Advent

Isaiah 63: 16-17,19; 64:2-7; Psalm 80 Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37

Advent is time for rehab.  Re-habituating ourselves to living our true identity.

Like most rehab programs there are four aspects that enable us to rehab in such a manner that is lasting in its fruitfulness, lasting in its transformation.

The program consist in the four R's of Advent.

Remember

Advent is a time to remember.  As Isaiah reminds the Israelites so the Liturgy invites us to remember who we are.  We must be re awaken and roused from our slumber to remember our true identity.  We are heirs to the kingdom, we are sons and daughters to the Father and we have forgotten. 

Remember who you are, you are my son and you have forgotten me, these are the summation of God's call to the Israelites and to ourselves from the Father. 

Reflect

Advent is a time of reflection.  We have been distracted by the economy, the market, the presidential election, by college football and everything else.  Advent is a time to set aside quiet moments and reflect on how we have lived our identity. 

It  is not just a time for reflecting on what we have done wrong, but it also a time of reflection on what God has done right.  A time to reflect on how God has led us through even in the hard times.  

Often times we are nearsighted when it comes to God's plan unfolding.  We just see the immediate confusion and chaos but we fail to look far enough ahead.  Thus we get impatient. 

We are also farsighted when it comes to ourselves; we are afraid to take a closer look to see our our life is unfolding in cooperation with God's call. 

When we are nearsighted when it comes to God's plan and farsighted when it comes to our life then sinfulness takes over and our life begins to unravel.  Advent is a time of refocus.  A time to be watchful, to recognize the presence of Christ in our life.  It is a time to see Him not in the big moments but also the quiet subtle moments. 

Repentance

Advent is a time of repentance.  Repentance is often looked upon as a negative action but in reality it is a positive action in our life.  It is where we open our hearts and no longer live close din on ourselves.  It is about reaching outward and upward.  It is about returning to reclaim our identity.  

It is a time of facing our guilt, confessing our guilt and confessing our faith.  Here we allow our faith and identity in Christ to conquer our guilt and to set us free.

Rejoicing 

Advent is a time of rejoicing.  We must remember the first words that inaugurated Christianity in to history, jesus into humanity.   The angel Gabriel declared unto Mary, "rejoice, highly favored one."  In deed we are to rejoice for in Jesus through Mary we are highly favored.  

Rejoicing is about recognizing God's victory and we are invited to be victorious along side of him. 

We rejoice because though we may abandon God he does not abandon us. 

It is rejoicing that enables Mary to stand at the foot of the cross and enables us to stand erect and make ourselves ready for the coming of Christ. 

Remember, Reflect, Repent, Rejoice, here enter fully into advent and are re-habituated to being who we are called to to be, heirs to the kingdom. 

Remember you are my son, and you have forgotten me. Let us rouse ourselves from slumber and never forget who we are called to be and never forget who calls us into being.

but my words will not pass away

Luke 21:29-33

Jesus continues His exhortation on the end of time.   He ask us to be on the look out for the signs that manifest the kingdom of God and its proximity to fullness. 

Then he says these words, "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

We must never forget that God reveals himself not as an image or an effigy but rather as a voice. He reveals himself as a voice that speaks, commands, guides, creates. 

The first biblical reference to God is his words, "let there be light."

His is a voice that speaks words that have power to defeat nothingness and create being. 

Through out the scriptural reference it is God's voice that captivates and calls. 

To Moses, he reveals himself as "I am who am" a voice that is always now.  To Elijah he is a whisper that can not be out done in magnitude or strength. 

In the prophets it is is words that warn his people and bring them back. 

In Jesus, the word of God becomes flesh, the word of God has a face. 

God's voice is steady and can not be denied. 

His is a voice that speaks the words that brings being from nothing, light into darkness, life from death, unity out of diversity. 

Gratitude is about recognizing the reach of God into our lives, recognizing the word of God that can never be silenced, "Our God comes he keeps silence no longer."

We never go alone, for the voice of God accompanies us on this journey, calls us forth, leads us on, and sets us free.  His is the words of everlasting life, to him we cling.

All may pass away, but his words remain for it is his words that bring into being.  

We beg to hear is word, "only say the word and we shall be healed" and thus we shall find what we are looking for the source of the voice that has called us his own.

  

Thanks and praise

Rev 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9; Psalm 100 Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the lamb; Luke 21:20-28

Today across the United States we all come to a stop; there is a pause in our daily routine; most businesses are closed down and most people gather together with  family and friends to give thanks and praise. 

This is the moment we are called to be thoughtful.  In the words of scripture, "thoughtfulness put flesh on his bones."  Thoughtfulness keeps things real.  In some sense, as we ponder the gifts we have received, we put flesh on the hand of God who wrought them all so that we might be where we are.

The proclamation that set aside this day was given at the hand of President Lincoln in 1863.  In response to the progress of people in the land in light of the civil strife, President Lincoln spoke these words, 

"they are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger  for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.  It seems to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People...to set apart the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." 

Thanksgiving and praise to God is the cure for all that ails.  It gives us strength for the journey and clarity in out mission.  It alleviates depression and gives us hope in despair.  It is a shot of courage as the mystery of life unfolds. It keeps us focused in the trials that abound and opens our heart to the truth of God's love.  

When we give thanks and praise we have what is necessary to "stand erect and raise our heads" as Jesus proclaims in the gospel, for we are able to recognize the hand of who wrought redemption in our lives. 

Today we begin to habituate ourselves to thanksgiving and praise, a true sacrifice fitting for those who seek to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who at the last supper took the bread and cup and gave thanks and praise...

May we follow Christ in thanks and praise on earth so that we may be with him in heaven. 

courage

Rev 15:1-4; Psalm 98 Great and wonderful are your works, Lord, mighty God; Luke 21:12-19

G.K. Chesteron writes, "courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die."

Into today's gospel Jesus exhorts us to courage and perseverance.  In the words of Pope Leo XIII, "To suffer and to endure is the lot of Humanity."

We can never eliminate suffering in our life. We suffer the moment we are given life.  We suffer the consequences of being human.  We feel pain and discomfort and agony and stress and worry.  Our bodies are frail and weak and gravity is too much for us.  We suffer love when it is found. 

We can ease pain by comfort; we can never eliminate suffering.  It is foolish to think otherwise. 

Jesus in the gospel exhorts us to remember though we can never eliminate suffering, we can choose what we will suffer for. This is the mark of true freedom. 

Take courage! Persevere!

May our suffering be of value as we fill up what is lacking in the suffering of Christ.

What we choose to suffer for will magnify the true value of our lives.  

May we choose Christ for He chose to suffer for us.

all that glitters is not gold

Rev 14:14-20; Psalm 96 The Lord Comes to Judge the earth; Luke 21:5-11

Jesus, in the gospel, responds to some people commenting about how the temple was adorned with costly  stones and votive  offerings, "all that you see here-the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

In other words Jesus is wanting us to finally see things as they are.  

How easily are we deceived?  How easily we get distracted by the "costly stones and votive offerings" that decorate many places? 

We forget the reality that is before us.  We are blinded.  Remember the old saying, "all that glitters is not gold."

This saying comes from the Merchant of Venice in which Shakespeare put these words in a scroll.  The lady Portia is being courted by several men, and the one who picks the correct casket that contains her picture will get to marry her.  There are three caskets: gold, silver and lead.  The prince of Morocco chooses first; he chooses the gold casket. 

On the inside he finds not a picture but a scroll that reads:

"all that glisters is not gold; often you have heard it told.

many a men his life hath sold; but my outside to behold;

gilded tombs do worms enfold;

had you been as wise as bold; young in limbs in judgment old;

your answer had not been enscrolled;

fare you well, your suit is cold."

Jesus reminds us in the gospel that: 

"all that glisters is not gold; often have you heard it told... had you been as wise as bold."

Jesus invites us to wisdom to judge clearly and wisely for as the book of revelation reminds us the harvest is near, the sickles are raised and the vintage of the earth is about to be reaped. 

May we see things as they really are and prepare ourselves for the harvest fall. 

The widow's might

Luke 21:1-4

"When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.  He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

What does Jesus see when he looks up at us?

Life unexamined is a life not worth living. 

the king's good servant

Matthew 25:31-46

In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the solemnity of Christ the King.  As He looked out in to the world from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he felt that the world was mounting opposition to Christian values and that it was insulting the name of the Redeemer and the right of the Church to teach the way of Christ was being out right denied and rejected. 

He hoped that by honoring Christ as King society would be returned to the loving Savior.  By bringing to mind the celebration of the Kingship of Christ he hoped that Christ would begin to reign in the mind and wills and hearts of the faithful.  They would allow Christ to renew how they think and what they think about; they would allow Christ to direct their will to build the society such that it would become a fountain of mirth enough to set the kingdom laughing with joy; they would begin to emulate the kingly love of Christ who laid down his life for all. 

Thus, Christ reigning in us then the kingdom is built up within us then all we have to do is let out. Enthrone christ with us and the kingdom comes through us.

Only by doing this, Pope Pius XI mentioned, would we receive the blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, and peace and harmony. 

Only then would we be reawaken to our truest identity, the King's good servant. 

Christ invites us in the gospel today to understand what the king's good servant must be about. we must attend to the least of society.

Why?

As we ponder the way of the cross it is important to note from the beginning to end Jesus becomes the least. 

He is hungry and thirsty and they give him vinegar to drink, a sponge filled with gaul.  He is stripped of his clothing and is left naked and exposed.  

He is mocked and spit upon as a stranger.  Even his closet friends abandon him and pretend him to be a stranger, unknown.   As Peter professes, " I tell you I do not know the man."   St. Paul reminds us, if they would have known who he was they would not have crucified him. 

He was ill for his body was racked with pain, bruised and battered as he sought to destroy the sickness of sin.  He was a prisoner.  Arrested in the garden, bound hand and foot and confined through the night, only to be scourged like a common criminal and crucified like the worst of criminals. 

The way of the cross is the path of enthronement; this is how Jesus becomes the universal king. He identifies with the least so that he might rule all. 

We are asked to attend to the least so that we might walk in the footsteps of the king.  Here we make our oath of allegiance.  Here we become true stewards of the kingdom, and the King's good servant.   In the face of the least we fulfill our oath in fealty and love, valor and honor.  We become who we were made to be from the foundation of the world, the king's good servant making known the King who lives and reigns.