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STORIES THAT REMIND US WHO WE ARE

In our first reading, the priest gathers an assembly around him so that they may listen to the Torah; so that they may listen to their own story; their ancestry.  They listened so that they would not forget who they are.  In fact, we are told they stood and listened from dawn until noon.  (and you thought you had to endure a long homily!)

But there is a reason for this:  you see the people had just returned to Jerusalem after the exile.  When they left, their city was a thriving place – their home, but now they have returned to a city destroyed by war.  We are told that Ezra read from the place that WAS the Water Gate, but it is no longer there.

It would be as if you went home tonight and found your home burned by fire. . . actually, if you went home and found your entire neighborhood. . . this entire city destroyed to mere shambles.

The Hebrews had lost their identity.  All they had were stories.  And what did those stories tell them?  (Do not be sad, do not weep for today is Holy) We are told that the people cried, but then they started to rejoice for these stories would have told them that, even in such trials, God does not abandon or forget God’s promises for they share in God’s company. They are family.

YOU ARE THE GIFTS

In our first reading from Isaiah, we hear that there will beno silence; there will be no quiet.  That you will be called by a new name.  You will be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord.  No more shall you be called forsaken; but rather you shall be God’s delight.

But who is this you?  For Isaiah, you is the city of Jerusalem, but in light of our readings today, it would seem that God is not referring simply to a collection of buildings, but the people that dwell therein – those claimed by God – those who wish to live in Salem – Jerusalem, which literally translates into the city of Peace.  Not peace like everything is on easy-street; but peace like the eye of a hurricane.  In the Hebrew tradition, peace is completeness or wholeness.  The idea that you have everything you need. 

That is to say, Jerusalem is not simply a collection of building, it is the people, it is us.  So when Isaiah says, For Jerusalem’s sake, it is our for sake.  And when God says you are a my delight:  you is you.  You are God’s delight.

TAKEN UP BY THE SWELL

Why we get baptized or why we baptize others?

While most people believe it is to wash us of original sin, I would tell you it has more to do with belonging.  After all, though they do not have the authority of a priest to forgive sins, deacons and even you in the case of an emergency have the ability to baptize.  Thus, it seems baptism is not simply about sin; but rather about something more.

It seems so impossible to imagine how you can be loved so completely. . . without lessening the love of anyone else.  And yet that is what God says to us – just as God say to Jesus:  “You are my beloved, in you I am well pleased.”

And if we can possibly comprehend this.  If we can imagine what it is like to balance our lives on such an immense swell of power and life. . . then – how do we respond?

CURING AND HEALING

Jesus does something very important in our Gospel today, which has to do with the difference between curing and healing.  Curing and healing – what is the difference?

Curing tends to the physical ill.  Healing tends to the spiritual one.  Remember, Jesus came to the world so that our joy may be complete – so that we might have life to the full.  So for Jesus, it isn’t enough that this man with leprosy was cured of his disease; Jesus wants him to be healed – he wants his soul to be joyful.  So how does he do that?

He shows himself to the priest, which is to say that he shows himself to the community.  It is the same reason we go to confession – not because the priest is mediating God’s forgiveness, but because the priest stands in place of the entire community and speaks on their behalf.

THE DAYS OF HEROD

I cannot help but wonder, as I hear myself reading this Gospel once again, if we are – right now – living in Herod’s time?

I ask because for all of the attention we place on the three kings, and on Mary and Joseph and the Child Jesus; I find it impossible to ignore how much I keep recognizing signs of Herod’s personality and activities in the headlines of today.

Because as much as today’s Gospel is about the three kings and the gifts they brought, it is also about Herod and the trouble the news of this newborn child caused him, as we are told, all of Jerusalem.  For this reason, Herod asked the Kings to report back to him where they found the child – we can only assume to kill him, since that is what he did to all the other boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity.

Perhaps you have never stopped to think about why Herod was so disturbed by the news of this child’s birth, so I think it is helpful to understand the context of the day, and who Herod was, if we are to understand the significance of our feast for us today.

CHALLENGED TO WONDER

Next time you are out, take notice of how many people are plugged in.  I am betting that you will see 8 out of 10 people on their phones or with earbuds in their ears.  More information. . . more sound. . . more things to keep us from wonder.  More things to keep us from self-reflection; to keep us from ourselves.  More things to keep us from pondering like Mary.

I always wonder what she pondered?  What kind of thoughts would have filled her mind?  We always imagine her to be calm and peaceful, but was she?  Was her mind racing in amazement?  What she concerned about how to provide for this child?  Maybe she was wondering who all these shepherds were?  Or what they had been told? Perhaps Jesus wasn’t as quiet as we think – maybe she was simply embracing the silence praying for just a few more moments of serenity. It is hard to say. . .

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

This past week, one of our students came to see me in a manner similar to those who we hear about in our Gospel today – those who went in the desert to see John.  This student, radiating a deep love of God, wanted to know how he could live a more authentic life; how he could live for God without division in his heart?  Like those who went to see John, this student was searching for something more than he had known – something more than he was told he could expect.

As I imagine many of you have the same longing, I wonder how you would respond to this student’s question:  what advice would you give concerning how we can live for God without division in our hearts?  How might you live a more authentic, holistic life?

TOWARDS JOY

In our first reading, we hear from Baruch, who was a sort of secretary to Jeremiah, both of whom living during the most disastrous period of Israel’s history – theBabylonian Captivity.

Our Gospel echoes Baruch.  Luke gives us a list of names that represent the whole of the hierarchyof political and social governance in the day. These names represent terrible oppression.

And in both cases, Baruch and Luke tell the people to prepare their hearts and minds, for the Lord is going to act.  As we hear these readings, we must ask ourselves, what needs preparing in your life in order for God to act?  If you recall, these are the questions we asked last week:  What does it mean for your redemption to draw near? How will you escape the feeling of always being on, always connected?  What do you need to let go of?

CREATING SACRED TIMES

In our Gospel today, Jesus warns us not to let the anxieties of daily life catch us by surprise.  And thus Advent begins.  We are told that there will be signs – that people will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world.  And thus Advent begins.  We are told to be vigilant.  And thus Advent begins.  And we are told to stand erect, to strengthen our hearts and to trust in the promises of God.  And thus Advent begins.

This is a season of poetry– rich and layered; because we are simply to used to the prose – to the narration of our daily commentary.  It is about hope, for the fulfillment of a promise, without understanding what that fulfillment will be.

WHAT IS IN A NAME?

Why do we call Christ the king?  He never gave this title to himself; nor was it one his followers asked for.  Rather, it is the title that was given to him at the time of his crucifixion; and so I cannot help but wonder what are we to make of a feast that recognizes Jesus Christ as King?

Admittedly, I have always struggled with this feast and feel that it betrays a thought we usually don’t like to admit – that we want a king.  Someone to take care of us, to protect us, to rule us.  We want someone to defend us in battle, to build up walls around those who are like us and keep others out.  Ultimately, we want someone to save us from ourselves; to take responsibility so that we don’t have to.   I know it sounds a bit cynical, but this reality that plays out even to this day. Even though our leaders keep failing us, we still keep putting the responsibility of our problems and solutions on them more often than ourselves.

That said, Pope Pius XI, who when he established the feast was not all ill-intentioned.  For he said, “If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.”