IS NOT GIVING US THE GRACE WE NEED TO OVERCOME SIN – AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. JESUS COMMANDED US TO BE PERFECT.
WELL, SO FAR THAT'S A PRETTY DEPRESSING MESSAGE, AT LEAST TO ME. BUT THAT'S WHERE REPENTANCE, CONFESSING OUR SINS COMES IN. REPENTANCE MEANS TO TURN, TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN, AND TO TURN TO GOD. TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN REQUIRES THAT WE CONFRONT SIN HONESTLY, AND THAT IS WERE CONFESSING COMES IN, BECAUSE TO NAME OUR SINS, ESPECIALLY TO NAME THEM OUT LOUD, TO OUR PRIEST, IS THE FIRST STEP IN KNOWING WHAT TO TURN AWAY FROM. WE HAVE TO CONSIDER ALL OF OUR OWN SINS, EVEN THE LITTLE ONES; WE HAVE TO TRULY SEE THOSE SINS FOR THE SERIOUS THINGS THEY ARE – HOW DO THEY KEEP US FROM LIVING A FULLY HUMAN LIFE, HOW DO THEY HOLD US BACK FROM DOING GOD'S WILL; AND WHEN WE SEE THIS, HOPEFULLY WE WILL FEEL REVULSION, AND PUSH THEM AWAY, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD. AND THEN COMES FORGIVENESS.
GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS LIKE THE SUN; CONSTANTLY BATHING US IN WARMTH AND LIGHT. BUT SIN IS LIKE A ROCK UNDER WHICH WE HIDE. AND WE HAVE TO TURN AWAY FROM THAT COOL DARK AND PROBABLY COMFORTABLE HIDING PLACE AND COME OUT TO RECEIVE FORGIVENESS; SINCE WE ARE FREE, ONLY WE CAN MAKE THAT CHOICE.
MOST OF US SEE OURSELVES AS GOOD PERSONS; BUT WE AREN'T; AND MOST OF US EXCUSE OUR FAILINGS BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, OR BECAUSE THEY AREN'T THAT SERIOUS, OR BECAUSE THEY HAPPENED LONG AGO; BUT THOSE AREN'T EXCUSES, BECAUSE THOSE STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON FANTASY, NOT ON REALITY.
AND WILL WE SIN AGAIN? SURE, UNTIL OUR DYING DAY, BUT SO DID SAINT PAUL, AND MOTHER THERESA, AND YOU NAME THE SAINT. BUT WHAT MAKES A SAINT, PERHAPS, IS TO RECOGNIZE SIN FOR WHAT IT IS, TO CONSTANTLY STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME IT, AND HAVING SEEN IT FOR WHAT IT IS, TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, EVERY DAY, MAYBE EVEN EVERY HOUR, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, FOR THE REST OF ONE'S LIFE. AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY DIFFICULT TASK, BUT EVEN THERE GOD HELPS US. IF WE WANT TO REPENT, IF WE WANT TO CONFESS OUR SINS, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THERE TO SHOW THEM TO US, TO HELP US IDENTIFY THEM, TO PUSH THEM AWAY, AND TO TURN TOWARDS FORGIVENESS. IT'S BEEN SAID THAT HELL IS FULL OF SINNERS WHO DID NOT REPENT, WHILE HEAVEN IS FULL OF SINNERS WHO DID. AND WHAT GREAT JOY THERE WILL BE AS WE GET RID OF ALL THAT CLOUDS OUR VISION, AS WE DETACH OURSELVES FROM ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT DRAG US DOWN, THAT KEEP US FROM PROGRESSING IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES – AND ENTER INTO THE LIGHT AND WARMTH OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS.
ADVENT IS A TIME FOR EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. WHAT IS HOLDING ME BACK, WHAT ARE THOSE HABITUAL SINS, MAYBE VERY SMALL ONES, WHICH I MUST FIRST IDENTIFY AND THEN TURN AWAY FROM. TOMORROW THERE WILL BE OTHERS, NEXT YEAR, STILL MORE. BUT AS WE REPENT, AS WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS, WE GET STRONGER AND THE PROCESS BECOMES EASIER, AND FORGIVENESS BECOMES MORE AND MORE DESIRABLE BECAUSE WE COME TO DELIGHT IN GOD'S TOUCH.
MANY YEARS AGO I WAS VISITING MY GRANDMOTHER ON A SUNDAY. THE TELEVISION WAS ON – IT WAS BLACK AND WHITE, CATCHING A SIGNAL FROM AN ANTENNA, PICKING UP THE ONLY STATION IN HELENA, MONTANA. SHE WAS WATCHING ONE OF THOSE PREACHERS, I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE, BUT I REMEMBER THE MESSAGE. THE THEME OF THE SERMON WAS THAT BECAUSE JESUS HAD DIED FOR OUR SINS, WE WERE FORGIVEN! THAT STRUCK ME AS MILDLY HERETICAL. I DIDN'T DISAGREE WITH THE STATEMENT – JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS, HE'D PAID THE PRICE, BUT AS A STUDENT IN A PRE-VATICAN II CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, I HAD MEMORIZED A MILLION CATECHISM QUESTIONS, AND WE WENT TO CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, SOMETIMES MORE OFTEN, AND WE DID OUR PENANCES, AND DURING LENT WE FASTED, AND IT SEEMED TO ME THAT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO BE FORGIVEN. WELL, I WAS THE HERETIC. BUT SO WAS THE PREACHER. TODAY, THE GOSPEL TELLS US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT FORGIVENESS. FORGIVENESS REQUIRES REPENTANCE, BEING BAPTIZED INTO GRACE REQUIRES CONFESSION OF SINS. AND ON THIS SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, PERHAPS WE NEED TO THINK A BIT ABOUT SIN.
FIRST OF ALL, WE ARE ALL SINNERS. MOTHER THERESA CONSIDERED HERSELF A SINNER. SO DID ANY GREAT SAINT YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE YOU ARE A SINNER, YOU ARE EITHER THE VIRGIN MARY OR YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND. WE CAN'T GO THROUGH A DAY, EVEN AN HOUR, WITHOUT COMMITTING SIN, UNLESS WE ARE ASLEEP OR UNDER ANESTHESIA. NOT BIG SINS, NOT MURDER, ADULTERY, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT LITTLE SINS, SINS THAT WE WOULD HARDLY EVEN CLASSIFY BY THE OLD TERM “VENIAL”. THE CONSTANT SOURCE OF OUR SINS IS OUR PRIDE, OUR SELF-CENTEREDNESS. WE ARE HURT BECAUSE SOMEONE SLIGHTS US; THE PAIN COMES BECAUSE WE SEE OURSELVES AS BEING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT OTHER PERSON SEEMS TO THINK WE ARE. WE HURT OTHERS BECAUSE IN OUR HURRY, WE IGNORE THEM. WE DON'T SEE THEM AS EQUALS, WE DON'T LOVE THEM AS WE LOVE OURSELVES, THEY ARE JUST BUMPS IN OUR ROAD. WE HAVE TASKS TO DO, BUT WE WASTE TIME. WE DON'T NEED TO EAT THAT EXTRA PIECE OF PIE, WE KNOW ITS BAD FOR US, BUT WE EAT IT. WE LIGHT UP ANOTHER CIGARETTE, WE HAVE ANOTHER MARTINI. WE SIT BACK IN THE EVENING AND WATCH SEX IN THE CITY; WE ARE SPORTS JUNKIES, OR NEWS JUNKIES, OR YOU NAME IT. AND YOU SAY, “THOSE AREN'T SERIOUS, THOSE AREN'T IMPORTANT.”
C.S. LEWIS SAID THAT THERE ARE THREE ERRORS PEOPLE MAKE ABOUT SIN. THE FIRST IS THAT A SIN, EVEN A SERIOUS SIN, COMMITTED A LONG TIME AGO ISN'T AS IMPORTANT AS ONE WE COMMIT RIGHT NOW. SOMEHOW, PEOPLE FEEL THAT TIME HAS A WAY OF DIMINISHING A SIN. NOT TRUE. A SIN IS A SIN, AND TIME DOES NOTHING TO DECREASE ITS SERIOUSNESS. THE SECOND IS THAT WE LOOK AT SINS, AND I LISTED MANY ABOVE, AND SAY “THEY AREN'T A BIG DEAL, THEY AREN'T SERIOUS ENOUGH TO MATTER.” NOT TRUE, BECAUSE EVEN A LITTLE SIN, EVEN A LITTLE FAULT, IS A GRAVE OFFENSE AGAINST GOD. EVEN A LITTLE SIN IS A POISON, BECAUSE GOD CREATED US IN THE HOPES THAT WE WOULD FREELY SURRENDER OURSELVES TO HIM, SO THAT HE COULD MAKE US HAPPY, SO THAT HE COULD BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM WITH OUR COOPERATION AND HELP. AND ANYTHING WE DO THAT INTERFERES WITH THIS IS A SLAP IN HIS FACE. THE THIRD MISTAKE IS THAT WE SAY “I'M ONLY HUMAN” -- THAT IS, WE FORGIVE OURSELVES. AND THAT'S NOT TRUE, BECAUSE WE CAN'T FORGIVE OURSELVES FOR AN OFFENSE AGAINST GOD, AND WHEN WE MAKE THE EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, WE ARE BASICALLY SAYING THAT GOD IS NOT GIVING US THE GRACE WE NEED TO OVERCOME SIN – AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. JESUS COMMANDED US TO BE PERFECT.
WELL, SO FAR THAT'S A PRETTY DEPRESSING MESSAGE, AT LEAST TO ME. BUT THAT'S WHERE REPENTANCE, CONFESSING OUR SINS COMES IN. REPENTANCE MEANS TO TURN, TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN, AND TO TURN TO GOD. TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN REQUIRES THAT WE CONFRONT SIN HONESTLY, AND THAT IS WERE CONFESSING COMES IN, BECAUSE TO NAME OUR SINS, ESPECIALLY TO NAME THEM OUT LOUD, TO OUR PRIEST, IS THE FIRST STEP IN KNOWING WHAT TO TURN AWAY FROM. WE HAVE TO CONSIDER ALL OF OUR OWN SINS, EVEN THE LITTLE ONES; WE HAVE TO TRULY SEE THOSE SINS FOR THE SERIOUS THINGS THEY ARE – HOW DO THEY KEEP US FROM LIVING A FULLY HUMAN LIFE, HOW DO THEY HOLD US BACK FROM DOING GOD'S WILL; AND WHEN WE SEE THIS, HOPEFULLY WE WILL FEEL REVULSION, AND PUSH THEM AWAY, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD. AND THEN COMES FORGIVENESS.
GOD'S FORGIVENESS IS LIKE THE SUN; CONSTANTLY BATHING US IN WARMTH AND LIGHT. BUT SIN IS LIKE A ROCK UNDER WHICH WE HIDE. AND WE HAVE TO TURN AWAY FROM THAT COOL DARK AND PROBABLY COMFORTABLE HIDING PLACE AND COME OUT TO RECEIVE FORGIVENESS; SINCE WE ARE FREE, ONLY WE CAN MAKE THAT CHOICE.
MOST OF US SEE OURSELVES AS GOOD PERSONS; BUT WE AREN'T; AND MOST OF US EXCUSE OUR FAILINGS BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY HUMAN, OR BECAUSE THEY AREN'T THAT SERIOUS, OR BECAUSE THEY HAPPENED LONG AGO; BUT THOSE AREN'T EXCUSES, BECAUSE THOSE STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON FANTASY, NOT ON REALITY.
AND WILL WE SIN AGAIN? SURE, UNTIL OUR DYING DAY, BUT SO DID SAINT PAUL, AND MOTHER THERESA, AND YOU NAME THE SAINT. BUT WHAT MAKES A SAINT, PERHAPS, IS TO RECOGNIZE SIN FOR WHAT IT IS, TO CONSTANTLY STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME IT, AND HAVING SEEN IT FOR WHAT IT IS, TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, EVERY DAY, MAYBE EVEN EVERY HOUR, DAY IN AND DAY OUT, FOR THE REST OF ONE'S LIFE. AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY DIFFICULT TASK, BUT EVEN THERE GOD HELPS US. IF WE WANT TO REPENT, IF WE WANT TO CONFESS OUR SINS, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THERE TO SHOW THEM TO US, TO HELP US IDENTIFY THEM, TO PUSH THEM AWAY, AND TO TURN TOWARDS FORGIVENESS. IT'S BEEN SAID THAT HELL IS FULL OF SINNERS WHO DID NOT REPENT, WHILE HEAVEN IS FULL OF SINNERS WHO DID. AND WHAT GREAT JOY THERE WILL BE AS WE GET RID OF ALL THAT CLOUDS OUR VISION, AS WE DETACH OURSELVES FROM ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT DRAG US DOWN, THAT KEEP US FROM PROGRESSING IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES – AND ENTER INTO THE LIGHT AND WARMTH OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS.
ADVENT IS A TIME FOR EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE. WHAT IS HOLDING ME BACK, WHAT ARE THOSE HABITUAL SINS, MAYBE VERY SMALL ONES, WHICH I MUST FIRST IDENTIFY AND THEN TURN AWAY FROM. TOMORROW THERE WILL BE OTHERS, NEXT YEAR, STILL MORE. BUT AS WE REPENT, AS WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS, WE GET STRONGER AND THE PROCESS BECOMES EASIER, AND FORGIVENESS BECOMES MORE AND MORE DESIRABLE BECAUSE WE COME TO DELIGHT IN GOD'S TOUCH.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
First Sunday in Advent, cycle B
MARK 13:33-37
AS YOU KNOW, I AM A CANCER DOCTOR. AND AS SUCH, I AM PRIVILEGED TO WITNESS THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN. THIS LAST WEEK WAS NO EXCEPTION. I HAD BEEN CARING FOR HER FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS. FOR A LONG TIME I SAW HER EVERY SIX MONTHS, JUST MAKING SURE THE CANCER WAS NOT BACK. AND THEN ONE DAY I GOT A CALL FROM ANOTHER HOSPITAL THAT SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND RUNNING A HIGH FEVER. WE TRANSFERRED HER TO BAYSTATE AND DIAGNOSED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MALIGNANCY, WHICH WE MANAGED TO BRING UNDER CONTROL BUT COULD NEVER CURE. AND TWO YEARS WENT BY, AND OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS HER CONDITION DETERIORATED, AND LAST WEEK SHE LAY IN A HOSPITAL BED RECEIVING MORPHINE BECAUSE ALL WE COULD DO WAS CONTROL HER PAIN. AND HER DAUGHTER AND HER GRANDSONS WAITED. FOR A WEEK ONE OF THEM WAS ALWAYS AT THE BEDSIDE, MAYBE DOZING BUT NEVER SLEEPING. WHEN SHE STIRRED OR CALLED OUT, THEY WERE THERE, TO HOLD HER HAND, OR OFFER REASSURANCE, MAKING SURE SHE KNEW SHE WASN'T ALONE. AND FINALLY IT WAS OVER – SHE DIED IN THEIR ARMS, PEACEFULLY.
“BE WATCHFUL. BE ALERT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN THE TIME WILL COME.” THAT'S WHAT JESUS TELLS US TODAY. HE TALKS TO US ABOUT THE SERVANTS WHO WAIT FOR THEIR MASTER TO RETURN, MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN HE DID COME, NO MATTER WHEN THAT WOULD BE, HE WOULD FIND NOTHING MISSING, HE WOULD FIND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE, EVERYTHING DUSTED AND READY.
IT'S BEEN 2000 YEARS SINCE JESUS TOLD US TO BE WATCHFUL, TO BE ALERT. SO FAR, THE MASTER HASN'T RETURNED. PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR EDGE. PEOPLE ARE WONDERING IF THE MASTER WILL EVER RETURN. AND MANY HAVE LOST FAITH. AND IT SEEMS THAT THE ONLY TIMES WE CAN SUMMON THAT INTENSE WATCHFULNESS, THAT ALERTNESS THAT JESUS TALKS ABOUT, IS WHEN THERE IS SOME MAJOR LIFE EVENT, LIKE THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE, OR PERHAPS A WEDDING OR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD. AND THE REST OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY, THAT SENSE OF ALERTNESS IS REALLY NOT THERE AT ALL, AND OUR MINDS FIGHT TO ATTEND TO THE MYSTERIES THAT ARE UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US.
BUT WHAT IF WE LIVED THIS SENSE OF ALERTNESS, THIS SENSE OF READINESS TO WHICH JESUS CALLS US? WHAT WOULD OUR LIVES BE LIKE IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THAT OUR KING MIGHT RETURN AT ANY MOMENT?
I'M SURE MOST OF US WOULD GET TO CONFESSION. PERHAPS WE WOULD BE PAYING A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO OUR PRAYER LIFE – WE MIGHT TAKE UP THE ROSARY, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PRAYER, PROMISES GUARANTEED BY THE GREAT SAINTS WHO TRANSMITTED THEM. PERHAPS WE WOULD TAKE SOME STEPS TOWARDS HEALING THE BROKEN AND INJURED RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE CLOSE TO US. MAYBE WE WOULD REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE LORD'S WORDS, “WHATEVER YOU DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO FOR ME.” AND WE WOULD LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND TRY TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE NEED TO DO MORE OF AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO LESS OF. HOW MUCH TIME DO WE WASTE? HOW MANY THINGS HAVE WE PUT OFF WHICH WE SHOULD HAVE DONE? ARE THERE HABITS WE WOULD BREAK, ONCE AND FOR ALL, BECAUSE WE WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE OUR KING LOOK AT US WITH SORROW BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE OURSELVES UNHEALTHY, WE HAVE DAMAGED OUR BODY OR OUR MIND, GIVEN TO US BY HIM.
THINGS WOULD STILL BE THE SAME OUT THERE IN OUR WORLD. THE BIG CHANGES WOULD BE IN HERE, IN OUR HEARTS.
ADVENT REMINDS US THAT OUR GREAT KING COULD RETURN AT ANY MOMENT. BUT IT ALSO REMINDS US THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN ENDLESS SEQUENCE OF TOMORROWS. WHEN YOU WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING, YOU WILL HAVE ONE LESS DAY TO LIVE. NEXT SUNDAY, A WEEK WILL HAVE PASSED THAT YOU CAN'T RELIVE, THAT YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO AND DO IT RIGHT. AND THE CHURCH GIVES US ADVENT IN THE HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, THAT WE ARE MORE PREPARED FOR OUR GREAT KING.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD. PERHAPS HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE END OF YOUR WORLD, AND MY WORLD.
MY PATIENT, OVER THE FIFTEEN YEARS I KNEW HER, OCCASIONALLY TALKED ABOUT HER DESIRE TO GO BACK TO THE COUNTRY IN WHICH SHE WAS BORN. SHE HAD NOT BEEN THERE SINCE SHE HAD BEEN MARRIED TO A SOLDIER DURING WORLD WAR II. SHE HAD THE MEANS, SHE HAD THE TIME. SHE EVEN HAD A SISTER OVER THERE WHO HAD VISITED HER ON A FEW OCCASIONS. BUT A DAY CAME WHEN THIS DREAM COULD NO LONGER BE REALIZED. THE KING HAD COME, AND SHE WAS NOT READY.
SOME OF YOU PROBABLY SAW THE MOVIE, “BUCKET LIST”, ABOUT A PAIR OF MIDDLE AGED MEN WITH CANCER WHO DECIDE TO DO ALL THE THINGS THEY HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO DOING. PERHAPS YOU'VE SEEN THOSE BOOKS THAT KEEP APPEARING, 500 PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE, OR 100 GREAT COMPOSITIONS TO LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU DIE. I HAVEN'T SEEN 500 THINGS TO EAT BEFORE YOU DIE, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL BE COMING SOON. ADVENT IS A TIME FOR US TO MAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE WHAT WE NEED TO DO BEFORE WE DIE, THOSE THINGS THAT PREPARE US FOR THE COMING OF OUR GREAT KING. AND THEN WE MUST MAKE OUR OWN LIST, AND GET TO IT. IT MAY BE ANOTHER TWO THOUSAND OR EVEN TWO MILLION YEARS BEFORE HE COMES IN ALL HIS GLORY TO BRING TO AN END OUR WORLD AND CREATE A NEW WORLD. BUT IT MAY BE NEXT WEEK, OR NEXT MONTH, OR NEXT YEAR WHEN HE COMES TO BRING AN END TO OUR BRIEF TOUR ON THIS WONDERFUL WORLD HE GAVE US. AND TODAY WE PRAY, “MAY HE NOT COME SUDDENLY, AND FIND US SLEEPING.”
AS YOU KNOW, I AM A CANCER DOCTOR. AND AS SUCH, I AM PRIVILEGED TO WITNESS THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN. THIS LAST WEEK WAS NO EXCEPTION. I HAD BEEN CARING FOR HER FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS. FOR A LONG TIME I SAW HER EVERY SIX MONTHS, JUST MAKING SURE THE CANCER WAS NOT BACK. AND THEN ONE DAY I GOT A CALL FROM ANOTHER HOSPITAL THAT SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND RUNNING A HIGH FEVER. WE TRANSFERRED HER TO BAYSTATE AND DIAGNOSED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MALIGNANCY, WHICH WE MANAGED TO BRING UNDER CONTROL BUT COULD NEVER CURE. AND TWO YEARS WENT BY, AND OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS HER CONDITION DETERIORATED, AND LAST WEEK SHE LAY IN A HOSPITAL BED RECEIVING MORPHINE BECAUSE ALL WE COULD DO WAS CONTROL HER PAIN. AND HER DAUGHTER AND HER GRANDSONS WAITED. FOR A WEEK ONE OF THEM WAS ALWAYS AT THE BEDSIDE, MAYBE DOZING BUT NEVER SLEEPING. WHEN SHE STIRRED OR CALLED OUT, THEY WERE THERE, TO HOLD HER HAND, OR OFFER REASSURANCE, MAKING SURE SHE KNEW SHE WASN'T ALONE. AND FINALLY IT WAS OVER – SHE DIED IN THEIR ARMS, PEACEFULLY.
“BE WATCHFUL. BE ALERT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN THE TIME WILL COME.” THAT'S WHAT JESUS TELLS US TODAY. HE TALKS TO US ABOUT THE SERVANTS WHO WAIT FOR THEIR MASTER TO RETURN, MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN HE DID COME, NO MATTER WHEN THAT WOULD BE, HE WOULD FIND NOTHING MISSING, HE WOULD FIND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE, EVERYTHING DUSTED AND READY.
IT'S BEEN 2000 YEARS SINCE JESUS TOLD US TO BE WATCHFUL, TO BE ALERT. SO FAR, THE MASTER HASN'T RETURNED. PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR EDGE. PEOPLE ARE WONDERING IF THE MASTER WILL EVER RETURN. AND MANY HAVE LOST FAITH. AND IT SEEMS THAT THE ONLY TIMES WE CAN SUMMON THAT INTENSE WATCHFULNESS, THAT ALERTNESS THAT JESUS TALKS ABOUT, IS WHEN THERE IS SOME MAJOR LIFE EVENT, LIKE THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE, OR PERHAPS A WEDDING OR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD. AND THE REST OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY, THAT SENSE OF ALERTNESS IS REALLY NOT THERE AT ALL, AND OUR MINDS FIGHT TO ATTEND TO THE MYSTERIES THAT ARE UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US.
BUT WHAT IF WE LIVED THIS SENSE OF ALERTNESS, THIS SENSE OF READINESS TO WHICH JESUS CALLS US? WHAT WOULD OUR LIVES BE LIKE IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THAT OUR KING MIGHT RETURN AT ANY MOMENT?
I'M SURE MOST OF US WOULD GET TO CONFESSION. PERHAPS WE WOULD BE PAYING A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO OUR PRAYER LIFE – WE MIGHT TAKE UP THE ROSARY, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PRAYER, PROMISES GUARANTEED BY THE GREAT SAINTS WHO TRANSMITTED THEM. PERHAPS WE WOULD TAKE SOME STEPS TOWARDS HEALING THE BROKEN AND INJURED RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE CLOSE TO US. MAYBE WE WOULD REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE LORD'S WORDS, “WHATEVER YOU DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO FOR ME.” AND WE WOULD LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND TRY TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE NEED TO DO MORE OF AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO LESS OF. HOW MUCH TIME DO WE WASTE? HOW MANY THINGS HAVE WE PUT OFF WHICH WE SHOULD HAVE DONE? ARE THERE HABITS WE WOULD BREAK, ONCE AND FOR ALL, BECAUSE WE WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE OUR KING LOOK AT US WITH SORROW BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE OURSELVES UNHEALTHY, WE HAVE DAMAGED OUR BODY OR OUR MIND, GIVEN TO US BY HIM.
THINGS WOULD STILL BE THE SAME OUT THERE IN OUR WORLD. THE BIG CHANGES WOULD BE IN HERE, IN OUR HEARTS.
ADVENT REMINDS US THAT OUR GREAT KING COULD RETURN AT ANY MOMENT. BUT IT ALSO REMINDS US THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN ENDLESS SEQUENCE OF TOMORROWS. WHEN YOU WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING, YOU WILL HAVE ONE LESS DAY TO LIVE. NEXT SUNDAY, A WEEK WILL HAVE PASSED THAT YOU CAN'T RELIVE, THAT YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO AND DO IT RIGHT. AND THE CHURCH GIVES US ADVENT IN THE HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, THAT WE ARE MORE PREPARED FOR OUR GREAT KING.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD. PERHAPS HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE END OF YOUR WORLD, AND MY WORLD.
MY PATIENT, OVER THE FIFTEEN YEARS I KNEW HER, OCCASIONALLY TALKED ABOUT HER DESIRE TO GO BACK TO THE COUNTRY IN WHICH SHE WAS BORN. SHE HAD NOT BEEN THERE SINCE SHE HAD BEEN MARRIED TO A SOLDIER DURING WORLD WAR II. SHE HAD THE MEANS, SHE HAD THE TIME. SHE EVEN HAD A SISTER OVER THERE WHO HAD VISITED HER ON A FEW OCCASIONS. BUT A DAY CAME WHEN THIS DREAM COULD NO LONGER BE REALIZED. THE KING HAD COME, AND SHE WAS NOT READY.
SOME OF YOU PROBABLY SAW THE MOVIE, “BUCKET LIST”, ABOUT A PAIR OF MIDDLE AGED MEN WITH CANCER WHO DECIDE TO DO ALL THE THINGS THEY HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO DOING. PERHAPS YOU'VE SEEN THOSE BOOKS THAT KEEP APPEARING, 500 PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE, OR 100 GREAT COMPOSITIONS TO LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU DIE. I HAVEN'T SEEN 500 THINGS TO EAT BEFORE YOU DIE, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL BE COMING SOON. ADVENT IS A TIME FOR US TO MAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE WHAT WE NEED TO DO BEFORE WE DIE, THOSE THINGS THAT PREPARE US FOR THE COMING OF OUR GREAT KING. AND THEN WE MUST MAKE OUR OWN LIST, AND GET TO IT. IT MAY BE ANOTHER TWO THOUSAND OR EVEN TWO MILLION YEARS BEFORE HE COMES IN ALL HIS GLORY TO BRING TO AN END OUR WORLD AND CREATE A NEW WORLD. BUT IT MAY BE NEXT WEEK, OR NEXT MONTH, OR NEXT YEAR WHEN HE COMES TO BRING AN END TO OUR BRIEF TOUR ON THIS WONDERFUL WORLD HE GAVE US. AND TODAY WE PRAY, “MAY HE NOT COME SUDDENLY, AND FIND US SLEEPING.”
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