|
2012 B ☼ Fourth
Ordinary ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Authority
In Our Lives” ©
“The people were astonished
at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the
scribes.” ‘Authority’ can be an
interesting concept. In the Lord’s
day, the ‘scribes’ were a very revered group of men. They were the authorized biblical
scholars. It was their task to read
and interpret the Sacred Scriptures and, based on their interpretation, formulate rules and laws for everyday Jewish
living. When people disobeyed these
rules and laws, it was the job of these same scribes to act a ‘judges.’ (I guess they didn’t see a conflict of
interest). If no rule or law covered
a certain situation brought before them, they, like our own Supreme Court,
would debate and then issue a ruling.
All these rules were expected to
be memorized by the law students wishing to become scribes. When sitting in judgment or when asked an
official opinion, the scribes would begin their answer by saying, “There is a teaching that says…” They would ‘footnote’ everything and
refer to every Scripture passage and text necessary to give authority to
the opinion they were handing down. They
never stood alone.
Into the synagogue walked
Jesus. The synagogue was the place of
worship; the Temple
was the place of sacrifice. Our Mass
incorporates both: synagogue worship and Temple sacrifice. In the synagogue people prayed, read and
discussed the Scriptures – our Old Testament. Unlike our Church today, no one was thee
official minister or preacher. There
was an individual who was ‘in
charge’ and it was his duty to ask any competent man to speak about
the Scripture just read aloud. A
woman was never asked; women, by Jewish law, were not allowed to
speak in the synagogue.
This Jewish law may be one reason
Paul, a former Jew known as Saul, wrote in his 1st Letter to the
Corinthians (14:34-35), “Women should
keep silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak ... as the
law says. If they want to learn anything,
they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in
church.” Now before we all
get our 21st century sensibilities up in a tizzy, Paul, formally
known as Saul, is being faithful to his Jewish roots. He even wrote “as the law says;” that’s the Jewish Law – the Torah. His letters prove he was having a ‘devil of a time’ making heads or
tails of what from the Jewish law needed to be retained and utilized in the
emerging Christian Church, and what needed to be set aside for those ‘days
of nostalgia.’ Paul did evolve.
It is in the synagogue
in Capernaum
that Jesus began His earthly teachings, after the man in charge asked Jesus
to speak. Unlike the scribes, Jesus
does not begin by saying what the scribes always said, “There is a teaching that says…” No, Jesus, we are told, taught with “authority;”
a personal authority that did not rely on footnotes. Jesus simply says, “What I say to you is…”
The closest Jesus comes is when He’ll correct a teaching by saying, “You have hear it said … ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ but what I say to you is love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
When Jesus began
teaching without footnoting “a source,” - God, for He is God, “the
Word made flesh” - the listening congregation must have slid out of their
seats! No one had this kind of
authority to teach on his own. Even
the scribes, the highest authority, relied on someone or something
else. They always built upon the
teachings of others. While no doubt
surprised and perhaps a bit taken aback, the next incident must have left
the onlookers in that synagogue absolutely thunderstruck.
You see, it was the
belief of the Jews that if you knew a person’s name, you had a kind
of control over him or her. Teachers
know this to be true. Calling a
child’s name in class gains more control than just saying, “Hey, you in the back seat!” Calling out the name, “John!” gains
immediate attention and control.
But the Jewish idea
of control ran a bit deeper. This
incident in the synagogue involved a man with an unclean spirit, an evil
spirit that cries out to Jesus by name, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” This unclean spirit knows who
Jesus is, and calls Him by name. In the Gospels, only three people address
Jesus by name. Nearly everyone addresses Jesus as ‘Rabbi,’
or ‘Teacher,’ or ‘Lord.’ The evil
spirit addressed Jesus by name, implying that it had authority over Him. But Jesus sharply rebukes the unclean
spirit and orders it out of the man.
The evil spirit obeys but he’s not happy about it, for Mark writes
the unclean spirit ‘convulsed’ the man; it’s as if the evil spirit is
saying, “I’ll come out but I’m not
coming quietly!” - and with a loud cry came out of the man.
This was an awesome
display of authority. Jesus preached
on his own authority and unclean spirits, although knowing who Jesus
is by name, had no authority over Him, but just the opposite – Jesus had
authority over them – a hidden Gospel message of the reversal of the world
order Jesus preached about and came to establish, i.e. “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” and so
forth.
We
are still at the start of our new liturgical year and just beginning to
explore the person of Jesus as
recorded in the Gospel of Mark.
Today’s Scripture lesson might well encourage us to ask ourselves how
much authority we give Jesus in our lives and how much, if any, of that
authority do we try to retain for ourselves?
Jesus
taught primarily by His deeds – His Word in action. We don’t know what Jesus taught in
the synagogue that day, but we do know what He did. What do we teach by our actions? What do our
children learn from our conduct? Do
our words and actions reveal we have given God authority over us, or have we
become an authority unto ourselves? “Nobody tells me what to do!” Do we obey Christ?
This
coming week, notice how many times you hear the words: “It’s my life, and I can do with it what I want!” That statement reveals so much about just
who has “authority” in our life.
“I know who you are, Jesus of
Nazareth, the
Holy One of God,” so sayeth an evil spirit, who begrudgingly obeyed the
Lord. Our spirits also know who
Jesus is, but do we obey Him without
resentment and without all the fuss that
evil spirit made? That is what we teach and hand-on
to our children.
2012 B ☼ Third Ordinary ● Father Kevin Forsyth
“Let’s Go Fishing!” ©
First, it was the brothers
Simon and Andrew; then came the brothers James and John: all four of them -
fishermen. Why did Jesus choose four
fishermen as His very first disciples? Given the fact that Jesus was a
carpenter, you’d think he’d call a few of His carpenter buddies. I mean, later on, Jesus would talk about building
His church, so it seems to me a few skilled craftsmen could help Jesus design and build a sturdy structure that the
“gates of the netherworld” could not demolish.
If not carpenters,
how about farmers? Jesus watched
many farmers plow and plant their fields.
He would later use this livelihood to present His familiar parables
of the sower and the seeds; how God is the divine sower and the seed is His
Word, and how we need to be good soil so that God’s Word can grow in
our lives. Jesus might have welcomed
farmers to help Him plant a fertile seed with the hope of harvesting a 30
or 60 or a 100 fold crop!
If not carpenters
or farmers, why not shepherds?
Shepherds were the first to visit and “adore” Him three
decades earlier in that stable.
Jesus would call Himself the “Good Shepherd.” Shepherds were His kind of people. He could have first called
shepherds to help Him lead and feed His flock. But, no; Jesus did not first call
carpenters, or farmers, or shepherds.
He first called four fishermen.
Why fishermen?
Even though, as we
learn in the Acts of the Apostles, the Jewish leaders considered Peter and
John to be “uneducated, ordinary
men,” they were wise and
learned in many ways. Fish
was the chief food of the day back
then, for both the rich and the poor.
Jesus ate fish almost daily and even after His resurrection while
appearing to His disciples in the wee morning hours, He asked them, “Have you anything to eat.” We are told they “gave Him a piece of cooked fish which He took and ate in front of
them;” fish for breakfast!
Given the market for fresh fish, the men Jesus called
by the Sea of Galilee were engaged in an
essential and lucrative industry that demanded certain skills. Fishermen were no-nonsense, relatively
prosperous businessmen who knew how to organize their day-to-day
activities. Because of the very
nature of their business, they would find themselves rising early in the
morning to go out on the water, sometimes for long periods of time; a lot
of time on their hands; time to think, reflect, and even pray.
Fishermen tend to
be thoughtful people, who are prepared to make sacrifices to attain the
kind of spiritual life they have so much time to ponder on that water. Jesus must have sensed this deep desire in
the hearts of these hard-working and dedicated fishermen. Jesus must have admired their spirit of
adventure as each day they risked the dangers
of the deep in the face of fickle and sometimes fierce weather that could threaten their lives. Jesus must have appreciated the patience
and teamwork which fishermen must have in order to succeed.
They had to trust and believe that even
though they could not actually see the fish they were setting out to
catch, nevertheless fish were out there,
somewhere, under the water’s surface, waiting to be lured into their nets.
This combination of practical qualities made fishermen the perfect
choice for Jesus when He was looking for help in proclaiming the “Gospel of God” - the Good News
that the “Kingdom of God
is at hand.”
So is there any practical lesson in all this for us today? Of course there is; I wouldn’t have gone
on about this without one! And the
lesson may well lie in our answer to this one question: “Are we the fish
or are we the fishermen?” (Pause) There may be some who freely choose
to be fish. These people may feel
they have been “caught” by Christ and are now swimming around in the
holding tank of the Church. Like the
fish in public aquariums, they are well-fed and well-protected and have
little more to do than to look back at all the funny folks who are looking
at them. I guess that’s okay, but it
doesn’t sound all that exciting or challenging to me.
The creative challenge and the
awesome adventure is for us to be the fishermen, to be fishers of
people! The call, the invitation of
Jesus – “Come after me, and I will
make you fishers of men” (people) is still being issued today, to a
whole new generation. In fact, the
need for more ‘fishers of people’ is immensely more urgent now than ever
before. Consider these facts: in the
United States
alone, there are more than 15 million inactive Catholics – and they’re not all registered here!
● Those are the ones who attend Mass
fewer than four times a year, most less than that, some not even at
Christmas or Easter – what Father Vito used to call the Paschalinny and the Natalinny. Add to that another 80 million Americans
who are completely unchurched, that is, follow no one religion or
belief system. Together, that’s
about 41% of the total population.
Scary, isn’t it? Is it any
wonder our nation is in the ethical and moral mess it’s in?
Jesus and His
Church - His mission - need all the help we can get. That is one reason the Second Vatican
Council - 48 years ago - issued a call for all lay men and women – you - to
help spread the faith, to show and tell the people they live with, work
with, play and pray with, that God’s Kingdom of life and love, of
peace and joy, of hope and healing is very much “at hand” - with us now,
until the end of time.
Last week, we
heard when Saint Andrew “found” Jesus, the first thing he did was tell
others about the Lord. And then he
brought them to Christ. I ask you
now to become an “Andrew” this year, and tell someone about Jesus and bring
that person to the Lord. Bring them
back to Christ, to the Church and to the Sacraments. Jesus is not just speaking to
Simon Peter and Andrew, to James and John.
Jesus is speaking to each and every one of His disciples – to us,
calling us to follow Him more closely and inviting us to bring others along
for the adventure. As “fishers of
people,” it is our responsibility and our great privilege to go fishing and catch as many people
as we can - for Christ.
Imagine how grateful the Lord would be! Our good example, our love and care for
others, even our prayers are the nets
and the bait we must use to
invite, to encourage, and to bring others to Christ. There is no better gift we can give
someone. So, what do you say? Let’s go fishing! (Whistle
theme from the “Andy Griffin Show”)
2012 B ☼ 2nd Ordinary ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“The Adventure of Discipleship” ©
“Your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit.” Well, if Saint Paul is right,
then I guess I’m a Cathedral!
This year, I sincerely hope to reduce down to the size of a Church,
and maybe next year, down to a Chapel!
Stay tuned!
Flashback
to the “thinking” of the last half of the 20th century: “It’s
my body and I can do with it what I want!” Do you remember hearing those words? Now flashback even further to 1st
century Christian Scripture: “Your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit. It is not your own
for you have been purchased at a price.” A high price, too! Thank you, Jesus! Our bodies are not our own; we
have been entrusted with them by a loving God. We can not do whatever we want to - to
them or with them. “The body is not for immorality, but
for the Lord.” “Your bodies are members of Christ.” “Glorify
God in your body.” So fair warning:
if you are a Christian, do not let the words, “It’s my body and I can do with it what I want,” ever cross †
your lips. You may live to eternally regret those words!
Two
questions, one invitation, and one promise.
That’s today’s Gospel in a nutshell.
Jesus begins His encounter with two potential disciples by
asking them a good question: “What are you looking for?” That’s a question well worth asking
ourselves. What are we
looking for … from Jesus?
When Jesus
addresses this question to two of John the Baptist’s disciples – who had
just left John and now follow Jesus – He wants to know what
their expectations are. Are they
looking for some political or military leader? Are they looking for a miracle
worker? Are they looking for someone
who can guarantee them power, prestige and financial prosperity? Many preachers today are preaching
a message of financial prosperity; is that what Jesus was about? Just what on earth are these two
former disciples of John looking for?
Why have they stopped following John the Baptist and why are
they now following Him? Jesus
wants to know!
They
answer Jesus … with a question – something Jesus does time and time
again! They don’t know it yet, but
they are already following Jesus’ example!
“Where are you staying?” On the surface, that sounds like a rather
strange question. Do they want to
know where Jesus lives? If He has a house in the city or a
condominium by the shore? Is He
homeless? Maybe before they commit
to following Jesus any closer, they had better check out the
accommodations!
Jesus
answers their question not with an elaborate description of His
living arrangements, but rather with a clear invitation, “Come,
and you will see.” The Lord’s
invitation to these two potential
disciples is to take the risk and follow Him a little farther down the
road so they can see for themselves where Jesus “stays.”
There
will likely be a few surprises for them along “the way,” but isn’t that
part of the adventure of discipleship? Even though we are not told what
they actually saw, it must have been good enough to convince them that
Jesus was worth staying with, worth
following, even worth telling others about for we are told that Andrew (one of the two) goes and tells his
brother Simon that they have found “the Christ!” Already?
These two
questions and one invitation are also spoken and directed to
us. The Christmas/Epiphany season
has ended, and we start our annual trek down the avenue called “Ordinary Time.” This stretches out for us over the next 5½
weeks, before we are interrupted by the straight street called
Lent. Then we resume Ordinary Time after the Easter
season. No sooner do we begin our ordinary
journey, than we hear Jesus ask His first question, “What are you
looking for?” Each of us needs
to answer that question for ourselves.
I cannot do it for you, nor can anyone else. What are we really looking for
when we follow Jesus – when we come to Christ, to His Church – to His
Eucharist – Sunday after Sunday?
Are
we looking for quick fix solutions
to our problems, most of which “are
another fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into?” By the way, who said those words? I know I just did, but who said them
originally? Laurel and Hardy! Turns out they were fairly wise men, for
those words speak of personal responsibility, not of placing the
blame or passing the buck onto someone else – a practice fairly common for
some time now! “It’s another fine mess we’ve gotten ourselves into!” Bravo, gentlemen.
Getting
back to why we follow Christ: Are we looking for a momentary escape from
the challenges of home, work, or school?
Are we looking for the approval of family, friends, or associates
who might think better of us
because we are good, Church-going Christians? Or are we looking for the forgiveness of
our sins – honestly admitting that we are sinners – looking for a
little peace of mind, and a chance to personally, yet communally praise and thank God for all He has
done for us?
Like those
two disciples, we may also want to know, “Where are you staying?” We want to know where and when we
can find Jesus, especially when we really need Him. And we want to know where He is leading
us as we journey down that road with Him, becoming better disciples and
life-long friends.
Maybe we
will get no better an answer today than did those first two: “Come,
and you will see.” Are we ready,
willing and able to go wherever Jesus leads us in 20-12? Do we really want to stay with Him, or do
we rather prefer He stay with us - in our own all too comfortable little
world where change is never truly welcome?
The
last of His statements is the best.
After His invitation to “come,” Jesus issues a promise “and
you will see.” That’s a divine
guarantee. Oh, not a money
back guarantee, for although we have been “purchased at a price,” it wasn’t with money but with blood –
His blood, on the cross. So, take
the risk; make the effort. It will
be well worth it. We will
see. And we’ll be amazed what
we will see with Christ!
For
when we accept the Lord’s invitation, we make a mind-boggling,
ear-tingling, heart-throbbing discovery.
We discover, we see, we realize that Jesus actually “stays”
with us; “abides with us,”
dwells with us, and in
us, for “our bodies are members of
Christ.” And that’s why we cannot do with our
bodies anything we want to do, but rather choose to “glorify God in your body,” every day of our ordinary
lives. And that, my friends, is
precisely what makes Ordinary Time
truly extraordinary!
2012 B ☼ Epiphany ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Who
Brought You the Gift of Christ?” ©
“They were overjoyed at seeing the
star.” Overjoyed? That must
have been some star! Astrologers then
and now admit it was an
unusually awesome star; word has it, “it
gave great light both day and night.”
When was the last time a star in the
heavens filled you with joy? A
star brought three wise men to Christ.
I’ve been wondering about those men.
Why did they follow that
star? Yes, they were astrologers –
so, basic interest. But, what or who
were they looking for? After all,
they were Kings! They had all they would ever need or
want. Ah, but they were wise, and knew they were
lacking something. They needed something their wealth and their status as royalty could not
give them.
The Magi were wise astrologers who
came from Persia or
southern Arabia. They were students – devotees – of the
priesthood of Zarathustra – you know the song … (Joe plays song): “Thus
Sprach Zarathustra.” Zoroastrianism
is the practice of astrology – where you “put your faith in the stars, not
in the creator of the stars.”
(Credit Kathie Lee Gifford, when she was with Regis for that
quote). But these three kings were
spiritually starving. They trusted
God and followed “his star.”
The Magi came and gave the child
Jesus gifts. How many Magi were
there? Actually, the Bible doesn’t
say. It is thought to be three
because the Bible mentions three gifts: gold, frankincense and
myrrh. Who would come without a
gift? Eastern Orthodox Christians
believe there may have been as many as twelve Magi. Hum.
Twelve Magi divided by three gifts.
I guess three groups of four kings chipped in to buy one gift. Considering they’re realty, that’s pretty
cheap! I’ll stick with three
Kings! The Bible clearly states that
the visit of the Magi to Jesus was not on the night of his birth, unlike
the shepherds' visit to the manger, but occurred later when Jesus was then
staying in a “house” in Bethlehem. Whose house was it? We don’t know. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to stand at the
pearly gates and find out the house belonged to one of your ancestors?
In 735 AD, Saint Bede identified
the Magi in a work called the
Collection Excerpts, a book of trivia: He wrote, “The magi were
the ones who gave gifts to the Lord.
The first is said to have been Melchior, an old man with
white hair and a long beard (sounds a
bit like Santa Claus), who offered gold
to the Lord as to a king. The
second, Gaspar by name, young and beardless and ruddy complexioned (sounds a bit like a young King David),
honored Jesus as God by his gift of incense,
an oblation worthy of divinity. The
third, black-skinned and heavily bearded, named Balthasar ... by his gift of myrrh testified to the Son of Man
who was to die.”
The distribution of parish calendars
dedicated to saints – like the one you got compliments of Naugatuck Valley Memorial Funeral Home,
has a long tradition in the Catholic Church. An excerpt from a Medieval Saints calendar printed in Cologne, Germany,
(who do you think provided this bit
of trivia? Our German Shepherd, Pope
Benedict) reads: “Having undergone many trials and fatigues* for the Gospel, the three wise men met at
Sewa (Sebaste in Armenia) in 54 A.D. to celebrate the feast of
Christmas. Thereupon, after the
celebration of Mass, they died: Saint Melchior on 1st of
January, aged 116; Saint Balthasar on 6th of January (Epiphany),
aged 112; and Saint Gaspar on 11th of January, aged 109.” *We’ll sing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
later in honor of the Three Wise Men’s “fatigue”).
The Magi
presented Jesus with gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts were very prophetic for they
spoke of the Lord's divine offices of King, Priest, and
Savior.
GOLD: This gift carries
obvious significance. It’s precious
across all cultures and times.
Originally, it was a gift fit for royalty. How many here
have some gold jewelry? (Come on, raise your hands, I’m not going
to do a home invasion later and steal your gold!) Back in the time of Christ, you would be
royalty! Gold says the Christ child
is a King.
FRANKINCENSE: The
name for this resin comes from incense of Franks since it was reintroduced
to Europe by Frankish Crusaders. Frankincense has been touted for its
medicinal and soothing properties. Herbalists
say it is calming, restorative, gently clarifying, (anybody experience confusion?) and meditative. Frankincense oil is thought to have
stimulating, toning (good for
wrinkles), and warming properties.
The ancient world used frankincense for treating depression. People burned frankincense, believing it
to carry their prayers to heaven – that’s one reason we use it during
funerals. The gift of incense
illustrates the Lord’s role as Priest.
MYRRH: This is perhaps the most
mysterious of the Gifts. It is a
resin produced by a small, tough, scraggly tree that grows in semi-desert
regions of North Africa and the Red Sea. “Myrrh” is an Arabic word meaning
“bitter.” But here’s what you may
not have known: Myrrh is considered a wound healer because of its
strong antiseptic and
anti-inflammatory properties.
Consider the wounds of Christ; one of the gifts the Magi bring is a
wound healer. Now anybody could
guess that Jesus would one day die, but be in need of the healing properties
of a wound healer? Did you notice
Isaiah only spoke of gold and frankincense?
He didn’t mention myrrh. This
King brings it to Christ! Balthasar is a prophet!
Calling it mo yao,
the Chinese used it for centuries to treat wounds, bruises and bleeding and
to relieve painful swelling.
The Egyptians
made it famous in Biblical times, having acquired myrrh about the 15th
century B.C. from Africa where cammiphora
trees were abundant. Its most
notable use to them was that of an embalming material, used in Egyptian
mummies. As an embalming ointment it
signified that Jesus was born to die for the world. In
fact, Myrrh is one of the burial spices for Jesus mentioned in the Gospel
of John (19:39).
OK, last
thought – back to our first thought: A star brought three wise men to
Christ. Who brought you to
Christ? Think about that – even
beyond Mass today. Who brought me to Christ? Besides my mom making sure I was at Mass
every Sunday – I never fought her – I enjoyed coming to Church; it was her mother
– my nana Perkins: Matilda King Perkins – “Tillie.” She was from the King family. So am I.
(OK, hold the bowing until
later!) It was through my nana’s
suffering that I was brought closer to Christ. Our parish priest would make First Friday
calls to nana, and I would greet him at the door with a lighted candle
(since he was carrying the Body of Christ) and lead him to my nana sitting
in her living room chair. When I
picture my nana I still see her in that chair! I would leave the room for her private
confession time and then return to assist them later.
So, who brought you to Christ? Do you even remember? Hopefully, you do. If they’re already with Christ in heaven,
talk to them – I’m always checking in with my mom and nana, my family and
friends in heaven. I hear from them
too, in various ways. They get
through to this “thick-head” as my mom used to say. Yeah, my mom loved me but she kept me
“grounded.” So pray to them, thank
them. If they’re still alive, call
them. Tell them “thank you” for
giving you the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. We may not truly appreciate that gift
until we arrive at those pearly gates, but trust me, we were given the
greatest gift ever – faith in Christ.
And it’s the only gift we get to keep even as we give it away!
2012 B ☼ Mary, Mother of God ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Reflecting in the Heart” ©
“Mary kept all these things, reflecting
on them in her heart.” We come
to this Mass today with many reasons to celebrate,
and probably even more reasons to pray. We may have come with a bit of
reluctance, aware of the sobering reality of this New Years demands
on us. It’s time once again for
those New Years resolutions, and reflecting
on how successful or unsuccessful we have been in years past, may
have us wondering just what resolutions we will truly be able to keep. After all, no one wants to make promises we can’t keep; not even promises we make
to ourselves.
Of
all the resolutions made today, there is perhaps none more important than
the worldwide call for peace. True
‘peace on earth’ is another one of those resolutions we all want but for some reason, seems to
be beyond our permanent
grasp. It’s one of those ‘things’
left only to our imagination, because it’s never truly been a
reality. To all the themes for
celebrations and prayers, and all the resolutions and promises made today,
the Church adds the Solemn Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. How do all these ‘things’ fit
together? Unpacking one sentence
from today’s Gospel may give us a clue: “Mary kept all these ‘things,’ reflecting on them in her heart.”
Yes, just like us,
Mary did not always understand everything that was happening to her the moment it was happening. But in order to fully capture what this
phrase tells us about our Blessed Mother, it might be helpful to recall an
event or a person in our own life that changed our world, as was Mary’s
world changed from the moment of her Annunciation.
Perhaps it was the
first time you looked into another person’s eyes and realized in your whole
being, that person was meant for you and that your life would never be the
same again. Or for parents, could
you ever forget the first moment when you held your infant, knowing he or
she belonged to you, not because the baby came from you, but because the baby came for you – as a pure
gift from God!
This
person, this event changed your life in ways that you could not then
fathom; yet everything within your being responded with a profound “yes” to
wherever this person or event would take you. It was “right” because it seemed “blessed
by God,” “ordained by God,” “destined by God.” This kind of transformation is not a
matter of making resolutions to change our ways, but a simple and
spontaneous response of our whole being to the call within our heart to a sacred
moment. This is the kind of profound
experience that Mary was “reflecting
upon in her heart.”
What we celebrate
today is what God has done. And what
God has done is become flesh.
Today’s Feast is not so much about Mary as it is about Jesus
and His true identity. The title of
today’s Feast “Mary, Mother of God,” states it plainly and simply: Jesus is
God. That tiny newborn infant
“wrapped in swaddling clothes and
lying in a manger” is the eternal “Word
made flesh,” the “splendor of His
Father.”
Motherhood
is an awesome mystery - at least to me. Can we imagine for a moment what
trembling must have filled Mary’s heart at the thought giving birth to the
‘Son of God?’ For nine months it was
Mary and Joseph’s secret, although Elizabeth did share in it with Mary’s
Visitation; she even knew about before Mary told her – now that’s divine
knowledge! Now at His birth,
strangers – shepherds from the fields of Bethlehem – came in haste to “adore”
Him. Now every mother thinks her
baby is adorable, but strangers?
They adored Him, and then glorified God in the highest!
Then, on the eighth
day, as prescribed by the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph, ever obedient to
their faith, present Jesus in the Temple. When parents present a child for baptism,
the first question the priest asks them is, “What name do you give your child?” When Mary and Joseph presented their son
for His circumcision, the name Jesus is given Him, the name given them
by the angel. Again, Mary and Joseph
obey.
Slowly
events were beginning to reveal the mystery that Mary had safely kept in
her immaculate heart. She would
continue to learn the depth of that mystery slowly, over time, in the ordinary
events that brought her both joy and sorrow as people came to believe and
honor … or reject and persecute her Son.
It was by living through
all these events - in a spirit of faith
and trust in God - that Mary could accept Calvary,
and three days later,
Easter’s victory of the Resurrection.
In
Mary’s pondering, we find the model for our own life as we attempt to
grapple with God’s mysterious Will – for who knows God’s will completely –
certainly not I. Instead of
agonizing over what resolutions we ought
to make, let us take Mary’s stance and ponder in our hearts what the
mystery of God dwelling with us really means in our lives. The birth of Jesus changed the course of
human history, it changed time - we all know this earth has been around a
lot longer than 2,012 years! - but it will not change our lives unless
and until we let the deep mystery
seep into our hearts and inform
our consciences – our thoughts, actions and the decisions we make.
Mary
was not scrupulously scrutinizing her every thought, feeling and
action. For any “holy-rollers”
present, let me say that again. Mary
was not scrupulously scrutinizing her every thought, feeling and
action. She simply remained mindful
of Jesus and what His presence in her life meant. Her life was immersed in the mystery of His life. All while doing the ordinary “new mother
things” like preparing His bottle, changing His diaper and wrapping Him in
swaddling clothes.
Such
mindfulness is possible for us too amidst the ordinary things of our life: when we look into the eyes of
someone who has captured our heart, when we hold a baby we have birthed or
adopted, or when we ponder the awesome meaning of God’s Word made flesh in
our life.
Today
we stand at the threshold of another New Year, filled with enduring
hope. As we pray for the peace for
which we all long, let us also ponder the God who dwells with us – even now
- so that we can surrender to His Will of “peace on earth, good will to all.” None of us knows what lies ahead in
20-12, but I’ll bet none of us wants to make the journey without Jesus leading the way!
2011 B ☼Christmas ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“God and Sinners
Reconciled” ©
There was once a woman named Marie
who hated Christmas. You see, many
years ago, Marie had a “falling out” with her daughter, Christina, who had
left slamming the door behind her and saying she wanted nothing more to do
with her mother. Marie had never
seen her since. Every Christmas,
Marie nursed a secret hope that this would be the year her daughter would
come home, but she never did.
Then came the moment when Marie
decided to stop wishing and waiting around, and take things into her own
hands. It wasn’t too difficult in
this internet age to track down her daughter. Christina lived in Chicago where she was a lecturer. Marie made up her mind to go to Chicago for Christmas,
to find her daughter, and to offer the olive branch. It wasn’t easy. Marie didn’t have much money and she was
afraid of flying – even in an airplane ☺ - but such was her resolution. To see her daughter again, Marie knew
that she’d just have to get over
her fears.
She’d thought that getting the
money and making the flight would be the hard part, but in fact, that was the easy part. The difficult thing was finding the
courage to knock on her daughter’s front door. What if her daughter slammed the door in
her face? What if this whole thing
had been a waste of time and effort?
She must have walked back and
forth in front of Christina’s house a dozen times, before she finally
mustered the courage to ring that doorbell.
(Pause & sigh)
Now, this story has two possible
endings: the Christmassy “It’s a
Wonderful Life” “Miracle on 34th
Street” ending, where her daughter takes Marie in her arms, swings her
round, calls for her children and husband, tears streaming down her face as
she exclaims “My mom’s here for
Christmas!” as the strains of “I’ll
Be Home for Christmas,” mysteriously echo in the background. They are reconciled and all is right with
the world again.
Or, it has the “life is
not a fairy tale,” “you didn’t
think we’d be so corny just because it’s Christmas” type of ending,
where Christina slams the door in her mother’s face, - after all she had
done that before - leaving her quite alone and friendless in a strange city
on Christmas Eve, unsure of what to do or where to go. Marie remains estranged from her
daughter. So, which ending to this
story will you choose?
Thee Christmas story is a
bit like this, too. By this, I don’t
mean the Nativity story - the virgin
mother, the angels and shepherds - there isn’t much similarity there but the other story, the story
behind the Nativity; the story which Saint John writes as the Prologue to his
Gospel masterpiece. The story about
when “God became flesh.”
“In the beginning was the Word” writes Saint John, “the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Word is the Creator of the
world, the universe, the Sun, the Moon and the Stars - God made it
all. But as John continues a little
later “The Word became flesh
and made His dwelling among us.”
“The Word became flesh,” meaning God became human. It is crucial that we humans grasp this
concept. Without understanding that
Jesus the baby, and Jesus the man, is God in human form,
then the rest of the story, as lovely
as it is, just doesn’t make any sense.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us.” God became human. But why?
Why would God become
human? Isn’t that a huge step
down? The answer is the same answer
that drove Marie to Chicago
to look for her daughter. God wanted
to be reconciled – with us! It’s
become a ‘throw away line’ in the Christmas carol, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing:” “God and sinners reconciled,” but really, that’s what
it’s all about. There had been an
estrangement, a falling out. Human beings had turned their back on God
- much like so many have done - and continue to do - in this day and age;
humanity ignored God’s wisdom and chose their own way.
There’s a traditional Christmas
Service called “Nine Lessons and
Carols;” well, the first lesson is the story of the fall from grace:
Adam and Eve. It’s part of the Lessons because that story is a
metaphor, the reason for the estrangement: human disobedience;
God told them not to eat the fruit from just one tree – even showed them
which tree. The serpent told them if
they ate of it, they would have full knowledge. Oh
really? There’s a tree with
fruit I can eat and avoid studying and final exams? There’s no tree like that – there never
was! The serpent lied! It was a test – and they failed it! God gave Adam & Eve everything they
could possibly want – and they still wanted more. They weren’t satisfied with paradise –
they lusted after the one thing they did not have and thought they
could have! They disobeyed God and
believed a snake in the grass! And that was the reason why it was necessary for God to
become human, 2,011 years ago – to make right humanity’s wrong.
Yes, our God is a patient God and
waited thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of years for
people to come to their senses, thinking “I’ll give them the Ten Commandments – 10 simple laws, maybe then
they will return to me; perhaps if I send prophets to speak my Word to
their heart, they will see the error of their ways.” But humans, thick-headed and
hard-hearted as we can sometimes be, still didn’t
return to God.
Perhaps God knew from the moment
the estrangement happened what would be necessary to effect ‘a reconciliation’ and sent the Law
and the Prophets to prepare the people for what would happen. And what happened, perhaps even surprised
God - He went looking for his lost people, just like Jesus would later go
in search of His lost sheep. God
marched right into their world and said “Here
I am. Do you want to make up? Come on then, follow Me.”
God first extended the invitation
to His chosen people; then through Christ, to everyone else, even people
who thought they were already good enough (thanks, but not thanks!), people already religious enough (we don’t want to get fanatical about it),
as well as to people who knew they were sinners – people who knew
they needed a Savior – to get from here to there!
Saint John writes that people either
recognized ‘God made flesh’ or
they didn’t. Some of the religious people didn’t recognize
Him and wanted nothing to do with Him!
John writes, “He came to what
was His own and His own people did not accept Him.” But other people did receive
Him, and they, in turn, received the Happy Ending. They got to be “children of God.” For John wrote, “To all who receive Him, who believe in His Name, He gave
power to become children of God.”
They became reconciled and part of God’s family.
This Christmas we face an
identical choice, the same choice people have faced for the last 2,011
years, for Jesus reaches out to us now, just as He did then. There’s a wonderful image in the Book of Revelation, of Jesus
standing at the door knocking.
That’s the choice we face too; do we open the door and let Him in or
do we keep it shut and Him shut out?
That first Christmas, God made the
journey from the divine to the human, from eternity into time,
from being all powerful to being
a tiny vulnerable infant lying in a
manger, under the care of the two most trusted people this earth has ever
known. And God did so because He
wanted a reconciliation; a
reconciliation with you and with me and with all His wondrous
creation. Some recognized Him and
received Him, and some didn’t. Which
ending to this story will you
choose … today … next Sunday … and the Sunday after that?
2011 Advent ☼ Week 4 Wednesday ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Exalt
With All Your Heart” ©
“Shout for joy … exalt with all your heart … the LORD, your
God is in your midst.” The prophet
Zephaniah is certainly filled with joy as he proclaims those words; God’s promise
of a Messiah is soon to be fulfilled.
In our Scripture readings today, there seems to be as much joy in
the anticipation and expectation of the joy to come as there ever could be when the child is
finally born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
But honestly, isn’t that par
for the course?
We have all experienced in our
lives the great feeling of exultation we get when we know something
wonderful is about to happen. Often
times we will actually experience that thrill just scheduling a happy event - an anniversary dinner with the
family, a vacation to Disney World, a visit with an old friend. Just putting these things on our calendar
can actually give us an emotional lift.
It becomes something good to look forward to, and who doesn’t like
that? We can all be like little
children “in hopes that Saint
Nicholas soon will be here.”
Today’s readings remind us that
God has put a wonderful event on our calendar. It is a dawn like no other that is
forthcoming. Whether our actual day
is dark and dreary, packed with snow or cold and drab with rain, we will
soon experience the Rising Dawn, the Splendor of eternal light, the Sun of
Justice, coming, enlightening all those “who dwell in darkness and
the shadow of death.”
We must all keep watch for this
dawn; stay awake and sober, so
that we will exult as Elizabeth
did when her cousin Mary came to visit her with “good news.” For if we are distracted by ‘things’
which keep us ‘busied about;’ if we don’t stay aware and focused, we may
not even notice the real Christmas,
the true Emmanuel, the genuine
God dwelling with us. Our distant
God is drawing near, bringing light from beyond creation, expanding our
world, our vision, our dreams and even our destiny. From now on, we will be able to seek and
find new insight into God’s truth and light in every dark corner of the
world.
John the Baptist prepared “the way
of the Lord” from the beginning of his life right to the end. As an adult, John appeared in the
wilderness as “a voice of one,” dressed in camel’s hair, announcing to the
world that God’s long-promised glory is coming to the world in Christ
Jesus. But John didn’t wait until he
was an adult to point to the coming of Christ. Luke writes that even when John and Jesus
are both still in their mother’s wombs, John bore witness to Christ. Elizabeth
told Mary, “the moment the sound of
your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” Within the womb of his mother Elizabeth,
John the Baptist leaped for joy so near was his salvation – so near is our
salvation.
Behind this image of John leaping
in his mother’s womb is actually a New Testament word that describes the
skipping of a newborn lamb.
John’s joy can hardly be contained, not even in his mother’s
womb. It is the sort of joyful
leaping we see in children who are electric with excitement this time of
year. Even before he is born, John
the Baptist is electric with excitement in the near presence of Jesus. His own leap for joy bears witness to the
coming Christ.
Naturally, the spotlight is on
Mary, but if we might turn that light onto Elizabeth just for a moment, we
will see her take on the role of a prophet herself, as she is “filled with the Holy Spirit,” she
knows without being told that Mary is with child – perhaps it’s that glow so many speak about. But even more significantly, Elizabeth refers to
Mary as “the mother of my Lord.” Incredible! How does she know?
Elizabeth is exuberant stating Mary is
blessed not only because a very special child lies within her womb, but
because Mary “believed that what was
spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” As a prophet, Elizabeth not only is aware of what God
is doing through Mary, but she places a special emphasis on Mary’s faith
in God – her trust in God’s Word.
The depth of Mary’s faith is remarkable for anyone of any age, but Elizabeth is right –
this is exceptional for a teenager.
What a great role model Mary is for all our teens! What a great role model Mary is for us
all.
One of the Lord’s titles he is
given is Emmanuel. We hear this word
a lot this time of year. It’s a word
which means “God with us.” In Jesus
Christ, God is with us in a way never before experienced. Do we believe God is with us in our daily
life, for richer and for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and
in health? If we do – if we have the
kind of faith Mary had - that would be as much cause for leaping for joy as
John did in his mother’s womb – even before he saw the light of day!
2011 B ☼ Fourth Advent ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“A House For You” ©
“The Lord will
establish ‘a house’ for you.” Our Scripture readings today bring us way
back in time, long ago and far away. King David, who is mentioned in both
today’s first reading from the Book of Samuel and in the Gospel of Luke, was
an important historical figure who lived about one thousand years before
the birth of Christ. Through the
prophet Nathan, God promised King David two things: First, the Jewish
people will be able to dwell in the promised land, (Alleluia!) and second, from the
descendants of David would come an heir whose Kingdom would endure
forever. So close would God be to
that heir that God says, “I will be a Father to Him and He shall be a
Son to Me.” Now I wonder who that heir could be.
In the Gospel
today, which is Saint Luke’s description of that favorite scene of many a
great artist – the “Annunciation,” the angel Gabriel repeats the prophecy
of Nathan by telling Mary that the Son she will conceive and name
Jesus “will receive the throne of David His Father, and of His Kingdom
there will be no end.”
David,
who had at least 15 children, was
not Jesus’ ‘father’ in the traditional use of that word. I am not your ‘father’ in the
traditional use of the word either, yet you call me “Father” – among other things! The Lord’s adoptive-father Joseph was
David’s great, great, great … grandson.
Biblically speaking, any male heir of David is called “a son of
David.” Joseph was “a son of David”
and Jesus became “a son of David” when Joseph accepted the pregnant
Mary into his ‘house,’ a word meaning ‘dynasty.’ Therein the reason the angel had to
appear to Joseph too – to assure him. In modern words, Jesus last name would be
Davidson - “Son of David.”
We’re told that
King David had wanted to build a Temple
to ‘house’ the Ark of the Covenant.
Some historical background: David had successfully conquered Israel’s enemies; he rejoined the 12 tribes
of Israel into one
harmonious Kingdom – no small feat there; and he brought the Ark of the
Covenant - the dwelling place of the two tablets of God’s Ten Commandments
- into the capital city of Jerusalem. David was one great leader! Trivia point: where is the Ark of the
Covenant now? According to the movie
“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” it is stored … in a U.S. Government
warehouse! Don’t go believing Hollywood! According to the Book of Revelation, the
Ark of the Covenant is already in heaven!
So, if you want to see it, you’ll have to go there!
At a time of peace,
when King David had some time to think about it, he realized that while he
was dwelling in splendor and comfort
in a big beautiful Palace, the sacred Ark of the Covenant
remained in a rather modest dwelling – a tent – which made King
David feel quite uncomfortable.
Today’s Scripture recounts David’s desire to build a Temple for the Ark
and the subsequent message he received from God, through the prophet
Nathan. David’s concern was to build
a ‘house’ for God’s Ark; God tells David that He - God - will provide a
different kind of ‘house’ for him, promising to establish David’s
lineage – his dynasty - which will last forever and one day will include a
great, great, great … grandson named Jesus.
This dynasty will be a perpetual dwelling place for God, forever,
without end. Amen!
Interestingly, one
of the many titles Mary has is “Ark of the Covenant.” Just as the Ark was for the Jews of
David’s time the special repository for God’s Word – His Ten Commandments -
so Mary’s body would become a special repository for God’s promised
Son - the Word made flesh - born of the ‘house’ and lineage of David. And just as God promised King David that
His Kingdom would last forever, so God, through the angel Gabriel, promises
Mary that the Son born of her would also have a Kingdom without end.
King David was not
allowed to build the Temple of the Lord he wanted to build – his son
Solomon would build the Temple - while Mary would become the temple
of the Lord, much to her surprise, but not without her consent, for her
words “let it be done to me according to your word,” speaks of her
full consent. After asking just one
question, “How can this be?” “I’m
a good girl, I am,” as Eliza Doolittle says in My Fair Lady; with her question answered, Mary gives her “yes”
to God’s will.
A
thousand years would elapse between God’s promise to David and God’s
fulfillment in Mary – one thousand years!
Remember the quote from Peter’s second letter a couple of weeks ago,
“With the Lord, one day is like a
thousand years and a thousand years is like one day.” If you think the Lord doesn’t answer your
prayers fast enough, remember this prophecy and it’s fulfillment in Mary:
one thousand years later! Be happy
the Lord doesn’t take that long with our prayers!
We
now dwell in the first years of the Third Christian Millennium, and we are
once again encouraged by the angel Gabriel’s words: “of His Kingdom
there will be no end.” The Kingdom of God has begun, as Jesus said, it is “at hand.” We all recall during the last waning days
of the Second Christian Millennium, we heard predictions of possible Y2K
disasters, and the impending arrival of an anti-Christ and with him, the
end of the world; all quite unnecessary drama!
Hopefully,
we can once again be assured by the words of Gabriel, “of His Kingdom
there will be no end.” As Catholics, we are not worried, for we are a
people of Advent hope. We
repeat again and again the great Advent prayer handed down through
the generations: “Maranatha:” “Come, Lord Jesus.” We actually invite Christ to come because
we are ready! Or we should be
ready. Are you ready?
One week from today we celebrate
Christmas (Eve). As we make our
final preparations to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, let us take some
time from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, for prayer - to give
thanks to God, not only for the gift of His Son, but also for the gift of
His mother, Mary, the Ark of God’s new and eternal Covenant for Christ is
more than the reason for the season;
He’s our life!
It was Mary
heartfelt “yes” to God which opened wide the doors to Christ 2,011 years
ago. With His birth, time began
anew. Let us ask our Blessed
Mother to intercede for us now, for true and lasting peace, ironically in
that same land where God first established Eden – modern day Iraq -
and may our troops coming home be welcomed with gratitude and support, and
may the men and women of our nation who sacrificed their lives there these
last 8 years, rest in peace in God’s new
Eden.
2011 B ☼ Third Advent B ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“In My
God Is The Joy Of My Soul” ©
“In my God is the joy of my soul.” Isaiah wrote that, I guess because he believed
it and he lived it. On this
Gaudate Sunday, when we are asked by Holy Mother Church
to rejoice, his words stirred my heart.
Those words may be a clue to finding that joy. All of our Scripture passages today are
filled with “good news,” with reasons to be joyful. But before you sigh heavily or roll your
eyes heavenward, let’s take a look at what this “Biblical joy” is all
about. Isaiah, Paul and John the
Baptist advise us on how to give others cause for joy. And
knowing “what goes around, comes
around,” giving others cause
for joy would be a gift unto ourselves!
Correct?
Some of Isaiah’s joy is found in his
being anointed by the Lord and being sent to bring “glad tidings” to those
who don’t often get glad tidings
or good news – the poor, the captives, and the brokenhearted. I know a few people who are
broken-hearted this very day. So how
do we “rejoice” when we just don’t “feel” like rejoicing?
Well first of all, life is not
just about feelings although I do
admit I fall into the “feelings mode” far too often myself. No, life is about faith. Feelings can keep us
brokenhearted; faith lifts us up and fills us with expectant
hope. The good news proclaimed loud
and clear today is that eternal life is a gift from God who is always
faithful to all His creation. This is
“Good News” for everyone.
Isaiah gives us four guidelines for preparing the
way of the Lord. His first two
guidelines are 1) to be bearers
of glad tidings to the poor (people living paycheck to paycheck),
the outcast (like kids who don’t fit
in or are bullied), the elderly (tucked away safely but forgotten in a nursing home), and neglected
children (latchkey kids whose only
babysitter is the television). 2) Share our resources, our
companionship and our time. We help
heal the brokenhearted by listening
with patience, acting with
compassion, praying for
and with them. ● Isaiah’s final two guidelines remind us to
be advocates for whoever is imprisoned unjustly,
whoever is shackled by abuse or addiction, whoever is denied basic human
rights. If we live by these
guidelines, we give others cause
for rejoicing, and what goes around,
comes around … to us!
Paul sets forth for us a seven-step plan for preparing the
way of the Lord. His first three
steps: 1) Rejoice always – whatever the circumstances. No one likes a sourpuss! And remember, this advice from Paul comes
from a man who experienced a lot of persecution and unjust time in prison! 2) Pray always – even when you
don’t feel like it. Anything we do is a prayer if we
invite God into it. 3) Be grateful always – even if our
blessings seem outnumbered by our crosses that rob us of a good night’s
sleep.
Steps four and five warn us
to avoid two things: 4) Do not
quench the spirit by being lazy, distracted or self-centered. If you don’t have something good to say,
then say nothing at all. 5) Do not despise the messages of
the prophets – God’s preachers, who speak God’s truth to you. Steps six and seven challenge us: 6) to use our powers of discernment
(our common sense) in a society
whose values often contradict the teachings of Jesus Christ; test
everything presented in the media, the workplace and our social circles:
people lie. Then 7) choose what is best and dispense
with the rest. (Say again) “Just say no”
to whatever is wrong or evil, whatever keeps us from Christ.
Paul’s message is upbeat
yet down to earth: be a real community with mutual respect, concern,
compassion and forgiveness. Live
life as God wants you to live it and you will prosper – prosper! God who calls you is faithful to you and
will help you accomplish all good things.
Be faithful as God is faithful; be holy as God is holy.
After Isaiah and Paul’s words of
wisdom, we have John the Baptist, who comes to bring a message of hope and
liberty. John gives us three advent actions for preparing
the way for the Lord. First, testify
to the Light of Christ by living according to the example of Christ. Be
the light, not the darkness.
Song: “Accentuate the positive; eliminate the negative.” Second, be a voice inspiring hope to those wandering in the wilderness,
thirsting for faith, truth, and real meaning in their life. Third, recognize that we are but humble
servants of the Prince of Peace, privileged to be in His service.
On this Gaudate Sunday, joy is the
dominant theme in our Scriptures.
Joy is an essential dimension to our faith as
Christians. Why? Because are saved – right now! But do we show to the world a face
that proclaims “we are saved?” Yes,
the whole world is suffering – our planet suffers from pollution and
our misuse of the earth. People are starving around the
world. People are suffering from
violence, oppression, terrorism, war, and death. We might ask, ‘how can we feel joy when the world is so
sad?’ Again, Biblical joy is not
about feelings; it’s about faith.
Sometimes we fall asleep to what’s
really important. We get so focused
on what we don’t have we forget to appreciate what we do
have. We focus on the moments of
frustration and anger, pain and suffering.
Isaiah reminds us what we look forward to in our
Savior: glad tidings for the poor, healing and wholeness for the
brokenhearted, liberty for captives and release for those falsely
imprisoned - plus a year of favor and a day of vindication! Yes, the just will be vindicated! “Just” hang in there!
This Savior is the very One for
whom John the Baptist prepared the way.
This is the “good news” for which we yearn when we look around and
see so much life without joy. We may
wonder, ‘is there any relief in sight?
Is there any hope?’ Hope lies
in the very giving of ourselves by helping those who most need our help,
which is the essence of the meaning of Christ: God’s unselfish
love and concern for us in choosing to become flesh dwelling among us, and
revealing how much we are loved, for the Spirit of the Lord is upon us too,
and our souls rejoice in God our Savior.
We glimpse God’s love every
day. No matter how small, such
experiences can lift our spirits and refresh our souls. Whether it’s the innocent giggle of a
little child, someone’s unexpected offer to help, the fragrance of a rose,
or time well spent with a good friend – human or animal - our
perspective on life can completely change.
Dakota and Gracie always lift me up.
So, what has given you particular
joy this year? In what or in whom
have you rejoiced? That is
how you have experienced the love and the presence of God. Each day we can rejoice at what we do
have and for who we are – beloved children of God. And we give thanks to God for His gift of
earthly life and eternal life for all His creation – “all creatures
of our God and King.” I’m fairly
certain that’s why Isaiah wrote, “In
my God is the joy of my soul.”
Look there and find your joy!
2011 B ☼ Immaculate Conception of Mary ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“The
Almighty Has Done Great Things For Me!”
©
“Hail, full of grace!”
Mary was around age 13 when the angel Gabriel paid her a visit,
saying those words and inviting her into a deeper relationship with God by
accepting the joy and the responsibility of becoming the mother of the “Son of the Most High.” Can we even begin to imagine what was going through Mary’s mind?
Was this the first time
Mary heard she was “full of grace?” Had her mom Anne ever told her? That’s Bible-talk for “sinless;” when
you’re full of grace there’s no room for sin! After hearing about the throne of David, the house of Jacob, and a Kingdom that will
not end - somehow Mary composes herself long enough to ask a question: “How can this be, since I have no
relations with a man?” With that additional and vital
information – and with her full consent - Mary accepts God’s request,
knowing her pregnancy could be a hardship on her and her family, and could
possibly even cost Mary her life.
She would be an unwed mother, only “betrothed” to Joseph. Yet, she trusts God’s love will see her
through any and all challenges. What
an incredible act of faith for anyone, of any age, let alone a teenager!
Throughout our lives we are often
invited into a similar deepening relationship with God. When God asks something difficult of us,
we could look to Mary as our guide – a guide especially for our teens. Mary didn’t run from a difficult
situation, nor shun her responsibility.
She simply stated, “May it be
done to me according to your word.”
What a great response from Mary – a teen! A lot of teens today have different
answers. When asked to do something,
parents might typically hear, “whatever!” Maybe our teens could follow Mary’s
example and ask a question – that would show interest! And then answer with something a bit more
respectful like Mary’s response or something like it. I mean, anything is better than, “whatever!”
We honor Mary because God honored
Mary. We can also learn from
her. Although given a unique role in
God’s plan of salvation, the specially blessed Mary never allowed God’s
favor to inflate her ego and lead her to be egotistical - “full of
pride.” Her soul magnified the Lord,
not herself. Mary was forever
redirecting attention off herself, back onto God. While acknowledging “the Almighty has done great things for me,” she just as
readily recognized God’s loving providence and care for others: “The hungry he has filled with good
things.”
For reasons known only to God, we
have been privileged to share in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Countless souls around the world – today
and throughout history –never heard of Jesus, let alone Mary! We have been blessed with this
knowledge. For Paul reminds us God
has “blessed us in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the heavens … in accord with the favor of His will.”
God’s graces were bestowed on us
at Baptism and we are invited to eat daily at his table, should we so choose. Each Eucharist, we are sent forth
to bring the graces we have received here to all those who have yet to
share in God’s Good News. As we
celebrate Mary’s “favored” status with God, we too, can rejoice in God’s
favor to us – for when we focus on our blessings and not on our crosses, we
too can honestly say, “the Almighty
has done great things for me,”
2011 B ☼ Second Advent ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Give
Comfort to My People” ©
“She has received from the hand of the LORD double
for her sins.” That’s what Isaiah said Jerusalem received in retribution from
God; so much for Moses’ stance of “an
eye for an eye!” “Comfort,” says God. “Give
comfort to my people.” I’ll try,
Lord! For who among us couldn’t use
a little comfort these days? For
these first two weeks of Advent, we have been preparing for the Lord’s
Second Coming by anticipating it with a certain sense of joy. That’s true for today as well, but with
the added message from John the Baptist - the call to “repent.”
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Some words never grow old, fade away or die. A story, a song, or a prophecy can
continue to give life and hope as it is proclaimed over and over again to succeeding
generations undergoing new challenges.
The “comforting” words of Isaiah were beautiful music to the ears of
the Jews exiled in Babylon. God was no longer angry with them – whew! – and their exile was
literally coming to an end – their guilt expiated – paid at “double” the price!
God was about to show His awesome
power in a dramatic new way that would be apparent to everyone – paying
attention. A sort of ‘celestial
corps of engineers’ was called upon to fill in the valleys, flatten the
hills, and make “the rugged land”
a wide and level highway for the Lord - to lead the exiles back home to
Zion, a.k.a. Jerusalem. It would be
smooth sailing – at least for a little while.
The words were also music to the
ears of the people of Judea several hundred years later. The Jewish people were again oppressed –
only their oppressors had changed.
This time it was the Romans, and the Jews strained at the yoke,
longing for deliverance and freedom.
John the Baptist was the voice – the one voice - “crying in the desert;” Isaiah’s
words found a second life on
John’s lips as he baptized in the River Jordan and earnestly strove to
prepare the people for the coming of the Lord.
John wanted to stir their hearts, raise
their hopes and expectations – and even throw in a little old-fashioned fear of God
to hammer home the point that the time was short – the
world-altering event was already on the horizon! Soon they would hear John proclaim of his
cousin Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of
God who takes away the sins of the world.” Just like the exiles in Babylon, so now
the people in the time of Jesus firmly believed that their own situation - and the world in general - had
become so mired in sin, chaos, and injustice that only God could set things right. Sound timely? “The
more things change, the more they stay the same.”
John’s baptism was one of
repentance and the forgiveness of sins, and repentance will be among the first
words proclaimed by Jesus when He begins His public ministry. But what does repentance mean? ‘Repentance’ can conjure up images of
tent revivals, fiery sermons, and moral reform. But the Greek word that is used – metanoia – suggests something far more profound and challenging
than simply an admission of sin and a sincere request for forgiveness. The word “metanoia” means a complete change or transformation of the mind, an “inner revolution,” a new way of
thinking “outside the box,” as it were – as Patti LaBelle sings, a new attitude.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus makes it
clear that He did not come just to tweak
the “old” Law and patch the old
wine skin – the spiritual, social, and religious order of the day, but to
usher in an entirely new age with a new worldview and a new heaven and a
new earth. There will be many
surprises from Jesus too: diverse notions of purity, holiness, and even
human relationships: “who is
my brother?” But most of all,
the coming of Jesus meant that God was taking back control of a rebellious
world, and people must decide once
and for all whom they wish to serve: God or money. Not much has changed. It is our free-will choice and each
generation must choose wisely.
We don’t live with the same
expectation of a sudden cataclysmic intervention by God. Well, some do - if you check the websites - but most of us realize that the
world has trudged on for some 2,011 years now in pretty much the same way
since the birth of the Savior. The
Lord is slow in returning, but
people are even slower in
changing! The costumes and the names
have changed but the script remains the same, having a distressing
familiarity about it: oppression, violence, war, anxiety, and terror!
But things are not quite the same,
for Jesus left an indelible imprint on the world and in our hearts and
minds. God does not enter our world
unbidden – most of us do want Him here - and in our own time we have
seen what can be accomplished when we do repent and change the way we think
and the way we view the world.
There are signs of hope all around
us. Through the urgings of a few
inspired and courageous souls, we have begun to shed racial prejudice and
discrimination. I can distinctly remember
the racial hatred and violence of the 1960’s and now this nation has its
first black American as President of the United States! Whether or not you voted for Obama, this
is absolutely incredible given the relatively short span of the last 50
years. Other signs of hope abound:
more and more people are concerned with economic justice, human rights, and
the protection of the environment.
We struggle to better understand our religious traditions in ways
that reconcile and heal rather
than bring mistrust and division.
And there is the beginning of a “spiritual globalism” in which we
have a far greater sense of the oneness and interconnectedness of Mother
Earth and all her children. We are
the creation of a very loving - and patient God.
But “we’ve only just begun.” There are many attitudes and traditions
that remain to be transformed or even left behind in the dust. That should not discourage us, but
inspire each of us to contribute our own small but important “two cents worth” to the fulfillment
of God’s Kingdom. We prepare “the
way for the Lord” when we give one another hope and when we are inspired to
look for and to expect the good – even the best – in ourselves
and each other.
Did you hear the latest? A scholar, Sven Gronemeyer of La Trobe
University in Australia, has
studied and reinterpreted the hieroglyphs of the ancient Mayans
and states there is no prediction of the “end of the world” on
December 21, 2012. He said the
prophecy of the Mayans is for “a new
age to begin with the return of a god of creation.” Well, that’s a prophecy I can believe
in! That’s just what Jesus said: His second coming will usher in a
new age, a glorious new beginning.
“Comfort, give comfort to my
people, says God. The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall
see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
2011 B ☼ First Advent ● Father Kevin J Forsyth
“Stay
Alert” ©
Jesus said to His disciples, “stay alert” for we do not know
when the Lord will come. “May He not come suddenly and
find you sleeping.” I’m afraid
too many people are
sleeping. May we be awakened to the
way of the LORD before it’s too
late!
I’m not a fan of the day after Thanksgiving –
and it’s not because of the left-overs.
It’s the “first official shopping day of the Christmas season.” Black Friday: “black” because the retailers
want to be “in the black”
financially, not in the red. Who
doesn’t? Thursday night I went to
bed at my usual time - 9:00pm – but I couldn’t get to sleep. So I went down to my office and played a
game on the internet. At 10:45, I
went back upstairs and as I walked by the living room glass doors to the
deck, my eye caught a glimpse of a car in the parking lot. I wondered who on earth was here at that
hour? As I walked to the glass
doors, I saw a parking lot filled with cars! I wondered if I had forgotten to let
people in for the Midnight Mass! The
traffic on 63 was incredible. Ah, I
remembered – Wal*Mart. The shopping
season started early this year.
(Charge $5)
If you shopped on Black Friday or now, Black
Thursday night, I hope you got the deals you were looking for. I’m fortunate; I don’t have any kids to
buy for - or a spouse – so I can rest on Black Friday; I stay out of the
stores and be one less person standing in line. I hope shopping early will allow you to
enter into a special time of year – a time when the Church doesn’t even ask
anything of you – no sacrifices like Lent.
This time of year is really for you.
Welcome to Advent! It’s not
flashy or loud. It’s not festive or
decorative. It’s not bustling or
commercial. It’s not … modern-day
Christmas! It’s Advent. It’s a season of quiet preparation, a season of patient expectation, a season of joyful hope. A season
that is a lot like the late Rodney Dangerfield: it gets no
respect.
The theme of Advent is simple; a theme Jesus
makes clear in the Gospel. We’re
told, Jesus “said” to His disciples … did
you notice that? Jesus didn’t
“warn” His disciples; He “said” to His disciples. Get my point? This isn’t a warning. It’s a teaching. No need to fear or fret. Just take notice. Pay attention. Stay alert!
The day of the Glorious Second Coming of
Christ cannot be known in advance, by anyone. So ignore anyone who says they know. They don’t. They’re fools. They’re just another one of those ‘wolves’
Jesus warned us about – the ones who love to pull the wool over our
eyes. Instead, we wait in joyful hope for the second coming
of Christ, and as we wait, we wait with a purpose, a mission – to get
ready.
From Isaiah the prophet today, we have a
wonderful passage that should hit home: “Lord, why do you let us wander from your ways?” I love that question. It’s jammed packed with meaning. First, is a built-in admission that we
have sinned. We have wandered from the Lord’s ways. But, it also casts blame … on God! (I
love pointing this out whenever it happens in Scripture – as it happens a
lot!) Why do you let us wander? Why do you let us have so much freedom? It’s your fault, Lord. If you had been better at being God, we wouldn’t
be in the mess we’re in!
On a positive note, “Why do you let us wander?” does speak of free will. God has
given us life. What we do with that
life, is entirely up to us. We can
follow the Lord’s ways or we can travel in other directions. Sadly, many, far too many, freely do choose to travel in other
directions. But the passage from
Isaiah ends on a positive note of hope: “Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, you are the potter: we
are all the work of your hands.”
It implies that God can remold us. God can remake us, if we cooperate. We put our lives into your hands,
Lord. Form us in your image.
How
many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the bulb has to want
to change! We too have to want to change – to
be remolded into the image of our invisible God. And we, as individuals, and as a nation,
are in desperate need of some serious remolding. We have lost our way.
We are a country that was founded upon
religious freedom. Little by little
though, those freedoms are being chipped away. Do the Lord’s words echo in our
hearts? “Stay awake!” You will lose
what little you have. Madeline
Murray O’Hare, for one, wanted us to throw away the Bible! Comedian and Talk Show host Bill Maher
also wants us to toss out the Bible.
I watch his HBO show whenever it’s on. I like Bill but I don’t like everything
he says. Here is a man whose parents
are Catholic and Jewish – you can’t get any better than that, I think! Yet, he has no respect for religion or
God’s Word. ‘Throw it away!’ What I
say is - don’t throw away the Bible unless and until you have
something of equal value to take its place. And guess what – we have nothing of equal value to take its
place. What on earth can top God’s
Word? Our word as individuals? Hardly.
Our common word as a people?
We can’t agree on anything!
The Bible is where we as a society get our
basic moral and ethical principles, our guidelines; it is the foundation
upon which all other principles are built.
If we do away with the Bible, we do away with God. And we will do away with any and
all religious freedoms. “Watch,”
said Jesus. We are watching,
Lord! Our nation is watching its
religious freedoms be suppressed: no Crèches on public land, no
prayer in public schools, no Bibles in the public
workplace. And because of this, what
is happening to the public? I
have a friend who is not allowed to have her Bible at work. Cathy was told to bring it home when she
left it on her desk in her own cubicle one day. Interestingly, one of her male co-workers
routinely leaves his monthly issue of Playboy on his desk, and nothing is
ever said about that! What is
happening to the public?
“Lord,
why do you let us wander from your ways?”
Our children, our teens and young adults, are wandering in a vast
wasteland today, with little or no guiding principles by which to
live. Where will they get
those principles? From the TV? The Internet? The Mall?
Yeah, right! They’ll get those principles here
– and hopefully in your own home. But
honestly, if people aren’t coming here, or to any House of God, do you
think they’re getting those religious principles - at home or anywhere
else?
So yes, “stay
alert” said the Lord, but fear not.
As Paul writes, “God … will
keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ (for) God is faithful.” So, let us be faithful too. And firm to the end … and alert! Watch!
Be it a warning or just good advice –they are for us, words to live
by.
|
