TRAP
The title of my homily is, “Trap!” T R A P
It’s a word and a warning in today’s gospel - for this First
Sunday in Advent.
“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from
carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch
you by surprise like a trap.” (Luke
21: 34)
“Trap!”
The ideas and images in today’s readings are big time,
world ending, catastrophic, scary, written in Apocalypse Now language.
They are readings we hear every year - at the end of every Church year -
and at the beginning of a new Church year - every Advent - which starts today.
Back in the Early Church - when these New Testament texts
were written - between 50 and 115 A.D. - times were quite dangerous -
especially for Christians - this new movement - and new way of doing life. But
times were also difficult and dangerous for everyone - especially the little
people - the poor and the powerless.
Are there any periods in the history of the world - when
crazy, horrible things - were not happening? Are we any different today - than
any other period in history - except today we have more people and TV news -
24-7 - and we have to fill in those TV hours with shootings and killings - and
comments by one person who wants to trump another person - and gain political
power and prestige or what have you?
GO SMALL THIS
ADVENT
I rather go small - go personal - when it comes to traps.
This Advent - this Sunday - this moment - to ask and to
look at: what are the traps we get ourselves into? What are the traps in our
lives that kill us - drain us - destroy
us - drag us down toward the ground?
Food - overeating - poor eating? Drinking too much?
Rushing too much?
Relationships?
Other people? Family? Saying too much? Saying the wrong thing?
Breaking confidences? Lies. Bragging? Embellishments? And our words come back
to haunt us and we say, “I should have kept my trap shut.”
“Traps!”
In my first assignment as a priest in 1967 - I was asked
to say something about marriage - and it hit me loud and clear - that I knew
nothing - nothing - absolutely nothing about marriage.
Lucky for me, in The
New York Daily News that morning - in the Inquiring Photographer Section -
the question was asked, “What are the main problems or traps in marriage?”
4 or 5 people were interviewed. Next to their picture -
their answers to the Inquiring Photographer’s question - were given.
One person said, “The 3 biggest problems in marriage are
money, sex and in-laws.”
I’ve been repeating that answer for the past 50 years.
Are they the 3 biggest traps in marriage? Answer: they are for some and I
assume they have been the daily news for many people since Cave Man and Cave Woman
times.
Next time you’re in the doctor or dentist’s office, check the popular magazines sitting there. In Reader’s Digest and O and various women’s magazines [it seems to me that they read more
than us men] you’ll find at least one good article about traps.
FEELINGS
Pause for a moment and remember a moment when you felt
trapped.
What did it feel like?
It was a moment when we were nervous, sweating, felt some
panic.
It was a moment when we felt dumb - when we said to
ourselves, “Dumb, dumb, dumb!” “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” “Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh!”
Then we add, “I do this every time.” Then we add, “When will I ever learn?”
“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
“Dumb, dumb, dumb!”
ADVENT - GOD -
PRAYER - HELP!
When trapped, then come the prayers and the curses.
“God help me. God help me!” Or simply, “Help, help,
help!”
I think the curse, “God damn it!” at times - is not big
time blasphemy - but sometimes a prayer. It’s a prayer when we want God to take
away the bad - dam it - block it - and give us the good.
However, it’s not a prayer, but a curse when we are
blaming another for the mess we got ourselves into - and we start playing the
blame game - instead of working on recovery and redemption for ourselves.
I believe it can become a deep dream for God to come and
help us - and it can get us into the center of Christianity.
Did you notice - did you hear - that sentence in today’s
gospel, “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”
Problem - solution!
Advent gets us into this issue of help.
We sing, “O come, Oh come Immanuel!”
Advent leads us to Christmas - when Christ comes to us as
a baby!
In some traps - we have to take baby steps for recovery.
I see that loud in clear in 12 Step Programs.
Easy does it. One step at a time. One day at a time.
We have to become humble and like a little baby. We need a sponsor, a parent figure, counseling to get us
back on our feet again. We need to meet and learn to talk our first sensible
words - for years or for life again.
Christ comes as a baby each Christmas.
I’ve seen males - mostly males - change - when they have
a child to care for - to raise - and the baby changes them - the sacrifices one
has to make to care for a helpless needing to have diapers changed baby.
Matthew and Luke - in their beginning pages - have Jesus
appearing as a baby.
Mark has Jesus showing up at the edge of our lake - at
the edge of our job - and challenges us. Jobs, work, also change people -
especially when they see the values of Christ being or not being at issue in
the workplace.
John has Jesus showing up in our words - “And the word
became flesh and dwelt amongst us.”
Sorry to say I see a post-Christianity happening - when
Christ and Church and Christ’s vision on how to live life - is disappearing.
I notice that my nieces all got married in Church - and I
did their marriages - and now I see the next generation after them - getting
married in beautiful places of nature - in non-Church settings - and I’m
wondering what’s happening.
One niece told me - she’s not here I hope - otherwise I
opened my trap again - that her Sunday morning nourishment and life giver is
tennis with friends and then a great conversation with coffee afterwards. I
don’t want some guy in a pulpit telling me what to do. I said nothing when she
said this - but I listened and I think about all these things.
I’m wondering if the numbers are down at Masses here at
St. Mary’s and St. John Neumann’s.
I will be watching for research and numbers on all this. In
the United States, we’ve certainly seen the Sunday numbers go down on all this. I've read that it's between 38% to 28% of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass.
I've been noticing that some folks are going 2 or 3 Sundays per month.
I have been in favor of changing
the words, as someone put it, from “Holy Day of Obligation” to “Holy Day of
Opportunity or Grace” - and to change “Sunday Obligation” to “Sunday Opportunity”. Of course, various church folks would object to that way of thinking and theologizing.
I rather see people at Mass because they want to be here
as opposed to feel they have to be here. I hear people state the reason they go to Mass - as “under pain of mortal sin” or “I can’t
receive communion till I have gone to confession.”
I'm still thinking about all this - because obligation gets some people to Mass - till they change their attitude and go out of love of God and the Church community.
I rather stress Sunday Mass as a chance to pause - as
well as taking walks and taking in great places of nature - to ponder life - and to see how my
life is going - and by doing these religious and spiritual practices - I find
myself walking with God more - and watching and avoiding the traps of life more
- and I’m becoming a better family person - and a better workplace person.
CONCLUSION
Advent is here.
Advent means the coming of Christ.
Advent means preparing for the coming of the Lord again,
again and again.
Emmanuel means God with us - so each Advent we sing loud
and clear, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
And with God with us - Christ - we are getting help
avoiding the traps of life.
