LUKE 4:21-30
WHY DID THEY GET SO MAD AT HIM? WHY DID HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, THE PEOPLE HE GREW UP WITH, THE PEOPLE WHO AT FIRST WERE AMAZED AT THE GRACIOUS WORDS WHICH FELL FROM HIS LIPS – WHY DID THEY SUDDENLY TURN ON HIM – NOT JUST REPRIMANDING HIM, NOT JUST EXPELLING HIM FROM THE SYNAGOGUE, BUT MAKING AN ATTEMPT TO KILL HIM? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
IF YOU WERE JEWISH, IN JESUS' TIME, YOU HAD A DEEP-SEATED PREJUDICE AGAINST PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T JEWS, EVEN PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY MUCH LIKE JEWS, SUCH AS THE SAMARITANS. WE LEARN THROUGH OTHER SOURCES THAT THE JEWS WERE DIVIDED EVEN AMONG THEMSELVES; WE KNOW ABOUT THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES. BUT THERE WERE MANY OTHER DIVISIONS. THERE WERE THE ZEALOTS, THOSE WHO REMEMBERED JUDAH MACABEE AND THE ALMOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FOR THEIR FREEDOM. THEY REMEMBERED THE MASS SUICIDE AT MASADAH, WHEN THE SURVIVING JEWS, HOLED UP ON A MOUNTAIN, KILLED THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN, AND THEN THEMSELVES, RATHER THAN SURRENDER. THE ZEALOTS WERE FEW IN NUMBER, BUT THEY WANTED TO GO TO WAR WITH THE ROMANS, AND SHAKE OFF THEIR RULE OR DIE TRYING. THERE WERE THE ESSENES, POSSIBLY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE INFLUENCED JOHN THE BAPTIST. THEY FELT THAT IN ORDER TO BE JEWISH YOU HAD TO COMPLETELY SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE WORLD. THEY WERE MORE SEPARATIST THAN THE PHARISEES. THEY LIVED IN THE DESERT IN A SORT OF MONASTIC COMMUNITY. THERE WERE THE JEWS WHO LIVED THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE, THE ONES WHO WORSHIPED IN SYNAGOGUES AND USED A GREEK TRANSLATION OF SACRED SCRIPTURE. THEY WERE LOOKED DOWN ON BY THE HEBREW SPEAKING JEWS IN JUDAH, WHO CONSIDERED THEM LESS THAN PURE. AND THE GREEK-SPEAKING JEWS LOOKED AT THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM, AND CONSIDERED THEM BACKWARD AND INSULAR. BUT ALL THESE DIVISIONS ASIDE, ALL OF THEM BELIEVED THAT EVEN THE LOWEST JEW WAS BETTER THAN THE GREATEST GENTILE. AFTER ALL, THE JEWS WERE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE, AND RIGHT THERE IN SCRIPTURE, YOU COULD READ WHAT GOD INTENDED TO DO TO THE GENTILES, AND IT WASN'T PRETTY.
SO HERE COMES JESUS, WHO DELIVERS AN INSULT WHICH IS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS. HE MENTIONS TWO MIRACLES, DONE BY TWO GREAT PROPHETS, TWO MIRACLES WHICH BYPASSED THE JEWS WHO COULD HAVE USED THEM, AND HEALED GENTILES. THE CONGREGATION HAD BEEN THINKING THAT WITH JESUS, THEIR KINSMAN, THE KID WHO GREW UP IN THEIR TOWN, WHO CLAIMED TO BE ACTING FOR GOD – CERTAINLY HE WOULD DO EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR THINGS IN THEIR MIDST THAN HE HAD BEEN DOING IN OTHER JEWISH TOWNS. AND JESUS LETS THEM KNOW THAT THEIR SENSE OF PRIVILEGE, AS JEWS, AS HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, ENTITLES THEM TO NOTHING AT ALL. IT ISN'T BECAUSE HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON THAT THEY TRY TO KILL HIM; IT'S BECAUSE IN THEIR HEARING, HE SEEMS TO HAVE BLASPHEMED, HE SEEMS TO HAVE CHALLENGED THEIR VIEW THAT THEY ARE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE. INSULTING THEM IS THE SAME AS INSULTING GOD.
BUT JESUS WILL DO THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN, TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES, TO GROUPS OF PHARISEES AND SCRIBES. IT WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF MORE THAN ONE PARABLE – THE CLASSIC BEING THE STORY OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. AND HIS MIRACULOUS CURES ARE FREELY GIVEN, BUT THERE IS NO LOGIC AS TO WHY HE CURES THIS ONE AND NOT THAT ONE, EXCEPT THAT IN THE GOSPEL STORIES, IT SEEMS THAT ALL HIS MIRACLES ARE DONE TO MAKE A POINT. JESUS IS COMPASSIONATE, JESUS HAS PITY ON PEOPLE; BUT THOSE ARE NOT THE MAIN REASONS HE HEALS.
THE PEOPLE IN JESUS' HOME TOWN SEE JESUS AS A SORT OF WALKING HOSPITAL BUT THEY DON'T SEE HIM WITH EYES OF FAITH, THEY DON'T SEE THE UNDERLYING REALITY HERE, THE REALITY THAT MADE THE BLIND MAN AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AND PETER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS LORD, EVEN AS THE SON OF GOD. THEY ARE BLINDED BY THE FACT THAT HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON.
CHRISTIANS HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIRACLES. SOME OF US ARE WILLING TO ADMIT THAT THEY HAPPEN, AND THAT THEY DID HAPPEN IN THE PAST, BUT WE HAVE VARIOUS REASONS WHY WE NEVER SEEM TO WITNESS THEM TODAY. SOME OF US FEEL THAT IT IS A MATTER OF FAITH, AND WE FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO GET GOD TO CURE US OR OUR LOVED ONE. SOME OF US FEEL THAT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO – GET THE CHURCH STARTED – AND NOW THERE IS NO REASON FOR MIRACLES, BECAUSE THE CHURCH HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.. AND THERE ARE CHRISTIANS WHO INSIST THAT MIRACLES ARE ALL AROUND US, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS CLAIM THEM, OR PRAY FOR THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AND IF WE ARE RIGHT WITH GOD, WE CAN EXPECT MIRACLES. THERE ARE EVEN BOOKS OUT THERE THAT TEACH US HOW TO GET MIRACLES.
BUT JESUS WORKED MIRACLES TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WAS AT HAND, TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE HAD GOD'S POWER. AND THAT CONDITIONED EVERY MIRACLE HE WORKED. IF THE MIRACLE COULD NOT TEACH HIS DISCIPLES SOMETHING, OR REVEAL SOMETHING TO THE CROWDS WHO FOLLOWED HIM, THEN IT WASN'T SOMETHING HE DID. JESUS IS THE GOD OF NATURE, AND AS NATURE'S GOD, DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. OR, PERHAPS ANOTHER WAY TO PUT IT IS TO SAY THAT WHAT IS NATURAL IS THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL.
NONE OF US GOES THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE WISHING FOR A MIRACLE; WE PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF A LOVED ONE; WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL SAVE THE LIFE OF A LITTLE CHILD, OR A DEAR FRIEND; OR HEAL A PARENT OF A CRIPPLING INJURY. AND WE WONDER WHY HE DOES NOT ANSWER. AND THEN WE REMEMBER THE STORY OF JESUS IN HIS HOME TOWN. I THINK GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO US IS OUR FREEDOM, AND GOD DESIRES THAT WE USE THAT FREEDOM TO RESPOND TO HIS LOVE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO. AND IF WE ARE TRULY FREE, THEN WHAT WE DO MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES, OR ELSE OUR FREEDOM IS JUST A SHAM. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH MIRACLES. THEY CAN HAPPEN, I BELIEVE THAT. BUT A MIRACLE, SOMETHING THAT DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER, HASTHE POTENTIAL TO DIMINISH THE FREEDOM WE ARE GIVEN, AND IRONICALLY, THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? WE REMEMBER THAT JESUS DIED FOR US OUT OF LOVE, AND WE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FITS INTO HIS LOVING PLAN. AND WE CAN ASK FOR MIRACLES, BUT REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE PURE GIFT, AND IF A PRAYER SEEMS NOT TO BE ANSWERED, IT DOESN'T MEAN OUR FAITH IS WEAK, OR WE AREN'T LOVED BY GOD. IT ONLY MEANS THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING GREATER IN STORE, SOMETHING WE WILL LEARN IS SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD THOUGHT ONE TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR GREATEST DESIRE.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
LUKE 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE SMALL, THERE WERE MANY TIMES WHEN MY WIFE OR I WOULD TRY TO GET ONE OF THEM TO TRY SOMETHING THAT WE ENJOYED. SOMETIMES THIS WORKED AND SOMETIMES NOT. I REMEMBER A TIME WHEN WE LIVED IN AN APARTMENT IN BUFFALO WHEN I WAS IN MY TRAINING. OF COURSE I CHOSE THAT TIME TO GET INTERESTED IN MAKING WINE. ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS WANTED TO HELP, SO WE SET OUT TO FERMENT THE JUICE, LET IT SETTLE FOR A FEW DAYS, TRANSFER IT TO A STORAGE VESSEL, AND FINALLY, BOTTLE IT. ALL OF THESE STEPS REQUIRED THAT WE COMMANDEER THE BATHROOM, WHERE THERE WAS A TUB.
MY DAUGHTER WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD. THERE WERE MANY TIMES IN THE PROCESS WHEN I REALIZED I COULD DO THE JOB BETTER, FASTER, AND WITH LESS SPILLAGE IF I DID IT MYSELF. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT SHE WAS ENJOYING HERSELF IMMENSELY, AND I FOUND THAT TO BE PART OF THE FUN.
I WAS REMINDED OF THAT WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE GOSPEL TODAY. THE WAY IT SOUNDS TO US, JESUS POPS UP OUT OF NOWHERE, AND, FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, COMES BACK TO HIS HOME TOWN AND DELIVERS A SERMON OF SORTS IN THE SYNAGOGUE. BUT WE SKIPPED OVER THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS OF LUKE'S GOSPEL, THE STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION, THE VISITATION, THE BIRTH OF THE LORD, THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE, AND THE FINDING OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE, NOT TO MENTION THE BIRTH OF JOHN, THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, AND JESUS' TEMPTATION IN THE DESERT. CLEARLY THE CHURCH WANTS US TO LOOK AT THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF SCRIPTURE, AND REALIZE THAT NOW THAT ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, JESUS IS MORE OR LESS LAUNCHING HIS MINISTRY. HE'S ALREADY BEEN PREACHING, HEALING PEOPLE, WORKING MIRACLES. THAT'S WHY NEWS ABOUT HIM HAS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRYSIDE. HE'S THE HOME TOWN BOY WHO MADE GOOD, AND EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE IS EAGER TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. IT DOESN'T SAY IT IN THE SCRIPTURE, BUT THINK ABOUT IT – HIS MOTHER WAS PROBABLY THERE IN THE SYNAGOGUE, SITTING IN THE BACK WITH THE WOMEN; BUT THE VILLAGE ITSELF WAS FAMILY, AND JESUS FOR THE MOMENT WAS THE STAR.
JESUS MUST HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE SCRIPTURES. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN AT A JEWISH WORSHIP SERVICE, YOU WOULD SEE THE HUGE SCROLLS WHICH ARE KEPT IN A SORT OF TABERNACLE. WHEN THEY ARE READ, THE SCROLL IS BROUGHT OUT, REMOVED FROM ITS VELVET COVERING, PUT ON A SPECIAL TABLE, AND WITH THE HELP OF ASSISTANTS, IT IS ROLLED FROM ONE END AND UNROLLED FROM THE OTHER UNTIL THE RABBI FINDS THE PASSAGE HE WILL PROCLAIM. NOTHING HAS CHANGED MUCH IN 2000 YEARS, AND YOU CAN ALMOST SEE JESUS ROLLING THROUGH THE SCROLL TO THE PASSAGE.
AND AFTER HE READS THE PASSAGE, HE SITS DOWN, AND SAYS THOSE WORDS, “TODAY, THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” JESUS HAS BEEN OUT DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE SCRIPTURE PREDICTS. HE HAS BEEN TELLING THE POOR GOOD NEWS, THAT GOD LOVES THEM LIKE A FATHER; HE'S BEEN WORKING MIRACLES OF HEALING, GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLIND, HEARING TO THE DEAF – BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE'S BEEN OPENING PEOPLE'S EYES TO THE TRUTH. HE'S HEALED PARALYZED PEOPLE, FREED THEM FROM THE PRISON OF THEIR BODIES, BUT HE'S ALSO BEEN TELLING PEOPLE THAT GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE, SO WHY SHOULD THEY FEAR ANYONE WHO CAN AT BEST DESTROY THE BODY, BUT NEVER TOUCH THE SOUL? HE HAS PROCLAIMED THAT THEY ARE FREE, RADICALLY FREE, NO MATTER WHAT THE ROMANS SAY, OR THE CHIEF PRIESTS.
ALL THIS IS IMPRESSIVE, WONDERFUL; BUT IF YOU GO BACK AND READ THE CHAPTER IN ISAIAH FROM WHICH THIS PASSAGE IS TAKEN, THE PICTURE THERE IS MUCH MORE GLORIOUS THAN WHAT JESUS HAS DONE SO FAR, OR IN FACT WHAT HE WILL DO IN THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE. SO WHAT DOES HE MEAN, “THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED?” STARTED, MAYBE, BUT CERTAINLY NOT FULFILLED.
WHAT JESUS IS SAYING, THOUGH, IS THAT IT IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING; AND THE WORD “HEARING” MEANS SOMETHING LIKE “DOING WHAT YOU HEAR YOU ARE TO DO” IN GREEK. SO IF WE HEAR WHAT ISAIAH SAYS AS A REQUEST FROM GOD, IF WE LEAVE OUR COMFORT ZONE, OUR TELEVISION SET, OUR COMPUTER, OUR GOLF GAME, AND DO WHAT JESUS DID, TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, THE SCRIPTURE WILL BE FULFILLED.
JESUS, BEING GOD, COULD HAVE DONE IT ALL HIMSELF. HE COULD HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT THE DREAM OF ISAIAH, NOT ONLY THE LIBERATION OF PEOPLE FROM WHAT KEEPS THEM FROM BEING TRULY HUMAN, THE PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL BURDENS WE ALL CARRY; BUT ISAIAH TALKED ABOUT A TIME WHEN THE LION LAYS DOWN WITH THE LAMB, AND THE LITTLE CHILD PETS THE SNAKE WITHOUT GETTING BITTEN. WHEN THE HOLY MOUNTAIN IS A PLACE WHERE EVERY CREATURE CAN BE SAFE AND HAPPY, WHEN THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM IS A BEACON OF HOPE AND A HOME FOR ALL NATIONS. JESUS COULD DO THAT.
AND THAT IS WHY JESUS CAME INTO OUR MIDST; HIS PURPOSE IS TO FULFILL THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. AND JESUS FINDS JOY IN DOING WHAT THE FATHER SENT HIM TO DO. JOY IS ALWAYS THERE WHEN WE ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, THE RIGHT TIME, DOING WHAT WE ARE MEANT TO DO. JESUS' JOY COMES FROM BEING UNITED TO THE PURE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD, WHO BEGAN THE UNIVERSE, AND CONTINUES TO CREATE WITHIN IT UNTIL ITS FULFILLMENT.
BUT IN THE SAME WAY I FOUND JOY IN ALLOWING MY DAUGHTER TO HELP ME MAKE WINE IN A BATHTUB SOME 38 YEARS AGO, EVEN THOUGH I COULD HAVE DONE IT FASTER AND WITH LESS SPILLAGE, JESUS SHOWS US BY HIS ACTIONS AND HIS PROCLAMATION WHAT WILL GIVE US JOY, AND STANDS BACK, AND OFFERS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO HIS OWN WORK. AND IF WE TAKE HIM UP ON THAT OFFER, WE WON'T DO IT QUITE RIGHT, WE MAY MAKE A MESS OF IT LIKE CHILDREN DO, WE WILL GET TIRED AND DISCOURAGED, BUT WE WILL FIND JOY, WE WILL SHARE IN THE JOY OF GOD HIMSELF AS WE TAKE ON WHAT HE OFFERS TO SHARE WITH US. AND WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR, GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLIND, SETTING PRISONERS FREE, – DOING ALL THOSE THINGS THAT JESUS SHOWED US, WE WILL HAVE THE SATISFACTION OF JESUS HIMSELF, AND OUR LIVES WILL HAVE MEANT SOMETHING, OUR LIVES WILL HAVE BROUGHT THE WORLD A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE DREAM OF ISAIAH AND OF JESUS.
WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE SMALL, THERE WERE MANY TIMES WHEN MY WIFE OR I WOULD TRY TO GET ONE OF THEM TO TRY SOMETHING THAT WE ENJOYED. SOMETIMES THIS WORKED AND SOMETIMES NOT. I REMEMBER A TIME WHEN WE LIVED IN AN APARTMENT IN BUFFALO WHEN I WAS IN MY TRAINING. OF COURSE I CHOSE THAT TIME TO GET INTERESTED IN MAKING WINE. ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS WANTED TO HELP, SO WE SET OUT TO FERMENT THE JUICE, LET IT SETTLE FOR A FEW DAYS, TRANSFER IT TO A STORAGE VESSEL, AND FINALLY, BOTTLE IT. ALL OF THESE STEPS REQUIRED THAT WE COMMANDEER THE BATHROOM, WHERE THERE WAS A TUB.
MY DAUGHTER WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS OLD. THERE WERE MANY TIMES IN THE PROCESS WHEN I REALIZED I COULD DO THE JOB BETTER, FASTER, AND WITH LESS SPILLAGE IF I DID IT MYSELF. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT SHE WAS ENJOYING HERSELF IMMENSELY, AND I FOUND THAT TO BE PART OF THE FUN.
I WAS REMINDED OF THAT WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE GOSPEL TODAY. THE WAY IT SOUNDS TO US, JESUS POPS UP OUT OF NOWHERE, AND, FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, COMES BACK TO HIS HOME TOWN AND DELIVERS A SERMON OF SORTS IN THE SYNAGOGUE. BUT WE SKIPPED OVER THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS OF LUKE'S GOSPEL, THE STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION, THE VISITATION, THE BIRTH OF THE LORD, THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE, AND THE FINDING OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE, NOT TO MENTION THE BIRTH OF JOHN, THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, AND JESUS' TEMPTATION IN THE DESERT. CLEARLY THE CHURCH WANTS US TO LOOK AT THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF SCRIPTURE, AND REALIZE THAT NOW THAT ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, JESUS IS MORE OR LESS LAUNCHING HIS MINISTRY. HE'S ALREADY BEEN PREACHING, HEALING PEOPLE, WORKING MIRACLES. THAT'S WHY NEWS ABOUT HIM HAS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRYSIDE. HE'S THE HOME TOWN BOY WHO MADE GOOD, AND EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE IS EAGER TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY. IT DOESN'T SAY IT IN THE SCRIPTURE, BUT THINK ABOUT IT – HIS MOTHER WAS PROBABLY THERE IN THE SYNAGOGUE, SITTING IN THE BACK WITH THE WOMEN; BUT THE VILLAGE ITSELF WAS FAMILY, AND JESUS FOR THE MOMENT WAS THE STAR.
JESUS MUST HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE SCRIPTURES. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN AT A JEWISH WORSHIP SERVICE, YOU WOULD SEE THE HUGE SCROLLS WHICH ARE KEPT IN A SORT OF TABERNACLE. WHEN THEY ARE READ, THE SCROLL IS BROUGHT OUT, REMOVED FROM ITS VELVET COVERING, PUT ON A SPECIAL TABLE, AND WITH THE HELP OF ASSISTANTS, IT IS ROLLED FROM ONE END AND UNROLLED FROM THE OTHER UNTIL THE RABBI FINDS THE PASSAGE HE WILL PROCLAIM. NOTHING HAS CHANGED MUCH IN 2000 YEARS, AND YOU CAN ALMOST SEE JESUS ROLLING THROUGH THE SCROLL TO THE PASSAGE.
AND AFTER HE READS THE PASSAGE, HE SITS DOWN, AND SAYS THOSE WORDS, “TODAY, THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” JESUS HAS BEEN OUT DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE SCRIPTURE PREDICTS. HE HAS BEEN TELLING THE POOR GOOD NEWS, THAT GOD LOVES THEM LIKE A FATHER; HE'S BEEN WORKING MIRACLES OF HEALING, GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLIND, HEARING TO THE DEAF – BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE'S BEEN OPENING PEOPLE'S EYES TO THE TRUTH. HE'S HEALED PARALYZED PEOPLE, FREED THEM FROM THE PRISON OF THEIR BODIES, BUT HE'S ALSO BEEN TELLING PEOPLE THAT GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE, SO WHY SHOULD THEY FEAR ANYONE WHO CAN AT BEST DESTROY THE BODY, BUT NEVER TOUCH THE SOUL? HE HAS PROCLAIMED THAT THEY ARE FREE, RADICALLY FREE, NO MATTER WHAT THE ROMANS SAY, OR THE CHIEF PRIESTS.
ALL THIS IS IMPRESSIVE, WONDERFUL; BUT IF YOU GO BACK AND READ THE CHAPTER IN ISAIAH FROM WHICH THIS PASSAGE IS TAKEN, THE PICTURE THERE IS MUCH MORE GLORIOUS THAN WHAT JESUS HAS DONE SO FAR, OR IN FACT WHAT HE WILL DO IN THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE. SO WHAT DOES HE MEAN, “THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED?” STARTED, MAYBE, BUT CERTAINLY NOT FULFILLED.
WHAT JESUS IS SAYING, THOUGH, IS THAT IT IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING; AND THE WORD “HEARING” MEANS SOMETHING LIKE “DOING WHAT YOU HEAR YOU ARE TO DO” IN GREEK. SO IF WE HEAR WHAT ISAIAH SAYS AS A REQUEST FROM GOD, IF WE LEAVE OUR COMFORT ZONE, OUR TELEVISION SET, OUR COMPUTER, OUR GOLF GAME, AND DO WHAT JESUS DID, TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, THE SCRIPTURE WILL BE FULFILLED.
JESUS, BEING GOD, COULD HAVE DONE IT ALL HIMSELF. HE COULD HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT THE DREAM OF ISAIAH, NOT ONLY THE LIBERATION OF PEOPLE FROM WHAT KEEPS THEM FROM BEING TRULY HUMAN, THE PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL BURDENS WE ALL CARRY; BUT ISAIAH TALKED ABOUT A TIME WHEN THE LION LAYS DOWN WITH THE LAMB, AND THE LITTLE CHILD PETS THE SNAKE WITHOUT GETTING BITTEN. WHEN THE HOLY MOUNTAIN IS A PLACE WHERE EVERY CREATURE CAN BE SAFE AND HAPPY, WHEN THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM IS A BEACON OF HOPE AND A HOME FOR ALL NATIONS. JESUS COULD DO THAT.
AND THAT IS WHY JESUS CAME INTO OUR MIDST; HIS PURPOSE IS TO FULFILL THE PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. AND JESUS FINDS JOY IN DOING WHAT THE FATHER SENT HIM TO DO. JOY IS ALWAYS THERE WHEN WE ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, THE RIGHT TIME, DOING WHAT WE ARE MEANT TO DO. JESUS' JOY COMES FROM BEING UNITED TO THE PURE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD, WHO BEGAN THE UNIVERSE, AND CONTINUES TO CREATE WITHIN IT UNTIL ITS FULFILLMENT.
BUT IN THE SAME WAY I FOUND JOY IN ALLOWING MY DAUGHTER TO HELP ME MAKE WINE IN A BATHTUB SOME 38 YEARS AGO, EVEN THOUGH I COULD HAVE DONE IT FASTER AND WITH LESS SPILLAGE, JESUS SHOWS US BY HIS ACTIONS AND HIS PROCLAMATION WHAT WILL GIVE US JOY, AND STANDS BACK, AND OFFERS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO HIS OWN WORK. AND IF WE TAKE HIM UP ON THAT OFFER, WE WON'T DO IT QUITE RIGHT, WE MAY MAKE A MESS OF IT LIKE CHILDREN DO, WE WILL GET TIRED AND DISCOURAGED, BUT WE WILL FIND JOY, WE WILL SHARE IN THE JOY OF GOD HIMSELF AS WE TAKE ON WHAT HE OFFERS TO SHARE WITH US. AND WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR, GIVING SIGHT TO THE BLIND, SETTING PRISONERS FREE, – DOING ALL THOSE THINGS THAT JESUS SHOWED US, WE WILL HAVE THE SATISFACTION OF JESUS HIMSELF, AND OUR LIVES WILL HAVE MEANT SOMETHING, OUR LIVES WILL HAVE BROUGHT THE WORLD A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE DREAM OF ISAIAH AND OF JESUS.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle C
JOHN 2:1-12
A NUTRITIONIST WAS GIVING A LECTURE. RED MEAT IS VERY BAD FOR YOU, HE TOLD HIS AUDIENCE. AND THAT MSG IN CHINESE FOOD, THAT'S BAD. AND COCA COLA, IT CAN EAT YOUR STOMACH LINING. BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT FOOD CAN GIVE YOU GRIEF FOR YEARS AND YEARS? AN OLD MAN IN THE AUDIENCE STOOD UP AND REPLIED, “WEDDING CAKE!”
THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME CONSIDERED WEDDINGS AS PEAK EXPERIENCES. THIS WEDDING WAS NO DIFFERENT. IT WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAD HAPPENED IN THAT LITTLE TOWN FOR MANY MONTHS, OR EVEN YEARS. THESE TOWNS HAD POPULATIONS OF MAYBE 50 FAMILIES OR LESS, SO A WEDDINGS DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN. SO THE WHOLE TOWN WAS INVITED. AND JESUS, AND HIS MOTHER, AND HIS DISCIPLES. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE SOMEONE INVITED JESUS' MOTHER – MAYBE A RELATIVE OF HERS – AND SHE SAID, BRING YOUR SON, THERE WILL BE SOME NICE GIRLS HERE? AND WHEN MARY TOLD JESUS HE WAS INVITED, HE SAID, COULD I BRING SOME OF MY NEW FRIENDS? AND SHE SAID, OF COURSE, THE MORE, THE MERRIER. AFTER ALL, THE WHOLE TOWN WAS COMING, WHAT WERE A FEW MORE PEOPLE?
THESE WEDDINGS LASTED FOR SEVERAL DAYS. USUALLY THE GROOM AND HIS FRIENDS STARTED THE PARTY. THE BRIDE AND HER FRIENDS WERE HAVING THEIR OWN PARTY, BUT IT WOULD BE MUCH QUIETER. THEN, AT SOME POINT DECIDED ONLY BY THE GROOM, MAYBE AFTER HE HAD WORKED UP HIS COURAGE WITH THE URGING OF HIS FRIENDS AND A LITTLE WINE, THE GROOM AND HIS FRIENDS WOULD GO OFF TO GET THE BRIDE. SOME OF THE BRIDES FRIENDS WOULD BE WAITING, SO THAT WHEN THEY SPOTTED THE GROOM THEY COULD ESCORT HIM, AND ONE OF THEM WOULD RUN BACK TO THE BRIDE TO WARN HER THAT THE GROOM WAS COMING.
AND THEN THE BRIDE AND GROOM AND THEIR FRIENDS WOULD GO TO WHEREVER THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE THE REAL PARTY, AND THEY WOULD BE MARRIED, THE CONTRACT SIGNED, AND THE GLASS BROKEN, AND THE CELEBRATION WOULD START, AND GO ON AS LONG AS THERE WAS WINE AND MUSIC AND FOOD AND DANCING.
WE DON'T HAVE WEDDINGS LIKE THAT ANYMORE. OURS ARE VERY TAME BY COMPARISON. AND THAT IS THE CONTEXT IN WHICH JESUS WORKED HIS FIRST SIGN. WE COULD SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE SIX JARS OF WATER – SIX IS A NUMBER REPRESENTING IMPERFECTION. WE COULD POINT OUT THAT THE WATER WAS USED FOR PURIFICATION, AND JESUS SHOWS US THAT THE OLD LAW IS OVER AND THE NEW ONE IS HERE. WE COULD TALK ABOUT HOW THIS WHOLE EVENT SHOWS THAT JESUS BLESSES MARRIED LIFE, OR THAT JESUS LISTENS TO HIS MOTHER. BUT I AM STRUCK BY THE WILD PARTY, THE MUSIC, THE PEOPLE CONSUMED WITH HAVING A GOOD TIME, AND THEN, ONLY A FEW PEOPLE NOTICE, BUT THEN, MARY LEARNS THAT THE WINE WON'T LAST; THE PARTY HAS JUST BEGUN, AND THERE ISN'T ANY MORE WINE. AND ONLY A FEW SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. MARY, OF COURSE; THE SERVANTS WHO FILLED THE JARS WITH WATER AT JESUS' REQUEST; AND THE APOSTLES, WHO HAD ONLY KNOWN HIM FOR A FEW DAYS, IF WE FOLLOW THE STORY IN JOHN. AND ALL JESUS DOES IS TELL THE SERVANTS TO BRING SOME OF THE WATER TO THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE PARTY, WHO IS AMAZED AT THE QUALITY OF WHAT WAS NOW WINE. AND THE PARTY GOES ON.
THE APOSTLES GOT IT. THEY PROVED IN THE COURSE OF THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH JESUS THAT THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS GET IT, OR GOT IT WRONG, BUT THIS TIME, THEY GOT IT. UP TILL NOW, THEY WERE FOLLOWING HIM OUT OF CURIOSITY, ATTRACTED BY HIS IDEAS, HIS CHARISMA. BUT NOW THEY SAW HIS GLORY. NOW THEY WERE COMMITTED, THEY WOULD CARRY THE MEMORY OF THIS EVENT TO THE ENDS OF THEIR LIVES. THEY WOULD GO THROUGH THE WORLD, TO ROME, TO TURKEY, GREECE, PERSIA, INDIA, TELLING EVERYONE THEY MET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY AND WHAT IT MEANT.
WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY FELT. THERE ARE TWO THINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, WHICH RECUR CONSTANTLY. ONE IS THAT GOD LOVES HIS PEOPLE LIKE A GROOM LOVES HIS BRIDE, AND A WEDDING, A JEWISH WEDDING, A WEDDING THAT WENT ON UNTIL THE WINE RAN OUT, WAS A SYMBOL OF THAT LOVE. AND WINE – THE SCRIPTURES ARE FULL OF REFERENCES TO WINE. IT GLADDENS THE HEART, SAYS THE PSALMS. IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, IT WILL FLOW LIKE WATER. IN A JEWISH WEDDING IN JESUS' TIME, THE PARTY WOULD GO ON UNTIL THE WINE WAS GONE.
AND JESUS SHOWED THE APOSTLES THAT THE WINE WOULD NEVER RUN OUT. WHAT HAD BEEN 180 GALLONS OF WATER BECAME 180 GALLONS OF WINE, THE BEST WINE ANYONE HAD EVER TASTED. THE PARTY WOULD NEVER END.
IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THERE ARE SEVEN SIGNS, SEVEN MIRACLES. EACH OF THEM DISCLOSES TO US SOMETHING ABOUT GOD. BUT THE FIRST OF THESE SIGNS, THE SIGN THAT CONVINCED THE APOSTLES, WAS WHAT HAPPENED IN A SLEEPY LITTLE TOWN IN PALESTINE, AT THE WEDDING OF A COUPLE WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT KNOWN, AMONG PEOPLE WHO SCRATCHED THEIR LIVING OUT OF THE GROUND.
GOD WAS AMONG THEM, GOD HAD FINALLY COME INTO THE WORLD, TO MARRY HIS BRIDE, TO START THE CELEBRATION THAT WOULD GO ON UNTIL THE WINE RAN OUT. AND THE WINE WOULD NEVER RUN OUT.
TODAY USED TO BE CALLED THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY. IT IS STILL A GOOD NAME SINCE THE MIRACLE OF CANA REVEALED SOMETHING ABOUT GOD.
TODAY IS ALSO THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. AND OUR LIVES ARE FOR THE MOST PART, ORDINARY. DAY FOLLOWS DAY, AND SOON WE ARE OLD, AND WE LOOK BACK ON A LIFETIME OF WORKING, OF PROVIDING FOR OUR FAMILIES, OF PUTTING OFF THINGS WE REALLY WANTED TO DO, AND WE WONDER, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? WHY DO WE HAVE REGRETS, REGRETS FOR WHAT WE COULD HAVE DONE, REGRETS FOR THE MOMENTS WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT WITH OUR CHILDREN, OUR PARENTS, OUR SPOUSES; REGRETS FOR DECISIONS WE MADE THAT LOOKING BACK WE SHOULD HAVE MADE DIFFERENTLY; IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU CAN LOOK BACK AND REGRET SO MANY MOMENTS.
BUT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA TELLS US THAT WE SHOULD LOOK FORWARD, FORWARD TO THAT MOMENT WHEN WE WILL ENTER INTO THAT JOYOUS FEAST, THAT PARTY THAT NEVER ENDS, THE TIME WHEN THE LAMB OF GOD COMES TO CLAIM HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH. AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS STILL TO COME, THAT GOD HAS WITHHELD THE GOOD WINE UNTIL THE END, SHOULD GIVE US JOY AND A SENSE OF ANTICIPATION. AND AS WE CELEBRATE THIS EUCHARIST, MAY WE REALIZE THAT THIS IS A FORETASTE OF WHAT WE HAVE WAITING FOR US, AT THE GREAT WEDDING FEAST, WHEN THE CELEBRATION WILL BE LIKE NO CELEBRATION WE'VE EVER EXPERIENCED, WHEN THE WINE WILL NEVER RUN OUT.
A NUTRITIONIST WAS GIVING A LECTURE. RED MEAT IS VERY BAD FOR YOU, HE TOLD HIS AUDIENCE. AND THAT MSG IN CHINESE FOOD, THAT'S BAD. AND COCA COLA, IT CAN EAT YOUR STOMACH LINING. BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT FOOD CAN GIVE YOU GRIEF FOR YEARS AND YEARS? AN OLD MAN IN THE AUDIENCE STOOD UP AND REPLIED, “WEDDING CAKE!”
THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME CONSIDERED WEDDINGS AS PEAK EXPERIENCES. THIS WEDDING WAS NO DIFFERENT. IT WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAD HAPPENED IN THAT LITTLE TOWN FOR MANY MONTHS, OR EVEN YEARS. THESE TOWNS HAD POPULATIONS OF MAYBE 50 FAMILIES OR LESS, SO A WEDDINGS DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN. SO THE WHOLE TOWN WAS INVITED. AND JESUS, AND HIS MOTHER, AND HIS DISCIPLES. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE SOMEONE INVITED JESUS' MOTHER – MAYBE A RELATIVE OF HERS – AND SHE SAID, BRING YOUR SON, THERE WILL BE SOME NICE GIRLS HERE? AND WHEN MARY TOLD JESUS HE WAS INVITED, HE SAID, COULD I BRING SOME OF MY NEW FRIENDS? AND SHE SAID, OF COURSE, THE MORE, THE MERRIER. AFTER ALL, THE WHOLE TOWN WAS COMING, WHAT WERE A FEW MORE PEOPLE?
THESE WEDDINGS LASTED FOR SEVERAL DAYS. USUALLY THE GROOM AND HIS FRIENDS STARTED THE PARTY. THE BRIDE AND HER FRIENDS WERE HAVING THEIR OWN PARTY, BUT IT WOULD BE MUCH QUIETER. THEN, AT SOME POINT DECIDED ONLY BY THE GROOM, MAYBE AFTER HE HAD WORKED UP HIS COURAGE WITH THE URGING OF HIS FRIENDS AND A LITTLE WINE, THE GROOM AND HIS FRIENDS WOULD GO OFF TO GET THE BRIDE. SOME OF THE BRIDES FRIENDS WOULD BE WAITING, SO THAT WHEN THEY SPOTTED THE GROOM THEY COULD ESCORT HIM, AND ONE OF THEM WOULD RUN BACK TO THE BRIDE TO WARN HER THAT THE GROOM WAS COMING.
AND THEN THE BRIDE AND GROOM AND THEIR FRIENDS WOULD GO TO WHEREVER THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE THE REAL PARTY, AND THEY WOULD BE MARRIED, THE CONTRACT SIGNED, AND THE GLASS BROKEN, AND THE CELEBRATION WOULD START, AND GO ON AS LONG AS THERE WAS WINE AND MUSIC AND FOOD AND DANCING.
WE DON'T HAVE WEDDINGS LIKE THAT ANYMORE. OURS ARE VERY TAME BY COMPARISON. AND THAT IS THE CONTEXT IN WHICH JESUS WORKED HIS FIRST SIGN. WE COULD SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE SIX JARS OF WATER – SIX IS A NUMBER REPRESENTING IMPERFECTION. WE COULD POINT OUT THAT THE WATER WAS USED FOR PURIFICATION, AND JESUS SHOWS US THAT THE OLD LAW IS OVER AND THE NEW ONE IS HERE. WE COULD TALK ABOUT HOW THIS WHOLE EVENT SHOWS THAT JESUS BLESSES MARRIED LIFE, OR THAT JESUS LISTENS TO HIS MOTHER. BUT I AM STRUCK BY THE WILD PARTY, THE MUSIC, THE PEOPLE CONSUMED WITH HAVING A GOOD TIME, AND THEN, ONLY A FEW PEOPLE NOTICE, BUT THEN, MARY LEARNS THAT THE WINE WON'T LAST; THE PARTY HAS JUST BEGUN, AND THERE ISN'T ANY MORE WINE. AND ONLY A FEW SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. MARY, OF COURSE; THE SERVANTS WHO FILLED THE JARS WITH WATER AT JESUS' REQUEST; AND THE APOSTLES, WHO HAD ONLY KNOWN HIM FOR A FEW DAYS, IF WE FOLLOW THE STORY IN JOHN. AND ALL JESUS DOES IS TELL THE SERVANTS TO BRING SOME OF THE WATER TO THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE PARTY, WHO IS AMAZED AT THE QUALITY OF WHAT WAS NOW WINE. AND THE PARTY GOES ON.
THE APOSTLES GOT IT. THEY PROVED IN THE COURSE OF THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH JESUS THAT THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS GET IT, OR GOT IT WRONG, BUT THIS TIME, THEY GOT IT. UP TILL NOW, THEY WERE FOLLOWING HIM OUT OF CURIOSITY, ATTRACTED BY HIS IDEAS, HIS CHARISMA. BUT NOW THEY SAW HIS GLORY. NOW THEY WERE COMMITTED, THEY WOULD CARRY THE MEMORY OF THIS EVENT TO THE ENDS OF THEIR LIVES. THEY WOULD GO THROUGH THE WORLD, TO ROME, TO TURKEY, GREECE, PERSIA, INDIA, TELLING EVERYONE THEY MET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY AND WHAT IT MEANT.
WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY FELT. THERE ARE TWO THINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, WHICH RECUR CONSTANTLY. ONE IS THAT GOD LOVES HIS PEOPLE LIKE A GROOM LOVES HIS BRIDE, AND A WEDDING, A JEWISH WEDDING, A WEDDING THAT WENT ON UNTIL THE WINE RAN OUT, WAS A SYMBOL OF THAT LOVE. AND WINE – THE SCRIPTURES ARE FULL OF REFERENCES TO WINE. IT GLADDENS THE HEART, SAYS THE PSALMS. IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, IT WILL FLOW LIKE WATER. IN A JEWISH WEDDING IN JESUS' TIME, THE PARTY WOULD GO ON UNTIL THE WINE WAS GONE.
AND JESUS SHOWED THE APOSTLES THAT THE WINE WOULD NEVER RUN OUT. WHAT HAD BEEN 180 GALLONS OF WATER BECAME 180 GALLONS OF WINE, THE BEST WINE ANYONE HAD EVER TASTED. THE PARTY WOULD NEVER END.
IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THERE ARE SEVEN SIGNS, SEVEN MIRACLES. EACH OF THEM DISCLOSES TO US SOMETHING ABOUT GOD. BUT THE FIRST OF THESE SIGNS, THE SIGN THAT CONVINCED THE APOSTLES, WAS WHAT HAPPENED IN A SLEEPY LITTLE TOWN IN PALESTINE, AT THE WEDDING OF A COUPLE WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT KNOWN, AMONG PEOPLE WHO SCRATCHED THEIR LIVING OUT OF THE GROUND.
GOD WAS AMONG THEM, GOD HAD FINALLY COME INTO THE WORLD, TO MARRY HIS BRIDE, TO START THE CELEBRATION THAT WOULD GO ON UNTIL THE WINE RAN OUT. AND THE WINE WOULD NEVER RUN OUT.
TODAY USED TO BE CALLED THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY. IT IS STILL A GOOD NAME SINCE THE MIRACLE OF CANA REVEALED SOMETHING ABOUT GOD.
TODAY IS ALSO THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. AND OUR LIVES ARE FOR THE MOST PART, ORDINARY. DAY FOLLOWS DAY, AND SOON WE ARE OLD, AND WE LOOK BACK ON A LIFETIME OF WORKING, OF PROVIDING FOR OUR FAMILIES, OF PUTTING OFF THINGS WE REALLY WANTED TO DO, AND WE WONDER, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? WHY DO WE HAVE REGRETS, REGRETS FOR WHAT WE COULD HAVE DONE, REGRETS FOR THE MOMENTS WE SHOULD HAVE SPENT WITH OUR CHILDREN, OUR PARENTS, OUR SPOUSES; REGRETS FOR DECISIONS WE MADE THAT LOOKING BACK WE SHOULD HAVE MADE DIFFERENTLY; IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU CAN LOOK BACK AND REGRET SO MANY MOMENTS.
BUT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA TELLS US THAT WE SHOULD LOOK FORWARD, FORWARD TO THAT MOMENT WHEN WE WILL ENTER INTO THAT JOYOUS FEAST, THAT PARTY THAT NEVER ENDS, THE TIME WHEN THE LAMB OF GOD COMES TO CLAIM HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH. AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS STILL TO COME, THAT GOD HAS WITHHELD THE GOOD WINE UNTIL THE END, SHOULD GIVE US JOY AND A SENSE OF ANTICIPATION. AND AS WE CELEBRATE THIS EUCHARIST, MAY WE REALIZE THAT THIS IS A FORETASTE OF WHAT WE HAVE WAITING FOR US, AT THE GREAT WEDDING FEAST, WHEN THE CELEBRATION WILL BE LIKE NO CELEBRATION WE'VE EVER EXPERIENCED, WHEN THE WINE WILL NEVER RUN OUT.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Baptism of the Lord, 2010
LUKE 3: 15-16, 21-22
ONE QUESTION WHICH HAS TROUBLED CHRISTIANS ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING IS WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM. EVEN JOHN SEEM TO HAVE PROBLEMS; WE HEAR HIM SAY IN ANOTHER PLACE THAT JESUS SHOULD BE BAPTIZING HIM, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, AND JESUS REPLIES, LET IT BE SO FOR NOW. WE KNOW THAT JOHN WAS GIVING A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, THAT IS, THOSE WHO WERE BAPTIZED WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR REGRET FOR THE WAY THEY HAD BEEN LIVING THEIR LIVES, AND THE INTENTION TO TURN THINGS AROUND. AND SO AS WE TRY TO GET OUR MINDS AROUND THE FACT OF JESUS, WHO IS BOTH GOD AND MAN, WHO IS SINLESS, UNDERGOING THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, WE KEEP COMING UP WITH POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS; MAYBE HE WASN'T REALLY GOD UNTIL THE BAPTISM – AFTER ALL, THAT SEEMS TO BE WHEN GOD CLAIMS HIM AS HIS SON. BUT WE KNOW THAT ISN'T RIGHT. WELL, MAYBE HE IS JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS; BUT THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOMETHING SOMEONE WHO CLAIMED TO BE “THE TRUTH” WOULD DO. OR, MAYBE HE IS SANCTIFYING THE WATER WITH WHICH WE WILL BE BAPTIZED. OR, AS SOME SCHOLARS MAINTAIN, THE BAPTISM TOOK PLACE IN THE JORDAN RIVER, NEAR THE SPOT WHERE THE WANDERING HEBREWS HAD CROSSED OVER INTO THE PROMISED LAND WHEN JOSHUA WAS LEADING THEM. WHEN THEY TOOK POSSESSION OF THE LAND, THE WANDERING FUGITIVE SLAVES BECAME A NATION; AND THE PEOPLE BEING BAPTIZED BY JOHN WERE RE-ENACTING THAT MOMENT AS A SIGN OF THEIR REDEDICATION TO GOD AS JEWS. IF THIS WERE THE SITUATION, JESUS COULD CERTAINLY PARTICIPATE IN THAT SORT OF BAPTISM WITHOUT RAISING ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL, THIS BAPTISM OF JESUS, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT MAYBE THE EXPLANATION IS SIMPLER THAN ANY OF THESE. MAYBE JESUS DID UNDERGO THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, PRECISELY BECAUSE IT WAS A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE. JESUS REALLY WANTED TO REPENT.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS IS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS EXCEPT SIN. ALL THINGS. JESUS IS THE COMPLETE HUMAN BEING, THE FULFILLED HUMAN BEING, THE HUMAN BEING WHO IS THE WAY GOD MEANT US TO BE. THE REST OF US ARE, TO VARYING DEGREES, INCOMPLETE. AND IN OUR FALLEN HUMANITY, WHAT KEEPS US FROM FULLY REALIZING OUR HUMAN NATURE IS ALWAYS, SIN. YOU AND I STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME SIN AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU PROBABLY KEEP STRUGGLING, BUT LONG AGO GAVE UP HOPE THAT THE STRUGGLE WOULD END ANYTIME BEFORE DYING. EVERY TIME WE OVERCOME ONE SINFUL TRAIT WE DISCOVER ANOTHER, AND WE KNOW THAT THE GREATEST OF SAINTS BECAME SPIRITUALLY SADDENED BY EVEN THINGS THAT WOULD SEEM TRIVIAL TO YOU AND I – THE MORE “PERFECT” THEY BECAME, THE MORE SENSITIVE THEY BECAME TO EVEN TINY IMPERFECTIONS. OUR STRUGGLE, OUR SENSITIVITY TO THE EFFECTS OF SIN IN US NO MATTER HOW HOLY WE MAY BECOME, IS A SIGN OF BEING LESS THAN FULLY HUMAN. AND FOR US TO REPENT IS FOR US TO HAVE AN INNER STATE WHICH SAYS THAT WE KNOW WE'VE NOT MET THE MARK IN THE PAST, AND WE WILL TAKE STEPS TO DO BETTER IN THE FUTURE. REPENTANCE SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT MAKES US MORE HUMAN RATHER THAN LESS HUMAN, AND JESUS, WHO HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT, TAKES ON THE STATE OF REPENTANCE THAT IS PRESENT MOST STRONGLY IN THOSE WHO ARE MOST ADVANCED IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE; THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SIN KEEPS US FROM REALIZING OUR TRUE DESTINY AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND THE SADNESS THAT THIS IS SO. JESUS, WHO IS GOD BECOME MAN, IS SO TRULY MAN THAT HE SHARES WITH US, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD, THIS SENSE.
AND JESUS WHO IS SINLESS, NEVERTHELESS SHOWS IN HIS LIFE THAT BECAUSE OF SIN EVEN HE MUST SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. FIRST OF ALL, HE LIVES HIS LIFE CONFINED TO A HUMAN BODY, SUBJECT TO DECAY, INJURY, PAIN; EVEN WHEN WE ARE YOUNG AND HEALTHY, WE QUICKLY REALIZE THAT OUR BODIES ARE LIMITS, THEY HOLD US BACK, THEY KEEP US FROM DOING WHAT WE WANT TO DO. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY I HAD NOT BEEN GIVEN THE ABILITY TO FLY LIKE SUPERMAN. MY BODY HELD ME BACK. SECOND, JESUS MEETS PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND HIM, SOMETIMES THROUGH IGNORANCE, SOMETIMES WILLFULLY; COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE SHOULD BE CRYSTAL CLEAR, AND NEVER FILTERED THROUGH ATTITUDES AND UPBRINGING, NEVER MISUNDERSTOOD OUT OF IGNORANCE. THAT'S A CONSEQUENCE OF SIN AS WELL. AND JESUS OBVIOUSLY SUFFERED AND DIED. THAT IS THE ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. SO JESUS CAN REPENT THOUGH HE IS SINLESS. YOU AND I REPENT WHEN WE REALIZE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS. JESUS LIKEWISE REALIZES THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS IN HIS OWN LIFE AND DEATH. AND SO HE GOES TO JOHN AND RECEIVES THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE.
SO AS WE MEDITATE ON THE STRANGE SCENE OF GOD BEING BAPTIZED IN A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE BY ONE OF HIS CREATURES, PERHAPS WE SHOULD SAY, HOW REAL, HOW DEEP IS OUR OWN REPENTANCE. LIKE JESUS WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE SIN, OUR OWN SINS AND THE SINS OF EVERY ONE WHO HAS EVER LIVED AND EVER WILL LIVE, HOLDS US BACK FROM BECOMING THE HUMAN BEINGS THAT GOD CREATED US TO BE. THE FIRST STEP IS TO REALIZE THIS, DEEP IN OUR HEARTS. THE SECOND IS TO FEEL REGRET, TO BE SORRY, NOT ONLY FOR OUR SINS, BUT FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. JESUS IS SINLESS, BUT SINCE HE TOOK ON OUR NATURE, HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REGRET THE SINS CAUSED BY THAT NATURE. THE THIRD PART OF REPENTANCE IS TO RESOLVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITUATION, AND WHAT WE CAN ALWAYS DO IS TO DEAL WITH OUR OWN SINS, -- BUT SOMETIMES WE ARE CALLED TO DEAL WITH THE SINS OF HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, THE INJUSTICE, THE POVERTY, THE IGNORANCE THAT NEED NOT HAVE BEEN. AND DEALING WITH PERSONAL AND SOCIAL SIN IS THE HARDEST PART.
JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, BUT ORDERED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND OUR BAPTISMS, THE BAPTISM THAT JESUS HANDED DOWN TO US, GIVE US THE GRACE TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE REPENTANCE THAT WE FEEL. SO ON THIS DAY WHEN WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, LET US ASK FOR A RENEWAL OF OUR OWN BAPTISMAL GRACES, SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO THE FATHER WHO CALLS US ALL NOT TO BE DIVINE, BUT TO BE FULLY HUMAN.
ONE QUESTION WHICH HAS TROUBLED CHRISTIANS ALMOST FROM THE BEGINNING IS WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM. EVEN JOHN SEEM TO HAVE PROBLEMS; WE HEAR HIM SAY IN ANOTHER PLACE THAT JESUS SHOULD BE BAPTIZING HIM, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, AND JESUS REPLIES, LET IT BE SO FOR NOW. WE KNOW THAT JOHN WAS GIVING A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, THAT IS, THOSE WHO WERE BAPTIZED WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR REGRET FOR THE WAY THEY HAD BEEN LIVING THEIR LIVES, AND THE INTENTION TO TURN THINGS AROUND. AND SO AS WE TRY TO GET OUR MINDS AROUND THE FACT OF JESUS, WHO IS BOTH GOD AND MAN, WHO IS SINLESS, UNDERGOING THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, WE KEEP COMING UP WITH POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS; MAYBE HE WASN'T REALLY GOD UNTIL THE BAPTISM – AFTER ALL, THAT SEEMS TO BE WHEN GOD CLAIMS HIM AS HIS SON. BUT WE KNOW THAT ISN'T RIGHT. WELL, MAYBE HE IS JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS; BUT THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE SOMETHING SOMEONE WHO CLAIMED TO BE “THE TRUTH” WOULD DO. OR, MAYBE HE IS SANCTIFYING THE WATER WITH WHICH WE WILL BE BAPTIZED. OR, AS SOME SCHOLARS MAINTAIN, THE BAPTISM TOOK PLACE IN THE JORDAN RIVER, NEAR THE SPOT WHERE THE WANDERING HEBREWS HAD CROSSED OVER INTO THE PROMISED LAND WHEN JOSHUA WAS LEADING THEM. WHEN THEY TOOK POSSESSION OF THE LAND, THE WANDERING FUGITIVE SLAVES BECAME A NATION; AND THE PEOPLE BEING BAPTIZED BY JOHN WERE RE-ENACTING THAT MOMENT AS A SIGN OF THEIR REDEDICATION TO GOD AS JEWS. IF THIS WERE THE SITUATION, JESUS COULD CERTAINLY PARTICIPATE IN THAT SORT OF BAPTISM WITHOUT RAISING ANY QUESTIONS.
BUT AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL, THIS BAPTISM OF JESUS, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT MAYBE THE EXPLANATION IS SIMPLER THAN ANY OF THESE. MAYBE JESUS DID UNDERGO THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, PRECISELY BECAUSE IT WAS A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE. JESUS REALLY WANTED TO REPENT.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS IS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS EXCEPT SIN. ALL THINGS. JESUS IS THE COMPLETE HUMAN BEING, THE FULFILLED HUMAN BEING, THE HUMAN BEING WHO IS THE WAY GOD MEANT US TO BE. THE REST OF US ARE, TO VARYING DEGREES, INCOMPLETE. AND IN OUR FALLEN HUMANITY, WHAT KEEPS US FROM FULLY REALIZING OUR HUMAN NATURE IS ALWAYS, SIN. YOU AND I STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME SIN AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU PROBABLY KEEP STRUGGLING, BUT LONG AGO GAVE UP HOPE THAT THE STRUGGLE WOULD END ANYTIME BEFORE DYING. EVERY TIME WE OVERCOME ONE SINFUL TRAIT WE DISCOVER ANOTHER, AND WE KNOW THAT THE GREATEST OF SAINTS BECAME SPIRITUALLY SADDENED BY EVEN THINGS THAT WOULD SEEM TRIVIAL TO YOU AND I – THE MORE “PERFECT” THEY BECAME, THE MORE SENSITIVE THEY BECAME TO EVEN TINY IMPERFECTIONS. OUR STRUGGLE, OUR SENSITIVITY TO THE EFFECTS OF SIN IN US NO MATTER HOW HOLY WE MAY BECOME, IS A SIGN OF BEING LESS THAN FULLY HUMAN. AND FOR US TO REPENT IS FOR US TO HAVE AN INNER STATE WHICH SAYS THAT WE KNOW WE'VE NOT MET THE MARK IN THE PAST, AND WE WILL TAKE STEPS TO DO BETTER IN THE FUTURE. REPENTANCE SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING THAT MAKES US MORE HUMAN RATHER THAN LESS HUMAN, AND JESUS, WHO HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT, TAKES ON THE STATE OF REPENTANCE THAT IS PRESENT MOST STRONGLY IN THOSE WHO ARE MOST ADVANCED IN THE SPIRITUAL LIFE; THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SIN KEEPS US FROM REALIZING OUR TRUE DESTINY AS HUMAN BEINGS, AND THE SADNESS THAT THIS IS SO. JESUS, WHO IS GOD BECOME MAN, IS SO TRULY MAN THAT HE SHARES WITH US, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD, THIS SENSE.
AND JESUS WHO IS SINLESS, NEVERTHELESS SHOWS IN HIS LIFE THAT BECAUSE OF SIN EVEN HE MUST SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. FIRST OF ALL, HE LIVES HIS LIFE CONFINED TO A HUMAN BODY, SUBJECT TO DECAY, INJURY, PAIN; EVEN WHEN WE ARE YOUNG AND HEALTHY, WE QUICKLY REALIZE THAT OUR BODIES ARE LIMITS, THEY HOLD US BACK, THEY KEEP US FROM DOING WHAT WE WANT TO DO. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY I HAD NOT BEEN GIVEN THE ABILITY TO FLY LIKE SUPERMAN. MY BODY HELD ME BACK. SECOND, JESUS MEETS PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND HIM, SOMETIMES THROUGH IGNORANCE, SOMETIMES WILLFULLY; COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE SHOULD BE CRYSTAL CLEAR, AND NEVER FILTERED THROUGH ATTITUDES AND UPBRINGING, NEVER MISUNDERSTOOD OUT OF IGNORANCE. THAT'S A CONSEQUENCE OF SIN AS WELL. AND JESUS OBVIOUSLY SUFFERED AND DIED. THAT IS THE ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. SO JESUS CAN REPENT THOUGH HE IS SINLESS. YOU AND I REPENT WHEN WE REALIZE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS. JESUS LIKEWISE REALIZES THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS IN HIS OWN LIFE AND DEATH. AND SO HE GOES TO JOHN AND RECEIVES THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE.
SO AS WE MEDITATE ON THE STRANGE SCENE OF GOD BEING BAPTIZED IN A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE BY ONE OF HIS CREATURES, PERHAPS WE SHOULD SAY, HOW REAL, HOW DEEP IS OUR OWN REPENTANCE. LIKE JESUS WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE SIN, OUR OWN SINS AND THE SINS OF EVERY ONE WHO HAS EVER LIVED AND EVER WILL LIVE, HOLDS US BACK FROM BECOMING THE HUMAN BEINGS THAT GOD CREATED US TO BE. THE FIRST STEP IS TO REALIZE THIS, DEEP IN OUR HEARTS. THE SECOND IS TO FEEL REGRET, TO BE SORRY, NOT ONLY FOR OUR SINS, BUT FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. JESUS IS SINLESS, BUT SINCE HE TOOK ON OUR NATURE, HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REGRET THE SINS CAUSED BY THAT NATURE. THE THIRD PART OF REPENTANCE IS TO RESOLVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITUATION, AND WHAT WE CAN ALWAYS DO IS TO DEAL WITH OUR OWN SINS, -- BUT SOMETIMES WE ARE CALLED TO DEAL WITH THE SINS OF HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, THE INJUSTICE, THE POVERTY, THE IGNORANCE THAT NEED NOT HAVE BEEN. AND DEALING WITH PERSONAL AND SOCIAL SIN IS THE HARDEST PART.
JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN A BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, BUT ORDERED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND OUR BAPTISMS, THE BAPTISM THAT JESUS HANDED DOWN TO US, GIVE US THE GRACE TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF THE REPENTANCE THAT WE FEEL. SO ON THIS DAY WHEN WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, LET US ASK FOR A RENEWAL OF OUR OWN BAPTISMAL GRACES, SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO THE FATHER WHO CALLS US ALL NOT TO BE DIVINE, BUT TO BE FULLY HUMAN.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Feast of the Epiphany, 2010
MATTHEW 2:1-12
TODAY OUR CHURCH OFFERS A READING FROM ISAIAH TO GO WITH THE GOSPEL READING FROM MATTHEW. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIBLICAL STUDIES, YOU PROBABLY LEARNED THAT MATTHEW BUILT HIS GOSPEL ON THAT OF MARK, AND HE HAD OTHER SOURCES FROM WHICH TO FLESH OUT HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF CHRIST'S LIFE. YOU MIGHT ALSO HAVE LEARNED THAT MATTHEW WAS WRITING TO A COMMUNITY OF JEWS WHO HAD BECOME CHRISTIANS, AND TOOK GREAT PAINS TO SHOW THAT CHRIST'S LIFE WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECIES THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THE JEWS; MATTHEW OFTEN COMMENTS “SO THAT THE SCRIPTURES WOULD BE FULFILLED” OR WORDS LIKE THAT. MATTHEW WAS INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE CALL THE “OLD TESTAMENT”, ESPECIALLY THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH .
BUT MATTHEW LIKE ALL THE GOSPEL WRITERS, HAS HIS OWN STORY TO TELL, HIS OWN TAKE ON THE EVENTS SURROUNDING CHRIST'S LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION. SO MATTHEW WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THINKING ABOUT THE ISAIAH READING WE JUST HEARD WHEN HE WROTE THE STORY OF THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST. THE PROPHECY WAS THAT A TIME WOULD COME WHEN PEOPLE FROM THE EAST WOULD BRING TREASURES TO JERUSALEM, AS PART OF THE GLORY GOD HAD PLANNED FOR THAT CITY. AND THE TREASURES WOULD BE GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE. SO IF THAT WAS REALLY MATTHEW'S INTENT, WHY DID HE ADD “MYRRH” TO THE GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE?”
THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THE WISE MEN COME TO JERUSALEM. THIS IS WHERE THEY EXPECT TO FIND THE KING, THE MESSIAH. WHY WAS THAT? PRECISELY BECAUSE IF YOU READ THE PROPHECY IN ISAIAH, THAT'S WERE ALL THE ACTION IS GOING TO BE. AFTER ALL, JERUSALEM IS ALREADY THE CENTRAL CITY OF THE JEWISH NATION, AND IT HAS A GLORIOUS PAST. ISAIAH PREDICTS, AND THE WISE MEN SEEM TO FULFILL, THAT CARAVANS WILL COME BEARING TREASURES, KINGS AND PRINCES WILL COME TO LEARN FROM JERUSALEM. HOW DID THE MAGI LEARN ABOUT THIS? I SUSPECT SOME OF THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES WENT WITH THE JEWS WHO AT THAT TIME WERE SCATTERED IN COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND IN PERSIA AS WELL. THESE WISE MEN PROBABLY KNEW JEWISH SCHOLARS AND THROUGH THEM THE PROPHECIES.
MATTHEW MEANS SOMETHING BY ALL THIS. HE IS SPEAKING TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, HE MAKES IT A POINT THAT JESUS FULFILLS THE SCRIPTURES, BUT HERE, AS IN SOME OTHER PLACES IN HIS GOSPEL, THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES FROM WHAT HAD BEEN PREDICTED.
WHEN THE WISE MEN GET TO JERUSALEM, THEY ASK HEROD, “WHERE CAN WE FIND THIS KING?” AND HEROD CALLS HIS OWN SCHOLARS AND THEY DRAG OUT A DIFFERENT PROPHECY, THE ONE BY MICAH. THIS IS THE ONLY PROPHECY THAT CALLS ATTENTION TO BETHLEHEM AS THE PLACE FROM WHICH A RULER WILL COME FORTH. BETHLEHEM IS A HUMBLE VILLAGE, BUT IT HAS A HISTORY AS WELL. IT HAS AN ASSOCIATION WITH KING DAVID, WHO CAME FROM NEAR THERE. THERE ARE A FEW OTHER BIBLICAL FIGURES WHO HAVE SOME SORT OF CONNECTION TO BETHLEHEM, BUT OFTEN IT IS CALLED BY AN ALTERNATIVE NAME, SO IT ISN'T ALWAYS CLEAR TO THE CASUAL READER. AND WHAT MATTHEW WANTS US TO KNOW IS THAT THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, CHOSE TO COME FORTH FROM VERY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS. WERE THE MESSIAH TO BE A GREAT RULER, AS SOME BELIEVED HIM TO BE, ONE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO COME FORTH FROM THE CAPITAL CITY. WHERE HE TO BE A GREAT PRIEST, AS SOME BELIEVED HE WOULD BE, YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED IF HE DID NOT COME FROM THE CITY WHERE THE PRIESTHOOD WAS EXERCISED, WHERE SACRIFICES WERE OFFERED TO GOD. BUT MATTHEW IS SAYING, “WHATEVER ELSE HE IS, THE MESSIAH IS A PROPHET, AND AS SUCH HE BEGINS AS AN OUTSIDER – OUTSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT; OUTSIDE THE CENTER OF LEARNING; OUTSIDE THE PRIESTHOOD, OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE. PROPHETS ARE OUTSIDERS, OR THEY COULD NOT HOLD UP THE SINS OF A NATION FOR ALL TO SEE. AND OUTSIDERS, ESPECIALLY PROPHETS, MIGHT AS WELL EXPECT PERSECUTION.
AND WHAT ABOUT MYRRH? WHY DID MATTHEW MAKE A POINT THAT NOT ONLY WAS GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE BROUGHT TO THE NEW BORN KING, BUT MYRRH AS WELL? MYRRH WAS INDEED VALUABLE, AND ONE BIBLE SCHOLAR SAYS THAT MATTHEW WAS JUST PUTTING THINGS IN CONTEMPORARY TERMS, SINCE NOBODY KNEW ABOUT MYRRH WHEN ISAIAH WROTE HIS PROPHECY.
BUT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE ONLY OTHER REFERENCES TO MYRRH HAVE TO DO WITH BURIAL RITUALS. IN ONE GOSPEL ACCOUNT NICODEMUS BRINGS MYRRH TO ANOINT THE BODY OF JESUS AFTER JOSEPH OF ARIMETHEA OFFERS HIS TOMB FOR JESUS' BURIAL.
AND THE MAGI BRING GOLD, BECAUSE JESUS IS A KING; AND FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE IS THE HIGH PRIEST. BUT THEY ALSO BRING MYRRH, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE PROPHET WHO WILL BE REJECTED AND PUT TO DEATH; IN FACT, DURING JESUS' TIME, MYRRH WAS ASSOCIATED WITH EMBALMING DEAD BODIES. THE EPIPHANY IS THE TIME WHEN JESUS IS MADE KNOWN TO THE WORLD IN THE PERSONS OF THE MAGI, AND HE IS REVEALED AS KING, PRIEST, AND REJECTED PROPHET RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
AND I WONDER HOW MARY FELT AT THAT TIME? BECAUSE SHE KNEW AS DID EVERYONE ELSE WHAT MYRRH WAS FOR. IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE GIVING A COFFIN TO A BABY BEING BAPTIZED.
SO THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE, WRITTEN MANY YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND WRITTEN FOR A COMMUNITY OF JEWISH CHRISTIANS TO SHOW THEM THAT JESUS WAS INDEED THE MESSIAH SENT BY GOD, IS THAT MATTHEW SHOWS THEM THAT JESUS DOES INDEED FULFILL THE PROPHECIES – BUT IN THE WAY HE FULFILLS THEM, HE TEACHES US THE KIND OF MESSIAH HE IS – A MESSIAH WHO IS KING AND PRIEST AND PROPHET, BUT A KING WHO GIVES UP HIS MAJESTY AND GLORY TO BE BORN IN A TINY TOWN FILLED WITH ORDINARY PEOPLE; HE IS A PRIEST WHO WILL BE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, BUT DOES NOT HAVE ANY SORT OF CONNECTION TO THE TEMPLE, BECAUSE HE WILL BE THE NEW TEMPLE; AND HE IS A PROPHET WHO WILL NOT ONLY CALL THE PEOPLE BACK FROM THEIR SINFULNESS, BUT WILL ACCEPT DEATH TO SATISFY THE JUSTICE THAT IS DUE GOD FOR BREAKING HIS COMMANDMENTS.
SO THIS IS THE EPIPHANY. THIS IS THE REAL CHRIST. NOT GLORIOUS JERUSALEM, BUT HUMBLE BETHLEHEM. NOT JUST PRECIOUS GOLD OR SWEET FRANKINCENSE, BUT ALSO BITTER MYRRH, THE MYRRH OF DEATH.
SO LET US TODAY CONTEMPLATE THE WONDERFUL MOMENT WHEN IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE PROMISES GOD HAD MADE TO HIS PEOPLE WERE NOT JUST FOR THEM, BUT ALL WHO, LIKE THE MAGI, ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW THE STAR TO WORSHIP THE NEWBORN KING.
TODAY OUR CHURCH OFFERS A READING FROM ISAIAH TO GO WITH THE GOSPEL READING FROM MATTHEW. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIBLICAL STUDIES, YOU PROBABLY LEARNED THAT MATTHEW BUILT HIS GOSPEL ON THAT OF MARK, AND HE HAD OTHER SOURCES FROM WHICH TO FLESH OUT HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF CHRIST'S LIFE. YOU MIGHT ALSO HAVE LEARNED THAT MATTHEW WAS WRITING TO A COMMUNITY OF JEWS WHO HAD BECOME CHRISTIANS, AND TOOK GREAT PAINS TO SHOW THAT CHRIST'S LIFE WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECIES THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO THE JEWS; MATTHEW OFTEN COMMENTS “SO THAT THE SCRIPTURES WOULD BE FULFILLED” OR WORDS LIKE THAT. MATTHEW WAS INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH WHAT WE CALL THE “OLD TESTAMENT”, ESPECIALLY THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH .
BUT MATTHEW LIKE ALL THE GOSPEL WRITERS, HAS HIS OWN STORY TO TELL, HIS OWN TAKE ON THE EVENTS SURROUNDING CHRIST'S LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION. SO MATTHEW WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THINKING ABOUT THE ISAIAH READING WE JUST HEARD WHEN HE WROTE THE STORY OF THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST. THE PROPHECY WAS THAT A TIME WOULD COME WHEN PEOPLE FROM THE EAST WOULD BRING TREASURES TO JERUSALEM, AS PART OF THE GLORY GOD HAD PLANNED FOR THAT CITY. AND THE TREASURES WOULD BE GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE. SO IF THAT WAS REALLY MATTHEW'S INTENT, WHY DID HE ADD “MYRRH” TO THE GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE?”
THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THE WISE MEN COME TO JERUSALEM. THIS IS WHERE THEY EXPECT TO FIND THE KING, THE MESSIAH. WHY WAS THAT? PRECISELY BECAUSE IF YOU READ THE PROPHECY IN ISAIAH, THAT'S WERE ALL THE ACTION IS GOING TO BE. AFTER ALL, JERUSALEM IS ALREADY THE CENTRAL CITY OF THE JEWISH NATION, AND IT HAS A GLORIOUS PAST. ISAIAH PREDICTS, AND THE WISE MEN SEEM TO FULFILL, THAT CARAVANS WILL COME BEARING TREASURES, KINGS AND PRINCES WILL COME TO LEARN FROM JERUSALEM. HOW DID THE MAGI LEARN ABOUT THIS? I SUSPECT SOME OF THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES WENT WITH THE JEWS WHO AT THAT TIME WERE SCATTERED IN COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND IN PERSIA AS WELL. THESE WISE MEN PROBABLY KNEW JEWISH SCHOLARS AND THROUGH THEM THE PROPHECIES.
MATTHEW MEANS SOMETHING BY ALL THIS. HE IS SPEAKING TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, HE MAKES IT A POINT THAT JESUS FULFILLS THE SCRIPTURES, BUT HERE, AS IN SOME OTHER PLACES IN HIS GOSPEL, THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES FROM WHAT HAD BEEN PREDICTED.
WHEN THE WISE MEN GET TO JERUSALEM, THEY ASK HEROD, “WHERE CAN WE FIND THIS KING?” AND HEROD CALLS HIS OWN SCHOLARS AND THEY DRAG OUT A DIFFERENT PROPHECY, THE ONE BY MICAH. THIS IS THE ONLY PROPHECY THAT CALLS ATTENTION TO BETHLEHEM AS THE PLACE FROM WHICH A RULER WILL COME FORTH. BETHLEHEM IS A HUMBLE VILLAGE, BUT IT HAS A HISTORY AS WELL. IT HAS AN ASSOCIATION WITH KING DAVID, WHO CAME FROM NEAR THERE. THERE ARE A FEW OTHER BIBLICAL FIGURES WHO HAVE SOME SORT OF CONNECTION TO BETHLEHEM, BUT OFTEN IT IS CALLED BY AN ALTERNATIVE NAME, SO IT ISN'T ALWAYS CLEAR TO THE CASUAL READER. AND WHAT MATTHEW WANTS US TO KNOW IS THAT THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, CHOSE TO COME FORTH FROM VERY HUMBLE BEGINNINGS. WERE THE MESSIAH TO BE A GREAT RULER, AS SOME BELIEVED HIM TO BE, ONE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO COME FORTH FROM THE CAPITAL CITY. WHERE HE TO BE A GREAT PRIEST, AS SOME BELIEVED HE WOULD BE, YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED IF HE DID NOT COME FROM THE CITY WHERE THE PRIESTHOOD WAS EXERCISED, WHERE SACRIFICES WERE OFFERED TO GOD. BUT MATTHEW IS SAYING, “WHATEVER ELSE HE IS, THE MESSIAH IS A PROPHET, AND AS SUCH HE BEGINS AS AN OUTSIDER – OUTSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT; OUTSIDE THE CENTER OF LEARNING; OUTSIDE THE PRIESTHOOD, OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE. PROPHETS ARE OUTSIDERS, OR THEY COULD NOT HOLD UP THE SINS OF A NATION FOR ALL TO SEE. AND OUTSIDERS, ESPECIALLY PROPHETS, MIGHT AS WELL EXPECT PERSECUTION.
AND WHAT ABOUT MYRRH? WHY DID MATTHEW MAKE A POINT THAT NOT ONLY WAS GOLD AND FRANKINCENSE BROUGHT TO THE NEW BORN KING, BUT MYRRH AS WELL? MYRRH WAS INDEED VALUABLE, AND ONE BIBLE SCHOLAR SAYS THAT MATTHEW WAS JUST PUTTING THINGS IN CONTEMPORARY TERMS, SINCE NOBODY KNEW ABOUT MYRRH WHEN ISAIAH WROTE HIS PROPHECY.
BUT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE ONLY OTHER REFERENCES TO MYRRH HAVE TO DO WITH BURIAL RITUALS. IN ONE GOSPEL ACCOUNT NICODEMUS BRINGS MYRRH TO ANOINT THE BODY OF JESUS AFTER JOSEPH OF ARIMETHEA OFFERS HIS TOMB FOR JESUS' BURIAL.
AND THE MAGI BRING GOLD, BECAUSE JESUS IS A KING; AND FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE IS THE HIGH PRIEST. BUT THEY ALSO BRING MYRRH, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE PROPHET WHO WILL BE REJECTED AND PUT TO DEATH; IN FACT, DURING JESUS' TIME, MYRRH WAS ASSOCIATED WITH EMBALMING DEAD BODIES. THE EPIPHANY IS THE TIME WHEN JESUS IS MADE KNOWN TO THE WORLD IN THE PERSONS OF THE MAGI, AND HE IS REVEALED AS KING, PRIEST, AND REJECTED PROPHET RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
AND I WONDER HOW MARY FELT AT THAT TIME? BECAUSE SHE KNEW AS DID EVERYONE ELSE WHAT MYRRH WAS FOR. IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE GIVING A COFFIN TO A BABY BEING BAPTIZED.
SO THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE, WRITTEN MANY YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF CHRIST, AND WRITTEN FOR A COMMUNITY OF JEWISH CHRISTIANS TO SHOW THEM THAT JESUS WAS INDEED THE MESSIAH SENT BY GOD, IS THAT MATTHEW SHOWS THEM THAT JESUS DOES INDEED FULFILL THE PROPHECIES – BUT IN THE WAY HE FULFILLS THEM, HE TEACHES US THE KIND OF MESSIAH HE IS – A MESSIAH WHO IS KING AND PRIEST AND PROPHET, BUT A KING WHO GIVES UP HIS MAJESTY AND GLORY TO BE BORN IN A TINY TOWN FILLED WITH ORDINARY PEOPLE; HE IS A PRIEST WHO WILL BE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, BUT DOES NOT HAVE ANY SORT OF CONNECTION TO THE TEMPLE, BECAUSE HE WILL BE THE NEW TEMPLE; AND HE IS A PROPHET WHO WILL NOT ONLY CALL THE PEOPLE BACK FROM THEIR SINFULNESS, BUT WILL ACCEPT DEATH TO SATISFY THE JUSTICE THAT IS DUE GOD FOR BREAKING HIS COMMANDMENTS.
SO THIS IS THE EPIPHANY. THIS IS THE REAL CHRIST. NOT GLORIOUS JERUSALEM, BUT HUMBLE BETHLEHEM. NOT JUST PRECIOUS GOLD OR SWEET FRANKINCENSE, BUT ALSO BITTER MYRRH, THE MYRRH OF DEATH.
SO LET US TODAY CONTEMPLATE THE WONDERFUL MOMENT WHEN IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE PROMISES GOD HAD MADE TO HIS PEOPLE WERE NOT JUST FOR THEM, BUT ALL WHO, LIKE THE MAGI, ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW THE STAR TO WORSHIP THE NEWBORN KING.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Feast of the Holy Family, 2009
LUKE 2:41-52
WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, I WOULD SOMETIMES ASK MY MOTHER TO TELL ME A STORY ABOUT WHEN JESUS WAS A BOY. AND SHE WOULD. SHE TOLD ME A STORY ABOUT A TIME WHEN JESUS HAD MADE SOME LITTLE CLAY BIRDS AND SOME OF THE LOCAL BIG KIDS CAME AROUND AND STARTED TO THROW STONES AT THEM, SO JESUS WAVED HIS HAND AND THEY ALL FLEW AWAY. THERE WAS ANOTHER ABOUT HOW JOSEPH AND JESUS HAD ASSEMBLED A BED FOR SOMEONE, AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT IT WOULD BE TOO SHORT, SO JESUS PULLED ON ONE END OF THE BED AND IT STRETCHED OUT TO JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH. BUT THE THINGS WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE HOLY FAMILY ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY LEGEND AND WISHFUL THINKING. JESUS' GRANDPARENTS ON HIS MOTHER'S SIDE WERE JOACHIM AND ANNA, RIGHT? AND THEY BROUGHT MARY TO THE TEMPLE WHEN SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD AND LEFT HER TO BE RAISED BY THE TEMPLE AUTHORITIES. AND WHEN SHE AND JOSEPH MARRIED, HE WAS AN OLD MAN, WITH CHILDREN BY A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE. NO EVIDENCE FOR ANY OF THIS.
THE POINT IS, PEOPLE HAVE A NATURAL TENDENCY TO FILL IN THE BLANKS, AND ALL OF THE ABOVE STORIES WERE IN CIRCULATION IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURY. MY MOTHER HEARD THEM FROM HER MOTHER, WHO COULD BARELY READ, AND SHE HEARD THEM FROM WHERE? I DON'T KNOW.
THE STORY WE HEAR TODAY IS IN THE SCRIPTURES. AND IF I ASKED MY MOTHER HOW MARY AND JOSEPH TRAVELED A WHOLE DAY BEFORE NOTICING THAT JESUS WAS MISSING, SHE WOULD HAVE ANSWERED, “IN THOSE DAYS THE WOMEN TRAVELED TOGETHER AND SO DID THE MEN, AND JESUS WAS AT JUST THE AGE WHEN MARY MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO BE WITH JOSEPH, AND JOSEPH MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO BE WITH MARY. THAT'S ANOTHER STORY THAT GOES WAY BACK. BUT IT ISN'T TRUE. MARRIED COUPLES STAYED TOGETHER ON THOSE JOURNEYS. SO I WONDER HOW THE MOST PERFECT MOTHER THAT EVER WALKED THE EARTH, AND POSSIBLY THE MOST PERFECT HUMAN FATHER, DID NOT NOTICE THAT THEIR SON WAS MISSING? WHEN WE TOOK OUR KIDS TO DISNEYWORLD MANY YEARS AGO WE GOT ON THE MONORAIL AND MOMENTS AFTER WE SAT DOWN, WE NOTICED ONE OF THE KIDS WASN'T WITH US, CAUSING PANIC. I JUMPED OFF AT THE NEXT STOP AND RACED BACK AND FINALLY FOUND THE CHILD SURROUNDED BY A CROWD TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY SHE WAS SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HER VOICE. SHE OF COURSE WENT ON TO BECOME A LAWYER.
I THINK THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN IS THAT WE NO LONGER LIVE IN A COMMUNITY OF TRUST. MODERN PARENTS WANT TO KNOW AS MUCH AS THEY CAN ABOUT WHERE THEIR CHILDREN ARE AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING. WE WORRY WHEN THEY ARE NOT VISIBLE. WE LEAVE THEM ONLY RELUCTANTLY, AND ONLY WITH SOMEONE WE TRUST. IN OUR INSTITUTIONS, THOSE WHO WORK WITH OUR CHILDREN ARE BACKGROUND-CHECKED, OR THEY CAN'T WORK. IF WE LEAVE A CHILD SLEEPING IN A LOCKED VEHICLE WITH THE WINDOW OPEN ON A PLEASANT SPRING DAY TO DROP OFF A LETTER OR RUN IN TO A DRUGSTORE FOR A MINUTE, WE MAY BE LIABLE TO ARREST. WE DON'T TRUST OUR NEIGHBORS, WE DON'T TRUST OTHER PEOPLE.
IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT IN JESUS' TIME. A TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY IN AN INFORMAL GATHERING OF PEOPLE WALKING BACK TO NAZARETH FROM JERUSALEM COULD WANDER OFF WITH HIS FRIENDS, COULD JOIN ANOTHER FAMILY FOR A WHILE, AND MARY AND JOSEPH KNEW THAT THEIR NEIGHBORS WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON JESUS JUST AS THEY WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THEIR OWN NEIGHBOR'S CHILDREN. IF A CHILD GOT OUT OF LINE, ANY ADULT WOULD BE EXPECTED TO DISCIPLINE THE CHILD; AND IF A CHILD WAS HURT, OR SEEMED LOST, WELL, THE CHILD WAS A MEMBER OF THE VILLAGE, AND THE NEAREST ADULT WOULD STOP TO HELP. AND AMONG THE JEWS, THERE WAS NO FEAR THAT A CHILD WOULD BE ABDUCTED. THIS MIGHT HAPPEN OUT ON THE FRONTIER, OR IN PAGAN COUNTRY, BUT NOT RIGHT IN THE HEART OF JUDAH WHERE EVERYONE WAS A SON OR DAUGHTER OF ABRAHAM.
SO TO ME, THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE. IT EVEN SEEMS LIKELY THAT THE OLD WISE MEN IN THE TEMPLE WERE ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF THIS VERY BRIGHT CHILD, AND EXPECTED THAT SOONER OR LATER, THE PARENTS WOULD RETRACE THEIR STEPS AND FIND HIM. THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE IS STILL VERY PREVALENT IN THE FEW ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA, AND IN OTHER PLACES WHERE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITIES OF JEWISH PEOPLE.
THE HOLY FAMILY WAS PART OF A FAMILY OF FAMILIES, THE VILLAGE OF NAZARETH; AND THAT IN TURN WAS PART OF A LARGER FAMILY, A FAMILY THAT FELT ITSELF CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER IN A WAY THAT WE NO LONGER CAN EVEN IMAGINE, EXCEPT PERHAPS WITHIN OUR OWN EXTENDED FAMILY. AND HOW MUCH WE NEED TO REGAIN THAT ATTITUDE, IF WE ARE TO AVOID THE ONGOING ALIENATION OF OUR SOCIETY, A SOCIETY THAT FEARS THE WORST FROM IT'S MEMBERS, A SOCIETY WHERE PARENTS GUARD THEIR CHILDREN FROM OTHER ADULTS, WHERE ADULTS DON'T TRUST EACH OTHER, AND WHERE THE CONSEQUENCE OF THIS ATTITUDE IS SELFISHNESS, FEAR, ISOLATION, AND LONELINESS.
JESUS OFTEN COMPARED THE COMMUNITY THAT GREW UP AROUND HIM DURING HIS YEARS OF MINISTRY AS A FAMILY. HE SAID THAT THOSE WHO DID THE WILL OF THE FATHER WERE HIS MOTHER AND SISTER AND BROTHER AS WELL. BUILDING UP A COMMUNITY OF TRUST IS SOMETHING OUR PARISH AND OUR CHURCH ARE CALLED TO DO. WE CAN'T DO IT AS INDIVIDUALS, IT IS ONLY SOMETHING WE CAN DO COOPERATIVELY. AND AS WE ALL KNOW, THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO TO BUILD A COMMUNITY OF TRUST IS TO KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER, TO FIND WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER, AND TO MAKE PARISH LIFE, NOT JUST CHURCH ATTENDANCE, A VERY HIGH PRIORITY IN OUR LIVES. WE DON'T DO NEARLY AS WELL IN THIS MISSION AS MANY PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO DIFFERENT WORSHIPPING COMMUNITIES. MAYBE ITS' BECAUSE THEY ARE SMALLER, OR MAYBE ITS' BECAUSE THEY BELONG TO A MINORITY, BUT ITS NO EXCUSE.
SO ON THIS FEAST DAY IN WHICH WE CELEBRATE THE HOLY FAMILY, NOT ONLY SHOULD WE LOOK AT HOW ARE OWN FAMILIES ARE HOLY, BUT WE SHOULD LOOK AT HOW WE CAN MAKE OUR PARISH A COMMUNITY WHERE WE TRUST EACH OTHER, WHERE WE KNOW OUR FELLOW COMMUNICANTS WILL BE AS CARING TOWARDS OUR CHILDREN AS WE ARE; WHERE WE CAN HONESTLY SAY, “I TRUST THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE CATHOLIC.”
WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, I WOULD SOMETIMES ASK MY MOTHER TO TELL ME A STORY ABOUT WHEN JESUS WAS A BOY. AND SHE WOULD. SHE TOLD ME A STORY ABOUT A TIME WHEN JESUS HAD MADE SOME LITTLE CLAY BIRDS AND SOME OF THE LOCAL BIG KIDS CAME AROUND AND STARTED TO THROW STONES AT THEM, SO JESUS WAVED HIS HAND AND THEY ALL FLEW AWAY. THERE WAS ANOTHER ABOUT HOW JOSEPH AND JESUS HAD ASSEMBLED A BED FOR SOMEONE, AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT IT WOULD BE TOO SHORT, SO JESUS PULLED ON ONE END OF THE BED AND IT STRETCHED OUT TO JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH. BUT THE THINGS WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIFE OF THE HOLY FAMILY ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY LEGEND AND WISHFUL THINKING. JESUS' GRANDPARENTS ON HIS MOTHER'S SIDE WERE JOACHIM AND ANNA, RIGHT? AND THEY BROUGHT MARY TO THE TEMPLE WHEN SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD AND LEFT HER TO BE RAISED BY THE TEMPLE AUTHORITIES. AND WHEN SHE AND JOSEPH MARRIED, HE WAS AN OLD MAN, WITH CHILDREN BY A PREVIOUS MARRIAGE. NO EVIDENCE FOR ANY OF THIS.
THE POINT IS, PEOPLE HAVE A NATURAL TENDENCY TO FILL IN THE BLANKS, AND ALL OF THE ABOVE STORIES WERE IN CIRCULATION IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH CENTURY. MY MOTHER HEARD THEM FROM HER MOTHER, WHO COULD BARELY READ, AND SHE HEARD THEM FROM WHERE? I DON'T KNOW.
THE STORY WE HEAR TODAY IS IN THE SCRIPTURES. AND IF I ASKED MY MOTHER HOW MARY AND JOSEPH TRAVELED A WHOLE DAY BEFORE NOTICING THAT JESUS WAS MISSING, SHE WOULD HAVE ANSWERED, “IN THOSE DAYS THE WOMEN TRAVELED TOGETHER AND SO DID THE MEN, AND JESUS WAS AT JUST THE AGE WHEN MARY MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO BE WITH JOSEPH, AND JOSEPH MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED HIM TO BE WITH MARY. THAT'S ANOTHER STORY THAT GOES WAY BACK. BUT IT ISN'T TRUE. MARRIED COUPLES STAYED TOGETHER ON THOSE JOURNEYS. SO I WONDER HOW THE MOST PERFECT MOTHER THAT EVER WALKED THE EARTH, AND POSSIBLY THE MOST PERFECT HUMAN FATHER, DID NOT NOTICE THAT THEIR SON WAS MISSING? WHEN WE TOOK OUR KIDS TO DISNEYWORLD MANY YEARS AGO WE GOT ON THE MONORAIL AND MOMENTS AFTER WE SAT DOWN, WE NOTICED ONE OF THE KIDS WASN'T WITH US, CAUSING PANIC. I JUMPED OFF AT THE NEXT STOP AND RACED BACK AND FINALLY FOUND THE CHILD SURROUNDED BY A CROWD TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY SHE WAS SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HER VOICE. SHE OF COURSE WENT ON TO BECOME A LAWYER.
I THINK THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN IS THAT WE NO LONGER LIVE IN A COMMUNITY OF TRUST. MODERN PARENTS WANT TO KNOW AS MUCH AS THEY CAN ABOUT WHERE THEIR CHILDREN ARE AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING. WE WORRY WHEN THEY ARE NOT VISIBLE. WE LEAVE THEM ONLY RELUCTANTLY, AND ONLY WITH SOMEONE WE TRUST. IN OUR INSTITUTIONS, THOSE WHO WORK WITH OUR CHILDREN ARE BACKGROUND-CHECKED, OR THEY CAN'T WORK. IF WE LEAVE A CHILD SLEEPING IN A LOCKED VEHICLE WITH THE WINDOW OPEN ON A PLEASANT SPRING DAY TO DROP OFF A LETTER OR RUN IN TO A DRUGSTORE FOR A MINUTE, WE MAY BE LIABLE TO ARREST. WE DON'T TRUST OUR NEIGHBORS, WE DON'T TRUST OTHER PEOPLE.
IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT IN JESUS' TIME. A TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY IN AN INFORMAL GATHERING OF PEOPLE WALKING BACK TO NAZARETH FROM JERUSALEM COULD WANDER OFF WITH HIS FRIENDS, COULD JOIN ANOTHER FAMILY FOR A WHILE, AND MARY AND JOSEPH KNEW THAT THEIR NEIGHBORS WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON JESUS JUST AS THEY WOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THEIR OWN NEIGHBOR'S CHILDREN. IF A CHILD GOT OUT OF LINE, ANY ADULT WOULD BE EXPECTED TO DISCIPLINE THE CHILD; AND IF A CHILD WAS HURT, OR SEEMED LOST, WELL, THE CHILD WAS A MEMBER OF THE VILLAGE, AND THE NEAREST ADULT WOULD STOP TO HELP. AND AMONG THE JEWS, THERE WAS NO FEAR THAT A CHILD WOULD BE ABDUCTED. THIS MIGHT HAPPEN OUT ON THE FRONTIER, OR IN PAGAN COUNTRY, BUT NOT RIGHT IN THE HEART OF JUDAH WHERE EVERYONE WAS A SON OR DAUGHTER OF ABRAHAM.
SO TO ME, THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE. IT EVEN SEEMS LIKELY THAT THE OLD WISE MEN IN THE TEMPLE WERE ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF THIS VERY BRIGHT CHILD, AND EXPECTED THAT SOONER OR LATER, THE PARENTS WOULD RETRACE THEIR STEPS AND FIND HIM. THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE IS STILL VERY PREVALENT IN THE FEW ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA, AND IN OTHER PLACES WHERE THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITIES OF JEWISH PEOPLE.
THE HOLY FAMILY WAS PART OF A FAMILY OF FAMILIES, THE VILLAGE OF NAZARETH; AND THAT IN TURN WAS PART OF A LARGER FAMILY, A FAMILY THAT FELT ITSELF CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER IN A WAY THAT WE NO LONGER CAN EVEN IMAGINE, EXCEPT PERHAPS WITHIN OUR OWN EXTENDED FAMILY. AND HOW MUCH WE NEED TO REGAIN THAT ATTITUDE, IF WE ARE TO AVOID THE ONGOING ALIENATION OF OUR SOCIETY, A SOCIETY THAT FEARS THE WORST FROM IT'S MEMBERS, A SOCIETY WHERE PARENTS GUARD THEIR CHILDREN FROM OTHER ADULTS, WHERE ADULTS DON'T TRUST EACH OTHER, AND WHERE THE CONSEQUENCE OF THIS ATTITUDE IS SELFISHNESS, FEAR, ISOLATION, AND LONELINESS.
JESUS OFTEN COMPARED THE COMMUNITY THAT GREW UP AROUND HIM DURING HIS YEARS OF MINISTRY AS A FAMILY. HE SAID THAT THOSE WHO DID THE WILL OF THE FATHER WERE HIS MOTHER AND SISTER AND BROTHER AS WELL. BUILDING UP A COMMUNITY OF TRUST IS SOMETHING OUR PARISH AND OUR CHURCH ARE CALLED TO DO. WE CAN'T DO IT AS INDIVIDUALS, IT IS ONLY SOMETHING WE CAN DO COOPERATIVELY. AND AS WE ALL KNOW, THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO TO BUILD A COMMUNITY OF TRUST IS TO KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER, TO FIND WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER, AND TO MAKE PARISH LIFE, NOT JUST CHURCH ATTENDANCE, A VERY HIGH PRIORITY IN OUR LIVES. WE DON'T DO NEARLY AS WELL IN THIS MISSION AS MANY PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO DIFFERENT WORSHIPPING COMMUNITIES. MAYBE ITS' BECAUSE THEY ARE SMALLER, OR MAYBE ITS' BECAUSE THEY BELONG TO A MINORITY, BUT ITS NO EXCUSE.
SO ON THIS FEAST DAY IN WHICH WE CELEBRATE THE HOLY FAMILY, NOT ONLY SHOULD WE LOOK AT HOW ARE OWN FAMILIES ARE HOLY, BUT WE SHOULD LOOK AT HOW WE CAN MAKE OUR PARISH A COMMUNITY WHERE WE TRUST EACH OTHER, WHERE WE KNOW OUR FELLOW COMMUNICANTS WILL BE AS CARING TOWARDS OUR CHILDREN AS WE ARE; WHERE WE CAN HONESTLY SAY, “I TRUST THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE CATHOLIC.”
Friday, December 25, 2009
Mass at Dawn, Christmas 2009
LUKE 2:15-20
WE TRY SO HARD TO MAKE CHRISTMAS LIKE IT USED TO BE. MOST OF US FIRST BECAME AWARE OF CHRISTMAS IN THE TRADITIONS OF OUR OWN FAMILIES. EACH YEAR AS CHILDREN WE WOULD REMEMBER THE LAST CHRISTMAS, AND WE GRADUALLY BEGAN TO NOTICE WHAT WAS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, AND WHAT WAS THE SAME. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, WE USED A LOT OF TINSEL EVERY YEAR. WE DON'T ANYMORE IN MY HOUSE. BUT TINSEL WAS THIN STRIPS OF SOME KIND OF FLEXIBLE METAL, PROBABLY LEAD BASED, THAT WAS DRAPED OVER THE TREE AFTER ALL THE ORNAMENTS AND LIGHTS WERE HUNG. AFTER CHRISTMAS, MY MOTHER WOULD TAKE IT DOWN AND CAREFULLY PACK IT AWAY, AND WE WOULD BE PICKING UP STRAY PIECES OF TINSEL FOR A MONTH OR TWO. DESPITE ALL HER CARE, WE USUALLY HAD TO BUY MORE THE NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE SOMEHOW IT GOT TANGLED INTO A MESS WHILE HIDDEN AWAY.
ONE YEAR, WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10, MY MOTHER DECIDED WE WOULD NOT PUT TINSEL ON THE TREE. MY SISTER AND I WAILED AND MOANED AND FINALLY SHE RELENTED. SHE MADE US HANG THE TINSEL AND PUT IT AWAY, SO THE NEXT YEAR WE DIDN'T PROTEST AS MUCH.
WHEN JOAN AND I MARRIED AND HAD CHILDREN, WE BEGAN TO BLEND THE TRADITIONS OF OUR TWO FAMILIES, AND NOW WE SEE OUR MARRIED DAUGHTERS DOING THE SAME. THE AIM FOR ALL OF THIS EFFORT IS TO KEEP SOMETHING ABOUT THE SEASON, THE MORE, THE BETTER, CONSTANT DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. WE LIKE THE WAY CHRISTMAS REMINDS US OF THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE LITTLE AND IT WAS A MAGICAL SEASON.
AND IT'S IRONIC; WE LOVE THE UNCHANGEABLE NATURE OF THE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION. WE REVEL IN THE SAME OLD ORNAMENTS, THE SAME GIFT-OPENING TRADITIONS, THE SAME EGGNOG – ALL THOSE RITUALS – BUT WE ARE REALLY CELEBRATING THE MOMENT IN ALL OF HISTORY WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER. GOD BROKE INTO TIME AND SPACE. GOD BECAME MAN, SO MAN COULD SHARE GOD'S LIFE. AND NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
THERE ARE LEGENDS SURROUNDING THE BIRTHS OF OTHER GREAT MEN AND WOMEN DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. THEIR BIRTHS ARE PROPHESIED, AS WAS CHRIST'S. SOMETIMES COMETS OR STRANGE STARS OR OTHER COSMIC PHENOMENA SIGNALED THE BIRTH, AS THE STAR DID CHRIST'S. NATURE BEHAVED IN UNUSUAL WAYS. AND IT WASN'T UNUSUAL FOR UNEARTHLY SPIRITS TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF THE GREAT ONE. BUT HERE IS WHERE JESUS' BIRTH CHANGED EVERYTHING. HEAVENLY BEINGS DID ANNOUNCE HIS BIRTH, BUT TO SHEPHERDS, NOT NOBLEMEN OR KINGS. SHEPHERDS. PROBABLY NOBODY CARED WHETHER THEY REGISTERED FOR THE CENSUS AT ALL, WHICH IS WHY THEY WERE OUT IN THE FIELDS. AFTER ALL, THEY MOVED AROUND A GREAT DEAL, THEY HAD NO MONEY OR PROPERTY SO COULDN'T BE TAXED; THEY WERE ALWAYS RITUALLY UNCLEAN, SINCE YOU REALLY COULDN'T KEEP THE LAW WHEN YOUR SCHEDULE DEPENDED ON SHEEP, AND WHEN YOU HAD TO GROOM THEM AND CLEAN THEM EVERY DAY. AND THE SHEPHERDS PROBABLY DIDN'T CARE ANYWAY. IF THEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT AT ALL, THEY FIGURED THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE AT SALVATION, BECAUSE IF YOU BELIEVED THE PRIESTS AND THE PHARISEES, YOU HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME DOING THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU HOLY, AND THE PROOF THAT YOU WERE LOVED BY GOD WAS THAT YOU WERE RICH AND LIVED IN A FINE HOUSE. AND THESE WERE THE FIRST WITNESSES OF THE MOST DISRUPTIVE CHANGE, THE GREATEST CHANGE, IN ALL OF HISTORY. THE WORLD HAD BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. THE POOR HAD THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM.
AND THEY WENT DOWN TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES. AND AS THEY DREW NEAR LOVE ITSELF, LOVE CHANGED THEM; THEY KNELT BEFORE A BABY, A BABY WHO LOOKED LIKE ANY OTHER BABY, AND ALTHOUGH THEY WERE ROUGH AND UNEDUCATED, EVEN THEIR INSENSITIVE SOULS FELT THE BURNING PRESENCE OF GOD WHO BROKE INTO THE WORLD, THE FIRE AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE UNIMAGINABLE PRESENCE THAT BROUGHT EVERYTHING INTO BEING, THAT HELD THE WORLD TOGETHER, WAS THERE IN THE BABY. LOVE WAS THERE.
AND THEY WERE CHANGED. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THEY LEFT GLORIFYING GOD AND PRAISING HIM, AND THEY WERE SO CHANGED BY THEIR APPROACH TO LOVE IN PERSON THAT SOMEHOW THE WORDS THEY SPOKE TO OTHERS DID NOT BRING ABOUT RIDICULE, DID NOT FALL ON DEAF EARS, BUT ASTONISHED THOSE WHO LISTENED TO THEM. AND SOME OF THOSE WHO LISTENED, WHO HAD BEEN CHANGED BY THE SHEPHERDS' WORDS BECAUSE THEY TOO COULD SENSE THAT LOVE HAD DONE SOMETHING TO THESE MEN, AND WAITED TO DO SOMETHING TO THEM AS WELL. LOVE IS LIKE THE FLAME ON A CANDLE, WHICH CAN GIVE ITSELF AWAY INDEFINITELY, AND NEVER BE DIMINISHED.
SO TODAY I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND DIVE INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. THERE WILL BE GRANDCHILDREN WHO ARE WAITING ANXIOUSLY TO OPEN THEIR PRESENTS. AND I LOOK FORWARD AS WELL; EVERY NEW TIE WILL BE A SURPRISE. AND WE'LL SING A FEW OLD CAROLS, AND PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC ALL DAY, AND DRINK SOME EGGNOG AND EAT A VERY SPECIAL SUPPER, SOME DISHES WHICH ARE LIKE THOSE OF MY CHILDHOOD AND AND SOME LIKE THOSE OF JOAN'S, AND WE MIGHT REMINISCE ABOUT CHRISTMASES IN THE PAST AND TRY TO CONVEY OUR OWN WONDER TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN, WHO ARE STORING UP THEIR OWN MEMORIES.
BUT THE MOST WONDERFUL PART OF CHRISTMAS, THE PART THAT HAS BEEN CARRIED FORWARD FROM THAT MOMENT IN A LITTLE TOWN IN A FAR CORNER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WILL BE THAT MOMENT WHEN WE APPROACH BETHLEHEM, THE HOUSE OF BREAD, AND WE SEE AND TAKE INTO OURSELVES THE PERSON IN THE MANGER, LOVE WHO GIVES HIMSELF FOR FOOD IN THE FORM OF BREAD AND WINE. AND IF WE ONLY LET OUR SOULS SEE AND FEEL, WE WILL BE LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS, WE WILL FEEL THE LOVE WHICH HAS BROKEN THROUGH OUR WORLD AND CHANGED IT FOREVER, AND GOD WILLING, WE WILL LET IT CHANGE US AND SET US ON FIRE.
CHRISTMAS, THE REAL UNCHANGEABLE PART OF CHRISTMAS, COMES EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK, AT EVERY MASS, WHEN WE REMEMBER THAT MOMENT WHEN LOVE BROKE INTO THE WORLD, AND STILL DOES, AND STILL FEEDS US, AND STILL CHANGES US.
THE CHURCH IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS IS ILL. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG COUPLES RECEIVE THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY TO BEGIN THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT MUCH TO THEM. FEWER AND FEWER CATHOLICS BOTHER TO ATTEND SUNDAY MASS. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN CATCH ON FIRE AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO GOD AND HIS CHURCH. AND CHURCHES ARE BOARDED UP, AND PARISHES ARE CONSOLIDATED, AND THE DECLINE CONTINUES. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER – DRAW NEAR TO LOVE-- IT IS RIGHT HERE, JUST AS TRULY AS IT WAS IN BETHLEHEM. AND CATCH ON FIRE, AND TELL OTHERS, AND SPREAD THE FIRE ANEW, LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS ON THE HILLSIDES ON THAT STARRY NIGHT WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER.
WE TRY SO HARD TO MAKE CHRISTMAS LIKE IT USED TO BE. MOST OF US FIRST BECAME AWARE OF CHRISTMAS IN THE TRADITIONS OF OUR OWN FAMILIES. EACH YEAR AS CHILDREN WE WOULD REMEMBER THE LAST CHRISTMAS, AND WE GRADUALLY BEGAN TO NOTICE WHAT WAS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR, AND WHAT WAS THE SAME. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, WE USED A LOT OF TINSEL EVERY YEAR. WE DON'T ANYMORE IN MY HOUSE. BUT TINSEL WAS THIN STRIPS OF SOME KIND OF FLEXIBLE METAL, PROBABLY LEAD BASED, THAT WAS DRAPED OVER THE TREE AFTER ALL THE ORNAMENTS AND LIGHTS WERE HUNG. AFTER CHRISTMAS, MY MOTHER WOULD TAKE IT DOWN AND CAREFULLY PACK IT AWAY, AND WE WOULD BE PICKING UP STRAY PIECES OF TINSEL FOR A MONTH OR TWO. DESPITE ALL HER CARE, WE USUALLY HAD TO BUY MORE THE NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE SOMEHOW IT GOT TANGLED INTO A MESS WHILE HIDDEN AWAY.
ONE YEAR, WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10, MY MOTHER DECIDED WE WOULD NOT PUT TINSEL ON THE TREE. MY SISTER AND I WAILED AND MOANED AND FINALLY SHE RELENTED. SHE MADE US HANG THE TINSEL AND PUT IT AWAY, SO THE NEXT YEAR WE DIDN'T PROTEST AS MUCH.
WHEN JOAN AND I MARRIED AND HAD CHILDREN, WE BEGAN TO BLEND THE TRADITIONS OF OUR TWO FAMILIES, AND NOW WE SEE OUR MARRIED DAUGHTERS DOING THE SAME. THE AIM FOR ALL OF THIS EFFORT IS TO KEEP SOMETHING ABOUT THE SEASON, THE MORE, THE BETTER, CONSTANT DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. WE LIKE THE WAY CHRISTMAS REMINDS US OF THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE LITTLE AND IT WAS A MAGICAL SEASON.
AND IT'S IRONIC; WE LOVE THE UNCHANGEABLE NATURE OF THE CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION. WE REVEL IN THE SAME OLD ORNAMENTS, THE SAME GIFT-OPENING TRADITIONS, THE SAME EGGNOG – ALL THOSE RITUALS – BUT WE ARE REALLY CELEBRATING THE MOMENT IN ALL OF HISTORY WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER. GOD BROKE INTO TIME AND SPACE. GOD BECAME MAN, SO MAN COULD SHARE GOD'S LIFE. AND NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
THERE ARE LEGENDS SURROUNDING THE BIRTHS OF OTHER GREAT MEN AND WOMEN DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. THEIR BIRTHS ARE PROPHESIED, AS WAS CHRIST'S. SOMETIMES COMETS OR STRANGE STARS OR OTHER COSMIC PHENOMENA SIGNALED THE BIRTH, AS THE STAR DID CHRIST'S. NATURE BEHAVED IN UNUSUAL WAYS. AND IT WASN'T UNUSUAL FOR UNEARTHLY SPIRITS TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF THE GREAT ONE. BUT HERE IS WHERE JESUS' BIRTH CHANGED EVERYTHING. HEAVENLY BEINGS DID ANNOUNCE HIS BIRTH, BUT TO SHEPHERDS, NOT NOBLEMEN OR KINGS. SHEPHERDS. PROBABLY NOBODY CARED WHETHER THEY REGISTERED FOR THE CENSUS AT ALL, WHICH IS WHY THEY WERE OUT IN THE FIELDS. AFTER ALL, THEY MOVED AROUND A GREAT DEAL, THEY HAD NO MONEY OR PROPERTY SO COULDN'T BE TAXED; THEY WERE ALWAYS RITUALLY UNCLEAN, SINCE YOU REALLY COULDN'T KEEP THE LAW WHEN YOUR SCHEDULE DEPENDED ON SHEEP, AND WHEN YOU HAD TO GROOM THEM AND CLEAN THEM EVERY DAY. AND THE SHEPHERDS PROBABLY DIDN'T CARE ANYWAY. IF THEY THOUGHT ABOUT IT AT ALL, THEY FIGURED THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE AT SALVATION, BECAUSE IF YOU BELIEVED THE PRIESTS AND THE PHARISEES, YOU HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME DOING THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU HOLY, AND THE PROOF THAT YOU WERE LOVED BY GOD WAS THAT YOU WERE RICH AND LIVED IN A FINE HOUSE. AND THESE WERE THE FIRST WITNESSES OF THE MOST DISRUPTIVE CHANGE, THE GREATEST CHANGE, IN ALL OF HISTORY. THE WORLD HAD BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. THE POOR HAD THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM.
AND THEY WENT DOWN TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES. AND AS THEY DREW NEAR LOVE ITSELF, LOVE CHANGED THEM; THEY KNELT BEFORE A BABY, A BABY WHO LOOKED LIKE ANY OTHER BABY, AND ALTHOUGH THEY WERE ROUGH AND UNEDUCATED, EVEN THEIR INSENSITIVE SOULS FELT THE BURNING PRESENCE OF GOD WHO BROKE INTO THE WORLD, THE FIRE AT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE UNIMAGINABLE PRESENCE THAT BROUGHT EVERYTHING INTO BEING, THAT HELD THE WORLD TOGETHER, WAS THERE IN THE BABY. LOVE WAS THERE.
AND THEY WERE CHANGED. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THEY LEFT GLORIFYING GOD AND PRAISING HIM, AND THEY WERE SO CHANGED BY THEIR APPROACH TO LOVE IN PERSON THAT SOMEHOW THE WORDS THEY SPOKE TO OTHERS DID NOT BRING ABOUT RIDICULE, DID NOT FALL ON DEAF EARS, BUT ASTONISHED THOSE WHO LISTENED TO THEM. AND SOME OF THOSE WHO LISTENED, WHO HAD BEEN CHANGED BY THE SHEPHERDS' WORDS BECAUSE THEY TOO COULD SENSE THAT LOVE HAD DONE SOMETHING TO THESE MEN, AND WAITED TO DO SOMETHING TO THEM AS WELL. LOVE IS LIKE THE FLAME ON A CANDLE, WHICH CAN GIVE ITSELF AWAY INDEFINITELY, AND NEVER BE DIMINISHED.
SO TODAY I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND DIVE INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. THERE WILL BE GRANDCHILDREN WHO ARE WAITING ANXIOUSLY TO OPEN THEIR PRESENTS. AND I LOOK FORWARD AS WELL; EVERY NEW TIE WILL BE A SURPRISE. AND WE'LL SING A FEW OLD CAROLS, AND PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC ALL DAY, AND DRINK SOME EGGNOG AND EAT A VERY SPECIAL SUPPER, SOME DISHES WHICH ARE LIKE THOSE OF MY CHILDHOOD AND AND SOME LIKE THOSE OF JOAN'S, AND WE MIGHT REMINISCE ABOUT CHRISTMASES IN THE PAST AND TRY TO CONVEY OUR OWN WONDER TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN, WHO ARE STORING UP THEIR OWN MEMORIES.
BUT THE MOST WONDERFUL PART OF CHRISTMAS, THE PART THAT HAS BEEN CARRIED FORWARD FROM THAT MOMENT IN A LITTLE TOWN IN A FAR CORNER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WILL BE THAT MOMENT WHEN WE APPROACH BETHLEHEM, THE HOUSE OF BREAD, AND WE SEE AND TAKE INTO OURSELVES THE PERSON IN THE MANGER, LOVE WHO GIVES HIMSELF FOR FOOD IN THE FORM OF BREAD AND WINE. AND IF WE ONLY LET OUR SOULS SEE AND FEEL, WE WILL BE LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS, WE WILL FEEL THE LOVE WHICH HAS BROKEN THROUGH OUR WORLD AND CHANGED IT FOREVER, AND GOD WILLING, WE WILL LET IT CHANGE US AND SET US ON FIRE.
CHRISTMAS, THE REAL UNCHANGEABLE PART OF CHRISTMAS, COMES EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK, AT EVERY MASS, WHEN WE REMEMBER THAT MOMENT WHEN LOVE BROKE INTO THE WORLD, AND STILL DOES, AND STILL FEEDS US, AND STILL CHANGES US.
THE CHURCH IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS IS ILL. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG COUPLES RECEIVE THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY TO BEGIN THEIR LIVES TOGETHER. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT MUCH TO THEM. FEWER AND FEWER CATHOLICS BOTHER TO ATTEND SUNDAY MASS. FEWER AND FEWER YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN CATCH ON FIRE AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO GOD AND HIS CHURCH. AND CHURCHES ARE BOARDED UP, AND PARISHES ARE CONSOLIDATED, AND THE DECLINE CONTINUES. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER – DRAW NEAR TO LOVE-- IT IS RIGHT HERE, JUST AS TRULY AS IT WAS IN BETHLEHEM. AND CATCH ON FIRE, AND TELL OTHERS, AND SPREAD THE FIRE ANEW, LIKE THOSE SHEPHERDS ON THE HILLSIDES ON THAT STARRY NIGHT WHEN THINGS CHANGED FOREVER.
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