The Feast of the Holy Family – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:

     Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. In today’s Gospel we are presented with an event known as the “Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple” (see Luke 2:41-52). Although considered to be one of the “Joyful Mysteries” of the Rosary, we can imagine Mary and Joseph certainly were far from joyful once they discovered him missing.

     Their frantic return to Jerusalem, and their search for him, was undoubtedly filled with anxiety and heartache.  I’m sure any parent who has lost sight of a child in a crowd can certainly understand the turmoil Mary and Joseph experienced in that moment.  We might even be put off a bit by the reaction of Jesus when they finally found him in the temple–he said, “did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?”  I imagine that many parents would be quite annoyed, and would react very strongly, if their twelve year old child “talked back” to them in such a manner.

     This story clearly demonstrates that everything wasn’t always “perfect” as the members of the Holy Family went through the events of their lives.  There’s no doubt there were occasional “bumps in the road” and obstacles for them to overcome as the child Jesus lived and was raised in their home in Nazareth.  I think some people believe the opposite to be true–that somehow that “perfect family” never faced any difficulties or trials.  The truth for us is that when Jesus was born into this world, he embraced humanity in all of its fullness–even within his home.  His experience as a member of a family then was probably much like that of our own.

     This may give some of us hope as we think about the families from which we come.  It seems every family has one issue or another, and often there are problems to be resolved.  With this in mind, let us rejoice that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph can be for us an example to follow.  Like any other family, they faced their trials and difficulties, and they learned from their many experiences, good and bad.  They also placed their trust and hope in God, and were given whatever graces they needed to function as well as possible as a family under God’s protection.  Let us pray that our families will always strive to do the same!

     And as we continue to celebrate this joyous season, Merry Christmas everyone!
                                       
Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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Christmas Day, 2015

My Sisters and Brothers:

     Like many people, when I was a small child I was very afraid of the dark.  I remember a few times being out with my family and returning to our darkened home late at night.  The house without any light always seemed like a very frightening place to me!  It was only after my father would enter the house and put on a few lights that I would feel safe to enter there again.  Those lights literally chased away whatever seemed frightening about the darkness.

     A number of years ago, I gave a lot of spiritual reflection to my childhood fear of the dark while I spent some days of silent retreat in a very simple and remote hermitage cabin.  I was by myself in that place, and had no electricity, no running water and only very few creature comforts.  It was really the first time I had ever stayed in such a place.  While there, I had to rely completely on candles and/or flashlights to see through the darkness that came after the sunset.  While I recalled my childhood fear of the dark, I reflected a lot on the great power the light has over both fear and darkness.  I found that even the smallest and seemingly most insignificant candle was able to spread a great amount of light in the darkness of that place–and could provide me with great comfort!  I think we can then say a small candle that effectively cuts through the darkness is very significant indeed! 

     In the Christian imagination, “the darkness” is associated with sin and all of its accompanying anguish and grief, while “the light” is compared to God’s presence and grace among us.  I came to a much better understanding of that imagery when I spent those nights at that hermitage!  On this Christmas day, all of us might be able to understand what I believe to be a parallel between the small, apparently insignificant candle I used in that primitive hermitage, and the birth of the Baby Jesus in that small and very humble town of Bethlehem.

     Jesus came as a light in the darkness of our world, and was born into poverty as a tiny child in an out-of-the-way and lowly town.  And although that tiny child, and the circumstances of his birth, seemed rather insignificant and unrefined, it actually was he who was to be the hope for a world shrouded in darkness.  He who seemed completely “lowly” was sublimely the greatest human ever to be born!  The birth of the Baby Jesus decisively brought the enduring and eternal light of God to the world, and would definitively chase away any darkness that could threaten it.  The grace of God he brought with that light gave people hope that they would be able to overcome the darkness of sin in their lives, and this promised all people the hope of reconciliation and peace with our loving Father in heaven.  That’s amazing and awesome!

     My sisters and brothers, the Gospel tells us that “the light shines on in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (see John 1:5).  Let us then be confident that the darkness indeed has been conquered, that sin has been chased away, that our own dignity has been lifted, and we have been made holy and true sons and daughters of our Most High and Eternal God.

     On this Christmas Day, let us thank our mighty God for giving us the great gift of Jesus his Son.  With him, let us believe in our own greatness, and let us live without fear and always walk as children the light!
                           
Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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The Visitation, the Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:  

     During the previous three Sundays of Advent, we have been encouraged to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  The Scriptures have challenged us to stay awake and to be ready, to repent and to turn away from sin, and to rejoice with the knowledge that we are promised salvation!  Today, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we reflect on the very humble situation into which our Savior would be born.

     In today’s Gospel we are presented with an event from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary called “the Visitation.”  We know this involved the meeting of Mary with her cousin Elizabeth, both of whom had become pregnant after miraculous events.  Mary of course would become the mother of Jesus, while Elizabeth was destined to be the mother of John the Baptist.  These women were poor and humble, and would have seemed unlikely to become the mothers of such great men.  But it was these very women who were to bring about the advent of the Christian faith–just think about how amazing and spectacular that truly was!

     If we read a bit further into the chapter from Luke’s Gospel today, we hear the words of Mary as she said: “God has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the lowly” (see Luke 1:52).  In today’s Gospel, Elizabeth says to Mary: “Blessed are you among women . . . how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (see Luke 1:43).  I think it’s awesome that our Almighty God made these two “lowly” women the chosen “vessels” and mothers of Jesus and John.  This is certainly an example of how God “lifted up the lowly” in order to bring about great things, and both Mary and Elizabeth acknowledged this with their own words.

     It seems to me this idea of “lifting of the lowly” is a paradigm for an important concept anchored in our faith.  That’s to say, God always desires to give strength to those who are weak.  Our first reading today draws attention to this idea as well.  The words of the Prophet Micah, written ages before the birth of Jesus, speak of the greatness that will come out of the very humble and seemingly insignificant town of Bethlehem.  The Prophet wrote “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (see Micah 5:1).  Even Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world, would have poor and humble beginnings as a child born among us!

     As we contemplate today’s readings, may we be strengthened with the thought that whatever might otherwise make us “lowly” can surely be conquered by God’s power and love.  Our God wants to lift us out of our weaknesses and he wants to give us whatever strength we need to overcome any obstacles to our true happiness and peace.  And so, as we continue to contemplate the coming of the Lord Jesus, let us be confident and unafraid!  Although we ourselves might be poor and humble, and perhaps we might even think ourselves to be insignificant in this world, we are actually called to greatness, and with God’s grace and power we too are called to do amazing things.  Let us encourage each other with this message of hope!
                                       
Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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John the Baptist and "the Chaff," the Third Sunday of Advent – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:  

     It seems to me that the words of warning by John the Baptist in today’s Gospel are as clear as they can be; in fact, they are likely to sound very somber to many of us!  John spoke of the coming of Jesus and he proclaimed that Jesus would use a “winnowing fan” in order to “clear his threshing floor” (see Luke 3:17).

     These images were easily understood by those who harvested wheat for a living.  The agricultural people who first heard John’s preaching would have completely understood his analogy.  They knew that if used properly by the harvester, the winnowing fan would separate the good grains from those that were nearly useless.  Those remains of the harvest, “the chaff,” would then be swept away from “the threshing floor” and would either be mixed in with the fodder fed to animals and/or simply be incinerated like rubbish.

     Because they were “sinners,” some of those in John’s audience might have understood themselves to be akin to the unworthy and useless, good-for-nothing chaff.  As they listened to John, who did not mince his words, they may have seen themselves as “the chaff that would be burned with unquenchable fire.”

     Could it be possible that such people were not worthy to receive the presence of Jesus into their lives?  Of course, this is exactly opposite of the real message of John the Baptist–the one who came to preach repentance from sins and of hope for a new life in Jesus!  As we hear his message today, we are invited to have a similar hope.

     Unfortunately, there are still many people who believe they are destined to be treated in the same way as the “chaff” of the harvest.  Such people may believe they are unable to be lifted out of the darkness of sin and despair.  They might live with self-perceptions of great sinfulness, with addictions, with weaknesses and with other such difficulties that cause them to be demoralized and to suffer from low self-esteem and self-hatred.  Some of these people may simply have come to the conclusion that they are destined for eternal damnation simply because of who they are, where they have been, or because of what they have done in their pasts.

     In contrast to such thinking, John’s real message, one that is affirmed by the words of the Prophet Zephaniah in our first reading today, is that God graciously invites all people to turn away from all that might enslave them, and instead to live in freedom and in happiness!  Zephaniah proclaimed “shout for joy, O daughter Zion . . .  sing joyfully . . . be glad and exult with all your heart . . . the Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies . . . you have no further misfortune to fear . . . do not be discouraged” (see Zephaniah 3:14-16).

     This is the very “good news” that John in fact was preaching.  He promised the people that all they had to do was resolutely turn away from “disorders” of the past.  The warning of John then was simply meant to encourage people to look with confidence to the future, and to the One who would bring salvation to the whole world.

     My friends, there is no need to fear that we who have faith will suffer the fate of the “chaff.”  Instead, let us rejoice because we believe that we are like those precious golden grains of wheat held close to the heart of the harvester!  Therefore, as we continue this journey through Advent, we pray with enthusiasm: “Come Lord Jesus, Come!” 

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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John the Baptist and "Making Things Right," Second Sunday of Advent – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:  

     On this Second Sunday of Advent, I believe a clear message given by our Scriptures is that our God empowers us to change if necessary, and that we can rise above any type of sadness and darkness that might otherwise “disorder” and take control of our lives.  This of course, is a wonderful message to contemplate as we prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

     The first reading tells us to “take off our robes of mourning and misery and to put on the splendor of the glory of God forever” (see Baruch 5:1).  This same reading tells us that “God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground” (see verse seven).  I believe this imagery of straightening out and of leveling things, used often in the Old Testament, and even to describe the preaching of John the Baptist in our Gospel today (see Luke 3:4-5), challenges us “to make right” whatever might otherwise be any type of “disorder” in our own personal lives.

     These “disorders” can cause us to live in “darkness,” but our God would rather that we are free of such things–so that we might live in the light of his presence, and always be happy!  Unfortunately, all of us may know someone who has really struggled with some type of hidden or obvious  “disorder” in his or her life.  Such people may have great difficulty “making their lives right” and they may seem incapable of freeing themselves from whatever binds them.  Some of us may need to be honest and admit that we have personally struggled in just such ways.

     The “disorders” causing such struggles may be the result of any one or more of the following circumstances: a lack of faith, an inordinate sense of guilt because of past “sins,” an inability to control personal weaknesses, a lack of control over addictive and/or codependent behaviors, a heart hardened by a life lacking in fortune, an inability to be forgiving of self and/or others, an unending sense of emotional pain, an angry disposition, and the list goes on . . .  And isn’t it so very sad when people are so enslaved by such “disorders” that they live in denial, and simply seem content to walk in their own “darkness” without hope for change? 

     In contrast, our Scriptures today give us very hopeful messages about conversion and renewal!  Baruch tells us that “God is leading his people in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company” (cf. Baruch 5:9).  In the Gospel, we hear that John the Baptist “went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (see Luke 3:3).

     During these days, as we look forward to the celebration of Christmas, we also live in hope for that day when personally we will meet the Lord face to face!  And so we are called to be ready for that day!  As we continue our preparation during this time of Advent, let us trust that our God has power over any “disorder” that might otherwise control our lives.  Our God promises us forgiveness from our sins, and he wants to free us from all of those forces of sadness and darkness that could threaten to control us.

     My friends, let us be confident and hopeful as we contemplate today’s message!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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