Merry Christmas: JOY, JOY, JOY

Christmas takes on many meanings and has many messages.  As Christians we associate Christmas with happiness, celebration, and love.  It is all of those, but the central and most important message and meaning of Christmas is, “joy!”  In the Gospel of Luke he writes, “The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” (Lk. 2:10-11)

Christmas is about joy!  But, I ask you, “What is joy” Some answer, “Happiness,” others, “peace,” while others, “contentment.” Joy is all of those things. The best biblical definition that I have found for joy is that it is an abiding happiness and when one finds this joy the person is in peace, in contentment, and most of all happy.  So, the greater question is, “do we have joy?”

Obviously Christmas brings us joy, we find it in the love we share with family, friends, in the exchange of gifts, coming to mass, etc.  We also experience joy throughout our lives, when we accomplish something noteworthy, if we marry, enter priesthood, find a great job.  As joyful as those experiences can be, there is still a greater joy.

People crave that inner joy that is abiding happiness.  Sometimes we look for it in the wrong places.  Money, gifts, and things bring fleeting joy, for they grow old fast.  People bring us joy, but even that is not perfect.  So where then can I find this all elusive joy?

The joy the angel spoke of can be found in a small town called Bethlehem, in a manger, found in a little baby called Immanuel, for God is with us.  The Christmas message from God is that His Son is our joy - abiding joy.  That joy is found today in its introduction in the world, but it must move from the manger into here (point towards the heart). 

This joy is also found at mass.  We find it together every week, right here in this place, because at mass we celebrate Christmas and Easter every Sunday.  That is why our Lord left us the Eucharist so that we can experience His joy always.

The joy that was found by the shepherds, the farm hands, and eventually the wise men from the East was something that penetrated right to their hearts and forever changed them.  They realized that they were gazing upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and in the process they felt the happiness we all crave, a happiness that becomes our very disposition.

If you seek this happiness open your hearts right now to the Lord, He is welcoming us all.  He is innocent and inviting, He is the infant child whom the angel beckons us to go and see.  The angel as he told the shepherds also tells us, ““Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.”

Merry Christmas

Called and Sent

In today’s 2nd reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans Paul calls himself an “apostle,” for he writes, “Through Him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith.” Last week in our RCIA class a discussion arose regarding who is an apostle and what is the definition of an apostle? I will attempt an answer.

When we think of Apostles we usually think of the twelve apostles and rightly so, they are the foundation on which Christ would build His Church. They have a place that no others have as their names will be written along with the twelve tribes of Israel along the walls of the New Jerusalem. They also were given a specific office, an office of leadership in the Church. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, Jesus says to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:17-19) Peter is given authority, not simply an honor, but an authority to keep the Church as one. This authority Jesus wanted shared, so he also appointed the other eleven apostles a place – an office, for in Matthew chapter 18, Jesus says to them all, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt. 18:18) This authority is played out in numerous places throughout Scripture. In Acts chapter one, after they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit the Apostles choose a successor to Judas. In Acts chapter 15 they call the very first Church Council which determined acceptance of the Gentiles into the Church. There are many other such examples and all of them clearly show the Apostles were to lead the Church. Knowing that they could not be Apostles forever, since men die, they began to ordain others to succeed them; therefore our very own bishops today are Apostles with the charism of leadership.

With all of that, which was a mouthful, we must also remember that those with an office of apostleship are not the only apostles, we too are apostles. For by definition an apostle is anyone who is called by name and sent, c.f. “But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.” (Is. 43:1) and, “Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mt. 10:5-7) And in another Gospel Jesus sends out seventy two. So, being an apostle is not just for the twelve, but for all of us.

The confusion sets in because we only think of the twelve as being apostles, but St. Paul calls himself an apostles and he was not part of the original twelve. Barnabas is also referred to as an apostle along with Paul as Acts 14:14 tells us. We understand that Paul, Luke, Barnabas came after and it is easier for us to refer to them as apostles since they were saints, but we still have a difficultly in referring to ourselves that way. That difficulty should not exist.

For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:26-29) Even though the Twelve Apostles have a special place and role as do their successors (our current bishops), we nevertheless, all of us together belong to Christ. All of us are apostles and we become so at our baptism, that is when we are called and sent. We may not realize the “sending part” until we mature in faith, but we are sent each and every one of us.

The greater question at work here is not so much, “how can I be an apostle,” but rather, “if I am an apostle, for what was I sent?” I will end the homily here and allow you to go home and answer that question for yourselves. You have been informed, you are Apostles, called by name at your baptism, Jesus has therefore sent you on mission, what is your mission? God bless you my fellow apostles.

FJ

2nd Sunday of Advent: The Most Important Announcer

Anytime someone important enters the room, someone is appointed to announce their entrance.  When a senior naval officer enters the bridge, the chief of the boat will usually, in a firm and loud voice say, “Officer on the bridge,” other times, “Officer on deck.”  When we watch the Supreme Court or any court room for that matter, the bailiff enters first and he or she in a loud and firm voice will say, “Please rise for the Honorable . . . such and such.”  When the President enters the House, an announcer comes out first, and he or she as well in a loud and firm voice says, “Ladies and Gentleman the President of the United States.”  We do the same for a bishop, cardinal, and for the Holy Father of course.  Now, the person who is responsible for making the announcement cannot be a timid person with a low manner of speaking, but someone who grabs the attention of those in the room quickly, for instance, “Officer on DECK!”  The more important the person being announced the greater the responsibility of the announcer to get everyone’s attention.  

Today in our 2^nd Sunday of Advent we celebrate John the Baptist as the man who would be the person making the greatest announcement the world has ever known or heard.  His announcement was, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!  Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”  “Behold the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world!”

John the Baptist’s announcement was clearly the greatest announcement ever made and therefore God had to choose someone who could make that announcement clearly and with conviction, who better than John.  We know that John was dedicated to the Lord from an early age.  Tradition has it that he went into the desert to live as a hermit, there were hermit type of Jewish religious communities at the time, one group known as the Essenes, who may have been many groups but referred to with a general title.  John lived very simply, Scripture says, “on curds, honey, and locusts.”  John was a very serious man with very deep convictions.  When he finally came from out of the desert to begin the announcing, he held nothing back.

        

There were two important announcements, the first, “Repent.”  And trust me, John came yelling and shouting, this man was not a timid or quiet type of fellow, rather he grabbed people’s attention because he spoke Truth to them, the truth that as human beings we are wounded and that wound can only be healed by accepting God’s mercy, he was not afraid to call us sinners.  The second important announcement was to make straight the paths of the Lord.  This was not to be taken literally, as in, “move out of the way so He can get by,” but rather, to be taken spiritually, as in, “clear out your heart so that the Lord can move freely within you.”

        

As we continue this Advent season we are to make ready for the Lord, both through repentance but also in clearing up all the junk that his filled our lives, this means all our sins as well as the desires and wants of this world and to make a perfect resting place in our hearts for Christ.  We have examples of this all around us; take a look at all the statues in the Church.  These men and women understood what St. John the Baptist was yelling and screaming about and they repented and put their house in order.  But they also did something else; they also became John the Baptist because they too went forward to announce Jesus.  So, we should not simply just listen to John, but we must also become brave as he was brave and announce the Truth and why we wait in great expectation for that Truth to be born on December 25^th.  Again, not just the 25^th of December, but for the Truth to be born in my heart each and every day so that like John, I too will be worthy to announce, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”