First Sunday of Advent – One of Us
November 29, 2009
I want you to join me in looking at the crucifix. Last Sunday we celebrated Christ the King. Father Paul spoke to us about the inscription above Jesus’ head: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” You know, when we look at him up there, he doesn’t look terribly impressive. In comparison to the rulers we’re more familiar with. He’s barely dressed – no shoes – not even sandals. He’s too skinny for us to believe that he dined in elegance each night. Our King!
You all know about Queen Elizabeth II. She has a special role for us in Canada. She owns vast amounts of property and is one of the richest women in the world. She receives tens of millions of pounds each year from the people of Great Britain. Now the people of Great Britain have had a rough time over the past couple of years with the world-wide financial crisis. Queen Elizabeth still made tens of millions of pounds each year. I’m not saying if that’s fair or not. The Queen’s position requires a number of costly activities. And I would guess that many people in Great Britain feel that the Queen should not have to suffer like the rest of the people in Britain – after all, she’s different.
Ferdinand Marcos was the President of the Philippines. He accumulated a vast fortune, and there were many who said that his fortune came dishonestly from public funds. The Philippines is a poor country, but Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were wealthy beyond belief. We have all heard of Imelda Marcos’ collection of nearly 3,000 pairs of shoes. The life of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos bore little resemblance to the lives of their people
The Sultan of Brunei is the head of state and head of government of Brunei, a small country on the north coast of the island of Borneo. He’s estimated to be worth more than 22 billion dollars. His palace has more than two million square feet of living space. While the standard of living in Brunei is thought to be one of the highest in Asia, few of his people could afford the estimated $15,000 that the Sultan once paid for a haircut. It’s said that he has entire walls in his palace that are covered with gold. The Sultan’s brother has been accused of misappropriating 16 billion dollars of government money – the people’s money. Both the Sultan and his brother have lifestyles that are opulent and excessive beyond anything imaginable by their people.
So we have a queen, a president, and a sultan. I’m not putting them all in the same moral or ethical category. So please, if you’re a fan of the Queen, I’m not being critical. But it’s clear that these earthly royals are separated from their people in very important ways.
Now focus again on our King. As Father Paul told us last week, Jesus is the King of the universe. Everything that’s controlled by the Queen or the Sultan of Brunei – everything that was controlled by Ferdinand Marcos was created by our King. And yet, he chose NOT to remain separated from us. Rather, he chose to enter fully into the human condition. Look at him hanging on the cross. Who could say that he didn’t experience human suffering?
This is why we celebrate Advent each year. This is why, each year, we anticipate the coming of our King as if he were entering the world as a human person for the first time, as he did more than 2,000 years ago. God, our Creator, chose to become one of us.
Now why did he make this choice? Well, it was my fault – and it was Adam’s fault – and it was Eve’s fault – and it was your fault. Because we sinned against God, the most perfect, kind, and loving being in the universe, it was necessary for God to save us. He did this through Jesus.
We look forward to his arrival among us not in a two million square foot palace, but in a stable – not attended by an army of doctors, but by some farm animals and a couple of shepherds. This is how he came into the world, and we see on the cross how he left. Not rich – not powerful – not impressive in a worldly sense, but overwhelming when we understand who this baby is lying in the straw – who this man is hanging on the cross. The Gospel today tells us that when he comes again, things will be very different: “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.” Yes, things will be different.
I said a moment ago that God chose to enter the world as a human person because we sinned. We hear about sin throughout the Bible. I did an electronic search of the word “sin” in our version of the Bible, hoping that I could count them up and give you the number. It would have taken too much time to total all the hits – it’s in the hundreds. With all that talk of sin, and with an understanding that it was our sins that brought Jesus into our lowly human condition, we must ask ourselves: “Are we bad people?”
In his first talk in the “Nothing More Beautiful” series, Archbishop Smith dealt with the very important question of whether we are bad people. His response was emphatic and simple: “No.” He went on to explain: “We have been created in the image and likeness of God. God alone is our Creator, and he has fashioned us for himself. The Church teaches, therefore, that the human person is essentially good. But ours is a fragile goodness, due to the effects within us of the original sin. We are called to be holy, but we are weak and vulnerable, unable to attain to holiness on our own.”
He continued, and his words speak to our experience of Advent: “From the heart of the Father [Jesus] has come to the world. He has come to those who have been fashioned in the image and likeness of God and thus called to a communion of love with God. He has come to those in whom this image has become disfigured by sin, so that the image might be restored to its beauty.”
And so, in this season of Advent, we wait patiently for the coming of our King. He will come to save us. He will come to connect with the image and likeness of God that’s inside all of us. His coming as our Saviour confirms our fundamental goodness. But he will be a ruler unlike any of the earthly rulers we know – a King who will be fully immersed in the human condition: no pomp, no circumstance. To quote Archbishop Smith: “There is nothing more beautiful than this.”
Advent Warm-up
November 29, 2009
On Friday evening, the 27th of November, Holy Trinity Parish held its annual “Advent warm-up.” It included reflections on the upcoming season and music from the various choirs in the parish. Following are the reflections that were interspersed between the music.
Good evening. We are here to listen to some wonderful music from many of the very talented musicians in our parish. We are also here to prepare for the Church‟s new year. Our new year begins with Advent – our period of preparation for the coming of Jesus on Christmas. We should prepare our hearts much like we would clean and freshen our houses if we were expecting an especially important and cherished guest
– get rid of the cobwebs and dust bunnies
– polish the silverware and get out the good dishes.
What better way to do that than to praise God with song, and to pray and meditate on the great mystery of God coming to us as a human person.
St. Charles Borromeo was a cardinal and the Archbishop of Milan in the 1500s. He spoke about Advent, saying: “In her concern for our salvation, our loving mother the Church uses this holy season to teach us through hymns, canticles and other forms of expression, of voice and ritual, used by the Holy Spirit. She shows us how grateful we should be for so great a blessing, and how to gain its benefit: our heart should be as much prepared for the coming of Christ as if he were still to come into this world.”
The first question posed by Advent is “Why?” Why did God choose to enter the world as a human person? Saint Gregory Nazianzen was a doctor of the Church. He lived in the fourth century and was one of our greatest theologians. He spoke of the coming of Christ, saying: “He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness… We need God to take our flesh and die, that we might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him.” We see in St. Gregory‟s words the great love that God showed to us by being born into the human condition. We also see that the birth of Jesus and his death are inseparable parts of the answer to the question “Why? Why did God choose to enter the world in this way?” God, the creator of the universe, became a human person to save us – to save me – to save you. Do you understand why Advent is such an exciting time?!
So how do we prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus? St. Anselm lived in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. Also a doctor of the Church, his writings on philosophy and theology were very influential during this stormy period in the history of our Church. His thousand-year-old advice has aged well. He said this: “Insignificant man, escape from your everyday business for a short while, hide for a moment from your restless thoughts. Break off from your cares and troubles and be less concerned about your tasks and labours. Make a little time for God and rest a while in him. Enter into your mind‟s inner chamber. Shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him; and when you have shut the door, look for him.” Not a bad idea for all of us. To put aside some time each day during Advent – but REALLY put aside some time each day – to focus only on God – to let the Spirit move in us – to thank him for the great gift of his son.
Mary is, of course, a central figure in the mystery of the Incarnation. St. Bernard had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He was an abbot in the 12th century. In a homily, St. Bernard explored Mary‟s role in a very interesting way. He was pretending to speak directly to Mary. You will hear the anxiety in his voice. “You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us. The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life. Answer quickly, O Virgin. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.” And St. Bernard concluded his homily with Mary‟s unforgettable response: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.”
St. Elizabeth was Mary‟s cousin. During Mary‟s visit with Elizabeth, Elizabeth, knowing that Mary would give birth to the Messiah, said: “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” Mary‟s response is called the Magnificat – one of our most cherished prayers, and a perfect prayer for Advent. Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”
On the Third Sunday of Advent we will hear about John the Baptist. Shortly after Mary was visited by the angel, she visited Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John, and we are told that the baby leapt in Elizabeth‟s womb. St. Augustine lived in the fourth and fifth centuries, and was among our greatest theologians and philosophers. He spoke about John, saying that some people actually thought that John was the Messiah. He said: “But the voice [John] acknowledged what it was, anxious not to give offense to the word [Jesus]. „I am not the Christ,‟ he said, „nor Elijah, nor the prophet.‟ And the question came: „Who are you, then?‟ He replied: „I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord.‟” St. Augustine focused on John‟s humility, adding: “To prepare the way means to pray well; it means thinking humbly of oneself. We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He understood that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of pride.”
St. Hippolytus was a priest in Rome in the early third century. In writing against one of the heresies of his day, he tried to capture the significance of the birth of Jesus. He said: “God was all alone and nothing existed but himself when he determined to create the world. He thought of it, willed it, spoke the word and so, made it.” He went on to say that until Jesus came into the world the Word (Jesus) was hidden within God. He said: “When the Word was hidden within God himself, he was invisible to the created world, but God made him visible. First God gave utterance to his voice, engendering light from light, and then he sent his own mind into the world as its Lord. Visible before to God
alone and not to the world, God made him visible so that the world could be saved by seeing him.” To reinforce this, he quoted from the first words of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
Henry Nouwen was a Catholic priest. He was born in 1932 and died in 1966. He is not yet a saint. He was a great spiritual writer – wrote 40 books on the spiritual life. He spent the last part of his life in Toronto, ministering to mentally handicapped people. We‟ll now close with the Advent Prayer, by Henry Nouwen:
Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness,
send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do
seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things
look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Duke’s Well
November 24, 2009
Some of you know that just before Easter this year, in fact, on Good Friday, my brother died. His name was Michael, but we all called him Duke. A couple of months after Duke’s death, we interned his ashes with my father’s. My dad had died almost 40 years earlier from the same type of cancer that Duke had.
There were only a few of us at the internment – just family. Afterward, we went to Mass, and then went out to eat. While we were eating, I recalled a letter that I read at my mom’s house earlier that same day. It was from my stepbrother who was working in Ghana. He had started a charity that put water wells in poor communities that didn’t have clean drinking water. I don’t think the timing of the letter was a simple coincidence. While we were eating, I said: “Hey, let’s talk to Jim and put in a well in Duke’s memory.”
The well would be expensive, and not all of my brothers and sisters were as excited as I was, especially when they heard about the cost. But I was determined that Duke’s Well would become a reality.
My mom and I contacted all of the brothers and sisters. We insisted that everyone had to give something for Duke’s Well, even if it was only a buck. It was the reactions of my family to this challenge that reminded me of today’s readings.
You remember in the first reading, Elijah was asking the widow for something to eat and drink. In those days, widows, especially those who didn’t have older sons to look after them, were often in desperate situations. And this widow appears to have been one of them. She told Elijah: “Hey, I don’t have anything to give. I’m gathering a few sticks so I can cook the last of our food. My son and I will eat it, and then we’ll probably die. We’re poor and we’re hungry.” But Elijah would not be deterred; he insisted that she make him some food.
When I told one of my brothers about Duke’s Well, he told me the same thing: “I have nothing to give.” I said: “Even if you only have a buck, send it.” Two weeks later I got an envelope from him with a dollar inside. Like the widow in the first reading, he was afraid that if he gave something to someone else, he wouldn’t have enough for himself.
But there was another one of the six remaining siblings who responded very differently. He stepped forward and said not to worry about how much was collected, he’d make up the shortfall: Duke’s Well would become a reality.
And there’s another twist in the story of Duke’s Well that mirrors the story of Elijah and the poor widow in the first reading. Elijah told the widow to take the tiny bit of grain and oil that she had, to make a cake, give him a little and keep some for herself and her son. He said: “For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: ‘The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’” They were in the midst of a drought – that’s why the widow and her son were so short of food. But Elijah was asking her to have faith. He told her that she would not run out of food until the rains came and the crops returned. She had faith, and she and her son survived.
The one brother who said that he would backstop the cost of Duke’s Well has a small business. On the very day he mailed the check that would make Duke’s Well a reality, he received four new contracts that would bring in almost three times the amount of the check he had just written. Just like the poor widow, his generosity and his faith were rewarded abundantly.
It’s kind of funny. We sometimes read these stories from Scripture, and say: “Yeah, I get the message, but these things don’t relate to real people – who live in the real world – today!” Well, they do.
The widow in the Gospel today was also in a very tough situation. She was in the temple, and people were bringing money for upkeep of the temple. We heard how the rich folks put in large sums of money. We also get the idea that they got the money by taking advantage of the widows in the community. The way the scene is described, we get the impression that these people made a big fuss about giving their money. The money would have been put into metal containers. So the large coins that the wealthy people put in would have made lots of noise. The poor widow put in two small copper coins. They probably wouldn’t have made a sound when she put them in the container. Almost no one would have noticed – but Jesus noticed.
The story made me think of the children who come up at the Offertory to put their money in the plastic church. Some run up boldly, others creep up shyly – but they’re all happy to give what they have, even if it’s only a couple small copper coins.
As Catholics, we are called to give of our time, our talents, and our resources. We’ve been hearing over the past several weeks from people who routinely give their time and talents in the various ministries in the parish. How many of us say: “Oh, they must have lots of time on their hands: more than I do? If I gave my time away like that, I wouldn’t have enough for myself.” Well, maybe that’s true, but maybe it’s not.
When the collection basket comes around, how many of us say: “Oh, I can’t put anything in? I won’t have enough for myself.” Well, maybe that’s true, but maybe it’s not.
As Catholics, we are also called to give love. We know the two greatest commandments: love God, love your neighbour. How do we respond when we’re called on to give love? Do we say: “I can’t just give love away? I won’t have enough for myself.” Well, that’s just not the way it works. You probably know people who are afraid to give love. You may even know married couples who are unwilling to do things for each other unless they get something in return. “I’ll cook your favourite meal, but only if you clean the garage.” They’re too busy keeping score to give love.
When we’re asked to give our time, talents, money – or even love – we’re only being asked to pass on something that’s already been given to us by God. We’re not actually the owners of any of these things – we’re stewards. We can hoard our time, our talents, our money, our love – afraid that if we share, we won’t have enough for ourselves. Or we can have faith, like the widow in the Gospel who gave not from her abundance, but from her poverty. Or the widow in the first reading who shared what little she had with Elijah and was richly rewarded for her faith. Or the brother who stepped in to make sure that Duke’s Well would provide water to a needy community for many years.
I wish all of you a life of abundance: not a life of scarcity, not a life of “just getting by” – a life of abundance. But my wish doesn’t really count. That life is already there for those who believe in God’s abundance – those who have faith.
The well is full. Come and drink.