Sunday 1 January – Luke 2: 16-21 – Mary the Mother of God

O’ Lord, Your love can never be confined to a tiny stable or the grandest of any earthly canyon.

It defies all knowing, whether in a stable, as a new-born babe or dying on that Holy Rood.

              Praise to the Patron of Love!

Lord wherever Your presence, You surround us with powerful witnesses like those of the fields.

The anointed ones point us to that stable, they are like a ship’s compass guiding us to safe shores.

              Glory to the New-born King!

O’ Lord, many contemporary shepherds today continue to echo the same message and call.

They are ambassadors of the Almighty One who fully trust in Your Divine invitation.

              Praise to the Light of Salvation!

Lord, You are good to endow us with witnesses of the faith, so that we too can evangelize.

A divine light that is sadly shunned by many men who would rather see it extinguished.

              Glory to the Incarnation!

O’ Lord, I long so much to visit the nativity and to join the shepherds of action and discourse.

My soul aches to be bathed in the light of that Holy star, so I too can honor the newborn King.

              Praise to the Lion of Judah!

                                                                                                                   The Pilgrim

 

 

 

And the Word was God

The Gospel reading for Christmas day is, I think, one of the most beautiful passages in all of scriptures:

    In the beginning was the Word,

        and the Word was with God,

        and the Word was God.

    He was in the beginning with God. 

    All things came to be through him,

        and without him nothing came to be.

    What came to be through him was life,

        and this life was the light of the human race;

    the light shines in the darkness,

        and the darkness has not overcome it.

Truly, there is nothing at all that anyone can add to such subtle, divine Wisdom. The passage goes on to tell us:

    And the Word became flesh

        and made his dwelling among us,

        and we saw his glory,

        the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

        full of grace and truth.

I am reminded that we often refer to Holy Scriptures as "the Word of God" and then again we teach that Jesus IS The Word Incarnate, I can't help but wonder at the relationship between Holy Scriptures and our Lord. I think it goes beyond Scriptures simply being the written story of God's revelation of Himself to us. It is said that a person is in someway present in the speaking of their name. How much more is our Lord present in the reading of THE WORD?    

On behalf of my brothers and myself, I would like to wish you all a very verry Christmas, and every good blessing for the year ahead.

Peace in Christ,

                            + Theophilus

With Us

 

One of the most difficult emotional challenges of this life is to experience loneliness.  Loneliness comes in so many forms.  We can be lonely because of physical isolation from others.  We all experienced this to some degree because of COVID.  We can even be with people and still feel lonely.  Often people who live in big cities with populations in the millions can experience loneliness.  Sadly, at other times, people can intentionally be made to feel lonely.  Youth who are bullied or adults who are in toxic relationships can be emotionally placed in isolation.

God has always been aware of the potential for our loneliness and its destructive effects.  In Genesis, we see God creating Eve, a companion for Adam, so he would not be alone.  In Jesus’ sending out the disciples on mission to heal and preach, he doesn’t send them out as Lone Rangers, he sent them out in pairs.  Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Marriage, in part, so the two would be one.

We are made to be in relationship with others.  We are made to love.  When deprived of that opportunity, we feel very much alone.  We need to feel that others are present to us and that we can fulfill our human responsibility to be present to others.  We need people present in our lives.

Often those relationships are not necessarily deep ones, but even those that aren’t deep can be very meaningful.  I recall growing up in Queens and traveling to high school on public transportation.  Each morning as I made a transfer from a bus to a subway, I would stop at a corner newsstand and buy a copy of the Daily News.  Believe it or not, I think the paper cost 35 cents in those days, but that’s another story.  The man selling the newspapers each day was an older man who legally blind.  I never knew his name and he never knew mine, but each day as I stopped to buy my newspaper, I would pause for a few minutes of chatter.  We’d talk about the Met game the night before or the weather.  This small interchange became a pleasant and meaningful part of my day and I hope for his as well.

One day, I came to the newsstand to discover that the gate was down.  The newsstand was shuttered and would never open again.  I am not sure what happened to the man, but I did know I missed our daily pleasantries.  They must have had an impact on me, because I still recall them today, some forty years later.

God did not leave us alone.  In fact, he always wants to be present to us.  In the garden, when Adam disobeyed God, God did not leave him to go it alone.  He sought him out, “Adam, where are you?”

And so he seeks us, not just to keep us company, not just for passing moments, but for a deep relationship, that will do more than fill an emotional need, but that will save us!

In this season, we live out that yearning for him.  We cry, “O come, O come Emmanuel.”  We cry for God to be with us.  We can be joyful, because indeed, he is with us.

- The Servant

 

 

Third Sunday in Advent

Mt 11:2 -11

 

“ARE YOU THE ONE …?”

 

          Salt and pepper.

          Very different indeed, but they go together.  So much so that you never see one without the other.  So very different, but they complement each other and together they make a meal more fulfilling, bringing out the best of what is on the plate.

 

          John and Jesus.

          So very different.  John speaks of cutting down with an axe and burning the chaff.  Jesus talks about lifting up the lowly and healing the afflicted.  John points out the worst in people: their hypocrisy and sinful ways.  Jesus points out the best in people:  their faith and their gifts.  John: retribution.  Jesus: forgiveness.

 

          Jesus is not what John expected, so he doubts if Jesus is “…the one….”  Jesus, on the other hand, lifts John up as “… none greater….”

 

          Yet, they complement one another.  They belong together.  And together they do not confuse their followers or create dissension.  Together they call their followers to look outward at the ways of the world and cry for justice, and then look inward and cry for God’s mercy. 

 

          Repentance and transformation.

          Very different indeed, but they go together.  In this world of discord, violence hypocrisy and corruption we cry out for change!  We also cry out for peace and harmony. 

 

          You and me?  We may be very different.  We may be like salt and pepper.  But we complement one another.  We need each other.  And together John and Jesus need US – each and every one of us – to build the Kingdom of God.  We hear John’s question posed to us.  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”   How do I answer?

 

“Call Me Ishmael”

 

Open Space.

    In this weeks Gospel John the Baptists prepares the world for Jesus John was baptizing the people of Jerusalem and all of Judea in the Jordan river and announcing the arrival of Jesus. He was baptizing them as they confessed their sins.  They were all repenting as he requested. He wanted everyone to know that the Messiah was coming and that we needed to repent. He saying that they needed to get their relationship right with the lord.  Jesus was on his way and coming to separate the believers from the non believers.  John spoke of Jesus and said he was  also coming to baptize but differently.  While John used water. Jesus was going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire.  Sounds like quite an introduction. 

     When I reflect upon this passage I see how what John did  in the river then has a place in our world today.  John was so clear when he spoke of Jesus and repentance. It was straight forward. It was simple. Repent or else.  He also spoke directly to the religious leaders of that time and said you must produce fruit.  Fruit that is of repentance.  They couldn’t just use their position to enter the kingdom of God. They were called to produce “fruit”.  Meaning show the world that you have truly repent for your sins. The fruit should show up in your life. The world is supposed to see it.  Isn’t that true  today? How many of us talk about following Jesus  but where is the fruit? Where is the proof that your follow? Where is the proof that your believe? Does it show up in your  daily actions? Maybe it shows in your reactions to news you don’t want …. What does your fruit look like in times of stress and worry? Is there fruit of repentance when you are not having a such “blessed” day?  The point that John was making is when you believe in Jesus. You always believe. There isn’t a sort of believe. There isn’t a “I believe sometimes”    To produce  good fruit you need a healthy relationship with the Lord. To produce quality fruit you must be connected to the supreme source of life, God.  I urge you to question the quality of your fruit.  Sometimes we need to look  at our lives and see what  fruit we are producing.  To assume that we are fine or ok with the lord can lead to a hands off approach or a lazy way of believing.  We begin to assume we are just fine no different from  religious leaders that John spoke to. We are called to never get lazy with our production of  good fruit.  We must continue to show the world that we believe Jesus and it shows in all that we do.  In times of trouble and stress, we continue to bare fruit because we are believers.  Believers in what Christ has done for us.  To believe in Jesus is to separate yourself and your heart from unbelief.   Yes, we will fall short. That’s part of the human condition. Yet, as believers we know that God has our hearts.  He understands that we need his Grace.  His Grace is why we can repent. and ask for forgiveness and keep our relationship in good standing.  

    Making space for Jesus is what John was doing for the people of Jerusalem.  He was created a space for Jesus  in a believers heart.   When was the last time you asked forgiveness?  I believe that repentance frees up space in your heart. Is there  a special place for Jesus in your heart?  As believers  we work  to keep that space is wide open and  available.  That's  our  daily work.  To simply be available for Jesus. We need to be  available so we can recieve  the  grace, guidance and support we need on this journey we call life.  With an open heart for Jesus we pray, love  and live according to Gods will. Isn't that what we do as a believer? We live life as a believer, even when it's easier not to.    That’s what John said Jesus was coming to do.  He will separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat will be with the lord. The chaff burns.  We choose to believe. We choose to be baptized by the Holy Spirit with a wide open heart for the Lord.