Thursday, December 6, 2018

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21.24-27)

The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes good works to such an extent that it is a wonder any Christian can deny their importance.  In today’s passage, from the beginning of the gospel, Jesus stresses the importance of acting on his word.  He is exhorting his disciples to treat others as they want to be treated.  No doubt he has in mind respect, patience and help if one is in need.  At the end of the gospel Jesus tells the same men that the nations will be judged precisely on how they have treated the weak and poor.  If they have fed the hungry and visited the sick, they will be rewarded with eternal life.  If they have ignored the needy, they can expect punishment.

In the first reading Isaiah describes a society that takes care of the needy as “strong.”  Such a people can raise their heads high because they have fulfilled the will of God.  He will guard that society forever.

One way to care for the needy is to do “random acts of kindness.”  That is, for no reason other than it might please others we pay for someone’s coffee or make rice pudding to be eaten after a meeting.  We will find such acts strengthening our communities.  They also will please God and make us feel good about ourselves.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 25:6-10a; Matthew 15:29-37)

Christians the world over feast on Christmas.  In Mexico many families enjoy turkey.  Italians have traditionally given culinary attention to the Christmas Eve meal.  First, an antipasto of cheeses, olives and perhaps shrimp and cuttlefish is served with white wine.  Then pasta in a tomato sauce made with clams is presented.  A red wine will accompany it.  The “second plate” will feature a variety of fish and seafood – always cod and usually lobster.  Salad is served on the side or after the main dish. Fruit is then brought to the table.  The meal concludes with cakes, coffee, and liqueurs.  No meat is given perhaps because abstinence was mandated for many centuries on Christmas Eve.  It also is true that by featuring fish, a symbol of Christ, the banquet anticipates midnight Mass.  In these ways Italians approximate the celestial banquet of which Isaiah tells in today’s first reading.

Isaiah is giving comfort to the people of Israel.  He or probably a later prophet has just predicted the tumultuous “Day of the Lord.” Now God reveals His purpose.  Judgment and punishment had to come so that all peoples could love one another as children of the same Father.  Jesus Christ has fulfilled this end by the paschal event.  He also has mandated that his followers recreate the victory of love over sin by a regular feast.  So we come together for this Eucharist.

Our Christmas celebration should take on the meaning of the celestial banquet feast.  We should give thanks to God for the blessing of so many kinds of sisters and brothers.  Perhaps we can invite people of other cultures and even faith traditions to our Christmas table.  There we may share the hope that the entire world will soon live together in peace.  Of course, we will leave the table charged to bring that peace into our daily lives.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Tuesday of the First Week in Advent

(Isaiah 11:1-10; Luke 10:21-24)

A short story entitled “Attitude Adjustment” tells of a priest who gets hit by a train while driving.  Father Jim survived the crash because somehow he failed to clasp his seatbelt and was thrown from the car.  He was left a mess, of course.  His face was racked and his brain discombobulated. During his recuperation Fr. Jim made many mistakes from a loss of perspective.  The bishop had to retire him to doing children’s liturgy. 

At the end of the story the priest reads the parable of the Good Samaritan.  When he finishes, he asks the children why God permitted the Jewish man to get beat up so badly.  One six-year old answers that God wanted to teach the man a lesson for hating Samaritans.  He says that the man needed an “attitude adjustment.”  Then the children start asking Fr. Jim about what had happened to him.  They show him healing concern as if they were all the Balm of Gilead wrapped in children’s clothing.  No doubt, Fr. Jim now realizes why the accident happened and why his life was spared.  God allows such tragedies so that people might look into the eyes of a stranger and find a friend.  Furthermore, God wants His children to act as healing balm to one another.

In today’s gospel Jesus cites children as understanding God’s gracious will.  He indicates that they know more than the wise and learned know how we should show concern for others.  In Advent more than preparing for Christmas, we are waiting for Jesus to come to judge us.  We know that he will give a thumbs up if we work to heal the wounds of those who are hurting.  If we require an attitude adjustment, let it be.  We have to work to heal the wounds of those who are hurting.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, priest

(Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 8:5-11)

Can only a Christian be saved?  Evidently St. Francis Xavier thought so. In a letter from India he wrote that many natives wanted to become Christians but there was no one to baptize them.  He said that he wished to go to the universities of Europe yelling to the students that their keenness on studies has resulted in many people being consigned to hell.  But is Baptism necessary for salvation?

The gospel passage indicates otherwise.  Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith in God.  He implies that there will be many like him coming from faraway places to take a seat at the heavenly table.  Although he does not say explicitly that these people are not his followers, he does leave this impression.  The centurion shows himself worthy a member of the Kingdom of God as much by his concern for a servant as by his deference to Jesus.

During Advent we express our hope for Jesus’ return as much by acts of mercy as by praying about the Advent wreath.  Our efforts on behalf of others imply faith in Jesus’ teaching that what we do to the least of humans, we do to him.  At the same time we show a relationship of care to the needy which suggests a common Father in God.  Francis Xavier had a point about the need for missionaries to teach about God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice.  However, the Holy Spirit works in many ways. 

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Revelation 22:1-7; Luke 21:34-36)

The words discipline and disciple have the same Latin root discere which means to learn.  But this learning is not so much an intellectual exercise as it is a moral training.  Disciples learn a moral lesson by following a rigorous rule.  Today’s gospel conveys part of the rule while the first reading describes the disciple’s reward.

In the gospel Jesus exhorts his disciples not to become lax in the pursuit of virtue.  They are to watch out that they do not fall into either physical or moral addictions.  Physical addictions would be alcohol, drugs, or sex.  Moral addictions would be power, greed, or pride.  All of these corrupt the spirit so that the person cannot inhabit the city of God described in the reading from Revelation.  There, like a luxurious retirement community, the people live in health and joy.

Today as the last leaves fall from the trees (in northern climes), we have occasion to consider the fleetingness of life.  Most of us ran fast in our youth and exhibited soft skin and vigorous hair.  Hopefully we learned moral discipline then.  But if we didn’t, the Lord calls us today to change our ways.  More precisely perhaps he is calling us to himself in his heavenly city.