Presentation of the Lord, 2014

LUKE 2:22-40

EVERY FRIDAY I SPEND A FEW HOURS VISITING PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY OLD. I'M GETTING OLD, OF COURSE, BUT WE ARE TALKING THE HIGH EIGHTY'S TO THE EARLY 100'S. A LOT OF THE PEOPLE I VISIT SUFFER FROM LOSS – LOSS OF CONTROL OF MOVEMENTS; LOSS OF STRENGTH; LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO FEED ONESELF; AND EVEN LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO THINK, TO RECOGNIZE; AND IT'S SAD TO SEE. I THINK A LOT OF THEM SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION. SOME OF THEM SLEEP ALL THE TIME, WAKING ONLY TO EAT OR BE CARED FOR BY THE NURSE'S AIDS. OTHERS HAVE THE TELEVISION GOING FROM MORNING TO EVENING, SITTING LIKE STONES WHILE GAME SHOWS AND SOAP OPERAS AND TALKING HEADS SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL HUMAN CONTACT. MANY OF THEM WORRY. THEY WORRY MOSTLY ABOUT THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS – THEY DON'T WANT TO BE A BURDEN; THEY WISH A SON OR DAUGHTER WOULD VISIT, BUT THEY KNOW HOW BUSY THEY ARE. SOME OF THEM HAVE BROKEN A HIP OR TAKEN YET ANOTHER FALL, AND AFTER A PERIOD OF REHABILITATION, WILL GO HOME, BACK TO A LONELY APARTMENT, KNOWING THAT SOONER OR LATER, THEY WILL BE BACK.

AND I FIND MYSELF WONDERING, IS THAT MY FUTURE? AND I CAN'T HELP BUT ANSWER, PROBABLY.

ONE LADY I SPEAK WITH SPENT MUCH OF HER LIFE AS AN OFFICER IN THE SALVATION ARMY. IN HER ROOM WERE PICTURES OF HERSELF IN HER OFFICER'S UNIFORM. SHE HAD WON SOME AWARDS FOR SERVICE, AND PUT IN HOURS RINGING BELLS AROUND CHRISTMAS, WORKING WITH ALCOHOLICS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE, OVERSEEING THE THRIFT SHOP WHERE SECOND HAND GOODS WERE RECYCLED. SHE HAD DRAWN TREMENDOUS SATISFACTION FROM THIS, BUT NOW BECAUSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE, BLINDNESS, AND COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES, SHE IS TOTALLY HELPLESS. AND HER BIGGEST COMPLAINT IS THAT SHE IS USELESS, SHE HAS NO PURPOSE IN LIFE. ANOTHER VERY ELDERLY MAN WHOSE MEMORY IS LIMITED TO THOSE THINGS THAT HAPPENED LONG AGO ALWAYS REMINDS ME THAT HE USED TO LEAD THE DAILY PRAYERS IN THE SYNAGOGUE WHEN THE RABBI COULDN'T BE THERE. AND HE GETS A FAR-AWAY LOOK IN HIS EYES AND SIGHS.

TODAY WE MEET A VERY OLD MAN AND A VERY OLD WOMAN IN OUR GOSPEL PASSAGE. IT DOESN'T SAY HOW OLD SIMEON IS, BUT LUKE IMPLIES THAT HE'S OLD AND LIVED A LONG LIFE. AND SIMEON MORE OR LESS CONFIRMS THIS WHEN HE SAYS, “NOW, MASTER, LET YOUR SERVANT DEPART IN PEACE...” HE HAD BEEN LIVING FOR ONLY ONE THING, TO SEE THE MESSIAH, AND NOW THAT THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE, THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT. AND LUKE TELLS US THAT ANNA WAS 84 YEARS OLD, AND SPENT ALL HER TIME IN THE TEMPLE, EVER SINCE SHE HAD BECOME A WIDOW AFTER ONLY SEVEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE. WE DON'T KNOW IF SHE HAD CHILDREN; BUT IN A FEW WORDS LUKE SUGGESTS THAT SHE, TOO, IS ALL ALONE.

THE TEMPLE WAS A BUSY, BUSTLING PLACE. WE KNOW THAT IN THE OUTER COURTYARD, MERCHANTS WERE SELLING ANIMALS TO BE SACRIFICED. IF YOU WANTED TO OFFER A SACRIFICE IT HAD TO BE A PERFECT SPECIMEN OR THE PRIEST WOULDN'T TOUCH IT. THE BEST WAY TO ASSURE THAT WAS TO BUY FROM THE MERCHANT. AND SINCE ORDINARY MONEY COULDN'T BE BROUGHT INTO THE TEMPLE PRECINCTS, YOU HAD TO CHANGE YOUR MONEY FOR TEMPLE MONEY. ALL THIS COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY ALONG WITH THE NOISE OF THE ANIMALS, MADE THE OUTER COURT MORE LIKE A SHOPPING MALL. AND WHEN YOU GOT INTO THE INNER COURT, THE ACTUAL SACRIFICES WERE GOING ON. THAT WAS NOISY AND BLOODY AS WELL. AND FURTHER IN PEOPLE WENT TO PRAY, BUT AS WE LEARNED FROM THE STORY OF THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR THEY DID NOT PRAY SILENTLY – SO EVEN IN THE HOLIEST PART OF THE TEMPLE, THERE WAS A LOT OF NOISE. ALL OF THIS AND CROWDS AS WELL BECAUSE JEWS FROM ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE MADE PILGRIMAGES BACK TO THE TEMPLE, BECAUSE FOR THEM THE TEMPLE WAS THE PLACE WHERE GOD LIVED IN A SPECIAL WAY.

AND SIMEON AND ANNA MADE THEIR WAY UP THE STEPS AND THROUGH THE CROWDS TO PRAY EVERY DAY, AND ON ONE DAY THEY SAW A POOR YOUNG COUPLE WITH A LITTLE BOY. THEY KNEW THEY WERE POOR BECAUSE ALL THEY HAD TO OFFER WERE TWO PIGEONS. AND THEY SAW THAT THEY WERE FROM A LONG WAY AWAY BECAUSE OF THE TRAVELER'S CLOTHING THEY WORE. AND THE LITTLE BOY WAS NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY OF THE OTHER LITTLE BOYS WHO WERE BEING REDEEMED BY A SACRIFICE ACCORDING TO THE JEWISH LAW; THERE WAS NO HALO, NO MYSTERIOUS GLOW. AND IN ALL THE CROWDS OF PEOPLE, WITH PRIESTS AND LEVITES AND PHARISEES ALL AROUND, THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALED TO THEM AND TO THEM ALONE THAT THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD HAD FINALLY ARRIVED.

AND SIMEON AND ANNA BORE WITNESS – THE OLD MAN WHO WAS ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT HOW GOD HAD PROMISED HIM THAT HE WOULD SEE THE SAVIOR BEFORE HE DIED, AND THE WEIRD OLD WOMAN THAT SPENT ALL HER TIME IN THE TEMPLE, PRAYING AND FASTING. AND WE HEAR SIMEON'S JOYFUL PRAYER – “NOW YOU MAY DISMISS YOUR SERVANT, O LORD...”, AND HIS OMINOUS PROPHECY THAT MARY'S HEART WOULD BE PIERCED; AND WE READ THAT ANNA WAS TELLING EVERYONE IN EARSHOT ABOUT WHAT HAD JUST BEEN REVEALED TO HER.

BUT I SUSPECT LIKE MOST REALLY OLD PEOPLE, LIKE THE PEOPLE I VISIT EACH WEEK, THEY WERE IGNORED. SOME PEOPLE TURNED THEIR BACKS, OTHERS LAUGHED AT THEM. AND A FEW WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE BEING KIND PRETENDED TO LISTEN, HUMORING THEM.

A LOT OF THE PEOPLE I VISIT TALK ABOUT THE OLDEN DAYS; SOMETIMES THEY SAY “IN MY DAY” AS THOUGH TO TELL ME THAT THEIR DAYS LAY FAR IN THE PAST, AND THEY WERE STRANGERS IN THIS DAY WE LIVE IN. BUT ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT GOD CHOSE TO REVEAL HIS SON TO TWO VERY OLD, ALMOST FORGOTTEN PEOPLE, A MAN AND A WOMAN WHO KNEW THAT THEY WOULD NEVER LIVE TO SEE THE PROMISE OF ISRAEL COME TO FULLNESS. A FRAIL OLD MAN AND AN ECCENTRIC OLD LADY WHO HAD WAITED AND WAITED, AND PRAYED AND PRAYED, AND BEFORE JOHN THE BAPTIST, BEFORE THE APOSTLES, BEFORE THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, WERE CALLED UPON BY THE FATHER TO ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD THAT THE MESSIAH HAD COME, EVEN THOUGH NO ONE EXCEPT JOSEPH AND MARY BELIEVED THEM. BUT THEY DIDN'T CARE, THEY HAD DONE THEIR PART.

NO ONE IS USELESS, NO ONE IS WITHOUT PROMISE, AND GOD WHO ALLOWED THE UNBORN JOHN TO LEAP IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB TO ANNOUNCE JESUS ALLOWED THE VERY OLD TO DO SO AS WELL. HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED AND GOD IS WITH US FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION TO THE MOMENT OF NATURAL DEATH, USING US FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES, AS HE USED HIS FRIENDS SIMEON AND ANNA.

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 24:12-23

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP I WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. OFTEN THE SUBJECT OF “VOCATION” CAME UP. WE ALL KNEW WHAT THAT MEANT; IF YOU WERE A BOY, WAS GOD CALLING YOU TO BE A PRIEST; IF YOU WERE A GIRL, WAS HE CALLING YOU TO BE A “BRIDE OF CHRIST”, A NUN OR SISTER. WE KNEW THERE WERE MEN WHO HAD VOCATIONS WHO WEREN'T PRIESTS, BUT IN MONTANA WE DIDN'T KNOW ANY MONKS OR BROTHERS, AND IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THEY WERE BASICALLY MALE NUNS, AND WHO WOULD WANT TO BE ONE OF THOSE? MISSING IN OUR DISCUSSIONS, AND LATER CORRECTED BY VATICAN II, WAS THE IDEA THAT WE ALL HAD VOCATIONS. AND SO NOW WE TALK ABOUT VOCATIONS TO MARRIAGE, VOCATIONS TO SINGLE LIFE, AND SO ON. AND WE'VE DILUTED THE CONCEPT EVEN FURTHER; WE HAVE VOCATIONS TO BE PHYSICIANS, LAWYERS, PROFESSORS, TEACHERS, AUTO MECHANICS, PLUMBERS … IN A SENSE THIS IS GOOD, BECAUSE IT REMINDS US THAT GOD'S CALL TO US DOES NOT JUST MEAN A STATE IN LIFE, BUT IT EXTENDS TO EVERYTHING WE DO, INCLUDING HOW WE WORK; AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE WORK WE DO HAS DIGNITY, AND OUR WORK IS MEANT TO FURTHER OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AS WELL AS SERVE OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT WE ALL HAVE GOD-GIVEN GIFTS THAT WE ARE TO SHARE WITH EACH OTHER.

TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE CALLING OF PETER AND ANDREW, AND JAMES AND JOHN. THEY WERE FISHERMEN, AND IN THE GOSPEL, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THEY THREW ASIDE THEIR VOCATIONS AS FISHERMEN AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED JESUS. BUT MAYBE IT'S NOT QUITE SO ABRUPT OR SO COMPLETE. WE KNOW FROM THE STORY OF PETER'S MOTHER IN LAW THAT JESUS AND PETER HAD BEEN ACQUAINTED; AND WE KNOW THAT PETER DOES NOT GIVE UP FISHING; JESUS BORROWED HIS BOAT WHEN HE PREACHED TO THE CROWDS ON THE SEASHORE, AND AFTERWARD THERE WAS THAT MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH. AND WE KNOW PETER SAID, AFTER THE RESURRECTION, “I AM GOING FISHING” AND WENT BACK TO HIS TRADE UNTIL JESUS APPEARED ONCE MORE. THE CALL TO THE DISCIPLES DID NOT INVOLVE THEM COMPLETELY GIVING UP THEIR TRADES; IN FACT, SCHOLARS THINK THAT IT WAS MORE LIKELY THAT THEY CONTINUED IN SOME WAY TO DO WHAT THEY HAD ALWAYS DONE; SAINT PAUL EVEN IN THE MIDST OF HIS PREACHING MISSION STILL REPAIRED TENTS FOR A LIVING.

JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WILL MAKE THEM FISHERS OF MEN. HE DOESN'T SAY “APOSTLES” OR “BISHOPS” OR “PRIESTS”. AND I THINK HE IS TELLING ALL HIS FOLLOWERS, EVEN YOU AND I, THAT WE CAN BE FISHERS OF MEN AND WOMEN. IT IS AFTER ALL EMBEDDED IN THE MEANING OF BEING A CHRISTIAN THAT WE ARE TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, THAT WE ARE COMMISSIONED TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. BEING A FISHER OF MEN MUST BE SOMETHING EVERY CHRISTIAN REGARDLESS OF EDUCATION, PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS, MENTAL ABILITIES, OR AGE, MUST BE CAPABLE OF DOING. AND WHEN WE ASK WHAT EVERY HUMAN BEING CAN DO TO SOME DEGREE, IT IS THAT WE CAN ENTER INTO RELATIONSHIPS. A MOTHER ENTERS INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER UNBORN CHILD; A PARENT WITH ADVANCED ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE REMAINS IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS OR HER LOVED ONES; AND BY DEFINITION, A CHRISTIAN IS IN SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.

TO BE A FISHER OF MEN AND WOMEN THROUGH OUR RELATIONSHIPS IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A PLUMBER OF MEN, OR A DOCTOR OF MEN, OR A HOMEMAKER OF MEN. FISHING IS UNIQUE, BECAUSE IT IS PASSIVE; THE FISHERMAN WAITS FOR THE FISH TO TAKE THE BAIT; OR THE FISHERMAN PULLS A NET THROUGH THE WATER, HOPING IT WILL ENCOUNTER A FISH. AND THAT'S HOW WE ARE TO BE FISHERS OF MEN.

HERE ARE THE STEPS. FIRST, WE EXAMINE OUR RELATIONSHIPS. SOME ARE VERY CLOSE, LIKE HUSBAND AND WIFE, LIKE PARENT AND CHILD. OTHERS ARE MORE DISTANT, LIKE CO-WORKERS. SOME ARE NEGATIVE; PEOPLE WITH WHOM WE HAVE A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP. SOME RELATIONSHIPS SEEM ONE-SIDED; I MAY ADMIRE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW I EXIST. BUT EVEN HERE THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP.

THE SECOND STEP IN BEING A FISHER IS TO CONSIDER HOW EACH RELATIONSHIP CAN BE ENHANCED. COMMON SENSE TELLS US THAT OUR RELATIONSHIPS PROSPER WHEN WE SPEND MORE TIME ON THEM. JUST BEING PRESENT TO SOMEONE HELPS THE RELATIONSHIP. BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS AS WELL; LEARNING THE INTERESTS OF THE OTHER PERSON; FORGIVING THE OTHER PERSON, FINDING SOMETHING THE OTHER PERSON NEEDS AND FULFILLING THAT NEED IF WE CAN, BEING A FRIEND IN OTHER WORDS. WE CAN'T IMPROVE OUR RELATIONSHIPS TO EVERYONE IN OUR CIRCLE ALL AT ONCE, BUT WE CAN CONCENTRATE ON A FEW AT A TIME.

THE THIRD STEP IS TO ALLOW GOD TO WORK THROUGH THE RELATIONSHIP TO BRING THE OTHER PERSON CLOSER TO HIM. WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF MUCH HAPPENING, BUT BECAUSE WE ARE IN RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST, AND BECAUSE WE ARE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER PERSON, WE CAN BE “ANOTHER CHRIST” FOR THAT PERSON. WE CAN BE ANOTHER CHRIST IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS IF THROUGH OUR LIVES WE SHOW THAT CHRIST MEANS SOMETHING TO US AND WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO BE GUIDED BY HIM IN HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES. WE CAN BE ANOTHER CHRIST IF WE MAKE IT A PRACTICE TO DELIBERATELY PRAY FOR THAT PERSON JUST AS JESUS PRAYED FOR HIS APOSTLES, AND PAUL PRAYED FOR THE PEOPLE HE HAD BROUGHT TO CHRIST.

THE STORIES OF THE SAINTS ARE FULL OF SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE CAME INTO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BECAUSE OF ENCOUNTERING SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAD SUCH A RELATIONSHIP. THINK OF THE GROWTH OF THE FRANCISCAN MOVEMENT – ALL BECAUSE PEOPLE SAW SOMETHING OF JESUS IN FRANCIS, AND SOMETHING OF FRANCIS IN HIS FOLLOWERS. SAINT AUGUSTINE, ONE OF THE GREATEST THINKERS IN CHRISTIANITY, WAS BROUGHT INTO THE CHURCH THROUGH HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH ST. AMBROSE AND WITH HIS OWN MOTHER.

AND IN THE GOSPEL STORY, WE SEE THAT THE FISHERMEN IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED JESUS – NOT BECAUSE HE WAS A STRANGER PASSING BY, BUT BECAUSE THEY KNEW HIM WELL ENOUGH SO THAT THEY WERE WILLING TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THEIR LIVES AT HIS CALL.

SO PRAY FOR THE GRACE TO BE FISHER OF MEN, AND THEN WORK AT IT. YOU ARE THE BAIT, AND JESUS IS THE REAL FISHERMAN.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

JOHN 1:29-34

IN OUR GOSPEL TODAY JOHN THE BAPTIST TWICE SAYS OF JESUS, “I DID NOT KNOW HIM”. WE KNOW THAT IN THE LITERAL SENSE THAT WOULDN'T BE TRUE. WE KNOW MARY AND ELIZABETH WERE RELATED, AND MARY THOUGHT ENOUGH OF ELIZABETH TO TRAVEL, PROBABLY ON FOOT, ABOUT EIGHTY MILES TO HELP HER OUT DURING THE LAST PART OF HER PREGNANCY. AND IT WOULD SEEM UNLIKELY FOR JOHN TO GROW UP WITHOUT HEARING THE STORY OF HOW HIS FATHER LOST HIS ABILITY TO SPEAK, AND WHEN IT CAME BACK, ANNOUNCED THAT JOHN WAS DESTINED TO USHER IN THE MESSIAH. AND CERTAINLY THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF MARY AND ELIZABETH MEETING, AND ELIZABETH RECOGNIZING MARY AS THE MOTHER OF “HER LORD”, THE INFANT LEAPING IN HER WOMB BECAUSE OF THE NEARNESS OF JESUS – CERTAINLY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF ELIZABETH AND ZACHARY. AND WE KNOW THAT DEVOUT JEWS TRAVELED TO JERUSALEM TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER, AS JESUS AND HIS PARENTS DID WHEN HE WAS TWELVE. SURELY JOHN AND JESUS MUST HAVE MET ON SUCH OCCASIONS.

SOME SCHOLARS THINK THAT JESUS SPENT SOME TIME AS ONE OF JOHN'S DISCIPLES; CERTAINLY IN ONE OF THE ACCOUNTS OF JESUS' BAPTISM, JOHN RECOGNIZES THAT IT WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE IF JESUS WERE TO BAPTIZE HIM.

BUT EVEN DURING HIS LAST DAYS ON EARTH, WHEN HE WAS IN PRISON, JOHN SENDS SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS TO ASK JESUS, “ARE YOU THE ONE WHO IS TO COME, OR SHALL WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?” DID HE STILL “NOT KNOW HIM” DESPITE ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED?

JESUS SAID OF JOHN, “THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ONE BORN OF WOMAN GREATER THAN JOHN”. BUT HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT “THE ONE WHO IS LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN HE.” WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? JOHN WAS A HEROIC FIGURE, SACRIFICING EVERYTHING FOR GOD. AND YET JESUS SAYS THAT YOU AND I ARE GREATER.

THE DIFFERENCE, I GUESS, MUST BE THE GIFTS WE RECEIVE AT BAPTISM. ONE OF THESE, OF COURSE, IS THE SUPERNATURAL VIRTUE OF FAITH, THE CHARACTER GIVEN OUR SOULS WHICH ALLOWS US TO KNOW JESUS. WITHOUT THIS GIFT, EVEN IF WE WERE TO ENCOUNTER JESUS IN THE FLESH, EVEN IF WE WERE TO WITNESS HIM RAISING THE DEAD, WE WOULD NOT REALLY KNOW HIM. WE WOULD CONCLUDE, PERHAPS, THAT HE WAS A PROPHET, A MIRACLE WORKER, A GOOD AND HOLY MAN – WE MIGHT EVEN CONCLUDE THAT HE WAS ONE OF GOD'S FAVORITES – AND WE WOULD BE SAYING WHAT THE KORAN SAYS ABOUT HIM. MOSLEMS AND UNITARIANS BELIEVE THAT ABOUT JESUS. JOHN WAS NEVER GIVEN THE SUPERNATURAL VIRTUE OF FAITH, AT LEAST WHILE HE WAS ON THE EARTH, AND WITHOUT IT, EVEN WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS FINALLY GETTING TO KNOW WHO JESUS WAS, HE STILL DID NOT KNOW HIM.

YOU AND I KNOW JESUS; AT LEAST WE HAVE THE POWER TO KNOW HIM. POPE FRANCIS TALKS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY BEING FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT AN ENCOUNTER WITH A PERSON, THE PERSON OF JESUS, AN ENCOUNTER THAT THREATENS TO CHANGE US. AND NOBODY LIKES CHANGE, SO I THINK THERE IS A TENDENCY IN MANY CATHOLICS TO BACK AWAY FROM THAT ENCOUNTER, TO RETREAT INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE RESIST KNOWING HIM. AND WE HOPE THAT IF WE AVOID SIN, AT LEAST BIG ONES, AND PARTICIPATE IN THE SACRAMENTS, WE'LL BE OK. AND ONLY GOD KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE RECEIVED THE SUPERNATURAL VIRTUES AT BAPTISM, BUT NEVER EXERCISED THEM, AND NO LONGER EVEN RETAIN A CONNECTION TO THE CHURCH.

EVEN THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST, BECAUSE OF OUR POTENTIAL TO KNOW JESUS AS HE REALLY IS. BUT FAITH NEEDS TO BE NURTURED. AND WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SUPERNATURAL FAITH?

WE HAVE A POOR UNDERSTANDING OF FAITH IN THIS DAY AND AGE. FOR SOME OF US, IT MEANS BELIEVING IN THINGS THAT CAN'T BE PROVEN. FOR OTHERS, IT IS A CRUTCH, A CONSOLATION TO HOLD ON TO WHEN THINGS GET ROUGH. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SHARING OUR FAITH, WHAT DO WE MEAN? WHAT DO WE HAVE TO SHARE?

POPE FRANCIS WRITES THAT “ IN FAITH, CHRIST IS NOT SIMPLY THE ONE IN WHOM WE BELIEVE, THE SUPREME MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S LOVE; HE IS ALSO THE ONE WITH WHOM WE ARE UNITED PRECISELY IN ORDER TO BELIEVE. FAITH DOES NOT MERELY GAZE AT JESUS, BUT SEES THINGS AS JESUS HIMSELF SEES THEM, WITH HIS OWN EYES: IT IS A PARTICIPATION IN HIS WAY OF SEEING.”

JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE LAST AND GREATEST OF PROPHETS, WAS IN FACT LIKE ALL THE PROPHETS AND HOLY PEOPLE BEFORE HIM, NOT ABLE TO “SEE THINGS AS JESUS HIMSELF SEES THEM”, BECAUSE JESUS HAD NOT YET COMPLETED HIS MISSION ON EARTH. BUT YOU AND I HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SEE THINGS AS JESUS SEES THEM. POPE FRANCIS TALKS ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN FAITH AND LOVE. IF WE LOVE, WE WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHOM WE LOVE; AND AS WE KNOW MORE ABOUT HIM, WE LOVE HIM MORE. FAITH, THEREFORE, CAN NEVER BE STATIC; IT'S EITHER GROWING OR FADING AWAY.

HOW DO WE PARTICIPATE IN JESUS' WAY OF SEEING? WE NEED TO SEE EVERYTHING THROUGH THE TWIN LENSES OF THE INCARNATION AND RESURRECTION. GOD REALLY DID COME TO DWELL AMONG US. THIS MEANS THAT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN HAS VALUE; CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT ONLY BE INVOLVED IN THE WORLD, BUT SHOULD VALUE ALL OF CREATION. AND JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, REALLY AND TRULY, TELLING US IN THAT ACTION THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT DEFINED BY THIS LIFE, BUT AS LONG AS THEY LIVE, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE THE SAME JOURNEY THROUGH DEATH THAT JESUS DID.

TRUE, SUPERNATURAL FAITH CANNOT BE PRESENT IN ISOLATION; IT MUST BE LIVED IN THE CHURCH. SAINT PAUL REMINDS US THAT WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST; HE IS ALWAYS THE MEASURE AGAINST WHICH WE MEASURE OURSELVES. THE CHURCH HOLDS UP FOR US THE MIRROR IN WHICH WE SEE CHRIST'S IMAGE IN OURSELVES AND IN EACH OTHER, AND SHE DOES THIS FOR ONLY ONE REASON – SO THAT WE CAN JOIN OURSELVES MORE COMPLETELY TO CHRIST OUR HEAD.

IN PRACTICAL TERMS, WE CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO SEE THE WORLD AS CHRIST SEES IT, AND THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED TO SEE IT AS THE CHURCH, HIS BODY, SEES IT. THE WAY WE SEE THE WORLD MOVES US TO ACTION; AND WHEN WE ACT OUT OF THE VISION JESUS HAS FOR US, OUR FAITH IS DEEPENED. THIS PROCESS OF LEARNING FROM THE CHURCH, ACTING IN THE WORLD BASED UPON WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, AND THEN LOOKING FOR THE PRESENCE OF JESUS IN THIS PROCESS, IS HOW WE GROW IN OUR FAITH.

IT'S A NEW YEAR. THIS YEAR IS A GOOD TIME FOR YOU AND I TO STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH. PLEASE THINK ABOUT HOW IT WILL BE A YEAR FROM NOW – WILL YOU HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF? WILL YOUR FAITH BE STRONGER? WILL YOU BE IN BETTER SHAPE TO BE A REAL APOSTLE THEN? WHAT PRACTICAL STEPS CAN YOU AND I TAKE SO THAT WE CAN SAY, “I DO KNOW HIM; I SEE THE WORLD WITH HIS EYES; I SEE HIS PRESENCE IN MY NEIGHBOR; GOD REALLY DWELLS WITH US. JESUS REALLY ROSE FROM THE DEAD SO THAT I CAN DO SO AS WELL.

Baptism of the Lord, cycle A

MATTHEW 3:13-17

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feast of the Epiphany, 2014

MATTHEW 2:1-12

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feast of the Holy Family, cycle A

MATTHEW 2:13-15; 19-22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Christmas, 2013

LUKE 2:15-20

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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