MARK 1:7-11
I KNOW AN ELDERLY MAN WHO SPENDS MUCH OF HIS TIME WITH HIS WIFE, WHO HAS SEVERE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. I DON'T THINK SHE'S EVEN AWARE THAT HE'S THERE, AT LEAST NOT IN ANY WAY YOU COULD DETECT. HE COULD BE DOING OTHER THINGS, AND SHE WOULDN'T KNOW. BUT HE'S THERE, BEING PRESENT TO HER, ACCEPTING HE AS SHE IS. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S DOING HER ANY GOOD, BUT SHE ALLOWS HIM TO FEED HER HER LUNCH, AND WHEN HE'S THERE SHE IS CALM. WHEN HE'S NOT, SHE SEEMS A BIT ANXIOUS AND HAS MOMENTS OF AGITATION. HIS PRESENCE SEEMS TO HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HER.
TO A GREATER OR LESS DEGREE, MOST OF US DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED. IT MOTIVATES US, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY PART OF OUR LIVES. WHEN A NEW BABY IS BORN INTO A FAMILY, THE OLDER SIBLINGS OFTEN CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS – SOMETIMES FOR THE WORSE, CALLING ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES, SOMETIMES FOR THE BETTER, HOPING TO DRAW SOME OF THAT ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE BABY TO THEMSELVES. AND THIS GOES ON; THE DESIRE TO BE ACCEPTED BY PEERS IS FELT ACUTELY BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. CLIQUES QUICKLY FORM; THE ATHLETES, THE POPULAR KIDS, THE NON CONFORMISTS, THE GEEKS – AND EVEN THE GEEKS NEED ACCEPTANCE – I KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS ONE. THE DESIRE FOR ACCEPTANCE SOMETIMES IMPACTS ON YOUR LIFE CHOICES. YOU FIND THAT OTHERS ENCOURAGE YOU TO PURSUE THIS PATH OR THAT IN LIFE, AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU FEEL ACCEPTANCE. WHEN WE GET MARRIED THAT'S DRIVEN IN PART BY THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ACCEPTED BY SOMEONE YOU HAVE COME TO REALLY LOVE.
PEOPLE WHO FEEL ACCEPTED SEEM TO HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER THOSE WHO DON'T. THEY ARE MORE RELAXED FOR ONE THING, MORE SELF-CONFIDENT. AND FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING MORE. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN YOU FEEL ACCEPTED, YOU PASS ON THIS ACCEPTANCE TO OTHERS; THAT'S ESPECIALLY TRUE IN FAMILIES WHERE THE PARENTS HAVE A LOVING AND STRONG RELATIONSHIP; THE CHILDREN SEEM TO DO BETTER IN ALL WAYS ON THE AVERAGE.
TODAY WE SEE A TURNING POINT IN THE LIFE OF JESUS. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED, WHY DID JESUS ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED? HE HAD NOTHING FROM WHICH TO REPENT – HE WAS SINLESS. DID HE GET BAPTIZED AS AN EXAMPLE FOR US? BUT THEN HE WOULD JUST BE GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS. THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE JESUS.
WHEN WE THINK OF HIS BAPTISM, THOUGH, WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A HUMAN BEING. WE CHRISTIANS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THIS IDEA; WE TEND TO BE DOCETISTS – HERETICS WHO BELIEVED THAT GOD THE SON APPEARED TO BE A HUMAN BEING, BUT WASN'T REALLY. BUT IF JESUS IS REALLY A HUMAN BEING, HE'S LIKE YOU AND I AND HAS CERTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AS WELL AS PHYSICAL ONES. JESUS NEEDED TO KNOW THAT HE WAS ACCEPTED.
JESUS UNDERWENT BAPTISM IN ONE SENSE BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE IN SOLIDARITY WITH HUMAN BEINGS. EVEN THOUGH HE WAS SINLESS, HE WANTED TO ACCEPT IN HIMSELF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS. EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE CALLED UPON ANGELS TO ATTEND TO HIS NEEDS, HE CHOSE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS LIKE HUMAN BEINGS DID, THROUGH HIS OWN EFFORTS. HE LED OUR LIFE SO THAT WE COULD LEAD HIS; THAT'S THE MEANING OF HOLY COMMUNION, WHEN WE INVITE JESUS TO BECOME ONE WITH US.
BUT ON ANOTHER LEVEL, JESUS' BAPTISM WAS A MOMENT WHEN HE FELT THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD THE FATHER, WHEN HE HEARD THE WORDS “YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” THE REST OF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY WAS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS PROFOUND ACCEPTANCE – HE WENT ABOUT SHOWING PEOPLE THAT NO MATTER HOW DEFORMED, ILL, SINFUL OR HOPELESS, JESUS ACCEPTED YOU, AND SINCE JESUS WAS GOD, WHEN HE ACCEPTED YOU, IT WAS A SIGN THAT THE FATHER DID AS WELL. IN A SHORT TIME WE WILL WATCH THAT SCENE WHERE JESUS STRETCHES OUT HIS HAND AND TOUCHES A LEPER. THAT WAS UNHEARD OF, THAT WAS AGAINST ALL THE RULES; BUT JESUS, WHO FELT THE DEEP AND ABIDING ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER, COULD REACH OUT AND ACCEPT THIS POOR CREATURE. ON THE CROSS JESUS CRIED OUT, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORESAKEN ME?” AND PERHAPS IN THAT MOMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER WAS NO LONGER FELT; BUT HIS COMPOSURE SOON RETURNED AND HE SAID, “INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CHRISTIANS NEED TO KEEP GOING BACK TO. MOST OF US DON'T REMEMBER OUR BAPTISM. I HAVE A CERTIFICATE AT HOME THAT I COULD LOOK AT SO THAT I WOULD AT LEAST KNOW THE DAY I WAS BAPTIZED AND BY WHOM. BUT I HAVE NO PERSONAL MEMORY OF IT. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING WE ALL SHOULD REFLECT ON. WHEN WE WERE BAPTIZED, WE, LIKE JESUS, WERE ACCEPTED BY THE FATHER. AND LIKE JESUS, THAT ACCEPTANCE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE HAD DONE OR WHO WE WERE. JESUS RECEIVED THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE FATHER BEFORE HE STARTED HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY; THE FATHER CALLED HIM “SON” AT THAT MOMENT, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WOULD DO, BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HE WAS. AND HE DOES THE SAME WITH US. IF I HAD SUPERNATURAL HEARING WHEN I WAS BAPTIZED, I WOULD HAVE HEARD THE SAME LOVING STATEMENT FROM THE FATHER; “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.”
IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE HIS BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS, IT SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECT ON OUR OWN BEHAVIOR. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO PLEASE GOD TO WIN HIS FAVOR, THE MOTIVE FOR OUR GOOD WORKS SHOULD BE OUT OF GRATITUDE THAT WE ARE LOVED AND THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE LIKE OUR FATHER. IF WE TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT GOD ACCEPTS US WITHOUT RESERVE, THAT HE COULDN'T LOVE US MORE THAN HE DOES, REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO, THEN WE SHOULD HAVE A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS REALIZE THIS AS WELL. AND IF WE REALLY KNOW IN OUR HEARTS THAT WE ARE LOVED, THEN WE BEGIN TO SEE EACH OTHER THROUGH OUR FATHER'S EYES – THAT THIS ONE IS HIS BELOVED, AND SO IS THAT ONE.
SO TODAY MEDITATE ON YOUR OWN BAPTISM, AND TRY TO HEAR THOSE WORDS WHICH THE FATHER SPOKE TO YOU THEN, AND SPEAKS TO YOU EVEN NOW, “YOU ARE MY BELOVED, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.” AND WHEN YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO ACCEPT THIS AS ABSOLUTELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY TRUE, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Feast of the Epiphany, 2015
MATTHEW 2:1-12
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE JUST HEARD SETS UP AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE SOME PAGANS FROM THE EAST, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY. THE MAGI IN PERSIAN SOCIETY WERE WISE MEN, ADVISORS TO THE RULERS; THEY WERE SCIENTISTS, GOOD AT OBSERVING NATURE; AND THEY WERE PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF PRIESTS, OFFICIATING IN THE CEREMONIES OF THEIR RELIGION. IN OTHER WORDS, LIFE WAS GOOD FOR THEM. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO PACK EVERYTHING UP AND TAKE A JOURNEY OF NEARLY A THOUSAND MILES ONE WAY. THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR HARDSHIP AND TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF TIME. IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS WELL. AND WHY DID THEY DO IT? THEY HAD OBSERVED A STAR IN THE SKY AND WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT, AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, STUDYING THE HOLY BOOKS THEY HAD AVAILABLE TO THEM, PROBABLY EVEN PRAYED, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS ALL POINTED TO AN EVENT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE – THE BIRTH OF THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS. AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO HONOR HIM AND BRING HIM GIFTS, PRECISELY, GOLD BECAUSE HE WAS KING; FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE WOULD BE THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST; AND MYRHH, BECAUSE HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH HIS DESTINY THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH. EACH OF THEM HAD A GIFT TO BRING.
HEROD AND ALL JERUSALEM, HOWEVER, WERE TROUBLED. THEY TOO WERE AWARE THAT SOMETHING BIG WAS HAPPENING. AFTER ALL, THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES WERE FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE COMING OF THE HEIR OF DAVID, THE SUFFERING SERVANT REFERRED TO BY ISAIAH, THE SON OF MAN THAT DANIEL THE PROPHET TALKED ABOUT. THE WISE MEN OF THE JEWS HAD ALL THIS INFORMATION AT HAND, INCLUDING AN IDEA OF ABOUT WHEN ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN; AFTER ALL, DANIEL HAD MADE THAT PREDICTION. BUT THEY HAD DONE NOTHING. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SINCE THE PROPHET MICAH HAD EVEN NAMED THE CITY, THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM JUST WAITING FOR THIS EVENT TO HAPPEN. BUT THEY WERE ALL TROUBLED. THEY WERE TROUBLED BECAUSE IF THE PROPHECIES WERE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES; THEY MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES. AND HEROD, WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD EVEN HAVE HIS OWN SONS EXECUTED ON SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE, WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP HIS POWER, EVEN IF, AS WE WILL SEE LATER, IT MEANS EXECUTING ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. HEROD BELIEVED JUST AS STRONGLY AS THE MAGI THAT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY HAD COME; BUT HE WANTED NO CHANGE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD WORKS? WELL, I DON'T EITHER. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EVERY BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN IS GIVEN A GIFT, NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR THE CHURCH. THESE INCLUDE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, FAITH, HEALING, PROPHECY … AND SO ON. I THINK THAT IS FOR THE MOST PART HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS – THROUGH THE GIFTS HE GIVES US TO GIVE TO EACH OTHER. AND IF WE WANT TO USE THESE GIFTS, WE HAVE TO BECOME DISCIPLES, OTHERWISE, WE WON'T REALLY BE AWARE OF GOD'S WILL FOR US. AND BECOMING A DISCIPLE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN; IT TAKES GOD'S GRACE, BUT IT TAKES OUR COOPERATION; AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LIFETIME. THE MAGI GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW THE STAR, TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DISCERNED WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.
JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US HOW TO BE DISCIPLES. FIRST, WE NEED TO LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE TURN OUR BACK ON THOSE WE LOVE; IN FACT, IF WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR DEAREST LOVED ONES, WE LOVE THEM MORE THAN IF WE DON'T LOVE GOD THE MOST. LOVING GOD BLESSES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. PUTTING GOD FIRST PURIFIES OUR LOVE FOR OUR SPOUSES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS. SECOND, JESUS TELLS US THAT HIS DISCIPLES MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW HIM. THIS FOLLOWS FROM STEP ONE; ONCE I'VE DECIDED TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS, I'VE GOT TO DO THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO – MOVE MYSELF FROM FIRST PLACE TO THIRD. DENYING MYSELF MEANS EXACTLY THAT – I HAVE TO STOP BEING THE CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE SO THAT GOD CAN FILL THAT SPACE. AND LIKE THE MAGI, I HAVE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING MYSELF TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST; I'VE GOT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT CHRIST, AND THEN TO START TO SHAPE MY LIFE IN HIS IMAGE. THAT IN ITSELF IS A WORK THAT NEVER ENDS, BUT THE SAINTS ARE OUR INSPIRATIONS; THEY SHOW US THAT YOU CAN BE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, SMART OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED, A KING OR A MARTYR, AND IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN BE LIKE CHRIST. ANYONE CAN BE A SAINT, IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE. THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS TO FORSAKE ALL WE HAVE. THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO TAKE A VOW OF POVERTY; IT DOES MEAN TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US. IT ISN'T OURS, IT BELONGS TO GOD; AND ITS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP GOD'S KINGDOM. FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES, WE MUST COUNT THE COST. YOU CAN'T BE 50% A DISCIPLE. YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY. BILLY GRAHAM SAID “SALVATION IS FREE, BUT DISCIPLESHIP COSTS EVERYTHING.” WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING THAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND JESUS, AND IT'S HARDEST TO GIVE UP OUR HABITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONFESS WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF. IT'S EASIER TO STOP COMMITTING MAJOR SINS THAN IT IS TO BREAK THE HABITS THAT REINFORCE OUR SELFISHNESS.
WE ARE BEGINNING A NEW YEAR. WE SHOULD ASK, HAVE WE MADE REAL PROGRESS IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS THIS PAST YEAR? OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WE WERE LAST NEW YEARS. AND IN THE COURSE OF MAKING RESOLUTIONS, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOLUTION WE CAN MAKE IS THAT THIS YEAR WE WILL TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO BECOMING NOT JUST GOOD PEOPLE, NOT JUST CHURCH GOERS, BUT TRUE DISCIPLES, WHO WILL BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE SERVICE OF EACH OTHER, SO THAT GOD'S INTENTIONS FOR THE WORLD CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH US. WHAT A WONDERFUL DESTINY AWAITS US IF WE ACCEPT IT.. HOW SAD IT WILL BE IF NEXT YEAR THIS TIME WE ARE NO CLOSER TO BEING DISCIPLES, BUT ARE A YEAR CLOSER TO RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE JUST HEARD SETS UP AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. ON THE ONE HAND, THERE ARE SOME PAGANS FROM THE EAST, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE ARISTOCRACY. THE MAGI IN PERSIAN SOCIETY WERE WISE MEN, ADVISORS TO THE RULERS; THEY WERE SCIENTISTS, GOOD AT OBSERVING NATURE; AND THEY WERE PROBABLY THE EQUIVALENT OF PRIESTS, OFFICIATING IN THE CEREMONIES OF THEIR RELIGION. IN OTHER WORDS, LIFE WAS GOOD FOR THEM. YOU WOULD NOT EXPECT THEM TO PACK EVERYTHING UP AND TAKE A JOURNEY OF NEARLY A THOUSAND MILES ONE WAY. THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR HARDSHIP AND TAKE A GREAT DEAL OF TIME. IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS AS WELL. AND WHY DID THEY DO IT? THEY HAD OBSERVED A STAR IN THE SKY AND WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT, AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT, STUDYING THE HOLY BOOKS THEY HAD AVAILABLE TO THEM, PROBABLY EVEN PRAYED, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS ALL POINTED TO AN EVENT OF GREAT IMPORTANCE – THE BIRTH OF THE NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS. AND THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WERE BEING CALLED TO HONOR HIM AND BRING HIM GIFTS, PRECISELY, GOLD BECAUSE HE WAS KING; FRANKINCENSE BECAUSE HE WOULD BE THE GREAT HIGH PRIEST; AND MYRHH, BECAUSE HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH HIS DESTINY THROUGH HIS OWN DEATH. EACH OF THEM HAD A GIFT TO BRING.
HEROD AND ALL JERUSALEM, HOWEVER, WERE TROUBLED. THEY TOO WERE AWARE THAT SOMETHING BIG WAS HAPPENING. AFTER ALL, THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES WERE FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE COMING OF THE HEIR OF DAVID, THE SUFFERING SERVANT REFERRED TO BY ISAIAH, THE SON OF MAN THAT DANIEL THE PROPHET TALKED ABOUT. THE WISE MEN OF THE JEWS HAD ALL THIS INFORMATION AT HAND, INCLUDING AN IDEA OF ABOUT WHEN ALL THIS WOULD HAPPEN; AFTER ALL, DANIEL HAD MADE THAT PREDICTION. BUT THEY HAD DONE NOTHING. YOU WOULD THINK THAT SINCE THE PROPHET MICAH HAD EVEN NAMED THE CITY, THERE WOULD BE PEOPLE IN BETHLEHEM JUST WAITING FOR THIS EVENT TO HAPPEN. BUT THEY WERE ALL TROUBLED. THEY WERE TROUBLED BECAUSE IF THE PROPHECIES WERE ABOUT TO BE FULFILLED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHOICES; THEY MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES. AND HEROD, WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD EVEN HAVE HIS OWN SONS EXECUTED ON SUSPICION THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TAKE OVER HIS THRONE, WAS WILLING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP HIS POWER, EVEN IF, AS WE WILL SEE LATER, IT MEANS EXECUTING ALL THE BOYS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. HEROD BELIEVED JUST AS STRONGLY AS THE MAGI THAT A SINGULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY HAD COME; BUT HE WANTED NO CHANGE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW GOD WORKS? WELL, I DON'T EITHER. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EVERY BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN IS GIVEN A GIFT, NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR THE CHURCH. THESE INCLUDE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, FAITH, HEALING, PROPHECY … AND SO ON. I THINK THAT IS FOR THE MOST PART HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS – THROUGH THE GIFTS HE GIVES US TO GIVE TO EACH OTHER. AND IF WE WANT TO USE THESE GIFTS, WE HAVE TO BECOME DISCIPLES, OTHERWISE, WE WON'T REALLY BE AWARE OF GOD'S WILL FOR US. AND BECOMING A DISCIPLE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN; IT TAKES GOD'S GRACE, BUT IT TAKES OUR COOPERATION; AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES A LIFETIME. THE MAGI GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW THE STAR, TO DO WHAT THEY HAD DISCERNED WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO.
JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US HOW TO BE DISCIPLES. FIRST, WE NEED TO LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYONE OR ANYTHING ELSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE TURN OUR BACK ON THOSE WE LOVE; IN FACT, IF WE LOVE GOD MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR DEAREST LOVED ONES, WE LOVE THEM MORE THAN IF WE DON'T LOVE GOD THE MOST. LOVING GOD BLESSES OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. PUTTING GOD FIRST PURIFIES OUR LOVE FOR OUR SPOUSES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS. SECOND, JESUS TELLS US THAT HIS DISCIPLES MUST DENY THEMSELVES AND TAKE UP THEIR CROSSES AND FOLLOW HIM. THIS FOLLOWS FROM STEP ONE; ONCE I'VE DECIDED TO LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS, I'VE GOT TO DO THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO – MOVE MYSELF FROM FIRST PLACE TO THIRD. DENYING MYSELF MEANS EXACTLY THAT – I HAVE TO STOP BEING THE CENTER OF MY UNIVERSE SO THAT GOD CAN FILL THAT SPACE. AND LIKE THE MAGI, I HAVE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SHAPING MYSELF TO BE MORE LIKE CHRIST; I'VE GOT TO MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT CHRIST, AND THEN TO START TO SHAPE MY LIFE IN HIS IMAGE. THAT IN ITSELF IS A WORK THAT NEVER ENDS, BUT THE SAINTS ARE OUR INSPIRATIONS; THEY SHOW US THAT YOU CAN BE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, SMART OR MENTALLY CHALLENGED, A KING OR A MARTYR, AND IN ALL THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN BE LIKE CHRIST. ANYONE CAN BE A SAINT, IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE. THE THIRD REQUIREMENT IS TO FORSAKE ALL WE HAVE. THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO TAKE A VOW OF POVERTY; IT DOES MEAN TO CHANGE THE WAY WE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US. IT ISN'T OURS, IT BELONGS TO GOD; AND ITS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP GOD'S KINGDOM. FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES, WE MUST COUNT THE COST. YOU CAN'T BE 50% A DISCIPLE. YOU HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY. BILLY GRAHAM SAID “SALVATION IS FREE, BUT DISCIPLESHIP COSTS EVERYTHING.” WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING THAT STANDS BETWEEN US AND JESUS, AND IT'S HARDEST TO GIVE UP OUR HABITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THINGS THAT WE CONFESS WEEK AFTER WEEK, AND NEVER SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AHEAD OF. IT'S EASIER TO STOP COMMITTING MAJOR SINS THAN IT IS TO BREAK THE HABITS THAT REINFORCE OUR SELFISHNESS.
WE ARE BEGINNING A NEW YEAR. WE SHOULD ASK, HAVE WE MADE REAL PROGRESS IN OUR JOURNEY TO BECOME A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS THIS PAST YEAR? OR ARE WE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS WE WERE LAST NEW YEARS. AND IN THE COURSE OF MAKING RESOLUTIONS, PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT RESOLUTION WE CAN MAKE IS THAT THIS YEAR WE WILL TAKE CONCRETE STEPS TO BECOMING NOT JUST GOOD PEOPLE, NOT JUST CHURCH GOERS, BUT TRUE DISCIPLES, WHO WILL BRING OUR GIFTS TO THE SERVICE OF EACH OTHER, SO THAT GOD'S INTENTIONS FOR THE WORLD CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH US. WHAT A WONDERFUL DESTINY AWAITS US IF WE ACCEPT IT.. HOW SAD IT WILL BE IF NEXT YEAR THIS TIME WE ARE NO CLOSER TO BEING DISCIPLES, BUT ARE A YEAR CLOSER TO RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Feast of the Holy Family, 2014
LUKE 2:22-40
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I REMEMBER MY MOTHER REMARKING NOW AND THEN, “IT WAS EASY FOR THE HOLY FAMILY TO BE PERFECT. THEY ONLY HAD ONE KID AND HE WAS GOD.” MY PARENTS HAD THREE AND NONE OF US WERE GOD. BUT MY MOTHER MADE A THEOLOGICAL MISTAKE. THE HOLY FAMILY WAS HOLY, NO QUESTION, BUT THEY WEREN'T PERFECT AS A FAMILY. MARY AND JOSEPH PROBABLY WERE QUITE POOR, AND JOSEPH MUST HAVE SPENT EVERY MOMENT HE COULD TRYING TO EARN A LIVING. THE TWO OF THEM WERE PROABLY GOSSIPPED ABOUT BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD SEEMED TO BE A SHOTGUN WEDDING. THEY HAD TO DROP EVERYTHING AND GO TO EGYPT, WHICH MEANT STARTING OVER AGAIN; AND THEN THEY HAD TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO NAZARETH. JESUS DISAPPEARED AND THEY SPENT THREE ANXIOUS DAYS LOOKING FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS TWELVE. AND THERE IS A LOT THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN DOWN; LUKE TELLS US THAT JESUS GREW IN GRACE AND WISDOM, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH GRACE OR WISDOM. JESUS HAD A HARD TIME BEING ACCEPTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN HIM AS HE GREW UP, AND DIDN'T THINK HE HAD ANY CLAIM TO BEING “SPECIAL”. SO JUST FROM THE LITTLE WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY FROM THE SCRIPTURES, THEY DID NOT HAVE A PERFECT FAMILY, EVEN IF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE FAMILY WERE PERFECT. I'M SURE IF YOU ASKED MARY OR JOSEPH WHETHER THEY HAD A PERFECT FAMILY, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED.
BUT ONE THING WE KNOW FROM BOTH GOSPELS IS THAT MARY AND JOSEPH PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION. IT SAYS THAT THEY WENT “EVERY YEAR” TO JERUSALEM. THAT WOULD BE A 200 MILE ROUND TRIP, ON FOOT. THEY WOULD DO THIS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER. IT'S CERTAIN THAT THEY ATTENDED SYNAGOGUE EVERY WEEK. JOSEPH WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MEN WHO COULD BE COUNTED UPON TO HELP CONSTITUTE A MINYAN; TEN MEN WOULD COME TO THE SYNAGOGUE EVERY DAY TO PRAY TOGETHER.
BUT THE MAJOR REASON WE KNOW THEY PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION IS THAT JESUS DID. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT JESUS EVER STOPPED BEING A RELIGIOUS JEW. HE CROSSED UP THE PHARISEES NOW AND THEN, WHO ACCUSED HIM OF VIOLATING THE SABBATH; BUT REMEMBER, THEY WERE NOT THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETERS OF THE LAW. THEY HAD DEVELOPED A WAY OF DOING THE LAW WHICH WAS PRETTY BURDENSOME, BUT MOST JEWS WERE NOT SO UP TIGHT. THE REASON JESUS LIVED AND DIED A GOOD JEW WAS BECAUSE HIS PARENTS WERE GOOD JEWS; AND WHEN JESUS LIVED AND DIED A JEW, THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS THE ONLY RELIGION WHICH HAD BEEN GIVEN TO MAN BY GOD.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME INTERESTING RESEARCH ON THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH. IT'S BASICALLY SUMMED UP BY THE STATEMENT: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO RETAIN THEIR FAITH, DON'T SEND THEM TO CHURCH, TAKE THEM TO CHURCH.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT CATHOLIC PARENTS WOULD WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE FAITHFUL CATHOLICS, BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR BEST SHOT TO GET TO HEAVEN AND SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD. BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, THIS ISN'T SUFFICIENT MOTIVATION FOR ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLIC PARENTS, WHO DESPITE CONSIDERING THEMSELVES CATHOLICS, HAVE LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH. THEY DROP THEIR KIDS OFF AT FAITH FORMATION CLASS UNTIL CONFIRMATION, AND SELDOM ACTUALLY GO TO CHURCH THEMSELVES. BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL EARTHLY REASONS FOR RAISING YOUR CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. THESE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SCIENTIFICALLY DOCUMENTED FACTS:
MEMBERS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES ARE IN GENERAL HAPPIER THAN THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS.
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER IN THEIR MARRIAGES THAN THOSE WHO AREN'T. AND WHEN BOTH SPOUSES ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SAME RELIGION, THEY ARE HAPPIER STILL.
PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO AVOID DIVORCE THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
SIXTY PERCENT OF MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY DESCRIBE THEIR MARRIAGES AS “VERY SATISFACTORY” COMPARED WITH 40% OF THOSE WHO DO NOT.
OBJECTIVE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MOTHERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR CHILDREN THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
WHEN FATHERS ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR CHILDREN IS SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THAN THOSE WHERE FATHERS DON'T PARTICIPATE. AND ONE OF THE BEST PREDICTORS OF WHETHER CHILDREN WILL BE “RELIGIOUS” IS WHETHER THE FATHER WAS RELIGIOUS.
THE CHILDREN OF FAMILIES WHO ARE RELIGIOUS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF OUT OF WEDLOCK PREGNANCY, MENTAL ILLNESS, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR DRUG ABUSE, THAN THOSE WHO COME FROM NON-RELIGOUS FAMILIES.
THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE PARENTS ARE RELIGIOUS IS RELATED TO OVERALL HAPPINESS, LESS DEPRESSION, BETTER PHYSICAL HEALTH, BETTER ABILITY TO COPE, HIGHER LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT, AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONG THEIR ADULT CHILDREN.
WITH ALL THESE EARTHLY BENEFITS AND THE HOPE OF ETERNAL SALVATION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PARENTS WHO REALLY LOVE THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO SIT STILL AND ALLOW THEM TO DRIFT AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. THAT GOES FOR GRANDPARENTS AS WELL. AND IF YOU WANT YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO MARRY A SPOUSE WHO IS ALSO RELIGIOUS, THEN IT FOLLOWS THAT YOU SHOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN EVANGELIZING THAT GENERATION.
WHEN JESUS TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE HAD TO BE ABOUT HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS, JOSEPH AND MARY DIDN'T BACK OFF AND SAY, “STAY HERE IN THE TEMPLE, SON.” THEY KNEW THEY STILL HAD WORK TO DO AND THAT IT WAS WAY TOO EARLY FOR JESUS TO MAKE UP HIS OWN MIND ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. AND THEY TOOK HIM HOME AND CONTINUED TO RAISE HIM, AND CONTINUED TO SHOW HIM BY THEIR OWN EXAMPLE HOW TO LIVE.
AND THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH MAY HAVE REJECTED JESUS BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED HOW ORDINARY HE SEEMED TO BE WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP; BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE REST OF PALESTINE WHO HEARD HIM PREACH AND SAW HIS MIRACLES, ALSO SAW THAT THIS JESUS WHO WORKED MIRACLES AND PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN HIS RELIGION, AND ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL, AND THAT WAS THE ROOT OF THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN HISTORY, THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. JOSEPH AND MARY RAISED HIM RIGHT. MAY CATHOLIC PARENTS EVERYWHERE LEARN FROM THE HOLY FAMILY.
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I REMEMBER MY MOTHER REMARKING NOW AND THEN, “IT WAS EASY FOR THE HOLY FAMILY TO BE PERFECT. THEY ONLY HAD ONE KID AND HE WAS GOD.” MY PARENTS HAD THREE AND NONE OF US WERE GOD. BUT MY MOTHER MADE A THEOLOGICAL MISTAKE. THE HOLY FAMILY WAS HOLY, NO QUESTION, BUT THEY WEREN'T PERFECT AS A FAMILY. MARY AND JOSEPH PROBABLY WERE QUITE POOR, AND JOSEPH MUST HAVE SPENT EVERY MOMENT HE COULD TRYING TO EARN A LIVING. THE TWO OF THEM WERE PROABLY GOSSIPPED ABOUT BECAUSE OF WHAT HAD SEEMED TO BE A SHOTGUN WEDDING. THEY HAD TO DROP EVERYTHING AND GO TO EGYPT, WHICH MEANT STARTING OVER AGAIN; AND THEN THEY HAD TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WHEN THEY WENT BACK TO NAZARETH. JESUS DISAPPEARED AND THEY SPENT THREE ANXIOUS DAYS LOOKING FOR HIM WHEN HE WAS TWELVE. AND THERE IS A LOT THAT WAS NEVER WRITTEN DOWN; LUKE TELLS US THAT JESUS GREW IN GRACE AND WISDOM, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH GRACE OR WISDOM. JESUS HAD A HARD TIME BEING ACCEPTED BY THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM WELL, BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN HIM AS HE GREW UP, AND DIDN'T THINK HE HAD ANY CLAIM TO BEING “SPECIAL”. SO JUST FROM THE LITTLE WE CAN KNOW ABOUT THE HOLY FAMILY FROM THE SCRIPTURES, THEY DID NOT HAVE A PERFECT FAMILY, EVEN IF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE FAMILY WERE PERFECT. I'M SURE IF YOU ASKED MARY OR JOSEPH WHETHER THEY HAD A PERFECT FAMILY, THEY WOULD HAVE LAUGHED.
BUT ONE THING WE KNOW FROM BOTH GOSPELS IS THAT MARY AND JOSEPH PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION. IT SAYS THAT THEY WENT “EVERY YEAR” TO JERUSALEM. THAT WOULD BE A 200 MILE ROUND TRIP, ON FOOT. THEY WOULD DO THIS TO CELEBRATE THE PASSOVER. IT'S CERTAIN THAT THEY ATTENDED SYNAGOGUE EVERY WEEK. JOSEPH WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MEN WHO COULD BE COUNTED UPON TO HELP CONSTITUTE A MINYAN; TEN MEN WOULD COME TO THE SYNAGOGUE EVERY DAY TO PRAY TOGETHER.
BUT THE MAJOR REASON WE KNOW THEY PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION IS THAT JESUS DID. WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT JESUS EVER STOPPED BEING A RELIGIOUS JEW. HE CROSSED UP THE PHARISEES NOW AND THEN, WHO ACCUSED HIM OF VIOLATING THE SABBATH; BUT REMEMBER, THEY WERE NOT THE OFFICIAL INTERPRETERS OF THE LAW. THEY HAD DEVELOPED A WAY OF DOING THE LAW WHICH WAS PRETTY BURDENSOME, BUT MOST JEWS WERE NOT SO UP TIGHT. THE REASON JESUS LIVED AND DIED A GOOD JEW WAS BECAUSE HIS PARENTS WERE GOOD JEWS; AND WHEN JESUS LIVED AND DIED A JEW, THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS THE ONLY RELIGION WHICH HAD BEEN GIVEN TO MAN BY GOD.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME INTERESTING RESEARCH ON THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH. IT'S BASICALLY SUMMED UP BY THE STATEMENT: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO RETAIN THEIR FAITH, DON'T SEND THEM TO CHURCH, TAKE THEM TO CHURCH.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT CATHOLIC PARENTS WOULD WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE FAITHFUL CATHOLICS, BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR BEST SHOT TO GET TO HEAVEN AND SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD. BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, THIS ISN'T SUFFICIENT MOTIVATION FOR ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLIC PARENTS, WHO DESPITE CONSIDERING THEMSELVES CATHOLICS, HAVE LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH. THEY DROP THEIR KIDS OFF AT FAITH FORMATION CLASS UNTIL CONFIRMATION, AND SELDOM ACTUALLY GO TO CHURCH THEMSELVES. BUT THERE ARE SEVERAL EARTHLY REASONS FOR RAISING YOUR CHILDREN IN THE FAITH. THESE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING SCIENTIFICALLY DOCUMENTED FACTS:
MEMBERS OF FAITH COMMUNITIES ARE IN GENERAL HAPPIER THAN THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS.
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE HAPPIER IN THEIR MARRIAGES THAN THOSE WHO AREN'T. AND WHEN BOTH SPOUSES ARE ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SAME RELIGION, THEY ARE HAPPIER STILL.
PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO AVOID DIVORCE THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
SIXTY PERCENT OF MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY DESCRIBE THEIR MARRIAGES AS “VERY SATISFACTORY” COMPARED WITH 40% OF THOSE WHO DO NOT.
OBJECTIVE STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT MOTHERS WHO ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY HAVE BETTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR CHILDREN THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT.
WHEN FATHERS ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR CHILDREN IS SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THAN THOSE WHERE FATHERS DON'T PARTICIPATE. AND ONE OF THE BEST PREDICTORS OF WHETHER CHILDREN WILL BE “RELIGIOUS” IS WHETHER THE FATHER WAS RELIGIOUS.
THE CHILDREN OF FAMILIES WHO ARE RELIGIOUS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RISK OF OUT OF WEDLOCK PREGNANCY, MENTAL ILLNESS, TOBACCO, ALCOHOL, OR DRUG ABUSE, THAN THOSE WHO COME FROM NON-RELIGOUS FAMILIES.
THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE PARENTS ARE RELIGIOUS IS RELATED TO OVERALL HAPPINESS, LESS DEPRESSION, BETTER PHYSICAL HEALTH, BETTER ABILITY TO COPE, HIGHER LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ATTAINMENT, AND LOWER FREQUENCY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AMONG THEIR ADULT CHILDREN.
WITH ALL THESE EARTHLY BENEFITS AND THE HOPE OF ETERNAL SALVATION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PARENTS WHO REALLY LOVE THEIR CHILDREN ARE NOT GOING TO SIT STILL AND ALLOW THEM TO DRIFT AWAY FROM THE CHURCH. THAT GOES FOR GRANDPARENTS AS WELL. AND IF YOU WANT YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO MARRY A SPOUSE WHO IS ALSO RELIGIOUS, THEN IT FOLLOWS THAT YOU SHOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN EVANGELIZING THAT GENERATION.
WHEN JESUS TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE HAD TO BE ABOUT HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS, JOSEPH AND MARY DIDN'T BACK OFF AND SAY, “STAY HERE IN THE TEMPLE, SON.” THEY KNEW THEY STILL HAD WORK TO DO AND THAT IT WAS WAY TOO EARLY FOR JESUS TO MAKE UP HIS OWN MIND ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. AND THEY TOOK HIM HOME AND CONTINUED TO RAISE HIM, AND CONTINUED TO SHOW HIM BY THEIR OWN EXAMPLE HOW TO LIVE.
AND THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH MAY HAVE REJECTED JESUS BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED HOW ORDINARY HE SEEMED TO BE WHEN HE WAS GROWING UP; BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE REST OF PALESTINE WHO HEARD HIM PREACH AND SAW HIS MIRACLES, ALSO SAW THAT THIS JESUS WHO WORKED MIRACLES AND PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN HIS RELIGION, AND ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL, AND THAT WAS THE ROOT OF THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN HISTORY, THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. JOSEPH AND MARY RAISED HIM RIGHT. MAY CATHOLIC PARENTS EVERYWHERE LEARN FROM THE HOLY FAMILY.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas Day, 2014
JOHN 1:1-18
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT JESUS AS A GREAT TEACHER. I DON'T THINK HE ACTUALLY TAUGHT ANYTHING NEW. EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT CAN BE FOUND IN THE WRITINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, SOMETHING MANY EARLY JEWISH LEADERS RECOGNIZED. BUT, YOU SAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION THAT GOD WAS FATHER? WELL, GOD IS ADDRESSED AS FATHER IN THE PSALMS, IN ISAIAH AND A FEW OTHER PLACES. WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION OF LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR? LONG BEFORE JESUS, IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, THE COMMAND IS GIVEN, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS, AND SAY, THAT PROVES THAT HE SPEAKS FOR GOD. BUT JESUS WASN'T THE ONLY MIRACLE WORKER AROUND IN THOSE DAYS, OR BEFORE, OR AFTERWARD. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THAT PETER AND PAUL BOTH ARE DEPICTED AS WORKING MIRACLES IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. THEY BOTH EVEN RESUSCITATED DEAD PEOPLE. AND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE ARE PLENTY OF HEALINGS WHICH TAKE PLACE AT THE HANDS OF PROPHETS LIKE ELIJAH. SOME OF THE NON-JEWISH HISTORIANS WHO WROTE ABOUT JESUS' TIME DESCRIBED HIM AS A “WONDER WORKER” BUT USED THE SAME TERM TO DESCRIBE OTHER PEOPLE, BOTH JEWISH AND NOT JEWISH. IN THOSE DAYS BEING ABLE TO WORK A HEALING MIRACLE WOULD NOT PROVE THINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AS THE PHARISEES SAID, “HE CASTS OUT DEMONS BY BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEMONS.” WE MIGHT REALLY BE IMPRESSED TODAY BY A REAL MIRACLE, BUT IN THOSE TIMES, PROBABLY IT WAS NOT AS IMPRESSIVE.
SO IT ISN'T THE TEACHING, AND IT ISN'T THE MIRACLES THAT MAKE JESUS SPECIAL; WHAT IS IT? IT'S EXACTLY WHAT JOHN IS TALKING ABOUT IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THE GOSPEL ASSIGNED BY THE CHURCH FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. NO ANGELS, NO STABLE AND MANGER, NO SHEPHERDS – JUST A KIND OF A DRY BLOCK OF THEOLOGY. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MARVELOUS HERE.
KIERKEGAARD, THE GREAT DANISH PHILOSOPHER, TOLD A STORY ONCE. THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A PEASANT GIRL AND WANTED TO MARRY HER. HE HAD ONLY SEEN HER FROM AFAR AND HEARD ABOUT HER THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT HAD NEVER SPOKEN TO HER HIMSELF. SO HE DECIDED TO SEND HIS SERVANTS TO BRING HER TO THE PALACE WHERE HE WOULD DECLARE HIS LOVE FOR HER AND TAKE HER AS HIS BRIDE. SURELY NO GIRL WOULD EVER SAY NO TO A GREAT KING. BUT THEN HE THOUGHT, “IF SHE SAYS YES, I'LL NEVER KNOW IF SHE LOVES ME FOR MYSELF.” SO HE DECIDED TO TAKE OFF HER ROBES AND CROWN AND DRESS UP AS A PEASANT, AND GO TO HER VILLAGE AND MEET HER. IF SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. THEN HE WOULD KNOW IT WAS REAL. THEN HE THOUGHT A LITTLE MORE AND REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHO HE WAS, BUT WITH WHO HE WAS PRETENDING TO BE. FINALLY THE KING REALIZED WHAT HE HAD TO DO. HE GAVE UP HIS KINGDOM AND BECAME A PEASANT.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES JESUS UNIQUE AMONG ALL THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO EVER LIVED. HE IS HUMAN, JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU AND I. IT ISN'T A MASK OR A DISGUISE; IT ISN'T GOD IN A MEAT SUIT. THE KING HAD TO GIVE UP HIS KINGDOM TO BECOME A PEASANT SO THAT THE GIRL MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. MIGHT, NOT WOULD. JESUS LIKEWISE BECOMES MAN IN THE HOPE, NOT CERTAINTY, THAT WE WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD.
THE GOSPEL SAYS THESE THINGS ABOUT JESUS:
JESUS IS THE WORD; HE IS GOD MADE UNDERSTANDABLE. JESUS SAID, “HE WHO SEES ME, SEES THE FATHER.”
JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THAT IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. IF WE FIX OUR GAZE ON JESUS, WE SEE HOW OUR LIVES MAKE SENSE, HOW OUR PLEASURES AND PAINS, EVEN OUR DEATHS, HAVE MEANING. BUT NO ONE HAS TO LOOK AT JESUS.
JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF GLORY. GLORY IS A WORD THAT MOST OF US DON'T GIVE A THOUGHT AS TO ITS MEANING. WE TALK ABOUT THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT ALSO THE GLORY OF A SPRING MORNING. BUT GLORY IS A QUALITY THAT WE PERCEIVE WITH A SUPERNATURAL SENSE, AND JOHN, WHO IS WRITING HIS GOSPEL A LONG TIME AFTER JESUS HAS DIED, HAS SEEN JESUS REFLECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. THAT IS WHAT CONVINCES JOHN OF JESUS' DIVINITY – THE FACT THAT JESUS SO CLEARLY LIVES ON IN THE LIVES OF HIS FOLLOWERS JUST AS LONG AGO HE PROMISED THAT HE AND HIS FATHER WOULD MAKE THEIR DWELLING IN THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM.
JESUS IS FULL OF GRACE. GRACE IS NOT A THING, IT IS WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO. AND JOHN TRIES TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE HAS EXPERIENCED – MERCY, PEACE, JOY, THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF BEING LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY.
JESUS IS TRUTH. A FEW YEARS AGO PEOPLE WENT AROUND WITH BRACELETS AND TEE SHIRTS AND BUMPER STICKERS THAT HAD THE INITIALS WWJD ON THEM. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? THAT'S KIND OF TRIVIAL, BUT IT GETS AT HOW JESUS IS THE TRUTH. HE IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS. WE MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST HIM. IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE LIVE LIKE THIS. WE STUDY JESUS, WE IMITATE HIM, WE CONSCIOUSLY CHANGE OUR HABITS AND OUR BEHAVIOR TO BE LIKE HIM, SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH PAUL, “NOT I, BUT CHRIST IN ME”. AND WHEN WE REACH THAT STATE, AND WE CAN, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR FURTHER GROWTH, THAT IS WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE BORN AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT JOHN MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THAT JESUS GIVES THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM THE POWER TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY – THAT THE GREAT KING FELL IN LOVE; NOT WITH A PEASANT GIRL, BUT HIS BELOVED WAS ABOUT AS UNLOVELY AS YOU COULD GET. BUT THE KING SAW WHAT HIS BELOVED COULD BECOME, IF SHE RESPONDED TO HIS LOVE, AND SO HE BECAME A HUMAN BEING IN THE HOPE THAT WHEN THE ONE HE LOVED COULD EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE FOR HER, SHE WOULD LOVE HIM BACK, AND HER LOVE WOULD MAKE HER BEAUTIFUL AND WORTHY OF BEING THE BRIDE OF THE GREAT KING. AND THE NAME OF HIS BRIDE IS THE CHURCH, AND SHE BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL THE MORE SHE LOVES HIM. AND JUST AS GOD CONCEIVED JESUS IN MARY, HE GIVES US WHO ARE MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH THE POWER TO BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT JESUS AS A GREAT TEACHER. I DON'T THINK HE ACTUALLY TAUGHT ANYTHING NEW. EVERYTHING HE TAUGHT CAN BE FOUND IN THE WRITINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, SOMETHING MANY EARLY JEWISH LEADERS RECOGNIZED. BUT, YOU SAY, WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION THAT GOD WAS FATHER? WELL, GOD IS ADDRESSED AS FATHER IN THE PSALMS, IN ISAIAH AND A FEW OTHER PLACES. WHAT ABOUT HIS PROCLAMATION OF LOVE AS THE BASIS FOR HUMAN BEHAVIOR? LONG BEFORE JESUS, IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, THE COMMAND IS GIVEN, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”.
SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS, AND SAY, THAT PROVES THAT HE SPEAKS FOR GOD. BUT JESUS WASN'T THE ONLY MIRACLE WORKER AROUND IN THOSE DAYS, OR BEFORE, OR AFTERWARD. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THAT PETER AND PAUL BOTH ARE DEPICTED AS WORKING MIRACLES IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. THEY BOTH EVEN RESUSCITATED DEAD PEOPLE. AND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE ARE PLENTY OF HEALINGS WHICH TAKE PLACE AT THE HANDS OF PROPHETS LIKE ELIJAH. SOME OF THE NON-JEWISH HISTORIANS WHO WROTE ABOUT JESUS' TIME DESCRIBED HIM AS A “WONDER WORKER” BUT USED THE SAME TERM TO DESCRIBE OTHER PEOPLE, BOTH JEWISH AND NOT JEWISH. IN THOSE DAYS BEING ABLE TO WORK A HEALING MIRACLE WOULD NOT PROVE THINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. AS THE PHARISEES SAID, “HE CASTS OUT DEMONS BY BEELZEBUB, THE PRINCE OF DEMONS.” WE MIGHT REALLY BE IMPRESSED TODAY BY A REAL MIRACLE, BUT IN THOSE TIMES, PROBABLY IT WAS NOT AS IMPRESSIVE.
SO IT ISN'T THE TEACHING, AND IT ISN'T THE MIRACLES THAT MAKE JESUS SPECIAL; WHAT IS IT? IT'S EXACTLY WHAT JOHN IS TALKING ABOUT IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THE GOSPEL ASSIGNED BY THE CHURCH FOR THE MASS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. NO ANGELS, NO STABLE AND MANGER, NO SHEPHERDS – JUST A KIND OF A DRY BLOCK OF THEOLOGY. BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MARVELOUS HERE.
KIERKEGAARD, THE GREAT DANISH PHILOSOPHER, TOLD A STORY ONCE. THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH A PEASANT GIRL AND WANTED TO MARRY HER. HE HAD ONLY SEEN HER FROM AFAR AND HEARD ABOUT HER THROUGH OTHER PEOPLE, BUT HAD NEVER SPOKEN TO HER HIMSELF. SO HE DECIDED TO SEND HIS SERVANTS TO BRING HER TO THE PALACE WHERE HE WOULD DECLARE HIS LOVE FOR HER AND TAKE HER AS HIS BRIDE. SURELY NO GIRL WOULD EVER SAY NO TO A GREAT KING. BUT THEN HE THOUGHT, “IF SHE SAYS YES, I'LL NEVER KNOW IF SHE LOVES ME FOR MYSELF.” SO HE DECIDED TO TAKE OFF HER ROBES AND CROWN AND DRESS UP AS A PEASANT, AND GO TO HER VILLAGE AND MEET HER. IF SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM. THEN HE WOULD KNOW IT WAS REAL. THEN HE THOUGHT A LITTLE MORE AND REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHO HE WAS, BUT WITH WHO HE WAS PRETENDING TO BE. FINALLY THE KING REALIZED WHAT HE HAD TO DO. HE GAVE UP HIS KINGDOM AND BECAME A PEASANT.
THAT IS WHAT MAKES JESUS UNIQUE AMONG ALL THE HUMAN BEINGS WHO EVER LIVED. HE IS HUMAN, JUST AS HUMAN AS YOU AND I. IT ISN'T A MASK OR A DISGUISE; IT ISN'T GOD IN A MEAT SUIT. THE KING HAD TO GIVE UP HIS KINGDOM TO BECOME A PEASANT SO THAT THE GIRL MIGHT FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. MIGHT, NOT WOULD. JESUS LIKEWISE BECOMES MAN IN THE HOPE, NOT CERTAINTY, THAT WE WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD.
THE GOSPEL SAYS THESE THINGS ABOUT JESUS:
JESUS IS THE WORD; HE IS GOD MADE UNDERSTANDABLE. JESUS SAID, “HE WHO SEES ME, SEES THE FATHER.”
JESUS IS THE LIGHT, THAT IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. IF WE FIX OUR GAZE ON JESUS, WE SEE HOW OUR LIVES MAKE SENSE, HOW OUR PLEASURES AND PAINS, EVEN OUR DEATHS, HAVE MEANING. BUT NO ONE HAS TO LOOK AT JESUS.
JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF GLORY. GLORY IS A WORD THAT MOST OF US DON'T GIVE A THOUGHT AS TO ITS MEANING. WE TALK ABOUT THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT ALSO THE GLORY OF A SPRING MORNING. BUT GLORY IS A QUALITY THAT WE PERCEIVE WITH A SUPERNATURAL SENSE, AND JOHN, WHO IS WRITING HIS GOSPEL A LONG TIME AFTER JESUS HAS DIED, HAS SEEN JESUS REFLECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE JOINED THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT. THAT IS WHAT CONVINCES JOHN OF JESUS' DIVINITY – THE FACT THAT JESUS SO CLEARLY LIVES ON IN THE LIVES OF HIS FOLLOWERS JUST AS LONG AGO HE PROMISED THAT HE AND HIS FATHER WOULD MAKE THEIR DWELLING IN THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIM.
JESUS IS FULL OF GRACE. GRACE IS NOT A THING, IT IS WHEN SOMEONE GIVES YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO. AND JOHN TRIES TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE HAS EXPERIENCED – MERCY, PEACE, JOY, THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF BEING LOVED UNCONDITIONALLY.
JESUS IS TRUTH. A FEW YEARS AGO PEOPLE WENT AROUND WITH BRACELETS AND TEE SHIRTS AND BUMPER STICKERS THAT HAD THE INITIALS WWJD ON THEM. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? THAT'S KIND OF TRIVIAL, BUT IT GETS AT HOW JESUS IS THE TRUTH. HE IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS. WE MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST HIM. IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE LIVE LIKE THIS. WE STUDY JESUS, WE IMITATE HIM, WE CONSCIOUSLY CHANGE OUR HABITS AND OUR BEHAVIOR TO BE LIKE HIM, SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH PAUL, “NOT I, BUT CHRIST IN ME”. AND WHEN WE REACH THAT STATE, AND WE CAN, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR FURTHER GROWTH, THAT IS WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE BORN AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT JOHN MEANS WHEN HE SAYS THAT JESUS GIVES THOSE WHO ACCEPT HIM THE POWER TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD.
SO THAT IS WHAT WE CELEBRATE TODAY – THAT THE GREAT KING FELL IN LOVE; NOT WITH A PEASANT GIRL, BUT HIS BELOVED WAS ABOUT AS UNLOVELY AS YOU COULD GET. BUT THE KING SAW WHAT HIS BELOVED COULD BECOME, IF SHE RESPONDED TO HIS LOVE, AND SO HE BECAME A HUMAN BEING IN THE HOPE THAT WHEN THE ONE HE LOVED COULD EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE FOR HER, SHE WOULD LOVE HIM BACK, AND HER LOVE WOULD MAKE HER BEAUTIFUL AND WORTHY OF BEING THE BRIDE OF THE GREAT KING. AND THE NAME OF HIS BRIDE IS THE CHURCH, AND SHE BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL THE MORE SHE LOVES HIM. AND JUST AS GOD CONCEIVED JESUS IN MARY, HE GIVES US WHO ARE MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH THE POWER TO BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle B
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, CYCLE B
LUKE 1:26-38
WE'VE REACHED THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, AND THE GOSPEL READING IS THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION. I THINK IF WE COULD LOOK IN EACH OTHER'S MINDS, THE SCENE WOULD BE AS IT IS DEPICTED IN SO MANY PAINTINGS; MARY IN HER ROOM, PRAYING, THE ANGEL WITH A WHITE ROBE AND WINGS STANDING BEFORE HER; MAYBE A BIRD IN THE AIR REPRESENTING THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE ANNUNCIATION HAS BEEN PORTRAYED OVER AND OVER AGAIN BY ARTISTS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. BUT THINK OF THIS; MARY DIDN'T HAVE HER OWN ROOM; IN THOSE DAYS MOST HOMES FOR THE LOWER CLASSES CONSISTED OF A SINGLE ROOM, AND THERE WAS NO LIGHT STREAMING INTO THE ROOM. AT NIGHT THE FAMILY ALL SLEPT IN THE ROOM, BUT DURING THE DAY EXCEPT IN REALLY AWFUL WEATHER, MOST OF LIFE TOOK PLACE OUTSIDE, IN THE COURTYARD. I DON'T THINK MARY WAS PRAYING WHEN THE ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. I THINK SHE WAS PROBABLY WORKING – DOING WHAT A TEENAGE GIRL WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, WHICH MEANT “WOMEN'S WORK.”
MARY WAS A CHILD OF HER TIME. HER PARENTS HAD ARRANGED WITH JOSEPH OR JOSEPH'S PARENTS THAT MARY WOULD BE MARRIED TO JOSEPH AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, USUALLY WHEN JOSEPH HAD BUILT A HOME AND DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD MAKE A LIVING. WHAT CONTACT THERE WAS BETWEEN JOSEPH AND MARY TOOK PLACE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE PARENTS; AND MARY FULLY EXPECTED, PERHAPS EVEN LOOKED FORWARD TO, TAKING ON THE ROLE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER. FOR A DAUGHTER OF ISRAEL, THAT WAS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED A CURSE NOT TO HAVE BORNE CHILDREN. MARY WAS GRATEFUL THAT HER OWN MOTHER WAS THERE TO TEACH HER HOW TO CARRY OUT THE DUTIES THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OF HER WHEN SHE BECAME THE MATRON OF A HOUSEHOLD.
IT'S IN THIS CONTEXT THAT MARY LEARNS THAT GOD HAS OTHER PLANS, AND IT IS WHY SHE WAS GREATLY TROUBLED. THE ANGEL GIVES HER A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE GOD HAS PLANNED FOR HER, A FUTURE THAT SHE CANNOT SEE HAPPENING. HOW CAN SHE, A PEASANT GIRL, EVER GIVE BIRTH TO A KING WHO WILL BE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND RULE FOREVER? CERTAINLY NOT IF SHE MARRIES JOSEPH. MARY, WHO IS NO DUMMY, CAN'T CONCEIVE OF ANY WAY WHAT THE ANGEL IS SAYING COULD EVER HAPPEN, AND AT THIS POINT IN HER LIFE SHE IS STILL A VIRGIN. A WEDDING DATE HAS NOT BEEN SET, AND PROBABLY SEEMED FAR OFF; AND THE ANGEL SPEAKS WITH SOME URGENCY, THAT THE MOMENT OF HER DECISION IS RIGHT NOW.
THE ANGEL TELLS HER THAT THIS WILL COME ABOUT THROUGH A MIRACLE. THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH OVERSHADOWING HER; MARY MUST HAVE REMEMBERED HOW GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE KNOWN TO THE ISRAELITES BY “OVERSHADOWING” THE ARK OF THE COVENANT; THE ISRAELITES KNEW THAT GOD WAS PRESENT WHEN A CLOUD DESCENDED ON THE ARK. MARY REMEMBERS THAT GOD HAS KEPT HIS PROMISES IN THE PAST. THE ANGEL SHOWS HER THAT GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN THE WORLD, THAT HER COUSIN, WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE BARREN, IS NOW PREGNANT AND IN HER SIXTH MONTH.
MARY AT THIS POINT HAS TO MAKE A DECISION. SHE IS FREE TO REJECT WHAT THE ANGEL PROPOSES AND CONTINUE ON WITH THE LIFE SHE HAD PLANNED, THE LIFE SHE HAD ALWAYS EXPECTED TO LIVE. OR SHE CAN ACCEPT THE ANGEL'S OFFER WITH ALL ITS UNCERTAINTY AND ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN GOING ON IN HER MIND. DOES SHE TRUST GOD? CAN SHE STEP OUT IN FAITH?
AND SHE DOES.
DO YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? YOU AND I GO THROUGH OUR OWN ANNUNCIATIONS. GOD HAS GIVEN US CERTAIN GIFTS, SOME SMALL, SOME LARGE; AND GOD CHOOSES US TO TAKE PART IN HIS PLAN. HE COMES TO US, WE DON'T GO TO HIM. I MAY THINK I COULD SERVE GOD REALLY WELL BY USING A PARTICULAR TALENT THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BUT GOD COMES TO ME AND ASKS ME TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, MAYBE EVEN SOMETHING THAT I WOULD RATHER NOT DO. AND WHEN I HEAR GOD ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING, MY NATURAL REACTION IS TO BECOME GREATLY TROUBLED; BECAUSE HE IS ASKING ME SOMETHING THAT IS VERY HARD; TO GIVE UP WHAT I HAVE PLANNED AND DO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR ME. IT IS NO WONDER THAT MOST OF THE TIME GOD GETS A “NO” FROM US. NONE OF US LIKES HAVING OUR LIVES DISRUPTED AND OUR PLANS TRASHED.
AT THAT POINT GOD INVITES US TO LOOK BACK IN OUR PAST. IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE GOD'S HAND IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT; BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK, WE SEE, AS MARY SAW, THAT GOD DOES WORK IN OUR LIVES, AND IN OUR HISTORY. AND SEEING THAT HE IS THERE, THAT HE IS TRUSTWORTHY, THAT THERE IS NO REASON FOR FEAR, EVEN IF WHAT HE IS ASKING US TO DO IS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, MAYBE THEN WE CAN SAY, WITH MARY: “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”
I'VE HAD LITTLE ANNUNCIATIONS IN MY OWN LIFE, WHEN I'M PRETTY SURE GOD WAS INVITING ME TO STEP OUT OF MY LIFE INTO THE UNKNOWN – WHEN I GOT MARRIED; WHEN I GAVE UP A SAFE AND SECURE JOB IN BUFFALO TO COME HERE AND TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP; AND WHEN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MEDICAL CAREER I FELT CALLED TO BE A DEACON. IN THESE DECISIONS, I SAID, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER TIMES WHEN I'VE SAID, “NO, I'LL PASS, THANKS ANYWAY.” THANK HEAVEN GOD IS MERCIFUL AND DOESN'T GIVE UP ON ME OR ON YOU..
THINK OF YOUR OWN LIFE AN TRY TO SEE WHERE YOU'VE HAD AN ANNUNCIATION. AND WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT IT? IF YOU SAID YES, WONDERFUL. WAS GOD FAITHFUL WHEN YOU TOOK ON THE TASK HE GAVE YOU? BUT IF YOU SAID NO, EVEN THEN GOD DID NOT DESERT YOU, AND GOD PROBABLY CAME BACK AND ASKED YOU FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
THERE IS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT AN ANNUNCIATION – MARY'S, YOURS, MINE. AFTER MARY SAID “YES” THE ANGEL LEFT HER. ONE OF THE WAYS WE KNOW CHRIST IS BEING CONCEIVED IN US IS THAT WE EXPERIENCE A CERTAIN KIND OF LONELINESS, A BIT OF PAIN, JUST AS MARY DID WHEN JOSEPH AND HER OWN FAMILY LEARNED OF HER PREGNANCY. BECAUSE WHEN GOD ASKS US TO BECOME DISCIPLES, TO FOLLOW HIS PLAN INSTEAD OF OUR OWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE OFTEN AFFECTED AND THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE, AND OFTEN PUT UP BARRIERS. WHEN THE ANGEL LEFT MARY, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE TIME IN HER LIFE WHEN SHE TRULY FELT SHE WAS “BLESSED AMONG WOMEN” BECAUSE FROM THEN ON THERE ARE FEW CONSOLATIONS AND MANY SAD DAYS, UNTIL THE RESURRECTION; AND EVEN THEN THE CHILD THAT SHE LOVED FROM THE BEGINNING IS TAKEN FROM HER. FAITHFUL DISCIPLES MIGHT NEVER SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SAYING YES TO GOD UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE. BUT THEN, THAT'S WHAT FAITH MEANS.
LUKE 1:26-38
WE'VE REACHED THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, AND THE GOSPEL READING IS THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION. I THINK IF WE COULD LOOK IN EACH OTHER'S MINDS, THE SCENE WOULD BE AS IT IS DEPICTED IN SO MANY PAINTINGS; MARY IN HER ROOM, PRAYING, THE ANGEL WITH A WHITE ROBE AND WINGS STANDING BEFORE HER; MAYBE A BIRD IN THE AIR REPRESENTING THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE ANNUNCIATION HAS BEEN PORTRAYED OVER AND OVER AGAIN BY ARTISTS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. BUT THINK OF THIS; MARY DIDN'T HAVE HER OWN ROOM; IN THOSE DAYS MOST HOMES FOR THE LOWER CLASSES CONSISTED OF A SINGLE ROOM, AND THERE WAS NO LIGHT STREAMING INTO THE ROOM. AT NIGHT THE FAMILY ALL SLEPT IN THE ROOM, BUT DURING THE DAY EXCEPT IN REALLY AWFUL WEATHER, MOST OF LIFE TOOK PLACE OUTSIDE, IN THE COURTYARD. I DON'T THINK MARY WAS PRAYING WHEN THE ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. I THINK SHE WAS PROBABLY WORKING – DOING WHAT A TEENAGE GIRL WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, WHICH MEANT “WOMEN'S WORK.”
MARY WAS A CHILD OF HER TIME. HER PARENTS HAD ARRANGED WITH JOSEPH OR JOSEPH'S PARENTS THAT MARY WOULD BE MARRIED TO JOSEPH AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, USUALLY WHEN JOSEPH HAD BUILT A HOME AND DEMONSTRATED THAT HE COULD MAKE A LIVING. WHAT CONTACT THERE WAS BETWEEN JOSEPH AND MARY TOOK PLACE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE PARENTS; AND MARY FULLY EXPECTED, PERHAPS EVEN LOOKED FORWARD TO, TAKING ON THE ROLE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER. FOR A DAUGHTER OF ISRAEL, THAT WAS THE HIGHEST ASPIRATION, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED A CURSE NOT TO HAVE BORNE CHILDREN. MARY WAS GRATEFUL THAT HER OWN MOTHER WAS THERE TO TEACH HER HOW TO CARRY OUT THE DUTIES THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED OF HER WHEN SHE BECAME THE MATRON OF A HOUSEHOLD.
IT'S IN THIS CONTEXT THAT MARY LEARNS THAT GOD HAS OTHER PLANS, AND IT IS WHY SHE WAS GREATLY TROUBLED. THE ANGEL GIVES HER A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE GOD HAS PLANNED FOR HER, A FUTURE THAT SHE CANNOT SEE HAPPENING. HOW CAN SHE, A PEASANT GIRL, EVER GIVE BIRTH TO A KING WHO WILL BE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND RULE FOREVER? CERTAINLY NOT IF SHE MARRIES JOSEPH. MARY, WHO IS NO DUMMY, CAN'T CONCEIVE OF ANY WAY WHAT THE ANGEL IS SAYING COULD EVER HAPPEN, AND AT THIS POINT IN HER LIFE SHE IS STILL A VIRGIN. A WEDDING DATE HAS NOT BEEN SET, AND PROBABLY SEEMED FAR OFF; AND THE ANGEL SPEAKS WITH SOME URGENCY, THAT THE MOMENT OF HER DECISION IS RIGHT NOW.
THE ANGEL TELLS HER THAT THIS WILL COME ABOUT THROUGH A MIRACLE. THE ANGEL SPEAKS OF THE POWER OF THE MOST HIGH OVERSHADOWING HER; MARY MUST HAVE REMEMBERED HOW GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE KNOWN TO THE ISRAELITES BY “OVERSHADOWING” THE ARK OF THE COVENANT; THE ISRAELITES KNEW THAT GOD WAS PRESENT WHEN A CLOUD DESCENDED ON THE ARK. MARY REMEMBERS THAT GOD HAS KEPT HIS PROMISES IN THE PAST. THE ANGEL SHOWS HER THAT GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN THE WORLD, THAT HER COUSIN, WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE BARREN, IS NOW PREGNANT AND IN HER SIXTH MONTH.
MARY AT THIS POINT HAS TO MAKE A DECISION. SHE IS FREE TO REJECT WHAT THE ANGEL PROPOSES AND CONTINUE ON WITH THE LIFE SHE HAD PLANNED, THE LIFE SHE HAD ALWAYS EXPECTED TO LIVE. OR SHE CAN ACCEPT THE ANGEL'S OFFER WITH ALL ITS UNCERTAINTY AND ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN GOING ON IN HER MIND. DOES SHE TRUST GOD? CAN SHE STEP OUT IN FAITH?
AND SHE DOES.
DO YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE? YOU AND I GO THROUGH OUR OWN ANNUNCIATIONS. GOD HAS GIVEN US CERTAIN GIFTS, SOME SMALL, SOME LARGE; AND GOD CHOOSES US TO TAKE PART IN HIS PLAN. HE COMES TO US, WE DON'T GO TO HIM. I MAY THINK I COULD SERVE GOD REALLY WELL BY USING A PARTICULAR TALENT THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN, BUT GOD COMES TO ME AND ASKS ME TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, MAYBE EVEN SOMETHING THAT I WOULD RATHER NOT DO. AND WHEN I HEAR GOD ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING, MY NATURAL REACTION IS TO BECOME GREATLY TROUBLED; BECAUSE HE IS ASKING ME SOMETHING THAT IS VERY HARD; TO GIVE UP WHAT I HAVE PLANNED AND DO WHAT HE HAS PLANNED FOR ME. IT IS NO WONDER THAT MOST OF THE TIME GOD GETS A “NO” FROM US. NONE OF US LIKES HAVING OUR LIVES DISRUPTED AND OUR PLANS TRASHED.
AT THAT POINT GOD INVITES US TO LOOK BACK IN OUR PAST. IT'S VERY HARD TO SEE GOD'S HAND IN OUR PRESENT MOMENT; BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK, WE SEE, AS MARY SAW, THAT GOD DOES WORK IN OUR LIVES, AND IN OUR HISTORY. AND SEEING THAT HE IS THERE, THAT HE IS TRUSTWORTHY, THAT THERE IS NO REASON FOR FEAR, EVEN IF WHAT HE IS ASKING US TO DO IS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, MAYBE THEN WE CAN SAY, WITH MARY: “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”
I'VE HAD LITTLE ANNUNCIATIONS IN MY OWN LIFE, WHEN I'M PRETTY SURE GOD WAS INVITING ME TO STEP OUT OF MY LIFE INTO THE UNKNOWN – WHEN I GOT MARRIED; WHEN I GAVE UP A SAFE AND SECURE JOB IN BUFFALO TO COME HERE AND TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A NEW PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP; AND WHEN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY MEDICAL CAREER I FELT CALLED TO BE A DEACON. IN THESE DECISIONS, I SAID, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” BUT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER TIMES WHEN I'VE SAID, “NO, I'LL PASS, THANKS ANYWAY.” THANK HEAVEN GOD IS MERCIFUL AND DOESN'T GIVE UP ON ME OR ON YOU..
THINK OF YOUR OWN LIFE AN TRY TO SEE WHERE YOU'VE HAD AN ANNUNCIATION. AND WHAT DID YOU DO ABOUT IT? IF YOU SAID YES, WONDERFUL. WAS GOD FAITHFUL WHEN YOU TOOK ON THE TASK HE GAVE YOU? BUT IF YOU SAID NO, EVEN THEN GOD DID NOT DESERT YOU, AND GOD PROBABLY CAME BACK AND ASKED YOU FOR SOMETHING ELSE.
THERE IS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT AN ANNUNCIATION – MARY'S, YOURS, MINE. AFTER MARY SAID “YES” THE ANGEL LEFT HER. ONE OF THE WAYS WE KNOW CHRIST IS BEING CONCEIVED IN US IS THAT WE EXPERIENCE A CERTAIN KIND OF LONELINESS, A BIT OF PAIN, JUST AS MARY DID WHEN JOSEPH AND HER OWN FAMILY LEARNED OF HER PREGNANCY. BECAUSE WHEN GOD ASKS US TO BECOME DISCIPLES, TO FOLLOW HIS PLAN INSTEAD OF OUR OWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE OFTEN AFFECTED AND THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE, AND OFTEN PUT UP BARRIERS. WHEN THE ANGEL LEFT MARY, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE ONE TIME IN HER LIFE WHEN SHE TRULY FELT SHE WAS “BLESSED AMONG WOMEN” BECAUSE FROM THEN ON THERE ARE FEW CONSOLATIONS AND MANY SAD DAYS, UNTIL THE RESURRECTION; AND EVEN THEN THE CHILD THAT SHE LOVED FROM THE BEGINNING IS TAKEN FROM HER. FAITHFUL DISCIPLES MIGHT NEVER SEE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR SAYING YES TO GOD UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE. BUT THEN, THAT'S WHAT FAITH MEANS.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Third Sunday of Advent, cycle B
JOHN 1:6-8, 19-28
DID YOU NOTICE IN THIS GOSPEL READING THERE IS SOMETHING THAT JUST COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED THE WAY JOHN DESCRIBES IT? PROBABLY NOT, UNLESS YOU ARE A BIBLE GEEK, LIKE ME. THE POINT IS THAT PRIESTS AND LEVITES, WHO WERE THE BIG WHEELS IN THE JEWISH RELIGION, WOULD NEVER HAVE “BEEN SENT” BY THE PHARISEES. THE PHARISEES WERE LAY PEOPLE, WHO IN THE TIME OF JESUS REALLY DIDN'T HAVE THE KIND OF POWER THEY WERE TO ACQUIRE LATER, WHEN JOHN WROTE HIS GOSPEL – ALMOST SIXTY YEARS AFTER JESUS HAD BEEN PUT TO DEATH, AND ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM HAD BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED. AND WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, THE CENTER OF JEWISH WORSHIP, THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES NO LONGER HAD A PLACE TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES, AND THE PRIESTHOOD DIED OUT. THE PRIESTHOOD WAS HEREDITARY, AND JEWS BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE “COHEN” AS THEIR LAST NAME ARE DESCENDED FROM THE PRIESTLY CLASS, SINCE THAT WORD MEANS “PRIEST” IN HEBREW.
SO WHEN JOHN WAS WRITING HIS GOSPEL, HE WAS LIVING IN A TIME WHEN THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS RE-FORMING ITSELF; THE PHARISEES, WHO KNEW THE LAW BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, BEGAN TO TAKE THE ROLE OF LEADERS AND THE TITLE OF “RABBI” OR TEACHER. MODERN JUDAISM BEGAN ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS CHRISTIANITY.
AND WHEN JOHN WAS WRITING HIS GOSPEL RABBINICAL JUDAISM WAS THE MAIN COMPETITOR TO CHRISTIANITY. AND THE RABBIS HAD DECISIVELY REJECTED ANY CLAIM THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS THE SON OF GOD, OR EVEN A PROPHET; AS THE RABBIS POINTED OUT, THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY SAYS, “CURSED IS THE ONE WHO IS HANGED ON A TREE” – JESUS WAS HANGED ON A TREE, SO HE COULDN'T BE THE MESSIAH, OR FOR THAT MATTER, ANYONE WHO CLAIMED TO BE IN GOD'S FAVOR.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE REASON JOHN'S GOSPEL IS SO HARD ON THE PHARISEES, WHOM HE EQUATES WITH “THE JEWS”. AND OF COURSE BECAUSE OF JOHN'S GOSPEL WE'VE HAD 2000 YEARS OF ANTI-SEMITISM ON THE PART OF CHRISTIANITY, AND IT STILL GOES ON TODAY.
BUT OBJECTIVELY THE PHARISEES WERE THE BEST OF THE JEWS; THEY LIVED THE LAW, NOT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THIS WAS WHAT YOU HAD TO DO TO BE SAVED, BUT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THAT THE JEWS HAD BEEN GIVEN THE LAW BY GOD AS A SPECIAL GRACE, AND TO CARRY OUT THE LAW AS WELL AS POSSIBLE WAS THEIR DUTY AND THEIR PRIVILEGE.
JOHN IS DIVINELY INSPIRED WHEN HE WRITES HIS GOSPEL, BUT HE IS AN OLD MAN, AND HE IS FRUSTRATED AND UPSET WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE, WHO SEEM TO BE DELIBERATELY REJECTING WHAT IS SO EVIDENT TO JOHN. AND WHEN HE WRITES THIS PASSAGE THAT YOU HAVE JUST HEARD, HE IS THINKING OF THE PHARISEES WHEN HE SAYS, “THERE IS ONE AMONG YOU WHOM YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE.” JESUS WALKED AMONG THEM, TALKED TO THEM, ATE WITH THEM. THE PHARISEES KNEW JESUS PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANY OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE. THEY WENT TO THE TROUBLE OF TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER HE WAS REALLY SENT FROM GOD OR JUST ANOTHER IMPOSTER. THEY TESTED HIM OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND SOME WERE CONVERTED – SIMON, NICODEMUS; PROBABLY MANY WHO AREN'T NAMED IN SCRIPTURE. SAINT PAUL ADMITS TO BEING A PHARISEE, AND A REALLY GOOD ONE AT THAT. BUT MOST CONCLUDED THAT JESUS WAS NOT THE ONE THEY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR, THE ONE WHO WOULD BE A REASON TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES.
FLASH FORWARD 2000 YEARS. WE LOOK AT THOSE PHARISEES THROUGH JOHN'S EYES AND WONDER, HOW COULD THEY BE SO BLIND? BUT HOW MANY OF US ARE PHARISEES? HOW MANY OF US HAVE CHANGED OUR LIVES, HAVE CONTINUED TO CHANGE OUR LIVES, BECAUSE JESUS IS AMONG US? BECAUSE HE IS. HE PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BE WITH US, THAT HE WOULD COME AND MAKE HIS DWELLING WITH US, THAT HE WOULD BE THERE WHEN TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN HIS NAME.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD?” SAINT PAUL TELLS US: REJOICE, PRAY, GIVE THANKS, DO NOT DESPISE PROPHETIC UTTERANCES, TEST ALL THINGS AND KEEP WHAT IS GOOD, AND REFRAIN FROM EVERY KIND OF EVIL. IF YOU AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS AMONG US, THAT GOD HAS BECOME MAN SO THAT MAN CAN BECOME LIKE GOD, WE WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH PAUL'S PRESCRIPTION. HOW COULD WE NOT REJOICE? HOW COULD WE NOT GIVE THANKS? AND IF JESUS IS AMONG US, HOW COULD WE NOT NOTICE HIM, SPEAK TO HIM, LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAS TO SAY – AND THAT IS ALL THAT PRAYER IS.
AND PROPHECY: IT DOESN'T MEAN PREDICTING THE FUTURE. PROPHECY IS WHEN PEOPLE TELL IT LIKE IT IS. SAINT PAUL SAYS THAT WE SHOULD TEST THE VOICES THAT SWIRL AROUND US, THAT TELLS US WHAT TO BELIEVE AND WHAT TO HATE – AND HE TELLS US THAT WE CAN TRUST OURSELVES TO TELL WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS NOT. AND HE TELLS US TO REFRAIN FROM EVERY KIND OF EVIL. EVIL IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF MISREADING WHAT IS REAL. MOST OF THE TIME IT COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE FALSELY BELIEVE THAT OUR CONCERNS, OUR DESIRES, OUR AMBITIONS TAKE PRECEDENCE. SOMETIMES EVIL COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE ARE TIMID OR AFRAID. WE MAY FEAR SOMEONE'S ANGER OR DISAPPROVAL; WE MAY FEAR BEING THE OBJECT OF RIDICULE. OR EVIL COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH TO SOMEONE ELSE. AND THERE ARE MORE EVILS OUT THERE, AND THE BEST WAY TO AVOID EVIL IS TO RECOGNIZE REALITY, TO RECOGNIZE THAT GOD'S WILL IS ALL THAT MATTERS AND TO ACT ACCORDINGLY.
PAUL TELLS US HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF OUR LORD, HOW TO MAKE STRAIGHT HIS PATHS. LONG AGO PAUL AND JOHN THE BAPTIST GAVE THE SAME MESSAGE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, WHO DELIGHTED IN KEEPING EVERY ONE OF THE LAWS GOD HAD GIVEN THEM – NOT JUST LAWS ABOUT WHAT TO EAT AND WHAT TO WEAR, BUT LAWS ABOUT HOW TO TREAT WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, HOW DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE GENTILES, HOW TO PRAY, HOW TO WORSHIP, AND HOW TO STRUGGLE WITH YOURSELF IN ORDER TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON. THE PHARISEES WERE GOOD PEOPLE, JUST LIKE YOU AND I ARE, HOPEFULLY. BUT THEY DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE ONE WHO WAS AMONG THEM, AND THEY DIDN'T PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH. LET US NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE; LET US RECOGNIZE THAT HE IS WITH US, HE IS COMING TO US, AND HE CALLS ON US TO REJOICE.
DID YOU NOTICE IN THIS GOSPEL READING THERE IS SOMETHING THAT JUST COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED THE WAY JOHN DESCRIBES IT? PROBABLY NOT, UNLESS YOU ARE A BIBLE GEEK, LIKE ME. THE POINT IS THAT PRIESTS AND LEVITES, WHO WERE THE BIG WHEELS IN THE JEWISH RELIGION, WOULD NEVER HAVE “BEEN SENT” BY THE PHARISEES. THE PHARISEES WERE LAY PEOPLE, WHO IN THE TIME OF JESUS REALLY DIDN'T HAVE THE KIND OF POWER THEY WERE TO ACQUIRE LATER, WHEN JOHN WROTE HIS GOSPEL – ALMOST SIXTY YEARS AFTER JESUS HAD BEEN PUT TO DEATH, AND ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM HAD BEEN TOTALLY DESTROYED. AND WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, THE CENTER OF JEWISH WORSHIP, THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES NO LONGER HAD A PLACE TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES, AND THE PRIESTHOOD DIED OUT. THE PRIESTHOOD WAS HEREDITARY, AND JEWS BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE “COHEN” AS THEIR LAST NAME ARE DESCENDED FROM THE PRIESTLY CLASS, SINCE THAT WORD MEANS “PRIEST” IN HEBREW.
SO WHEN JOHN WAS WRITING HIS GOSPEL, HE WAS LIVING IN A TIME WHEN THE JEWISH RELIGION WAS RE-FORMING ITSELF; THE PHARISEES, WHO KNEW THE LAW BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, BEGAN TO TAKE THE ROLE OF LEADERS AND THE TITLE OF “RABBI” OR TEACHER. MODERN JUDAISM BEGAN ABOUT THE SAME TIME AS CHRISTIANITY.
AND WHEN JOHN WAS WRITING HIS GOSPEL RABBINICAL JUDAISM WAS THE MAIN COMPETITOR TO CHRISTIANITY. AND THE RABBIS HAD DECISIVELY REJECTED ANY CLAIM THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS THE SON OF GOD, OR EVEN A PROPHET; AS THE RABBIS POINTED OUT, THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY SAYS, “CURSED IS THE ONE WHO IS HANGED ON A TREE” – JESUS WAS HANGED ON A TREE, SO HE COULDN'T BE THE MESSIAH, OR FOR THAT MATTER, ANYONE WHO CLAIMED TO BE IN GOD'S FAVOR.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE REASON JOHN'S GOSPEL IS SO HARD ON THE PHARISEES, WHOM HE EQUATES WITH “THE JEWS”. AND OF COURSE BECAUSE OF JOHN'S GOSPEL WE'VE HAD 2000 YEARS OF ANTI-SEMITISM ON THE PART OF CHRISTIANITY, AND IT STILL GOES ON TODAY.
BUT OBJECTIVELY THE PHARISEES WERE THE BEST OF THE JEWS; THEY LIVED THE LAW, NOT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THIS WAS WHAT YOU HAD TO DO TO BE SAVED, BUT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THAT THE JEWS HAD BEEN GIVEN THE LAW BY GOD AS A SPECIAL GRACE, AND TO CARRY OUT THE LAW AS WELL AS POSSIBLE WAS THEIR DUTY AND THEIR PRIVILEGE.
JOHN IS DIVINELY INSPIRED WHEN HE WRITES HIS GOSPEL, BUT HE IS AN OLD MAN, AND HE IS FRUSTRATED AND UPSET WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE, WHO SEEM TO BE DELIBERATELY REJECTING WHAT IS SO EVIDENT TO JOHN. AND WHEN HE WRITES THIS PASSAGE THAT YOU HAVE JUST HEARD, HE IS THINKING OF THE PHARISEES WHEN HE SAYS, “THERE IS ONE AMONG YOU WHOM YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE.” JESUS WALKED AMONG THEM, TALKED TO THEM, ATE WITH THEM. THE PHARISEES KNEW JESUS PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANY OTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE. THEY WENT TO THE TROUBLE OF TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER HE WAS REALLY SENT FROM GOD OR JUST ANOTHER IMPOSTER. THEY TESTED HIM OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND SOME WERE CONVERTED – SIMON, NICODEMUS; PROBABLY MANY WHO AREN'T NAMED IN SCRIPTURE. SAINT PAUL ADMITS TO BEING A PHARISEE, AND A REALLY GOOD ONE AT THAT. BUT MOST CONCLUDED THAT JESUS WAS NOT THE ONE THEY HAD BEEN WAITING FOR, THE ONE WHO WOULD BE A REASON TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES.
FLASH FORWARD 2000 YEARS. WE LOOK AT THOSE PHARISEES THROUGH JOHN'S EYES AND WONDER, HOW COULD THEY BE SO BLIND? BUT HOW MANY OF US ARE PHARISEES? HOW MANY OF US HAVE CHANGED OUR LIVES, HAVE CONTINUED TO CHANGE OUR LIVES, BECAUSE JESUS IS AMONG US? BECAUSE HE IS. HE PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BE WITH US, THAT HE WOULD COME AND MAKE HIS DWELLING WITH US, THAT HE WOULD BE THERE WHEN TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN HIS NAME.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD?” SAINT PAUL TELLS US: REJOICE, PRAY, GIVE THANKS, DO NOT DESPISE PROPHETIC UTTERANCES, TEST ALL THINGS AND KEEP WHAT IS GOOD, AND REFRAIN FROM EVERY KIND OF EVIL. IF YOU AND I REALLY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS AMONG US, THAT GOD HAS BECOME MAN SO THAT MAN CAN BECOME LIKE GOD, WE WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH PAUL'S PRESCRIPTION. HOW COULD WE NOT REJOICE? HOW COULD WE NOT GIVE THANKS? AND IF JESUS IS AMONG US, HOW COULD WE NOT NOTICE HIM, SPEAK TO HIM, LISTEN TO WHAT HE HAS TO SAY – AND THAT IS ALL THAT PRAYER IS.
AND PROPHECY: IT DOESN'T MEAN PREDICTING THE FUTURE. PROPHECY IS WHEN PEOPLE TELL IT LIKE IT IS. SAINT PAUL SAYS THAT WE SHOULD TEST THE VOICES THAT SWIRL AROUND US, THAT TELLS US WHAT TO BELIEVE AND WHAT TO HATE – AND HE TELLS US THAT WE CAN TRUST OURSELVES TO TELL WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS NOT. AND HE TELLS US TO REFRAIN FROM EVERY KIND OF EVIL. EVIL IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF MISREADING WHAT IS REAL. MOST OF THE TIME IT COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE FALSELY BELIEVE THAT OUR CONCERNS, OUR DESIRES, OUR AMBITIONS TAKE PRECEDENCE. SOMETIMES EVIL COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE ARE TIMID OR AFRAID. WE MAY FEAR SOMEONE'S ANGER OR DISAPPROVAL; WE MAY FEAR BEING THE OBJECT OF RIDICULE. OR EVIL COMES ABOUT BECAUSE WE ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH TO SOMEONE ELSE. AND THERE ARE MORE EVILS OUT THERE, AND THE BEST WAY TO AVOID EVIL IS TO RECOGNIZE REALITY, TO RECOGNIZE THAT GOD'S WILL IS ALL THAT MATTERS AND TO ACT ACCORDINGLY.
PAUL TELLS US HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF OUR LORD, HOW TO MAKE STRAIGHT HIS PATHS. LONG AGO PAUL AND JOHN THE BAPTIST GAVE THE SAME MESSAGE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, WHO DELIGHTED IN KEEPING EVERY ONE OF THE LAWS GOD HAD GIVEN THEM – NOT JUST LAWS ABOUT WHAT TO EAT AND WHAT TO WEAR, BUT LAWS ABOUT HOW TO TREAT WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, HOW DEAL WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE GENTILES, HOW TO PRAY, HOW TO WORSHIP, AND HOW TO STRUGGLE WITH YOURSELF IN ORDER TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON. THE PHARISEES WERE GOOD PEOPLE, JUST LIKE YOU AND I ARE, HOPEFULLY. BUT THEY DIDN'T RECOGNIZE THE ONE WHO WAS AMONG THEM, AND THEY DIDN'T PREPARE FOR THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH. LET US NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE; LET US RECOGNIZE THAT HE IS WITH US, HE IS COMING TO US, AND HE CALLS ON US TO REJOICE.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Second Sunday of Advent, cycle B
MARK 1:1-8
JOHN THE BAPTIST IS A FASCINATING CHARACTER. THERE ARE SCHOLARS WHO THINK THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WERE ACTUALLY A RIVAL FAITH IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH, WHICH IS WHY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT JOHN IS ALWAYS PORTRAYED AS POINTING TO JESUS AS THE REAL MESSIAH. IN FACT, IF YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS, YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF THE YAZHIDI RELIGION IN IRAQ. THEY CONSIDER JOHN THE BAPTIST AS ONE OF THEIR PROPHETS, AND SOME BELIEVE THAT THEY MIGHT BE DESCENDANTS OF THE JOHN MOVEMENT IN EARLY TIMES.
AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL, I WAS DRAWN TO THE PICTURE THAT MARK PAINTS – A MAN DRESSED IN CAMEL HAIR GARMENTS WITH A LEATHER BELT; A MAN WHO EATS LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY. MARK, LIKE THE OTHER GOSPEL WRITERS, DOESN'T JUST SAY THINGS FOR NO REASON. NOW THE CAMEL HAIR SHIRT AND THE LEATHER BELT AREN'T A PROBLEM. THAT WAS THE SAME OUTFIT ELIJAH WORE – THE GREATEST OF THE JEWISH PROPHETS. BUT ELIJAH DID NOT EAT LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY. IN FACT, YOU CAN'T FIND ANYONE EATING THIS PECULIAR DIET IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT THEORIES ABOUT JOHN'S DIET. ONE IS THAT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, WE MISTRANSLATED THE GREEK WORD FOR BEANS TO THE ONE FOR LOCUSTS. THE GREEK WORD “AKRIS” MEANS LOCUST, AND “ENKRIS” MEANS BEAN CAKE. BUT IF JOHN ATE BEAN CAKES, A COMMON ENOUGH FOOD, WHY MENTION IT AT ALL? ANOTHER IDEA IS THAT LOCUSTS WERE ACTUALLY A DELICACY IN SOME PARTS OF THE NEAR EAST. IN FACT, THEY WERE COOKED AND PEELED KIND OF LIKE WE DO SHRIMP OR CRAYFISH. AND OF COURSE HONEY WAS A DELICACY AS WELL. SO SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN WAS DRESSED LIKE A WILD MAN, HIS DIET SHOWED THAT HE WAS STILL A MEMBER OF THE PRIESTLY CLASS – WHICH HE WOULD HAVE INHERITED FROM HIS FATHER. SO IN HIS ROLE HE COMBINES THE ROLE OF PRIEST – THE GUARDIAN OF THE RELIGION – AND THE PROPHET – THE ONE WHO ACTS AS A CORRECTIVE TO THE RELIGION. IN JOHN WE SEE THE TENSION IN THE OLD RELIGION IN ONE PERSON. BUT AGAIN, MARK MAKES SURE WE KNOW THE HONEY WAS WILD – NOT SOMETHING THE PRIESTLY CLASS WOULD EAT.
BUT THE INTERPRETATION I LIKE THE MOST IS THAT LOCUSTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT REPRESENT BAD THINGS. THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS THAT MOSES BROUGHT ON THE EGYPTIANS; THE COMPARISON OF FOREIGN ARMIES TO LOCUSTS BY THE PROPHETS – WHEN YOU MET A LOCUST, YOU KNEW THERE WAS TROUBLE; LOCUSTS MEANT UPHEAVAL, LOSS, PAIN, AND RUIN. WHEN JOHN EATS LOCUSTS, HE IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT LIFE, ANY LIFE, IS GOING TO HAVE THESE THINGS; THEY ARE INESCAPABLE. JOHN, AND YOU AND I, CANNOT HIDE FROM THEM, WE CANNOT DENY THEM WITH PLATITUDES LIKE “EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON” OR “GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS, EVEN IF THE ANSWER IS NO”. NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE MAKE, NO MATTER HOW GOOD OUR DOCTORS ARE, NO MATTER HOW PROTECTED WE ARE IN OUR HOME, COMMUNITY, OR COUNTRY, WE CAN NEVER FORGET THAT WE LIVE ON THE EDGE OF CHAOS, AND THAT NO MATTER WHAT, THE LOCUSTS WILL CATCH UP WITH US.
BUT FACING OUR WEAKNESS, OUR SIN, THE UNCERTAINTY OF OUR FUTURE, IS NOT ENOUGH. THERE IS THE HONEY AS WELL. THE ISRAELITES WERE PROMISED A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY. HONEY RECALLS GOD FULFILLING HIS PROMISE. BUT HONEY ALSO IS THE TASTE OF GOD'S WORD. WHEN EZEKIEL IS GIVEN THE SCROLL TO EAT AS HE BEGINS HIS PROPHETIC CAREER, HE NOTES THAT IT IS AS SWEET AS HONEY. IN ONE OF THE PSALMS IT SAYS GOD'S WORD IS LIKE HONEY ON THE TONGUE. HONEY HAS TO DO WITH GOD KEEPING HIS PROMISES, WITH GOD NOT ABANDONING US. IT HAS TO DO WITH OUR FAITH, FAITH THAT GOD IS REAL, THAT HE HEALS US AND CARES FOR US.
RECOGNIZING THE REALITY OF OUR LIVES, EATING THE LOCUSTS, IS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT IT ISN'T ENOUGH. IF THAT IS ALL, WE FALL INTO DESPAIR. BUT FAITH IS NOT ENOUGH EITHER. IF ALL WE HAVE IS FAITH, WE DON'T REALIZE THAT WE ARE SINNERS, THAT WE ARE BROKEN, THAT WE CAN'T FIX OURSELVES OR OUR WORLD WITHOUT HELP. IF ALL WE HAVE IS FAITH, WE DON'T SEE THAT WE NEED A SAVIOR.
SO ADVENT IS A TIME FOR US TO ADOPT THE DIET OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. IT IS A TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF OURSELVES, TO RECOGNIZE OUR SINFULNESS. SURE, MOST OF US PROBABLY AREN'T GUILTY OF MORTAL SIN. IN FACT THERE MAY BE A FEW OF US WHO COULD SAY HE OR SHE IS NOT GUILTY OF EVEN VENIAL SIN. BUT SIN IS BASICALLY THINKING AND DOING THINGS WHICH ARE IRRATIONAL, WHICH DON'T MAKE SENSE. IF I STUFF MYSELF ON THANKSGIVING (AND THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN THIS HAPPENED) AND I STILL EAT A SECOND PIECE OF PIE, WELL, THAT MAY NOT BE EVEN A VENIAL SIN, BUT IT IS IN THE CATEGORY OF SIN, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, AND I'LL PAY FOR IT IN SOME WAY. IF I LIGHT A CIGARETTE, IT MAY NOT BE EVEN A VENIAL SIN, BUT IT'S NOT RATIONAL, AND IT WILL CATCH UP WITH ME. IF I BROOD OVER SOMETHING SOMEONE DID TO ME A LONG TIME AGO, IT MAY NOT BE EVEN A LITTLE SIN, BUT IT WILL DETRACT FROM THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE, SO IT IS IRRATIONAL, IT IS STUPID, IT IS SIN.
ONCE WE TAKE STOCK OF EVERYTHING ABOUT OURSELVES THAT IS IRRATIONAL, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE BUT WE KEEP ON DOING IT ANYWAY, OR WE KEEP ON THINKING ABOUT IT EVEN THOUGH IT'S STUPID, OR IT HAPPENS TO US EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS SO UNFAIR, OUR FIRST REACTION IS ALMOST ONE OF DESPAIR – HOW FAR I AM FROM WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO BE. AND THAT'S WHAT BEING A SINNER IS ALL ABOUT. AND THAT IS WHERE THE HONEY COMES IN. BECAUSE THERE IS A GOD, A GOD WHO TAKES PITY ON US, AND BECOMES ONE OF US, AND LIVES OUR LIFE FOR US AND DIES FOR US, AND BECAUSE ONE OF US IS GOD, SIN AND DEATH CANNOT WIN IN THE END.
WE WEAR PURPLE VESTMENTS IN LENT BECAUSE PURPLE IS A SIGN OF PENANCE. LENT IS A TIME WHEN WE FAST, WHEN WE GIVE UP OUR PLEASURES AND REPENT OF OUR SINS. BUT THE PURPLE IN ADVENT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT IS THE THE PURPLE OF THE EARLIEST PART OF THE MORNING, WHEN THE SUN JUST BEGINS TO RISE, AND IF YOU ARE UP AT THAT TIME, IT IS JUST A MOMENT WHEN THE BLACK NIGHT TRANSITIONS TO DAWN. IT IS THE MOMENT WHEN WE REALIZE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER DAY.
DURING ADVENT, EAT LOCUSTS; REALIZE YOUR SINFULNESS. AND EAT HONEY, REALIZE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU ALL THAT YOU NEED – A SAVIOR.
JOHN THE BAPTIST IS A FASCINATING CHARACTER. THERE ARE SCHOLARS WHO THINK THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WERE ACTUALLY A RIVAL FAITH IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH, WHICH IS WHY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT JOHN IS ALWAYS PORTRAYED AS POINTING TO JESUS AS THE REAL MESSIAH. IN FACT, IF YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NEWS, YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF THE YAZHIDI RELIGION IN IRAQ. THEY CONSIDER JOHN THE BAPTIST AS ONE OF THEIR PROPHETS, AND SOME BELIEVE THAT THEY MIGHT BE DESCENDANTS OF THE JOHN MOVEMENT IN EARLY TIMES.
AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS GOSPEL, I WAS DRAWN TO THE PICTURE THAT MARK PAINTS – A MAN DRESSED IN CAMEL HAIR GARMENTS WITH A LEATHER BELT; A MAN WHO EATS LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY. MARK, LIKE THE OTHER GOSPEL WRITERS, DOESN'T JUST SAY THINGS FOR NO REASON. NOW THE CAMEL HAIR SHIRT AND THE LEATHER BELT AREN'T A PROBLEM. THAT WAS THE SAME OUTFIT ELIJAH WORE – THE GREATEST OF THE JEWISH PROPHETS. BUT ELIJAH DID NOT EAT LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY. IN FACT, YOU CAN'T FIND ANYONE EATING THIS PECULIAR DIET IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT THEORIES ABOUT JOHN'S DIET. ONE IS THAT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, WE MISTRANSLATED THE GREEK WORD FOR BEANS TO THE ONE FOR LOCUSTS. THE GREEK WORD “AKRIS” MEANS LOCUST, AND “ENKRIS” MEANS BEAN CAKE. BUT IF JOHN ATE BEAN CAKES, A COMMON ENOUGH FOOD, WHY MENTION IT AT ALL? ANOTHER IDEA IS THAT LOCUSTS WERE ACTUALLY A DELICACY IN SOME PARTS OF THE NEAR EAST. IN FACT, THEY WERE COOKED AND PEELED KIND OF LIKE WE DO SHRIMP OR CRAYFISH. AND OF COURSE HONEY WAS A DELICACY AS WELL. SO SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN WAS DRESSED LIKE A WILD MAN, HIS DIET SHOWED THAT HE WAS STILL A MEMBER OF THE PRIESTLY CLASS – WHICH HE WOULD HAVE INHERITED FROM HIS FATHER. SO IN HIS ROLE HE COMBINES THE ROLE OF PRIEST – THE GUARDIAN OF THE RELIGION – AND THE PROPHET – THE ONE WHO ACTS AS A CORRECTIVE TO THE RELIGION. IN JOHN WE SEE THE TENSION IN THE OLD RELIGION IN ONE PERSON. BUT AGAIN, MARK MAKES SURE WE KNOW THE HONEY WAS WILD – NOT SOMETHING THE PRIESTLY CLASS WOULD EAT.
BUT THE INTERPRETATION I LIKE THE MOST IS THAT LOCUSTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT REPRESENT BAD THINGS. THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS THAT MOSES BROUGHT ON THE EGYPTIANS; THE COMPARISON OF FOREIGN ARMIES TO LOCUSTS BY THE PROPHETS – WHEN YOU MET A LOCUST, YOU KNEW THERE WAS TROUBLE; LOCUSTS MEANT UPHEAVAL, LOSS, PAIN, AND RUIN. WHEN JOHN EATS LOCUSTS, HE IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT LIFE, ANY LIFE, IS GOING TO HAVE THESE THINGS; THEY ARE INESCAPABLE. JOHN, AND YOU AND I, CANNOT HIDE FROM THEM, WE CANNOT DENY THEM WITH PLATITUDES LIKE “EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON” OR “GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS, EVEN IF THE ANSWER IS NO”. NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE MAKE, NO MATTER HOW GOOD OUR DOCTORS ARE, NO MATTER HOW PROTECTED WE ARE IN OUR HOME, COMMUNITY, OR COUNTRY, WE CAN NEVER FORGET THAT WE LIVE ON THE EDGE OF CHAOS, AND THAT NO MATTER WHAT, THE LOCUSTS WILL CATCH UP WITH US.
BUT FACING OUR WEAKNESS, OUR SIN, THE UNCERTAINTY OF OUR FUTURE, IS NOT ENOUGH. THERE IS THE HONEY AS WELL. THE ISRAELITES WERE PROMISED A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY. HONEY RECALLS GOD FULFILLING HIS PROMISE. BUT HONEY ALSO IS THE TASTE OF GOD'S WORD. WHEN EZEKIEL IS GIVEN THE SCROLL TO EAT AS HE BEGINS HIS PROPHETIC CAREER, HE NOTES THAT IT IS AS SWEET AS HONEY. IN ONE OF THE PSALMS IT SAYS GOD'S WORD IS LIKE HONEY ON THE TONGUE. HONEY HAS TO DO WITH GOD KEEPING HIS PROMISES, WITH GOD NOT ABANDONING US. IT HAS TO DO WITH OUR FAITH, FAITH THAT GOD IS REAL, THAT HE HEALS US AND CARES FOR US.
RECOGNIZING THE REALITY OF OUR LIVES, EATING THE LOCUSTS, IS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT IT ISN'T ENOUGH. IF THAT IS ALL, WE FALL INTO DESPAIR. BUT FAITH IS NOT ENOUGH EITHER. IF ALL WE HAVE IS FAITH, WE DON'T REALIZE THAT WE ARE SINNERS, THAT WE ARE BROKEN, THAT WE CAN'T FIX OURSELVES OR OUR WORLD WITHOUT HELP. IF ALL WE HAVE IS FAITH, WE DON'T SEE THAT WE NEED A SAVIOR.
SO ADVENT IS A TIME FOR US TO ADOPT THE DIET OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. IT IS A TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF OURSELVES, TO RECOGNIZE OUR SINFULNESS. SURE, MOST OF US PROBABLY AREN'T GUILTY OF MORTAL SIN. IN FACT THERE MAY BE A FEW OF US WHO COULD SAY HE OR SHE IS NOT GUILTY OF EVEN VENIAL SIN. BUT SIN IS BASICALLY THINKING AND DOING THINGS WHICH ARE IRRATIONAL, WHICH DON'T MAKE SENSE. IF I STUFF MYSELF ON THANKSGIVING (AND THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN THIS HAPPENED) AND I STILL EAT A SECOND PIECE OF PIE, WELL, THAT MAY NOT BE EVEN A VENIAL SIN, BUT IT IS IN THE CATEGORY OF SIN, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, AND I'LL PAY FOR IT IN SOME WAY. IF I LIGHT A CIGARETTE, IT MAY NOT BE EVEN A VENIAL SIN, BUT IT'S NOT RATIONAL, AND IT WILL CATCH UP WITH ME. IF I BROOD OVER SOMETHING SOMEONE DID TO ME A LONG TIME AGO, IT MAY NOT BE EVEN A LITTLE SIN, BUT IT WILL DETRACT FROM THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE, SO IT IS IRRATIONAL, IT IS STUPID, IT IS SIN.
ONCE WE TAKE STOCK OF EVERYTHING ABOUT OURSELVES THAT IS IRRATIONAL, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE BUT WE KEEP ON DOING IT ANYWAY, OR WE KEEP ON THINKING ABOUT IT EVEN THOUGH IT'S STUPID, OR IT HAPPENS TO US EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS SO UNFAIR, OUR FIRST REACTION IS ALMOST ONE OF DESPAIR – HOW FAR I AM FROM WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO BE. AND THAT'S WHAT BEING A SINNER IS ALL ABOUT. AND THAT IS WHERE THE HONEY COMES IN. BECAUSE THERE IS A GOD, A GOD WHO TAKES PITY ON US, AND BECOMES ONE OF US, AND LIVES OUR LIFE FOR US AND DIES FOR US, AND BECAUSE ONE OF US IS GOD, SIN AND DEATH CANNOT WIN IN THE END.
WE WEAR PURPLE VESTMENTS IN LENT BECAUSE PURPLE IS A SIGN OF PENANCE. LENT IS A TIME WHEN WE FAST, WHEN WE GIVE UP OUR PLEASURES AND REPENT OF OUR SINS. BUT THE PURPLE IN ADVENT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT IS THE THE PURPLE OF THE EARLIEST PART OF THE MORNING, WHEN THE SUN JUST BEGINS TO RISE, AND IF YOU ARE UP AT THAT TIME, IT IS JUST A MOMENT WHEN THE BLACK NIGHT TRANSITIONS TO DAWN. IT IS THE MOMENT WHEN WE REALIZE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER DAY.
DURING ADVENT, EAT LOCUSTS; REALIZE YOUR SINFULNESS. AND EAT HONEY, REALIZE THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU ALL THAT YOU NEED – A SAVIOR.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
