Thursday, December 26, 2013

Feast of St. Stephen, Proto-martyr

(Acts 6:8-10.7:54-59; Matthew 10:17-22)

In T.S. Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, predicts hismartyrdom in his Christmas sermon. He tells the people that in the Christmas mass not only the birth of Jesus but also his death are remembered. This dual remembrance indicates that the Christian life is neither pure joy nor pure sorrow. No, we live both on every occasion. Thomas goes on to ask, “Is it an accident …that the day of the first martyr follows immediately the day of the Birth of Christ?” Of course not, the Church deliberately places the martyrdom of Stephen on the day after Christmas to temper our celebration.

We can point to this duality in both Luke’s and Matthew’s Nativity accounts. In Luke after Jesus is born, his parents take him to the Temple where Simeon prophesizes that Jesus will be a sign to be contradicted. He means that Jesus’ enemies will do him in. In Matthew the horror is more evident. The birth of Jesus, the King of the Jews, occasions the jealousy of King Herod. To eliminate his rival Herod has all male infants of the area murdered.

 

We must take to heart the traverse sentiments of Christian life. Our happiest celebrations should include a remembrance of fellow humans suffering around the world. Similarly, our most intolerable moments, like the loss of a loved one, should not go without faith in Christ’s victory over death. Christians are neither rosy-eyed optimists nor morose pessimists. No, we live both the death and the resurrection of the Lord deep in our hearts.

 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The Nativity of the Lord.  (Mass at Midnight)

(Luke 2:1-14)

"I won't grow up. I don't want to go to school."  These words of defiance were chanted by the children in Walt Disney's "Peter Pan."  But they might as well be sung by today's adults.  It is not that grown-ups think of themselves as "God's children."  How wonderful that would be!  The disgrace is that too often adults childishly think that life is mostly about enjoying oneself. They refuse to believe that one has to make sacrifices in order to experience life's fullness. This truth is indicated in the same "Peter Pan" when the children are asked to name good things so that they might be included in the adventure to "Never, never land."  At first, they respond by naming sources of passing pleasure like candy and toys.  When these do not produce the necessary bounce, they reconsider what is truly worthwhile and discover eternal gifts like joy and peace.  The angel proclaims these blessings to the shepherds in today's gospel.

The gospel story impresses us most for indicating that Jesus is born as a person so poor that he has no roof over his head.  We'll come back to that significant scene in a moment, but first let's fast forward to the message of the angel.  He says that he comes to announce "good news of great joy...for all the people."  What is this "good news of great joy"? And how will it affect "all the people"?  We know right away that the news is more than a giant sale at Walmart which only those with money can take advantage of.  Likewise we understand that it is something much better than pleasant weather for the holidays which is nice, of course, but hardly a source of great joy.  No, the news the angel bears is of something that touches deeper and lasts longer than material comforts provide. The "good news of great joy" is that a savior has been born.  "A savior from what?" we need to ask.  The answer is exactly what is seen in "Peter Pan. Jesus saves us from childish pursuits that become sins when we carry them out to high degree as adults.  He saves us from the ceaseless seeking of pleasure, power, and playthings which diverts us from fulfilling God's will.  In turn he points us to what will give eternal satisfaction - caring relationships that spring from a heart grateful to God.

Back in Bethlehem Jesus' state of lying in an animal trough and wrapped in bandages (why glorify the scene with words like "manger" and "swaddling clothes"?) because there is no room for him in the inn points toward what will happen to him in saving us from sin.  As his mother is not allowed access to the warmth of the inn when he is born, he will be abandoned by his disciples when he dies.  And as he is bandaged in birth, he will be beaten, flogged, and crucified before he dies.  In truth he will suffer more than anyone in history because he is completely free of guilt.  But it is this terrible death to which he will give himself freely that overcomes the sins of selfishness that have held us in chains.  The sacrifice on the cross not only exemplifies how we are to give of ourselves for others; it also causes its doer's love to fill our hearts.

The love we have been given is first and foremost for Jesus.  How can we withhold our utmost affection from the one who has done us the greatest good?  But it surely extends as well to the poor whom Jesus associated with that first Christmas night.  Often they show themselves as Jesus' surest friends trusting in him above all else and willing to make sacrifices for him in ways that most of us cannot even imagine.  Yes, today is principally about love - the love God has bestowed upon the world in sending us Jesus and the love we share with one another.  Christmas is also about joy and peace.  We feel joy to be delivered from the ceaseless seeking of playthings.  And we know peace from having formed right relationships with all.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Advent

(II Samuel &:1-5.8b-12.14a.16; Luke 1:67-79)

Once on the day after Christmas two American missionaries traveled to a remote Honduran village.  When they attended a meeting of the youth group in church, one of the missionaries asked the adolescents about their Christmas gifts.  To the person everyone responded by saying that he or she would say special prayers to Jesus and behave more obediently at home.  The answers confused the missionary who expected to hear of home-crafted gifts, but the families were evidently too poor to provide even that.  Of course, the actual Christmas gifts were much more valuable than anything that could be bought or made because they represented the response the Savior elicits from us.

The first reading today tells of another unexpected gift.  David wants to provide a place for the Ark of the Covenant as his bequest to God.  As worthy as the idea is, God is the one who will gift David and all humanity.  He will give the king an heir to bring peace to the people in a reign that will never end.  Christians hear this promise as a prophecy of Jesus Christ in whose kingdom they have thrived.

It is often hard to avoid Christmas merchandizing.  We want to express our gratitude to others and they to us with something tangible.  Of course, this is not necessarily the trivialization of Christ’s birth, but we can improve upon the custom.  We can take real care in what we give – something personally edifying, for example.  We also can pray for every person who does something for us and include with each gift a prayer for the receiver.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

(Malachi 3:1-4.23-24; Luke 1:57-66)

Whatever Malachi had in mind when he wrote that God will send Elijah to “turn the hearts of the father to their children,” we should hear him today as addressing the social pathologies of children born outside marriage.  More than forty percent of the births in the United States today are made to unwed mothers.  As a result the children are more likely to suffer poverty, emotional problems, and learning difficulties.  Nevertheless, having children without a vowed partner has become fashionable with highly paid professionals testifying to how satisfying it is.

We understand Malachi as foretelling the coming of the John the Baptist who would castigate sex out of marriage as he did other sins.  He would find multiple victims of the abuse.  The unintended offspring may be the most aggrieved, but certainly the individuals directly involved are not left unscathed, and society – like a cable whose individual strands are being severed -- is weakened.  God, who loves His people immensely, cannot help but take offense.

God also acts to relieve the situation.  First, He sends John to warn sinners of the harm they cause themselves as well as others.  Then, He gives us Jesus who, abounding in joy, shows us that the way to eternal life follows a path of care for others.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday of the Third Week of Advent

(Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38)

It is said that a military commander may not send troops on a “suicide mission” without their consent.  A society can conscript a person into the army as a matter of the common good.  The common good may further dictate that the conscripted soldier enter combat with the possibility, but not the surety, that he or -- we may add -- she may die in action.  If, however, there is near certainty that the soldier will be killed, the military should obtain his/her permission since soldiers are enlisted to give their service, not their lives.

In this gospel of the Annunciation, God gives to the Virgin Mary a similar prerogative to withdraw from his plan of salvation.  Although the passage uses the declarative mode “you will...,” the angel waits for her consent.  She is free to refuse to cooperate with the heretofore unheard of plan of conceiving a child by the Holy Spirit to give Israel its long-awaited Messiah.  In a famous homily, St. Bernard of Clairveaux pictures the world hanging on Mary’s word.  Of course, she expresses willingness and thus advances the process of the Incarnation.

As God does not force Mary to participate in His plan of salvation, He does not force us to accept it.  We are free to say “no.”  For sure, it is a conscious choice since salvation requires self-denial.  In one way or another we have to follow Jesus to the cross.  But the way is not so onerous as it is liberating.  We may think of it as a mountain hike.  The more we climb, the freer we feel until we reach the exhilaration of having reached our goal.