The Voice of the Lord

 

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.  Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it.”
Deuteronomy 18:18, 19

A funny thing happened on the way out of Egypt…

It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s actually a very sad story.  For 400 years the Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt.  Finally, they were liberated.  God had instructed Moses that he was to lead them to Mount Sinai where Moses had first encountered God in the burning bush and was called to be the deliverer of Israel.  The story was pretty glorious at that point.  There were the plagues capped by the death of the firstborn and then the glorious parting of the Red Sea.  But when they got to Sinai something very significant happened.

We read about it in the 20^th chapter of Exodus.  God came down upon the mountain to meet with His people.  But they were afraid and pleaded with Moses that he would be their spokesman and that they would not need to endure the terrifying experience of God’s presence and voice.  This was just the beginning of the trouble.

They chose to put distance between them and their God when God wanted to draw them nearer in intimacy.  Having separated themselves from God in this manner it was a short step to return to idolatry and build a Golden Calf [Ex. 32] or even disbelieve God altogether and refuse to enter the Promised Land He had prepared for them [Num. 13, 14].  This is why they wandered for 40 years in the desert until all of the disbelieving generation had died.

It is with all of this in mind that we come into the middle of our first reading today.  Deuteronomy means “Second Law” and it is likely a “sermon” in which Moses is preparing the present generation to enter into the Promised Land.  He reminds them of how they had refused the Lord before.  But he also hints at something that was beyond any of them.

“A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen.  This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb
on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.’”  Of course, we know this refers to our Lord.  Since the people could not endure to hear God speak from heaven in such a dramatic fashion He chose to become human like us so that we could hear Him speak in that way.  However, note what Moses says as he continues: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him.  Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it.” 

God was saying that when He came among us in the Person of Christ He would teach us perfectly all that we need to know and we would have the obligation to obey Him.  With this in mind, note what is said in today’s Gospel.

Jesus comes to the synagogue in Capernaum.  He teaches “as one having authority and not as the scribes.”  To illustrate the point, St. Mark records a moment when a demon-possessed man was delivered by Jesus’ word.  They were in awe to see what power and authority He wielded.

But of course, not everyone who heard Jesus obeyed what He said.  The scribes and Pharisees, as a whole, did not.  And there were a number of people who didn’t believe even though they saw His miracles.  The same is unfortunately true of many today.

We have the words of Jesus recorded in Sacred Scripture.  In addition, we have the living word of Christ spoken through the Church.  These two harmonize to remind us of all that Christ has taught.  But too often we don’t listen.  Like the Israelites, it’s too easy for us to run from the uncomfortable word of God and choose our own idols instead.

What has Jesus said?  Take, for instance, the “hard saying” from John 6: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”  The Church tells us this refers to the Holy Eucharist and compels us to attend Mass where this gift is given to us.  Yet, many people reject this teaching.  Even many Catholics refuse to go to Mass because they have “better things to do”. 

Or how about Jesus’ teaching on marriage, and divorce: “God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder… Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery,” [Mark 10:6-9, 11-12].

Then there are all those things taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “Love your enemy… turn the other cheek… go the extra mile,” and so many other things.  Deuteronomy tells us that we have an obligation to hear and obey these words and that if we don’t we will answer for it.

But it doesn’t stop there.  If we, like the Israelites, have distanced ourselves from God so that we do not hear His voice then we cannot discern what He is saying to us on an individual level.  We cannot discern our vocation.  We cannot walk in His will.  We cannot enjoy His blessings, resist temptation, or avoid sin.  We are left powerless to aimlessly wander and flail in a misguided attempt to try to be “a good person”.  There’s so much more.  And that’s why God wants us to draw near and listen for His voice.

The Church is suffering greatly because of this.  In our second reading St. Paul speaks of the consecrated life.  We have all but disparaged it.  “That’s fine for others, but not for us… or our children.”  Parents don’t, as a whole, encourage their sons and daughters to prayerfully consider the priesthood or the religious life.  They want grandchildren.  We have mistakenly thought that money, positions, careers, and things are so much more fulfilling than a life dedicated to the Church.  To be sure, God will call many to Holy Matrimony.  But He is also calling many to Holy Orders; much more than are responding. 

We must counter what happened so long ago at Sinai.  We cannot be afraid to hear the voice of the Lord.  He only longs to draw us close in intimacy and to bless us.  Further, He would then enlist us to be co-laborers with Him to bring His blessings into the world.  Why are we so afraid?

Dear friends, let me exhort you with the antiphon from our Psalm: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”  So many blessings await you as you open up to hear from heaven.  And more, so many blessings await the world around you as you respond in obedience to that voice.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t make the choice to let others be your spokesmen.  Draw near and let God speak to your heart.  There is great grace to be had.  Healing will flow.  And the peace, joy, and love for which we crave will at last be ours!

Metanoia!

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday of the Word of God

Year B

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25:4-9; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

“This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."
Mark 1:15

Years ago I heard a talk in which the preaching of Jonah was being described.  It was rather humorous and went something like this: “If you saw a man belched up on the shore by a great fish, he comes out of the water with his hair withered, his skin bleached from the gastric juices in the fish’s stomach, his clothes half digested, and seaweed wrapped around his head and this man stood in the middle of town and said, ‘REPENT,’ what would you do?  I’d repent!”  That must have worked pretty well in real life because scripture tells us that the entire city of Nineveh repented.  Jonah is the envy of every evangelist.  In a mere 8 words- “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” – he brought the entire city to its knees.  Wouldn’t that be great if that was happening in the major cities of America! 

Repentance gets a lot of bad press.  We picture sweaty television evangelists or fire-and-brimstone-preachers.  Oddly enough, neither of those images is how I picture Jesus and yet He’s the one issuing the call to repentance in today’s Gospel.

We celebrate the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time today, but we also celebrate a new emphasis as well.  In 2019 Pope Francis declared this day to be the Sunday of the Word of God.  Its intention is to remind us of the crucial role of scripture in our faith and in our lives.  It is something to be recalled, not only on a day, but throughout our lives.  If the daily reading of scripture is not already part of your life then today would make a great opportunity to begin.  When you do you will quickly discover that the world view of the Bible is drastically different than that of our modern times.  There we encounter this idea of repentance on virtually every page. 

The word “repent” comes from the Greek word, metanoia.  It literally means to have our mind changed, or transformed.  But it’s much more than a mere change of opinion, or even outlook.  It affects everything we do.  True repentance is characterized by a drastic 180 degree change in our lifestyle.  When we repent we leave behind the sinful practices we had previously and we take up godly practices that have been unknown to us before.  The transformation is noticeable and we may find that not everyone is thrilled about the change.  It may mean the loss of friends, prestige, positions, or even close family relations.  But it’s worth it!

In addition to the Ninevites we have the first apostles as examples of this metanoia.  Simon, Andrew, James, and John were all fishermen.  Then one day Jesus called and they left everything and followed Him.  Talk about a radical change!  While most of us will not be called to just up and abandon our jobs, we are called to be open to the radical changes Christ wants to bring into our lives if we are to truly be His disciples.  St. Paul gives us a picture of this from our second reading.

The early Christians believed the Lord would return in their own lifetime to judge the living and the dead and to establish His kingdom.  There was no sense in getting bogged down with the affairs of this world when the world to come was so close.  This is the perspective underlying Paul’s cryptic statements from 1 Corinthians 7:29-31: I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.  From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully.  For the world in its present form is passing away.”

Even though Christ has not returned for 2,000 years and we recognize that it could be many years before He does, yet we are called to have the same perspective as those early Christians.  Since no one knows the day or the hour of our Lord’s return we are always to be ready.  This means that we should treat this world as it is… passing away, and we should put our time and efforts into the world that is yet to come and that will endure forever.  We are called to be long term investors. 

“This is the time of fulfillment,” our Lord says.  Now that He has come into the world the fullness of the Father’s plan is here.  Before, there was reason to labor in the things of this world, but now there is not.  So should we just throw caution to the wind and wait for the Lord’s return?  By no means!  However, we are in great need of a correction in our priorities.

As modern Americans most of us have no concept of true poverty.  Nor are we aware at how extravagant our own lifestyles have become.  We are immersed in our sports, activities, and gadgetry.  Our careers can easily become our gods as we run off chasing the idols of fame and fortune.  This is the way of the world, not the way of the Word- our Lord.

So what should we do?  Listen to the words of Jesus.  “This is the time of fulfillment.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Repent is the first step.  Faith is the second.

In repentance we turn away from the perspective of this fallen world.  In faith we turn toward the perspective of God.  “Believe in the gospel”.  It’s not faith in faith, or faith in hope.  It is faith in the gospel.  What is the gospel?  That God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself [2 Corinthians 5:19].  This reconciliation is intended to return us to the original intention of God; that each person would live in love and share equally so that there was no need.  We are to use the things of this world to further the kingdom of heaven… the souls of our neighbors.  We are not intended to just accumulate more stuff.  The old adage that “he who dies with the most toys wins” is false.  The truth is that he who dies with the most toys still dies.  And the only things he will take with him are the things of heaven… souls.  When we invest in souls we invest in eternity. 

Feel like you’re on a treadmill endlessly trying to keep up with the mad pursuit of something vaguely called “happiness”?  You’re not alone.  But when we hear the call of our Lord- a call echoed throughout scripture- we gain the perspective necessary to make changes.  Only in Christ can true happiness be found.  So when we, like those first disciples on the seashore, abandon it all to follow Jesus, we will find true joy.  My dear friends, let us heed the call of the Master and recklessly run after Him who promises eternal living through the gospel!

The Body Is The Lord's

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year B

1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20; John 1:35-42

The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6:13

In today’s Gospel we see our Lord calling some of His first disciples.  They inquire, “Where are you staying?”  And He invites them, “Come, and you will see.”  To follow Jesus is to embark on pilgrimage.  This world is not our home and its values are not always ours.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of morality, specifically sexual morality.  We are called to chastity; complete chastity if we are single and marital chastity if married.  But we live in a world that believes that liberty means license and so constantly confronts us with notions that are opposed to what we have been taught.

St. Paul takes up this theme in today’s second reading.  “The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord.”  That serves as the theme for everything else he says here.  Our bodies are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore they are to be treated as holy. 

Let’s talk about the body for a moment.  The body is a part of who we are.  We are not embodied spirits.  We are composites of body and spirit.  Our body tells us as much about ourselves as our intuition.  When we die our spirit separates from our bodies.  However, this is not the end, contrary to popular belief.  In the end, our Lord will return in power and glory.  Then the dead will be raised and spirit and body will reunite and we will ever after remain body and spirit.

Our body provides the visible expression of our spirits.  What we will in the spirit is carried out by the body.  In addition, our bodies, as well as our spirits, are intended to be holy; set apart for the Lord and His purposes.

We do not have a right over our own body.  That also is a lie.  We are intended to glorify God in the body.  It is the Lord who has the right over our body.  So if a child is growing within our body it is not our right to kill it.  We do not have a right to eat and drink as we please.  We do not have a right to be lazy and not exercise.  We do not have a right to misuse the sexual faculty given us.  All of these things are to be governed by God and directed by Him.  When they are, they tend to His glory and the service of others.  They also tend to our best as well as our peace and joy.

These are not things we often hear.  We need to have an ear attuned to the still, small voice of the Lord like Samuel in our first reading.  And like him, when we hear that voice we are to reply, “Speak, for your servant is listening,” and in the words of the Psalmist, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!”

So, what is the will of the Lord as pertains to this issue of keeping our body holy and avoiding sexual immorality?  Simply put, sex is for marriage between one man and one woman for a lifetime.  Anything outside of that is gravely sinful.  Fornication, adultery, polygamy, and homosexual relations are all outside of the bounds God has given.  Furthermore, sex between husband and wife has as a primary end procreation.  God desires holy offspring [Malachi 2:15].  Therefore the use of contraception is also gravely sinful. 

It will be obvious to everyone at this point that this runs counter to everything we are told from the world around us about these issues.  But that is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  We will find Jesus abiding in this place of holiness.  If we want to be with Him, we will live there too. 

Certainly, this is not easy.  How is it to be done?

First, stay close to God in prayer and in the scripture.  If it isn’t already part of your daily routine, make some time each day for this.  Scripture will remind you of what God has said and prayer will hide it in your heart so you will not sin [Psalm 119:11].

Second, stay close to the Church.  Read a paragraph of the Catechism each day.  Attend Mass as often as possible, but especially on weekends and Holy Days.  Receive the sacraments.  They are a primary means of grace.  In addition, surround yourself with likeminded individuals who will reinforce these values of the kingdom.

Finally, do not be afraid.  We have the power of truth on our side.  I have never heard of anyone wishing on their deathbed that they had been more immoral.  On the day that you and I stand before the Lord we will be overjoyed that we held to the Lord’s command and we are invited to receive our reward.

But what if you’ve already fallen?  What if you haven’t lived as the Lord commands?  What if you’re not doing it now?  It’s never too late; not as long as you draw breath.  The Lord is always waiting and watching to see how He can show His mercy and restore us to His grace.  “Flee fornication” is the older rendering of verse 18’s “avoid immorality”.  I like that better.  It conveys immediate, quick, radical, and decisive action.  Do what you must to extract yourself from immoral relationships and fly to God for His mercy and grace.  He is waiting.  Don’t be afraid!

“Here am I Lord; I come to do your will.”  So we all sang together in the Psalm response.  Then let it be so here.  God will grant all the strength you need.  You will find true freedom, peace, and joy.

 

 

An Open Heaven

The Baptism of the Lord

Year B

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10; Acts 10:34-38; Mark 1:7-11

On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open…
Mark 1:10

I love baptisms.  It doesn’t matter if they’re babies or older people.  They’re amazing.  Jesus taught that unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven [John 3:5].  The Church has always interpreted this to refer to Baptism.  It is in Baptism that we are born again of the Holy Spirit and we begin our new life of grace.  Watching a person issue forth from the font is like watching the birth of a child.  It’s always grand.  It’s always amazing.  But have you ever wondered how it is that this can take place?  In today’s Gospel we see its origin in the baptism of our Lord.  Something to keep in mind is that what we see happening in the baptism of our Lord is what happens to each person who receives Baptism.  But I want to focus on a key point in the narrative given to us specifically today in St. Mark.  It’s that of an open heaven.  There’s something really cool taking place that we don’t want to miss because it’s the key to everything else that happens.

It will be helpful to review for a moment.  In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth He made everything good.  The crowning glory of His creation was of man and woman made in His own image and likeness.  God created us in love and for love.  He created us for beatitude; that is for blessing.  He intended that there would be an open and ongoing communion with us forever.  But sin changed all of that.

With the fall from grace into sin, our first parents closed heaven.  No longer would there be the open, free, intimate communion with God.  God would be sealed up in heaven and humanity would be cursed with the effects of sin.  This was the sad condition that existed when our Savior came into the world. 

In the fullness of time, God Himself became human in order to remedy our fallen state.  This is what we have been celebrating throughout the Christmas season.  But as we come to the conclusion of this season we not only consider Christ in His infancy, but also in His revelation to the world.  That happened fully at His baptism.  Here He began His public ministry.

Jesus comes to John to be baptized to fully identify with sinful humanity even though He Himself was without sin.  When He went down into the water, He blessed the water and gave it the quality to be the means of Baptism.  When He came up from the water something amazing happened.  The heavens were opened.

For thousands of years since the Fall the heavens were closed.  Now they were opened.  We could again commune deeply, intimately, and continually with God.  The blessings intended from before the foundation of the world could be ours again.

It’s here that I want to pause for a moment and take a look at something unique about St. Mark’s version of this event.  The other Gospels say that the heavens were opened.  But Mark says they were “rent”; “torn open.” 

The word he uses is schizo.  It’s where we get the term, schism.  It means to tear apart or to divide.  We use the term today to refer to any group that begins to teach something different from the Catholic Faith and causes a division in the body of Christ.  It indicates a violent rending as in a garment or cloth.  In fact, it’s the same word that’s used in the other Gospels when it speaks of the veil in the Temple being torn from top to bottom when Christ was crucified.

Mark isn’t content to just tell us that the heavens were opened, but rather that they were torn open.  It’s as if God has been chomping at the bit since the Fall to tear away the veil that sin created so He could come and love us and bless us again.

What are the results of such a tearing open?  Two things issued forth from heaven: the Spirit in bodily form like a dove and the voice of the Father.

The Spirit descended upon Jesus and remained with Him.  In Baptism the Spirit comes into our lives and bears witness with us that we are now the children of God.

The voice of the Father spoke, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  So He speaks to each of us by virtue of our Baptism that we are now His beloved children in whom He is well pleased.  When we come forth from the font, it’s like being a newborn babe in the arms of a proud papa.  God brags about us: “See my new child!”  God bursts through the torn veil of heaven to come and embrace us. 

Yet, the enemy does not rest.  He is relentless in his temptations and we often find that though we have been set free from sin we fall into its snares again.  In these moments the veil begins to return.  If we are not diligent to repent and turn back to God, the veil becomes thicker.  If we persist into mortal sin, it shuts out the light of heaven entirely and we return to the place without God.

Christians too often live in this sad state to varying degrees; perhaps not in mortal sin, but certainly with an essentially closed heaven.  What is the remedy?

Confession?  Yes, but it must be more than just that.  The sacrament will restore whatever has been lost from Baptism.  It will re-open heaven.  It will tear away the veil.  But then we must determine that we will continue to walk in this grace.  Most Christians just live endlessly in the cycle of sin and reconciliation.  It need not be so.  We were intended to walk in the light of an open heaven.

Perfection?  No, not in this life.  But victory?  Yes!  Absolutely!  God intends for His children to walk in the freedom of His love; in the light of an open heaven.

Today as we ponder again the wonderful mystery of the Baptism of our Lord, let us renew in our hearts our baptismal vows: to renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his pomps- the ways he makes sin look desirable.  Let us reaffirm our faith in the one, true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Let us walk in unbroken communion with Him in His one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.  And let us bring His light and love into a dark and lonely world where the heavens are still closed. 

Look up, dear friend.  God is waiting.  Our Lord Jesus awaits to bring you His blessings: the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father: “In you I am well pleased.”

 

The Epiphany of the Lord

The Epiphany of the Lord

Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."
Matthew 2:2 RSVCE

At last… It’s the Epiphany!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s reflection, Epiphany was the “Christmas” before there was Christmas.  After Easter, this was the next biggest celebration on the Church’s calendar.  Why?  Because Epiphany not only celebrated the coming of Christ into the world, but His manifestation, or “revealing” to the Gentiles.  This is the day we’ve been waiting for.

Such a sentiment was that of the Magi when they came to Herod in Jerusalem looking for the One who was foretold.  They knew nothing of Jewish prophecy or scripture.  They were pagans.  But in sincerity of heart they were seeking the One who is truly the King of all kings.  And so it was that they were divinely led to come and worship Jesus.

Listen to Isaiah’s mournful dirge as he bemoans the people lost in darkness.  “See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples.”  Then the good news bursts onto the scene.  “But upon you the LORD shines and over you appears his glory.”  This is it.  Since the Fall in Eden darkness has covered the land.  The prophets foretold a time of radiant light that would drive out the darkness.  But centuries had passed without their fulfillment.  Many who clung to this sliver of hope died without seeing its realization.  But now… it was finally here.  “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem!  Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.”  Thanks be to God!

The Psalmist sings out with that song that is in the hearts of those who have apprehended the truth: “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”  That is why the Magi come to worship.

It is interesting to note that often in scripture, and particularly in the Gospels, we find Gentiles instinctively turning to Christ in faith where generations of Jews have rejected Him.  Why is that?  Perhaps the old saying is true; familiarity breeds contempt.  Had the prophecies become old hat by the time the Christ arrived?  Were people tired of hearing the stories?  Did they sound like fairy-tales?  Did they think of themselves as living in a post-messianic world?

The parallels should be obvious.  For some of those of Christian heritage seem to be more cynical and apathetic to the teachings of Christ than those encountering them for the first time.  Where is our awe and wonder?  Where is our enthusiasm?  What would it take to wrest us from our homelands to travel half a continent or more so we could merely glimpse the prophesied One?  This is the heart of true worship and so the heart of the true worshiper.

Why all the excitement?  Let St. Paul help us here.  “You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit… that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”  The Jews were God’s chosen people, but they weren’t chosen exclusively.  They were chosen to bring the good news to the Gentiles.  This was the mystery hidden in times past, but revealed through our Lord.  The Gentiles rejoice!  They too have an inheritance.  They are not lost.  They are not doomed to wander in the darkness.  The light has come, and they are called into it. 

And so the Magi, representative of the Gentiles, travel, search, find, and worship. 

What is true worship?  Is it merely to perform the liturgy?  No.  Is it to give money, or sing songs, or offer some extravagant sacrifice?  No.  At least, it can’t be only that.  There must be more.  The Magi show us what it is.

True worship involves a diligent searching.  They sought the signs in the heavens.  It was all that they knew.  But they were diligent and charted the courses of the stars and their constellations.  They knew this had great import.  They searched in their journey for the One who is King of the Jews. 

True worship involves preparation.  Their plans must have been months, if not years, in the making.  To arrange for a caravan, the gifts, provisions, and the time necessary for travel would have necessitated great planning.

True worship involves expense.  There is no such thing as costless worship.  True worship costs something.  It may be money, or possessions.  It may even be time.  But it will certainly be the cost of our own hearts and souls laid at the Savior’s feet.  Our whole lives will be upended as we offer all to Him who is all in all.

Dear friends, do we dare to take a hard look at ourselves to determine whether or not we are true worshipers?  Will you join me in such an exam?  Uncomfortable?  Certainly!  Life-changing?  Hopefully!  For there is no way that we could out-give our God.  No worship could be so extravagant as to outpace our Lord’s love, mercy, and grace.  For all the homage we may offer there will be so many blessings coming back to us. 

This is the heart of the Epiphany.  It is to see the greatness of God on display, to be awed, and to worship.  Throughout the Christmas season we have been singing, “O come let us adore Him.”  Then let us do so.  The moment has arrived.  It is Epiphany at last.  Come, let us worship.  May the world be filled with His light!

Blessed Epiphany to all!

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Author Note: Readings are proper from January 5 before Epiphany

1 John 3:11-21; Psalm 100; John 1:43-51

Beloved: This is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another.
1 John 3:11

Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas!

When I was three years old I was taught to memorize that beloved verse from scripture, John 3:16.  I was raised as a Pentecostal and taught the scripture from the King James Version.  In that old English my little voice would recite: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  My grandmother would have me recite this verse for her class.  I’m glad I don’t actually have memories of that.  But I’m even more glad that my parents and grandparents taught me that verse.

We’ve about reached the end of our journey.  We began nearly twelve days ago with the wonder of Christmas.  We talked about the Baby, and God’s plan.  We spoke of Mary, and Anna.  We talked of John, the beloved disciple who penned those immortal words.  We visited God’s redemptive plan in Christ and talked about His complete victory over the Devil.  But now we come to the apex of it all.  Where does it all lead?  What is the point of it all?  Love!

The thing that set the whole plan in motion was love.  That which brought Christ to earth was love.  The goal is that we can forever live with God in love.  It’s truly all about love.  The message of Christmas is love.  So when we hear John state in today’s first reading that we are to love one another he is echoing the message of Christmas.  Wherever love is on display it truly is Christmas all year long.

This is the message we have to carry to the world.  We are to love as He loved.  Which is to say, that we are to love with selfless, sacrificial giving.  He gave His life for us.  We demonstrate His love when we lay down our lives for one another.  And this doesn’t only happen when one person literally dies to save someone else.  It happens daily, moment by moment, when we choose to die to our rights, our plans, and our dreams so that someone else may have theirs.

I’ve often thought it an odd custom that we give gifts to each other on Jesus’ birthday.  Imagine if that’s how people celebrated your birthday: they gave gifts to each other instead of to you.  What fun would there be in that?  However, what could you possibly give to Jesus?  I suggest that the many gifts of love we give to one another are given to Him.  “When you did it for one of the least of these, my brothers, you did it for Me.”  Jesus is pleased when we offer such gifts, not only on His birthday, but every day.

And so we bring our 12 days of Christmas to a close.  I hope this has been a blessing to you in some small way.  It was a joy for me to share these thoughts with you.  I appreciate the comments that I received, and your love in encouraging me as I write these reflections. 

Now, there’s one thing more.  Tomorrow we celebrate Epiphany.  This was “Christmas” before there was Christmas.  Epiphany commemorates, among other things, the visit of the Magi with their gifts for the infant, Jesus.  This was the day customarily reserved for gift giving.  The night before Epiphany was the night of the Twelfth Day of Christmas and became known as Twelfth Night.  It was like Epiphany Eve.  If you’ve been journeying with us for the Twelve Days of Christmas then don’t stop short.  Celebrate Epiphany with us tomorrow.  I will return to offer my final reflection of these festive days. Until then…

Merry Christmas!

 

The Eleventh Day of Christmas

The Eleventh Day of Christmas

Author Note: readings are taken from the proper of January 4 before Epiphany.

1 John 3:7-10; Psalm 98:1, 7-9; John 1:35-42

The Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil.
1 John 3:8

Merry Eleventh Day of Christmas!

Growing up as a boy in the 70’s one of the things that was dreaded was to get beaten by a girl- in anything.  Now, of course, that’s ridiculous, but we didn’t know that back then.  So it is with that in mind that I think I have a hint of what it must have been for the Devil to have gotten beat by… a Baby.

Who is the Devil?  He is Lucifer, an angel created by God in great beauty who seems to have held a place of great eminence when he was in heaven.  But pride took hold in his heart and he dared to usurp the place of the most high.  He led a rebellion which saw himself and a third of the angels cast out of heaven.  He became known as Satan, or the Devil, because of his evil, conniving, and deceitful ways.  The fallen angels became known as demons.  They roam restlessly throughout the earth, seeking to destroy all souls.  Their end is the lake of fire in which they will be unspeakably tormented forever.  The Devil is not stupid.  He knows his time is short.  So he is ceaselessly working for the deception and destruction of souls.

Angels are more powerful than humans.  They are also smarter and wiser as they have the advantage of knowledge gained over all of history.  Furthermore, they have the advantage of either having been in heaven or still being there.  They know what awaits.  They, better than any of us, know the greatness of the glory of God.

Even in their fallen state, angels retain this knowledge and power.  It is one of the reasons why they are able to appear as angels of light [2 Corinthians 11:14] even though they are full of darkness.  With all of this in mind we should be aware that we are no match for the Devil… on our own.

This is what makes the picture all the more laughable.  St. Peter pictures the Devil like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour [1 Peter 5:8].  Here he is; so ferocious and mighty.  Yet, he is easily vanquished by an infant.  When our Lord came into the world as a tiny baby the angels sang and the devils trembled.  For here was One who would be their undoing. 

Of course, the Devil did not lay down and die.  He didn’t give up without a fight.  There was the whole slaughter of the innocents and then when our Lord was grown and ready to begin His mission there was the great testing in the desert.  Imagine trying to tempt the Son of God.  It’s like attacking a tank with peashooter.  Nevertheless, he tries and fails!

Ask anyone for the true meaning of Christmas and I’ll bet you won’t hear someone say, “To destroy the works of the Devil”.  But that’s a great part of it.

This is what makes it all the more insidious to over sentimentalize Christmas.  I’m not against all the fun… as long as we leave it at just being fun.  But when it becomes more than that and we want to make Christmas all about the fun, then we’ve missed it.  Then we’ve handed the Devil a victory even though he’s been soundly defeated.  For we cease to give glory to our victorious Lord.

Christ’s victory over the Devil is complete.  We celebrate Christmas best as we remember that and live in the light of this victory.  No longer need we fear that our sins will overcome us, or that we will die and inherit the same hell as the demons.  Jesus gives victory over sin, and death, and hell.  He triumphs over all.  So we can rejoice!

Whatever faces you today, steal some moments in prayer and ponder this wonderful truth.  Christ has destroyed the works of the devil.  I believe it was St. Teresa of Avila who said, “When the Devil reminds you of your past you remind him of his future.”  Well said!  So let us continue to walk in the victory and the glory of Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 

The Second Sunday After The Nativity- The Tenth Day of Christmas

Second Sunday After The Nativity

Author Note: The dioceses of the United States all observe the feast of Epiphany on this day.  In an effort to maintain the congruity of the Twelve Days of Christmas I am returning to the earlier practice of reflecting on the Second Sunday After The Nativity.  I will offer a reflection on Epiphany on its proper day of January 6.

Sirach 24:1-2, 8-12; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18; John 1:1-18

… he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…
Ephesians 1:4

Merry Tenth Day of Christmas!

Christmas is all about the mystery of the Incarnation, which is that the Word of God, who is God from all eternity, took on flesh and became human in the Baby Jesus.  St. John’s famous prologue leads us into this mystery: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

We can become so familiar with those words that they begin to lose meaning for us.  The beginning is defined by God, not the other way round.  He doesn’t come into being at the beginning.  Rather, He always existed and the beginning comes into being through Him.

Before there was anything there was God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Father is eternally the source.  The Son is eternally begotten.  The Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son.  There was never a time when this was not so.  The Son, also known as the Word, was the means by which everything came into being.  Genesis records that God spoke and creation began.  What He spoke was the Word and so through the Word it all was created.  As St. John says, “Without him nothing came to be.”

One wonders with fascination what communication took place amidst the members of the Blessed Trinity when crafting a plan of salvation for humanity.  It is beyond us.  In fact, what St. Paul tells us is that this plan was already firmly established before the foundation of the world.  God had already devised the solution before the problem of sin actually existed.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.”

Think about it- before God created anything He was purposing that each one of us would be His in Christ.  When one reads Genesis 1:1, it is necessary to insert Ephesians 1:4: “In the beginning God [chose us in Christ and] created the heavens and the earth.”  Before He uttered, “Let there be light,” He chose you and me to be His in Christ.  While there was chaos and no creature existed whatsoever He was already laying a foundation for us to be in Him.

“In the fullness of time,” Paul writes to the Galatians, Christ was born into the world.  He is the fullness of God and makes visible and tangible to us all that God is.  But there’s more.  He becomes human so we can become divine; we can become gods. 

Was there an ache in the heart of God for us even before creation?  Theologians would say no, for God is complete in Himself and in need of nothing.  True!  But does that mean He couldn’t choose us to enter into this eternal communion of love?  No.  In fact, this must have been the case.  For if God was already thinking of us before He did anything then this must be so.  The purpose of God coming down to us is so that He could bring us up to be with Him and in Him.

With such foresight and planning it becomes laughable to worry about anything.  We’ve just come out of what most people would define as the most horrific year we have lived through.  With the onset of the global pandemic, all of the things that followed, and the sickness and death experienced by virtually everyone at some level, most were relieved to see 2020 come to an end.  However, what does 2021 hold?  The possibilities are endless.  To borrow a line from Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, it could be the best of times or the worst of times.  Should we be concerned?  Perhaps!  Should we be worried?  Absolutely not!  For the God who chose us to be in Him before time began has surely seen all that awaits us and equally has plans in place for every contingency.  It could very well be the best Christmas gift we have received to be freed from all worry and anxiety and rest secure in the loving arms of our all seeing, all knowing, all wise, and all powerful God.

So it is that we read in Sirach, “Wisdom sings her own praises and is honored in God… Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be.”  If we think of Wisdom as the first of God’s creations then she plainly stands in for all that God has prepared to save us from our sins, make us to be children of God, and fit us for eternal communion with Him in love.  God Himself sings over us [Zephaniah 3:17].

This is Christmas!  This is why the Babe in the manger is so special.  It’s not just sentimental, or worse, commercial.  It is deeply spiritual, which is to say, it is real.

How do we respond?  Again, the rest of the world has already returned to “normal living”.  But we are called to a new normal.  We are called to be transformed by the themes of Christmas so that they are lived in us and through us all year long.  If God was planning all of this before the foundation of the world it speaks of a love beyond all imagination.  And what’s more, as we enter into this love we discover something so unspeakably wonderful. 

Merry Christmas!

The Ninth Day of Christmas

The Ninth Day of Christmas

1 John 2:22-28; Psalm 98:1-4; John 1:19-28

Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. 
1 John 2:22

Merry Ninth Day of Christmas!

By now, if it hasn’t already been done, most of the world has discarded their Christmas trees, put away their decorations, and generally returned to “normal” life.  The parties are over.  They were fun.  But now we move on.  Not so for the Church!  We are still in the midst of the Christmas celebration.  So don’t be afraid to continue to wish one another a Merry Christmas, keep the tree up, leave the decorations, enjoy the food, and continue to prayerfully meditate on the great themes of Christmas.

I was noticing that the Church in her Lectionary for the Christmas season gives us a series of readings from St. John, most notably from his first letter in addition to his Gospel and excerpts from the Revelation.  It made me think that it would be a good idea to reflect a little on the Beloved Disciple of our Lord.

We have a decent amount of material about John, both from the Gospels as well as his own writings.  John was brother to St. James the Greater.  Together, they worked for their father, Zebedee, in his fishing business.  It was from this that our Lord called them to follow Him and become “fishers of men.”  John was likely quite young at the time, possibly in his late teens.  He quickly became a member of Jesus’ “inner circle” comprised of himself, Peter, and James.  He was the only one of the Twelve to faithfully follow Jesus to the cross and for his faithfulness he was rewarded by becoming the foster son, if you will, of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  After the Ascension and Pentecost, John preached throughout Asia, settling in Ephesus as a base of operations.  The Blessed Mother remained with him until her Assumption.

John was the only Apostle who was not martyred.  He was tortured and exiled, but died of old age around the end of the first century.  In his later years, it is understandable that the Church would look to him for particular guidance.  Heresies were already arising at that period in reference to Our Lord as well as aspects of salvation.  John was the only surviving member of the Twelve to provide definitive guidance.  His writings bear this out as it is easy to see his arguments are meant to combat the encroaching gnostic influences.

For this reason, John is pretty concrete where we might tend to be fluctuating.  For instance, in today’s text there is no hint of any “broad minded” approach.  John states definitively- anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar.  In Revelation 22:15 John places liars outside of the kingdom of heaven.  In 2 John 10, 11 John tells his followers they are to have nothing to do with heretics.  They are not to greet them or invite them into their homes lest they become sharers in their wicked deeds.

There are a couple of accounts from the early Church Fathers that relate stories of John that sound consistent with what we see in the biblical record.

The first is from Irenaeus, who was bishop of Lyons in the second century.  Irenaeus can be thought of as a spiritual grandson to St. John.  Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp, who had been taught by John.  Irenaeus cites Polycarp for his source.  He writes, “John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, 'Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within,'" [Against Heresies, Book 3, ch. 3, par. 4].

There is also a lengthy story told by Clement of Alexandria and related by Eusebius in which John entrusted a young convert to a bishop.  However, the bishop was lax in his oversight and the young man was taken in by a group of thieves and became a thief with them.  When John was again visiting in the area he asked the bishop for the deposit he left with him.  The bishop was chagrined as he knew that he was not left with any money by John.  Seeing his confusion, John said frankly, “I demand the young man and the soul of the brother.”  The bishop bemoaned that he was dead, meaning he was spiritually dead because he had gone back to sin.  John was enraged and castigated the bishop for being such a poor shepherd of this soul.  John ascertained the whereabouts of the young man and went after him.  When the young man saw John he fled for he was so ashamed.  But John, in his old age, ran after the man promising absolution even if it must come at the price of his own soul.  The young man stopped and was restored in tears. 

Both of these stories demonstrate how seriously John took the gospel, its aberrations through heresy, and the necessity of preaching it for the salvation of souls. 

This brings the themes of Christmas into sharper view.  Why is it so important to celebrate for 12 days?  Because these mysteries will be lost on us if we do not give adequate time for their prayerful reflection.  We live in an age when people want to treat everything as if it’s “no big deal”.  They laugh at those who appear to be too uptight about it all.  But John demonstrates that these things most certainly are a “big deal”. 

Join me, friends, in continuing our celebration of Christmas.  It is horrific to think of one soul being lost to hell.  However it is beyond all joy when one soul finds the path to eternal life and is made one with our Lord.  Then let us labor for the salvation of souls- our own as well as others- that there will continually be great joy and Christmas need not end after merely 12 days, but go on perpetually.

Merry Christmas!

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God- The Eighth Day of Christmas

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

The Eighth Day of Christmas

Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21

When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Luke 2:21

Merry Eighth Day of Christmas! 

Today we celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as the Mother of God.  Through her docility Christ has come into the world.  Today is also the day we remember the circumcision of Jesus.  As the Law states, Jesus was circumcised on the 8^th day after His birth.  We see the devotion of the Holy Family in this act and we also see what St. Paul speaks of in his letter to the Galatians: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”  It is on the occasion of His circumcision that the Child is named.  He is given the name the angels gave: Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” because He will save His people from their sins.

We are heirs to all these things.  The Church has adopted the custom of celebrating the Octave of her great feasts.  Each day we have been re-living Christmas.  Today the emphasis is on these themes.  What do they mean for us?

First, let us consider circumcision.  This ceremony was given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant with God.  Once administered it set each male apart as now being a member of the covenant community.  However, as the scriptures state, Abraham was not justified by circumcision, but by faith.  The circumcision became a sign of this covenant of faith. 

For us, there is a corresponding sign of the new covenant: Baptism.  Through Baptism we come by faith into union with God.  We are made members of the covenant community.  In short, we are known as Christians once we have received Baptism.  This is why the Church from her earliest days adopted the custom of baptizing infants.  If 8 day old infants could be members of the old covenant community then certainly they could be members of the new covenant community.  The only difference is that there is no need to wait 8 days.  Baptism can be administered immediately.

Second, let us consider the naming.  Names were considered very important in ancient Israel.  They carried the import of foreshadowing what the child would become.  We see this all through the Old Testament as in Eve, the mother of the living, or Jacob, the supplanter, or Israel, the one who prevails as a prince with God.

The name of Jesus, as we mentioned, means “the Lord saves”, or “the Lord is salvation”.  It corresponds to the Hebrew name of Joshua.  As we reflect back on Joshua we see that he was the one chosen by God to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  So this new Joshua would lead His people into the Promised Land of eternal life.

It is interesting to note that in Baptism newborn children are officially given their name.  Thus the use of the term “Christening”.  It is in Baptism that we become fully identified with Christ and thus we are the recipients of His gift of salvation as well as made new in Him so that His life may be lived out through ours.

At the outset of the New Year let us consider our role as part of the covenant community of Christ.  The light, the love, the joy, and the peace of Christmas are ours.  They are ours to give away freely to the world.  Through our Baptism we became missionaries.  God’s great invitation of love continues to issue throughout all the world calling sinners to come home.  This is ever our mission. 

The world in not our playground it is our battleground.  We are constantly in the midst of a warfare for souls.  Through the proclamation of the Gospel it is our great privilege to pronounce God’s blessing on the baptized: “The LORD bless you and keep you!  The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!  The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!”

This is the message of Christ.  This is the message of Christians.  This is the message of Christmas.  “You are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God.”

We have been celebrating the Birth of our Lord for 8 days.  Four more remain in this great feast, capped off with the Epiphany.  Rejoice, dear Christian.  For today we remember that Christ has given us the freedom and the privileges of the New Covenant people and He has called us by His own name. 

Merry Christmas!