Third Sunday of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

There are two words that can be used to describe what the readings are about for today: joyful expectation. The readings speak of waiting for someone; of waiting for the Messiah. But it isn’t just some boring wait that we have to endure like when we wait at the check out or wait for a traffic light to change. Those who wrote these passages we just heard are clearly talking about expecting someone of great importance. This Messiah is not someone who we are waiting for with dread, but someone who we will be filled with joy at seeing. So the readings, in fact the prayers and other texts that are written specifically for the Third Sunday of Advent, are truly about joyful expectation. This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday, which means “rejoice”.

When I was writing this homily, I was thinking to myself what would make a good image to help illustrate this idea of joyful expectation? And I began thinking about how when I go back to my parent's house in Grand Rapids, there is always one there who is so excited to see me, it is almost as if she waiting with bated breath for my return. I am talking about Dori, my parent's Golden Retriever. Now some of you might not be dog people, some of you might not really like them at all, so you might not be able to relate to this all that well, but if you have ever watched a dog react to seeing his master or family come home, you know that he is going to be overjoyed to see them and will do his best to show how excited he is. It doesn't matter if you were out the door for five minutes or were gone on a vacation for a week and had to leave the dog in the care of the neighbors, if that dog is healthy and is being taken care of, he is excited to see you. “Oh boy! You're back! I didn't think I would ever see you gain!”

Dogs have a gift for being able to show their emotions in their whole body language. When you think about it, the word emotion is not just talking about feelings, but also about how the body reacts to that feeling. Emotions literally give motion to the body. This is very apparent in dogs. If a dog is sad the ears and tail both droop and head might be lowered as well. Angry, the ears are perked up, the muscles tighten and his hackles are up. Excited or happy, the mouth is open and the tail is wagging. Sometimes the whole body is wagging with the tail.

Going back to my parent's dog Dori, she doesn't actually wait at the door for me, since I only go back about once or twice a month, but seeing her reaction, you would think she had been awaiting my return. She is almost ten years old now, so she is not as spry as she used to be. She used to jump off the couch and run to greet me. Sometimes she won't even get off the couch now, but once she sees it's me, she'll still get up, albeit slowly, and wag her tail enthusiastically and even jump up to say hello. He favorite thing to do when I come in the door is to get one of her toys, which are scattered throughout the house, and get me to play with her. I am certain that if that dog could talk, her favorite thing to say would be. “Oh boy! It's you! I have the perfect toy! Wait right here! I'll go get it!” And she'll run off to find it and will be back in a few seconds, so I can play with her. The funny thing with this dog, is that she is not looking for just any toy. I know this because she will run past other toys in search of a specific toy that she has in mind. And she will find that toy, because in her mind I have come back specifically to play with her and for no other purpose.

I hope that talking a little about dogs and their exuberance at seeing familiar humans come back can at least give us an idea of the joyful expectation that today's readings are trying to convey to us. The Prophet Isaiah describes what almost sounds like a scene out of a Disney movie. The coming of the Messiah is going to be so exciting and so joyful that the land itself is going to be transformed, simply because there is so much joy! “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.” Land that is arid and has very little growing on it is going to burst forth with life with the coming of Christ. The land itself will even sing for joy we are told. This is a big deal. The reading ends with, “Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.” To ransom someone means to free them from something. In this case they are talking about how Christ is going to free His people from sin. No wonder there is so much rejoicing! If we could understand what that really means to be freed from sin, we would be rejoicing as well. We take it for granted that Christ saves us, thought. That's the problem.

While Isaiah talks about getting excited for the coming of the Lord, St. James says in his letter to be patient. Impatience, the apostle warns, leads to a lack of charity towards those around you, and so he warns not to complain about others. He also seems to be saying to trust in God when he says, “Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” St. James is talking about Jesus' second coming and is telling his audience to be ready. He knows that those reading the letter are already excited about Jesus' coming, but he also knows that the excitement might boil over if they don't keep patience and get properly ready for this incredible event.

The Gospel does not disappoint by continuing this theme of joyful expectation. Even John the Baptist has had expectations of the coming of the Christ. I am certain that John already knew that Jesus was “the one who is to come”, but I'm guessing he sent his disciples to ask Him for their own benefit. As if Jesus' response to the question is not already a clear enough answer of “Yes!”, with all the references to the lame walking and the deaf hearing, the Lord gives a side explanation to the crowd. They have been expecting someone important. John didn't meet those expectations and neither did Jesus. But John is more important than you think, and so is Jesus. Jesus is saying, I'm here, and big things are going to happen.

I encourage all of you, don't let this Advent Season and the coming Christmas Season pass you by as just some crazy time of year to get through. We are expecting the second coming of Jesus one day. Let us be joyful about this. Let us welcome Christ with joy!

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

The readings speak about gathering the lost sheep of the flock and giving comfort to the people of God.  God loves us and wants us close to Him, and so He seeks out the lost and those who have wondered astray.  He doesn't seek us out to try to force us to be with Him or enslave us as His servants.  He gathers us close to Him so that He can comfort us and console us in whatever hardships and troubles we may encounter. 

These readings can be looked a couple different ways.  When we are the lost sheep, through sins we have committed, it is reassuring that God will always be looking out for us and will comfort us when we are at out lowest point.  These are also words to encourage us when we encounter our brothers and sisters who have wondered away from following God and have become the lost sheep.  We can help them to understand that God is not trying to force Himself into our lives, nor is the Church trying to force us into anything (as it can sometimes feel like when they have a bunch of people trying to get them back to Church).  God just wants to comfort us and get us back to His flock.  If we just allow that to happen, our joy will be complete.

Second Sunday of Advent

I hope everyone had a very blessed Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception yesterday.  I totally forgot about posting my homily for last Sunday, so here it is.

Second Sunday of Advent

          It can be very easy for a person to fall into a deep sense of guilt over a wide variety of things.  Maybe a person feels guilty for what they said or did to another person, like insulting another person or speaking about them behind their back.  Perhaps it is guilt for what they did not do for that person, like not saying “Thank you” for a kind deed or for not giving someone help or a kind word when you know they needed it.  In some instances, guilt is simply our conscience letting us know that we have done something wrong and we need to rectify the situation.  Guilt can also be harmful to us if we don't deal with it in the right way, however.  People have gone crazy because they didn't deal with their guilt in a healthy way.  Some hold on to guilt long after they were forgiven of what they feel guilty about and some feel guilty for things that were not as bad as their imaginations make them out to be. 

          There is a type of guilt that is common among Catholics that is often referred to simply as “Catholic guilt”.  Catholic guilt is simply the guilt that a Catholic feels when he or she is not doing all that they think they should be doing as a Catholic.  Catholic guilt can be helpful in some situations.  It can help remind us of our need to pray, go to reconciliation and give to the poor and various charities.  It can even help us to get ourselves off our duffs on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning and get to Church at a descent time.  Catholic guilt can also be hard on a person however.  In fact, I think it is very easy for us Catholics to be a little too hard on ourselves.  Maybe we miss Mass because of bad weather.  Bad weather is a valid reason for missing Mass, but I'm sure there would still be people who say to themselves, “Yeah, but if I would have just driven very slowly on the black ice, I might have still made it.”  Yes, but the Church also wants you to stay alive!  There is no need to beat ourselves up over something like that.  We can go to reconciliation if we feel we must, but know that God wants us to pray to Him on Sundays.  He doesn't want us to risk our lives, or the lives of others, just to get to the Church.  The same can be said about missing Mass because of illness. 

          I brought up all this about guilt and about whether guilt is helpful or justified in certain situations, because we want to be careful not to let guilt get the best of us.  If we let it get the best of us, then we become afraid of having anything to do with God.  We hold back and end up having nothing to do with faith or religion at all.  In reality, we should be running back to Church, back to God, so that we can talk with Him and see the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist so that any wounds can be healed.  It is through the Church that we can hope to improve our relationship with God and grow in holiness.

          Today's Gospel reading talks about repentance and having reconciliation with God.  But I hope that we can see in all the readings, however, that this is not meant to make us feel guilt ridden, but rather as encouragement for us to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God.  In the Gospel, St. John the Baptist, who is considered the forerunner of the Jesus, the one who is to prepare for His coming, is preaching about repentance.  “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”.  It is true that we need repentance, but there is a danger if all we think about is how we have to repent.  It is easy to start thinking that there is something wrong with us.  We begin thinking that God isn't going to love us any more because we are so sinful.  That, of course is not the message that St. John the Baptist or Jesus wanted to give.  As the rest of the readings show, the message is really one of encouragement: encouraging us all to strengthen our relationship with God through prayer and seeking reconciliation with God.

          The first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is about how God will judge the nations through this mysterious person who is described as this “shoot from the stump of Jesse”.  “Stump of Jesse” is a reference to the House of David.  A shoot means that this person is going to be a descendent of King David.  Isaiah is talking about the coming of the Messiah, which we Christians recognize as Jesus Christ.  The prophecy continues that this Messiah will judge the peoples in a peaceful way.  He will not judge by hearsay or by appearance, but with justice.  So peaceful and just will this be that the whole world will be at peace.  Even animals that are typically in a predator versus prey relationship (like wolf and a lamb or lion and a calf) will live together in peace.  This is God's goal that the world will be at peace and in union with God.

          The second reading continues that same idea.  “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus.”  God isn't interested in holding our sins over our heads.  He wants us to move past our sins and strengthen our relationship with Him.  I'm not saying that God doesn't care that we have sinned.  He does care.  Our sins hurt our relationship with Him.  What I am saying is that God isn't trying to take us on a guilt trip when He tells us to repent or talks about the sins of this world.  Seek prayer and reconciliation and our relationship with God will grow.

          As we continue in this season of Advent, let us make it our goal to strengthen our relationship with God.  That means prayer.  That means getting to the Church for Mass.  That means getting into the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It will all mean a closer understanding of Jesus, and a joyful celebration of Christmas.

Friday of the First Week of Advent

Friday of the First Week of Advent

Memorial of St. Nicholas today, a man of great faith and (according to the stories anyway) of great generosity.  May his example help us to do the same.  We also hear today about the faith of the two blind men who were healed in the Gospel today.  Let us not fear to ask God for what we need. 

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Christ is our firm foundation.  If we listen to Him, the Word of God made flesh, then we will be like that wise man in the parable: set firmly on rock.  Tough times may happen (winds blowing and buffeting the house) but it won't crush us.  Let us put our trust in that help.

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

Two different meals mentioned in the readings today, the great feast on the Lord's mountain from Isaiah, and the multiplication of loaves.  Both refer to a meal that is so much more than just food to be put in our bellies, however.  They refer to the Eucharist, the bread of life, which is to get us ready for the Eternal Banquet in Heaven.  Who knew salvation could be connected with good food? 

First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent

Since we are just finishing up on Thanksgiving weekend, I'm sure that most of us here have a pretty clear idea in our minds of what it means to make preparations for something big that is about to happen. Even when my sister and I were children and we weren't old enough yet to be much help in the kitchen, we were asked to do our part in getting the house cleaned and presentable for guests. So whether you were a part of the cooking crew or the clean up crew this weekend, I'm sure many of you had some part to play in preparing for this weekend.

As I told a few of you, this year I played host to a few members of my family. I'm not in a straitjacket so I must of survived it just fine. My mom was the main cook for the dinner, but I helped around the kitchen with getting the meal prepared and getting the table all set. Whenever I'm doing food prep, I can't help but think about a very funny scene from a Three Stooges episode in which Moe, Larry, and Curly volunteer to help make dinner for a birthday party. You know this is not going to go over very well. At one point Larry tells Curly to shave some ice. The next scene you see is Curly with a big block of ice on a chair and he's sharpening a straightedge razor blade. He then whips up some shaving cream and proceeds to literally shave the block of ice, saying things like, “You're new in neighborhood, aren't you?” and making jokes, “Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!” After Moe gives him the usual head slap, Curly then goes to stuff the turkey for the dinner. He reads the ingredients as he goes. “Separate two eggs”. He holds them apart and puts both of them whole into the bird. “Two potatoes. Diced”. He shakes them like a pair of dice and rolls them on the table before putting them in whole. He then literally pinches some salt, puts in a half dozen oysters (shells and all), and a can of peas (the whole can). When told to put in a loaf of bread, well soaked, he punches a loaf several times and stuffs the whole thing in the bird. He also looses his ring and a wrist watch during this process, which guest finds later on in the stuffing.

The Stooges are anything but good examples for how to prepare for a feast or celebration. But it is still rather humorous to think about how bad things could get if you had three knuckleheads trying to cook something. It is also nice to know that even with a few mistakes, any of us will probably do far better than they did.

As we begin the new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent, our readings speak about looking forward to glorious times that are coming for the people of Israel and about making preparations for that day. The first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah speaks about how things will be so wonderful for the people of Israel that people for all over will want to come to Jerusalem and to the Lord's House. Part of the city of Jerusalem is built on a mountain called Zion, so when you hear “Zion” mentioned, like in this reading and elsewhere in the Bible, it is a reference to the whole of the city of Jerusalem. The city is considered a holy city since that is where the Temple is located. So saying that all these people are going to Jerusalem also suggests that they are going to the Temple to pray and to worship God. This is also referenced in the psalm, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord”.

Obviously something spectacular is going to be happening for the people of Israel. What it is isn't mentioned here, but I would hope that our Christian faith would indicate to us that this is one of many prophecies within the Old Testament of the coming of Jesus. The next two readings talk about how to prepare for that.

St. Paul in his letter to the Romans speaks of an urgency about being prepared for the coming of Jesus. He says, “You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand.” Now obviously, at the time Paul wrote this Jesus had already come, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. He is not talking about the first time Jesus came; he is speaking about Jesus' Second Coming, which we are all waiting for as well. It is important to understand that St. Paul and many other Christians of the first century thought that Jesus' Second Coming was going to happen within their lifetime. It could happen at any moment and they did not want to be ill prepared for that moment. So leaders, like the Apostle Paul, preached and taught a lot about being prepared for that eventual coming again of Christ. In this instance, Paul uses the images of waking from a deep sleep and moving from darkness into light, just like any of us might be awakened in the early morning. You don't want to be all groggy and still waking up when Jesus comes. Be ready.

The Gospel continues with this idea of Jesus coming again without warning and at an unknown hour. The people of Noah's time didn't know that the flood waters were coming. Noah's family made preparations and survived; the others did not. Jesus also uses the imagery of staying awake. Perhaps the Apostles heard about a man who's house had been robbed during the night and Jesus uses that image as well to show the urgency of paying attention to what is happening.

Both Jesus and St. Paul are telling their listeners, including all of us today, that we do not know when that Second Coming will happen and so we must be prepared. So how do we do that? Well, both readings talk about disconnecting ourselves from worldly attachments. St. Paul mentions rivalry and jealousy and other sins that indicate an unhealthy attachment to the things in this world. In other words, they care more about stuff on earth, than about going to Heaven. Jesus also mentions the people of Noah's time who cared more about what they wanted than about doing God's will.

The best way for any of us to disconnect ourselves from worldly attachments and our own selfish desires is through prayer and taking time to focus on our relationship with Jesus. The Season of Advent is a wonderful time to do just that. Take a moment from the holiday rush that is beginning right now and focus on preparing for Christ. It will be well worth your time.