Seen, Heard & Touched

Advent Festival Homily, Dec. 20, 2017. 1 John 1:1-4. Topic: Seen, Heard & Touched. This passage from the First Letter of the Apostle, St. John, is one of my favorite writings of the whole New Testament.  It is so full of life and meaning in its very few words. As he wrote these words, St. John was an elderly man, in his 90’s, thinking back to the days when he was a very young man, fixing his nets by the sea when he first encountered Jesus of Nazareth. 

John experienced and witnessed so much in the 3 years he lived with Jesus: water turned to wine, the blind recovering their sight, lepers being made clean, demons screaming as they were driven from the possessed, and even the dead being raised to life! He heard the voice of God from Jesus’ very own lips and touched Him with his own hands; He leaned his head upon the Lord’s chest at the Last Supper. With the others, he abandoned Jesus in the Garden of Olives but repenting, he was the only man to return and stand at the foot of the Cross of his Best Friend.

In this short passage, John is summing up for us his reflections of over 70 years concerning this Best Friend, this Messiah, promised by the prophets for centuries and finally having arrived. And that’s why I especially love this passage at Christmastime.  It reminds us that Jesus of Nazareth, born of Mary in Bethlehem, was a real person, God-in-the-flesh, a God unlike the mythic gods of ancient Greece and Rome who stood aloof and afar from human beings treating them like pawns on the chessboard of life.

The pagan gods laughed at humans in our tragedies. They lived selfish lives in a heaven that was merely the fantasy utopia of gross hedonism.   They thrived on war, thirsted for blood, and lusted for pleasure. They were strict and demanding of their measly human subjects whose lives they were said to hold or crush in the palm of their hands.

Our God, the one True God, broke through the darkness of fear that people had of the gods and became one of us, someone who could be seen and heard and touched. Someone with whom we can form a real relationship. Someone with whom we could share life.

That’s what Jesus’ Christmas title of Emmanuel means: God-with-us, God-among-us, God-like-us, God-as-one-of-us. John reminds us that we never need to face life alone because God has made Himself known, as Brother and Friend, with us to the end, as Emmanuel. 

And so, doesn’t it make such great sense that this great Awesome God chose to first come as a baby and live exactly as we all must live? 

·      Jesus did not HAVE to be born, but he chose to be.

·      Jesus did not HAVE to work for a living as a laborer, but He chose to do so.

·      Jesus did not HAVE to suffer and die, by he chose it.

And so really, we can never shake a fist at God and say “But you don’t understand!”

And so, these opening verses from the First Letter from St. John are really a great Christmas announcement that we are never alone. That’s the tidings of comfort and joy that the angels proclaimed in the hills of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. And John knows it is true:

·      He saw it.

·      He heard it.

·      He touched it.

Jesus-Emmanuel

Advent Festival Homily, Dec. 20, 2017. Mt. 1:18-23. Topic: Jesus -Emmanuel

One of the exciting things surrounding the approaching birth of a child is the choice of a name.   A name is something special, nothing to be selected randomly as it is so much more than simply a tag for identification. No one takes the naming of a child as an insignificant task. The same was true of Jesus and the choosing of his name. We learn from the gospel that God, selected Jesus’ name and revealed it to his adopted father, St. Joseph. His name will be called JESUS. Yeshua in his native language and that's how Mary & Joseph called him (it’s Joshua in modern English). We Christians have preserved the Latin form of his name as Jesus in order to distinguish him from all others called Joshua. But in any case and in every language the name means SAVIOR because that was and still is that holy child's mission on planet Earth.

But the  gospel also gives us what we might call Jesus' nickname, as so many of us also receive from our family or friends. A nickname typically expresses some trait or characteristic that really stands out in a person, doesn't it? Jesus' nickname was EMMANUEL which means, "God is with us". And when we put the two names together - Jesus and Emmanuel - we get the full picture of who and what He is all about. He is our Savior precisely because he is God-with-us.

Salvation, which means real freedom from the destructiveness, desolation, mediocrity and isolation of our selfishness and sins, requires that we reach out to him. Salvation is a partnership, a two way street, which respects our free will. Jesus, God-with-us, never violates our freedom because the decision to reach out to him as Savior is an act of love, and love demands free choice.

So of course the BIG question is: how? How do I enter into this personal bond with Jesus as Savior and come to know Him as Emmanuel,  God-with-us?  I think we can do so in three very basic steps.

First, we must know him and this starts by learning about him. Pope Francis repeats to us over and over again that it is extremely necessary for us to encounter  Jesus in the gospels daily. An easy way to do this to take the readings from daily Mass and reflect on them each day.

Second, if we want Jesus-Emmanuel as a friend and companion in life then we must treat him as one. What would happen if we decided to never call or text a friend; to never go out to a dinner or a sports event with them? The friendship would go nowhere fast, right? It would wither and die.  We need to spend time with Jesus in quiet and conversation. We call this prayer. Prayer is simply speaking with him heart to heart, it need not be complicated or formal. Talk with Jesus about your day, your fears, your hopes and dreams.

Thirdly and finally, nothing can take the place of our personal regular presence at Sunday Mass because it is at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist that we really meet Jesus up close and personal. It is at the Eucharist that Jesus-Savior, Enmanuel God-with-us, makes himself really and truly and personally present to YOU and to ME. He comes as the heavenly flood for our spiritual hunger and makes his dwelling within us.

Prepare a Way for the Lord

From the Catholic Liturgy for the Second Sunday of Advent. Gospel: Mark 1:1-8. Theme: Prepare a Way for the Lord  Both the Old Testament and Gospel readings for this Second Sunday of Advent carry the traditional Advent theme of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The description of how to prepare the way found in these readings will make little to no sense to us unless we step back in time and grasp how people of those ancient days prepared for the visit of a Great Person.

The first thing we need to know about preparing the way is that in the Roman Empire of the time, when news came to a village that an Important Person or a Great Landlord Ruler was going to pay a visit, certain important steps of cultural protocol were followed.  A Herald was sent ahead of the Ruler to announce his future coming. His message was never ignored because it had great implications for their lives.  The Herald of Jesus was his cousin, St. John the Baptist. And just like the people of the Roman Empire, we need to attach great importance to the message of the herald because his words have great implications for our lives. He teaches us how to prepare the way.

The second thing we need to know is that the people of the ancient times took these words LITERALLY by filling in low spots in the road to their village and leveling off uneven terrain to make the journey of the Ruler and his entourage more pleasant.  The idea behind this was that the visitor would be so impressed he would grant them favors and show clemency once he arrived and began dealing with their disputes and issues.

So, todays’ liturgy gives us two things to do two things to do to prepare a way for the Lord into our lives this Advent: hear the message and put it into practice.

SO, what is the message of St. John the Baptist?
• To turn away from selfishness, from the refusal to love and show mercy;
• To admit that we need God in our lives to straighten things out;
• To open our hearts to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus sends us.
Then, to we have to work hard on preparing the way, just like the people did in ancient times for the arrival of the Ruler. Let us spend some time during this Second Week of Advent honestly asking ourselves some questions.
• What in my life needs to be leveled out and made straight?
• What obstacles to the Lord for the pathway to my heart need to removed?
• Bad habits needing discipline?
• Addictions needing recovery?
• Family needing attention?
• The job needing to be kept in its time and place?
• Prayer and pondering the Gospel needing some of the time we spend on social media or         television?
Let’s ask for the intercession of St. John the Baptist to help us do what is needed to level the road and make straight the pathway of Christ to our hearts.  Let’s ask for the grace so that to take on a new way of thinking, a new way of looking at life, and a new way of living, that is an expression of our love for and obedience to Jesus, and so truly prepare the way.

Scrooge & Advent-Past, Advent-Present & Advent-to-Come

From the Catholic Liturgy for the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2017. Gospel: Mark 13:33-37. Theme: Advent-Past, Advent-Present and Advent-to-Come.

Now that December is here and Advent has begun, our thoughts turn so naturally to the approaching feast of Christmas, what with all the sights and smells and sounds of the season all around us. For me one of the most cherished stories we read or watch at this time of year is of course the classic work by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. I am sure you are all familiar with the story of how on bleak and cold Christmas eve, the greedy miser Scrooge is converted into a generous Christian man by means of the three visitations he experiences from the Ghosts of Christmas-Past, Christmas-Present and Christmas-to-Come.

Well, you know, it isn’t an accident that Dickens thought up this plot. He was simply borrowing the threefold meaning of Advent using it as the plot for his story. You see, the word Advent comes from the Latin language and means “coming” or “arrival”. And this coming has a triple format just as we see in Dicken’s story. As Catholics, we are called to observe Advent-Past, Advent-Present, and Advent-to-Come. And it is only by living this full triple meaning of Advent that we can experience what Ebenezer Scrooge experienced come Christmas Day: a genuine conversion of heart, which means a New Way of Thinking, a New Way of Looking at Life, A New Way of Living!

First of all, we remember Advent-past when Jesus burst into human history and, giving up his divine power in taking up our weak human nature, lived exactly like us in every way except sin. What God has even done such a thing for his people? Our God did because He wanted to show us his love and not just talk about it. A love so real that he wanted to share our lives, to live as we live, even to suffer and die as we do. We embrace and live Advent-past by turning to the Gospels frequently and pondering over His words and example. They are like no other.  The Gospels must become part of our regular spiritual life.

Secondly, we embrace Advent-Present, the only Advent that is truly ours to live. Advent past symbolized by the stable and star of Bethlehem is a memory. Advent-to-Come is a future hope. But Advent-present is all ours to welcome and encounter Jesus who comes to us up close and personal through Mystery of Faith. Recall that right after consecration, the priest  proclaims “the Mystery of faith” and we all answer with words that show our belief and trust in our truly present Crucified an Risen Lord. And so, Advent-Present calls us to prepare for Jesus with hearts open to receiving Him into us. Deep faith in His Real Presence and loving reception of Jesus in Holy Communion is how we encounter and live Advent-Present. It can be ours every day.

Finally, we have the third meaning of Advent, Advent-to-Come. This was the most effective part of Dicken’s story for old Mr. Scrooge’s conversion. It should also be the most effective part of our conversion of thinking and living.  Advent-to-Come enables us to realize that Jesus can come for us at any moment and this is the lesson of today’s Gospel where He says to us, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.”  We prepare for Jesus coming in this third Advent by always living each day as if it was our last. Doing our best every day to know, love and serve God and showing this in the way we treat those with whom we live, work and socialize.

So, as we begin to live the season of Advent this year, let’s remember those three words: history, mystery and majesty.  Let’s put them into practice so as to keep Christ in our hearts and welcome Him into our lives. If we ponder the gospels, receive Holy Communion faithfully, and live each day as our last we can be sure that this Christmas- and beyond – will find us as changed and transformed as was that old Scrooge who found such joy in his new way of thinking, his new way of looking at life and his new way of living.