Second Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2003
"Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery… For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground...". (Baruch 5:1-9)
The reading from the prophecy of Baruch, originally written to console those left behind after Israel's leaders were deported from their homeland, is full of hope and expectation. The people at first in mourning, now dressed in the clothing of celebration and royalty, are ready to greet the returning exiles. They prepare for their triumphal procession by leveling the road so nothing will impede the progress of their return. Yahweh is returning from exile with them.
In the not-too-distant past we thought of Advent as a penitential season. Now we see it as a time of expectation that something great is about to happen, of God about to come into our lives in a new and wonderful way. This is cause for quiet joy and eager expectation, along with some pain and anxiety Our attitude might be compared to a couple awaiting the birth of a child; someone preparing for death in the hope of restored life, or in the throes of personal loss, darkness and chaos. We trust beyond even reasonable hope that all suffering is temporary, that the cloak of fear and mourning will be replaced with clothing of celebration. In these experiences we both know, and do not know, the outcome. Trust assures, experience doubts
The Holy Spirit initiates every good thought, experience and action. Every day we are given an opportunity to create a welcoming, inviting path anticipating that God will enter and fill up our lives. This work of completing what has already begun in us is a process which requires a lifetime of patient expectation. Even those of us who have experienced some dramatic conversion know that it is only the beginning, an invitation, to make the path straight for the Spirit to enter in. I have a dear, respected friend of 40 years who has had more than her share of adversity in her life. Some years ago she had a heart transplant which her body now may be slowly rejecting. She has already survived far beyond medical expectations. My friend has learned from her painful life experiences that the valleys of criticism and judgment of herself and others must be filled in with peace and unity of body and spirit. Faced with the prospect of another transplant, she says "there can only be one heart". Her heart's desire is to find again "the innocence within my one heart".
We have opportunities daily to create a world of "mercy and justice". Every time we make a decision to advance the cause of mutual acceptance, for justice, and against violence and aggression within and around us we continue the process of making the way straight for God's coming.

First Sunday of Advent

First Sunday of Advent
December 2, 2006

I will raise up for David a just shoot; he shall do what is right and just in the land. (Jeremiah 33:14-16). May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all… “ (1 Thessalonians 3:12) “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”. (Luke 21:25-28).

This Sunday begins our preparation for the three comings of Christ: to the church and the world in the present moment, mystically into our hearts and minds, and at the end of time. This is a season of hope and patient expectation. We get a glimpse of all three in this Sunday's readings.

The prophet is longing for the restoration of the Israelites from captivity. We have always regarded this reference to "a just shoot" of David as pointing us to the coming of Christ, to lead us out of captivity to our human inclination toward sin and depravity. We do not have to wait for this to happen, it occurred once and for all in the person of Jesus. In this sense our "waiting" in Advent is symbolic: preparing to celebrate the present, remember the past and anticipate the future.

St. Paul is exhorting early believers who were confident that Christ's return was literally going to occur "before this generation passes away". He focuses our attention on the qualities of mutual love and courage necessary for us who still wait. So, how do we allow ourselves to be prepared personally for the divine presence which is already within us? This is the Holy Spirit's doing, not our own. Perhaps by praying to be made into the empty vessel into which He may come. This will place us at odds with the culture of Christmas which encourages us to be filled up with things, as if these presents and the present are all we have.
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Jesus speaks of the third coming of the Son of Man in glory. We are being reminded again of the "last things" which are to come, first with its many trials and tribulations and then with the culmination of all our hopes and dreams. And we are brought back to the first coming of Christ in history which we will celebrate soon, the beginning of new hope for humankind

With our minds and hearts focused on this great mystery, being surrounded by God's presence on all sides in time and space, how could we be content with merely celebrating a cultural Christmas? Rather than wasting our time criticizing it, perhaps we could instead commit ourselves to paying more attention to the spiritual richness of the season. How is the divine presence in my life, in the life of those close to me, and on this beloved earth of ours evident at this very moment? What can we do to advance this divine presence and in so doing hasten the coming of the kingdom?

Christ the King (34th Sunday)

Christ the King
November 26, 2006

"I am the Alpha and the Omega... the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty... the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth..." (Revelations 1:5-8) "My kingdom does not belong to this world." (John 18:33-37)

This is the "last" Sunday in the sacred cycle of the liturgical year. We are directed to the final goal of history, Christ's "enthronement" in the kingdom of God. Monarchs in antiquity were universally believed to have divine origins and authority. In Jesus' time the Roman emperor was addressed as "Lord", "Savior" and "son of God", as acts of piety and pledges of loyalty and allegiance.

Although we have formally rejected this idea, consider how we endow our religious leaders, presidents, entertainment, and sports figures with godlike or demonic qualities. We "love" or "hate" them and argue knowingly about their personal merits and demerits without ever having had any personal contact with them. We seem to be fascinated by the power which goes with wealth and fame, identifying closely with it and distancing ourselves from its darker side.

Jesus consistently described himself and the kingdom of heaven as very different from these "kingdoms" of wealth, power and fame. He had very little interest in establishing a religious organization, cultivating a wide audience of followers, or taking political or economic advantage of his remarkable personal strength and authority. He did however intend that his lordship was to be a direct confrontation of the values of all earthly kingdoms -- including our own -- when they give priority to the wealthy, powerful and beautiful people.

Jesus' "kingdom" is not a place, and we do not have to wait until we die to experience it. It is a state of being in oneness and communion with God's heart and mind. This is a kingdom of relationships and connections which mirror the way the Most High relates to us every moment of our lives. It is found even in this life when we are loving, open to others and nonjudgmental of the beliefs, cultures and lifestyles of others. It is found wherever we worship, pray, work and play together in spirit and truth. It is found whenever we resolve our human differences without resorting to physical or emotional violence. It is found whenever we give priority to the poor and defenseless. It is found whenever we give priority not only to human beings but to all creation.

This kingdom is already here while we are waiting for its perfection and culmination. We cannot wait passively for this moment to occur, as if God is going to rescue us from our ignorance, blindness, anger and fear. It is our task to envision, desire and build this new world now. This is what we mean when we pray "thy kingdom come".

Thirty Third Sunday

Thirty Third Sunday Ordinary
November 19, 2006

"... then he will send out the angels to gather in his elect from the four winds..." Daniel (12:1-3). "... they will see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." (Mark 13:24-32)

Jesus almost directly quotes the prophet Daniel, referring to himself as "the son of man" of the prophecies. It was the term used most often for himself. Going back into his Jewish origins, he was steeped in the tradition of hope for a heavenly human figure who would come to rescue Israel from its persecutors Jesus clearly warns his disciples not to try to predict when this final deliverance would come. For good reason, not even "the son" knows the time. Only the Father knows and is not sharing that information with anyone including Jesus.

.No sooner than he was gone we forgot, or ignored, what he said. The early Christians tried to take his words literally, expecting that this heavenly rescue operation would happen before they died. We have never stopped since then attempting to extract literal predictions out of the Bible. Since they do not seem to be literal predictions of an immediate historical future age, what are they? It could be that it will happen literally as Jesus describes, just in some indefinite future age. The present order of the universe is not how it will be always. We already know that cataclysmic cosmic events are occurring right around us all the time. Our earth will disappear into the cosmic void millions of years from now. These images can also be understood as warnings to be vigilant because we never know when the Most High will appear in our lives in a radical and unexpected way. There have already been innumerable "comings of the son of man" historically and individually and there will be many more to come.

I can certainly identify a few of my own! One of them is happening right now as my own breath fails and my reliance of machinery increases. Last night we had a wind storm blowing like there was no tomorrow, and had to make sure we had a plan in place to keep me hooked up in case of power outage. Several key people have been appearing almost out of no where to help us prepare for this and accommodate to another "end of the world".

Perhaps the transformation we have been looking for is happening now, some times very slowly, some times rapidly. Maybe this is less satisfying than the hoped-for magical quickfix but perhaps more consistent with how changes occur. How might each of us be contributing to the buildup to the "end of the world" in chaos, violence, waste and destruction? Instead, how can we be a part of creating a "new heaven and new earth"? Maybe the Father is waiting for us as a race to come around on this before it is al brought to completion. However it all happens, the son of man will be there with us as we drove through it.

Thirty Second Sunday

Thirty Second Sunday Ordinary
November 12, 2006

"...the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, " ( I Kings 17: 10-16) For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." (Mark 12: 38-44)

The prophet Elijah, traveling about during a time of famine, meets a poor nameless widow and asks for water and some bread. In spite of her extreme hunger -- to the point of death by starvation -- she honors his request and is repaid with food enough to survive the drought.

Jesus is instructing his apostles while they are at the temple, pointing out how the religious professionals who should know better abuse their authority and status. This is quite a contrast to the scribe whom he had just previously declared to be not far from the kingdom of heaven. Not all church professionals deserve condemnation, then or now. Jesus then points out a poor nameless widow contributing a pittance from her meager survival income to support the temple professionals who despise her.

Although these are great stories sometimes exploited for church, synagogue and mosque stewardship drives, they are much more. Value in this life unfortunately is most often measured by money, and generosity by how much of it we sacrifice. They are also stories about self-sacrifice, which is not limited by any means to financial resources. Both of these destitute women gave all they had and became wealthy. God's abundance is endless, especially for those with nothing obvious to share except their very lives. Beyond even the material sustenance there is enough of God's life for everyone -- and forever.

There is more than one way to identify with these widows. Several recent experiences have reminded me that generosity is not limited to the piety of the poor. There are also countless acts of anonymous self-sacrificing spiritual and material generosity, by people of substantial resources, which happen daily without us ever seeing or knowing about them. I personally am aware of this when I review nightly all the wonderful people who contribute in one way or another to my survival and that of others, God's little people. There is probably as much quiet goodness and benevolence going on behind the scenes unnoticed as there is public greed and shameless grasping for power. I wonder if there is some cosmic balance by which these millions of anonymous acts of love by wealthy and poor alike save our race from annihilation.

Thirty-first Sunday

Thirty-first Sunday Ordinary
November 5, 2006

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!" (Deuteronomy 6: 2-6) "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself..." (Mark 12:28- 34)

Moses imparts the first and greatest commandment along with a clear reference to the one and only G-d of Israel, the Most High. Jesus answers the question of the scribe about the greatest commandment by quoting Moses directly. This high-ranking temple official who agrees with Jesus is told that he is "not far from the kingdom of God." Is there a clearer statement anywhere of the Israelite-Jewish roots of Christian religion? Jesus was Semitic by birth and Jewish by faith. Anti-Semitism is inherently a betrayal of Christ, his teachings, and the church built upon them

Whoever prays to the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is praying with Christ and Moses, regardless of what name we use. If there is only one "one God", then there can be no rival god competing for supremacy, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim. What happens then to the claims if that "God is on our side"? The one God is always on the side of freedom, justice, benevolence, tolerance and mercy. Whoever loves God, by any name, and other people, is "not far from the kingdom of heaven".

Commitment to the love of fellow human beings is acknowledgment of the one true God. How can we love our fellow human beings without also regarding with similar reverence the natural environment which sustains us? Moses and Jesus call this attitude of mind and heart a "commandment", not because we keep it out of duty or obligation but because it is the essence of all true religion. There is no separating love of God and love of God's creation. There is no priority of one over the other, no "love God first", because there is only one love just as there is only one God.

We pray well when we simply direct our attention of mind and heart, without asking for anything, in appreciation and gratitude to God along with everyone and everything God has created. This prayer in the Holy Spirit of God can transform us into people who are able to love without distinction about who or what is "worthy". In God's "eyes" everything is worthy of being loved. What we call "evil" is only the illusion that things are otherwise than this. What a difference it could make in our lives if we were only to accept that God sees only what is good in us. Whenever we are able to do this, and even when we are not, we like the holy scribe are not far from the kingdom of heaven. In fact we are already there.

Thirtieth Sunday

Thirtieth Sunday Ordinary
October 29, 2006


"They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them. I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble." (Jeremiah 31: 7-9). "Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way." (Mark 10:46-52)
The prophet Jeremiah expresses the people's hope of relief from their captivity. These were dark days for our spiritual ancestors. The Temple was in ruins, their leaders dragged away in chains to a foreign and hostile land, all possibility of their return apparently gone. Jeremiah maintained his hope in deliverance, with nothing but the invisible presence of Yahweh.

In the gospel Jesus heals the blind Bartimaeus, an obscure beggar, who cried out to Jesus from his "home" beside the road. This poor man probably had very little reason to expect anything great to happen when he called out to Jesus. Perhaps he acted out of desperation rather than from any heroic faith. His deliverance came, as it did for the Israelites, because he held out for something better in spite of all the odds. This poor beggar was given his sight, but it seems that the physical miracle was the least important part of his whole experience. Like him we see without seeing. "Seeing" is realizing what has been right in front of us all along, although we could not recognize it because we were in the darkness of our desperation. This man's whole experience of life was changed by his encounter with God and there was nothing left for him to do but follow him.

Hope is as blind as faith can be. The most effective prayer may be just like the cries of Jeremiah and Bartimaeus, when we are at the end of our hope, but insist on continuing anyway. I remember as a young child being taught from the Baltimore Catechism that "the three theological virtues are faith, hope and charity". We had very little idea of what this meant, but the words were there for us to ponder later. My friend, Billy, the smartest kid in the second grade, could not pronounce "virtues". I have thought lately that hope is the most often neglected of the three. St. Paul tells us that "hope is the confidence in things unseen". Hope is what we have when there is no tangible reason to expect that things will ever be different than they are right now. Hope is what we have when nothing else is left. It is a sign of mature spirituality in every religious tradition. We are all blind. We all at sometime or other have had, or will have, experienced the desperation of darkness when we can only "hope against hope". It may be the only way that we can be brought to real faith by the touch of the Holy Spirit.