The gospel of two Johns
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Gospel: Jn 1:1-18
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122525-Day.cfm
I like to think of Jesus as the fully human part of Jesus Christ, and Christ as the fully divine part. It’s the Christ component that the gospel writer John focuses mostly upon. He begins his gospel by making this very clear: The Christ was at the beginning, the Christ was with God, and the Christ was God. When John uses the term the Word, he means the catalyst that creates and sustains life. John is in awe of who and what Christ is and the awesomeness of Christ becoming man through Jesus. He describes Christ as the Word – through Christ was all things and life, without Christ neither could have come into being. The life created was the light of the human race and that light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. John is saying that Christ gives life to all things and permeates what Christ created.
The ultimate being of Christ decided to be in the world, to be part of what Christ created. While Christ was imprinted on the world, the world did not know Christ. Jesus Christ gave us the completeness of grace in place of what we had previously perceived as grace. Christ had given us the law through Moses. The law was a means for us to relate and participate in God. The law was given because we were unable to comprehend and understand the divine imprint on the world. The law was a way to prepare the way to John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus. With Jesus Christ, we encounter complete grace and truth. We no longer need an intermediary with the law.
God is expressed throughout God’s creation. I like to think that we all have the imprint of God speaking through us if we let it. Last year, I was part of a Christmas performance where we acted out skits and sang a variety of Christmas songs. One song was, “Happy Christmas (War is over)” by John Lennon. The lyrics of the song are as follows: “So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun. And, so this Xmas, I hope you have fun, the near and the dear ones, the old and the young. A merry, merry Christmas and happy New Year let's hope it's a good one without any fear. And, so this is Christmas for weak and for strong, for rich and the poor ones, the road is so long. And so, happy Christmas for black and for white, for the yellow and red ones, let's stop all the fight. A merry, merry Christmas and happy New Year let's hope it's a good one without any fear. War is over, if you want it. War is over now.”
I like to think of this song, in the context of today’s gospel. So this is Christmas, God came down for us. The creator became the created to be one with us. In so doing, God showed us how to love one another, and what did we do with that? God didn’t just come down for some of us, but for us all: the weak, the strong, the rich, the poor, for those of all races, for those of all genders. And what do we keep doing with this? We segregate, we push away, and we emphasize our difference, but that which created all of it, does not. Christ loves all of us, and Christ is in all of us. Christ is self-giving to us. All of us. We cannot escape it, no matter how hard we try. And now we’re coming to a new year, so it’s a good time for us to make a choice. We can live in fear and indifference, or we can live in freedom and love.
May we live by the light within us that came to us through a humble birth to teach us and show us how to love. Merry Christmas!
Zachariah’s Sonnet
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:67-79
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122425.cfm
A holy advent prophets did foresee.
Through the house of David, he was fated.
For a Messiah to set them all free,
Generations of people have waited.
The dawn from on high shall restore the day,
Filling the world with illumination.
For him to come, one must prepare the way
To lead his people to their salvation.
To our fathers, he delivered mercy
Transforming them from their iniquities.
With forgiveness, he remakes us worthy.
His power saves us from our enemies.
You, my child, shall be that prophet most high,
Guiding us to faith and peace by-and-by.
Faith and Hope
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:57-66
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122325.cfm
Faith and hope both require doubt. If you don’t have doubt, faith and hope would be knowing with certainty. We have doubt, but then we also have moments and experiences that reaffirm us in our faith which also gives us hope. Faith is regarding what is, hope is faith in what is to be. Faith is past and present; hope is future focused. Today’s gospel is a story of faith and hope. The miracles that happened to Elizabeth and Zachariah were recognized by the people around them. In seeing these miracles, the people were reassured about their faith as they also had hope in who John would become. They didn’t know exactly who or what he would be, the future wasn’t written yet, but they sensed it would be something special.
Now, what if God similarly has faith and hope in us? But how can God have faith and hope in us if God already knows everything? This is part of the incarnational mystery. At the first incarnation of creation, God gave us the divine spark. God trusted that creation would bring into being what God wanted to be brought into being. God let go of certainty so that we could truly participate in God through our own choosing. We weren’t created to automatically carry out God’s providence but to choose God’s providence. God took a risk with creation. God took a risk with all of us, individually and communally. This was the same for John and Jesus and those surrounding them. Their destinies weren’t written during their lives. They always had the option to choose otherwise. Every moment they could choose otherwise. That’s part of being human. With the second incarnation, God gave up on certitude by becoming human in Jesus, and God the Father put faith and hope that Jesus, through his own choosing, would fulfill the divine mission.
When we listen to the message of Jesus on the kingdom of God, the kingdom is not brought about for us by God alone, but through us making a choice to participate in it. God is counting on us as God counted on John and Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Zachariah and Elizabeth. God keeps putting faith and hope in us. God’s kingdom will come for us if we so choose. While we’ll always have God’s grace and forgiveness, God wants more for us and from us. The for and the from are one and the same as it’s always in our choosing that God is more fully revealed for us and for others.
As we celebrate this Christmas, may we grow in faith and hope as we also accept and take responsibility for the faith and hope God puts in us. It is in this shared faith and hope that we experience love of God and love of neighbor.
Magnificat Sonnet
Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:46-56
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122225.cfm
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
For my redeemer, my spirit will praise
For on his lowly servant he’s adored
To transform all our hearts with love ablaze.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
He grants mercy to those who admire him.
With his power, he sets the captives free,
And the totems of the proud, he will trim.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
And has lifted up the small and lowly
With joy, He’s replaced their suffering groans,
And the thriving rich will find their folie.
His children will be saved by his mercy,
Full solace to replace controversy.
Do not be afraid
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:18-24
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm
In the advent gospels, the angel tells people to “not be afraid.” When the angels use the phrase, they are referencing the person’s response to them. It’s like a way of saying, “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” In today’s gospel, the Angel gives a reason for the lack of fear as is also done in other passages within scripture. The reason to not fear is because God is pleased with her. The fear mentioned is regarding the moment of divine encounter. The fear is directed at the presence of something divine.
The theme of not fearing is throughout the Old and New Testament. Joshua 1:9 says to fear not for God is always with you. This fear is about what is to come. It’s a fear of uncertainty or an outside threat, not something divine. The reason to not fear is because God is always present with you. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is with us, who can stand against us.”
When scripture says fear of God, the more accurate meaning is to be in awe of God. To fear God is to be overwhelmed by the immenseness of God, not be scared or terrified of God. With God there is no need to fear. No fear with God or anything else, but it is natural for us to fear. Fear can protect us, but it can also hold us back from possibility. Even with her devolution and favor with God, Mary was still told not to fear.
We shouldn’t let fear overtake us. God doesn’t want our fear to limit God’s plan for us. God wants us to let go of our fear so God’s will can be done through us. Don’t let fear limit you, but embrace the safety of giving your will over to God.
Nothing will be impossible
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122025.cfm
“Nothing will be impossible for God.” When the angel speaks of God here, he uses the future tense. In the present moment, we only see what is, but in the use of future tense, we have a sense of hope. It’s an anticipation of what is yet to come. With God, there is always more possibility. The barren conceived a child and the virgin will as well. It doesn’t matter if there was no relation to man or if one is beyond her years of fertility. God will transcend. Goodness will prevail. God’s will shall come into being. This is hope. The present circumstances may be suffering, but God isn’t done yet. There will be more that God will have come into being.
Lectio Divina
Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:5-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121925.cfm
Lectio Divina, or “divine reading” in latin, is a means of slowly reading and reflecting on scriptures. It’s a means of using scripture as prayer and to meditate on the deeper meaning. It’s less about an academic study, but a means of making a personal connection or finding a personal meaning in your present time and space. Lectio Divina is comprised four components:
Lectio (Reading): slowly read the scripture several times and identify what stands out to you.
Meditatio (Meditation): ponder the words and phrases and reflect on what it means to you.
Oratio (Prayer): Respond to your observations and share your feelings and thoughts with God.
Contemplatio (Contemplation): Let go of your thoughts and rest peacefully with God.
Lectio: When I read the scripture today, it stood out to me the descriptive words and how they tell the story on their own:
priestly, righteous, blamelessly, barren
priestly, troubled,
joy, gladness,
great, strong, spirit, power, righteous,
old, advanced,
good, now, speechless,
proper, long,
unable, mute,
completed, fit
Meditatio: We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We have a view of the world because of these things. We can do everything right or believe we are doing the right things, but still be barren. We can be priestly, but also trouble in the presence of a divine messenger. God’s intentions are ultimately joy and gladness, spirit and power. Yet, we still look around us and not accept it because we know better. We’ve limited ourselves by our perception and our experiences. We may lose what we have taken for granted, but such experiences may also complete us.
Oratio: God, help me accept my present struggles while still knowing that you are at work within me. Help me not limit your work to my perception, worldview, explanations, or preconceived limits. May I be open to your will and not impede it for myself or others. Amen.
Contemplatio: Let it all go. Rest in the moment without the words and just be.
God with us
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:18-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121825.cfm
Emmanual, or “God with us”, is one of the names of Jesus. God is all powerful (omnipotent),l knowing (omniscient), and all present (omnipresent). God is the creator of all things. God manifests life. God spoke existence into being. With all this power, knowing, and presence, our God chose to be with us. Of all the things, God chose us. To be with us is not to strictly know us, be present with us, or hold power over us. Our God gave up on all those things to truly be with us.
God experienced what we experienced first hand as one of us through Jesus. Jesus experienced doubt, experienced empathy, experienced frustration, experienced sadness, experienced happiness, experienced connection with others, experienced disapproval from others. Jesus experienced faith, hope, and love. While all of that could have been known by God, God wanted to experience it as us. God gave up on eternity to experience time; to be both objectively and subjectively human. To experience the human condition: birth, death, and everything in between. All of this to be with us in both the literal and figurative sense.
Everything in one person. And in so doing, taking the time and place in history to help guide and show us the way so that we could experience the same. When Jesus is said to be the word made flesh, it’s not a reference to scripture coming to life. First off, not all the scripture was written yet. The word is the catalyst that brought all existence into being. Why would that seek and want to be with us?
Earlier today, I learned of a prayer St. Francis frequently prayed and would pray hours on end. It was simply this: “Who are you, my God, and who am I?” There is a deeper love and experience that transcends our understanding and it wants to be with you. It wants to be with us.
A Sonnet for the Genealogies of Jesus
Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:1-17
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121725.cfm
Alas his ancestry was hard to tell,
A humble birth at first not written down
Then miracles make the need to compel
And go beyond just noting the birth town.
One story tells of forty-one fathers;
fourteen from Abraham to King David
The next set to those held by exilers,
Then fourteen to Jesus the Anointed.
Another begins with God and Adam;
A lot of names, different from the other.
Still acknowledging David and Abram,
None show the lineage of his mother.
Truth speaks louder than historical fact;
One is known more by the ones they impact.
Limiting our sight of God
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 21:28-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121625.cfm
Who is it that society deems sinful and evil? Who is it whose actions and deeds are considered to be abhorrent? The gospel likes to use tax collectors and prostitutes as a representative of these individuals. We can disagree with what they were doing, but they served a societal role for their time. If there was no demand for sexual acts with a prostitute, there would be no prostitutes. Similarly, there was a need for the government to collect taxes from its citizens and tax collectors filled the need. They were incentivized to take more to keep some for themselves. People hated them, but ultimately, they were filling a need and gaining compensation for it. They were not the state, but they benefited from the state. And similarly today, we demonize the person providing the means, not the end that’s causing it. If there are no consumers or recognized value, a product dies. There is always a deeper societal sin at play that may not be recognized on the surface. It’s easier to blame an individual or another group than it is for us to accept our contribution to civilization’s discontents.
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the story of two sons to an audience of chief priests and elders. One who does the fathers will after saying he won’t, and one who doesn’t do the father’s will after he says he will. Jesus asks which is better to which the crowd replies the one who does the will.
Jesus’s story starts with three characters, two sons and a father. This presumes equality amongst the children. Neither one is identified as older or younger. Neither one is identified as more skilled, more successful, or having more favor. So, in such a case, we can presume equality. Their actions and behavior in the story stand on their own without reference to anything more. Either of them could have done what the other did. Their different actions and behavior are the only components to form an opinion about the story.
Jesus then flips the story by saying the son who did the will of the father was like the tax collectors and the prostitutes who followed John the Baptist’s path to righteousness. Not only was Jesus’s audience of chief priests and elders not like them, but even in observing the conversion of the tax collectors and prostitutes, they did not see the error of their ways and change themselves. So, it was a double miss on their part. They didn’t recognize the truth on their own when they are religious leaders who profess it, and then upon witnessing the conversion of those they condemn, they did not change their ways either.
But aren’t some folks just not meant for salvation as they are just innately too evil? The chief priests and elders disregarded the prostitutes and tax collectors which impeded them from seeing the truth. We are all equal in the eyes of God and to think otherwise is not just an injustice to others, but an injustice to ourselves. Who are those you push aside? Who are those you’ve already condemned? Who are those that have committed no direct wrong to you, but you already dismiss them for what they symbolize? How have you possibly contributed to their demise? Is there something else to blame? What will it take for you to see your equality, learn from it, and recognize salvation present for you both? The father in Jesus’s story gave both sons the opportunity as John did to the prostitutes, tax collectors, chief priests, and elders. If we do the same, we are doing the will of God.
Questions can be weapons
Monday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 21:23-27
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121525.cfm
In today’s gospel, the chief priests are not asking Jesus a question because they care to know, but because they wanted to accuse him further. If he said his authority was from God, they could accuse him of blasphemy or use the law against him. If he said it was from human origin, they could claim that they were above that because they represent God’s law and are the religious authority. It was not an honest question. Jesus returns their question with the same question but about John the Baptist.They ponder how they should answer given how Jesus or the people will respond. Given the implications of either answer, they felt like they couldn’t just answer with what they believed. Their ponderance reveals the malicious intent of their original question. Jesus didn’t need to call it out. He just let them stew in it and let them know that since they couldn’t answer his question, he wouldn’t answer theirs.
Questions can be used as a tool in argument. Questions can be used as a means to resolve an argument or be used as means to gain an upper hand in an argument. These questions vary in intent. One is a means of asking a direct question like a chess move. You’ve already prepped yourself for a follow-up to get the person in check to get more dominance in the conversation. You anticipate the person’s next move or you ask a question where there’s no right answer. These questions are a means to maintain or gain control. Another type of question is from a humble position. You ask open-ended questions without making presumptions. You ask questions to try to understand. You truly listen to their response and don’t limit your interpretation of their words to already formed conclusions. By asking open-ended questions and not assuming the answer, you put yourself in a position of vulnerability. It gives the other person more dominance or at least equality in the conversation.
As we journey through Advent, observe the questions you and others ask each other. Are you asking questions to further understand? Or are you asking questions to move yourself into a dominant position? As frustrations come about this season, it’s each to fall into the latter. Try to catch yourself doing this and find a means of changing your approach. We all will benefit if we seek to understand more than be understood.
Healing, sharing, and blessing
Third Sunday of Advent
Gospel: Mt 11:2-11
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121425.cfm
When John’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the Messiah to come, he didn’t give them a simple “yes”, but told them to share what they saw and heard. He then provided them with examples. He first listed off five miracles of healing: two miracles of sensory healing, one miracle of healing disease, one of mobility, and one of bringing back to life. Then he turned to sharing good news to the poor. He concluded with blessing those who did not take offense to his message. His explanation was focused on them observing healing, teaching, and blessing. The observations on Jesus’s divinity are relational. Jesus didn’t emphasize his personal accomplishments or power but kept his focus on the impact it had on others. Jesus’s divinity is recognized through delivering to the needs of others, not on his personal greatness.
In the short duration Jesus was alive on earth, he needed to make a significant impact so that those who had seen and heard would carry on the message and continue to live the example as followers. While we have also fallen very short throughout history, there has always been some to carry the message forward. That is how in the gospel of John, Jesus is able to say to Thomas, “Blessed are they who have not seen, but believed.” After Jesus’s ascension, we may not see Jesus directly in bodily form, but we can know through the message that has been carried on through others, scripture, creation itself, and moments of divine connection. We, like those in Jesus’s time, continue to experience and encounter God through healing, sharing the gospel, and blessing. As followers, may we continue to carry on this tradition for those in our time and for future generations.
Do we hear what the prophets say?
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 17:9a, 10-13
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121325.cfm
In Matthew 7:20, Jesus says, “By their fruits you will know them.” Jesus was speaking about how you can determine who is a false prophet and who is a true prophet, by what fruit they produce. Sometimes you need to wait a while or know where to look to see the fruit because prophets don’t control how their message will have an impact
Each of us still has a free-will which means, even if someone shares God’s message, people still have the freedom to go against it. And often, with prophets, the message is received by unlikely sources, mostly those on the fringe of society and oftentimes at the expense of the elites. Part of the prophets message normally is a leveling of the playing field. One group isn’t being chosen over another, but it’s a matter of who is willing to respond and receive the message. When we’re in a position of thriving, why would we change? If we are comfortable with or have accepted the status quo, there is uncertainty and risk with change. But, when our suffering is great, we’re more open to hearing and responding to a message of hope?
This is Jesus’s message in today’s gospel. John the Baptist was the new Elijah who came to restore all things, but the people did not listen to him. They continued to maintain their regular life without any significant change. They disregarded his message and went on their way. We know that some people did, but not the masses of people that should have. If they allowed God’s intention to come to fruition, it would have been so much more, but not everyone heeded and truly heard the message. Jesus predicted that his experience would be the same. God’s intention with Jesus was so much more than what came into being, but they didn’t let it come to fruition. Jesus didn’t need to die for our sins. Jesus was always bringing salvation to all regardless of if he was crucified or not; yet, those of Jesus’s time and society decided to have him killed. It makes me wonder what we’d do with Jesus today, and I’m afraid that the result would still probably be the same, but I hope more people would truly hear and respond to the message firsthand.
God didn’t intend for his son to be killed, we killed him. We killed our savior. While a prophecy was fulfilled, it was not the intention of the action. The prophecy existed because we were not yet what we needed to be, not that it was God’s intention for it to be that way. God wanted to be surprised. God wanted the prophecy to not come true. God hoped for more from us, so God still took the chance anyway. When we recognize God’s attempts, it allows us to see that we’re not there yet. Such observations have the potential for repentance, or transformation. God keeps trying in hopes that we’ll wake up to it and change. God will keep giving us the means and ways even if we’re going to reject it. When will we all learn to take God up on it? When will we surprise God by responding to the call?
Mary and Elizabeth
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:39-47
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121225.cfm
Mary didn’t have to fully go it alone. While a miracle happened to her with the conception of Jesus, so had her relative, Elizabeth, had a miracle conception with pregnancy as well. With the way Luke tells the story, it is almost instantaneous that Mary decides to journey to Elizabeth. While a miracle happened to her, she was eager to celebrate Elizabeth’s miracle with her. Through this experience, they were brought closer.
Think of their spirituality! They were faithful and loyal to God and accepted with humility the role they were to play in their own personal journey. That said, they revere each other in what is happening to them. Mary travelled all that way to see Elizabeth, and Elizabeth recognized how blessed Mary is. They didn’t lose themselves in their own experience, but looked to celebrate the experience of each other.
In recognizing Mary, Elizabeth called out that Mary is blessed among women, that her child was blessed, and that she was blessed for her belief that what was told to her would be fulfilled. In other words, she was blessed in herself, blessed through her relationship, and blessed through her faith/action. Her blessedness was innate, relational, and active. I believe we have it in all of us, and God wants it to come to fruition.
Both of them accepted that, with God, it will all work out. They may not know the details or how it will all be done, but they trust in God’s providence that they will have what they need. As God put trust in Mary and Elizabeth, God puts trust in us to fulfill our role. May we, like them, find the faith and trust to return to God that which was already given to us.
A step in history
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 11:11-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121125.cfm
God wants us to progress through history. The child may inherit the sins of the parent or carry forward the trauma from previous generations, but God wants the arch of history to be the progress of humankind to the Kingdom of God. A lot can be accomplished in a generation as a lot can also be set back, but God is always at work pushing it all forward.
In today’s gospel, Jesus comments about John the Baptist that no one is greater than he, but that he is the least of those in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is speaking to our continued growth throughout history. He also says that during his present moment in history, the kingdom is suffering great violence. He recognized the struggling power dynamics, to include the binary dynamics between people (the clean and unclean, the Samaritan and the Jew, those in positions of power and those without), were keeping the kingdom from coming together. Jesus saw the need for there to be a paradigm shift, and his call was to bring about such change.
That change he drove was not instantaneous, and only realized by a select few during his time. We are still reflecting and learning from it today. His life and its impact has been a catalyst for a change to the good. One that, at times, has sadly been misunderstood and used to justify the very power dynamics and separations of people that his message was trying to fix. Our prayer should be that we do our part to successfully progress the kingdom, knowing that it could be fully realized at any moment or it could also take time for it to fully reveal itself. We must do our part in the eternal dance hoping and praying, that if not in our time, those after us will continue the progress forward.
Finding peace
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 11:28-30
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121025.cfm
We are a society that has a bias for action and hard work. We find our value through what we produce. Our society is driven by a competitive nature. We have a tendency of seeing the world as a place of winners and losers. We are entertained by spectating and participating in sports and other competitive games. Even the way we market and sell products drives us to have a sense of missing out or that we’re better than others given the products or brands we associate ourselves with. We are always comparing ourselves to others. We downplay the successes of others to make ourselves feel better. We celebrate the failures of our competitors. We live in a state of comparative analysis where we’re always ranking, rating, and positioning ourselves and our group with others.
How great would it be to do what you want to do without it being referential! Do we even know what we want without being referential? Can we even break from our sense of obligation or competition? Can we move past self-preservation or our fear of missing out?
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of there being another way. We can leave all of this dog-eat-dog. It is in following this call of Jesus that one finds a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. It is our judgments that bring us down, not the work or labor. By becoming humble and meek, we find peace.
Unredeemable
Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 18:12-14
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120925.cfm
In today’s gospel, we learn that God desires to not leave anyone behind. No matter how lost anyone is, God is searching for a way to reach that person. Think of all the people that you personally believe to be unredeemable or unlovable. Think about all the people we as a society believe are unredeemable. There are a lot of people who take advantage of their power. There are people who seek the demise of others or cause pain to others. There are people who have turned their back to God and others. No matter how heinous the person, God still desires them as part of the flock.
Yes, we can look at the world and see a lot of evil. As we do, we need to remind ourselves that God wants to save it all. If we have any desire for the damnation of others, we must remember that God doesn’t. For this reason, such desire separates us from God as it goes against God’s will. During this season, let’s find a way to be like God by seeking redemption and salvation for those we may hate or find difficult to love.
Move beyond your ego
Monday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120825.cfm
God seeks to work through all of us, but it’s through those who are truly humble and devout that God’s love is consistently expressed. Our egos get in the way. We can have too low of an image of ourselves or too high. Most of the time, we don’t even realize that we’re doing it. Our ego can drive us to catastrophizing or to thinking that we’re one of the few that knows better than everyone else. We can put full certainty in our world view and not leave space for any doubt or challenge, or we can be overly doubtful. We can believe that we’re the one who needs to provide and care for others or overly lean on the support of others. We can exclusively focus on protecting what we have from the threat of others, or we can be overly generous out of a sense of obligation or to earn the love and attention of others. We can see ourselves as worthless and not try, or not try because we’re afraid that failure will disprove the value we put in ourselves. We all subscribe to these different ways of thinking. Some of us may subscribe more exclusively to certain ones over others, and others of us may bounce around them.
In today’s gospel, Mary provides a good example of going beyond these ego-limited ways of thinking by aligning her will with God’s. She was humble and devout with the trust she put in God. When Gabriel first greeted her, she was confused by the angel’s words. It was hard for her to conceive of the concept of being full of grace, but then she accepted that God has favor with her. God’s favor is God’s emotion, not her own. She accepts God’s perspective of her but still questions the practicality of the situation. Once the angel explains further, she accepts her role fully in the divine dance.
I don’t know about you, but, if I’m being honest with myself, there is a strong part of me that finds it difficult to truly say the words of Mary. The last thing I’d ever want to do is be a servant to anything or give my will up to even God. My own will is where I find my identity and my worth. I even keep my concept of God limited to my perspective, when God is always wanting to show and reveal more.
I am constantly looking at God and saying, “I got this.” But, in truth, I’ve got absolutely nothing without God. Even that part of me that says “I got this” isn’t even possible without God. Our egos are a means of deceiving ourselves and simplifying the narrative to simply being our own, but there is always a bigger narrative with God. To be part of that narrative, we need to accept the fact that there is always more which means we need to be comfortable with our own personal doubt and perspective while we also place our trust in God who will continue to be further revealed to us. It’s not an unknown to be feared, but a mystery to be enjoyed. Open up your heart and mind to let God work through you, don’t close God out with the certitudes of your own will regardless of your intentions. Like Mary, get past your personal intentions and let God in.
The ax and the fan
Second Sunday of Advent
Gospel: Mt 3:1-12
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120725.cfm
John was preparing a way for the Lord by giving people an opportunity to repent. Repentance is more than just deciding to not do evil anymore. It’s recognizing that one’s actions have consequences and negative impacts on oneself, others, and the world to such an extent that they desire change and seek transformation. John was trying to awaken the people of his day to repentance.
In his interaction with religious leaders, he shows how they’ve been corrupted by power with the justification that they were the people chosen by God. John even has the audacity to say to them that God can make anything chosen. John goes on to highlight the systematic impacts through the images of a brood of vipers and a tree awaiting to be cut down and thrown into a fire. The image of the brood of vipers is a symbol of the institutional power held by the religious authority and the tree showcases the generational sin. These institutional and generational systems, John preaches, will be destroyed with the coming of the Messiah..
For individuals, though, there is redemption. People are like plants meeting the harvester. The harvester with a winnowing fan separates the grain from the chaff. The harvester then clears out the chaff, stores the grain, and burns off the chaff. When John speaks of the people, he is including the religious leaders as well. They have the ability to be transformed like everyone else. While the systems they have benefited from and willingly contributed to lead to the downfall and struggles of many, they too are redeemable by God. The Messiah will take away ours and their worthless parts so that only our good fruit remains.
We, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, give ourselves over to institutional and generational sin. We justify it because it’s just how it is or just how it’s always been. It’s hard to recognize our contribution when we all share in it. We also have systematic ways to keep ourselves asleep and numb from recognizing and seeing the impacts of these systems we created. That’s why we must awaken to it.
Prophets like John were trying to shine a light into the overlooked darkness of their times. They were showing their communities that we have to accept accountability for our actions and let that accountability transform us. We need to critique the systems we take for granted and examine the impacts of the systems we’ve put in place so that we can transform them for the betterment of all. It’s not replacing one system for another, but truly transforming it into something different, something whole.
God is calling all of us to redemption and transformation, oppressors and oppressed alike.
All in the design
Saturday of the First Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120625.cfm
This is the second time during this advent season that the gospel of Matthew states that Jesus was moved to pity. While the previous reading was later in the gospel (Mt 15:29-37), they both showed how Jesus was moved by his time shared with us. He was problem solving from what he was observing. He was responding to his feeling of empathy towards his fellow people. It’s as if creation and human community are coded to the divine.
In becoming man, Jesus gave up on having all the answers. His experience of the world, his experience of us, led him to what he needed to do. In the previous “pity” gospel, he felt empathy because he didn’t want the people to go hungry. In today’s gospel, he feels empathy because, as one man, he would not be able to address the needs of everyone. In Jesus’s divinity, he could have just satiated the hungry crowd or miraculously given the second crowd a sense of belonging and well-being to rid them of being troubled and abandoned, but this is not how God works. God gives us free-will and works within creation.
Creation is like a board game and God is the game designer. What good is it to create rules to a game to only break them because you can? Each player has the ability to make their own decisions within the limits established within the game’s design. In Jesus, God was one of us, so he played by the rules of the game. God, while infinite, chose not to be infinite in Jesus, but to be one within the design. God wants God’s creation to find its salvation through its design. For this reason, we are all created in God’s image and can help others discover that image for themselves.
All of us, at times, feel that we are lost and abandoned and need others to help shepherd us. We also have the capacity within us to lead others. We are both shepherds and sheep. Likewise, we are both laborers and the harvest. Jesus is calling us all to be laborers. In tough times, the laborers may be few, but good labor inspires more good labor. Over time, this pattern will lead us to a plentiful harvest. As we continue to bear fruit, we help others do the same. We build real community through participating in the divine. We, likewise, participate in the divine through building real community.