We celebrate again the birth of the Jesus the Lord of all. But really, spiritually, who is he, why do we keep doing this?
In our reading from Isaiah we heard the prophet announce peace, salvation and God’s kingship. Using the poetic imagery of the “sentinels” on the city wall who are normally occupied in watching for approaching enemies but, now sing for joy because they see God returning to his people. Isaiah announces that this saving act of God will be known by the whole world. It is not just for Israel.
Our reading from Hebrews is the prologue of this anonymous epistle. The letter stresses the importance of salvation through Christ – perhaps to Jewish Christians who were tempted to return to Judaism, or to Jews who were interested in becoming Christian. One point these verses make is that Christ is the perfect priest: he is mediator between God and humanity.
Our gospel today is the prologue or introductory chapter of John. The author’s intent is “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah [the Christ], the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). John begins from God’s creative act: “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth ...” (Genesis 1:1), the Word, he who became a human (v. 14a), already existed. He was “with God” (v. 1) and (with the Father and the Holy Spirit); he was God. He was the agent through whom “all things came into being” (v. 3).
For John, understanding Jesus as the Messiah is not enough nor is understanding him as Son of God as King David was called son of God as an honor. Jesus is not a son of God the way Hercules was a son of Zeus’ philandering. Jesus is God, before the creation – the one who came down to us in flesh through Mary.
Many poets and lyricists have raised and tried to answer the question: Who is Jesus? What is He? I most love the poetry of a very old hymn that goes like this:
What child is this, who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come peasant king to own Him,
The King of kings, salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby:
Joy, joy, for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
Despite all the theologizing done over the millennia, it is an intensely personal question. Obviously he is the savior for us all. And his birth is monunmental for that reason alone. He is also God incarnate, and this is a universal blessing to the human race. But none of these reflections take way the personal level of our Christian experience. We must each step up to the challenge and take the question to the deepest places in our hearts.
How do you think of Jesus and your relationship with him? When you pray, how do you address him? Is he the friend you share your thoughts with or Athe boss@? Is he the miracle worker you reach to for help or the master of Divine wisdom you look to for insight and encouragement? We all call him Lord, and celebrate the birth as Son of God. But taking a moment to ponder how that works itself out in your prayer life is deeply fruitful. Please, sometime during your celebrations, take a brief moment to ask yourself, how you experience him. Then, wish him a happy birthday!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the father’s only son, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).Today is the eve of Christmas, in the dark of tonight we mark “the break through.” We celebrate the breakthrough of God’s Word into human experience. The Word which dwelt with God before all things, the Word which worked all creation as God’s agent, has become flesh and lived among us. And, we know him! He has brought us Divine light, love and truth.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Homily for 3 Advent B: December 11, 2011
My sisters & brothers, A couple had two little mischievous boys, ages 8 and 10. They were always getting into trouble, and their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons would get the blame.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed and asked to see them individually.
So, the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?"
They boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open.
The clergyman repeated the question. "Where is God?"
Again, the boy made no attempt to answer.
So, the clergyman raised his voice some more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "Where is God!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied: "We are in real BIG trouble this time! God is missing, and they think we did it!"
Well the good news is that God is not missing. Even though we can sometimes feel like it. Our readings today revolve around the belief that God is with his people and that his blessings are with them, especially when we are experiencing hardships.
Today we heard particularly from John’s gospel the announcement of the Baptist: declaring that the time of Lord had arrived. Believe it or not, the main point of John’s Gospel isn’t that Jesus is the Messiah. Or that he fulfills the Old Testament’s prophecies about the “Lord’s Day.” This gospel writers main point is that Jesus is GOD! Which in its day was such a radical idea that this gospel was almost rejected, not included in the bible. It seems strange to us 21st century Christians but it took believers a couple centuries to sort out who Jesus really is.
The synoptics: Mark, Matthew and Luke, seek to demonstrate that Jesus is the expected Messiah. Matthew puts the greatest detail into this message but John takes the story to a whole new level. Jesus is one and the same God who made Abraham father of the nation, set the people free from Egypt and made David king. This is the one whose birth we celebrate each Christmas. This is the one who expects his faithful people to love and assisted the oppressed, poor, sick, etc. For John, Jesus is God’s divine word of compassion spoken to the world. No my friends, God is not missing. God is here in the Christian legacy calling us to continue his example of loving compassion.
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed and asked to see them individually.
So, the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?"
They boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open.
The clergyman repeated the question. "Where is God?"
Again, the boy made no attempt to answer.
So, the clergyman raised his voice some more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "Where is God!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied: "We are in real BIG trouble this time! God is missing, and they think we did it!"
Well the good news is that God is not missing. Even though we can sometimes feel like it. Our readings today revolve around the belief that God is with his people and that his blessings are with them, especially when we are experiencing hardships.
Today we heard particularly from John’s gospel the announcement of the Baptist: declaring that the time of Lord had arrived. Believe it or not, the main point of John’s Gospel isn’t that Jesus is the Messiah. Or that he fulfills the Old Testament’s prophecies about the “Lord’s Day.” This gospel writers main point is that Jesus is GOD! Which in its day was such a radical idea that this gospel was almost rejected, not included in the bible. It seems strange to us 21st century Christians but it took believers a couple centuries to sort out who Jesus really is.
The synoptics: Mark, Matthew and Luke, seek to demonstrate that Jesus is the expected Messiah. Matthew puts the greatest detail into this message but John takes the story to a whole new level. Jesus is one and the same God who made Abraham father of the nation, set the people free from Egypt and made David king. This is the one whose birth we celebrate each Christmas. This is the one who expects his faithful people to love and assisted the oppressed, poor, sick, etc. For John, Jesus is God’s divine word of compassion spoken to the world. No my friends, God is not missing. God is here in the Christian legacy calling us to continue his example of loving compassion.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Homily for 2 Advent B, December 4, 2011
So, where do we start making ready for the coming of the Lord? We start on the inside....
Isaiah announces the deliverance of Yahweh for the people. They have suffered much but “comfort” is coming from God. Literally, the text says to speak "tenderly,” to the heart (the core) of the person).
In our reading from 2nd Peter, the author is Aware that he will soon die, so he leaves his fellow Christians with a testimony of what being Christian demands: how to live up to The Way, so that they may be among the godly when Christ comes again. It was tempting to deny that Christ would come again because early Christians expected the world to end within their lifetimes.
The delay, he argues is only in human terms, for God does not measure time as we do. God wishes all people to be found worthy at the Last Day. Any delay in that event should be taken as more time to get ready.
Mark begins his telling of the “good news” with quotations from the Old Testament. God had promised the Israelites a “messenger” to lead them. The prophet Malachi understood this promise as pointing to the end-times, to one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. To him, the “messenger” would be Elijah. While the echoing of Isaiah’s message was originally spoken of as a return from exile, by Jesus’ time it was seen as an expression of God’s comfort and salvation. To us, John the Baptist comes to fulfill this expectation and lead the people to the Messiah - Jesus.
My sisters & brothers, is being ready for Christ’s return, being ready to celebrate his birth, the same as seeking personal holiness? I believe, on the most fundamental level of our human existence, it is the same thing.
In advent, we reach for a transformation that is focused on becoming more Christ like in our thoughts, affections and our spiritual core. We do this trough prayer, reading the bible in a way that lets the stories move us, spiritual direction and spiritual exercises like “the presence of God."
This practice is about using some mundane task or event that happens many times a day and using it to remind you that God is present with you. maybe each time to you pick up your pen, or reach of the keyboard of your computer, or stop your truck at an intersection.
In this way we open ourselves to the affections of God and having affection for God. Being in love with God is not about being a fanatic. It about growing in that deeper holiness or godliness that some of the older prayers refer to. It’s about a deeper virtue, which changes the very way we feel about life.
My brothers and sisters, this week, I ask you to join me in this practice of "the presences of God." Using some mundane task to remind you that you are with God who loves you enough to be with you at all times and in all places.
Isaiah announces the deliverance of Yahweh for the people. They have suffered much but “comfort” is coming from God. Literally, the text says to speak "tenderly,” to the heart (the core) of the person).
In our reading from 2nd Peter, the author is Aware that he will soon die, so he leaves his fellow Christians with a testimony of what being Christian demands: how to live up to The Way, so that they may be among the godly when Christ comes again. It was tempting to deny that Christ would come again because early Christians expected the world to end within their lifetimes.
The delay, he argues is only in human terms, for God does not measure time as we do. God wishes all people to be found worthy at the Last Day. Any delay in that event should be taken as more time to get ready.
Mark begins his telling of the “good news” with quotations from the Old Testament. God had promised the Israelites a “messenger” to lead them. The prophet Malachi understood this promise as pointing to the end-times, to one who would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. To him, the “messenger” would be Elijah. While the echoing of Isaiah’s message was originally spoken of as a return from exile, by Jesus’ time it was seen as an expression of God’s comfort and salvation. To us, John the Baptist comes to fulfill this expectation and lead the people to the Messiah - Jesus.
My sisters & brothers, is being ready for Christ’s return, being ready to celebrate his birth, the same as seeking personal holiness? I believe, on the most fundamental level of our human existence, it is the same thing.
In advent, we reach for a transformation that is focused on becoming more Christ like in our thoughts, affections and our spiritual core. We do this trough prayer, reading the bible in a way that lets the stories move us, spiritual direction and spiritual exercises like “the presence of God."
This practice is about using some mundane task or event that happens many times a day and using it to remind you that God is present with you. maybe each time to you pick up your pen, or reach of the keyboard of your computer, or stop your truck at an intersection.
In this way we open ourselves to the affections of God and having affection for God. Being in love with God is not about being a fanatic. It about growing in that deeper holiness or godliness that some of the older prayers refer to. It’s about a deeper virtue, which changes the very way we feel about life.
My brothers and sisters, this week, I ask you to join me in this practice of "the presences of God." Using some mundane task to remind you that you are with God who loves you enough to be with you at all times and in all places.
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