WHAT NOW? WHAT NEXT?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this First Monday in Advent is, “What Now? What Next?”

It’s the thought that hit me when I read today’s first reading [Isaiah 4:2-6] as well as today’s psalm [Psalm 122].

THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE

In today’s first reading and in today’s Psalm we see the importance of both Jerusalem and the Temple in Jerusalem.

The time is in the 750 to 700 B.C. – and Assyria is the power that is marching around beating up and destroying those in its path.

Now as the reading tells us, before those left in Jerusalem are called “holy” they first have to be cleansed – by fire – talk about Purgatory – because of the many sins of its leaders and its people.

The Psalm – Psalm 122 – is a Psalm that was sung by folks on their way to Jerusalem and the temple on pilgrimage. We said the Psalm response, “I rejoiced when I heard them say: let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Throughout history there has been a lot of destruction of cities, towns, holy places. I assume that everyone experiencing destruction then asks, “What now? What next?”

Security is Job One.

So we build with stone citadels and castles.

But we all know all can come tumbling down.

We all know at different moments in life we realize we saw our bodies as our protection – our fortress – and then we see from time to time our bodies slowly crumbling.
What now? What next?

What happens when our church burns down? What happens when our city is destroyed? What happens when one’s life, one’s center is destroyed?

Divorce, death, fires, floods, is the stuff of TV and Newspaper and life for people. What happens when a marriage falls apart or a spouse or a child or a parent dies suddenly?

What now?

What next?

AS CHRISTIANS – JESUS IS OUR CENTER

As Christians Jesus is our center – our temple – our city – our hope – someone who can’t be destroyed.

This is the message of Advent and Christmas – Christ came and called us to enter into his strength – in spite of our weaknesses.

That’s the Message of the Cross and Resurrection, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Somewhere along the line Jesus saw Jerusalem and the Temple and he said that both will be destroyed – but I won’t be destroyed. Around the year 70 the city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed once again.

The Christian Community there had to flee to different places. Scholars place Jamnia – north of Israel as the place where Mathew’s Community settled.

WHAT NOW? WHAT NEXT?

The title of my homily is, “What Now? What next?”

What do we do after a fire or a flood? What do we do after a death or a divorce? What do we do after we find out we have Cancer or what have you?

Answer: we start again. We rebuild or resettle – or we pick up the pieces and go for resurrection over death.

That’s one reason we have the cross staring us in the face – especially here at St. John Neumann. This is life. This is what happened – but our prayer is not: Christ has died. Nope, we pray, Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

That’s a key Advent message. Amen.