A light in the midst of darkness

Whenever I read the prophets from this time of year, I am acutely aware that these holy men are writing to a people coming back from exile.  One of my first thoughts is that the people in the pew cannot comprehend 'exile.'  But considering the school shooting on Friday, we do hurt together these last few days.  We feel empty and pained as we grieve with the families hundreds of miles away.  The horror of the death of twenty some children hurts to the core of our being.

The example of John the Baptist, who preaches about light in the midst of darkness, is most appropriate for this weekend.  People who are searching for meaning, purpose, and conversion, ask John, "What should we do?"  John's answers are very common sense; but we do not always align ourselves with sensibility.  We are to treat each other with respect, reverence the dignity of each other, do not be greedy, and seek that which is true and right.

The role of the prophet is to point out the Sin and sinfulness of a people.  The prophets call evil by its true name, and do not try to sugar-coat the life within he covenant.  The prophets will tell us that we are responsible for our faith and for each other.  We stand up against evil, and seek healing and reconciliation for the broken and lost.  Prophets are not always well loved, but are a valuable part of our culture and Church.

Sadly we begin to think that violence is inevitable and a normal part of the human condition.  So we become numb to the hurt and pain  that we observe on a daily basis.  But what if we began looking for ways to reconcile, pointing out those who are in need of healing or comfort, looking after the lonely and anxious, and offering a blessing rather than a curse.  Think about the vile and vicious political ads this past elect season.  The politicians owe each of us a quarter and need to say three good things about their opponents. 

But somewhere we need to, like John the Baptist, own that role of 'prophet' in our own time and in our own place.  In the midst of the darkness that is around us, we proclaim holiness and peace in our words and deeds.  Just as John points to the Saviour of the world, we have to recognize the human dignity that is ours as children of the light.  Today we call people to joy because we are not afraid of the darkness. 

Mary, Our Lady of Guadelupe

The story associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe is familiar for most catholics, especially over the last 20 years.  Juan Diego, like so many of the Advent people we have heard, and will hear about, becomes an instrument in this mysterious event.  Mary's message here reminds us that we have a God who wants to join with us humans.  God sees and knows our goodness, despite we are often greedy, lost, and hurtful.  In our fragile nature God finds a home and a prophet in the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

Mary is a real person, a model of faith, who had made the choice to join herself to God and to become part of God's plan of salvation.  She praises God who lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things.  While many might be halted by fear and doubt, Mary responds positively to the initiative of God in our lives.

 

Mary's message at this feast is to believe and trust in God.  Even when we are broken and it seems that we are overwhelmed by exterior forces, God's saving actions continue to grace us and lift us up.  In spite of our faults and divisions God shows us a vision of who we really are and what we might become.  Mary, in her motherly love, draws us close to God and recalls for us the covenant made with us from the beginning of time.

 

When John Paul visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, back in December of 1999, he cajoled men and women to awaken their consciences as a people of God and to respond to the worlds problems as children of the light.  For John Paul there continues in our time an urgency to respond in faith to the needs and concerns in our midst.  Torture, oppression, violence, and abuse have become so common as to almost not be noticed anymore.

 

Our prayer today is that inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe, all areas of life, whether it be social, professional, or cultural, might be informed by the immense love which God has for us.  In a very particular way we are to see the needs and concerns of the poor and the anawim.  To Mary of Guadalupe we pray to one who belongs all love, honor, glory and endless praise.

Prepare the Way of the Lord

John the Baptist is a tenacious and fiery man.  From the Gospel we recognize that he is not afraid to challenge the powers that be, so as to proclaim the message of the Gospel.  The Word of God is acting through him.  John helps us understand that the faith we profess is not an invitation to be 'nice' to each other, but a challenge of Metanoia.  That is, turning around; conversion of our whole selves.  Not only is his lifestyle radical, but his message is as well. 

There is a story that I am using for my homily this morning, and it occurs at a Benedictine monastery.  The story goes that the community commissioned a statue of St. John the Baptist for the monastic church.  When it arrived, several of the monks were concerned that the figure looked gaunt, and very stern.  The story continues that the Abbot challenged that the figure was disturbing because it recalled for the monks how they had moved away from their ideals and commitments.  And the real live John the Baptist does exactly that; calling us back to our initial 'Yes' that we uttered (or was uttered for us) at Baptism and Confirmation.

While Advent is not a penitential time as is Lent, it is a period for us to examine our connection to the mysteries that we celebrate.   At the very first parish I was assigned to, we had a large storage area in the basement of the church.  In the liturgy area the shelving was organized according to seasons.  I had always found that amusing in that seasons of our liturgical celebration could be reduced to a series of boxes against a wall.  I am afraid though we do the same with our spiritual lives.  We do "Advent" things but do not really mean it.

When I was in high school work I remember how difficult it was to preach at the parish I helped out at.  Truly I could speak about the teens, and the difficulties therein, but I didn't know about the lives of the people who were in he pews. The Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution of the Church in the Modern world, challenged the Church to be in communion with the world it served.  For Church to call for conversion and discipleship, it also had to go through conversion and discipleship.  The call to change our lives is the beginning of changing the world around us.

Today is about Metanoia and transformation.  We are called and chosen to be sure, but need to reflect that by becoming one with the mystery which we celebrate.  

Immaculate Conception

The image of Mary from Luke's Gospel is quite different than the Immaculate Mary we see in classical art.  The Mary of the Gospel is troubled by the Angel's greeting, and wants to clarify what exactly is going on.  Yet her faith is strong and she offers an affirmative response giving her whole self over to God.


An image that we take away from this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary ponders the Word of God.  Later in Luke's Gospel Mary praises God for the wonderful acts of healing and forgiveness that are so very much like God.  It is God who lifts up the lowly and feeds the hungry with good things.  Now Mary becomes part of the story of salvation.

Sometimes we can make Jesus a fast food item, catching him when we get a chance, or are really in a jam.  And yet this is what the prophets preached about so often.  A people who would settle for simple fixes or easy solutions, rather than transforming ones life and maintaining with God over the long journey.  Mary has been prepared from her birth to be the Theotokos, or God carrier.  Yet the question is still asked of her as to whether or not she would take on this special role.

Even in our holy lives we are asked again and again to make a commitment to God with our whole persona.  It is a life-time of taking responsibility for the faith which we profess.  With Mary as our model we need to develop the habit of pondering the workings of God, and God's plan of salvation.  While we might not be called to participate in the sacred mysteries we celebrate to the extent in which Mary is, we are none the less called to nurture and nourish our faith so as to build up the Kingdom.

Mary rejoices in the possibilities of God within her.  In our Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, we are asked to make a living profession of faith on a daily basis.  This is so that the good things begun in us may be brought to completion.

On our way to Christmas

I wonder if the prophets ever stated, or even wrote, "If I told you once, I told you a thousand times, Repent."  But it had taken the prophets many times, as well as the holy men and women of ancient times to get people to turn their lives around.  And when they did, it seemed to only last for a short duration.  Of course sometimes true transformation occurs after life hits people across the face.  I have known parents, young people, and parents of young people, to approach me many years later, apologizing that they had not listened to words of advice and early warnings.

At this time of year we talk a lot about peace and good will.  People seem to think about children more so during this time of year.  But the challenge is to develop a lifestyle which respects the dignity of all people throughout the year, especially children and the child-like.  Justice cannot simply be about Christmas but has to prevail in the midst of all men and women through the year.  Our preparation should be as to how we might be a people of God.

Every year we hear the same stories and listen o the same prayers; yet are not ready for that great moment of metanoia.  To be sure I get sort of sappy about some of the stories I read and hear.  I remember being so impressed with my freshman high school English teacher, who was really studying to be a midwife.  I was greatly moved by a priest who lived in the southwest side of Rockford, ministering to the prostitutes and other assembly of persons in the downtown area.  These and so many others lived the gospel.

Being prophetic maybe means to keep saying the same thing over and over again - but maybe that is not a bad thing.  Christmas is a day of joy, but a challenge to risk everything so as to find the reality of the Incarnation.  Christ becoming flesh certainly blesses our humanity, and asks what we are doing to prepare for Him.

In a way we are always celebrating this season of peace and good will.  We should always be seeking to offer one another tidings of gladness.  The manger is in all of our homes and can never be put away.

Stand straight and raise your hands

The passage from Luke's Gospel today would make a wonderful end of the world disaster movie.  Yet the premise is not made for Hollywood but for our edification.  Like the disciples we can become so enamored with the here and now that we forget about the Kingdom of God.  The prospects of the coming of the Kingdom do not have to be frightful.  But as bot Luke and Paul state today we ought to be vigilant. 

To be sure patient waiting is not sitting on our hands, or looking off into the distance, but participating n the work of the Kingdom.  The Gospels again and again contain stories of the necessity of of being found busy when the master of the household returns.  We are stewards of all we have received and are responsible for our faith.

Way back in the 80s the U.S. Bishops composed a document as a response to the Apostolate of the Laity.  The Bishops entitled the text, Called and Gifted.   Using the same starting point as Lumen Gencium, the Bishops reiterated that the 'call to holiness' included the laity as well within the Church.  Not only is the life of the catholic based on certain moral precepts, but catholics are to participate in works of charity, compassion, justice and peace.  Catholics do no stand along side of the world but are actively involved so as to be a stumbling block to the culture in which we live.

Just as the U.S. Bishops called peoples to community, ministry, study, and service, St. Paul states today that we need to be acutely aware of the Sin and Evil that pervades our culture, and stand up against it's vulgarity.  I recall a young freshman student who inquired why the Church couldn't believe like everyone else.  Well the answer is because we are the Church, and we belong to something much greater than we see around us.

We cannot allow fear from dissuading us from pronouncing our faith.  We have to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy.

Talk About Faith

A book that is on my reading list is written by a young man, James Haws, entitled, From Willow to Sacred Heart.  As a young man James Haws left Catholicism and began attending the Willow Creek Christian Church, near Arlington Heights, Illinois.  Now many have heard of this place.  Willow Creek is one of several Mega-churches that has a spectacular Sunday worship, and large offerings of educational and support services for its members.  Just the mention of Willow Creek tended to send shivers down the spines of many a catholic pastor.

Anyhow Haws tells about his experience in this book of moving away from the Catholic Church, and back again.  This is not an uncommon experience of many of the catholics who leave the Church.  As they move out of young adulthood, begin to raise a family, or begin to become established in life, many will return to the Church.  In his text Haws observes some similarities in ritual and the importance of tradition.  There are 'rules' that the members follow, as there are expectations of those who are members of the Church.

 

Some of the overlapping themes are that of community, preaching the Gospel, and pastoral care.  What Haws seemed to discover is the importance that is put on others bringing Jesus to you.  There is no such thing as a spiritual lone ranger in the Catholic Church, or at Willow Creek.

 

This year at Kairos I was able to really watch the young people much closer than usual.  What astounds and attracts our young people to this experience is that it might be the first time that they have experienced faith, ministry, and real life conversion stories.  What is more is that the conversion has occurred in the midst of their peers.  Other young people are telling them that they had been confused, anxious, hurt, and even making bad decisions; and by faith in Jesus Christ they found fulfillment in their lives.

 

As catholic we do not do that enough.  We might be quick to complain about the music, a building project, the way the pastor parts his hair, but do not witness to the power of grace or blessings in our life.  This would seem unreal since our Church was founded on the proclamation of the apostles.

 

Willow Creek should not scare us.  But when we look at the upper shelf faith experiences, such as CHRP or Kairos, we should ask whether we ask how well we proclaim and bear witness to our faith.  More so, it is our responsibility in faith to take responsibility for what we have received and what we profess.  When we show Christ to others as part of our daily routine, less and less of the faithful will be inclined to look at other places to worship.