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Is 2:1-5. The happy future promised by God is not just for
Jerusalem, or for the fortunate, the healthy and the wealthy in our
society, but for all who seek the truth and who work for peace.
Rom 13:11-14. We can "wake from sleep" and "put
on the armor of light" during this Advent season, if we resolve
to live closer to the mind of Christ, and let him come more fully
into our hearts.
Mt 24:37-44. We must accept the gifts and challenges each day
brings, while trying to make ready for the day when Christ will come
for the final judgment.
Theme:
"Many shall stream to God's house" says the prophecy. This
will come true when every heart is inspired by the message of Christ,
and we are ready to welcome him when he returns to judge the earth.
For the Homily
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem.
In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall
be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised
above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate
for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and
their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers."
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you."
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now
the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to
us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day
is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the
armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling
and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling
and jealousy.
Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming
of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and
swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one
will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day
your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house
had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would
have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at
an unexpected hour.
We pray:
- that we may welcome Christ into our lives this Christmas.
- that he will give a clear sense of direction to our
lives.
- that we may make ourselves ready for "the day
of the Lord."
-
that his coming will
bring joy and peace to our world.
1st Advent Sunday,
Year B
(Is 63:16-17,19, 64:1, 3-8 - 1 Cor 1:3-9
- Mk 13:33-37)
Introduction: The liturgy begins and ends its year
with a reflection on death. The significance of death at the beginning
of the year may not be immediately evident. What is death, an end
or a beginning? Is it, as the world thinks, obsolescence, or as the
Christian believes, a new birth? We could hardly make a better beginning
to the liturgical year than by placing our lives in this perspective.
If ever a Gospel had a wake up call it is today's.
Wake up, Jesus tells us at the beginning of the liturgical year and
the first Sunday of a preparation for Christmas. Good things are about
to happen. The Master is returning. There'll be a big celebration.
Don't miss it. Shake off your lethargy, get rid of your moods, drop
your attitude, forget about your reasons to sulk. There's a big party
coming and you're invited. And don't let the holidays interfere with
Christmas.
Once upon a time a mother and father (who were also
a grandmother and a grandfather) had a wonderful idea for celebrating
Christmas. They would take their children and grandchildren to Ireland
for Christmas time. Even if it was dark almost all day in Ireland
at that time of the year and cold and wet too. The warmth of our family
will bring heat and light to Ireland, they said. We'll have a grand
time. Their grandkids thought the idea was extreme cool. So did their
kids and their spouses. It would disrupt the children's schedules
and they'd wine a lot, but it would be a great adventure. Christmas
in Galway, how could you beat it. Well, one couple was a little less
than enthused. How could they get all their Christmas shopping done
and all their cards out and go to all their dinners and parties if
they had to prepare for a trip across the ocean in Aer Lignus. They
went through the motions but their hearts were not really in it. As
St. Stephens day drew near they knew they couldn't do - or perhaps
didn't want to do it. Anyway, they pretended they were almost packed
and then at noon on St. Stephens Day they called the grandparents
and proclaimed that they both had colds and so did the kids, so they
just weren't able to get ready in time. For the rest of the winter
the other kids told their cousins how the sun shined every day( it
was a miracle) and the temperature was in the fifties and how much
fun their trip to Ireland had been.
The punch of today's message is to be watchful, to
be alert; for one does not know when the lord of the house plans on
returning. May he not come suddenly and find you asleep!
A new liturgical year begins, a new season begins,
new colors decorate the sanctuary, and the advent wreath is dusted
off and set up. We both wait for the final judgment - and also for
the coming of the Christ child to enter the world as our savior.
Chapter 13 in Mark strikes me as saying both - "Hurry
up" and "wait!" On the one hand, Jesus says to watch
out for yourselves, to be watchful, and to be alert that he may not
find you sleeping. On the other hand, he says that many will come
in his name saying - I am he. BUT, do not be troubled; for these things
are bound to happen and they will not mark the end.
Perhaps the living out of this - Hurry up and wait!
- existence is portrayed in the characters in this mini parable:
A man goes traveling abroad. He leaves home and places
his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper
to be on the watch.
Perhaps we have to be like servants getting on with
our own work, not distracted with what others point to as apocalyptic
signs; and like the gatekeeper too - on the watch - waiting for the
lord of the house to return. Striking this balance may be tricky;
but if we move exclusively to one extreme we become workaholics blinding
ourselves from the coming of Christ. If we move to the other extreme
we become apocalyptic storm chasers who are too busy watching for
signs to remember to love God and to love our neighbor. Each of us
has to find this balance.
However, being a gatekeeper at the same time can be
a challenge. One sobering way to remind oneself to be the gatekeeper
is to stop a few times in the middle of the week and recall - if it
all ends right now and Jesus comes back in all His glory to judge
the nations - then are we in BIG trouble?
Why not think this thought in the midst of some impatient
tantrum during the week - when sitting in the car in the fast-food
drive-through, wondering why the line is not moving and speculating
what special order the buffoon in the first car might be bickering
about with the drive-up window cashier; or, when standing in front
of the photocopier that was just turned on, and wondering why we can
land a person on the moon but we cannot invent a photocopier that
takes less than 5 minutes to warm up; or when I drive around the parking
lot like a madman, trying to find a parking place when already late
for the meeting. During all of these episodes the blood begins to
boil and we find ourselves without an iota of patience.
My spirit can fall into such discord during these silly
tantrums of impatience that we am not quite sure where we would end
up if we were judged at that moment. Nevertheless, by making a connection
between our state of being at that moment and the possibility of the
second coming of Christ at ANY moment, we step into the shoes of the
gatekeeper and begin to lower our blood pressure by attempting to
think and feel charitably.
We all have these moments during our week; or perhaps
it is a relationship that needs to be repaired or forgiveness that
needs to be sought or given. In any case, we need to ask ourselves
the questions now and then - if it all ends right now, what kind of
shape are we in to meet Jesus? Have I been both a good servant and
an attentive gatekeeper?
"My heart is ready, Oh God; I will sing, sing
your praise.
Awake my soul; awake lyre and harp. I will awake the
dawn."
That is the first verse of Psalm 107, and it is full
of hope and expectancy, looking forward to a new dawn, a new era.
Today is the First Advent Sunday and it marks the beginning of a new
year in the Church liturgy celebration of the mysteries of Christ,
our Redeemer. The term "Advent," which means coming or arrival,
is used especially in connection with the first coming of Christ at
his birth, and also in looking forward to his second coming at the
end of time. In the readings of the last few Sundays, and in particular
today's, we find a tremendous yearning for the coming of a Redeemer,
a Messiah. The first reading is part of one of the most impressive
poems in the whole Bible.
Most of the influential people in Jewish society had
been carried off into exile by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and, after
fifty years, at last they were being allowed return to their own country.
But the Temple in Jerusalem still remained in ruins, no sacrifice
was being offered to God, no voice lifted in prayer to the Almighty
in the place where once that Temple had stood. It was a period of
gloom and utter desolation. The prophet, Isaiah, called by divine
providence to be the mouthpiece of the returned exiles, confesses
that they all have been sinners, blown hither and thither at the mercy
of the winds of change in their fortunes. He raises a heartbroken
cry to God, to return, to tear the heavens open, and by his renewed
presence among them to free them from the shackles of their sinful
habits, and so end their disappointment and frustration.
Advent also is a time when we should call upon God
to renew us in heart and soul, so that we may be able to celebrate
his divine Sons coming among us in a truly religious way. But neither
should we forget that, Sunday after Sunday throughout the entire year,
the heavens in a divine sense are truly opened, and Christ comes down
to us in the sacrament of the Eucharist. He comes to visit each of
us personally, to grant our inmost needs, to keep us, as St Paul tells
us, steady and without blame until the last day, so that we may be
witnesses to his presence before the whole world. There is a clear
message for us, as well, in the gospel parable of the man who set
off to travel abroad, after warning his servants, whom he had left
in charge, to watch out for his return. This is a definite reference
to the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, and to his expected second
coming, what the first Christians called the "parousia."
From earliest times then, the Church is asking its
members to look forward with confidence to their eternal destiny,
and not to heed the crosses they encounter. So earnestly did the first
Christians take to heart this injunction that, whenever they met,
they greeted one another with a saying in the Aramaic language which
became a watchword among them, a kind of password which identified
them as being followers of Christ. St Paul used it as part of his
farewell greeting to the Corinthians at the end of his first letter
to them - "marana tha." which means "Our Lord, Come."
We are troubled, however, when we consider that life on earth for
everyone is full of trials. We are troubled in view of temptations
to come, so much so that we ask the Father repeatedly in the Lord's
Prayer not to lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We
are especially troubled at the thought of leaving this world for a
destination hidden from us, and yet we pray every day that God's kingdom
may come.
We want to be rewarded with the vision of God hereafter,
and yet we depart from this world against our will, whereas the saints
regarded this world as a place of exile, and heaven as their true
home. It was a custom of St Augustine to urge his people to sing Alleluia
to God, as travellers sing along the road, in order to shorten their
journey, or as workers do to sweeten their toil. So rejoice, for religion
is not a sad thing. But at the same time keep pressing forward, advancing
in true faith, in virtue, in right conduct. St Paul advised the Thessalonians
to look forward to the Lord's coming, and with such thoughts to comfort
one another. "Be happy at all times," he advised them, "pray
constantly, and for all things give thanks to God, because this is
what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:16-18).
From such considerations we too should find consolation, as we prepare
this Advent season for the coming of Christ.
(Pádraig Ó Rúairí)
There are various themes to explore, in today's readings.
Isaiah calls us to confess our sins and hope for better days. Paul's
thanksgiving in Corinthians is confident and upbeat. Mark warns us
against complacency, since the end is coming sooner than we expect.
Amid such disparity, we might go with the first and third readings,
about being prepared for the day of the Lord.
Advent invites reassessment of where our ways may be
leading us. This annual reminder that the world as we know it will
one day end, is more appropriate during the northern Winter season,
when daylight is shorter and darkness seems to be winning over the
light. But the positive side of this is that a new day is dawning,
when Christ will come again into our lives with power to save us.
Did you ever watch other people at airports, waiting
for loved ones to arrive from a flight? They often seem excited, eager
for the first appearance of the familiar face, ready with the broad
smile of greeting. We too wait for the Lord's coming with anxious
eagerness, because we long for his presence. The waiting is important
because, during our earthly pilgrimage, we are incomplete. As Augustine
once said, "You have made us for Yourself, o Lord, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in You." At some deep level of life,
we are in need, a need that only God can fill.
This is a time to open our hearts and invite the Lord
to come and bring us to completion. We begin Advent with a yearning
for his coming. Today's first reading puts our need into words, "We
have all withered like leaves and our sins blew us away like the wind."
The whirling, withered leaves of autumn are a familiar scene, these
past few weeks. Isaiah proposes whirling leaves as symbols of all
that is dried up and withered in our lives. But he also calls us to
look for a better day. God is still in charge of creation, and our
personal lives are under his loving care. We pray with fervour this
Advent, "Come, Lord Jesus," and make our own the words of
the psalm, "Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right
hand has chosen." It is a central plank of our faith that the
Lord never abandons His people.
Back to the image of people at airports waiting for
loved ones to arrive. It is an alert, active waiting - the kind of
waiting called for in Advent. In today's gospel Jesus says, "Be
on your guard, stay awake". He wants us intent on our task here
and now. We are to grow more mature in our relationship with him,
pay more attention to prayer, and live with his message in our hearts.
That's what waiting for him should be like. And while we wait, we
can enjoy his gifts, as promised in Holy Scripture. Paul assures us:
"You will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while
you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ."
These coming weeks we will pray for this spirit of
hopeful anticipation, the watchfulness of a genuinely Advent people.
Strange, isn't it, that the church should begin its
year in November? It is a time of fallen leaves and souls in purgatory.
Nature reeks of death in Advent. Not even the faintest rumours of
Spring in the air. While nature is steeped in death, the liturgy would
have us start again. The season is not ill-chosen as death puts our
lives into their true perspective. By making death our starting point
we will have no illusions about life. We can look reality in the eye
and face our tomorrows in hope. We are waiting for our Lord Jesus
to be revealed. Life is a vigil, a time of waiting which only ends
with death and the advent of the day of the Lord.
Everything we touch in our lives bears within it the
seeds of obsolescence. The more we advance technologically, the shorter
lived become our creations. In the course of an average life-span,
we preside over the obsequies of hundreds of thousands of material
things, all of which were a part of us for a time. We've scarcely
become attached to our car, with all its whims and moods, when it
needs replacing. A suit of clothes is barely broken in to the irregularities
of our contours before it is consigned to the rag bin. A shoe that
finally accepts our bunions, is well on the way to the garbage heap.
The consumer society is technologically so sophisticated that it mass-produces
disposables with a built-in obsolescence. A popular American TV series
began each episode with a shot of a tape-recorder being switched on
delivering a message beginning . "This tape will self destruct
within four seconds." If the squeak in our shoes or the rattle
in our cars could be translated, it would probably be the same message.
Knee-deep in obsolescence, it is not surprising that
the notion colours our attitudes towards people. We speak of redundant
workers and obsolete professions. We scarcely raise our eyebrows at
the suggestion of relegating people to the scrap-heap. We accept as
inevitable, perhaps even desirable, the rationalisation of manpower
and personnel pruning. If we are a little perturbed at plans to dump
the over forties, it is only because we have reservations about the
cut-off mark. Retirement in our world is not a matter of relieving
the elderly of their burdens but of relieving the company of dead
weight.
We are pilgrims on a journey. Death is our home-coming.
If there is any high point in our lives, it is surely towards the
end as we come in sight of home. The evening of our lives should combine
the satisfaction of a long road travelled with the expectation of
a better life to come. "Lord, you are our Father; we the clay,
you the potter, we axe all the work of your hand." If the potter
builds obsolescence into the clay vessel he fashions, it is not to
increase the turnover of creation. Our durability is contingent only
on the will of our maker. When he chooses to recall us, "evening,
midnight, cockcrow or dawn," is not for us to know. Life-users,
like road-users, must stay awake. Advent is a lay-by where we take
stock of our position, consult our maps, and ready ourselves for the
coming of the day of the Lord.
Jesus has given each of us a commission, a purpose
or mission in life, and it is important that, when he comes to call
us home, we are found to have been carrying out that commission.
John had a job as a night watchman on a large building
site. It was a responsible job, because there was quite an amount
of valuable plant and machinery on the site, and it was not unusual
for items to go missing. John lost his job in the simplest, and some
would say, the stupidest way possible. He announced that he was going
out that day to buy a few lotto tickets. His reason for doing that,
he explained, was that he had a vivid and realistic dream the previous
night, in which he dreamt he had won the lotto. He took this as a
good omen, and so his present decision. Little did he realise that
his boss saw John's dream from a different angle. He was paying him
good money to guard the building site, and John was having vivid dreams
about winning the Lotto.
It is important to stress that Jesus is not playing
games with us in today's gospel. It is a serious and simple message.
As a Christian, I have been called and commissioned to be a witness
to Jesus and to his message. I am to be the salt of the earth, and
the light of the world, in the surrounds in which life has placed
me. It is certainly not a question of being up on a pulpit all the
time, or proclaiming the gospel at the street corner. It is about
a way of living, a way of being. "By this will all people know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
"Procrastination is the thief of time." How
true that is, especially when it comes to taking Jesus and his message
seriously. All diets start on Monday. God is a God of now. "If
today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." The only "yes"
in my whole life that he's interested in is my "yes" of
now. "Today is the acceptable day. Today is the day of salvation."
From the early gospel accounts, we see that following the call of
Jesus meant "leaving all things, and following him now."
One man wanted to return to bury his father, another had to examine
some property or animals he had bought, while another had just got
married, and was not free to follow him. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
Following Jesus doesn't always mean leaving a place, but it certainly
means taking on a whole new way of life.
Early in the gospel we are promised "Peace on
earth to those of goodwill." In a later passage we are told "Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added to
you." In other words, if I take my Christian call seriously,
there is no way I could be off my guard, or forget the fundamental
direction of my life. Jesus tells us that we are no longer slaves,
who do not know, nor are they told, their master's business. "You
are my friends, because I have made known to you everything that has
been told me by my Father." To be a slave would tend to develop
a slavish mentality. It would mean looking over my shoulder all the
time, and really working only when the master is watching. If a Christian
is motivated by love, then his service will be a service of love.
Love is always active, and is always engaged and in gear.
There is nothing more powerful as an idea whose time
has come. It is said that "the road to hell is paved with good
intentions." It is obvious, from watching Jesus in the gospels,
that he is a man of action. He is someone with enormous energy, who
is highly empowered and motivated by the mission entrusted to him.
It is said that the person who has a why for doing something, Will
easily overcome every obstacle to the how.
Many of us grew up with a prayer to the Holy Spirit,
which asked the Spirit to "enkindle within us the fixes of divine
love." We are also familiar with the word "enthusiasm."
This comes from the Greek Theos meaning God, and enthusiasm is having
God living in us. We use expressions like "being fired up,"
"fire in the belly," and "fiery oratory." All
of these imply a single-minded response to a cause or a call. In the
Book of Revelations, the last book of the Bible, the Lord says, "I
wish that you were either hot or cold; but, because you are lukewarm,
I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth." In modern-day language,
the Lord is saying "You make me sick'.
According to today's gospel, the people were given
detailed instructions about what they were to do, what they were to
be about. In other words, they couldn't claim ignorance, or say, "We
weren't sure." Jesus is clear about what he has to say; he is
definite about his return, and he leaves us in no doubt that, to put
it in simple words, the direction we choose to travel in now will
determine the eternal direction of our lives after death. In other
words, he gives us the message, he gives us the choice to make decisions,
and he stands back, allowing for our free will to come into operation.
For centuries the Jews had been expecting a Messiah
to come, and, when he did come, they were not ready, and missed the
moment. Mary, because of her humble, prayerful, and listening heart,
was fully alert to everything that God might want her to do. She had
a sense of being on "stand-by," awaiting his instructions
at all times. She was unencumbered by baggage, and was ready to move
at a moment's notice. I have been fortunate in dealing with many elderly
people who were like that, as they awaited death. When I asked one
old lady how she was, her answer was simple: "Waiting patiently."
No matter what age I am, I should look seriously at
how I deal with time. Time is a gift, each day is a gift, and the
day that I now enjoy has been denied to many people who were alive
yesterday. I never have any worries about life after death. My real
concern is that there may not be enough life before death. Everybody
dies, but not everybody lives. Some people settle for existing, and,
when they die, it is necessary to get a doctor to certify that fact,
because there was never much life there in the first place. You could
write on their tombstones "Died at forty, buried at eighty'.
Life is for living, and a good life is spent in the
service of others. Unless I accept life as a personal gift from God,
I may not involve him in my living of that life. That involvement
is called prayer, whatever form that may take. Prayer is about giving
God time and space iii my life. For those of us brought up with the
practice of morning and night prayers, grace before and after meals,
the Angelus, etc., we may associate prayer with a particular time
of the day. When those times become blurred, or an early habit is
abandoned, we can easily accept that our prayer life is gone, or is
practically non-existent. That would be a great mistake. To be grateful,
to take time Out to smell the flowers, to go down into the heart on
occasions for quiet moments of reflection, - all of that is prayer.
There can be a great difference between praying and saying prayers.
I could teach a parrot to say a prayer, but I could never teach a
parrot to pray.
I hesitate to make any concrete suggestions about our
response to today's gospel, because I know that, if the goodwill is
there, the Spirit of God will do the rest. We are beginning a time
of preparation for Christmas. We are all only too well aware of the
amount of effort we put into our preparation for Christmas, relative
to food, clothes, cards, presents, etc. All of this is good. The gospel
points to a much more serious form of preparation and effort, and
I won't insult your intelligence by drawing pictures, or spelling
out exactly what we ought to do. If I am ready to be alive and alert,
the Spirit of God will do the rest.
There is a chat-show programme on Irish television
that has just completed its thirty-seventh year run, and the host
of all those years has retired. From time to time, on the show, there
was a quiz for a valuable prize. A question was asked, and people
were invited to write in with their answers, and all the correct answers
were put in a drum, from which one card was drawn the following week.
Each entrant was asked to supply a phone number, and it was vital
that the person be available to take a call at that number if that
name was drawn. When the name was drawn, the host of the show would
phone that person, either to ask another question, or to simply tell
the person that he or she had won the prize. The snag was that, when
the phone rang in the house, the actual person whose name was on the
card had to take the phone-call. If that person was out on that night,
another card was drawn, and a second phone-call made. On many occasions
the person was not available for the phone call, and, on at least
a few occasions, even the second person called was not available either.
Imagine how the people felt when they learned that a prize worth several
thousand pounds had eluded them, just because they were not at the
place where they were expected to be on the night. The groans from
the audience were nothing to what must have happened when the person
whose name was drawn learned what had happened. There was one particularly
funny incident when a bright young person, probably aged about ten
or twelve, understanding the predicament, tried to brave it out, and
pretend that she, in fact, was her mother. It was quite obvious to
the listeners that it was a child's voice, and, even if she didn't
succeed in getting away with it, she earned prolonged applause for
the attempt.
Jesus tells us to stand close to the phone, because
he certainly will call some day, and he hopes to find us available.
2nd Advent Sunday, Year A
Is 11:1-10. A sublime Old Testament pointer to Jesus, Messiah
and Saviour. The living branch that grows from Jesse's stump is our
sure hope of peace in this life and salvation in the next.
Rom 15:4-9. Far from being outdated, the Old Testament still
has much to teach us, says St. Paul, so that we may live in harmony
and gain our share in what God promised to the patriarchs of old.
Mt 3:1-12. Only when recognizing our sins can we properly hear
God's message. The repentance, lived and proclaimed by John the Baptist,
prepares us to meet Jesus Christ.
Theme:
John the Baptist's life work was preparing the way for Christ. Once
Christ came, it only remained for John to disappear gracefully. Like
John, we should make way for Christ in the lives of others.
For the Homily
A shoot
shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of
the Lord.
His delight
shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the
poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod
of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall
kill the wicked.
Righteousness
shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole
of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand
on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my
holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge
of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand
as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his
dwelling shall be glorious.
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king's son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound,
until the moon is no more.
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.
For whatever was written in former days was written
for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement
of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness
and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in
accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has
welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has
become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God
in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As
it is written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name."
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness
of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has
come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke
when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather
belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then
the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all
the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the
river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming
for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.
Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor';
for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children
to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every
tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but
one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy
to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing
floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he
will burn with unquenchable fire."
- For the grace to put Christ first in our lives, to
let him increase and our selfishness decrease.
- That we may be alert to the true voice of prophecy
today, that leads us in the path to God.
- That each of us may, at least in some small ways,
help to bring others to Christ, the true Lamb of God.
If pilgrims in the Holy Land go east on
the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho, that road where the man,
in Jesus' parable about the Good Samaritan, fell among robbers, they
end up, just above the entrance to the Dead Sea, in one of the deepest
areas on this earth which lies open to the skies, more than 1,200
feet under the level of the sea. It was in this region, while our
Lord was on earth, that a community of people dwelt on the cliff-tops
overlooking the Dead Sea, people who regarded the rest of the Jews
as being so wicked that they withdrew into this barren region to keep
themselves from being contaminated. These were the Essenes, oddly
enough never once mentioned in the New Testament, an extraordinary
group of men, women and children, who prayed daily together and meditated
on the ancient Hebrew Bible, of which they made numerous copies, some
of which survive as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
They purified themselves regularly in ritual
washings, and practised celibacy, relying on a steady influx of recruits
for their continued existence. In a perpetual struggle to survive
in the sweltering heat of this wilderness, and sustained by the belief
that the end-time was at hand, they lived apart from the world. They
did not try to change it.
In today's gospel we have the story of
the man whom many scripture scholars would link with the Essene community
- John the Baptist. He also had been living in this wilderness up
till now, eating the only food available there, namely locusts and
wild honey, and also attaching great importance to ritual washing,
so much so that we always refer to him now as the Baptist. But John,
in contrast to the Essenes, was not satisfied just to remain apart
from the world. He set out to convert the world, and not because the
end of the world was near, but rather the beginning. "The kingdom
of God is close at hand," he said, and the challenge he put to
the crowds which flocked to hear him, down in the Jordan valley, can
be summarised in one sentence: "Change your lives" - "Repent."
This also was to be the call of Jesus when
he began his public mission, "The time has come and the kingdom
of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Good News." And this
call is addressed to us as well. The changing of our lives is a life-long
process, but it must begin here and now, and the call to do so comes
to all without exception. We ask why did John make such a bitter attack
on the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to be baptised, by addressing
them as a "brood of vipers." It was simply because the Pharisees,
deeming themselves perfect, saw no need for change, while for the
Sadducees, who did not believe in a life hereafter, change was pointless,
because their hopes did not extend beyond the present life. They preferred
to go through this life oblivious to any possibility of life after
death.
The fact that these people nevertheless
came to listen to John is testimony that they felt something lacking
in their approach to life, and that in spite of themselves they were
drawn to this charismatic and truly ascetic figure calling them to
repentance. "He shall drink no wine or strong drink," the
angel said of John to his father Zechariah. For some of us there is
perhaps a lesson here too.
In this period leading up to Christmas,
it is well to recall that in the Bible drunkenness is strongly condemned,
precisely because it makes people forgetful of what they are, of their
eternal destiny, of their duty to be true to themselves. "Woe
to those," Isaiah wrote (5:11), "who from early morning
chase after strong drink, and stay up late at night getting drunk."
In this area human nature does not change. St Paul, convinced from
the moment of his conversion that every true Christian gives witness
to the mystery of the cross, puts it forcibly for us, "You cannot
belong to Christ, unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and
desires" (Gal 5:24). John the Baptist, a stern and uncompromising
figure, threatened his listeners with hell-fire, if they did not mend
their ways.
Jesus too was firm. "Go and sin no
more" was his frequent warning, but the firmness of Jesus was
coupled with a marvellous understanding and compassion for those caught
up in the snares of sin. And this it is which makes us confident that,
in spite of all the moral turmoil within us, our lack of commitment
to the following of the gospel message of Christ, and the evils of
our time, the love of God will finally prevail.
1. Fruit-trees:
It is unfortunate that mass-produced frozen
foods (plus shortage of garden-space) discourages many people from
growing their own vegetables, though there may be some reversal of
this trend, to avoid eating too much genetically modified produce.
Planting seeds, and watching them grow with the help of rain and sunshine,
can help us understand better the biblical imagery. God is the almighty
gardener, and we are the fruit-trees he has planted.
2. Good or Bad?
A sound and healthy tree will grow good
fruit; but some apple-trees grow wild and sour, producing only bitter
crab-applies, good for little. John the Baptist warned people of his
day, and the warning still holds good for today, that the axe will
be laid to the root of the trees: each of us must face our personal
death and judgement. The useless tree, bearing either bad fruit, or
none at all, will be thrown in the fire; the good tree, presumably,
has a higher future, like being used in building a fine house. In
the other picture of judgement painted by the Baptist, Christ will
separate the wheat from the chaff, storing the grain, but burning
the rubbish on the dump-heap.
3. What sort of fruit?
What does God want from us? Which kind
of behaviour will be to our credit on the day of judgment? We know
the answer, in theory: we could reel off the list of "Fruits
of the Spirit" - charity, joy, peace, patience, chastity, honesty,
self-control. But theory and practise are often divided by a long
distance. Are we actually making an honest effort to produce this
good behaviour in our personal life? An elderly bishop used to sum
up the problem of good works in this way: "We know the right
thing, no doubt; but we don't DO it." Or St. Paul: "I do
not achieve the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I
do. In my inmost self, I delight in the law of God, but I see in my
members another law, at war with the law of my mind" (Rom. 7.)
Each of us has a struggle to wage within ourselves, in order to remain
faithful to Christ, and bear good fruit.
4. With God's Help
Another side to the question: our conversion
to better things does not depend on ourselves alone, thank God. The
energy and force to succeed comes from Him, through Jesus, the living
branch, the Saviour. As the prophet Isaiah foretold, Our Lord is full
of the Holy Spirit, to spread peace, joy and holiness among his followers.
He shares that Holy Spirit with us, if we only ask him, trust him,
believe in him. In the words of today's Gospel, he will baptise us
with the Spirit, and with fire; he can put new life into our efforts,
and above all give us the power to really love. Like the sap of life
that flows through the vine-stalk and into each branch, no matter
how small.
5. Improving our Yield
Are we willing to do what is needed, to
improve our yield of goodness in God's sight? To prune away useless
leaves (too proud /greedy /fond of alcohol etc.), and remain closely
united to the true vine, Christ? To bear the good fruit expected of
us, this is the real success that makes life worthwhile; it is the
best way to the happiness God has in store for us ("upon my holy
mountain.") "May the God of steadfastness and encouragement
grant you so to live in harmony with one another, in accord with Christ
Jesus," that together we may all be saved on the day of judgement.
An opportunity to highlight one of the
great figures of the Advent liturgy, John the Baptist. Various aspects
of his character and message could be developed particularly that
of repentance that leads to reconciliation. Varying lights on repentance
are available in the Gospel. Firstly there is the self denial that
is essential to penance. The life style of the Baptist demonstrates
this. Secondly one could look at the need to change our attitudes
that is shown by John's warning to the Jewish leaders, They presumed
on their privileges as being children of Abraham. John challenges
them to consider the power of God to raise up children from the very
stones. Our own attitudes can be biased without our being really aware
of our way of looking at life and so we are asked to examine our viewpoint.
Thirdly there is the exception of the one who is to come. Repentance
is an opening up to the Person of Jesus and a renewal of our relationship
with him. So there is a reconciliation involved. This reconciliation
can extend outwards to others and even in to our attitudes to material
things. The reading from Isaiah shows this aspect on a cosmic scale
when harmony is effected by the Spirit-filled king who will judge
for the poor and bring in an era of great world peace. Paul exhorts
the Christian to live in hope of this broad vision by being at one
with his neighbour to the glory of God the Father, So the cosmic vision
of Isaiah and the everyday life of the Christian are intertwined in
the process of peace and reconciliation. We could take up any one
of these aspects of repentance and flesh them out with examples from
our own situation.
Another possible theme that flows from
the readings is the abundance of God's goodness. The beautiful images
of the Isaiah passage point to the great hope that the prophet had
in the Gift of God, the Holy Spirit, a gift that is given to the poor.
The attitude of God demonstrated by Paul in the Romans extract underlines
this same openness of God to all people and his readiness to take
all in to friendship with himself. John's preaching shows that the
Jewish people do not hold an exclusive place in relationship to God
This attitude of generosity on God's part gives a basis for the Advent
world of expectation. We wait trustingly for a God whom we know will
come with gifts in abundance. Our hope is founded on what we know
of him from his coming in the past in the life of Jesus our Lord.
The first two years of my education took
place in a mixed school. At four years of age, it was not considered
a threat to my morals. Besides it was a convent school. There was
a large picture in the infant classroom which I can still recall vividly.
It showed a teenage boy with long hair, bare arms and legs, draped
in a knee-length tunic, with a belt round his waist. He held a staff
in his hand. It was John the Baptist. He became my hero immediately.
He was the stuff a young boy's fantasies are made of. As I grew older,
I should have grown out of John the Baptist as I did out of Santa
Claus but I didn't. The older I became, the more I learned about him,
and the more I liked him. He was my man "for all seasons."
To start with, he was a "voice crying
in the wilderness." The type of person every age needs and none
more than our own. Somebody prepared to speak out. Willing to take
on the system, the powers-that-be. People who have the courage of
their convictions, who dare to confront low standards in high places.
Who do "not judge by appearances" but give "their verdict
for the poor of the land." Isaiah knew the type; he was one himself:
His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless,
his sentences bring death to the wicked.
(Ps 2)
They are few and far between. But mercifully
every age produces all too rare examples. Somebody who can articulate
for the silent majority, for the rest of us, who lack the courage
to speak out. And we turn out in our thousands to applaud them from
the safety of our anonymity. "Then all Jerusalem and all Judea
and the whole Jordan district made their way to him." We can
always melt away when the tear-gas and the baton-charges start. All
of- them pay a price for their outspokenness, and some of them, the
ultimate price. It was long years imprisonment for Alexandra Solzhenitsyn
and Nelson Mandela. It was the assassin's bullet for Martin Luther
King. It was both for John the Baptist. And it was not surprising.
Anyone foothardy enough to describe the religious establishment of
his time as a "brood of vipers" was certain to become a
marked man. He didn't mince his words. And when he pointed a finger
at the sexual scandals of the government in the person of Herod, he
was a condemned man.
What makes John the Baptist unique, is
that all the fame or notoriety he achieved was not for himself but
for another. "The one who follows me is more powerful than I
am and I am not fit to carry his sandals." His was no ego-trip,
which is a charge that could be laid at the feet of all those others
who challenged the system, no matter how admirable their causes were.
History has no other example of people who achieve that sort of adulation,
yielding centre-stage to another as yet unknown. That extraordinary
moment has been immortalised in the Mass, fittingly just before Communion,
when the priest lifts up the Host and says "Behold the Lamb of
God." These were the words the Baptist first pronounced when
he spotted the unknown Jesus standing at the fringe of a crowd who
had come to hear John preach. His job was to prepare the way for Christ
and then make way for him.
He is a model for any Christian and for
all Christians. For parents for their children, husbands for their
wives, and wives for their husbands. Teachers for their pupils, priests
for their people, neighbours for their neighbours. Christians should
lead others to Christ. And sometimes this may entail taking themselves
out of the way. Interference in others" lives, even with the
best of intentions, rarely if ever discovers Christ for them. The
reverse is more often the case. How many young people have drifted
away from the Mass because of the constant harassment of their parents.
Such parents could take a leaf out of the Baptist's book. Preachers
like them and like me rarely influence people. We can't see past our
egos to Christ. Those like John the Baptist never fail.
John the Baptist, back then, was a figure
of the role of the church today. With all of the many dimensions of
our preparations for Christmas, we, as Christians, must give priority
to the preparation of our hearts, of our inner beings. (Jesus didn't
come to be locked in a tabernacle. He came to make his home in the
human heart.) As with last Sunday, there is a sense of urgency about
the call to prepare the way. Not everything in our lives is important,
just because it appears urgent. I can be so busy with the urgent that
I overlook the important. The call of today's gospel is both urgent
and important. Preparation for an event and the actual event are not
exactly the same thing. John predicts an extraordinary outpouring
of blessing from "the one who is coming after me." Our preparation
for Christmas is but the beginning of blessings and of gifts that
will continue for eternity.
One of my earliest memories, growing up
in the country, was the coming of electricity. This was awaited with
great excitement. With each day, the postman kept us up-to-date on
"where they are now," as the poles continued to be erected.
Finally, the great day arrived. We had electricity. Gone was the old
wireless, with its wet and dry battery; gone was the tilley lamp in
the kitchen, and the hurricane lamp in the farmyard. With all the
excitement, it was some days before I noticed something really strange,
something that really baffled me. An elderly couple living nearby
had not applied for the electricity, and nothing there had changed.
I just couldn't understand this, because I failed to grasp the simple
fact that they were free to make that decision if they chose to do
so. The wires passed by, within a few yards of their front door; yet,
they decided to remain as they were, with their tilley lamp and their
hurricane lamp, and in a house that had nothing of the brightness
or the facilities for common comforts that all their neighbours now
enjoyed. It has taken me years to understand and to apply the message
behind that simple incident
God does not give me anything, but he offers
me everything. He offers me peace, but I'm completely free to live
in misery, and die of ulcers, if I so choose. He is constantly reminding
me, offering me, calling me, inviting me. This Christmas is yet another
opportunity to listen to his message, and to respond afresh. I cannot
live today on a yes of yesterday. When I was a child I knelt in front
of the crib in the local church, with a sense of awe. The whole thing
seemed so real back then. What has changed? "Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday, today, and always." I have changed, of course,
which is what is supposed to happen, as my life unfolds. That sense
of awe of my childhood should now be much more widespread. It should
encompass life itself, the sacrament of the present moment, and my
own personal vocation to accept the message of Christmas, and integrate
it into my daily living. The inner child of yester-year is still there,
and the ability to experience a sense of awe is always possible to
recapture.
Life is difficult, and it is very fragile.
One heart attack, and it's all over. Life is what happens when you're
making other plans. If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him your
plans. Here's another Christmas, where it can be "here we go
again," or it can be something beautiful, special, and life giving.
It is an opportunity to be recycled. It is like going through another
cycle in the washing machine of the Lord, and, for some people, it
could be their "final rinse'.
Don't just drift into Christmas, and don't
allow it become a time of year which most people wish was over and
done with. Take some definite time out, not a great deal, to reflect
on what Christmas is all about, and what, if anything, it means to
you. I remember hearing an elderly lady recall a habit her father
had. He went to Confession once a month. On the day before Confession,
he walked the farm in silence, and he spent the whole day in some
sort of quiet inner prayer. Even the mother whispered to the children,
"don't bother your daddy today. He's going to Confession tomorrow."
It would be so easy and so simple for the cynic to comment on such
a practice, but I really don't think it is something upon which any
of us is qualified to comment. If that's what the man thought he should
do, then, he was perfectly entitled and justified in doing it.
Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming.
Make a straight road for him. Can you honestly recognise things in
your life, in your behaviour, in your relationships, that can be obstacles
to this time of love, of reconciliation, of freedom from bondage?
What do you find within yourself that spoils or limits the gift that
you are, now that we are approaching that time of year when gift giving
becomes part of our living?
Why wait until you die to face the judgement
of God? Today, this very day, you can come to the Lord with the wheat
and the chaff, with all that you are, and allow him separate the chaff,
and dispose of it in the furnace of his love. Because of the extraordinary
nature of the love expressed by God in the whole story of Christmas,
it would be a special and grace-inspired response if I tried to meet
that love with an open and honest heart. If he is a Saviour coming
in search of sinners, then "Here I am, Lord."
God could have chosen to love us from a
distance. However, he decided to join us on our human journey. There
are stations and bus stops on that journey, and Jesus can come aboard
in my life at any point of the journey, but only if I stop and ask
him. On the other hand, I can be on a journey, through compulsion,
addiction, or self-will run riot, and it is bound to end in destruction.
Like a rapid-rail, or an Underground, I can decide to get off at any
one of the stations. Jesus will be waiting for me on the platform.
When I was baptised, someone else said
yes on my behalf. Confirmation wasn't much better, as I was marched
up to the altar. Sooner or later, and much sooner rather than much
later, I myself must say my own personal yes. The first time I was
carried into a church I wasn't consulted, and the next time I'll be
carried into a church, I'm not going to be consulted either. Somewhere
in between those two events, I must make a personal, sincere, and
conscious decision about my Christian vocation. Years ago, a "vocation"
was something that a priest or a nun had. That is not true anymore.
The greatest calling, or vocation, that can be given a human being
is the call to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus is the reason for the Season. Strip
back all the tinsel and wrapping, and discover the real gift of Christmas.
Your own personal, and mostly private, input into this Christmas,
is what will make all the difference in the world. No matter what
gifts or cards you receive from others, the greatest gift of all is
one you can choose to give yourself.
Togo was a young African boy, who was always
asking questions. He had a great thirst for knowledge, and was prepared
to go to any lengths to get that knowledge. One question that intrigued
him more than any other was "What language does God speak?"
Nobody could answer his question, so he set off in search of the answer.
He travelled from country to country, but still failed to find the
answer. Finally, one cold, snowy, wintry night he arrived at what
was no better than a makeshift hut, out- side Jerusalem, in a place
called Bethlehem. He looked, and was just about to ask his question,
when a young woman beckoned him to enter. As he entered he saw a young
couple, with a newborn baby wrapped up in some clothing, and lying
on the straw of a manger in the corner. The young woman spoke. "Welcome,
Togo. We have been expecting you." Togo was amazed, but the young
woman continued, "you have been asking what language God speaks.
Come over and sit by the manger for a while, to reflect, and to listen.
God speaks the language of love, of gentleness, and of belonging.
He speaks the language of everybody who is poor, who is homeless,
who is weak, who is powerless. It is only in speaking their language
that he can let them know why he came, and what he wants to offer
them. His language is so simple that the intellectual and the worldly-wise
will dismiss it as meaningless. It is a language that only children,
and those with the heart of a child, can understand." Yes, indeed,
Togo had, at last, found the answer to his question.
3rd Advent Sunday, Year A
Is 35:1-6,10. God's presence among us is the great source of courage
for believers. Today, Isaiah tells what God can do: he can open our
eyes and turn the barren desert of our life into a blossoming garden.
Jas 5:7-10. Our faith does not guarantee us an easy time in this
life. His apostle, James urges us to be patient and to follow the
noble example of courage shown to us by others.
Mt 11:2-11. The compassionate cures of Jesus show that Jesus
is the awaited Saviour. From his prison cell, John the Baptist is
confirmed in his faith and is ready to face his execution by king
Herod.
Theme:
Society finds it so hard to tolerate dissent that those who step out
of line are often harshly treated. At great risk, John the Baptist
castigated the authorities of his day. Only by doing so could he prepare
his people for the coming of Christ.
For the Homily
Seeing God at work
All Things New
Signs of God's presence
Ambiguous Advent
Tomorrow's Heroes
Isaiah Spells It Out
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus
it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and
singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of
our God.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble
knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
"Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
It is the Lord who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
He upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of
the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being
patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You
also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the
Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that
you may not be judged. See, the Judge is sanding at the doors! As
an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord.
When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing,
he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one
who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you
hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers
are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have
good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense
at me."
As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds
about John : "What did you go out into the wilderness to look
at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone
dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal
palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you,
and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,
'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your
way before you.' Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one
has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he.
We pray:
- that we may always show special concern for those
who dissent from us, and listen before we make any hasty judgments.
- that we may always be tolerant of the opinions of
others.
- that we may cherish those who have the courage of
their convictions.
- that we may learn from the simple and frugal lifestyle
of John the Baptist.
Seeing God at work
All Things New
Signs of God's presence
Ambiguous Advent
Tomorrow's Heroes
Isaiah Spells It Out
Seeing God at work
The book which comes last in the Canon of Sacred Scripture
is the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse. It was written at a
period of persecution and tremendous hardship for the members of the
infant Church. Anyone who reflects on the last sentences of that book
cannot but be touched by the longing there expressed that God might
come and release his people from the suffering they were enduring.
The Church is referred to as the Bride, (the Bride
of Christ), and the author says "The Spirit and the Bride say,
"Come." Let everyone who hears say, "Come." The
one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: Indeed,
I am coming soon. Amen, come Lord Jesus." In this period leading
up to Christmas, we too should be giving voice to that same intense
longing. "Courage, do not be afraid. Look your God is coming,"
the liturgy reminds us. Our God is coming to save us. We might this
morning ask ourselves what salvation means to us. From what does Christ
save us? The answer, in the main, is twofold. He saves us firstly
from sin, and secondly from death. But most of us can admit that we
tend to be offhand and casual about sin, and rather dubious about
salvation from death, the inevitable end of every living thing.
However, about sin, if we look about us, we can see
the definite results of sin in the community, in society. It can lead
to divisions and strife, to violence against innocent victims, to
extortion and robbery. Where there is bitterness and lack of compassion,
where there is selfishness and the relentless pursuit of one's own
interests and desires without regard for the rights of others, there
is sin.
In complete contrast the example of Christ, and even
more so the merits gained by Christ, who was completely at one with
the will of the Father and the promptings of God's Holy Spirit, Christ
who gave of himself for others, who was the one for others, even to
the extent of laying down his life for them, all these can bring about
a change in those who sincerely invite Christ into their lives, a
change which can counteract the evil tendencies which are the results
of sin. And if we ask how Christ has conquered death, the answer is
that by his resurrection he has removed the fear of death from those
who have faith in him, for he has given a solemn promise that, if
we but believe, we also shall rise from the dead as he did. Instead
of feeling doomed to extinction, we can say in the words of scripture
"Oh death where is your sting, death where is your victory?"
(1 Cor 15:55).
Furthermore, on his final night on earth, Jesus left
us, as his last testimony, this Holy Eucharist which we are now celebrating,
as a sign and guarantee that this will come to pass. "They who
eat my body and drink my blood shall have life in them, and I will
raise them up on the last day." If our faith in the promises
of Jesus wavers, we are reassured by his answer to the query of John
the Baptist in today's gospel, "Are you the one who is to come
or have we got to wait for someone else?'
Obviously John also was going through a crisis of faith,
for before his imprisonment he had said of Jesus, "I am the witness
that he is the Chosen One of God" (Jn 1:34). Jesus' reply to
the disciples of John, who had put the question, was to go back and
tell John, not what Jesus was saying, but rather what he was doing.
John, with his knowledge of the Old Testament, would then understand
that in the healing of the sick, the lame, the blind, was clearly
revealed the sign which the prophet Isaiah declared would denote the
coming of the promised Messiah. God was at work in the actions of
Jesus.
But the significance of the blind seeing, the deaf
hearing, goes deeper than any physical cure. In Christ those who are
blind to the truth about themselves and God have their eyes opened,
in Christ those who falter in their pursuit of what is honourable
and just and pure have their steps strengthened, in Christ those who
were deaf to the voice of God and conscience begin to listen, in Christ
those who were dead and powerless in the grip of sin are restored
to newness and richness of life, in Christ the poorest are endowed
with the riches of God. This is the season when we are called to live
in the thought of Jesus as he once came, and as he will come again
for each one of us. It is the time to desire his second coming from
our affectionate and grateful remembrance of his coming on that first
Christmas (Cardinal Newman).
All Things New
1. Not a throwaway God
In our consumer society, when something breaks or is
worn down, it is often easier to discard it and replace it with a
newer model (examples: car, T.V., shoes etc.), than to pay for its
repair. We even do it with some organs of the body itself (artificial
arteries, heart-valves.) But when we ourselves break down, and fall
into sin, God does not discard us; rather, He aims to repair us, make
us well again. His mighty work of creation is equalled by the "Re-creation,"
the blessings by which God helps us make a better job of our lives.
Symbol of this is the way He makes the desert into a fruitful garden,
pouring on the life-giving water of His Grace.
2. Saviour of the Poor
Our Lord's miracles were done to show this aspect of
God. His mercy has no limits, for poor people in need. Sickness, blindness,
poverty and sin may make a man seem of less value in the sight of
others, but not in the sight of God. Far from it. Jesus shows that
sorrow and suffering attract his most genuine sympathy. He is the
Saviour of the Poor, curing them of diseases, so that they can again
face life with hope. What a terrible thing if we Christians value
people only for their money, their talents, their sex-appeal, or their
sheer usefulness to ourselves. Then we could have no part of Christ's
spirit within us.
3. Could John have doubted?
Why did John the Baptist send from his prison cell
that urgent question to Jesus: "Are you He that is to come?"
Hadn't John recognised our Lord as the Messiah several months previously,
at the Jordan, when he proclaimed Him publicly as the Lamb of God?
Did John, faced with almost certain death under Herod, have doubts
or second thoughts about Jesus? Some say no, John only asked the question
for the sake of his followers, who needed confirmation of their faith
from Christ himself. But if John did have doubts, it was because of
the peaceful way that Jesus behaved, not at all like the violent revolutionary
the Jews expected as their Messiah. The answer to his question came
when Jesus told him what the true Messiah would be like: healer of
the sick, consoler of the suffering, preacher of freedom and truth
to the poor. In this way, John's faith in Jesus was made strong, giving
him courage to stand up against Herod, and accept the martyr's death.
4. Not a magic formula
"It is no secret what God can do; what he's done
for others, he'll do for you." Yes, we can be sure and certain
that God will provide for our needs. But the way He does it may not
be the exact way we would choose. It may be that He has marked out
for us a hard way, like that of the Baptist - in that case, His help
does not take away our problem, but helps us to face it bravely. Jesus
himself did not cure all the sick in his own day, not even all the
sick in Nazareth. If he restored some (a fraction) to bodily health,
it was a sign of the inward health he wants us all to have. He occasionally
works visible miracles, as encouragement and reminder; his inward
miracles are more frequent, patience, self-control, joy and charity.
5. Sure, yet Patient
So we need an open mind, as we ask the Lord's help
today in our needs. On the one side, sure that he can and will repair
the worn-out, sinful damage in our lives, on the other side, willing
to let Christ help us in his own time, and in his own way. As St James
puts it so well: "Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the
Lord." With this spirit of confidence and patience, we can face
any number of problems in life, and face even our death in peace,
like John the Baptist.
Signs of God's presence
One could take as theme the signs of God's presence.
The pictures of the first reading are evocative of luxuriant richness
of God's goodness shown even in the natural world. Then the healing
of the various human disabilities underlies that God is interested
in all human beings for their good, not to condemn them. Along the
same lines one could point out how the Gospel healings go beyond those
enumerated in the prophecy. The true image of God as portrayed in
these passages together with the responsorial psalm could furnish
a useful homily for some congregations.
Another option would be to develop the aspects of human
response. The various readings lay emphasis on courage and patience
in the face of adversity. Possibly there is much adversity in everyone's
life from personal struggles or misunderstandings and everyone can
benefit from encouragement. The images used in the first reading could
help, weak hands, trembling knees, faint hearts. In the midst of human
weakness like the illnesses of the Gospel God shows his power. There
is a certain paradox in the fact that God's strength to heal would
not be visible to us without painful disability to illuminate it.
One could draw out that God is often present in situations where apparently
he is not tangible and that we can perceive only part of his plan.
Our faith is in One who is at the door to use the phrase of James.
Our faith proves itself in its steadfastness in the fact of suffering,
internal or external. Faith can mean waiting on God, as the Baptist
waited in the desert for long years.
Another option is offered by the idea of the Lord's
redeemed in the first reading. This great vision anticipates a joyful
gathering together of people set free by God and united in celebrating
on Mount Sion. Setting prisoners free, giving sight to the blind are
but two of the aspects of God's faithfulness that are praised in the
Responsorial psalm. Jesus shows that face of God in the Gospel For
the modern day Christian these scriptural symbols can be explained
as pledges of the inner freedom to love that God gives us through
his Spirit. Our weaknesses are ways in which we are hemmed in our
ability to reach out to God and to others in a selfless love. True
rejoicing involves being in a loving communion with God and others
as is prefigured in the first reading and this end-time situation
has its roots in our being through the Gift of God to his Christian
redeemed, the Spirit of Sonship that sets us free.
Ambiguous Advent
There are two sides to every coin, and for many people
the experience of life itself is ambiguous. It involves a fluctuation
between good and evil, sorrow and joy. At every party there will be
the person who does not fit in, at every wedding there will be the
unhappily married, or the lonely spinster. Times of joy can sharpen
the grief of those who suffer. The celebration of Christmas can also
be an experience of unhappiness for those who have suffered a bereavement
or other crisis at this time of year. For them it is difficult to
share in a general spirit that seems to offer only superficial bonhomie
rather than deep and lasting joy.
Today we might address this ambiguity not simply because
it is part of general human experience, but because this sense of
grappling with failure, of joy being found beyond suffering, is an
essential part of Christian experience itself.
Following the Lord's Prayer in our Liturgy there is
a development of the prayer "deliver us from evil." We say
"protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the
coming of our saviour Jesus Christ." There is more than a hint,
here, that our advent preparation and Christmas celebration have to
work through and beyond the threat of evil and the clutch of anxiety.
We are reminded that the Christian celebration of Christmas can never
be a merely escapist round of self-indulgent extravagance. Christian
joy and celebration cannot afford to be escapist; it must include
and accept the problems of life and still find hope. The coming of
Christ that we celebrate was itself an answer to the need for hope.
The joy promised to God's restored people, joy at the healing of human
pain (first reading) was presented as a reality brought about in the
ministry of Jesus (gospel.)
And yet, despite his coming to save, to give sight
to the blind, raise the dead etc. his good news could still be a stumbling
block. Despite his healing achievement, there are still those who
cry out "How long, 0 Lord?. How long shall I harbour sorrow in
my soul, grief in my heart day after day? (Ps 13:2-3.) The continuation
of this human cry two thousand years after the advent of Christ raises
questions about the fulfilment of our hopes. Those hopes were concentrated,
in early Christianity, in the expectation of the return of Christ
(cf. Acts 1:1-11 Thess 4:13-18; Rev 21:1 ff..) They expected this
final deliverance to come very soon. It did not come soon, it has
still not come, Yet looking in hope for that second coming is still
part of the meaning of advent.
What we all have to grapple with is this "delay"
in the final realization of the hope Christ has brought us. This means
being caught between what Christ has already brought and what has
not yet come about, The struggle with this ambiguity is not something
new in Christianity, but belonged already in the earliest generations.
They too had to learn that their hopes would not be realized in some
sudden cataclysmic event (cf. 2 Thess 2:1 ff..) In this "in-between"
situation we might all agree with the teacher of proverbs: "Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but a wish fulfilled is a tree of life"
(Prov 13:12), but we also know that this sickness of heart is not
unto death. Like the condition of the man born blind it has a purpose
which will ultimately be the manifestation of the works of God (cf.
Jn 9:3 ff.)
Until that second coming, that final manifestation
of the healing works of God (first reading, gospel) we are called
to patient perseverance (second reading.) We are called to believe
that the good news brought by Jesus is gradually transforming the
world, even when this is not always visible. We are called to be patient
not only with our own sufferings but also with our own inadequacies
and the failings of others. We are called to share God's patience
which is giving us all the time to grow (2 Pet 3:8 ff..)
If we believe in the gospel of Christ and try to live
it out in all the ambiguities of our experience then we are being
transformed into the Risen One who was crucified by the ambiguities
of life for our sake.
Tomorrow's Heroes
When the history of the Soviet Union's turning aside
from its former brutal communist regime is rewritten, as it certainly
will be soon, one man will loom large. His name is Andrei Sakharov.
He died this week just five years ago. He was a most unlikely prophet,
a small, quiet-spoken, scholarly man, with none of the attributes
usually associated With great public figures. For years, he confronted
what must have been the greatest totalitarian regime the world has
ever seen. He was a distinguished scientist; in fact, he was one of
Russia's greatest scientists of this century. He could have had anything
the Soviet system had to offer its favourite sons. Instead he chose
to fight it, for the freedom and the civil rights of its citizens.
For this he paid dearly, spending years in prison and labour camps
in Siberia. But he never wavered. Sakharov was a Russian Jew and in
some striking ways bears, comparison to that other Jew in Palestine
two thousand years ago, John the Baptist. His too was a lone "voice
crying in the wilderness." He spoke out courageously against
the- corrup tion of a powerful regime. He resisted all the blandishments
his talents would have earned him. He could have "worn fine clothes
and lived in palaces" by the standards of ordinary Russians in
that harsh regime. And when they could not buy his silence, they locked
him away. He was in prison when the world first heard of him. From
there, his message of dissent escaped to make disciples in Russia
and abroad. He was no "reed swaying in the breeze." His
heroic dissent was a contagion which his cap tors were powerless to
contain. Eventually, yielding to world opinion - he had been awarded
the Nobel Prize while in prison - they were forced to release him.
His health was irretrievably broken. Nevertheless, he continued his
crusade. The seed he had sown in the wilderness so many years before
was coming to harvest. Then almost within sight of the promised land,
he died. Had he lived another few months he might have been, like
a Lech Walesa or a Vaclav Havel, elected President of Russia. But
he didn't. Perhaps history will be all the kinder to him because of
that.
As Christians, we should cherish our dissidents. So
often today's dissidents are tomorrow's heroes. Recognition, if it
comes at all, comes posthumously. They belong in the tradition of
John the Baptist, whom Christ praised so warmly in today's gospel.
Melito of Sardis wrote in the second century:
If you wish to see the mystery of the Lord,
it is he who endures many things:
it is he who was in Abel murdered,
and in Isaac bound,
and in Jacob exiled, and in Joseph sold, and in Moses
exposed, and in the lamb slain, and in David persecuted, and in the
prophets dishonoured.
Their role is best described by Isaiah in today's reading:
Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
"Courage, Do not be afraid.
Look, your God is coming he is coming to save you."
Isaiah Spells It Out
"He will open the eyes of the blind and unstop
the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who
cannot speak will shout and sing." When the disciples of John
the Baptist asked Jesus if he really were the Messiah, Jesus simply
asked them to look around and see for themselves. The words of the
prophet were being fulfilled right there before their eyes. Jesus
then went on to give John the highest possible commendation, because
John had fulfilled his own mission with total fidelity, and was now
in jail for his courage and his commitment. John had prepared the
way for Jesus, and, in his own words, he then got out of the way.
"I must decrease so that he can increase."
The early followers of Jesus came on the scene in the
context of a time when they must have sounded like visitors from outer
space. Everything they did and said was completely against the norms
of life at that time. The Jews were totally bound up in the total
commitment to law, and the law, in all its details, took precedence
over everything else. The early Christians spoke of, and practised
a law of love, where love took precedence. The Romans were into power,
conquest, and the spreading of their Empire, while the early Christians
spoke of poverty, of sharing, and of surrender. They spoke of power
in weakness, of victory through forgiveness, and of a kingdom that
ran contrary to every accepted definition of the day. Amidst all the
puzzlement, there was one thing about them that drew equal acknowledgement
from all who watched them. "See how these Christians love one
another." Their actions spoke louder than their words. Like Jesus
with the disciples of John, they gave witness in their own lives to
the very message that they preached. Giving witness is the only authentic
way to preach or to spread the gospel. What I am is my message, not
what I say. If I enter your house and tell you I have measles, when
I actually have chickenpox, which are you likely to catch?
Isaiah had foretold the signs. Jesus pointed to the
signs as proof of who he was. Before leaving his apostles, he commissioned
them to go forth, and spread the good news among all the nations.
"And these are the signs that shall accompany those who believe
in me. The blind will see, the lame will walk, and the poor will have
good news preached to them."
Let go, and let God. Like John, I begin to get out
of the way, once I stop trying to play God. Only God can do God-things.
I am powerless over persons, places, and things. Only God can change
the human heart, including, of course, my own heart. Because of original
sin, (and the freewill which God gave his people) God's creation was
totally messed up, so Jesus came to set things right again. Once Jesus
appears on the scene, it is time for us mere mortals to get out of
the way, and let him do what is needed. Like John the Baptist, we
can prepare the way, and make straight the paths, as we unwrap the
deceits, the sins, and the sickness that he has come to remove.
"I assure you, of all who have ever lived, none
is greater than John the Baptist." The greatness of the Baptist
came from his humility, and his willingness to yield to someone greater
than himself. Many of the people believed him to be the Messiah, but
he strongly denied it, and would not allow anyone afford him the rightful
place reserved for the One who would follow him, the One for whom
he was preparing the way. There is a striking similarity between Mary
and John the Baptist. They kept Jesus and his message at the centre
of all that they did, and, in a way, they were like signposts pointing
to Jesus.
Look again at the people whom the world calls great.
Many of them may be great, by any standards, but some may appear to
have feet of clay, when compared to the standard of greatness proposed
by Jesus. It takes true greatness to be able to forgive, to admit
that I'm wrong, to turn to another and ask for help. It takes true
greatness to minister with great love to those who, because of a mental
disability, are unable to say "thanks." These angels of
charity are the greatest people on earth.
"How great Thou art, how great Thou art."
If you were to write your own obituary notice, what are the things
in your life that could deserve the term great, in that their value
is eternal, and will continue long after your departure from this
earth?
Look again at the little people in your life, those
who carry out the everyday humdrum services that keep life going all
around you. Can you find any greatness among them? Begin with those
closest to you, the ones you are more inclined to take for granted.
It was Jesus who said that the prophet is never accepted in his own
home.
Like an alcoholic trying to attain and maintain sobriety
without the help of a Higher Power, can you identify some one thing
in your life that can be changed or improved, only if you are willing
to get out of the way, and let God be God? God is, as it were, on
stand-by, waiting and willing to move in, and do for you something
that you have been unsuccessfully struggling with for years.
Jesus was lavish in his praise for John. He was grateful
for what John had done. Find someone in your life who has merited
your gratitude, and who deserves your praise, and follow the example
of Jesus. I sometimes joke that if you want to hear something nice
about a person, you will have to wait for the funeral. Why not send
someone the flowers when she can still smell them? They're of little
use to her on the lid of her coffin.
As you go away from church today, could you tell someone
else, in a few simple words, something important that you heard here
this morning? If you can think of what it is, and remember it, maybe
you'll get a chance to share that with someone today.
An old missionary in Africa had reached the end of
his days, and he was recalled to Ireland, to retire in a purpose-built
retirement home. He had been an extraordinary man of God, and of common-sense
goodness. He became totally involved with the people. He helped them
with their crops, with their animals, and in building their makeshift
houses. His life was his greatest sermon and, when he did preach,
he did so in their language, and he spoke about things that were part
of their everyday lives and experiences.
A newly ordained priest, fresh from a brilliant academic
preparation in Rome, and someone who was going places in the institutional
Church was replacing him. The old man was asked to remain on for a
while to act as interpreter; and, as the young man was so intelligent,
this would be for a limited period of time. The first Sunday, the
young man got up to speak. His opening sentence was "God is infinite
in his nature, and transcendental in his essence." He paused
for a moment to allow for a translation. The old man was seen to have
a look of puzzlement on his face, as he yanked up the twine holding
up his trousers, scratched his head, thought for a while, and then
spoke: "He said that he's awful glad to be with you'.
"By their fruits you will know them. These are
the signs that will accompany those who speak in my name."
Is 7:10-14. The wonderful prophecy about "Emmanuel - God
with us" is clearer for us than it was for king Ahaz, seven centuries
before Christ. For us, it applies to Jesus, born of the virgin Mary.
Rom 1:1-7. In a densely-packed introduction to his greatest
epistle, Paul gives the earliest Christian beliefs about Jesus.
Mt 1:18-24. The virginal conception of the Son of God is revealed
to the quiet, just man, Joseph. He comes to believe in the miracle
that Jesus is God's presence among us, "Emmanu-El."
Theme:
We pay special honour at Christmas to Mary, who she gave birth to
our Saviour. Faith accepts the mysterious virgin birth, as part of
the totality of God's mysterious ways.
For the Homily
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of
the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But
Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David!
Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman
is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through
his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son,
who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared
to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by
resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we
have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves
who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God's beloved in
Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this
way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they
lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose
her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when
he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in
a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the
Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for
he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken
by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means,
"God is with us."
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of
the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife.
We pray:
- that Mary will always intercede for us with her Son.
- that because of Mary we will always cherish single
mothers.
- that society will accord mothers the rights that
are their due.
- that all members of the church may listen to the
call to be fully human, because God is with us.
Is 63:16-17,19, 64:1, 3-8. While freely admitting his people's sinfulness,
The prophet recalls God's goodness to Israel. In the end, it is only
God who can save his people.
1 Cor 1:3-9. As we await the return of Christ in glory, the grace
of God is always near to keep us steadfast in living our Christian
life.
Mk 13:33-37. We are expected to stay awake at our appointed tasks,
because we simply do not know the day or hour when the Master will
return, to bring in the new age.
Theme:
What is death, an end or a beginning? Is it annihilation, or, as our
Christian faith holds, a new birth? We could begin the liturgical
year by placing our lives in this perspective.
For the Homily
For you are our father,
though Abraham does not know us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our father;
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
Why, O Lord, do you make us stray from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we do not fear you?
Turn back for the sake of your servants,
for the sake of the tribes that are your heritage.
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence
-
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil
- to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted.
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to God always for you because of
the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every
way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge-even
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you-so that you are
not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of
our Lord Jesus Christ; who will sustain you to the end, guiltless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you
were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time
will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home
and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the
doorkeeper to be on the watch.
Therefore, keep awake-for
you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening,
or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you
asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all:
Keep awake."
We pray:
- that our God may put our lives in his perspective
this Advent.
- that we may respect the elderly as pilgrims on their
way to the Father.
- that we may ready ourselves this Advent for the coming
of "the day of the Lord."
- that we may remain spiritually awake, and alert to
justice and compassion.
Is 40:1-5. Isaiah's good news is still true for us today: God
is coming to save his people and to open up our way into the future.
2 Pt 3:8-14. If the Lord appears to be slow in coming, it is so
that people may have more time to repent and so be ready to meet him
when he comes.
Mk 1:1-8. John the Baptist appears on the scene to announce
the imminent coming of their Saviour and to prepare the people for
that great event.
Theme:
John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ by raising expectations.
Once Jesus had arrived, there only remained for John to disappear
gracefully from the scene
For the Homily
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their
hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear
him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with
the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are
like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think
of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but
all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like
a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and
the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything
that is done on it will be disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this
way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness
and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved,
and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his
promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness
is at home.
Therefore, beloved,
while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him
at peace, without spot or blemish.
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See,
I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of
the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John the baptizer appeared
in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness
of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the
people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him
in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with
camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts
and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful
than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie
the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
We pray:
- that we may prepare the way for Christ in the lives
of our families and friends.
- that we may not alienate the young by our fussiness.
- that we may know when it is best for us to retire,
to make way for others and for Christ.
- that those whose lives are hard to bear may find
their consolation in the mercy of our blessed Lord.
Is 61:1-2, 10-11. The inspired prophet was anointed by God and sent
to bring good news to the poor. Jesus used this text to announce the
programme of his own ministry.
1Thess 5:16-24. St. Paul tells the Thessalonians how they ought to
live as they wait for the second Coming of Christ
Jn 1:6-8,19-28. John the Baptist makes it very clear that he is not
the Saviour. His task is humbler: to prepare a welcome for the Lord
who coming among his people.
Theme:
Paul urges his christians to be happy always. The world is full of
experts on happiness, but also of unhappy people. Paul's own blueprint:
prayer, gratitude and a generous response to the Holy Spirit.
For the Homily
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring
up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his
servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
which he promised to Abraham and his children forever.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in
all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets,
but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every
form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely;
and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will do this.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe
through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify
to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent
priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the
Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He
answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you?
Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about
yourself?"
He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in
the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the
prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They
asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the
Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I
baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the
one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of
his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where
John was baptizing.
2 Sam 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16. King David had hoped to build a house
(a temple) for God. But he has to accept that it is really God who
will build a house (a dynasty) for him.
Rom 16:25-27. God's plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles is
fulfilled in Christ. This good news must be spread everywhere, whether
by St. Paul or by people like ourselves.
Lk 1:26-38. Mary gives her consent to become the mother of the
Redeemer. Even though at first she does not fully understand what
she must do, her answer is Yes.
Theme:
What God does for us is greater than what we do for God. And yet he
is pleased by our desire to serve him through good works.
For the Homily
Now when the king was settled in his house, and the
Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king
said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house
of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to
the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is
with you."
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one
to build me a house to live in? Now therefore thus you shall say to
my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the
pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;
and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your
enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like
the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place
for my people Israel and will plant them, so that thfey may live in
their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict
them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over
my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.
Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors,
I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from
your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to
me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as
mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. Your house and
your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall
be established forever.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to
all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen
one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
I will establish your descendants forever,
and build your throne for all generations.
Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
I will establish his line forever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure."
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according
to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is
now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to
all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to
bring about the obedience of faith-to the only wise God, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel as sent by God
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was
Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The
Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will
give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since
I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called
Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also
conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said
to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God."
Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel
departed from her.
We pray:
- that Mary's courage may inspire us to meet the challenges
in our Christian lives.
- that we may never dishonour Mary by discriminating
against women or by sexual harrassment.
- that we may show a special concern for single mothers.
- that we may understand better the deep truth that
God raises up the lowly and brings down the proud.
Jer 33:14-16. The son of David (the Messiah) will soon visit his
people and he will bring them wisdom, justice and integrity.
1 Thess 3:12-4:2. The grace of God deepens the love the Thessalonians
have for each other, a love that then reaches out more widely.
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36. In symbolic language borrowed from the Old Testament
Luke describes the final coming of Christ. It is not so much to be
feared as to be welcomed.
Theme:
Our preparation for the coming of our Saviour starts today. As he
came amongst us vulnerable as a child, so we reflect on the most vulnerable
in society, the least of his brethren.
For the Homily
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will
fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of
Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch
to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness
in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will
live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The
Lord is our righteousness."
Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to them.
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And
may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless
before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all
his saints.
Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you
in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live
and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more
and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord
Jesus.
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and
the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the
roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and
foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud'
with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place,
stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing
near."
"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed
down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life,
and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come
upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all
times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these
things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
We pray:
- that we may always be aware of and merciful toward
the most vulnerable in society.
- that we may always defend the right to life of the
unborn child.
- that we may prepare ourselves this Advent to welcome
the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
- For people in government and in positions of authority,
that they may see the value of humble, loving service to others.
Bar 5:1-9. Jerusalem can forget the sufferings of the past,
in the joy of seeing her exiled children coming home. God will level
out a highway to enable them return from their long exile.
Phil 1:3-6, 8-11. Paul calls for unity, perseverance
and clear witness to Christ and the Gospel. At the same time his love
for his fellow Christians shines through the text.
Lk 3:1-6. The heart of John the Baptist's message is that God
is coming in a new way among us. We are urged to prepare a way for
God, through sincere repentance.
Theme:
John the Baptist is a model of preparing in Advent for the coming
of Christ. Those who have the care of children should try to give
them a deep religious sense of the significance of Christmas
For the Homily
The Lord says this:
Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction,
O Jerusalem,
and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.
Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from
God;
put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;
for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven.
For God will give you evermore the name,
"Righteous Peace, Godly Glory."
Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
look toward the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that God has remembered them.
For they went out from you on foot,
led away by their enemies;
but God will bring them back to you,
carried in glory, as on a royal throne.
For God has ordered that every high mountain
and the everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.
The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel at God's command.
For God will lead Israel with joy,
in the light of his glory,
with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
Then it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly
praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because
of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident
of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it
to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with
the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love
may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help
you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may
be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of
Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and
Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood
of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah
in the wilderness.
He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming
a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written
in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
We pray:
- that we may always hear the voice of God in our noisy
and often discordant world.
- for the gift of discernment to listen for and then
recognise the true voice of God.
- that we may lend our voices to God to pass on his
Good News to others.
- that we may live lives full of joy, guided by the
spirit of the gospel.
Zeph 3:14-18. Jerusalem is urged to rejoice because her salvation
is at hand and God himself will protect his people. We too should
take heart from this message of hope.
Phil 4:4-7. This urges us to rejoice in the Lord, to br free of
anxiety and to live in a spirit of prayer and thanksgiving.
Lk 3:10-18. John the Baptist tells various groups of people the
works of justice and charity they must do in order to prepare for
the Lord's coming and to escape his searching judgement.
Theme:
John the Baptist, when asked by the people how to make ready for the
Messiah, says to share with those who had nothing. We must do the
same if we wish Christ to be reborn in our lives this Christmas
For the Homily
Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear,
O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not
worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And the crowds asked John , "What then should
we do?" In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats
must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they
asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He said to them,
"Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." Soldiers
also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to
them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,
and be satisfied with your wages."
As the people were filled with expectation, and all
were questioning in their hearts concerning John , whether he might
be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize
you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am
not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand,
to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary;
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." So, with
many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
We pray:
- that our Christian community may experience more
fully the spirit of justice and sharing that was proclaimed by John
the Baptist.
- that we may both feel and show more solidarity with
the poor and the dispossessed, because of our faith in Christ.
- that we may allot a greater share of our huge Christmas
budgets to charitable purposes.
- that we may make greater efforts to create employment
in our communities, and give everybody a fair chance in life.
Mic 5:2-5. When Jerusalem was under siege the prophet said that
salvation would come from a comparatively insignificant place - Bethlehem
- to unite the nation under God.
Heb 10:5-10. The sacrifices of the old, Mosaic Law were unable
to purify people from sin. Only Christ, our supreme High Priest, can
effect reconciliation between us and God.
Lk 1:39-45. This tells of Mary's kindly visit
to Elizabeth. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth praises Mary's
faith and recognises the unique child that she carries within her.
Theme:
Today's Gospel records the Visitation, Mary's visit to her cousin,
Elizabeth. It is an apt moment for us to reflect on the position of
women in our society.
For the Homily
The Lord says this:
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the
little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is
to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in
labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in
the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his
God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the
ends of the earth, and he shall be the one of peace.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted.
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you
have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have
taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your
will, O God' (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."
When he said above, "You have neither desired
nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings
and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes
the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God's will
that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a
Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child
leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to
me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard
the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
************
- that, like our blessed mother, we may be eager to
learn and to do God's holy will.
- that we may be generous, as she was, with her time,
and go to visit others from a sense of kindness and compassion.
- that we may be willing to listen to other people's
story, and share with them our own experience of God.
- for a spirit of courage, mixed with prudence, that
we may know when to set out in search of new horizons, and when to
return to the daily routine.
Advent Homilies
Expect the Unexpected
Looking to the Future
Starting the Liturgical Year
Following The Signs
Postponing, 'til Later
Today, the first Advent Sunday, marks the beginning
of a period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ,
our Saviour, at Christmas. All the readings in the Mass advise us
most urgently to make ourselves ready, to be on the alert, to turn
aside from our sinful ways, and give more time to God in our lives.
"Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord," Isaiah says
in the first reading. We must not live lives of darkness and of sin,
St Paul admonishes his listeners; but let us put on the armour of
God's grace, and appear in the light, meaning that our consciences
should have nothing to hide at any time, but rather be open to the
promptings of the Holy Spirit directing them. "Be vigilant, stay
awake," the gospel warns, at any moment you may be called upon
to make an eternal choice, and that as unexpectedly as the people
who were swallowed up by the Flood, in the time of Noah.
Outwardly, people may appear the same, like the men
working in the fields or the women grinding at the millstone, but
inwardly they have responded differently to the graces God has given
them. So they are in varying states of preparedness for what is to
come, with the result that while some will be taken into God's kingdom,
others will be left or rejected. This is true of every single individual,
for as we pass through life we are all being faced with a choice between
two ways, either that of slavery to evil tendencies in our lives,
which we call sin, or, on the other hand, that of grace, which is
allowing Jesus Christ be our guide and exemplar in all that we do.
It is only when we sincerely try to model our lives
on that of Christ that our spirits will experience real freedom. Jesus
himself said to the Jews (Jn 8:32), "If you persevere in my word,
you will indeed be my disciples. You will learn the truth, and the
truth will make you free." Persevering in the word of Jesus demands
that we listen to it, as it comes to us from out the scriptures and
from within our consciences; also that we think about it and study
its requirements, and that we put into action what we have learned.
The true disciple of Christ asks the question, "What am I setting
before myself as the main purpose of my life?" My career, the
gaining of material possessions, the pursuit of pleasure, or the service
of God and my neighbour? The truth of Jesus will teach us what things
are really important and what are not. Furthermore, discipleship of
Christ brings its own rewards. It brings freedom from fear, fear about
oneself, fear about one's ability to cope with life, fear about contradiction
and opposition from others, fear about death and the uncertainty of
life thereafter. "In love there can be no fear," St John
wrote (1 Jn 4:18), "but perfect love casts out fear; because
to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still
imperfect in love."
If we end up having no love or reverence towards God,
no respect or consideration or pity towards others, then we will have
reached the stage of choosing to be lost, as Jesus, in his prayer
at the Last Supper, said of Judas. "Father, I kept those you
had given me true to your name. I have watched over them, and not
one is lost except the one who chose to be lost." This is what
should really frighten us, that the choice of our own destiny for
all eternity rests entirely with ourselves.
If the Son of Man comes unexpectedly and finds us wanting,
then we, who were part of the divine plans and designs from the moment
of creation, we who were born to love, to be united with our Creator
for ever in heaven, we will depart this world, and find ourselves
unloving, frustrated by our rejection of love, utterly incapable of
any response to the love of the God who will still love us. To prevent
such a tragedy, it is necessary for us from time to time to take a
critical look at ourselves, at the kind of lives we are leading, the
response we are making to God's grace. We should take note of our
patterns of behaviour, but far more importantly our sets of values,
what we regard as important in life.
Advent is a time when we ought to do precisely this.
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord," the first
reading tells us, "to the Temple of the God of Jacob, that he
may teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The
second reading is of special significance in that it finally brought
about the conversion of St Augustine after he had opened the New Testament
at random at that very passage, and please God it will help us to
look into our own lives and, if needs be, change them too.
John Osborne's novel Look Back in Anger dealt
with the disillusionment a man faced in his youth, due to inequality
and unfairness in society. Looking back is less popular today; the
modern tendency is rather to Look Ahead, and many pundits are happy
to forecast our future. (Conservationists, Ecologists, Demographers,
City Planners, Sociologists, Actuaries and Life-Insurance agents.)
All this peering into half-foreseeable social facts is useful, up
to a point. As rational people, we ought to look ahead, and make plans
for future contingencies.
Nor is there a shortage of prophets-of-doom, predicting
ecological disasters, over-population and world-wide scarcity of raw
materials. Like them, the Old Testament prophets often predict a gloomy
future, seeing their people caught in the tight grip of sin. However,
remembering God's personal love for humankind, they usually end their
forecasts in hopeful mood, promising salvation at the end of a period
of trial.
Isaiah today prophecies an age of peace upon earth.
He looks to a time when all nations will enjoy God's blessings, and
share with his chosen people in a universal spirit of joyful worship.
Even today, we should be doing our part to make this vision a reality,
working for justice and harmony among people, and so preparing for
the Kingdom of God. Instead, we Christians have sometimes been accused
(rightly?) of not caring enough for the future of this world, and
focusing too much on reaching a distant heaven. We don't seem as actively
committed to social change, law reform, or the fair distribution of
wealth as the Communists.
It does appear that Catholics pay less attention to
our Church's social teachings than to pronouncements on such personal
matters as contraception. And yet, in the light of the Gospel, our
social behaviour is no less important than the private area of sexual
morality. Perhaps we need to be "re-awakened" to these priorities,
just as Paul urged his Christians to awake, and be on the alert, for
the time available to us is short. (Cfr. the song: "I may never
pass this way again" - same moral.)
Jesus is no "prophet of doom;" his message
is good news for all who want to be saved from sin. The future he
offers us upon his return is a glorious one: a blessed life without
end, shared with himself and all the redeemed. But not all will enter
that life, it seems. Today's Gospel warns us to be ready for Our Lord's
return. His coming will be sudden, unexpected, and final. Some, by
their faith and good actions, will be ready for judgement; others,
never having given a thought to what God requires, may not. ("One
will be taken, the other will be left.")
Now is the acceptable time; Now is the day of salvation!
During this Advent we can raise our awareness of the future that awaits
us, when Christ comes in final judgement upon this world and our personal
part in it. The best preparation is to take our full part in life,
here and now. Although in the dark of winter, we think about rebirth.
Christianity gives a focus to an optimism which is basic to human
nature. As Wolfhart Pannenberg put it, "It belongs to the essence
of human existence to hope beyond death." Our everyday hopefulness
is based on the biggest hope of all: that death will not have the
last word.
There is a note of urgency and summons to alertness
in both the second reading and the gospel today. These might provide
one with a jumping-off point for some reflections on the start of
the liturgical year.
Conversion: One might adapt or make use of Paul's imagery
of throwing off the bed-clothes and dressing for the daytime. The
whole image is one of getting ready to take on another day. There
is a hint here of the struggle that some people experience in trying
to get up in the morning - a symbol for conversion. The day that has
to be faced is the new day of Christ's final coming. The real question
to be faced is "Can we face Christ?" "Have we really
cast off the deeds of darkness/self-interest, in favour of living
in the light of the gospel?" The gospel faces us with this question
about how alert we are to our real selves. We are supposed to belong
to Christ; have we really lived as if that were true? Part of the
struggle of taking on a new day is the struggle to hope that it may
be better than the failures of the day before. The process of conversion,
turning from the darkness to the light, is only made possible by the
gift of the light itself. It is the rising of the sun that calls us
to get up. It was the coming of Christ into the world as its light
that makes true conversion possible.
The renewal of the old: Part of the process of beginning
a new liturgical year is a reflection on time, the relationship between
past, present and future. The "time" that we celebrate in
Christian liturgy is not the static time of repeated patterns that
never change from year to year. What we celebrate centrally in our
worship are events from the contingency of history; events that we
claim to represent. Starting a new year we need to remember that the
saving events of Christ's life, death and resurrection, have to be
made present in life as well as liturgy. It is in the changing circumstances
of new life and new history that the mystery of salvation will unfold.
In this new year we will all change, both individually and as community;
we pray today that the change will be for the better realization of
Christ's presence among us. It is important for us to be able to focus
on this hope-in-change for the sake of the young people in the community
who sometimes experience the church community as a relic of the past,
"unreal" and isolated from the dynamics of history.
The new world: Today we are presented with an old vision
of a new world. It is so old that some people think it will never
become real. It is the vision of a world at peace (first reading.)
The challenge of that lesson is addressed to each of us, the challenge
to walk in the light of the Lord. It is only through seeking his revelation
and living it out that the peoples of the earth will find the way
to this new world of peace. The task of building this reality is given
to all people but especially to Christians who follow the ultimate
peace-maker (cf. Eph 2:11 ff..) The challenge and the urgency of the
call to build peace is not confined to the scriptural word of God.
Contemporary analysts tell us of the importance of transforming the
instruments of war into tools for the development of a world at peace.
Some years ago, in a stark report entitled North South: A Programme
for Survival, Dr. Willi Brandt wrote: "The public must be
made more aware of the terrible danger to world stability caused by
the arms race, of the burden it imposes on national economies, and
of the resources it diverts from peaceful development." This
task of building peace is not something simply for public leaders
and politicians. The arms race is at world level a symbol of our own
personal will to power, our unwillingness to let go of our
self-indulgence for the sake of others' rights. The challenge of the
gospel to all of us is to turn our own resources and wealth to the
advantage of others, rather than to the extension of our own power
over others.
The new liturgical year offers us the hope that we
will be better peace-makers in the future. It offers us the hope that
if we do "put on Christ" our young people will not lose
heart, and our liturgical celebrations will be turned not merely towards
the past but towards a living presence and a real future.
The famous Czechoslovakian film-maker Milos Forman,
was interviewed a few years ago on television. It was the period when
all the political changes were taking place in Eastern Europe after
the collapse of communism. He was asked about the prospects for the
future. The Czechs, he said, were exchanging the zoo for the jungle.
For three generations they had lived in a zoo under communist dictatorship.
Now that the zoo-keepers were disposed of and their cages unlocked,
they had all the freedom of the jungle. His comment has since proved
prophetic. In the zoo they were fed and looked after by their keepers,
sufficiently though frugally. They had their cages, which protected
them from the elements and other predators. Their days were passed
with regular supervised exercises. All they lacked was the freedom
to roam at will. Such was the socialist society under communism. It
provided its citizens with housing, education and health services,
however basic. Unemployment did not exist officially. They were now
released into the wild, to survive in the jungle of capitalist society.
Here, the norm is the survival of the fittest. Jobs are scarce, housing
is in short supply and expensive, health services and education are
two-tiered. Society is divided into the "haves and the "have-nots
. It is a dog eat dog world. In any case, most zoo-raised animals
would not survive in the wild. They have lost the knack of surviving.
Forman's prediction came true. A few short years later, they welcomed
back their former zoo-keepers. Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Hungary,
Czech Republic etc., re-elected communist governments.
In his poem, The Second Coming, William Butler
Yeats comes close to describing what they experienced:
Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold,
mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
the blood dimmed tide is loosed
and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The best lack all conviction
while the worst are full of passionate intensity,
Surely some revelation is at hand,
surely the Second Coming is at hand.
Today we prepare for Christmas and the coming of Christ.
But beyond that we look forward to the Second Coming, which Christ
speaks about in the gospel. Recent political events, spectacular though
they may be, do not herald the imminence of the Second Coming, when
Christ will return at the end of the world. But they are straws in
the wind that bring it to mind. Programmes to convert former tank
factories into tractor-production seems almost the fulfilment of Isaiah's
prophecy:
These will hammer their swords into ploughshares,
their spears into sickles.
Nation will not lift sword against nation,
there will be no more training for war.
But as the gospel says, we "know not the day or
the hour." We must go on living from day to day, yet always remain
ready for the Second Coming.
To travel anywhere by Metro in Paris, you must look
up the name of the end-line terminus in the direction you wish to
go. Once in the underground, you follow the signs with that name.
It leads you to a platform, over which hangs a sign with the word
Direction and the name of that terminus. The next train will take
you there. Life is full of crossroads, spaghetti junctions, criss-crossing
routes going in all directions. It is easy to lose the way, to get
lost. We can spend all our lives going everywhere and getting nowhere.
Advent is a signpost on our way, giving us direction. The end of the
line for us is Christ's glorious advent and eternal life.
If what happened that first Christmas night were to
literally happen again, year after year, there still would be people
who would find some reason for putting off getting ready to meet him
until next year. Jesus never comes at the right time! Some things
never change. Just as, on that first Christmas morning, when the Messiah
came, there were many hearts and homes closed against him, so will
it continue to be per omnia secula seculorum (forever and ever). And
one of those times will be his Final Coming; time will be no more;
and the last train will have left the station. All diets start on
Monday. Today is the day you were always going to do all those things
you kept putting off till tomorrow. There is nothing more powerful
than an idea whose time has come.
John finally made it to the movies! There was a movie
made about him, and it was called "I'll quit tomorrow."
He was a chronic alcoholic, and he spent his life convincing himself
and everyone else, that he was going to quit tomorrow. The opening
scene of the movie is quite dramatic. The coffin is being lowered
into the grave, while his wife and four young children are huddled
together, by the graveside. For John, tomorrow had come, and, yes,
he had quit drinking.
Some things never change, but one thing has changed.
Bethlehem is no longer outside Jerusalem. It is in your heart, and
it is there that the manger must be prepared for this Christmas. Because
of our brokenness, and the human condition, we have nothing better
to offer, nor does God choose to be born anywhere else than where
Salvation is most needed.
At the time of creation God offered a covenant of infinite,
endless love. When we rejected that, he sent his Son Jesus to offer
us a covenant of infinite, endless mercy and forgiveness. If we reject
that, he will send Jesus, once again, to proclaim a time of infinite
and final justice. God doesn't send me anywhere when I die. He eternalises
the choices and the decisions that I make now. It certainly won't
be God's fault if I am not infinitely happy for all eternity.
We all know people who live with a worldly mind-set.
They are continually checking the latest news from the Stock Exchange,
the trends in world marketing, or the changes in international currency.
For us, lesser fish, we watch out for sales, for bargains, for special
deals. We arrive at the surgery with our latest symptoms, and we call
the emergency services at the slightest hint of danger. As a rule,
we are normal, sensible people, who don't take chances, and we live
with a fair degree of enlightened common sense. What Jesus is talking
about in today's gospel is something very, very serious.
Response It is vital for us to appreciate the wonderful
gift of Time. God is totally a God of now ("I am who am'). The
only yes in my whole life in which he is interested is my yes of now.
Today is a unique and special gift, and not everyone received that
gift. Because it is a gift, could that be why we call it "the
present?" Written on the gift are the words "batteries included."
With each day comes the daily bread for living that day.
Do we ever reflect on the possibility that we might
be walking around half-asleep? The Advent liturgies call on us to
"Arise from your slumber." Quite a lot of me could be dormant,
and, if I died this moment, and God asked me "Did you enjoy my
creation?" would I have to admit that I never really took much
notice of it. Oh, I travelled to other countries to admire the scenery,
but I may not have bothered too much about my own back garden. This
day is entirely unique. It has never happened before, and it will
never return. The same is true of this Christmas. I can approach this
Christmas as if it were the only such once-off occasion in my whole
life, and that would make all the difference.
Mary said Yes at the annunciation, and so Christmas
followed. Christmas is God saying yes to us, as he comes to rescue
us, to set us free from our own bondage, and to bring us safely home
for all eternity. My own personal yes could be the only piece of the
formula of salvation still not in place
Take at least one minute out today; go down into your
heart, open the door, and say your own personal yes to Jesus for this
Christmas. You don't have to understand it - just do it!
As the holly, the decorations, the jingle bells, and
all the downtown razzmatazz builds up, just continue to keep in touch
with your heart, where you want the manger to be. As you buy Christmas
gifts, or convey good wishes this Christmas, just make sure that all
of that is coming from your heart, so that your gift is really a gift,
and your good wishes are really a blessing.
Let your heart continually pray the simple one-word
prayer of yes. Do this, and leave the rest to God. This will be your
most blessed, and your most sincere Christmas; it could be the beginning
of the alertness that Jesus asks for in today's gospel. When he comes
will he find you ready ? The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
When all is said and done, there's much more said than done.
There is a famous and beautiful picture of Jesus knocking
on a door. When this picture was first shown to the public, the artist's
attention was drawn to a serious flaw. There was no handle on the
door! The artist explained that this was deliberate, because it represented
the reality. The door is the door of the human heart, and there is
no handle on the outside. Jesus cannot enter unless I open the door
and invite him in. "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone
opens the door, I will come in and we will share a meal as friends."
If I open the door and let Jesus in, then I can be sure that, later
on, I will hear another knock. If I ask "What is it now?",
he will answer "I want back out again!" Back out again through
my words and actions, etc.
The Jericho Road
Fruits of Repentance
Greatness of the Baptist
Man for All Seasons
Preparing for His Coming
Seeing God at work
All Things New
Signs of God's presence
Ambiguous Advent
Tomorrow's Heroes
Isaiah Spells It Out
The book which comes last in the Canon of Sacred Scripture
is the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse. It was written at a
period of persecution and tremendous hardship for the members of the
infant Church. Anyone who reflects on the last sentences of that book
cannot but be touched by the longing there expressed that God might
come and release his people from the suffering they were enduring.
The Church is referred to as the Bride, (the Bride
of Christ), and the author says "The Spirit and the Bride say,
"Come." Let everyone who hears say, "Come." The
one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: Indeed,
I am coming soon. Amen, come Lord Jesus." In this period leading
up to Christmas, we too should be giving voice to that same intense
longing. "Courage, do not be afraid. Look your God is coming,"
the liturgy reminds us. Our God is coming to save us. We might this
morning ask ourselves what salvation means to us. From what does Christ
save us? The answer, in the main, is twofold. He saves us firstly
from sin, and secondly from death. But most of us can admit that we
tend to be offhand and casual about sin, and rather dubious about
salvation from death, the inevitable end of every living thing.
However, about sin, if we look about us, we can see
the definite results of sin in the community, in society. It can lead
to divisions and strife, to violence against innocent victims, to
extortion and robbery. Where there is bitterness and lack of compassion,
where there is selfishness and the relentless pursuit of one's own
interests and desires without regard for the rights of others, there
is sin.
In complete contrast the example of Christ, and even
more so the merits gained by Christ, who was completely at one with
the will of the Father and the promptings of God's Holy Spirit, Christ
who gave of himself for others, who was the one for others, even to
the extent of laying down his life for them, all these can bring about
a change in those who sincerely invite Christ into their lives, a
change which can counteract the evil tendencies which are the results
of sin. And if we ask how Christ has conquered death, the answer is
that by his resurrection he has removed the fear of death from those
who have faith in him, for he has given a solemn promise that, if
we but believe, we also shall rise from the dead as he did. Instead
of feeling doomed to extinction, we can say in the words of scripture
"Oh death where is your sting, death where is your victory?"
(1 Cor 15:55).
Furthermore, on his final night on earth, Jesus left
us, as his last testimony, this Holy Eucharist which we are now celebrating,
as a sign and guarantee that this will come to pass. "They who
eat my body and drink my blood shall have life in them, and I will
raise them up on the last day." If our faith in the promises
of Jesus wavers, we are reassured by his answer to the query of John
the Baptist in today's gospel, "Are you the one who is to come
or have we got to wait for someone else?'
Obviously John also was going through a crisis of faith,
for before his imprisonment he had said of Jesus, "I am the witness
that he is the Chosen One of God" (Jn 1:34). Jesus' reply to
the disciples of John, who had put the question, was to go back and
tell John, not what Jesus was saying, but rather what he was doing.
John, with his knowledge of the Old Testament, would then understand
that in the healing of the sick, the lame, the blind, was clearly
revealed the sign which the prophet Isaiah declared would denote the
coming of the promised Messiah. God was at work in the actions of
Jesus.
But the significance of the blind seeing, the deaf
hearing, goes deeper than any physical cure. In Christ those who are
blind to the truth about themselves and God have their eyes opened,
in Christ those who falter in their pursuit of what is honourable
and just and pure have their steps strengthened, in Christ those who
were deaf to the voice of God and conscience begin to listen, in Christ
those who were dead and powerless in the grip of sin are restored
to newness and richness of life, in Christ the poorest are endowed
with the riches of God. This is the season when we are called to live
in the thought of Jesus as he once came, and as he will come again
for each one of us. It is the time to desire his second coming from
our affectionate and grateful remembrance of his coming on that first
Christmas (Cardinal Newman).
1. Not a throwaway God
In our consumer society, when something breaks or is
worn down, it is often easier to discard it and replace it with a
newer model (examples: car, T.V., shoes etc.), than to pay for its
repair. We even do it with some organs of the body itself (artificial
arteries, heart-valves.) But when we ourselves break down, and fall
into sin, God does not discard us; rather, He aims to repair us, make
us well again. His mighty work of creation is equalled by the "Re-creation,"
the blessings by which God helps us make a better job of our lives.
Symbol of this is the way He makes the desert into a fruitful garden,
pouring on the life-giving water of His Grace.
2. Saviour of the Poor
Our Lord's miracles were done to show this aspect of
God. His mercy has no limits, for poor people in need. Sickness, blindness,
poverty and sin may make a man seem of less value in the sight of
others, but not in the sight of God. Far from it. Jesus shows that
sorrow and suffering attract his most genuine sympathy. He is the
Saviour of the Poor, curing them of diseases, so that they can again
face life with hope. What a terrible thing if we Christians value
people only for their money, their talents, their sex-appeal, or their
sheer usefulness to ourselves. Then we could have no part of Christ's
spirit within us.
3. Could John have doubted?
Why did John the Baptist send from his prison cell
that urgent question to Jesus: "Are you He that is to come?"
Hadn't John recognised our Lord as the Messiah several months previously,
at the Jordan, when he proclaimed Him publicly as the Lamb of God?
Did John, faced with almost certain death under Herod, have doubts
or second thoughts about Jesus? Some say no, John only asked the question
for the sake of his followers, who needed confirmation of their faith
from Christ himself. But if John did have doubts, it was because of
the peaceful way that Jesus behaved, not at all like the violent revolutionary
the Jews expected as their Messiah. The answer to his question came
when Jesus told him what the true Messiah would be like: healer of
the sick, consoler of the suffering, preacher of freedom and truth
to the poor. In this way, John's faith in Jesus was made strong, giving
him courage to stand up against Herod, and accept the martyr's death.
4. Not a magic formula
"It is no secret what God can do; what he's done
for others, he'll do for you." Yes, we can be sure and certain
that God will provide for our needs. But the way He does it may not
be the exact way we would choose. It may be that He has marked out
for us a hard way, like that of the Baptist - in that case, His help
does not take away our problem, but helps us to face it bravely. Jesus
himself did not cure all the sick in his own day, not even all the
sick in Nazareth. If he restored some (a fraction) to bodily health,
it was a sign of the inward health he wants us all to have. He occasionally
works visible miracles, as encouragement and reminder; his inward
miracles are more frequent, patience, self-control, joy and charity.
5. Sure, yet Patient
So we need an open mind, as we ask the Lord's help
today in our needs. On the one side, sure that he can and will repair
the worn-out, sinful damage in our lives, on the other side, willing
to let Christ help us in his own time, and in his own way. As St James
puts it so well: "Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the
Lord." With this spirit of confidence and patience, we can face
any number of problems in life, and face even our death in peace,
like John the Baptist.
One could take as theme the signs of God's presence.
The pictures of the first reading are evocative of luxuriant richness
of God's goodness shown even in the natural world. Then the healing
of the various human disabilities underlies that God is interested
in all human beings for their good, not to condemn them. Along the
same lines one could point out how the Gospel healings go beyond those
enumerated in the prophecy. The true image of God as portrayed in
these passages together with the responsorial psalm could furnish
a useful homily for some congregations.
Another option would be to develop the aspects of human
response. The various readings lay emphasis on courage and patience
in the face of adversity. Possibly there is much adversity in everyone's
life from personal struggles or misunderstandings and everyone can
benefit from encouragement. The images used in the first reading could
help, weak hands, trembling knees, faint hearts. In the midst of human
weakness like the illnesses of the Gospel God shows his power. There
is a certain paradox in the fact that God's strength to heal would
not be visible to us without painful disability to illuminate it.
One could draw out that God is often present in situations where apparently
he is not tangible and that we can perceive only part of his plan.
Our faith is in One who is at the door to use the phrase of James.
Our faith proves itself in its steadfastness in the fact of suffering,
internal or external. Faith can mean waiting on God, as the Baptist
waited in the desert for long years.
Another option is offered by the idea of the Lord's
redeemed in the first reading. This great vision anticipates a joyful
gathering together of people set free by God and united in celebrating
on Mount Sion. Setting prisoners free, giving sight to the blind are
but two of the aspects of God's faithfulness that are praised in the
Responsorial psalm. Jesus shows that face of God in the Gospel For
the modern day Christian these scriptural symbols can be explained
as pledges of the inner freedom to love that God gives us through
his Spirit. Our weaknesses are ways in which we are hemmed in our
ability to reach out to God and to others in a selfless love. True
rejoicing involves being in a loving communion with God and others
as is prefigured in the first reading and this end-time situation
has its roots in our being through the Gift of God to his Christian
redeemed, the Spirit of Sonship that sets us free.
There are two sides to every coin, and for many people
the experience of life itself is ambiguous. It involves a fluctuation
between good and evil, sorrow and joy. At every party there will be
the person who does not fit in, at every wedding there will be the
unhappily married, or the lonely spinster. Times of joy can sharpen
the grief of those who suffer. The celebration of Christmas can also
be an experience of unhappiness for those who have suffered a bereavement
or other crisis at this time of year. For them it is difficult to
share in a general spirit that seems to offer only superficial bonhomie
rather than deep and lasting joy.
Today we might address this ambiguity not simply because
it is part of general human experience, but because this sense of
grappling with failure, of joy being found beyond suffering, is an
essential part of Christian experience itself.
Following the Lord's Prayer in our Liturgy there is
a development of the prayer "deliver us from evil." We say
"protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the
coming of our saviour Jesus Christ." There is more than a hint,
here, that our advent preparation and Christmas celebration have to
work through and beyond the threat of evil and the clutch of anxiety.
We are reminded that the Christian celebration of Christmas can never
be a merely escapist round of self-indulgent extravagance. Christian
joy and celebration cannot afford to be escapist; it must include
and accept the problems of life and still find hope. The coming of
Christ that we celebrate was itself an answer to the need for hope.
The joy promised to God's restored people, joy at the healing of human
pain (first reading) was presented as a reality brought about in the
ministry of Jesus (gospel.)
And yet, despite his coming to save, to give sight
to the blind, raise the dead etc. his good news could still be a stumbling
block. Despite his healing achievement, there are still those who
cry out "How long, 0 Lord?. How long shall I harbour sorrow in
my soul, grief in my heart day after day? (Ps 13:2-3.) The continuation
of this human cry two thousand years after the advent of Christ raises
questions about the fulfilment of our hopes. Those hopes were concentrated,
in early Christianity, in the expectation of the return of Christ
(cf. Acts 1:1-11 Thess 4:13-18; Rev 21:1 ff..) They expected this
final deliverance to come very soon. It did not come soon, it has
still not come, Yet looking in hope for that second coming is still
part of the meaning of advent.
What we all have to grapple with is this "delay"
in the final realization of the hope Christ has brought us. This means
being caught between what Christ has already brought and what has
not yet come about, The struggle with this ambiguity is not something
new in Christianity, but belonged already in the earliest generations.
They too had to learn that their hopes would not be realized in some
sudden cataclysmic event (cf. 2 Thess 2:1 ff..) In this "in-between"
situation we might all agree with the teacher of proverbs: "Hope
deferred makes the heart sick, but a wish fulfilled is a tree of life"
(Prov 13:12), but we also know that this sickness of heart is not
unto death. Like the condition of the man born blind it has a purpose
which will ultimately be the manifestation of the works of God (cf.
Jn 9:3 ff.)
Until that second coming, that final manifestation
of the healing works of God (first reading, gospel) we are called
to patient perseverance (second reading.) We are called to believe
that the good news brought by Jesus is gradually transforming the
world, even when this is not always visible. We are called to be patient
not only with our own sufferings but also with our own inadequacies
and the failings of others. We are called to share God's patience
which is giving us all the time to grow (2 Pet 3:8 ff..)
If we believe in the gospel of Christ and try to live
it out in all the ambiguities of our experience then we are being
transformed into the Risen One who was crucified by the ambiguities
of life for our sake.
When the history of the Soviet Union's turning aside
from its former brutal communist regime is rewritten, as it certainly
will be soon, one man will loom large. His name is Andrei Sakharov.
He died this week just five years ago. He was a most unlikely prophet,
a small, quiet-spoken, scholarly man, with none of the attributes
usually associated With great public figures. For years, he confronted
what must have been the greatest totalitarian regime the world has
ever seen. He was a distinguished scientist; in fact, he was one of
Russia's greatest scientists of this century. He could have had anything
the Soviet system had to offer its favourite sons. Instead he chose
to fight it, for the freedom and the civil rights of its citizens.
For this he paid dearly, spending years in prison and labour camps
in Siberia. But he never wavered. Sakharov was a Russian Jew and in
some striking ways bears, comparison to that other Jew in Palestine
two thousand years ago, John the Baptist. His too was a lone "voice
crying in the wilderness." He spoke out courageously against
the- corrup tion of a powerful regime. He resisted all the blandishments
his talents would have earned him. He could have "worn fine clothes
and lived in palaces" by the standards of ordinary Russians in
that harsh regime. And when they could not buy his silence, they locked
him away. He was in prison when the world first heard of him. From
there, his message of dissent escaped to make disciples in Russia
and abroad. He was no "reed swaying in the breeze." His
heroic dissent was a contagion which his cap tors were powerless to
contain. Eventually, yielding to world opinion - he had been awarded
the Nobel Prize while in prison - they were forced to release him.
His health was irretrievably broken. Nevertheless, he continued his
crusade. The seed he had sown in the wilderness so many years before
was coming to harvest. Then almost within sight of the promised land,
he died. Had he lived another few months he might have been, like
a Lech Walesa or a Vaclav Havel, elected President of Russia. But
he didn't. Perhaps history will be all the kinder to him because of
that.
As Christians, we should cherish our dissidents. So
often today's dissidents are tomorrow's heroes. Recognition, if it
comes at all, comes posthumously. They belong in the tradition of
John the Baptist, whom Christ praised so warmly in today's gospel.
Melito of Sardis wrote in the second century:
If you wish to see the mystery of the Lord,
it is he who endures many things:
it is he who was in Abel murdered,
and in Isaac bound,
and in Jacob exiled, and in Joseph sold, and in Moses
exposed, and in the lamb slain, and in David persecuted, and in the
prophets dishonoured.
Their role is best described by Isaiah in today's reading:
Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
"Courage, Do not be afraid.
Look, your God is coming he is coming to save you."
"He will open the eyes of the blind and unstop
the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who
cannot speak will shout and sing." When the disciples of John
the Baptist asked Jesus if he really were the Messiah, Jesus simply
asked them to look around and see for themselves. The words of the
prophet were being fulfilled right there before their eyes. Jesus
then went on to give John the highest possible commendation, because
John had fulfilled his own mission with total fidelity, and was now
in jail for his courage and his commitment. John had prepared the
way for Jesus, and, in his own words, he then got out of the way.
"I must decrease so that he can increase."
The early followers of Jesus came on the scene in the
context of a time when they must have sounded like visitors from outer
space. Everything they did and said was completely against the norms
of life at that time. The Jews were totally bound up in the total
commitment to law, and the law, in all its details, took precedence
over everything else. The early Christians spoke of, and practised
a law of love, where love took precedence. The Romans were into power,
conquest, and the spreading of their Empire, while the early Christians
spoke of poverty, of sharing, and of surrender. They spoke of power
in weakness, of victory through forgiveness, and of a kingdom that
ran contrary to every accepted definition of the day. Amidst all the
puzzlement, there was one thing about them that drew equal acknowledgement
from all who watched them. "See how these Christians love one
another." Their actions spoke louder than their words. Like Jesus
with the disciples of John, they gave witness in their own lives to
the very message that they preached. Giving witness is the only authentic
way to preach or to spread the gospel. What I am is my message, not
what I say. If I enter your house and tell you I have measles, when
I actually have chickenpox, which are you likely to catch?
Isaiah had foretold the signs. Jesus pointed to the
signs as proof of who he was. Before leaving his apostles, he commissioned
them to go forth, and spread the good news among all the nations.
"And these are the signs that shall accompany those who believe
in me. The blind will see, the lame will walk, and the poor will have
good news preached to them."
Let go, and let God. Like John, I begin to get out
of the way, once I stop trying to play God. Only God can do God-things.
I am powerless over persons, places, and things. Only God can change
the human heart, including, of course, my own heart. Because of original
sin, (and the freewill which God gave his people) God's creation was
totally messed up, so Jesus came to set things right again. Once Jesus
appears on the scene, it is time for us mere mortals to get out of
the way, and let him do what is needed. Like John the Baptist, we
can prepare the way, and make straight the paths, as we unwrap the
deceits, the sins, and the sickness that he has come to remove.
"I assure you, of all who have ever lived, none
is greater than John the Baptist." The greatness of the Baptist
came from his humility, and his willingness to yield to someone greater
than himself. Many of the people believed him to be the Messiah, but
he strongly denied it, and would not allow anyone afford him the rightful
place reserved for the One who would follow him, the One for whom
he was preparing the way. There is a striking similarity between Mary
and John the Baptist. They kept Jesus and his message at the centre
of all that they did, and, in a way, they were like signposts pointing
to Jesus.
Look again at the people whom the world calls great.
Many of them may be great, by any standards, but some may appear to
have feet of clay, when compared to the standard of greatness proposed
by Jesus. It takes true greatness to be able to forgive, to admit
that I'm wrong, to turn to another and ask for help. It takes true
greatness to minister with great love to those who, because of a mental
disability, are unable to say "thanks." These angels of
charity are the greatest people on earth.
"How great Thou art, how great Thou art."
If you were to write your own obituary notice, what are the things
in your life that could deserve the term great, in that their value
is eternal, and will continue long after your departure from this
earth?
Look again at the little people in your life, those
who carry out the everyday humdrum services that keep life going all
around you. Can you find any greatness among them? Begin with those
closest to you, the ones you are more inclined to take for granted.
It was Jesus who said that the prophet is never accepted in his own
home.
Like an alcoholic trying to attain and maintain sobriety
without the help of a Higher Power, can you identify some one thing
in your life that can be changed or improved, only if you are willing
to get out of the way, and let God be God? God is, as it were, on
stand-by, waiting and willing to move in, and do for you something
that you have been unsuccessfully struggling with for years.
Jesus was lavish in his praise for John. He was grateful
for what John had done. Find someone in your life who has merited
your gratitude, and who deserves your praise, and follow the example
of Jesus. I sometimes joke that if you want to hear something nice
about a person, you will have to wait for the funeral. Why not send
someone the flowers when she can still smell them? They're of little
use to her on the lid of her coffin.
As you go away from church today, could you tell someone
else, in a few simple words, something important that you heard here
this morning? If you can think of what it is, and remember it, maybe
you'll get a chance to share that with someone today.
An old missioner in Africa had reached the end of his
days, and he was recalled to Ireland, to retire in a purpose-built
retirement home. He had been an extraordinary man of God, and of common-sense
goodness. He became totally involved with the people. He helped them
with their crops, with their animals, and in building their makeshift
houses. His life was his greatest sermon and, when he did preach,
he did so in their language, and he spoke about things that were part
of their everyday lives and experiences.
A newly ordained priest, fresh from a brilliant academic
preparation in Rome, and someone who was going places in the institutional
Church was replacing him. The old man was asked to remain on for a
while to act as interpreter; and, as the young man was so intelligent,
this would be for a limited period of time. The first Sunday, the
young man got up to speak. His opening sentence was "God is infinite
in his nature, and transcendental in his essence." He paused
for a moment to allow for a translation. The old man was seen to have
a look of puzzlement on his face, as he yanked up the twine holding
up his trousers, scratched his head, thought for a while, and then
spoke: "He said that he's awful glad to be with you'.
"By their fruits you will know them. These are
the signs that will accompany those who speak in my name."
Eyes of faith
Jesus, Our Ladder to God
Promise and Fulfilment
Spirit of Optimism
Believe that God is with us
A Female Figure With A Child
Knowing our place before God
In the second reading today, which is the introduction
to the Letter to the Romans, St Paul describes himself as "a
servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and
specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago
through his prophets." We might consider the question, where
in the scriptures can we find this promise of God? To do this we should
bear in mind that there are two ways in which we can get to the meaning
of a passage in scripture. There is, first of all, the literal sense,
or what message the author wanted to convey when writing it. And then,
there is the message which the Holy Spirit wants to convey to us as
we read the passage.
The first reading today from the prophet Isaiah, which
is known as the Emmanuel prophecy, is one of the most famous passages
in all the Old Testament that illustrate the two senses in which scripture
may be understood. Taken literally, it shows Isaiah urging King Ahaz
to have faith in God, that the royal line of David will survive, because
the newly wedded queen will give birth to a son, a promise fulfilled
in the future King Hezekiah. But if taken in the hidden sense, as
St Paul obviously does, as well as St Matthew in the gospel reading,
this passage from earliest times had a message also from the Holy
Spirit. It can be seen as a solemn promise from God that a Redeemer
will be born of a virgin, and that his name will be Emmanuel, meaning
"God with us."
The challenge of all three readings is that of a call
to faith. In each a chosen individual is being asked to make an act
of faith. King Ahaz was called upon to have trust in God, and not
try God's patience. St Paul became aware, again by faith, that his
mission was to preach the word to the gentiles, and this, by the way,
only after many years' reflection on the message imparted to him after
being struck down while on the road to Damascus. Finally, St Joseph,
as we see in today's gospel reading, was the first living person after
Mary, who was asked to make an act of faith in Christ. He was called
upon to believe that the child Mary was carrying was of divine origin
- a most difficult thing for him to do, since it seemed to run counter
to his marital rights. Indeed the mystery of a virgin birth must have
been a far greater stumbling block for him than for us who have become
so familiar with it. We have come to accept that God works in mysterious
ways that confound human wisdom, ways demanding reflection and faith.
Perhaps Joseph was helped by reflecting on God's promise to Abraham,
one most unlikely to be fulfilled, that he would be the father of
a great people, even though he was an old man, and his wife Sarah
had been sterile from her youth. Yet fulfilled it was.
Perhaps we too should ask ourselves, what particular
act of faith is God asking of me at this time. Part of the answer
is to be found in the New Testament where it states that what makes
a person acceptable to God is not obedience to the Law, but faith
in Christ Jesus (Gal 2:16). This faith is not merely intellectual
assent; it is an entrusting of ourselves to Christ, uniting ourselves
with Christ. For we believe that, at the first Christmas, not only
did the Blessed Trinity come down to us in visible form in God the
Son made man, but that in and through the Son made man it has been
made possible for us to be drawn into the glorious intimacy of the
most holy Trinity.
For us Christmas should be a time of joy, not so much
because Christ became one with us, as that he made it possible for
us to become one with him. Yet the whole significance of St Luke's
account of the birth of Christ is that the people of Israel did not
receive the "expected one" when he arrived. We get hints
of this from the utterances of the two great prophets of the Old Testament,
Jeremiah and Isaiah, who lived several hundreds of years prior to
the birth of Christ. He was treated like an alien by his own people,
like a traveller, as Jeremiah puts it, who has stopped but for a night.
Again, according to Isaiah, the ox knows its owner, and the ass its
master's manger, but Israel rejected its messiah; there was no room
for him at the inn. Do we close our hearts to Christ? We must listen
to St Paul's last words to his converts at Corinth, "Examine
yourselves to make sure you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do
you acknowledge that Jesus Christ is really in you? If not you have
failed the test" (2 Cor 13:5) We can put Christ back into Christmas
by putting him first into ourselves.
1. What's in a name?
What can it tell about the person who owns it? Not
much, unless it happens to be a well-chosen nick-name. Names like
Helen, Sharon or Jason are useful for distinguishing various members
of a family; but they don't say much about the people themselves.
A name seldom tells about the personality or life-work of the one
who carries it. With some Biblical names it is different. For instance,
Abraham meant "Father of a great people" (Gen. 17:5) and
Moses meant "Rescued from the Waters" (Ex. 2:10.) Above
all, our blessed Lord has names which tell us everything about him:
"Jesus" means "God saves," "Christ"
means "God's Anointed Messiah" and the name "Emmanuel"
in today's Gospel, means "God in our midst."
2. Centre of our faith
How important is Jesus, really, for our religious belief?
Be honest. Ask the man-in-the-street what Christianity all about,
and what's the usual answer? Something to do with loving your neighbour;
keeping the law; going to church on a Sunday? Not often will there
be a direct mention of Jesus Christ, who is at the very centre of
our faith. Ghandi once said, If you Christians took your Christ to
heart, the whole world would be Christian.
3. Our Pontifex
Nowadays, one of the most positive trends is in building
up community, sharing efforts and projects with others, seeking out
ways find common ground with long-term enemies. In a word, bridge-building
and reconciliation with our fellow human beings. The greatest bridge-builder
of all, who spans the gulf between us and God, is Jesus Christ. (High-Priest:
Pontifex.) "No man has ever seen God; the Only-Begotten Son,
who is closest to the Father's heart, has made him known" (Jn.
1:18.)
4. Who shares our Lot
At Christmas we will concentrate on the simplicity
and poverty of Our Lord's birth: how human he was, born of a young
woman, not in luxurious comfort, but in the discomfort of a stable.
That shows him as one of us, the human side of "Emmanuel."
This gospel however mentions the divine origin of Jesus. Although
he has a human mother, he has not a human father, but was conceived
in Mary by the power of God. This unique way of coming into life,
with God as father, and the virgin Mary as mother, underlines who
Jesus truly is: both God and man, one of ourselves and yet one with
the eternal God.
5. St. Joseph's Faith
If this mystery seems deep to us, it must have been
baffling for St Joseph. Close to Mary as he was, and yet seeing her
pregnant without any action on his part, Joseph could only accept
in faith what God's messenger told him, that the child was in Mary
by the power of the Holy Spirit. With great patience and humility,
Joseph accepted the part for which God had chosen him, as human foster-father
to the Saviour. This faithful acceptance is just what is required
of each of us, when Christ comes into our lives, as "God-with-us.
The theme of promise-and-fulfilment runs through today's
readings. There is a line of continuity in the mention of David's
kingship in all of the three readings. But it is not a linear development.
The events of the gospel are a quantum leap in God's plan, since the
son of David is not any merely human descendant, but is the very Son
of God. The career of this man led him to the glory of the resurrection
when he became the source of power for all God's children. One could
take up some surprises that people have got, surprises that were pleasant
in that they exceeded their expectations. The examples would have
to be fitting to the local situation. From this he might draw out
the form that God uses to surprise us and bring about things for our
good. God did surprise Joseph.
Another line of development is offered by concentrating
on the presence of God in ordinary things. This is very much a theme
in Matthew's gospel, when he gives us the pledge of Christ's abiding
presence in Matthew 28:20 and tells us that this presence is available
in the Christian community, where two or three are gathered in his
name (Mt 18:20.) The birth of a child was the sign of God's enduring
presence for Isaiah and his contemporaries. Everyday events can communicate
something of the Lord. We can see his goodness in the kindness of
others; we know something of his happiness in our own joy and peace.
Beyond these times when we are aware of God's presence, there are
occasions when we do not seem to be in touch with God at all and despite
our insensitivity to his presence he is closer to us than we are to
ourselves. Sickness can be an example of this. Christmas time can
give an example in that it is a celebration that brings families together
and that can tune us in to the love that underlies all human love.
A third option for a homily theme could be the great
value of human life. The gospel and the first reading centre on the
birth of a child that gives hope. A baby is full of hope and mystery
in that no one can predict what will become of a baby. The mystery
and the hope of a human child make people wonder. One could bring
people to reflect on the wonder of their own lives, to think of the
good things that they have received, the achievements they attained,
the ways in which they have enriched the lives of others. It is not
just in the human life of Jesus or of the Emanuel child that sacredness
and blessing is to be found, but in every human being, even the one
I know best, myself.
The Holy Spirit is constantly working to inspire individuals
to love, to be generous, to sacrifice, to trust, and to rise above
themselves. God's Spirit fills our minds and our hearts, perhaps at
the least expected moments, with generous impulses, with the names
and faces of individuals we know, with proddings to make unexpected
sacrifices, with inspirations to embrace or comfort people who are
hurting.
Everyone who draws breath can attest to experiences
such as these when seemingly out of nowhere an overwhelming feeling
comes over us to act.
Sometimes we dismiss it as having watched too many
sappy, feel-good, tear-jerking, happy ending movies. Or, we have just
finished a biography about some great figure who epitomizes complete
goodness and purity and we feel energized and challenged to emulate
him or her.
There are times that we wish Matthew could have spent
a few more minutes writing sections of his Gospel so that figures
like Joseph could have more of that inspirational effect. After one
reading of the Gospel for this Sunday I may say to myself - Oh, I
get it, Matthew is simply pausing for a moment to explain to us how
it is that Joseph was brought on board with this whole plan to bring
the savior into the world. It is almost as if one could read the passage
with imaginary brackets around it as if it was an editorial note to
establish why Joseph did not drop Mary like a hot potato. Or sometimes
we imagine that Matthew had written a beautifully detailed account
of this scene involving Joseph and his copy editor handed it back
saying - Okay, just the facts, we need to keep this thing under 28
chapters!
However, on a second, third or fourth reading one might
be able to begin to see the and feel the messiness of the situation
and the courage and boldness with which Joseph responded.
We know how the story ends. We have 2000 years of Christological
developments. We may say to ourselves - Well of course Joseph did
as the angel said and took Mary into his home - SHE IS THE MOTHER
OF GOD!
Nevertheless, let us not forget that Joseph was not
informed that his betrothed wife was with Child by the angel, but
BEFORE the visit of the angel. What did the reception of that news
about Mary feel like? What emotions did that evoke? It is never spelled
out for us. All we know is that Joseph, who was a righteous man, decided
to divorce Mary quietly so as not to cause a stir. It is hard to believe
that it was not a harsh disappointment for Joseph nonetheless.
We have all been in positions where we have been severely
disappointed or let down by a person or by a situation but we have
somehow found the strength to act nobly and discretely so as not to
make a bad situation worse.
Further, before we even think of the content of the
message of the angel we have to pause and think about the mode of
delivery itself. Zecheriah gets a visit. Mary gets a visit. Even Cornelius
in Acts of the Apostles gets a visit. Joseph gets a dream. Maybe a
personal visit or even a daytime vision to Josephy would have been
a help. Perhaps this very absence is what makes the response of Joseph
all the more courageous and wonderful.
He is told in a dream the most mind-bending information
about the young women he is about to divorce and about the child who
is growing within her. The news could not have been more shocking
or more unreasonable (against all that is reasonable); yet his response
is to do what he was told. The angel knew that he would be afraid
- hence the words of the angel - Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid
to take Mary your wife into your home.
Joseph was not a puppet on a string. He was not bereft
of free will. There is not doctrine about his immaculate conception
or sinlessness. Yet he responded with generosity. He responded with
faith. He listened to this message from God told to him in a dream.
He rose above his fear. He rose above his confusion. He did not know
how the story was going to end other than knowing that this child
was going to save his people from their sins. The words - HE DID AS
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD COMMANDED should be inspirational to all of
us. They are simple words yet behind them stands a man who should
inspire us to respond generously to every prompting of the Holy Spirit
in us to do as the Lord commands.
Let us challenge and inspire each other to always listen
to this Divine Voice in our hearts, in our heads, and in our dreams.
Let us never dismiss generous and loving impulses that seem to come
out of nowhere. We may never know their overall effect in the world.
Moments of crisis reveal aspects of ourselves that
we don't face up to very often. They can show where our real self
lies. Do we react defensively or aggressively Out of self-concern,
or are we able to see beyond ourselves to the care of others? Usually
crisis is also a test of our faith; are we really convinced about
God's care and support for us?
One could use today's first reading as a lead-in to
analyse what true faith is. We are presented with king Ahaz who could
not rely on God in the great political crisis of his life. He needed
the support of military and political security systems. Is our faith
much the same? Is the god we trust usually the power of this world,
only turning to the true God as an extra insurance," a guarantee
of some-thing to look forward to when this world is over? The message
of the scriptures is that such faith is inadequate. Real faith is
the conviction of God's continual presence with us, and not just in
those moments when human presence and support fails. Real faith accepts
the reality of God in the strong as well as the weak moments of life,
Real faith sees God as a dimension of all our experience, the Emmanuel.
This reality of God-with-us is admittedly a mystery,
and faith in this mystery is a gift. However, to say that faith is
a gift should not be used as a "cop-out," a pretence that
it is totally beyond us, a gift for the chosen few. We all have some
dimension of faith in our lives, we are all offered some share in
this gift. We are invited today to use what we have been given, to
develop it through real searching for the truth in all things. We
are also called to make the great decisions of our lives conscientiously
according to the faith we have been given.
In bringing out this sense of responsibility for our
own faith one should be careful not to create false expectations or
exaggerated guilt. Faith as gift remains mysterious, and is confronted
by many difficulties in our times. Faced with real doubts our faith
needs confirmation, it needs some kinds of sign.
Faith may involve a leap in the dark, it may be the
"conviction about things we do not see" (Heb 11:1), but
seeking signs to confirm that conviction is not necessarily a testing
of God as Ahaz would have us believe. It is only when we demand signs
as a pre-requisite without which we refuse to believe, it is only
then that the seeking for a sign is contrary to true faith (cf. Mk
8:11-13.) Signs can be sought legitimately and offered as confirmation
for those who are truly open to the word of God and struggling to
be faithful to what they know of him.
The sign that was offered to Ahaz was a sign of life
continuing through and beyond the crisis. This new life would confirm
that God was with his people. The promise and the sign were vindicated
by the events.
Still, the promise that God is with us was not for
Isaiah's time only, it is for all time. In the Christian era the sign
of that continuing presence is another young woman and her child,
the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus.
For Joseph the unexpected pregnancy of Mary was not
a sign to confirm his trust either in her or God, it was a contradictory
sign. In the hours of his darkness he found the enlightening Spirit
of God, the Spirit who teaches us not to judge by what our eyes see
or by what our ears hear (cf. Is 11:3.)
This gospel shows us that the signs God gives are not
always the ones we would choose for ourselves. He gives signs for
those who are willing to take on the darkness of doubt in openness
and sincerity. There are no signs for those locked into the need for
security only on their own terms.
Ultimately faith is obedience, the gift of response
to him who is both son of David and son of God (second reading.) Christ
himself in his life, death and resurrection is the ultimate sign of
God's presence in our world. It is he alone who can evoke the fullness
of that presence. It is in our experiences and encounters with those
who reflect Christ and his gospel that we find signs of God to confirm
our faith. "No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,
ever at the Father's side, who has revealed him" (Jn 1:1-18.)
When that the Eternal deigned to look
on us poor men to set us free,
He chose a maiden whom he took
from Nazareth in Galilee.
The English writer, Hilaire Belloc, came across an
item in a newspaper in the early part of this century. It concerned
a dispute between an Anglican vicar and his bishop. It appears that
the vicar had decided to erect a statue of Mary, the Mother of God,
in one of the niches of his church.
These mysteries profoundly shook
The Reverend Doctor Lee, D.D.,
Who forthwith stuck into a nook,
or niche of his encumbancy,
high on the wall for all to see,
a statue of the undefiled
the universal mother, she,
a Female figure with a Child.
Some parishioners complained to the bishop about it.
Whereupon, the bishop
Wrote off at once to Doctor Lee,
in manner, very far from mild,
and said: "Remove them instantly,
this Female figure with a Child.'
The bishop, it seems, was "not satisfied with
trying the patience of men, (or at least that of Dr. Lee) without
trying the patience of God too." He does not appear to have been
familiar with today's reading from Isaiah:
The Lord himself, therefore will give you a sign. it
is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means "God-is-with-us."
From the beginning, faith in the virginal conception
of Jesus has always met with "the lively opposition, mockery
or incomprehension of non-believers, Jews and pagans alike."
It continues to be the one teaching of the church which attracts most
contempt from unbelievers and most doubt from believers. It is pointless
trying to placate the one or convince the other. It can be accepted
only on faith and "in the totality of Christ's mysteries."
What separated the vicar from his bishop was faith.
The next time we meet will be at Midnight Mass on Christmas
Eve, to celebrate the Virgin Birth. It is too late now to send you
a Christmas card. But I can suggest one to you. It is a simple line
drawing of a "female figure with a child." Underneath, is
the little prayer Belloc concluded his poem with:
Prince Jesus, in mine agony,
permit me, broken and defiled,
through blurred and glazing eyes, to see
a Female figure with a Child.
The gospel sets the scene for the birth of Jesus. Mary
was to be married to Joseph. In the meantime, the angel had appeared
to Mary, she had said her yes, and Jesus was already conceived within
her womb. Mary was wrapped in mystery, in something she humbly accepted
as being from God, and something she herself couldn't possibly understand.
Her role, the role of the humble servant, was to obey, and leave it
to God to take care of the details. One of those details was how Joseph
would react when he heard what had happened. He was a good man, and
he was deeply troubled when he discovered that Mary was pregnant.
He decided on an honourable course of action, when God stepped in,
as Mary expected and, through the medium of a dream, all Joseph's
troubles and fears were resolved. He, too, was humble, and his role
was to obey and accept the directions given him by God.
I spent many years teaching in schools. One of those
subjects was swimming, on two afternoons a week. The whole thrust
of the exercise was to get the pupils to trust me enough to follow
exactly all the instructions I gave. The earlier ones were simple,
such as jumping in at the shallow end, holding the bar, kicking their
feet, etc. Inevitably, after many visits to the pool, the big test
always arrived. The pupil was now at the deep end, clinging to that
bar for dear life. Letting go of the bar, and following my instructions,
was a real test of their trust in me, and their faith in themselves.
The sheer delight on the face, when someone made it to the other side
of the pool, was ample reward for all efforts invested. The reality,
of course, was that any one of them could have let go of that bar,
and swum the width of the pool the very day they came there. However,
they were not ready yet. They still did not have enough faith either
in themselves or in me. I was always deeply aware of the many many
bars they would have to let go of during their lifetime, as each major
decision came up. (Please excuse the pun, but many of them may have
found it difficult, if not impossible, to let go of their local bar.
I have met a few.)
It is really difficult for us to know our place before
God. I know I speak of the impossible here, but imagine how you would
feel if you could actually see yourself placed against the background
of an infinite omnipotent God. Even the atom would look like a mountain
by comparison with your own sense of nothingness. Humility is truth;
that means, accepting things exactly as they are. Pride is frightfully
destructive, and its expressions are obnoxious: arrogance, haughtiness,
aloofness, disdain, sarcasm, etc., etc. My own father had a habit
of correcting us by saying, "You don't seem to know your place."
I'm sure he was right, but I now ask my heavenly Father, through the
action of his Spirit, to ensure that I always know my place.
Mary and Joseph didn't actually do anything. They said
their yes, and left the doing to God. Obedience comes from the Latin
word obedientia, which, literally means, to hold one's ear against.
It was a matter of listening, when one really wanted to know what
to do, or which road to take. It was always considered as part of
the role of the prophets.
Whenever I think of single mothers, I recall that Mary
would have a special place for them in her heart, because she came
within a whisker of being one herself. The penalty for that, in her
day, was to be stoned to death; so we have come some way from there,
thank God. For her, of course, it was a stark option between trusting
the Lord, and facing the consequences, if her trust was misplaced.
If all of this was too much for Mary to understand,
what chance have you or me? In my younger days, it was customary to
say a prayer which began with the words "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
I give you my heart and my soul." That would be a lovely prayer
to repeat, as we move towards the celebration of Christmas.
Speaking of prayers, what is prayer for you? Is it
you talking to God, or God talking to you? "Speak, Lord, your
servant is listening," or "Listen, Lord, your servant is
speaking?" If you don't listen, you'll never know what God wants
you to do. If you ask him, be prepared to listen, and you will certainly
receive the answer. The organ that God gave me with which to pray
is my heart, not my tongue. If my heart is not praying, then my tongue
is wasting its time. On several occasions, we are told that "Mary
held all these things, and pondered them in her heart." That
was where she heard the answers.
Dreams were always accepted as one way through which
God spoke to people. The Old Testament is full of examples of such.
Without wishing to turn this into a dream workshop, let me put this
thesis to you: When you are asleep, when your ego is off guard, your
inner child has a chance to let its presence be known and that, in
essence, is what a dream is. All the fears, frustrations, and struggles
of that inner child are acted out in the dream. Sometimes the inner
child wakens you up, which is what we call a nightmare, and it usually
has to do with running away from something. There can often be things
in our lives from which we are running away, or from which we should
run away.
Joseph, we are told, was a just man. "Just"
means being fair, treating people properly. One of the best comments
I ever heard at a funeral was that "He was a wonderful human
being." Justice has lost its edge in today's world. People shouldn't
have to fight for their rights. You have rights, even if others prevent
you exercising them. How do you weigh on the scales of justice, when
you look at your relationships?
Joseph was prepared to go to any lengths to protect
Mary from embarrassment. We can be quite destructive in our careless
use of words, in starting the rumour, in fuelling the gossip. Can
you find one such example from your own life?
Did you hear about the priest who dreamt he was preaching
a sermon, and he woke up, and he was? Even if you fell asleep during
this reflection, did you hear anything that you can take into your
day, and put it in practice? What does today's gospel say to you today?
I'm sure that most of us will probably have at least one meal today
and, perhaps, several snacks. The word of God here today is the nourishment,
or the food for our souls, for our inner beings. "Not on bread
alone does man/woman live," says Jesus, "but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God."
The young monk was on his own in the chapel, and he
was pouring out his heart to the Lord. He was having some doubts about
his vocation. He was, by nature, somewhat insecure, and he was always
looking for certainties, or for proof for everything. He kept repeating
the same prayer, again and again.
"Lord, if I only knew that I would persevere.
If I only knew that I would persevere." Finally, the Lord spoke
to him, and said, "and if you knew for certain that you would
persevere, what then would you do? How, then would you live your life?
Go and do that now, and begin living your life that way now and, in
doing that, you will persevere."
In the mind, it is only mental assent; in the heart
it is faith; and when it gets down into the feet, it becomes faith
in action. And that is the kind of faith the Lord is waiting for,
and it is in that faith that the presence and power of the Lord is
seen, and experienced.
Giving Way
Preparing His Way
Enlightened by Sacred Scripture
Vocation of John the Baptist
Asking for Baptism
Introduction: John the Baptist's role was to stage-manage
the greatest event of all time - the coming of Christ. He prepared
the way by raising expectations. Once Christ had arrived, there only
remained for John to disappear gracefully from the scene. For us the
message is clear. Make way for Christ and then give way to him.
Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain, there is mounting
evidence to show that these "spontaneous" revolutions were
stage-managed from Moscow by the KGB to replace the hardliners with
moderates within these Communist regimes. "The best-laid schemes
of mice and men gang aft a-gley" and, at least in some countries
like Czechoslovakia and East Germany, the whole communist party was
swept away. In others, notably, Romania and Bulgaria, the party -
structures remained more-or-less intact. It raises the question of
to what extent we are all manipulated in a media age.
In the West, management of public events has given
birth to an enormous public relations industry. No US president would
dare leave the White House without the benefit of their expertise.
A mini army travels ahead of him, entrusted with the task of stage-managing
his reception at the various stop-overs along the presidential route.
They organise reception committees, alert the media, smooth out protocol
problems, arrange the control of protesters. If need be, they will
even hire a flag-waving crowd. Often it is not so much a matter of
"making straight his path" as greasing it.
It is perhaps somewhat unjust to place the Baptist
in such dubious company but he does share some similarities with these
backroom boys. His role, like theirs, was to prepare an event. Like
them too, he sought to ensure a good reception. And there the similarities
end. No flag-waving crowd would suffice for John. He demanded nothing
less than a change of heart. The party machine proved more than uncooperative.
Like the politicians they were, they resented any unaccredited prophet
messing around with their constituents. Both church and state were
more than a little unnerved at the prospect of the Messiah arriving
just then. Plus ça change. As Isaiah predicted, his was a voice crying
in the wilderness. It was a daunting undertaking but John was equal
to it. With enormous moral courage, he castigated the religious hypocrisy
of his time. Moral courage exacts a heavy price, then as now. John
paid the ultimate price, his life. He gave the lie to those of us
who seek to justify our timidity with the plea, "what is one
voice against so many?" He is proof, if proof be needed, that
individuals create their own world. We are not playthings of history,
formed by the times we live in. We cannot wash our hands so glibly
of the world's evils.
Once Christ made his appearance, John's mission was
completed. It was his finest moment. Idolised by the people, his name
on every lip, he pointed to a stranger on the fringe of the crowd
and said: "This is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of
the world." With that, he slipped gracefully into oblivion. That
moment is beautifully immortalised in the Mass, when the priest raises
the host and invites the people to receive Christ.
Like the Baptist, our mission in life is to make way
for Christ and then give way to him. And there's the rub. We do so
like to hog the limelight. There is a teenage daughter who refuses
to go to Mass anymore because mother never stops on about it. And
mothers are by no means the chief offenders. More miracles of grace
are bungled by somebody blundering into another's life at the wrong
moment. God does not need our fussiness to implement his will. Like
John the Baptist, our role is to point out Christ to others and then
leave them free to become acquainted.
Christmas is drawing steadily closer. Most of us are
beginning to think of preparing for Christmas. There are cards to
be written, presents to be bought, food to be purchased. That experience
of preparing is one we are familiar with from other areas of life.
We prepare for visitors; we prepare to go on holidays; we prepare
for exams; we prepare for some task or other we have to do. Some people
are thorough in their preparations. They leave nothing to chance.
Yet, there are some experiences in life we can never
fully prepare for. There is only so much we can do to prepare for
the death of a loved one. Even if that loved one has been ill for
a long time, and we think we are preparing for the moment of their
death, yet, when it comes, its impact can surprise us. We realize
that there was a quality to the experience that was impossible to
anticipate, no matter how prepared we were. No marriage preparation
course can prepare people fully for marriage. The relationship of
love between a particular man and a particular woman is too complex
and mysterious to be fully anticipated in advance. I could say the
same for the experience of priesthood. The years of preparation in
the seminary can only accomplish so much by way of making someone
ready for what lies ahead. When it comes to the bigger, more significant,
experiences of life, the preparing often happens in the doing, or
even, indeed, after the doing. We look back and learn from some experience,
and then, in the light of that, prepare ourselves better to face that
experience or a similar one when it comes around again.
In both the first reading and the gospel reading for
this Advent Sunday , we hear the cry: "Prepare a way for the
Lord." We are being asked to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
The second reading looks to the Lord's coming at the end of time.
We could understand that as referring to his coming at the end of
our own personal time, the end of our lives. If it is difficult to
prepare for the more mysterious and complex experiences of life, we
might be tempted to wonder how we can prepare for the coming of the
Lord. Surely, the Lord is even more mysterious than the most significant
experiences of life. How do we prepare for the coming of one whose
thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways? Indeed
when the Lord first came among us as a human being two thousand years
ago, many were not prepared for the way he chose to come. The Lord's
crucifixion is a monument to how unprepared many people were for his
coming.
Yet, because we can look back on the Lord's first coming,
we are better prepared for his coming again. We are being asked to
prepare for the coming of one who has already come and who, having
come, has been present with us. The Lord who will come again is the
same Lord who became flesh and lived among us two thousand years ago,
and who has been present with us through the Holy Spirit ever since.
The risen Lord said to his first disciples, the nucleus of the church,
"I will be with you always until the end of time." The church,
for all its darker side, remains a privileged place where we meet
the Lord. We meet him in the Scriptures, which are the church's books.
We meet him in the sacraments of the church. We meet him in the community
of believers who are the church. We meet him in the broken and the
needy, whoever they are. In preparing for the Lord's coming to us,
we are not preparing for the coming of a stranger. Our preparing for
the Lord's coming is more akin to a person preparing for the arrival
of a friend or a spouse, someone they have come to know and love.
We prepare for the Lord's coming by opening ourselves to the many
ways in which the Lord is present with us now. Advent calls on us
to receive the Lord's daily presence, his daily coming, and to allow
the Lord's daily coming to shape how we live our lives. If we grow
in our relationship with the Lord in this way, his final coming to
us will be a joyful moment, when, in the words of the first reading,
we experience him as the good Shepherd, holding us to himself and
leading us to our rest.
When the risen Christ had appeared to the two disciples
on the road to Emmaus, and had listened to their tales of woe, he
responded with a mild rebuke, "you foolish men. So slow to believe
the full message of the prophets. Was it not ordained that the Christ
should suffer and so enter into his glory" (Lk 24:25f). Then
starting with Moses, and going through all the prophets, he explained
all the passages of scripture that were about himself. In the words
of St Thomas Aquinas, whereas God speaks indirectly to us through
the works of spiritual writers, he speaks directly to our minds in
Sacred Scripture. And if we go back to the Old Testament prophets
we find that the collapse of the monarchy in Israel followed by the
exile in Babylon, led to an intense awareness of the nature of the
special relationship between the Jewish people and God.
They were to be a holy people, a people consecrated
to God in a way that distinguished them from all other nations. This
new insight was put into writing by one of the greatest - some would
go so far as to say, the greatest - of the OT prophets, whose name
we do not even know. For want of a better title, he is referred to
as Second Isaiah, or Deutero Isaiah, because his writing is to be
found in the same scroll as that of the prophet Isaiah who lived almost
two centuries earlier. An entire copy of this scroll was found among
the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave near Qumran, and is now housed in a
special building called the Shrine of the Book, beside the Israeli
Museum in Jerusalem. His message is contained in some of the greatest
poetry ever written, a work of great power and beauty, the opening
lines of which are given in the first reading today. It begins, "Comfort,
Oh comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem."
So the whole work as far as chapter 55 has been called "The Book
of Consolation of Israel." The author urges the people to have
hope, and describes a messenger or look-out on the hills of Jerusalem
joyfully gazing down at the returning exiles, in essence a new Exodus
greater even than the one led by Moses out of Egypt. The Lord himself,
he says, is watching over them, even as a shepherd watches over his
flock.
The double mention of a "joyful messenger"
who is ordered to proclaim to the people of Judaea, "Here is
your God," is taken up by St Mark in the gospel, who associates
the title with John the Baptist, whom the people of Jerusalem and
surroundings went out to see, repenting of their sinful ways. But
whereas the Baptist speaks of the tree, that does not bear fruit,
being cut down and thrown on the fire, and the chaff being burned
in a fire that will never go out, Second Isaiah, on the contrary,
is full of sympathy, and refers to God as a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering the lambs into his arms and carrying them in his bosom.
According to him, the new kingdom of God is at hand, but the most
prominent places in it will be occupied by the poor and lowly, not
the powerful ones of this world.
The most surprising and important illustration of this
by the writer is to be found in what are called the four "Songs
of the Suffering Servant of the Lord," which are associated in
a special way with the liturgy of Holy Week every year, as a portrayal
of the passion of Christ. Why are they surprising? Because their author
was living about 500 years before Christ, a time when there was as
yet no belief in resurrection, and virtue was held to be rewarded
by success and happiness in this life. But he depicts the ideal Servant
of the Lord - although completely innocent - as been chosen by God
to undergo rejection, humiliation and overwhelming suffering, followed
by a shameful death.
Yet, in fact, all this is the Servant's free offering
of himself on behalf of sinners, whose iniquity and guilt he has taken
on himself, and for whom he asks God's forgiveness. His reward will
be the eternal redemption of the human race, and the Servant will
bring light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
For the people of faith who looked forward to this redemption, there
is in the Songs of the Suffering Servant, especially in the fourth
one, as it were a detailed description of what the promised Messiah
would undergo, and how victory would be achieved by his suffering.
Such a profound insight into the meaning of suffering has no parallel
in the entire Old Testament. And the man who conceived it is telling
us today to make ready in our lives a way for the Lord. This too is
what the season of Advent is asking us to do.
St John the Baptist could be the central figure in
today's homily. He prepared the way for the people of his time to
understand the good news of their salvation. That is the way God normally
works; He sends the message of salvation to us through each other.
As St Paul once put it, how can people know God's will, if they have
never heard it; and how can they hear if no one is sent to them?
Jesus found his first disciples among those who were
influenced by the preaching of John the Baptist. He had showed them
the value of self-control and of prayer; he urged them to listen to
the inner voice of God, with repentance and a faithful heart. The
high point of John's short ministry was his meeting with Jesus. Not
only did he get to baptise Our Lord but he also helped some of his
own followers to go with Jesus and become the first Christian disciples.
Through him, Andrew and his brother Peter, and Philip and Nathanael
became apostles of Jesus.
Clearly, God wishes us Christians also to help help
other people to know and love him. If in the first place, we were
more committed to our own Christian calling, we would be more effective
in influencing others towards religious commitment. Parents have the
first opportunity to point their children towards God. But their words
will only be effective when backed up by the actual example of their
own faith and prayer.
In all sorts of way, people find themselves in positions
that influence others, for good or ill. An obvious case would be those
who work in the communications media, press, radio and T.V. But ordinary
people outside the media can also influence the views and values of
those among whom they work and live. When looked at in light of today's
Gospel, does our way of speaking and behaving help others to share
our values, or do we confirm their suspicion that this world is a
selfish and cynical place?
And what about fostering vocations to the priesthood
and religious life, or to some new forms of church service? The ability
of our Church to go on as a visible, organised community continuing
in the prayer-life and values of Jesus is under serious question today.
But if enough people open their hearts to God's work, as did John
the Baptist and those first disciples, Andrew and Philip and Peter,
then a way will be found to keep the world aware of the saving message
of Christ.
In today's gospel John the Baptist helps us prepare
for Christmas, as he shows us the mind-set of those who prepare for
his coming.
In the late seventies Pope John Paul II visited Ireland,
the first pope ever to do so. It was a wonderful occasion, still alive
in the memories of those who were involved. Apart from the blessings
of the good Lord himself, there were many reasons why the occasion
went so well. The most important one, in my opinion, was the preparation
that preceded his visit. I was personally involved in some of this,
so I experienced it at first hand. We had huge crowds at special Masses,
All-night Vigils, and there were thousands of prayer-cards all over
the place, with prayers for a blessing on the Papal visit. When the
Pope finally arrived we were ready. I believe we were as prepared
as we could have been. It was a huge success, and a time of many blessings
for all. I am fully convinced that the effort put into the preparation
contributed enormously to those blessings.
The role of John the Baptist was unique. His was a
humble role. It was not to seek the spotlight, or to bask in the glory.
He saw himself as someone who was preparing the way for someone else,
someone who could do for the people all the things he himself was
unable to do. His role was to prepare their hearts to receive the
message and the Messenger that was soon to come. He would prepare
the ground for the harvest, but only the Lord could provide the seed,
and produce the crop. It is important to know my place before God,
because original sin, which is always present, is an attempt to try
to play God.
He called for truth. They were to be honest, acknowledge
and confess their sins, and then they would receive forgiveness. The
ritual of Baptism was an attempt to externalise what was happening
in the heart. In preparation for an important visitor, they were to
be washed clean, and to have a sense of expectation. It was not a
question that they had to be perfect, or to be free from all sin;
rather was it a question that they acknowledge their sinfulness, and
enter into a receptive mode when the Messiah would arrive to save
and redeem them. In a way, it was their novitiate for the spiritual
life that was to follow.
Spanning the gospel from beginning to end is this constant
reference to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is always present at all
moments of birth in salvation history; from the birth of the world
in creation to the Annunciation, to the birth of the church at Pentecost.
While John was preparing for the coming of Jesus, so would Jesus make
way for the Spirit to complete his work in us. The immersion in the
waters of the Jordan was but a symbol of the immersion in the Spirit,
where we would be raised up to a higher plain of existence, capable
of sharing in the life of the Divinity for all eternity.
At the risk of sounding like someone repeating a mantra,
again and again I have to say that there is nothing automatic about
God. God gives me nothing, while he offers me everything. I can hear
the call in today's gospel, but nothing happens until I answer it.
Not everybody came out to John at the Jordan, no more than everybody
was ready to listen to Jesus when he came. Christmas is coming once
again, and many hearts and homes will still be closed to him. There
will still be no room in the inn.
Jesus tells us that the truth will set us free. There
is a wonderful freedom and peace of mind for all those who are willing
to face up to truth in their lives. This is a special grace, of course.
Jesus calls the Spirit a Spirit of truth, "who will lead you
into all truth." This is the antidote for original sin, which
resulted from a lie. To acknowledge my sins, and to confess my sins,
does not necessarily entail going to Confession, although this is
a wonderful source of grace, and is often called the Sacrament of
Peace or Reconciliation. I have to begin the process of confessing
my sins by doing that to myself, because the greatest lies I tell
in life are the ones I tell myself. I cannot be honest with another
person until I begin to be honest with myself.
Just as we prepare for some important family celebration
by giving the house a facelift, inside and/or out, so must we prepare
for Christmas. One of the special enjoyments of Christmas morning
is to see the children dressed up in their newest attire. This has
been something to which they have looked forward with great anticipation.
What makes this extra special for me, at least, is that I know the
children are also beautiful on the inside as well. This is the call
of today's gospel. It is a call that only I can answer for myself
No church, no service, or no sermon can do that for me.
In most of our churches during Advent we have a Service
of Reconciliation, which, effectively, has replaced individual Confession
in the lives of most people. The ceremony, format, or method of reconciliation
is not the important thing. What matters is what's happening in our
hearts. My heart is to be my Bethlehem this Christmas. The stable
wasn't the most ideal place for a baby to be born, but it was all
that was available at the time. I ask you now to give serious consideration
to how you will personally prepare your heart to celebrate this feast.
Most of us were baptised as infants, and, so, we had
no personal input into what happened, or what it was all about. I
strongly contend that, at some stage of my life, I take personal responsibility
for my baptism, and ensure that I understand and realise the full
implications of it. Once again, this can best be done within the silence
of my own heart. The reflection, and the response to that reflection,
is an very excellent form of prayer. This does not require any formal
training, or theological expertise. All that is needed is the openness
to being honest, and the honesty to take personal responsibility for
my Christian calling.
Unlike those who came to John the Baptist, I can now
be baptised with the Holy Spirit. I may have the Spirit, of course,
while in practice, the Spirit may not have me. The central condition
for receiving this baptism in the Spirit is to want it, and to ask
for it. It is something that I can experience first, and may only
at a later time come to understand something about it. As Jesus said,
the Holy Spirit is like a fountain of living water rising up from
within a person. In other words, it begins in the heart and comes
up from that depth. "The Father will surely give the Spirit to
those who ask." Ask and you will receive.
A young lad came to a wise old monk one day, and asked
him how he could find God. The monk brought him down to a river, put
his head under the water, and held him there until he nearly drowned.
When the monk lifted the boy's head out of the water, the lad gasped
loudly, as he filled his lungs with air. The monk told him: "When
you want God as much as you wanted that breath of air, you'll find
him." Christmas is about peace on earth to those of goodwill.
3rd Advent Sunday, Year B
(Is 61:1-2, 10-11 - 1Thess 5:16-24 - Jn
1:6-8,19-28)
Fruits of our Baptism
Joy in the Faith
Best Wishes
Baptist and Church
Introduction: Paul urges the Thessalonians to be happy
always. The problem is to know how. The world is full of experts on
happiness and also of unhappy people. Paul offers his own blueprint
- prayer, gratitude and a generous response to the Holy Spirit.
"I baptise with water," John the Baptist
told his questioners, "but there stands among you - unknown to
you - the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his
sandal-strap." The one coming after him is, of course, the Messiah
or promised Redeemer, whose coming, the Jews believed, would usher
in a new and glorious era for their people. In the alternative opening
prayer for today's Mass, we are told that "the world rejoices
in hope of the Saviour's coming, and looks forward with longing to
his return at the end of time." But we can say that, even now,
Jesus Christ, our Saviour dwells among us in his Church, invisibly,
yes, but nonetheless in a real way. Of course, we do not yet see him
face to face, but still it is true that, as Sacred Scripture assures
us, "we know in part," and we see "through a glass
dimly" (1 Cor 13:12), which is much more than those, who do not
know Christ, are able to do.
This is because the sacrament of baptism by which we
have become children of God is a source of spiritual awareness and
enlightenment within us. In baptism the divine presence is granted
to us who are baptised, filling us, body and soul, and setting us
apart from all who are not Christian. We have been made members of
the kingdom of God, at the centre of which is Christ, and the light
of which is Christ's glory. And that is not all. As Christ at the
Last Supper, in his priestly prayer addressed to the Father, said,
"The glory that you have given me, I have given them" (Jn
17:22). St Paul, writing to the Christian community in Corinth, develops
that promise even further, when he tells them, "All of us reflecting
like mirrors the glory of the Lord, grow brighter and brighter, as
we are transformed by the Lord, who is Spirit, into the image that
we reflect" (2 Cor 3:18). And St John in his first Letter (5:18)
wrote, "We know that those who are born of God do not sin, because
the One who was begotten of God (i.e. Jesus) protects them."
The true Christian then is not only born again in baptism,
but is born of God. That is not to say that by baptism we are freed
of concupiscence or the inclination to sin, or that those who fall
into sin remain born of God. No. Until they repent, they remain solely
born to judgment. And indeed, to a greater or lesser degree, none
of us is completely without sin. In the gospel account of the woman
taken in adultery, Jesus challenged any one without sin among the
crowd surrounding her to cast the first stone at her, and no one did.
But the Spirit of Jesus helps us in our weakness, and pleads for us
with sighs too deep for words (Rom 8:26).
Baptism, moreover, is a means and pledge of God's mercy,
God's pardon, his acceptance of us for Christ's sake. It even gives
us the grace to change our nature. "I will baptise you with water
for repentance," John the Baptist told his followers, "but
the one who follows is greater than I. He will baptise you with the
Holy Spirit and with fire." In the Old Testament age, fire was
regarded as a purifying element, more refined and powerful than water.
It. was a symbol of God intervening in human affairs, and of his Spirit
coming to purify the soul.
We should never forget our own baptism, or look back
at it purely as a ceremony of our infancy, and of little account thereafter.
For baptism is a pledge of supernatural grace, a real blessing and
gift from God to its recipients, who in turn should place their hopes
of being heard by God in the promises of his favour guaranteed to
them by the reception of this sacrament. Jewish initiation rites,
such as circumcision, had no trace of blessing or grace in them. Christian
baptism does what the Jewish rites were never able to do; it grants
divine merits directly to the soul of the person baptised.
Although Christ now sits at the right hand of God in
heaven, he has, in another sense, never left this world since his
birth as one of us. For his Holy Spirit is still really present, especially
in the hearts of believers, and he continues to reveal himself to
those who seek him with faith in his promises. After he had breathed
his last on the Cross, and when the soldier pierced his side with
a lance, there flowed out blood and water. But by the influence of
the Holy Spirit, this blood and water continues to flow, as if the
Cross were still standing among us, and the baptismal water is a visible
sign that the blood of Christ is applied to the souls of all who are
baptised, even as we are.
Today's readings glimmer with joyful expectation. Israel
radiates as a joyful bride coming to her bridegroom adorned for a
lavish, oriental wedding. Paul's words to the Thessalonians continue
the theme of hope and joy in a community that lives by the life of
Christ. And St John, in the gospel, pictures the work of John the
Baptist, who came to witness to God's light upon this earth.
It is not, however, a joyousness without responsibility.
It's a joy that is found when people fulfil their true mission in
life. Isaiah speaks of one anointed and sent to bring good news to
the oppressed - words that were adopted by Jesus to describe his own
life's purpose - just as they should also be made real in the life
of every Christian. Those priveleged to share in Jesus' life must
also share in his concerns and desires.
There are therefore two distinct ideas in today's readings,
that go well together. One is the spiritual joy that marks the Christian
faith, that we are waiting for the coming of the Lord, and our entry
into a life of eternal communion with God. The othere is the willingness
to bear our share of the Christian work-load, to do our bit, in our
time, to realise the goals of Jesus in our world.
The homily could focus on one of these aspects, without
totally forgetting the other. It is no harm to be reminded occasionally
of the many blessings in our lives, our reasons to be joyful. Mention,
for example, the love we share with our family and friends, the pleasure
of meeting new people, of realising our talents by taking on new jobs,
a course of adult education; the solidarity we show or experience
in our local community when people willingly help their neighbours
in their time of need; the consolation to be found in prayer. Many
concrete examples can be named, to illustrate God's loving gifts in
our lives. C.S. Lewis wrote of being "surprised by joy,"
a new sense of gratitude, which stayed with him, even in the midst
of suffering and bereavement.
The other aspect is our mission to help the needy,
to carry on "the project of Jesus" - the vocation he has
given us and which is an integral part of his gospel. Practical examples
of his "good news for the poor" can be pointed out, according
to the actual situation of the worshipping community. We must persuade
those whose lives are peaceful and prosperous not to be afraid to
let the pain of the needy come through to them and touch them. The
sort of carefree joy that depends upon shutting our eyes to the seamier
side of life, and "passing by on the other side," is not
an authentic joy. Care for the outsider and a personal sense of joy
may stand in a certain tension with each other, but the two can and
should be blended into the lifestyle of a Christian.
Happy Christmas. At this time of the year these are
probably the two most used words in all languages. We may already
have wished some people that; we have certainly written it on our
Christmas cards. It would seem that we have almost a complex about
it. With so many well-wishers, we are almost obliged to be happy at
Christmas. We certainly work hard at it. Spending money we can ill
afford, exchanging gifts that rarely satisfy, indulging ourselves
to saturation point. "Christmas comes only once a year', we say,
topping up our glass for the umpteenth time. If we cannot be happy,
we can certainly be merry. There is a quiet desperation about the
whole business. "How did the Christmas go?" we ask each
other, a week later. "Not bad," is the invariable reply,
scarcely concealing our disappointment.
"Be happy at all times" would seem a tall
order from St Paul, particularly from a man who was at the receiving
end of more than his share of the world's nastiness. But he does strike
a universal chord. The search for happiness is relentless. Our right
to pursue it is enshrined in constitutions. It is the common goal
we all share, mystic and addict, hermit and bon viveur, saint and
sinner. If religion has any claim on our lives, it is because it promises
happiness. "The opium of the people," Marx dismissed it
contemptuously. "Pie in the sky when you die," taunted his
atheistic followers.
Paul's recipe is deceptively simple. Prayer and gratitude.
Pray constantly and for all things give thanks to God. Thousands have
taken him literally and dedicated themselves to a life of prayer in
monasteries. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and others have reached the
same conclusion independently. We should not dismiss the witness of
so many lives so casually. The ragged army of Marx's followers are
reopening churches to alleviate the misery of half a century of indoctrinated
atheism. There is a spiritual famine in the West too. The crowded
pubs and the empty church tell their own story. We are drowning our
sorrows instead of solving our problems. We have exchanged a good
time for true happiness. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God."
Prayer gives life its direction and problems their perspective. It
gets priorities right and gives what money cannot buy, peace of mind.
The dreary stragglers emerging from church in the evening may compare
unfavourably with the gay crowd leaving the pub a few hours later.
The reality is certainly the reverse.
We are hugely concerned in the modem world with rights,
civil rights for minorities, for racial groups, for women. This concern
is the glory of our age. "We shall overcome," is our proud
new anthem. We might do well to temper our ardour with a little gratitude.
We do, after all, have the right to protest. A large part of the world
has yet to achieve that. Gratitude is the point from which all protest
should begin. If we do not start out grateful for what we have got,
we will not end up happy, no matter what we get.
Look at Mary. Think of the young girl with her premature
pregnancy, her first delivery in sordid surroundings, her forced flight
out of the country with her baby. Think of the woman who spent her
life in the obscurity of a backward village, whose only intrusion
into the limelight was in middle age to watch her only son executed
as a dangerous revolutionary. And read again her Magnificat, today's
responsorial psalm.
"God who is mighty has done great things for me."
We pray:
- that we may discover the gift of prayer this Advent.
- that we may learn to be grateful for all God's gifts.
- that our happiness will lead others to Christ.
- that all who seek meaning in life may find an answer
to their quest.
If we think of John the Baptist as a symbol of the
church, then we can get a better understanding of today's gospel.
The call is to prepare, to be ready, and to have a great sense of
expectation about something that already is, but which is coming to
completion.
Over the past few years in Dublin, the civil authorities
have decided to tackle a long-running problem where a high percentage
of water was escaping from the water mains because of age, corrosion,
and general wear and tear. Road after road after road is being dug
up. Everywhere you drive, you are faced with detours, three lanes
reduced to two, etc. The traffic problem, in general, is chaotic.
There is a pattern to the work. It begins with signs, with warnings,
with dates when the work will begin. There is a whole process of preparing
people in a particular area for what is going to happen over the following
few weeks, and how they can prepare to respond, to co-operate, and
to tolerate. Despite all the signs, I am often amused to discover
the air of disbelief and surprise when the morning arrives, and the
drivers discover that the road is dug up, and the traffic is reduced
to a crawl. The annoyance is understandable, but the surprise is not.
Has it something to do with the fact that all the warning notices,
and all the advance publicity has gone unnoticed? I can be all in
favour of renovation of public services, with settling travellers,
with welcoming refugees, but not on my doorstep. (At this stage, I
feel tempted to read that gospel again.)
The opening of the gospel is simple and direct. God
sent John the Baptist into the world to tell everybody about the light
that was coming, to enlighten their darkness, and to lead them into
the fullness of light and life. John himself was not the light; rather
was he a witness to the light. In other gospel accounts, we have John
pointing to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the one who has come to take
away the sins of the world. That, to me, is the role
Jesus is God, but that knowledge is not translated
into his feet to enable him to step out and respond to that. Jesus
didn't go around healing anyone. Rather he went around with the power
to heal and the people on the roadsides had to make up their own minds.
"Do you believe I can do this?. What do you want me to do?. Do
you want to be healed?'
This may sound a stupid question, but if, like John
the Baptist in today's gospel, someone came up and asked you "Who
are you?" what would your answer be? You are not being asked
what your name is, what you work at, or what nationality or religion
you belong to.
Taking up that last question, I think it is important
that I try to see myself in the context of life itself. Life is a
mystery to be lived, rather than a problem to be solved. I am part
of that mystery of creation, of living, of being, of dying. I am part
of the mystery of God. Jesus said that he was the vine and we are
the branches, and "apart from me you can do nothing. You are
worth nothing anymore, like withered branches that are collected and
thrown on the fire to burn." Prayer is that cry from the heart
that acknowledges my belonging, that proclaims my strong desire to
be part of that mystery. It is much more a question of attitude than
words.
John the Baptist calls on us to prepare the way of
the Lord. Note that he doesn't offer to do that for us, no more than
the church or any religious service can do that for us. The door of
our hearts has only one handle, and that is on the inside. If Jesus
is to enter into my heart, then I, and I alone, can permit that to
happen. You can hear me speak this, or you can read these words now,
but nothing happens until you say "yes" to that. How you
say "yes" is uniquely yours. The important thing is that
you say it, and that you say it now.
Quite often, as we watch an international football
match, or some such mass gathering of people, we spot someone in the
crowd holding up a sign with "John 3:16" written on it.
I have often heard people ask what this meant. It refers to John's
gospel, chapter three, verse sixteen, which states that "God
so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son." I begin
to get the idea when I read it as saying "God so loved me that
he sent his only Son." I can read the sign, know what it means,
interpret it as a personal message. The whole process becomes alive
only when I make a personal response to it. Once again, that response
is personal. Even if I ignore it, that in itself is a response. The
celebration of Christmas will be whatever you choose it to be.
A priest friend of mine was chaplain to a large school
for children with mental disabilities. He was producing a Christmas
play, and there was great excitement. He kept the format and the words
as simple as possible. One young lad played the part of the Innkeeper.
His one line was to tell Mary and Joseph that there was no room in
the Inn. AU went well until they came to that moment. Mary and Joseph
knocked on his door, and asked him if he had any room, and if they
could stay there for the night. He pulled back the side curtain on
the stage, and brought them in. As far as he was concerned there was
plenty of room inside the curtain and, after all, wasn't Joseph his
best friend in the school?
4th
Advent Sunday, Year B
(2 Sam 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 - Rom 16:25-27
- Lk 1:26-38)
As Nathan promised
Solitary Boast
Choosing a Special Person
God's RSVP
Today we have in the Reading from the Book of Samuel
one of the most important prophecies of all time, for the chosen people
of the Old Testament - the prophecy of Nathan. It was stated in the
form of a contrast. David is not to build a house (a temple) for God,
but on the contrary God is to build a house (a dynasty) for David,
and this house will never fall. "Your house will always stand,
and your throne will be established for ever," was the definite
promise. From that time on, the Jewish people firmly believed that
the royal line of David had a lasting place in God's plans for Israel,
that the monarchy would never collapse.)
But collapse it did, before the forces of Babylon,
and Israel's hopes were shattered. How could God go back on his promise
to David? This test of their faith in God led to deep reflection on
whether other interpretations of Nathan's prophecy were possible.
So there were some individuals who saw God's promise being fulfilled
by means of the people themselves carrying on the tradition of Temple
worship and sacrifice, without any ruling king. They saw themselves
as being a priestly people, a kingly people, God's holy people.
Others maintained that the promise would be fulfilled
by a Messiah, an anointed one, a descendent of King David, who would
restore Israel to a position of prestige once more among the nations.
In the light of Christ's coming, we are inclined to look back and
see how prophetic were these our ancestors in faith, and yet in ways
how mistaken also they were. For most of them God's plan of redemption
for the whole world was never grasped. Before we begin to feel superior
in any way, we should ask ourselves what the significance of Advent
is for us, what are our expectations, what are we looking forward
to. We might say that we are waiting for the coming of Christ, but
surely Christ is here already. Yes, indeed, but for us, as well, he
is here in a hidden way. We too are being asked, as were the Jews,
to make an act of deeper faith, to make God present in a more compelling
way in our everyday lives.
"To have faith is to be sure of the things we
hope for, to be convinced of the things we cannot see" (Heb 11:1).
And nowhere is such faith more in evidence than in the Annunciation
as recorded in the gospel reading today.
A simple young woman, the virgin Mary, is told by the
Archangel, Gabriel, that she is going to be mother of the promised
Messiah, the Son of God and descendent of King David, the one foretold
by the prophets of Israel, over the centuries. To add to the mystery
of this announcement is the definite promise that while becoming a
mother she will remain a virgin, and that compliance with God's plan
is to be left to her own free choice. "Rejoice so highly favoured,"
the angel said, implying that from her conception Mary had been the
recipient of God's grace and favour, and had been chosen for a long
time past for the part she was being called upon to play in the redemption
of the human race. She had received the perfection of holiness, and
was transformed by the grace of God, purified and sanctified. Her
name in Hebrew, Miryam, means "exalted one." "How will
this be done," she asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?'
This does not indicate a resolution by Mary to remain
a virgin - after all she was betrothed to Joseph - but rather her
great longing for virginity, which was evoked in her by God, preparing
her to become the mother of the Messiah in a virginal manner. In a
famous 6/7th century Greek hymn (Akathiste) the composer gives further
meanings to the greeting of Gabriel, of which these are a few. "Rejoice,
you by whom joy will shine forth. Rejoice, because you are the throne
of the great king. Rejoice, womb of the divine incarnation. Rejoice,
you by whom creation is renewed. Rejoice, you by whom and in whom
the Creator is adored. Rejoice, unspoused Spouse. Virgin.'
St Paul said,of the Corinthians, "You are a letter
from Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living
God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts"
(2 Cor 3:3). Mary also, we can say, is a letter from the Holy Spirit,
a letter that has come down to us, not in written documents, so much
as in the veneration of millions of Christians, ever since those tragic
moments when the Apostle St John, at the foot of the Cross on Calvary,
accepted her as his Mother and ours, and took her into his own house.
The emancipated Ms of the Western world might well
ponder the plight of her veiled sisters in the Arab world and wonder
why. Or she might reflect upon the vast female labour force of the
Dark Continent. The sari-clad Hindu girl may personify the mysteries
of the East but there is nothing mysterious about her status in the
Indian sub-continent. The "inscrutable Asians" might divulge
little, but there is nothing secret about the traditional roles assigned
to their women-folk. The high-flying, fast driving, loose-living girl
is a phenomenon unique to the West. Her liberal world was fashioned
out of christendom. It is deeply permeated with its ethos. If women
are less discriminated against in this culture than elsewhere, perhaps
we should look to the Christian religion for an explanation. Women
who have fought long and hard to win a modicum of civil liberties
for their sex in the teeth of a hostile church, can hardly be expected
to warm to the notion that their emancipation has Christian roots.
Mary has played a unique role in civilising Western
society. When men were compelled to honour Mary as the mother of their
God, they learned thereby to respect their own mothers, wives, sisters,
daughters. The cult of Mary may have suffered at the hands of a patriarchal
church, but there is no escaping the implications of the Annunciation.
Mary is "our tainted nature's solitary boast." The miraculous
Madonna, so beloved by the Latins, or the anaemic, willowy, plaster
statue that filled so many niches in our childhood, scarcely do justice
to the sturdy peasant girl chosen to play such an awesome part in
the salvation of humanity. Artists have not often been kind to her,
obliterating the glories of her womanhood Out of an exaggerated reverence
for her holiness.
The spare lines drawn by the gospel artist are the
only authentic expression we have of her. Our earliest picture comes
from Luke and the person outlined there bears little resemblance to
the figure that has been foisted on us for centuries. She is not seated
in her boudoir deep in contemplation, only to be disturbed by the
fluttering of an angel's wings against her latticed window. More likely,
she was bent over a washing tub or a cooking pot, like any other teenage
girl of her class, when God's message reached her. Fear gripped her
at the prospect of an unmarried pregnancy. The only bells that accompanied
the first Angelus were bells of alarm. She was deeply disturbed. It
could not have been easy for her to accept conception in such exotic
terms. It would have been well-nigh impossible for others - even those
who loved her most - to accept such an explanation of her pregnancy.
Tongues would wag in Nazareth. Her engagement to Joseph seemed certain
to be broken. It was a frightening prospect for a girl still in her
teens. The loneliest part of all was that there was nobody to whom
she could confide her terrible secret. Then, as later, she was left
alone to ponder all these things in her heart. For all his fine words,
the angel had placed a terrible responsibility on such young shoulders.
Her answer to his unprecedented challenge was extraordinarily courageous,
a blind leap in the dark: "Let what you have said be done to
me."
If you were to ask a married couple how they came to
fall in love, or if you asked two good friends how they came to be
friends, they may have difficulty answering your question. They might
say something like, "It just happened." In one sense that
may be true. In another sense it didn't just happen. If two people
are in a significant relationship with each other, be it marriage
or friendship, it is because they have chosen each other.
Why does someone choose one person rather than another
as a future spouse or friend? Having made that choice of the other,
why might the other then reciprocate? Why does someone choose to share
something of his or her life with someone else, and vice versa? There
we are into the mystery of human freedom, human preference. The more
significant relationships in life cannot be forced. Favour is freely
bestowed by one person on another; that other person freely receives
what is bestowed and freely reciprocates, and a new relationship is
born. There is an element of mystery about all that.
If there is a mysterious quality to the relationship
of one human being with another, that is even truer of the relationship
between God and ourselves. Why did God choose Mary to be the mother
of his Son? Why this particular woman in this particular small village
at this particular time of human history? We are dealing here with
the mysterious freedom and preference of God. Yet, there is a difference
between God's choice of Mary and the choice any one of us might make
of another. When any one of us chooses another to love or to befriend,
there is always, of necessity, an exclusive element to that choice.
We choose this person rather than any number of others. Although we
choose several people in the course of our lives in each case our
choice of one excludes others.
God's choice of Mary was not exclusive in that sense.
When God chose Mary, he was choosing all of us. He chose Mary for
all our sakes. God chose her to carry God's Son on behalf of us all,
because her future child was God's gift to us all. That is why how
Mary responded to God's choice of her was not just a matter that concerned
herself. It concerned us all. We all had a vested interest in how
she responded. Her response would also be our response. In a sense
we looked to her to make an appropriate response on behalf of us all
to God's choice of us.
The good news is that Mary did not let us down. Although
initially disturbed and then perplexed by God's choice of her, she
eventually surrendered fully to that mysterious choice of God. Having
been graced in this mysterious way, she responded wholeheartedly,
"Let it be to me according to your word." God freely chose
her, and she in turn chose to place her freedom at God's service.
God's choice of Mary, and Mary's choice of God in response had the
most wonderful consequences for all of us. She went on to sing, "the
Almighty has done great things for me." But, in reality, because
of her response to God's choice, we can all sing, "the Almighty
has done great things for us." We have all been graced through
Mary's response to God's choice of her.
If Mary's response to God's choice of her, God's call,
had enormous implications for us all, the same is true, to a lesser
extent, of the personal response of each of us to God. How each of
us responds or fails to respond to God's choice of us always has implications
for others. In that sense, my relationship with God is never purely
private. It always has a communal dimension. It always impacts on
others in one way or another. If I respond generously to what God
is asking of me, my response will bear rich fruit for others. If I
turn away from God's call, others will somehow be impoverished. We
are a pilgrim people journeying together towards the Lord. We are
either helping or hindering each other on that journey.
In the second reading, Paul speaks about "the
way the eternal God wants things to be." If, like Mary, I live
in tune with the way the eternal God wants things to be, others will
be helped to live as God wants them to live. My "yes" to
God's choice, God's call, is never mine alone, no more than Mary's
was. It always has implications for others. God worked powerfully
and creatively through Mary's generous response. God continues to
work powerfully and creatively through each of us, when we respond
to his call and his promptings. Mary gave birth to God's Son for others.
As we approach the feast of Christmas we ask Mary to help each of
us in our own way to give birth to God's Son for others.
The gospel gives us the backdrop to the birth of Jesus,
when his corning is announced, and how Mary was involved in making
that possible.
There was a hiccup recently in English football circles
when the national coach made some public comments that upset so many
people; it was deemed necessary to replace him. There were many contenders
for the job, but the unanimous choice was one particular manager.
As it happened, he was already contracted to a club, and no one was
certain whether he would give up his present commitment to take up
the new offer. After a great deal of negotiation, he agreed to accept
the job on a temporary basis. Things continued like this for a month
or two until, finally, his club released him, and he accepted the
job fulltime, much to the relief of the general public, for whom he
was their preferred choice. The whole country waited and hoped, as
he reflected and came to the point of making a decision.
In all of these Sunday reflections up fill now I have
continued to stress how important our own personal response is. The
gospel highlights that in a real way, as the angel awaits the reply
from Mary. It is as if God is on stand-by, awaiting her answer, before
he puts in train the whole process of our salvation. If I can put
myself in Mary's place in today's gospel, I begin to get a much clearer
idea of how God sees me in the process of my own salvation. The invitation
from God has RSVP written clearly on it.
This is a central gospel in that, in a unique way,
it lets us into the mind of God. He chooses, he calls, he awaits our
response. If we do accept, we do so because he guarantees us whatever
it takes to answer the call. Mary asked "How can this happen?"
and she was told it would happen through the power of God, and "nothing
is impossible with God." It is important to remember that with
the call comes the grace to answer that call.
Mary said "yes." She knew her place before
God. She was his handmaid, his servant. Humility is nothing more than
accepting things as they really are. Mary knew she couldn't do it,
but, with God's power working through her, she could do anything.
Elizabeth would later say to Mary, "All these things happened
because you believed that the promises of the Lord would be fulfilled."
Faith is a response to love. If I am convinced of the total love of
an infinite God, I will trust him in everything.
It is important to remember that Mary actually didn't
do anything. Rather she let God do whatever he wished with and through
her. Whatever God was free to do in and through Mary, he would be
delighted to effect in every single one of us. If I accept that I
am every single person in the gospel, and that the gospel is today,
then this is my big moment. Scripture says "If today you hear
his voice, harden not your hearts." The call of today requires
a response today. I cannot live today on a "yes" of yesterday.
We have a simple profile of Jesus in today's gospel.
He will be named Jesus. He will be great and will be the Son of the
Most High. He will inherit the throne of Israel, and he will rule
over God's kingdom forever. Much of what Jesus would later say about
himself and his mission is included in today's gospel. Especially
I must remember that each one of us is definitely included in this,
and it takes our own personal "yes" to make that complete.
He has come to set up a kingdom, but just as I would go to an Embassy
to get a visa, or apply for citizenship in another country, so must
I apply for membership in this kingdom. I keep stressing the necessity
to personalise the call of the gospel. Getting a visa or citizenship
can be a long drawn-out process that requires time and effort. Membership
in God's kingdom is much easier to attain, but it does require some
personal input.
Mary said "I am the Lord's servant." This
is a statement of fact, rather than a statement of intent. Saying
my "yes" is simply accepting things as they are, as acknowledging
and accepting the truth. Once again, I say that this is humility,
which is the key to the door of my heart. God gives me freewill, and
he would never coerce me into a decision. "Peace on earth to
those of goodwill." God is love, and everything about him has
to do with love. That is my vocation. It is a call to love. Firstly,
though, it is a call to be loved. It is a call to come under the Niagara
of the Father's love. Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, "that
they may know, Father, that you love them as much as you love me."
The greatest preparation I could make for Christmas
would be to take today's gospel, read it quietly for myself, reflect
on it, and allow the prayer to flow from my heart. Most of us are
familiar with the idea of going on a Retreat. I can have a mini-Retreat
any day I wish. It is a matter of minutes rather than of days. It
is the depth of time rather than the length of it that matters.
We all live with questions. "How can I do this?
How will I handle that?" We have the answer in today's gospel.
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you." Look at your questions again, in the
light of the answer in today's gospel. Especially should we look at
those areas where we may have lost hope, where we experience our own
powerlessness. There is great hope in this gospel. Grab it with both
hands, and see for yourself how the Lord keeps his promises. Repeat
to yourself, again and again, "Nothing is impossible with God."
"May everything you said come true." What
a beautiful, and yet what a simple prayer. The organ God gave me with
which to pray is my heart, not my tongue. If the heart is not praying,
the tongue is wasting its time. Prayer is really simple when it comes
from the heart.
Some years ago I was sitting by the bed of an elderly
lady who was troubled because she couldn't pray. I invited her to
talk to me about it. She spoke at great length about how she kept
falling asleep, how she was disappointed at not being able to complete
a rosary, and how her mind wandered all over the place when she watched
the Mass on television, which was the only way of sharing in eucharist
within her limits at that time. I continued to encourage her to speak,
as she told me how important prayer had always been in her life, and
how it had sustained her throughout each day. She spoke of how good
God had been to her, and how she felt ungrateful now through .her
inability to give him proper time and attention in her day. After
listening for some time, I made a suggestion to her. I told her that
what she said was beautiful and was, indeed, a prayer. I stood up
from the chair, and I asked her to imagine that Jesus was now sitting
in the chair. As I left the room, I asked her to keep talking to him
just as she had spoken to me. Each day I called after that, I always
had a smile, as she told how she spoke quietly to the chair even during
her waking hours of the night, and how she was certain that Jesus
was there. Every single care, worry, and guilt was poured out in those
prayers, and she always felt that they were taken care of; that she
was being listened to. When the books and the beads, and all the other
props of structure had been removed, it was just down to herself and
Jesus, and she was delighted at how simple it all was. Very soon she
got to the stage where she was sure that he was answering, and she
was able to spend time listening to him. It was a wonderful experience
for her, and a touching experience for me.
Supposing you were to replace Jesus in the chair with
the angel of today's gospel, how do you think your prayer might go?
1st
Advent Sunday, Year C
(Jer 33:14-16 - 1 Thess 3:12-4:2 - Lk 21:25-28,
34-36)
Away with Lethargy
Waiting for Christ
Promise Fulfilled, Yet To Come
Bruised Reed
Subject to Examination
Introduction: Today is the beginning of Advent when
we start our preparation for the coming of our Saviour. As he chose
to come amongst us in the most vulnerable state of a child in his
mother's womb, it is fitting that we begin our preparation by reflecting
on the most vulnerable in society, "the least of his brethren."
We are in the time of year (in Ireland) when frost
or rain regularly herald each day, when the breath of morning is damp
and worshippers are fewer. It is also the beginning of the season
when the familiar words of the Church's Advent liturgy warn us to
awake from out our spiritual lethargy, in order to welcome him who
comes in the name of the Lord, and also to be prepared for that final
awakening, when each human soul will be called from this world to
stand before the God who created it. The word Advent means coming
or arrival, and can refer to the first or second coming of Christ.
The first coming took place when Jesus the Son of the eternal God
was born of the Virgin Mary, and became a member of the human race.
He clearly manifested his divine power and wisdom before
the world, and some who witnessed this saw in him God's Holy Spirit
at work, while others hated him because they saw in him a threat to
established beliefs, customs and institutions. "It is better
for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be
destroyed," these latter argued (Jn 11:50), and so they crucified
him. But, among his followers, the firm belief grew in the promise
of Christ, that at the end of time he will come on the clouds of heaven
with great power and glory, and that all flesh will see the salvation
of our God. We shall all have to stand before the judgment seat of
Christ, the New Testament says, where we will "all be seen for
what we are, so that each of us may receive what we deserve, whether
good or bad, according to what we did in the body" (2 Cor 5:10).
This second coming of Christ gave rise to such an intense
spirit of expectancy among the early Christians, that, when they met,
they greeted each other with the Aramaic prayer "Marana tha,"
meaning "Our Lord, come" (1 Cor 16:22). It is a wish which,
at the beginning of the liturgical year, we, who are followers of
Christ also, should try to capture and make our own in some small
measure. "Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to
survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man, the gospel urges us. And the Lord, we are assured,
will confirm our hearts in holiness, so that we may be blameless in
the sight of God our Father, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with
all his saints. The first coming of Christ has taken place in the
past; the second coming lies in the future.
But St Bernard, the great Cistercian Abbot of Clairvaux
and friend of Saint Malachy of Armagh, spoke of a third coming of
Christ, a secret one that is taking place here and now. Even though
this coming is hidden from us, it is nonetheless real, as Christ himself
in the words of scripture tells us, "I will not leave you orphans;
I will come to you. If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my
Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with
him" (Jn 14: 18, 23). Of course, Christ does not now reveal himself
to us in any physical or concrete way. Nevertheless, St Paul says
that "now we see him as in a mirror dimly'- and we should remember
that mirrors in Paul's time were just made of polished bronze - "but
then" - meaning in the next life - "we shall see him face
to face" (1 Cor 13:12).
Christ then did not leave us orphans. When he became
one of us as a little baby, he was coming to remain with us for ever.
"The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will
call him Emmanuel, a name that means "God-is-with-us.""
So St Matthew wrote in the first chapter of his gospel; and St Paul
put the following challenge to the Christians at Corinth, roughly
24 years after the Crucifixion: "Examine yourselves to make sure
you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you acknowledge that Jesus
Christ is really in you? If not you have failed the test" (2
Cor 13:5). We speak about putting Christ back into Christmas, but
we should begin by prayer and especially by the Eucharist to make
his presence within each one of us more real, more lasting.
The English Jesuit poet, Robert Southwell, who at the
age of 34 was martyred at Tyburn for the faith in 1595 wrote: "God
is my gift, himself he freely gave me. God's gift am I, and none but
God shall have me."
May our prayer this Advent be that of the first Christians:
"Marana tha" - Come, Lord, please come.
Today's homily could be about waiting hopefully for
our Lord in the various ways that he comes into our lives. The Scriptures
are clear that he comes into the hearts of those who seek him and
genuinely want his presence. We could begin with the everyday experience
of waiting, what it means, and then how it relates to the Gospel.
Waiting is such an everyday experience, waiting at
bus stops, waiting in shopping queues, waiting for crops to grow,
waiting to see a doctor, for a job to turn up, for a husband to come
home to dinner, for the results of an exam or a hospital test. It
is often wearisome. But it can also be with a pleasant sense of anticipation,
waiting for people we love, for a chance to explain some little piece
of good fortune, for the moment of success.
Today's readings speak of waiting and suggest its effect
on our lives, like waiting for better times for our country, for new
and better leadership, and in the background, the modern fear of nuclear
war or the rapid depletion of the earth's renewable resources that
we know could so readily happen...
For a Christian, the crucial future event is the final
coming of Christ. When or how this will be, we do not know, but it
is thought-provoking, and we are called to pay some attention to it,
here and now.
These who are alert enough to notice the quiet presence
of the Lord in their everyday lives will be best prepared to meet
him when he comes in glory. Such people face the future and the end
of their lives with a better confidence. At a deep level, they are
not afraid of death, because they know the Lord is with them every
step of the journey. Are we ready to meet him today, if he comes?
Advent: We celebrate divine promise - fulfilled, and
yet to come. Advent, we are told in the Roman Calendar, is "a
time of preparation for Christmas when the first coming of God's Son
to men is recalled," and it is also "a season when minds
are directed by this memorial to Christ's second coming at the end
of time." We remember the mystery of our faith. Christ has died,
Christ is risen, Christ will come again. This period is to be regarded
as a season of "joyful and spiritual expectation."
That joy, however, may be tempered by the frenzied
activity which can precede Christmas. Stores are open on Sunday now
well before the end of November. Certainly, Advent seems to have lost
its tradition as a time of penance. We can no longer speak of Patrick
Kavanagh's "Advent-darkened room and sugarless tea." For
most of us, the notion of spiritual preparation has gone with the
loss of this aspect of penance. Instead, it can degenerate into a
kind of material struggle to make ends meet for bigger and better
presents, rather than simple tokens which, when genuinely given, are
equally acceptable. A variety of social functions can also occur at
this time. The anxieties of Advent living can almost overwhelm us.
Too many demands may be placed on us. We may crowd our lives with
activity and ignore our creative God. "In your mercy," we
pray after the Our Father at Mass, "keep us free from sin and
protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming
of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." It is good to give space to our
faithful God as we enter this season of Advent, and let him come fresh
again into our lives. A spiritual tranquillity comes from surrender
to him, and a readiness to do his will, the result of a continuing
prayerfulness. We have a sure model in the attentive Virgin of Nazareth
who responded to God's call with the words: "Behold the slave-girl
of the Lord. With joy I am ready to carry out whatever he wants of
me." If we follow this way, we shall be able to realize in the
words of the Jesuit poet, Robert Southwell, "God is my gift,
himself he freely gave me. God's gift am I, and none but God shall
have me."
St Bernard speaks about the three comings of Christ.
"In the first coming which we celebrate at Christmas," he
says, "the Lord was seen on earth and lived among men. In his
last coming, "all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
The other coming (a third kind) is hidden. In it, only the chosen
ones see him within themselves, and they receive fulfilment. In brief,
his first coming was in the flesh and in weakness, this intermediary
coming is in the spirit and in power, the last coming will be in glory
and majesty." Our Advent preface expresses it: "Now we watch
for the day, hoping that the salvation promised us will be ours, when
Christ our Lord will come again in his glory."
I remember when I was a child, during the winter particularly
when there was snow, there was often a wounded bird found in our lawn
or garden. I can still recall vividly holding such a little creature
in my hands and feeling its tiny heart pounding furiously against
my palms as I carried it into the house. I set it down gently beside
the fire in the kitchen and my mother put a saucer with some water
and breadcrumbs under its beak. But it stood there, eyes protruding,
petrified with terror, ignoring my mother's offering. It probably
didn't help that we children stood around gazing in fascination at
our newfound feathered friend. The usually raucous atmosphere of the
kitchen took on a new stillness with everybody talking in whispers
and tiptoeing round the fireplace lest we frighten our little visitor.
I also remember that when we rushed downstairs the following morning
the little bird was dead, its little body lying stiffly on the hearth
and its beak open. The content of the saucer remained untouched. I
realise now that it probably died more from fright than from its injuries.
I think there is something of a parable in this childhood
experience of mine. The world is full of wounded birds, individuals
scarred by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune;"
people who need to be treated with great gentleness and sensitivity.
All of us have scars of one kind or another. We can all be easily
upset and hurt by even relatively slight setbacks in our lives. There
is a wounded bird in each of us and in spite of our brave faces and
bragging banter, our backs are invariably labelled "Fragile:
Handle with care." Strong men cry like babies when struck by
even reversible setbacks like redundancy, bankruptcy or failing to
get an expected promotion. Wives have cradled them in their arms and
soothed their tears as their mothers did when they were children wakened
by nightmares or beaten by bullies in school playgrounds. We are all
vulnerable. Our touchiness seems to grow with the years. Who hasn't
been confronted at sometime or other by a friend asking "What
did you mean by that remark?" A totally innocent comment had
been misinterpreted, causing pain. And occasionally we have all been
victims of similar experiences, fretting for hours over unintended
insinuations. We have thin skins that bleed easily.
On this first Sunday in Advent it should comfort us
to remember that Christ chose the most vulnerable human state, that
of a new-born baby, to begin his mission on earth. That mission has
been perfectly described by St Peter: "He went about doing good."
Those of us who wish to follow him, would do well to begin by becoming
more sensitive to others. An awareness of our own vulnerability should
sensitise us to the vulnerable spots in others. Above all it should
make us more caring and protective of "the least of Christ's
brethren', the most vulnerable in our society.
The gospel parallels the events of Christmas, for which
we now prepare. If, when Jesus came at Bethlehem, the people were
not ready to receive him, then, when he comes again, they will have
no excuse, because he has come to prepare them for that Second Coming.
We are getting used to being people of the 21st century.
One of the many new changes we have come to accept has to do with
cars. By law, all cars of a certain age, are subject to inspection.
When the time comes to renew the tax on these cars, they have to be
subjected to a detailed examination first. The owners of such cars
get plenty of notice. They are even advised to have the car serviced
before submitting to the inspection, as this will save them both time
and money. Needless to say, many have already been caught unprepared,
and one has heard them complain about the unfairness of the system.
We are told to "watch and pray." There is
a certain level of alertness that is part of being a Christian. "Jesus
of Nazareth is passing by." The moment of grace is NOW. If I
am not present in the "now," then I am not at home when
Jesus calls. At the end of every day, I can look back, and see the
many opportunities the day had afforded me to say the good word, or
to do the good deed.
Jesus reminds us that "that day," as he calls
it, will come upon us all. It must not find us filled with the worries
of this life. We are a pilgrim people, on our way home. "Where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also." There is some
excuse for people not being ready to greet Jesus when at first he
came. There will be no excuse, however, for those of us who have heard
the Good News, not to be ready when Jesus comes again. That "readiness"
is called prayer, which is a way of being in the watchtower, of being
on guard, of being in a sense of readiness and expectation.
Jesus tells us that his Second Coming will be heralded
by signs, turmoil, and wide-spread upheaval. While this will strike
fear in the hearts of the citizens of this world, it should be an
occasion for great rejoicing among the members of his Kingdom. The
kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of Satan will have come to
an end, and his victorious Kingdom will be established for all eternity.
It will be the beginning of eternal glory and rejoicing for all the
children of God.
We are now beginning a four-week period of preparation
for Christmas. On that first Christmas night, there was many a heart,
and many a home closed against him. We are now given yet one more
opportunity to declare where we stand. We prepare for Christmas in
so many many ways. There is a lot of time and money that goes into
that preparation. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as we
remember that "Jesus is the reason for the Season."
Salvation is not something I receive when I die. Rather
it is the opportunity to begin again, any day I choose. The only "yes"
that God is interested in is my "yes" of now. God's grace
is always available to us. He doesn't give me anything, but he offers
me everything. The offer is made anew with each new day. I can live
today on my "yes" of today.
As I journey on my life with Jesus, as he leads me
back home to the Father, I become more and more aware of his accompanying
presence, and I live with the constant knowledge of that presence.
This awareness is expressed through prayer, which is not necessarily
saying prayers. It is to have a praying heart. It is to have a constant
awareness that Jesus is among us, within us, and that every day is
Christmas. The manger is in my heart, and every time I go down into
the heart I meet Jesus there.
The gospel is a wake-up call. It would amaze any one
of us to discover how much of ourselves is dormant. Did you hear about
the bishop who dreamt he was preaching a sermon, and he woke up to
discover that he was? Have you ever discovered yourself beginning
a decade of the Rosary, and then find yourself at the Gloria, without
any awareness of what happened in between? The gospel calls on us
to extend the antennae in our heads, as it were, to be alert, and
to be aware of what's going on. As John Lennon told us, "life
is what's happening when you're making other plans."
The secret of this alertness is to live in the now.
There is no reality outside of now. Yesterday is gone, and will never
return. To-morrow does not exist. The only reality is now. Cod is
totally a God of now. "I am who am." When I was a child
we had a wireless (radio), and, because we did not have electricity,
it was run on two batteries, one a "dry" (or ordinary) battery,
and the other a "wet" battery, which was made of glass,
and filled with acid. This battery required regular charging. Another
thing about the wireless was that it had a drifting dial. We received
just one station, and, as the station faded away on occasions, it
was necessary to turn the dial slightly to return the wireless to
that station. In a way, we all have a drifting dial, and to live in
the now entails tuning our attention, to bring ourselves back to the
proper wave-length.
Advent is a time of wonderful blessing and renewal.
It requires, of course, our own personal investment. We have to take
advantage of this opportunity to prepare our hearts anew for the coming
of our Saviour. Incarnation is not a once-off event that happened
many years ago. It is an on-going evolution going on within the heart
of every Christian. It the result of God's offer, and our acceptance.
God's offer is constant, daily, minute by minute Our acceptance must
be the same It is not a question of preparing for Jesus' Second Coming
at the end of time. My future is in the now. It involves wakening
up, tuning in, and saying "yes." It is deeply personal,
and it is very real.
A young lady was walking through the park, when she
became conscious of footsteps behind her. She hastened her step, only
to become aware that the person behind had begun to walk faster also.
Obviously, she was quite worried, and she decided to face the situation
head-on. She turned around to discover a young man walking briskly
behind her. She asked him if he were following her, and, if so, why?
The young man was embarrassed, as he began to explain why he was doing
what he was. He told her that he had noticed her pass this way every
day, that he had become infatuated by her, and that he just had to
meet her. The young woman remained silent, while the young man poured
out his heart about how much he loved her, and there could be nobody
else in the whole world that he could possibly love like he loved
her. Retaining her composure, the young woman said "My sister
is much more pretty that I am, and she is coming up there behind you."
The man turned quickly, only to discover that there was no one coming.
"You're only making a fool of me," he said. "There's
nobody coming behind me." The young lady replied calmly "Yet
you looked around. If you loved me like you said you did, you would
not have looked around to see my younger sister.'
You Still Don't Know Me?
Seeking Integrity
Waiting in Hope
Discernment
Preparing
Introduction: John the Baptist went before Christ to
prepare the way for him. He is a fitting model for us as we prepare
in Advent for the coming of Christ. Those of us who have the care
of children should give them a deep religious sense of the real significance
of Christmas
In this Advent season, the Church in a special way
brings home to us that we are at a stage of our existence when God
for us remains the great unknown, that God is hidden from us. We are
also told that this period will come to an end unexpectedly; and the
last few Sunday Readings have been warning us to be prepared, to be
on guard, to make sure that we do not shut ourselves up in a restricted
and closed routine of everyday activity, but to watch for this coming
of the Lord. But when all is said and done, we might well begin to
wonder why the words they speak have not yet come to pass.
This reminds us of the episode in the gospels where
Christ was speaking to the Apostles about the Father, and Philip showed
the same kind of impatience. "Show us the Father," he said,
"and we shall be satisfied." And Jesus answered, "Have
I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me.
To have seen me is to have seen the Father" (Jn 14:8f). The vision
being demanded of Philip was a vision of faith; and we also, especially
at this time, must have faith. We must "put on the armour of
light" (Rom 13:12), as St Paul vividly describes it, and become
children of the day. So we are made citizens of the kingdom of God
and his divine Son, and freed from the empire of darkness.
Before we sit in judgment on Philip for his demand
to be shown the Father, we should take an honest look at our own attitudes
when we ask God to reveal himself, especially to reveal his divine
power. Quite frequently, when we do this, we are not even thinking
of God, or of other human beings, but purely of ourselves. How often
do we appeal to God, as some kind of sovereign magician, to wave his
wand and give us an easy life, get rid of all the suffering, and the
torment, and the anxiety that we encounter as part of the human condition.
If we were to reflect deeply on such an approach to God, we should
find that it is not at all God's presence we are seeking, but rather
a kind of heaven on earth. It is an attempt to idealise our present
life, to fix ourselves in it forever, to be rid of all that bothers
us, and be surrounded with all the creature comforts that appeal to
us.
But God is not that kind of benevolent provider. God
is the Creator who will fashion a new heaven and a new earth, and,
in the process, this world, as we know it, will completely disappear.
That is not to say, however, that God does not have
regard for our worries, that he is some kind of impersonal, remote
looker-on. For, in the person of Jesus Christ, God showed how he cares
for, and loves each and every one of us. In and through Jesus, God
shared in the sorrow of Martha and Mary for their brother Lazarus,
he wept over the city of Jerusalem and all its inhabitants, he sacrificed
himself on the Cross for all our sakes.
Today, in the first reading, he addresses to us the
words he spoke to his chosen people through the prophet Baruch: "Jerusalem,
put aside your garments of sorrow and distress; put on the beauty
of the glory of God forever." We should, then, try and drop the
self-seeking attitude which so frequently prompts us to ask, "what
is there in all of this for me? What can I gain from this?" Even
our earthly friends would sense this selfishness, were it to be the
only reason for our friendship with them. We should rather try and
learn from the example of the Patron Saint of the Missions, whose
feast-day we celebrate at this time, St Francis Xavier (1506-1552),
who was, what one might describe as, the St Paul of the second Christian
millennium, who travelled through India, Malaysia, China and Japan,
in order to spread the good news of Christ's coming. His prayer was,
"I love you Lord, not because I hope for heaven thereby. I love
you, and will love, solely because you are my Lord." Loving God
purely for his own sake will give a new direction to our lives.
The English saint, Richard of Chichester, was wont
to state this way what the desire of a truly Christian soul should
be, "Lord Jesus, as we begin this new year in the Church, help
us to see you more clearly, to love your more dearly, and to follow
you more nearly." Following in the footsteps of Christ is what
matters. In this season therefore, we should, as Scripture urges us,
give special thanks to God for having loved us, and beseech him to
fill us with a pure and disinterested holiness, to fill us with love
for all our neighbours, to fill us with a joyful expectancy that,
at the end of our sojourn on earth, Christ may meet us, and take us
to be with him in God's new creation for ever.
(1) The word "integrity"
is used three times in the first reading suggesting a homily based
on its meaning. It would be well to ensure that the particular audience
being addressed knows the meaning of the word as it can no longer
be assumed that biblical phrases are automatically understood. Speaking
recently to a group of third level students on the psalms, I used
the word "fidelity" a number of times only to be told that
they did not know (or perhaps did not want to know) what it meant.
In the NAB "justice" is used for "integrity;"
perhaps the word could therefore be pointed towards the particular
form of justice most lacking in a given situation. (2) The opening
passage of the epistle to the Philippians shows Paul at his most tender.
It might be good to delay on the strong emotions of this great apostle
- his clear affection and love for the people to whom he had brought
the knowledge of Christ. He can then demand that they show love for
one another. (3) "All mankind shall see the salvation of God."
Luke is concerned to situate the coming of John the Baptist and of
Jesus squarely in the secular history of the time. John the Baptist's
was not some ethereal preaching out of touch with real life situations.
He was calling people from where they were in life to straighten themselves
out in order to meet God anew. In order to experience the salvation
of God today we too need to see what in our lives needs to be straightened
out.
In today's reflection, we might stress the second reading
from Philippians and quietly allude to the other two, under the general
idea that the Christian, waiting in hope for the fulfilment of God's
kingdom, must try to live here and now according to God's clear guidance.
Paul gives us a rich and dense passage on Christian living.
1) A gifted existence (vv. 3-6.) Remind the people
of all they have received from God. One aspect of this gift is that
they are able to believe in the Lord Jesus, and come to worship with
their fellow believers. Millions do not (yet) have this gift of faith.
2) God the merciful and generous Father has begun this
good work in us (v. 6): "No one can come to me unless he is drawn
by the Father who sent me" (John 6:44-47.) And - for those who
accept his grace - God will bring this good beginning to perfection
gradually until the end of time.
3) Gratitude urges us to accept the gift, by living
as God wishes. That is living in love: "that your love for each
other may increase more and more" (v. 9.) We must love as Christ
loves us (v.8.)
4) Apply this to concrete details, how in practical
situations your people can prove their love for God. Can I say I truly
love (and show that I love) my own nearest and dearest: wife, children,
family, those near to me. This question can be extended to employers
and employed; people of other nations and races; those of other religions;
those who disagree with me strongly; importunate itinerants and down-and-outs;
those who, I believe, have injured me.
Am I injuring anyone? Are we injuring a third party?
Do I always put my own group first and let the others just sink or
swim, with no help from me? Or do I sincerely try to be kind, of help
and service to all who cross my path?
5) My love must grow. Christ the Lord gives spiritual
growth to those who want it. I must grow too by "improving in
knowledge and perception" (v.9.) I need self knowledge to overcome
blindness to my weaknesses and failures in love. I need a deep perception
of Christ's values so that I can make them my own. As I pray for and
await his power this Advent, I want to use the pwer he already gives,
to mould me more towards what I could be, like him.
Then there's the hopeful passage from Baruch (first
reading) with its longing for deliverance from weakness: for "peace
through integrity and honour through devotedness" (v.4.) My longing
in faith, in the spirit of Advent, is also expressed in the gospel:
"every valley will be filled in, every mountain will be laid
low" (v.5) when the Lord comes.
Probably our first awareness of this world came with
the sound of our mothers' voice. We could hear before our eyes were
opened. Certainly, the first awareness others had of-our arrival was
the sound of our crying. It is one of the great clichés of the film
world. The good news is always relayed to the anxious father by the
sound of a baby crying off-camera. Voices dominated our earliest years,
loving, soothing, pleading voices.
Hush. little baby. Do not cry.
Mammy will sing you a lullaby.
Later came sterner voices, commanding, scolding and
threatening. But we gave as good as we got with our push-button tantrums.
School introduced us to a whole new world of sound, the jingles and
nursery rhymes of the classroom and the high-pitched squeals of the
playground. As life progressed, more and more voices competed for
our attention. Soon we learned to distinguish the familiar from the
strange, the friendly from the menacing. Later our antennae would
be refined enough to discern voices as nuanced as those of the cynic
and the sarcastic and as diverse as those of the sincere and the sycophant.
The second half of this century has experienced an
enormous media explosion. The airwaves have become cluttered with
myriads of voices clamouring to be heard. The Tower of Babel has come
back with a vengeance. It is a far cry from the world of Millet's
evocative painting The Angelus, depicting peasants in the fields,
heads bowed in prayer. It is hard to believe now that the world depicted
there is only mid-nineteenth century. God be with the days when the
voice of God calling his people to prayer with the ringing of church
bells had no greater competition than the occasional town crier even
in cities as large as London, Paris or Rome. But enough of this nostalgia.
This brave new world of ours, loud as it may be, is just as much God's
marvellous creation as those older quieter worlds, and we should cheerfully
echo the words of today's psalm: "What marvels the Lord worked
for us. Indeed we are glad." His voice sounds just as clear today
as it did to Adam in the Garden of Eden or Moses on Mount Sinai. Or
the voice of John the Baptist, "crying in the wilderness', announcing
the coming of Christ. The Good Shepherd himself has assured us that
we will know his voice and his promise holds good even - in these
cacophonous times. All great religious experiences begin with hearing
a voice. So it was with St Paul on the road to Damascus and St Patrick
and "the voice of the Irish" seeking conversion and Joan
of Arc. Such spectacular occurrences would be more likely to guarantee
insanity rather than sanctity nowadays. For us the voice of God is
relayed more unobtrusively through the quiet promptings of the Holy
Spirit.
One of the earliest phonographs was marketed at the
beginning of this century with a picture showing a turntable with
its winding handle and large trumpet-like earphone. Sitting in front
of the earphone was a little dog, ears pointed, listening intently.
The caption underneath read: His Master's Voice. In this noise-filled
world of ours, our greatest concern should be to listen to and follow
the voice of our Master.
At a time when we are preparing our hearts for Christmas,
we read of John the Baptist preparing the people for the coming of
Jesus.
Some of us still remember Sept 1979 as an historic
occasion for Ireland, when Pope John Paul II made the first ever visit
by a pope to our island, and all of everyday life came to a stand-still
for the duration of his visit. As I now recall that occasion, the
strongest memories I have are connected with the work that preceded
his visit. Special Masses, all--night vigils, prayer groups, were
the order of the day. There were four places in the country where
the Pope would celebrate Eucharist, and address the crowds. These
places were decorated, corralled, and fully equipped to cater for
the many thousands expected. Local communities were organised for
mass transport to and fro. I myself was involved in this preparation,
giving talks, conducting vigils, etc. The visit was a wonderful success,
and a time of much and many graces for the Irish nation. I have never
doubted that the preparation was a vital part of the success of the
Papal visit.
John's message was a call to turn from sin, and be
ready for God's forgiveness. There was a Saviour coming, there was
a Redeemer coming. In order to be saved, it is necessary to acknowledge
my sinfulness, and my need for salvation. In order to be redeemed,
it is necessary to acknowledge the fact that I am in bondage, and
in need of being set free.
In many ways, John the Baptist is an image of the church.
At a later time, John pointed to Jesus, and encouraged his disciples
to follow him, and become Jesus' disciples. (On occasions, unfortunately,
the church could be accused of pointing to herself as the source of
salvation). During this Advent season, the church concentrates on
preparing us to celebrate the coming of Jesus as our Saviour. We must
heed that call, and prepare our hearts for this great occasion.
We are called to straighten out our lives. To fill
in the valleys, and to level the mountains and hills is about ensuring
justice for all of God's people. In today's language, we refer to
this as providing a level playing field for all, so that everybody
has access to the goods of this world. The final words of Isaiah in
today's gospel tells that "And then all people will see the salvation
sent to us from our God." This is the direct result of making
straight the ways of the Lord, filling the valleys, levelling the
mountains, straightening the curves, and making smooth the rough places.
We can all identify these areas in our lives.
The only way I will ever be able to respond to the
word of God is to accept that it is a personal word for me. The gospel
contains a message for me. I am the one who is asked to turn from
my sins, to turn to God, and to prepare the way for him to make his
home within my heart. I am the one who is asked to ensure fair play
and justice for others, so that I can see the salvation sent from
God.
What exactly does "turning from sin" mean?
If I am conscious of anything in my life that is in conflict with
my Christian vocation; if I am aware of any pattern of behaviour,
relationship, or deceit in my life that is not according to the will
of Jesus, then I must get rid of it. "If your hand sins against
you," says Jesus, "cut it off. It is better to enter heaven
with one hand than to end up in hell with two." Usually there
is little difficulty identifying something in my life that should
not be there. We all have a conscience, that still silent voice that
reminds us. When I was a child, I had a dog that looked guilty anytime
he did something wrong. One look at him, and you knew he had been
up to something. When approached, he lay on his back, expecting a
slap. When he received a pat, or a friendly stroke, he immediately
jumped up all over me, because he knew he was forgiven.
Filling the valleys, levelling the mountains, straightening
the crooked road, preparing a pathway for the Lord . this is all part
of my preparation for Christmas. This involves decisions, and these
decisions come out of the context of the realities of my life. God
is always calling on me to respond to him. Responding to him is to
become responsible. I have responsibility for my actions, and become
willing to face up to the truth. There is a tendency to look for a
softer, easier way. Part of the human condition is an inability to
understand the human condition. Lucy said to Charlie Browne "Charlie
Browne, do you know what's wrong with you?" "No," replied
Charlie, "tell me." "What's wrong with you, Charlie
Browne, is that you don't want to know what's wrong with you."
Most churches have a Service of Reconciliation during
Advent. In a way, we can think of this as "Confession without
the shopping list." To people of my generation, it may appear
all too simple, all too easy. This is to totally misunderstand the
thinking behind the Reconcilation Service. Sin has a community dimension.
When I do wrong, I offend the community in general, through an individual,
or through a group. Because there is a community dimension to my sin,
there must be a community dimension to my repentance. That is why
the public acknowledgement of our sinfulness, that is part of the
Service of Reconciliation, is much more preferable to going into a
Confession box and whispering in the dark. In the season where we
are told about "peace on earth to those of good-will," it
is important that I harness my good-will, and ACT on it.
Jim had always been a quiet man. His voice was gentle
and pleasant, and he had a sincerity about him that held you when
he spoke to you. He seemed to have a constant sense of being in contact
with God, and of God's presence in his life, and in the world. He
had absolutely no aggression in his personality, but he was always
deeply upset by reports of injustice, ethnic cleansing, and the flow
of refugees, in search of safety and security.
Jim got cancer. From the beginning, he was totally
aware of his situation, and he insisted on being kept informed of
every step of the prognosis. He retained his dignity, his composure,
and his peace of mind. He was realistic about life and about death.
He spoke openly about how he felt, and what he thought. Most impressive
of all was his attitude towards death. Whenever I was with him during
his final weeks, I always felt that his whole life was a preparation
for what was to come. It was obvious that he had made a direct connection
between the first coming of Jesus, and his return to call Jim home.
He was ready, and he had a sense of waiting patiently. He spent a
lot of his time, while he still had the energy, in reaching out to
others, in sorting out his affairs, and in preparing his wife and
family for what lay ahead.
I was with him when he died. He died as he had lived,
with peace, calm, and dignity. When I read today's gospel, I think
of Jim. He represents for me what today's gospel is all about. My
own personal reinforcement of the gospel message has come from the
people I have met who are living the message.
Gaudete!
Why all this Joy?
The Baptist's Challenge
A Sense of Future
Solidarity: a Challenge
Practicalities
Introduction: When John the Baptist was asked by the
people what they must do to prepare for the coming of the Messiah,
he told them to share with those who had nothing. We must do the same
if we wish Christ to be born in our lives this Christmas.
The liturgy of this Third Sunday in Advent is full
of reassurance and comfort for us. In the past it was known as "Gaudete
Sunday," the Latin word "gaudete" meaning "rejoice."
The liturgy then tells us to be happy, not to worry, that the Lord
is near. And if we want the peace of God to be in our hearts, and
in our thoughts - our hearts that are always seeking to possess the
things of this world - our thoughts which are so often filled not
only with fears, worries and anxieties about our present circumstances,
but moreover about our future - then, that peace will be ours, if
we simply and trustfully ask God for it. Scripture tells us to do
precisely this where it says, "There is no need to worry; but
if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with
prayer and thanksgiving" (Phil 4:6). Note as well that it tells
us not to wait until after God grants our requests before thanking
him. Even as we ask, we should be giving thanks. One of the things
we should thank God for at the end of this year has been the Christian
witness given by so many good people in our time.
Wherever there is evil, God will ensure that resolute
and saintly souls will rise up to combat it. Such was the call, the
prophetic witness associated with the person of St John the Baptist,
as described in the readings for this Christmas preparation period.
People were prepared to walk all the way from Jerusalem down to the
vicinity of Jericho in the deep Jordan valley, on the edge of the
desert - all of fifteen miles each way - in order to see John, this
charismatic figure who till then had lived the life of a recluse in
the wilderness around the Dead Sea. Having seen him, many moreover
wanted to stay and listen to his message and be baptised by him. But
the reaction also of many of them to John was one of uncertainty,
that uncertainty which surfaces in all of us when we take time to
cast a critical eye on the kind of life we are leading.
"What must we do?," they asked him. And John
spelt out the answer for them in no uncertain terms. While their seeking
for guidance showed their willingness to change, it also showed that
they were lacking in the Holy Spirit, in that fire with which, according
to the Baptist, Christ when he comes will baptise. For not only does
the Holy Spirit guide us, he pleads for us with sighs too deep for
words. "Love and do what you will," was to be the motto
of St Augustine, meaning that if people have total inner commitment
to God, then they will be incapable of doing wrong, they will know
instinctively what is right from the promptings of the Spirit within
them.
John the Baptist, however, attempted to effect this
inner change in his listeners' hearts by telling them not to be grasping,
not to exact from others more than a just return for their services,
but rather to help those in need. "If anyone has two cloaks,
he must share with the man who has none." Give your blood,"
the ancient monks in the desert used to say, "and you will possess
the Spirit." The society to which John was addressing himself
- as indeed Jesus did later- was to collapse within a generation -
was to collapse, because of its lack of spiritual depth, its over
concern with externals, as evidenced by the Pharisees, its pursuit
of a narrow-minded nationalism, as seen in the Zealots who were willing
to resort to violence and assassination in their hatred of the Romans.
The greatest danger to the continuation of any society
becomes a reality when most of its members become motivated by selfish
concerns, greed and covetousness. The message that our own society
invariably highlights is not, alas, that of sharing cloaks, but of
wearing outfits that are better, more comfortable, more in keeping
with the size of one's pay differential. The sad thing is that all
this unbridled seeking for earthly comforts, this concern with the
cares of life, pulls us further and further away from the yearning
for himself, that God has placed within all of us. It turns us away
from the things of the Spirit, and from the pursuit of religious idealism.
Prayerfully then, and in the presence of God, let us give thanks to
the Father in this Mass, for the gift of his divine Son, who in its
celebration makes us one with himself. Let us ask for the peace of
God, as Sacred scripture urges us, for that abiding peace which is
so much greater than we can ever understand, so much greater than
anything this world can ever offer us. And we can be assured that
for all who faithfully do this the reward will be everlasting.
This third weekend of Advent is reserved for the theme
of JOY. Words such as JOY, REJOICE, JOYFULLY, SING, SHOUT, and CRY
OUT will be heard nearly 30 times with six exclamation points to boot.
We are told to shout for joy, to sing joyfully, to
cry out with gladness, to exult with all our hearts, to not be discouraged,
to have no anxiety and to fear nothing. Great words to hear. Great
words to pray over.
What always catches our attention on this particular
Sunday is the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians. It is clear
that Paul is filled with irrepressible joy and peace. What is more,
he is filled with gratitude.
Why does this catch our attention? It is simply this.
Paul is not writing these words to the Philippians while lounging
in the sun on a topical beach with sand in between his toes. Rather
Paul is writing from a Roman prison, under guard, where his life is
in imminent danger.
So here is the question? Why the joy? Why the peace?
Why the gratitude? Why are these things impenetrable by the setting
in which Paul finds himself? Paul felt deeply that the Lord was near;
and that his mind and heart were guarded by the peace of God.
On this Third Sunday of Advent we pray for this kind
of joy, this kind of peace, and this kind of gratitude. Let us pray
that we truly feel that the Lord is near. Let us pray that our hearts
and minds are guarded by the peace of God.
Personal stories of how hardships were unable to penetrate
moments of peace and joy can be inserted to develop this theme.
Today we could speak about John the Baptist's preaching;
then of the pre-eminence of Christ by whose grace we are enabled to
live as the Baptist taught; and finally echo the famous "rejoice"
text, in Philippians.
1. John the Baptist, on sharing "tunics"
(v. 11.) If the second "tunic" were superfluous then it
would be spiritually liberating to give it away. Hoarding possessions
clogs the spirit (Luke 12:16, Matt. 19:23-24, the barn-builder and
the selfish rich.) But here it is a question of giving your second
"tunic," even if it is not superfluous, to a man who has
none. This may be morally necessary. Exaggerated acquisitiveness,
selfishness, and plain greed is at the root of all sin and is destructive
of the personality. In our relatively affluent condition, there is
a temptation to hoard selfishly, excluding all concern for those in
greater need.
2. The call to basic justice. In John's time, tax-gatherers
were despised as a class. The Baptist was gentle with them (v. 12.)
All he asked of them a was basic sense of justice. How gentle are
we with those who are thought not respect-able? Who are the "not-respectable"
among us?
3. Roman soldiers could be brutal, or men of faith
like the centurion with the sick servant (Matt. 8:5-13.) John merely
asked them not to use physical force and their little authority unjustly.
"No intimidation." (v.4.) Are we shocked enough when we
hear that torture has been used? How do we use the little power we
have? Do we exploit weaker people?
4. The Baptist insists that he is not the Christ. This
splendidly unselfish man shows a marvellous humility (John 1:19-28
and 3:27-30): "he must increase, I must decrease." He practised
what he preached. Our real worth is in carrying out our place in God's
plan.
5. Jesus called John "more than a prophet,"
"the greatest of those born of woman" (Luke 7: 28ff..) Yet
"the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he is."
Because, for John, the Spirit had not yet been given. So, we can recite
Zephaniah's psalm of joy and cry out "Rejoice with Paul. Christ
has come. He comes with his grace and his power this Advent.
A strong sense of the future and what it holds permeates
Advent. This is in stark contrast to the way that most people live
today, and even to the way that many Christians believe.
When we do have to think about the future, there are
two frequent reactions. We may think of tomorrow with fear and dread,
and even with a sense that everything has gone seriously wrong with
the world. Anxieties and fears like these are often sharpened as we
contemplate the chances of a nuclear holocaust. Modern communications
often relay so much bad news on a global scale that it overwhelms
people. On the other hand, we may be among those who look to the future
with a sort of vague optimism "Things can hardly get worse."
The trouble is that the grounds for such optimism are often as vague
as the optimism itself.
Advent is not meant to make us dread the future, and
it is not a restatement of half-hearted optimism. Advent presents
us with the challenge to discern God's will and purposes in the world,
and to grasp something of the fulfilment of these purposes.
Zephaniah was clear about the way of life that God
required of his people. In this he stood alongside many of the great
prophets. The prophets seldom isolated moral requirements from an
emphasis on God's care and love for people, and indeed his determination
to draw them into a wonderful future with him. It was this that prevented
them from despair, even if they had a particularly severe judgement
to deliver. There were times that hope must have seemed distant as
their words fell on deaf ears. Today's reading from Zephaniah is one
of real hope for a people who draw close to God.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that most of
Israel's prophets make reference to the fact that God acted decisively
in the past for the nation in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt.
It was in the light of believing in a God like this that they could
hope for the future at all (cf Is 12.) Hope rested on a reliable God
rather than particularly reliable people.
Similar convictions underlie practical aspects of Christian
living. The Church is dependent on a God who is powerful to guard
his people by holding them in the right way. The future is not simply
related to the development of the world scene, but is something brought
to fulfilment by the Lord's coming (Phil 4:5.) In today's reading
from Philippians, Christians are called on to live in a new way because
of the future that God intends. God's peace is powerful to transform
whole lives - hearts and minds.
The Old Testament has many references to God's intention
to pour out his Spirit on all people. It is in Jesus that this promise
begins to be a reality. There is nothing purely sentimental about
encountering God's Spirit. The experience of the Holy Spirit could
be as painful as being purified by fire.
For Luke, the Holy Spirit is clearly to be seen as
the link between God's purposes in the life of Jesus and God is purposes
in the life of the Church. The Holy Spirit, promised in the prophets,
given by the Father through Jesus, leads people forward towards God's
future for them. The way of repentance that characterises much of
Advent, and is the theme of John the Baptist's teaching, remains "Good
News" (Lk 3:18) because it leads towards receiving the power
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us into conformity with
God's purpose, and so draws us into his future. This is Christian
hope.
The life of a preacher is not always easy. He sometimes
plays the role of "prophet without honour." I have had some
small ex perience of that. Some years ago I gave a talk on Irish television.
The subject was unemployment and I took as my theme, John the Baptist's
reply to the people who asked him: "What must we do, then?"
John said: "If anyone has two coats he must share
with the man who has none and the one who has something to eat must
do the same." I took the view, which I still hold, that what
was true about coats then should be true about jobs now. People holding
two or more jobs - and there were and are many such people in Ireland
- should be encouraged to relinquish one in the interests of the unemployed.
I was astonished at the outcry I caused. Letters were written to the
papers and complaints were made to the broadcasting authorities. They
suggested to me that I should issue a statement. The latter is called
in media circles a "damage-limitation" exercise. I didn't
comply, suggesting in stead that they release the full text of my
talk. They didn't. It was my last appearance on the programme.
Oddly enough, it was the only time in my life I had
quoted a body not generally acclaimed for their radicalism. The Irish
Bishops in one of their pastorals stated: "Men with an already
adequate salary or pension, women with comfortable livelihoods and
no economic need to work, have surely in present circumstances an
obligation not to seek or hold on to jobs at the expense of others,
especially younger people who cannot find work." The circumstances
alluded to there have greatly worsened since then. It is no secret
that the bulk of work being done by people in the black economy is
by people with jobs.
Job-sharing is now firmly established on every government's
agenda, at least promoted in theory if not so often operated in practice.
People are not so reluctant to share their work but baulk at the prospect
of a diminished income. It is not the labour they resent sharing but
the fruits thereof. They continue to pay lip service to the Christian
message as long as it does not hurt their pockets. Meanwhile, unemployment
grows alarmingly and the gap between the "haves" and the
"have-nots" continues to widen.
Our global record is even worse. The pittance we give
in aid is a paltry restitution for what we pillaged from the Third
World to create our thriving economies. "The goods we possess
are theirs, not ours," St John Chrysostom stated bluntly about
the poor, long before the era of colonial conquest. Regarding aid,
St Gregory the Great was equally blunt: "More than performing
works of mercy, we are repaying a debt of justice." About the
plight of the poor in the Third World, the modern media have left
us with few illusions. To our plaintiff plea, "But when did we
see you hungry?" the terse reply might well be, "Nightly,
on television."
"What must we do, then?" The answer John
the Baptist gave to those who first posed the question is even more
relevant for us today. "Share." Solidarity with the dispossessed
of our own world and the deprived of the Third World is an urgent
priority for those who wish to be Christian.
The gospel is a gem, because it is full of practicalities.
When they heard John speak, people from different ways of life came
to John and asked him "What should we do?" His words had
obviously touched their hearts, and they were ready to respond. It
is reasonable to assume, by the nature of their questions, that they
were prepared to listen to his answer.
A friend of mine is a member of AA. He is now a fully
convinced and convicted member, after a long period of rationalisation,
self-justification, and denial. For most of his first year there was
a raging battle going on within him. He could not identify with the
others, and, because he had not done all the crazy things the others
had done, he continued to deny that he really was an alcoholic. By
sticking with the programme, however, and by continuing to attend
the meetings, he gradually came to a point where he was ready to ask
for help, to take his focus off the others, and to ask himself "What
do I have to do to gain sobriety?" It was only then that his
recovery had begun. The message had got through to him, and he was
ready to make a personal response to what he was hearing.
The gospel contains some simple questions, and some
direct answers. There are several occasions in the gospels when someone
asked Jesus what should he do. On Pentecost morning, the people asked
Peter what should they do to receive the Holy Spirit. Pilate asked
Jesus "What is truth?" and then he walked away, because
he probably didn't want to hear the answer. We are speaking about
truth here. In other words, if you don't want to hear the answer,
don't ask the question. Denial of the truth is very much part of our
human condition. Part of our sinful condition is that it blinds us
to the truth of our condition. That's why it's so much easier to see
the faults of others.
John himself was open and truthful when it came to
the question as to whether or not he was the Messiah. John had never
any doubt about his role. He was sent to prepare for Jesus, and, once
Jesus had arrived on the scene, John's role was over. "I have
to decrease, if he is to increase." John knew his place before
God, and he had no tendency to try to play the role of God or of Messiah.
That is humility in the truest sense. It is stating things as they
are, and it is living in, and with reality.
The most important thing about John's announcements
was that he saw them as Good News. He was very definite about the
good times up ahead. It was part of the Jewish tradition that a Messiah
would come some day. Even today, Jews are still waiting for that Messiah.
John was a specially anointed prophet, who had a clear and definite
vision about what was unfolding. Calling on people to repent, to change
their lives, to get their lives in order was the perfect introduction
to the themes Jesus would pick up on, when he came. Just as John highlighted
the need to acknowledge sin in our lives, so would Jesus emphasise
his offer of forgiveness for sin.
Supposing you went up to John the Baptist, and asked
"What should I do?" What do you think his answer might be?
It is interesting to note that each group who asked this question
in today's gospel was told something about what they did for a living.
To the tax collectors he replied that they should not extort more
money than was due. To the soldiers he said that they should not accuse
people of things they know they didn't do. I don't think it would
require any deep or prolonged reflection for any of us to come up
with what John's answer to us might be.
Awake My Soul
Alert to His Presence
Mary's Amen
The Visitation
A Firm Quest
"My heart is ready, Oh God;
I will sing, sing your praise.
Awake my soul; awake lyre and harp.
I will awake the dawn."
That is the first verse of Psalm 107, and it is full
of hope and expectancy, looking forward to a new dawn, a new era.
The term "Advent," which means coming or arrival, is used
especially in connection with the first coming of Christ at his birth,
and also in looking forward to his second coming at the end of time.
In the readings of the last few Sundays, and in particular today's,
we find a tremendous yearning for the coming of a Redeemer, a Messiah.
Most of the influential people in Jewish society had
been carried off into exile by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and, after
fifty years, at last they were being allowed return to their own country.
But the Temple in Jerusalem still remained in ruins, no sacrifice
was being offered to God, no voice lifted in prayer to the Almighty
in the place where once that Temple had stood. It was a period of
gloom and utter desolation. The prophet, Isaiah, called by divine
providence to be the mouthpiece of the returned exiles, confesses
that they all have been sinners, blown hither and thither at the mercy
of the winds of change in their fortunes. He raises a heartbroken
cry to God, to return, to tear the heavens open, and by his renewed
presence among them to free them from the shackles of their sinful
habits, and so end their disappointment and frustration.
Advent also is a time when we should call upon God
to renew us in heart and soul, so that we may be able to celebrate
his divine Sons coming among us in a truly religious way. But neither
should we forget that, Sunday after Sunday throughout the entire year,
the heavens in a divine sense are truly opened, and Christ comes down
to us in the sacrament of the Eucharist. He comes to visit each of
us personally, to grant our inmost needs, to keep us, as St Paul tells
us, steady and without blame until the last day, so that we may be
witnesses to his presence before the whole world. There is a clear
message for us, as well, in the gospel parable of the man who set
off to travel abroad, after warning his servants, whom he had left
in charge, to watch out for his return. This is a definite reference
to the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, and to his expected second
coming, what the first Christians called the "parousia."
From earliest times then, the Church is asking its
members to look forward with confidence to their eternal destiny,
and not to heed the crosses they encounter. So earnestly did the first
Christians take to heart this injunction that, whenever they met,
they greeted one another with a saying in the Aramaic language which
became a watchword among them, a kind of password which identified
them as being followers of Christ. St Paul used it as part of his
farewell greeting to the Corinthians at the end of his first letter
to them - "marana tha." which means "Our Lord, Come."
We are troubled, however, when we consider that life on earth for
everyone is full of trials. We are troubled in view of temptations
to come, so much so that we ask the Father repeatedly in the Lord's
Prayer not to lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We
are especially troubled at the thought of leaving this world for a
destination hidden from us, and yet we pray every day that God's kingdom
may come.
We want to be rewarded with the vision of God hereafter,
and yet we depart from this world against our will, whereas the saints
regarded this world as a place of exile, and heaven as their true
home. It was a custom of St Augustine to urge his people to sing Alleluia
to God, as travellers sing along the road, in order to shorten their
journey, or as workers do to sweeten their toil. So rejoice, for religion
is not a sad thing. But at the same time keep pressing forward, advancing
in true faith, in virtue, in right conduct. St Paul advised the Thessalonians
to look forward to the Lord's coming, and with such thoughts to comfort
one another. "Be happy at all times," he advised them, "pray
constantly, and for all things give thanks to God, because this is
what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:16-18).
From such considerations we too should find consolation, as we prepare
this Advent season for the coming of Christ.)
Despite the joy in today's readings, for many people
in our own communities joy may seem very far away. Indeed, some find
it almost impossible to recognise God as a loving, caring, compassionate
Father, in the midst of their trials and turmoil. Many of the traditional
signs of God's presence no longer seem to offer the same security
as they once did. However, even in a fading Christian culture, people
can be helped to recognise the presence and nearness of God to them.
"Stay awake, be alert to him" are as valid today as for
the community that Luke was trying to encourage.
It may be said that God is not instantly evident and
today we live in a world of "instants" - instant entertainment,
instant excitement, instant food. Yet there is also a lot of waiting
and boredom, waiting at bus-stops, at check-outs in the supermarket,
or at street corners, for the unemployed (at least for many of them.)
We have to live with many contradictions. It is the preacher's job
to help the congregation to appreciate the coming of the Lord, not
just at Christmas, in the stable, but in subtle ways, even today,
in the world all around us.
God can be encountered as very close, in many human
experiences. Apart from times of prayer, ordinary occasions of human
warmth and friendship often point quitely towards God and deserve
to be pointed out. In family life there is nothing so naturally religious
as a meal together at home, even though for many families this is
becoming a thing of the past. But a family meal has associations of
celebration, good will amongst those taking part, and good company.
We might note how religion can imbue so many details of life with
a background of love and gratitude.
There is also an inherent sadness in human life which
is more easily supported if it is carried together. The happiest lives
have tragedy in them and periods of great unhappiness. The most successful
lives have failure and every life is interspersed with grief, pain,
loneliness, and frustration. All these can best be borne when they
are shared. But how we need to be unselfish, alert, awake, and sensitive
to see the suffering Lord around us.
And in the more formal occasions of prayer there needs
to be time for acute listening. St Ambrose reminds us that the most
important quality for a person who wishes to pray, is to be a good
listener, and points out that the first command of God to the people
of Israel was: "Hear/listen, O Israel." Advent is a time
of prayer. Spend some time in the quiet of our hearts and the stillness
of our being, not incessantly speaking, but simply listening, Stay
awake and be "still and know that I am God."
It is a great joy for a mother to give birth to her
baby. The great moment comes after weeks of anxious expectation, highs
and lows, getting clothes for the new baby, preparing everything necessary.
Because the mother carries the baby in her womb even from the start
there is a special bond between the mother and child. During Advent
we have been thinking of Mary bearing Jesus in her womb. During Advent
we remember Jesus growing silently and invisibly in Mary's womb. Now
on this last Sunday of Advent we think more particularly about Mary.
Israel had been awaiting its Messiah for hundreds of
years. We could imagine that it was probably the dream of many a young
Jewish girl to give birth to the Messiah. But when the great moment
of the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary came, at first Mary was
perplexed. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid." The
angel explained that Mary would give birth to Jesus whose father would
be the Holy Spirit. This put Mary in a really awkward situation. She
was betrothed to Joseph. That meant they were legally bound to each
other although they did not live together. In Israel a woman who was
unfaithful during betrothal was stoned to death. What was Mary's response?
"Be it done unto me according to your word." Her response
was faith. She believed. We have always regarded Mary as a model believer,
an example of faith. But when we consider that the possibility that
being stoned to death awaited Mary for saying yes to the angel, we
see how strong her faith really was. She was willing even to risk
deathfor the sake of obeying God. Apart from that, we can easily imagine
all the many nasty things that were said about Mary, all the nasty
looks that she had to endure, and all the hushed whisperings that
she knew were about her. She was indeed a woman of great faith.
What were the words that Mary would have said to the
angel in her own language in Palestine at that time? "Amen."
One word in the language of Palestine says it all, "Amen,"
it means, "So be it," "be it done unto me according
to your word." Mary literally said "Amen," and then
she conceived Jesus in her womb. St Augustine says Mary conceived
Jesus in her mind through faith before conceiving him in her womb.
In our Gospel today Mary's cousin, Elizabeth, singles out Mary's faith
for praise, "Blessed is she who believed that the promise made
her by the Lord would be fulfilled."
In our times we like to have everything explained to
us scientifically. If something does not stand up to science we do
not believe. Faith means believing what science cannot prove. We could
say that faith is going against reason. That was the faith that Mary
had. Mary is a model believer, a model of faith for every age but
especially for our time with our emphasis on proving everything by
science. Because God is God, he does not have to obey the laws of
science. Therefore Mary, a virgin conceived from the Holy Spirit,
and an old couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth gave birth to John the
Baptist. Faith believes, as the angel Gabriel said, that "Nothing
is impossible to God."
Notice also the humility of Mary. She was bearing the
Messiah in her womb but she went to help and give support to her cousin
Elizabeth during her pregnancy. She could have said, "I am to
be the mother of the Messiah. Let her come to help me." No, she
went instead to Elizabeth. She was humble. Humility and faith go together
because if we are not humble we cannot believe what goes against our
reason. If you are not humble enough to admit that you cannot have
all the answers then you are not humble enough to believe as Mary
did. We see that humility in our first reading also,
"You (Bethlehem) Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
out of you will be born for me
the one who is rule over Israel"
Jesus came from the least of the clans of Judah and
still comes in the least of ways. Sometimes the poorest of families
can be the happiest of families. Humility is a virtue that we would
do well to think about in our times when we want the biggest and best
of everything.
Mary was humble, that was why she was able to make
the greatest act of faith in history. Mary said one word to the angel,
"Amen," conceiving Jesus in faith, and then she conceived
Jesus in her womb. Every time we say "Amen" to God, we conceive
Jesus in faith as Mary did. Then when we act on Jesus' words, we bring
Jesus in to the world as Mary did. Let us say "Amen" to
God and bring Jesus into the world for this Christmas.
What is the difference between a visit and a visitation?
A visit is when you visit your mother-in-law; a visitation
is when she visits you.
It's an old joke but it has nothing to do with the
visitation we hear about in today's Gospel reading. Mary, newly pregnant
herself, goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is already six months
into her own pregnancy with John the Baptist.
There are two things we should observe. Pregnancy and
birth are wondrous and mysterious things. And any birth takes time.
Let us be clear, there is only one creator, God alone.
By the act of conception what we are doing is co-operating with him.
God is the author of all life; it is he who brings about this great
mystery.
We owe our lives to him; if he lapsed in his attention
for us for one minute we would cease to be. So God is both the creator
and sustainer of all life. The gift of our life is an act of love
on his part-that out of nothing and for no reason other than love
he brought us into being.
This great feast of Christmas is about a birth. I was
watching the children in the school performing a mimed nativity play
on Wednesday morning. Not that many of them really understood the
mechanics of birth and naturally these were not made explicit but
the children were nonetheless involved and paid great attention to
all the events surrounding Christ's birth.
It is good that we mark this feast so well. The fact
that there are so many customs attached to it brings it even more
into prominence. Christmas draws attention to the importance of birth,
something that is a matter of great consequence to our world today.
We hear about human cloning -- a politician said that
fifteen years ago this was science fiction today it is practical possibility.
We hear about all kinds of sophisticated methods of contraception
and the so-called morning after pill is about to become freely available.
Abortion is taken for granted and some groups express the opinion
that it is irresponsible not to abort a handicapped child.
All these things undermine the sacredness of life.
And life is sacred because, as we have said, life is God's creation.
The debate about when life begins has special relevance
amidst all these technical advances. The Anglican Bishop of Rochester
said on the radio recently that by stating that life begins at conception
the Catholic Church today was out of touch with its tradition because
St Thomas Aquinas and others had stated that ensoulment doesn't take
place until fourteen days after conception.
The debate about when life begins is special relevant
but is also in some sense futile-no arbitrary line can be drawn. The
point is that we Catholics have a special reverence for life-even
if all we can say is that it is human life in potential. So even at
the earliest stages human life must be treated with great reverence
and respect.
If we are to look to scripture for an insight into
these matters we need look no further than the account of the Annunciation.
The Angel Gabriel said to Mary: You will conceive and bear a son,
and you must name him Jesus. The act of conception is a sacred moment
and in a real sense it marks the beginning of life-not necessarily
recognisable or sustainable human life, but it is a beginning.
These two pregnant women in our Gospel reading are
full of joy and concern for one another. Mary surely goes to visit
Elizabeth because of her advanced age and the attendant dangers of
a pregnancy so late in life. This solicitude is a clear sign of Mary's
goodness.
Through the influence of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth
recognised that Mary was the mother of Christ. She greets her in the
words we are so familiar with in the Hail Mary. And Mary responds
in the equally familiar words of the Magnificat.
These two women understand the miracle of conception
and birth. They do so because in each case there was a direct intervention
of God in a truly exceptional way. Luke tells us that both were informed
of this fact by the words of an angel-they each had a direct message
from God telling them so.
But God uses the extraordinary to highlight the significance
of the ordinary. The fact that these two women had this most extraordinary
intervention only demonstrates that in each case our own lives were
also the result of an intervention by God-what you could call an ordinary
intervention if you like.
It is from this understanding that the Church takes
its position on all these life issues that we have mentioned.
The second point I wanted to highlight in today's liturgy
is that births take time. We know quite well that it takes about nine
months from the time of conception for a child to be born. But we
also know that this can feel long or short depending on all kinds
of circumstances.
But everything does take time, very little happens
in the world or in life without some kind of lead up. The coming of
the Messiah took a great deal of time. The scientists can give you
all the figures and dates of when the world was created and when human
life most likely evolved.
Scripture also indicates a long passage of time during
which God made his will known on a number of occasions to certain
individuals-Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. He did this in order to move
mankind on in his understanding of God's plan for the world and to
encourage us to develop our understanding of God.
There was a long lead-up time to the appearance of
Jesus Christ -- a long gestation you could say. We experience the
same in our lives. We need time to work things through with God. We
need time to fully recognise just how much he loves and cares for
us. It takes us a long while to work out just what he has in mind
for us.
At particular moments we might recognise the hand of
God in our lives. Maybe it was when we finally decided on our partner
in marriage, or came to the conclusion we had a priestly or religious
vocation. Maybe it was in the birth of a child, a change in job circumstances,
or the death of a parent. Maybe it was a moment in prayer, the experience
of a sacrament, advice in the confessional, wise words from a friend
or relative at a critical moment.
Each of us has surely already recognised the action
of God in our lives on particular occasions-otherwise why would we
be here in Church? But these actions of God are not finished, they
were not simply things that happened in the past and are long behind
us.
No, God continues to work with us and for us. He takes
the long view and there are periods of seeming barrenness, seeming
unimportance, seeming aloneness. But these are all part of that gestation
period which is our life on earth. We were born into this world and
we will be reborn into eternal life.
Every now and then like John the Baptist we leap in
this womb of ours, which is our life on earth. Every now and then
we recognise God's presence, just as John recognised Jesus' presence,
and we leap with joy. But life is constantly moving on and God is
always with us. He caused us to come into being, he sustains and feeds
us, and he will welcome us into life eternal.
We celebrate a birth at Christmas -- a birth, a life,
a death and a resurrection.
Luke's presentation of Jesus eschatological discourse
alludes to his realization that there is a delay in the arriving of
the parousia (end time). He still anticipates an end time. However,
while awaiting the return of the Son of Man, his followers are urged
to be on guard and to pray. The end time still has not arrived and
the conditions that indicate an approaching end time have been present
from Luke's time up until our present day. His exhortation for correct
behaviour holds true for us as we face the individual and community
trials of our lives in this age.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Tom was the star
athlete of his grammar school and of his high school. The two sports
he excelled at were football and basketball. In his junior year of
high school, he shot the winning basket a second before the final
buzzer making his school the city champs. In senior year he was the
top scorer in the city's football championship game, leading his team
to victory. Tom was one of those natural-born athletes and, although
he liked sports, his first love was anthropology and especially archeology.
As a young boy he watched a program on a famous dig
site and told his parents that's what he wanted to do. So every summer
while his friends went to football and basketball camp, he would be
at some museum program. Still each year he was the best player on
the teams. Parents of his classmates kept telling Tom's Mom &
Dad that he should be at a sports camp. How else would he win a scholarship
to a good college? In senior year of high school as his team mates
anxiously awaited word about possible sports scholarships, Tom was
being recruited by schools with some of the best teams in the country.
Imagine the surprise of his teammates and their parents when he turned
down all offers. He was a National Merit Scholar and had applied to
several of the Universities that had excellent anthropology programs
and was awarded scholarships at each school. Now that Tom is a Dad
and a famous archeologist, he shoots hoops with his sons and daughters
and plays in his wife's family's Thanksgiving Day touch football game.
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