FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

27 NOVEMBER 2016

          After years of study, planning, running a capital campaign, and choosing contractors, we broke ground for our new church in the spring of 2015.  At that time, we chose a date for the dedication of the new church:  just before Thanksgiving of 2016.  According to this plan, we could use the new church during Advent and be ready for Christmas.  We were so confident of our plans that Bishop Rhoades blessed a cornerstone with the year 2016 etched on it.

            As time went on, we began to understand the old saying that “we plan, and God laughs.”  We ran into all kinds of delays – partly due to the weather, partly due to construction materials and laborers committed to other construction projects, and partly due to God’s sense of humor.  So, we came up with a new plan.  In this plan, we will dedicate the new church on March 25, 2017.  Those who are performing their daily tasks in the church have their eyes set on that date.

            On this First Sunday of Advent, our Scripture readings remind us that God also makes plans.  Isaiah speaks to a people who have suffered many bruising military defeats against the Assyrian Empire.  He tells them God’s plans for Mount Zion, where the temple is built in Jerusalem.  That mountain will be the highest place drawing people from all over the world to come and find peace.  At that time, he says, no one will need weapons of war.  Those weapons will be turned into instruments of agriculture.  But he does not say when that plan will happen.

            In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of God’s plan for the end of the world.  He uses the Greek word parousia as an image.  Just as villagers would prepare for the coming (parousia) of an important ruler into their area, so his followers must prepare for his coming at the end of time.  That coming will fulfill all that he had accomplished through the Mysteries of his Incarnation and Paschal Mystery.  His Parousia will bring judgment and peace.  But, like Isaiah before him, he does not say when that plan will happen.

            God’s plan is at the heart of the Season of Advent.  The four weeks of Advent remind us that God is always faithful to his plan. Advent prepares us to celebrate the Lord’s first coming at Christmas.  God was faithful to his plan in a way that no one could have expected.  God took on human flesh as a baby and was born into poverty.  Advent also reminds us that the Lord will be faithful to his plan for the Parousia, his coming at the end of time.  Because we do not know the timing of that plan, we need to follow the advice of Saint Paul.  Paul points out that we passed from darkness into light in Baptism.  As baptized disciples, we put on Christ and wear our baptismal garments, allowing our actions to carry the light of Christ into a darkened world.  Like those hard workers in our new church, we wear our baptismal garments with eyes fixed on the day when the Lord will accomplish his plan. 

Paul gives some practical examples of how to wear those garments.  There is nothing wrong with going to parties, as long as the goal is to interact with people and enjoy each other’s company.  Paul does not dismiss sexual relationships.  But he insists that our gift of sexuality be connected with giving ourselves in love.  Paul knows that Christians will not always agree.  But we have to avoid egoism and ambition.  These three simple examples help us understand that waiting and being watchful are not about fear and trembling, but about living in the light.

            Use this Season of Advent as a time to enter more deeply into understanding God’s plan.  We catch glimpses of that plan in silence and prayer.  Come to the Tuesday night liturgies.  Resist the temptation to celebrate the “holiday season” now.  If we learn to be watchful and alert during this Season, we will be watchful and alert at Christmas in four weeks and at the Parousia when God’s plan will be completely revealed.

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE

20 NOVEMBER 2016

            On most Sundays during this Liturgical Year, we have heard from the Gospel of Saint Luke.  Throughout the year, we heard Jesus speak often of the Kingdom of God.  He announced the coming of the Kingdom of God through his teaching and parables.  He demonstrated the power of the Kingdom of God through his miracles.  He has invited all to become part of that Kingdom.  But as much as he called our attention to the presence of the Kingdom of God in our midst, he never identified the word “king” with himself.

            On this final Sunday of this Liturgical Year, he is identified as a king.  Pilate places the inscription “This is the King of the Jews” above his body hanging in shame and utter pain not to honor him, but to mock him.  He is placating the religious leaders who had demanded that Jesus be crucified, and he is warning other potential enemies of Rome not to become a zealot.

            There is a great irony in this situation.  The mockery of Pilate and the negative reactions of those surrounding the cross actually speak truth in a way that they never would have intended.  The rulers sneer at him and tell him to save himself if he is the chosen, the Christ of God.  Jesus is the chosen one, the Christ of God.  But he has not come to save himself.  He has come to give himself to others.  The soldiers jeer and say the same thing.  But Jesus has dedicated himself to serving others and dying to himself.  Even one of the criminals speaks in contempt and wants Jesus to fix this mess like the world fixes things.  He wants Jesus rescue him from the cross.  But Jesus has always insisted that the first will be last and the last will be first.  He is willing to put himself last, trusting in the Father’s promise that he would be the firstborn of all creation.

            The only person who sees the truth in this horrible spectacle is the other criminal.  We know him as the “good thief.”  He sees the truth of the Kingdom which Jesus had proclaimed.  He understands that he is suffering the results of very bad choices he has made.  He is dying because of his sins.  He sees through the mockery of Pilate and the crowds.  He recognizes the image of the invisible God and asks to be remembered when he comes into his kingdom.  At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, the angels had announced to the shepherds that “today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.”  Now, at the end of the Gospel, Jesus responds that “today you will be with me in Paradise.”

            The “good thief” helps us understand the ways in which Jesus has become king in the line of King David.  A thousand years before the birth of Christ, David united the tribes of Judah and Israel into one kingdom.  Christ the King is the source of the unity found only in the kingdom of God.  David had been the warrior who had defeated the enemies of his kingdom.  Christ the King is the warrior who has defeated the power of sin and death and transfers us from one dimension of reality to another.  David had ruled from his royal throne.  Christ the King rules from the throne of a cross, holding all things together.

            If we understand these realities about the Kingdom of God and Christ’s central place in that kingdom, then we can begin another Liturgical Year next Sunday with great hope.  The Kingdom of God is not about the realities of Pilate, or the rulers, or the soldiers, or the other criminal.  The Kingdom of God belongs to us when we take care of others, when we die to ourselves, and when we put others first.  Even more importantly, the Kingdom of God belongs to us when we have failed to do these things and ask the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.  As Saint Paul reminds the Colossians, Christ the King has delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light.

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13NOVEMBER 2016

          By the time Saint Luke had recorded these words of Jesus, the reality he describes had already happened.  The Romans had torn down the Temple when they destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70 AD.  There was not one stone upon another in that magnificent House of God.  All that was left of Judaism were the scrolls that contained the Word of God.  But, as those words were proclaimed in synagogues, the followers of Jesus were thrown out, and those who claimed Christ as their Savior were being persecuted.  In the wake of destruction and chaos, many of them were confused, because the Lord had not come again.  To add to the confusion, there were some who were claiming that Christ had already returned in glory.

            When Jesus speaks through the Gospel of Luke to his followers in the first century, he also speaks to us in the 21^st century.  He speaks to us at the conclusion of a long and bitter political campaign that divided families and friendships.  He speaks to us as we face the threats of terrorism and hatred.  He warns us that those most precious possessions of our lives will not last.  He says the same thing to us that he had said to them.  Don’t worry about what we should say.  Trust that the Lord will continue to be the source of our strength and hope.  Continue to persevere in faith, allowing our actions to speak stronger than our words.

            That is the same advice that Saint Paul gives to the Thessalonians.  Some of the members of that community had quit their jobs, because they were convinced that they were already living in the end times.  In their idleness, they were busy talking about everyone else.  Paul tells them to get back to work, because they were a burden on the rest of the Christian community.  He seems to be bragging when he tells them to do what he did.  But, in fact, he is simply reminding them that his hard work brought the Gospel to them in the first place, and that they need to continue the hard work of making a living and bringing it to others.

            The Church wisely presents readings like these to us every year in November, as we come to the end of the Liturgical Year.  It may be disturbing to be reminded of the end of the world and the end of our lives.  But, it is also good news.  In praying for our deceased loved ones, we pray that the fire of God’s love will burn away whatever separates them from God and the Communion of Saints.  We pray that those who surround the throne of God and allow the fire of God’s love to shine through them will intercede for us.  In being reminded of our own mortality and the certainty of the end in each of our lives, the Word of God invites us to submit whatever priorities keep us from loving God and one another to the fire of God’s love.

            In reading the Gospel about the beauty of the temple, my mind turned to the beauty of our new church.  The contractors are working hard for the dedication on March 25.  As you can see from the completed outside, it will be a beautiful and fitting temple for our parish.  Even though we are careful to build it solidly and carefully, we can never predict how long this physical structure will last.  Even though we hope it will serve this parish for many years, the building of that church reminds us that we are living stones, being formed into a beautiful structure that will endure beyond death and beyond the end of the world.  With that in mind, it is time to renew our faith in Jesus Christ, work for the sake of the Kingdom of God in humble service, and persevere in holding fast to those realities that cannot be destroyed. 

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

6 NOVEMBER 2016

          The Second Book of Maccabees takes us back to a very difficult time in the history of Israel.  Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Seleucid Greeks had occupied Israel.  The King, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, decided that he could control a united kingdom by forcing everyone to embrace the same religion.  So, he desecrated the Temple of Jerusalem and demanded that everyone submit to the gods which he worshiped (mostly himself, to be honest).  Anyone who chose to resist would be executed.

            That is the context for today’s first reading.  The king dragged a mother and her seven sons and put them to the test.  If they would eat pork, forbidden by the Law of Moses, their lives would be spared.  However, each son adamantly refused, and each son was brutally tortured and finally executed, along with their mother.  It is a good thing that we are spared those horrible details, because our assembly includes lots of small children. 

            All seven sons resisted, along with their mother, because their faith was incredibly important to them.  They knew in their hearts that the false gods of the Greeks did not exist, and they could not compromise their consciences.  More importantly, they resisted because they believed that death was not the end.  They believed that the true God whom they worshipped would bring justice to those who murdered them and eternal life to all who remained faithful.

            Unfortunately, what happened to the children of Israel two hundred years before the birth of Christ continues in our world today.  We continue to see horrifying images of Christians being executed for their faith.  Last year, the Islamic State marched a group of Chaldean Christians in Libya to a beach on the Mediterranean Sea in orange jump suits.  When the Christians refused to deny their faith, the Islamic militants beheaded them.  Pope Francis recently canonized a 14 year old Mexican boy who refused to deny his faith at the beginning of the 20^th century when the secular Mexican government banned Catholicism.  He was brutally tortured and ultimately shot when he continued to shout “viva, Christo Rey!” (Long live Christ the King).  Father Sryian is at the Mass in the church telling about the persecutions against his religious order as they try to evangelize the people of Sri Lanka.

            The witness of these martyrs reminds us of the critical importance of our faith in Jesus Christ and the need to express it in our daily lives.  But it also reminds us that death will not be the end for us.  As Saint Paul says, the Lord is faithful to us and will share his resurrection with us, if we share his dying on a daily basis.  As the Lord himself reminds us in the Gospel, the risen life is a transformed life.  That is what the Sadducees did not understand.  They saw eternal life as ridiculous, because they imagined it as this same old life which continues in eternity.

            During this month of November, we remember our loved ones who have already passed into death, praying for them and asking the Lord to purify them and share with them the fullness of his resurrection.  In doing so, we reinforce our own faith in the Paschal Mystery for ourselves. If we die to ourselves, we will live with Christ – not in the same familiar patterns of our daily lives, but in the transformed life of the Saints surrounding God’s throne.