That’s the title of today’s
feast: “The Holy Guardian Angels.”
I’m going to make two points
about angels: first, they protect us and second, they bring us messages.
FIRST: THEY PROTECT US
The theology of the Guardian Angels is that God has
angels watching over us. I’ll take them. I‘ll take that protection.
Many images of angels in religious art - especially for
children - has an angel flying or walking with a child.
And if we were brought up as Catholics we were taught
that childhood prayer, “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom his love,
commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and
guide. Amen.”
As you know there is also in theological story and
tradition the story that Lucifer - the Light Bearer - a very powerful angel -
sinned - dropped God and God dropped him.
Instead of serving others - he was into himself.
And his sin is often described as pride - which is often
described as the worst sin - that Lucifer could not take anyone above him.
Contrast with that: yesterday’s second reading from
Philippians - that God humbled himself - becoming human - became even lower -
became a slave and a servant - and lowered himself even more - dying the death
of a criminal.
So the first message we can get from Angels - is that
they are for serving us, protecting us - not themselves. We see that in the good
angels - and in contrast in the bad angels who did not serve us - but they were
into themselves - in to pride, power, having great lights. That can blind us -
and we need the opposite humility - the ability to serve others.
SECOND THINGS
ANGELS DO: THEY BRING MESSAGES TO US
The second message about angles is that they are
messengers.
That might be the clear basic reasons in the scriptures
for angels. They bring messages to Gideon, to prophets, to Mary and Joseph.
They bring messages from God to people.
CONCLUSION
In you look around at religious art - statues, pictures,
stained glass windows - angels seem to be floating around - with wings or on
wheels.
My favorite image of an angel is Clarence - the angel
apprentice in the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
He protects Jimmy Stewart and he brings messages to him.
It contains - some think - an early Christian hymn - in
Aramaic - that Paul took and put it into his letter - to the Philippians - in
Greek. Some even think Philippians is 2 letters - put together - from around
the year 54-57.
Who said, “Cut and paste is something new?”
I think everyone should meditate deeply on this early
Christian hymn - Philippians 2: 5b-11.
The message of the hymn goes like this:
God the Son, the Second Person in God, the God of 3
persons, goes to God the Father and says, “Father, I have an idea. What would
it be like for me to empty out of myself - of all my God stuff - everything -
and become human - better - become the lowest of the human race - and become a
slave - a servant.”
And God the Father says, “Okay. Go for it.”
READ THE LIFE
OF CHRIST WITH THAT IN MIND
Read the life of Christ in the 4 Gospels with that in
mind.
God the Son becomes a baby - and is a baby - with the
name of Jesus.
He has to go through everything we had to go through:
learn to walk, talk, eat, pick up tools, everything.
I don’t know if everyone buys that. Isn’t that what we
hear in today’s reading from Philippians:
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found himself in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Isn’t that what Hebrews 4:15 says that? Jesus had to deal
with everything we have to deal with - except sin.
PICTURE THAT
Picture that: Jesus begins helpless as a baby - as human
- like the rest of us.
The gospel of Luke tells us Jesus grew in wisdom, age and
grace.
We can picture that - but we can’t picture how Jesus can
be both human and divine.
Neither the did theologians of the early church -
struggling with the mystery of humanity and the divinity of Christ - and God
being 3 persons.
In time - with heresies and creeds - we have basically -
what the Greek Icons teach us with Jesus’ hand: These 3 fingers together: the
Trinity. These 2 fingers here: the humanity and divinity of Christ.
EXAMPLES OF
PRACTICING EMPTINESS: THE IMITATION OF CHRIST
In this homily I would like to present emptiness as a way
of imitating Christ - as a way of doing life.
The first example would be the example of Walter Ciszek - a Jesuit priest from Shenandoah,
Pennsylvania - born November 4, 1904. He died in New York City, December 8,
1984.
In 1939 he squeezed into the Soviet Union and did secret
missionary work till 1963.
He was caught and spent 5 years in Lubyanka prison in
Moscow.
Then he spent 15 years in the Gulag.
He was freed from the slave camps, but still couldn't return to the United States. Then with a little help from Bobby and John Kennedy and others, he was able to come home to the United States in 1963.
Surprise! His relatives and the Jesuits found out he was alive.
Want to read about becoming empty - read his two books: With God in Russia and then more
spiritual insights into what he was thinking and going through during those
years - in his second book: He Leadeth Me.
I’ll put those names on my blog - and you can read about
him by typing into Google, Walter Ciszek - Jesuit.
Talk about becoming empty.
Next example - would be a janitor - named DAVUTH - at a
local school - who loves clean - who loves his family - who needed a job. He
was a doctor in Cambodia - snook into Canada - and then the United States with
his family - and keeps a small Polish Catholic Elementary School in Toledo
Ohio, immaculate.
Most people don’t notice him when he comes in around 5 in
the evening - after doing the same job in an office building in town - but
those few who say hello on the stairs or the different rooms he cleans - get a
neat “Hi” and a smile from him.
Nobody really knows him - yet - except his family and his church - where
he’s also an usher.
Next comes a single mom - raising 3 kids - car pools - is
a nurse - a widow - whom most don’t notice - but for those who know her -
wonderful woman - but most don’t see her - because she doesn’t have that much
time - any time.
Next comes a United States government worker. I met him
at the United States Immigration office in Niagara Falls, United States Side. I
never did get his name.
Two jobs back I was a novice master - training and teaching
future Redemptorists - for a year and a day. I did that for 9 years - 9 classes
- and it’s always neat to meet former novices that I was with - as well as to
hear good things about them - our future.
A novice I had was from Vietnam - who came with his
family through London to Miami. His name was Duc. He didn’t last - but I had a
good year with him.
Every year around Easter I would take the novice class to
Toronto from upstate New York - for a 5 day break.
Duc didn’t have his papers. Every summer - home from our college seminary
he would go to the immigration office in Miami and every summer they couldn’t
find any - but since he had family here, they didn’t do anything other than
say, “Sorry.”
Well, this class of 9 novices - in 3 cars - headed for Niagara
Falls - the border - and then turn right and head for Toronto - where we had 2
Redemptorist Houses.
I told the guys and Duc - we would stop at immigration -
U.S. Side in Niagara Falls and tell them of Duc - so that when we came back, we
would not have problems.
Well, I was ushered into see this immigration official -
with Duc - while the other guys waited outside.
This official said, “I wouldn’t chance it, Father. I
wouldn’t chance it.”
So I told the guys I’ll go back with Duc and you guys go
to Toronto.
But the Immigration official said to me, “Let me go back
with Duc to the computers and give me all the papers you have. Sometimes I find
things.”
A half hour later the Immigration guy and Duc come out of
the back rooms and the guy is holding papers and waving papers to me like a
winning lottery ticket - and a big smile on his face.
“We found the mistake. When Duc was going through
immigration in London, someone put the right numbers and letters for all his family
- except for Duc. I corrected it.”
We thanked the guy - got in our cars - and headed for
Toronto.
I’m driving alone and I leaned a bit and saw Duc in the
back seat behind me looking at his papers and crying.
For some reason I said, “Duc you exist. Finally you
exist.”
I have never forgotten that Immigration Guy - and I
assume there are thousands and thousands and thousands - let’s make it millions
- of public officials all over the world - who empty themselves every day - in
service to others.
Whenever I hear people complain about government works,
police, fire department, teachers, doctors, nurses, priests, people, I say to myself, “Not everyone. I met an immigration official in Niagara Falls Canada and a Cambodian maintenance guy
named Davuth and a nurse named Nancy and I read about a Jesuit priest named Walter - who spent years in the
Soviet Union - bringing Jesus and his good word to people.
CONCLUSION
The secret of life - empty yourself - so others can be
filled up.
The secret of life - no selfies.
October 1, 2017
TINKER TAILOR
SOLDIER SAILOR
Does God tinker with our lives?
Does God tailor our lives - mending
