GRACE GAUGE:
FULL, HALF FULL, EMPTY?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Grace Gauge: Full, Half Full, Empty?”

When I was reading today’s gospel, the words, “Hail, full of grace!” hit me.

Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel with those words.

GAS GAUGE

Then for some reason, probably the word “full”, I thought of the image of the gas gauge in every car. We look at it from time to time – and we say, “Ooops, I need to stop and get some gas.” And if we forget, modern cars do the “ooops” for us with the sound, “bing, bing, bing” or whatever our car does to warn us, “You need to get some gas.”

Then I said to myself, “Would it be far fetched to ask in a sermon, ‘When it comes to grace am I full, half full or half empty, or empty of grace?’”

When it comes to spirituality, I’ve heard people say, “I’m running on empty.” Or I’ve heard people say, “I need God more – grace more – prayer more – more meaning - in my life.”

So let me ask that question: “When it comes to grace am I full, half full or half empty, or empty of grace – or somewhere in between?”

GRACE

I assume it would be helpful to describe “grace”.

It’s not something – like fuel – but it could be described that way in a way. I say that because “grace” has so many meanings.

What fuels us? And in the second half of this homily, I’m going to ask, “What fools us?”

What is grace?

Grace is holiness.

Grace is being pleasing to both God and others.

Grace is ease and smoothness in movement – like a figure skater or a star athlete.

Grace means being calm and comfortable with oneself.

Grace means knowing God loves me. I am loved and lovable.

Grace means gift.

Grace means being grateful.

Grace means accomplished.

Grace means acceptance.

Grace means exempt – privileged.

Grace means being kind, compassionate, considerate, thoughtful.

Grace means these and much more.

So if I have these qualities, I might be described as graceful – full of grace – or somewhat graceful.

In today’s gospel text from Luke, what seems most powerful for me is the message, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you!" These are the opening words of the Hail Mary prayer which we say over and over again. I love the sound of the Greek word “kecharitomene” – “favored one” or "graced one".

MARY

When we walk into a crowded room – say at a Christmas party or a family Christmas celebration, let’s be honest, there’s that one person we are so happy to see – our favored one.

When God looks at us human beings, he sees Mary. She’s the most highly favored one and God chooses her to be the Mother of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Gabriel’s message scares this young woman. This greeting troubled her. So the angel says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

God looked at human beings and was especially pleased with Mary.

The Catholic Church has stressed the importance of Mary in the story all through the years.

We see this in millions of statues, paintings, prayers and devotions.

The story does not stop with Mary. It starts with Mary – but Mary with her Jewish roots and story.

The story then becomes the Christ story – the one whom Mary brings into our world.

The story is Jesus – just as every mother and father know that the story is not them: it’s their children and on and on and on – and they are honored to be parents – bringers of new gifts to our world.

Mary is not God. God is God.

Pictures and statues are not Mary – just as pictures of our parents or kids on a book shelf or in our wallet or cell phone are not them. They just remind us of them.

And we don’t worship Mary. We honor Mary. We worship God. And for us Christians, when we say, “God” we’re moving into the Trinity – our great mysterious understanding of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

When Catholics miss who Mary is, we might have overreactions. We saw this in the Protestant Reformation when Mary was disgraced – thrown out of the life of so many Christians – because some Catholics stopped at Mary – and missed that Christ is the Savior – the Lord.

Mary is the one who brings Christ to the World.

Mary is the one who said at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Mary is the “Servant of the Lord”.

Mary is the one who was there in the background of the story – to support Jesus the Savior – as well as the growing Church.

Okay, now what?

PART TWO OF THIS SERMON – MY LIFE: FULL OF WHAT?
Let me now ask my opening question in a different way?

Looking at my life – what fills me?

Looking at my life – what am I full of?

I choose the words I’m using on purpose.

Here is where my gas gauge metaphor breaks down. We put one thing in our gas tank: gas. Of course it has additives – this and that – but basically we call it gas – or diesel fuel or battery power in these newer hybrid cars.

We put into ourselves – many things – and if we look at our life, we are full of this and that at different times in our life.

What is fueling me? What is fooling me?

What are the good energies of my life? What are the foolish things I’m chasing?

These are key questions I'm asking in this sermon.

As little children we are full of mom and dad. We are full of being fed and being noticed. We are full of the need for protection and security and we scream to get these things.

So the little child needs to be held by their mom and dad - to hear those heartbeats, to see those faces, to smell those scents that are so familiar. They want food – comfort – security – love.

We change. We grow.

The child starts becoming full of the world around them. He or she slowly wanders from mom and dad. What’s in the bottom drawer? The child wants to get at the piano and anything and everything. They are full of the world. Sticks and lipsticks. Jump ropes and soccer balls. Sky. Ocean. Water. Shiny amazing faucets – you twist them and out comes water. Amazing. Cell phones. Cars. Sharks. Blue Angel toy planes. Dolls. Wheels. Dogs. Cats. They move from being full of parents to being filled with their surroundings.

We change. We become full of ourselves – our bodies – feelings, emotions, worries about zits and changes and questions.

We change. We become full of others – school – sports – music – drama – fun.

We become full of worry: worry about relationships – love – highs and lows with parents and siblings – and other boys and girls. We worry about being admired and being mired in the pain of being dropped – and we become full of why others do what they do.

Then we become full of college – school – the future – jobs – making money – and on and on and on.

At some point we become full of another. If it leads to marriage, the honeymoon lasts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or more years depending upon all sorts of twists and turns in our story.

Then, if we are blessed with children, if we become full of children, we fill in our time nurturing them. We worry about earning and having enough money to give them a good home, a good life, a safe neighborhood, good schools and vacations and coaching and this and that.

At times we discover we're empty. There was no bing, bing, bing sound. We missed the warning signals. Our spouse gets caught up in the kids or their work or this and that – and we do the same. And sometimes there are mistakes. Or the kids are not listening and we feel more empty. Or we lose our job and we feel panic. What now? Sometimes we begin to understand what our parents went through when they were in the situation we are in now.

Somewhere along the line we realize the great value of friendships. It's a blessing when we realize it’s our spouse. Sometimes this doesn’t happen till the kids are gone. Sometimes our spouse is our best friend for a whole lifetime - lasting our whole marriage. It’s real and keeps on getting better. Sometimes it doesn’t last and we feel loneliness and angst.

And sometimes we get religious stuff. Sometimes we hear God or an angel say, "Hi" or "Hail!" Sometimes we hear, "Do not be afraid."

So there are God moments. It might be a vacation moment at the beach on an early summer morning when all the family are still sleeping and the ocean water is pounding the shore. We are overwhelmed with how our life makes sense. Or it might be making breakfast for the family – and all are in their jammies and all laughing. It’s might be a wedding or it might be a funeral. It might be a great Thanksgiving dinner. It might be a Christmas morning – or it might be just looking at a late December afternoon – with the light so different and so sideways.

Sometimes we get sick. We have cancer or need a heart operation. We feel so empty. We're scared. Or we might feel so ready for "Whatever." Whatever the reaction, we find ourselves praying in a new way for the first time in our lives.

Sometimes we are just sitting there and the movie of our life is playing on our inner screen and we realize, we are full of grace and we brought Christ to two out of the four of our kids – and maybe these other two will come around one of these years.

Hey Christmas is coming.

And we rejoice because we feel full of grace, gifts, blessings, so many unplanned things inside our being. And we get it –and we start making Christmas morning children souns, "Woo!" "Wow!" "Cool!" "No way!" "Oh my God, great!"

CONCLUSION

For David in the first reading, he only realizes the need for God – and a temple for God, when he’s settled in – and his enemies are gone.

For Christians, sometimes the Christmas story makes sense. It’s a great grace, a great gift, when we realize that Christ is born in a barn full of you know what – to tell us that Christ can be born in the messy mess of this person called me – when I full of so many straws and weird barn like sounds.

So once more, what does your grace gauge say: full, half full or half empty or empty?

DO NOT QUENCH THE SPIRIT!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Do Not Quench the Spirit!”

It’s a message from St. Paul in today’s second reading from 1st Thessalonians 5:19.

“Do Not Quench the Spirit!”

Quench – meaning “to put out” – “to extinguish” a light or a fire, to blow out a candle or throw water in a fireplace – “to terminate” a fire or desire or thirst.

“Do not quench, put out, extinguish, terminate the Spirit – the Fire – the Light.”

The Greek verb used by Paul is “SBENNUMI” – “to extinguish”. I found it interesting that the Greek word “ASBESTOS” “not quenched’ – “not being extinguished” – has the same root [a + sbennynai].

Today is the middle Sunday in Advent – sometimes called, “Gaudete” or “Rejoicing Sunday”. It’s just like the middle Sunday in Lent, “Laetare” or “Rejoicing Sunday”.

Rejoice. “Do Not Quench the Spirit.” Don’t stop the “joie de vivre” [zhwah de veev-ra] – the joy of living. Don’t kill the spirit of imagination. Don’t stop the spirit of creativity in children – or anyone. Don’t lose the playful child inside of us adults.

Christianity is a religion of joy. “Humbug!” on the Scrooges and any sad faced Christians in our midst!

FIRST READING

Today’s first reading is from Isaiah 61. It is the great text that Jesus reads and preaches on in his inaugural address in Luke 4: 18-19.

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
for he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to captives,
and release to prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God.”

Christianity is a religion of Glad Tidings - Good News – Godspell – Gospel.

Christianity is a religion of receiving a Spirit – the Holy Spirit – a Spirit of healing, forgiveness, liberty, release, favor – inside us – and then it erupts out of us as we become instruments of peace – as we go out and forgive, releasing grudges and bringing joy to each other.

Forgiveness is God’s favorite theme. [Cf. Luke 15.]

God favors us. Did you ever wonder if God has favorites? God does. It’s us. Experiencing this brings great joy!

Doesn’t the favorite student of the teacher, the favorite athlete on the team, the favorite neighbor on the street, the favorite child in the family, feel a special joy? I’m blessed. I’m favored. Pinch me!

That’s the message the angels sang over Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Well, Jesus was God’s favorite. That’s the Good News that John the Baptist – “the voice of one crying in the desert, making straight the way of the Lord” proclaimed as we heard in today’s gospel.

John the Baptist was not the anointed one – not the Christ.

The word “Christ” is from the Greek word, “CHRIO” - anointed.

John the Baptist was the messenger – the proclaimer – the one who points out whom to look for – to discover the favored one – the Lord.

That’s what the voice from the heavens proclaimed at the Jordan – when Jesus was baptized, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

That’s the voice we hear at our baptism – when we are anointed – when the chrism – when the sacred oil is put on us – and the priest or deacon who baptizes announces, “He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.”

This message is powerful. Each person baptized, adult or child, is the anointed one, is the beloved – the one whom God is well pleased with.

And when this is authentic – real – felt – experienced – we follow suit – we treat others as special, God’s favorite – and on and on and on.

This is what happened to Jesus. He experienced this being loved, so then he went out and loved others – spreading that Good News by words and actions.

Hopefully, we have the same experience.

Love has a bounce!

St. Alphonsus – the founder of the Redemptorists – the priests in this parish – whose statue is up there – used to say, “God is crazy! “pazzo” in Italian, because He loves us so much. He’s crazy in love with us.

St. Alphonsus had a great revelation in his life. He was very scrupulous in his early years – thinking he was a great sinner – that everything was a sin. Then he experienced the love of Christ for him. His book, The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ, can be summed up in the word “practice”. Jesus practices loving people. Unfortunately, St. Alphonsus became scrupulous again in his old age – but in the meanwhile, he had a great run on being loved and loving others – especially folks nobody was rushing to be with.

He simply did what Jesus did. He experienced himself and others as God’s favorite. That’s why he reached especially to those who felt like rejects.

I love the saying, “Each person is in the best seat.”

I love the words I’ve heard some people say well after their parents are dead – for example my sister Mary – “Our parents had 4 only childs.”

Rejoice. God sees each person as the only person.

Rejoice. God sees all persons as one person.

Rejoice. Heaven is when all persons are one in God – who is Three – who is One – who is Many – who is One. You think three persons in one God is deep mystery. There are billions and billions of people in God. It's called "The Kingdom of Heaven."

Rejoice.

Rejoice Christmas is coming – and Jesus is coming to us – again and again and again to make all this come – to make the Kingdom come – on earth as it is in heaven.

Rejoice a new calendar year is coming – and once more we’re going to have feelings of resolution, “This year I’m going to be more joyful, happy, alive, trusting, a giver, filled with God’s Spirit.”

Rejoice, “This coming year, I’m going to exercise more, eat better, read more, do more for others, pray more, enjoy more, listen more.”

When those feelings come up sometime around December 29 till January 1st, “Do Not Quench the Spirit.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

Today’s gospel is from the beginning of the Gospel of John – and we heard that John the Baptist came and testified to the Light – so that all might believe in the light.

Rejoice. Christmas is a feast of Light.

Rejoice. Jesus, the Light of the world, comes into people’s minds and hearts in so many interesting ways.

Looking at your life, how have you seen the Light?

How have you been enlightened?

What have been your many Christ moments?

Take the image of candle light.

You’re sitting here in church and you’ve seen these four candles up here a hundred times through the years – but this year, a light goes on inside of you..

Suddenly you get the insight. This candle is me.

My life is like a candle. It only has so much burn time and the call is that I bring light to others.

Then I say to yourself, “I have a time limit. Oops.”

Then I realize time limits scares me. Then I start thinking, “No wonder I blow out the candle. I want a longer life. I don’t want to keep on giving, giving, giving.”

Then I laugh. Then I cry. Then I realize when I do this, I’ quenching the light, the fire, the candle, the Spirit – the meaning of life.”

Rejoice. I thank God for the light, the insight I just had.

CONVERSION MOMENTS

When I realize this I’m having a conversion moment.

Life is filled with conversion moments.

Life is filled with insight moments.

In The New York Times for yesterday, there was an obituary for Avery Dulles – the son of John Foster Dulles. Avery had a conversion. He became a Catholic. He became a Jesuit. He became a priest. He became a Cardinal.

One of the courses I took to get a master's degree at Princeton Theological Seminary, was given by Avery Dulles. It was on "Models of the Church" - which came out afterwards as a book. Besides getting an A, I found him to be very insightful – a delight. One day, someone in a next door classroom told a joke or said something very funny. The laughter came through the walls. Avery Dulles paused, smiled and said, “That will probably be the only laugh you’ll hear in this classroom this semester.” At that, we all laughed. He smiled even more. Then he added, “As my name indicates, I’m known for being rather Dull.” Well, I found him far from dull – simply one of the best teachers I ever had.

Talking about moments of light and insight, listen to what The New York Times says in the middle of Avery Dulles' Obituary:

His spiritual passage to Catholicism was like a fable. A young scholar with a searching mind, he stirred from his establishment Presbyterian family to face questions of faith and dogma. By the time he entered Harvard in 1936, he was an agnostic.

In his second book, “A Testimonial to Grace,” a 1946 account of his conversion, Cardinal Dulles said his doubts about God on entering Harvard were not diminished by his studies of medieval art, philosophy and theology. But on a gray February day in 1939, strolling along the Charles River in Cambridge, he saw a tree in bud and experienced a profound moment.

“The thought came to me suddenly, with all the strength and novelty of a revelation, that these little buds in their innocence and meekness followed a rule, a law of which I as yet knew nothing,” he wrote. “That night, for the first time in years, I prayed.”

His conversion in 1940, the year he graduated from Harvard, shocked his family and friends, he said, but he called it the best and most important decision of his life.

He joined the Jesuits and went on to a career as a major Catholic thinker that spanned five decades.
When I read that, I was trying to recall a moment from Thomas Merton' life. It might be in his book, The Sign of Jonah. He might have been going to a doctor in Louisville. He looks out the car window and sees a billboard with a Lucky Strike advertisement. It's Ash Wednesday, I think, and he sees the ash tip of the cigarette. The cigarette is going to continue burning. Then it will come to an end. It’s life. And then Merton, like Avery Dulles, realizes spring, new life, buds budding, are going to happen soon.

CONCLUSION

What are your moments of light and insight?

They happen every day. Ask God that you see them.

“Do not quench the Spirit.”

Rejoice when the Spirit whispers or yells in your brain, “Rejoice highly favored one. I see you and I’m calling you.” Amen.

IMPERFECT

The title of my homily is, “Imperfect.”

Life is funny. Jesus is funny. He knows life. He knows us.

Nobody is perfect.

The person who thinks they are perfect slips on the banana skin.

There is always something missing.

We’re sitting around with family and someone suggests playing cards. We go searching for a deck – find one – but surprise one card, the Queen of Hearts, is missing and we can’t find her anywhere.

So we decide to do a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone works on it for hours and hours and hours. Surprise we get to the end and one piece is missing.

Nothing is perfect.

Theirs is always something or someone missing.

Life is funny that way.

People want to go through life without any mistakes – to get a perfect score. Surprise, we make mistakes. We get lost. We get found. We get lost again. We misspell – miss names – miss appointments.

There are divorces – fender benders – a sister-in-law who gets drunk at every wedding.

We decide to go sailing. We get there only to discover we forgot to bring the key to the boat. The round trip to get home to get the key is twenty five minutes. We get it and we’re about ten minutes to the boat and it starts to rain with thunder and lightning.

People get zits and pimples – rips and stains.

We spill red spaghetti sauce on the while blouse or on a white table cloth and we spill it right in at our spot on the table. We try to hide the mess with a plate. It works, that is, till the perfect hostess comes up from behind us, picks up our empty plate and whispers a shrill, “Oooh, aren’t we the messy one?”

The meal is perfectly set up. The hors d’oeuvres go perfect. Everyone sits down. Surprise. We forgot to put out the forks.

There is always something or someone missing. Sometimes it’s us. We sin. We say the wrong thing – and we wish we could sink into the floor.

Relax. Jesus knows all about this. He missed what was missing.

100 is the perfect number in some systems. Then again, sometimes it’s 10. Sometimes it’s 5. Sometimes it’s 3. Sometimes it’s 2. Whatever the perfect number is, there is always seems to be one missing. One son becomes prodigal. Then when he is found, the other son won’t come in the house.

A lady had ten coins and loses one.

A shepherd had a long day. He’s all set for a long sleep, so he starts counting his sheep. Surprise - as we heard in today's gospel - one sheep is missing. It always happens. It’s life.

The Pharisees wanted to be perfect. They didn't want to look at their imperfections - the underneath bad breath of death. Jesus wanted be to die - to be grave - to dig within till they experienced new resurrection and new life. [Check out Matthew 23:27-28 and Luke 11: 37-44.]

The disciple wanted to be better than the other disciple: more important – more wise – get a better seat. [Cf. Mark 9: 33-37.] So Jesus kept dropping these hints about lost sheep, lost coins, foolish virgins and scared gift getters who buried their talents in the ground.

Jesus noticed some saw little kids as testy and pesty - and like crowds who wanted food, the disciples wanted Jesus to get rid of them. Jesus saw them as advertisements to what the kingdom and he was all about. We hear this in the section in Matthew just before today’s gospel text [Matthew 18:12-14].

Jesus also says, it’s all right to get into heaven missing a hand or an eye or walking in with a limp. That's certainly better than going to hell perfect with two feet and two hands and two eyes - and not being lame. [Cf. Matthew 18:1-14]

You have to laugh – especially with oneself – when we sin or when we’re late or when we make a mistake or when we’re imperfect.

Relax. Jesus was born in a stable.

Relax! Jesus says his Father comes looking for us when we are lost – when we’re dumb sheep. In fact, when we’re imperfect, that’s when we’re the perfect candidate for a God search till we’re found. In fact, being imperfect, having a good fall or sin is often the perfect time for people to find God.

Homily for 2 Tuesday Advent,

December 9, 2008

*

OUR OWN BEST SELF

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”

The thought that hits me for this feast of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary models for us our own best self.

Priests, when it comes to this feast of the Immaculate Conception, often quote the words of the English poet, William Wordsworth, about Mary, “Woman, above all women glorified, / Our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”

Translation: when we are at our best, we boast about our best.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. When we are at our worst, we talk about the faults and failings of others. Sometimes, we also tear down those who are good or those who are successful.

Mary was the best – and we celebrate that today.

We are called to be our best – and when we are – we are doing God’s Will – being whom God hopes we will be. That’s a quick summary of this message in today’s second reading. [Cf. Ephesians 1: 11-12.]

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Before I came to Annapolis, I worked for 8 ½ years out of a parish in western Ohio, Lima. It’s about an hour’s drive from the Indiana border. About 30 weeks of the year I would be somewhere else than in Lima – many times, in tiny towns – preaching with another Redemptorist for a week in places we had never heard of: Galion, Bucyrus, Edgerton, Paulding, Napoleon, Kalida – all towns in Ohio.

And often in these tiny towns there would be a sign announcing a famous person from that town. For example, we saw a sign in Holgate, Ohio, “Birthplace of Joe E. Brown” or “Birthplace of Neil Armstrong, Wapokoneta, Ohio.” We saw signs mentioning Thomas Edison in Milan, Ohio and Annie Oakley in Greenville, Ohio. Or people would mention a pro football or baseball player from that town – sometimes someone I heard of, sometimes someone I never heard of.

Translation: people are proud of home town heroes.

Phyllis Diller was from Lima, Ohio.

MARY

Today we celebrate the feast of one of our’s: Mary.

Mary, a young girl, was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus – our Lord and our Savior – and so God so set her free from original sin from her conception.

The town of Nazareth celebrates Mary. This planet – at least we Catholics – and so many others - celebrate her as well. We celebrate that God was thinking ahead – when preparing our world for his Son – in choosing Mary – to be the Mother of God.

The Catholic Church’s teaching is we are good - but we have instincts to both good and evil within us. Keep an eye on oneself for a month – and we’d see this truth. Turn the pages of scriptures and you’ll hear about this truth.

The Catholic Church’s teaching is that Mary was conceived without original sin – because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.

That’s what this feast – this Feast of the Immaculate Conception – is about.

Early Church Fathers like Irenaeus and Ambrose suggested this. The idea slowly developed and it was a title and a feast by 1476. [Type “Paintings – Immaculate Conception” into the Google search engine and you’ll see artists in the late middle ages and into modern times painting pictures of Mary under this title.] The teaching by the Church wasn’t declared a dogma till 1854.

This morning I was thinking that this teaching about Mary is an extremely logical idea. Now, when I have time, I need to do some research to see if anyone connected this dogma declared in 1854 with the Enlightenment – a movement that started in the middle of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th centuries and continues into our time.

Translation: When a couple are pregnant they start planning for the future. They want to do everything they can do to make life just right for the future child within the mom’s womb. This teaching is telling us that God did this for Mary – when she was in her mother’s womb – that Mary be just right to be the mother of his Son – Jesus, the Son of God.

OUR OWN BEST SELF

The title of my homily is, “Our Own Best Self.”

Today’s first reading tells us part of the story of Adam and Eve as it’s told in the Book of Genesis. Those stories in the beginning chapters of Genesis are early theologians trying to help us figure out how life started, where evil comes from, and where is God in all this.

These stories tell us two great teachings: first of all, God created us, so we and everything he created are good; and secondly, so where does evil come from? Evil comes because we have freedom of choice. Evil comes from bad choices. And the story tells us that Adam and Eve were the originators of sin.

Today’s gospel story from Luke is a parallel story to today’s first reading. Mary is being given a choice. She too answers questions like Adam did. Unlike Adam and Eve, Mary chooses the right fruit – the fruit of her womb, Jesus.

CONCLUSION

This feast challenges us to be our Own Best Self.

This feast challenges us to be like Mary.

This feast challenges us to choose Jesus – and like Mary, to bring him to our world.

Each day we have choices to make.

Good choices make us our own best self. Bad choices make us our own worst enemy.

Each day forbidden fruit stares us in the face. We find a lost wallet on the sidewalk. We can keep it or try to find its owner.

Each day we can see a neighbor or a stranger who needs our help. We come upon someone trying to open a door with their hands full. We can walk over and help them or we can be blind.

Each day we can say “Yes” or “No” to sin and grace.

Like Mary, let us choose to be our own best self. Amen.

* Diego Velazquez [1597-1660]

COMFORT!
ISAIAH CHAPTER 40: VERSE 1

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Comfort! Isaiah Chapter 40, Verse 1.”

I don’t know if I have ever preached on the theme of comfort.

TODAY’S READINGS

To prepare a homily, I like to read the 3 readings out loud to myself, and see what hits me.

The first reading for today begins with the words, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah chapter 40, verse 1.

That hit me, but I felt a bit uncomfortable with it. I thought, “Aren’t we supposed to preach tough stuff – sort of the opposite of comfort?”

So I read on to see what else might hit me. Sure enough some uncomfortable stuff appeared. Today’s Gospel has some tough and rough stuff: the call to repentance – the call to raw simplicity – the image of John the Baptist going into the desert – and eating off the land – eating honey and locusts – clothed in camel’s hair and wearing a leather belt around his waist.

Should I preach on repentance? That theme also appears in today’s second reading from St. Peter.

However, the theme of comfort continued to intrigue me.

So some words on “Comfort!”

THE COMFORTER

An image from childhood came to mind. I remembered a sort of patch work, big lined blanket, that used to hang out in our living room – usually folded up a bit and resting on the couch. We called it, “The Comforter.” It was like a big down blanket, long before we had big down blankets. It was perfect on a cold evening.

Each of us was Linus – wanting that blanket – not for security – but because it was a warm comfortable blanket.

Whoever was first on the couch in our living room listening to the radio – and then TV when it came - got “The Comforter.” I don’t remember the details and the exact fabric of this blanket – I’ll have to talk to my two sisters at New Year’s for their memories about all this. I remember sometimes we would give it up, if someone said they were really freezing.

It would also be stolen – along with the couch – if someone went to the bathroom or to the kitchen to get something to eat or drink – while we were listening to The Lone Ranger or The Shadow on the radio or Milton Berle or Bishop Fulton Sheen on black and white TV.

The Comforter was a prized component of our lives in winter – having more importance than the radiator. I also have fond memories of my mom putting her “paltoona” - I think that was her Gaelic slang word for “butt” – when she would stand there leaning up against the sizzling radiator when she would come in from outside – when it was freezing cold out there.

Winter challenges us with the issue of comfort.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

This parish is very generous when it comes to donations to the Poor Box and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Thank you. And we have a wonderful group of folks who serve on Monday nights and Wednesday afternoons giving assistance to the poor – with your money.

Work is moving along towards a new Lighthouse Shelter here in Annapolis! Winter is almost upon us.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

PEOPLE OUT OF WORK

And this winter we hope and pray those out of work can find jobs. We hope the recession has hit bottom already. That we don’t know. We hope the new president’s administration in Washington comes up with and implements plans that work – to get people work.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

DIVORCE

We’re at work. It’s time for lunch. So and so comes over to us and asks if they can talk. We thought they had a perfect marriage. We find out about multiple affairs – dozens of forgiveness moments – the tears and the fears about how this is going to impact their teenage kids – and we don’t say anything but listen.

A year later this person comes to us and says, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you last year for just listening. You helped me more than you could ever know.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1
THE MISTAKE

The man across the street got caught stealing funds from work. It hits the papers. He goes to jail. Our family, who really never got to know his family, decides to reach out – to invite his family for a meal now and then – to cover for his kids while his wife visits him in prison. It is at quite a distance. Our kids see this – and years later we see a son volunteering to do prison ministry and a daughter becoming a criminal lawyer – and they tell us how much we taught them when we reached out to our neighbors across the street.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT

Our granddaughter was talking for months how she was going to make the lacrosse team – but she didn’t make the cut. We see her tears – and we simply say, “It must be really tough not making the team – after telling your close friends you thought you were going to make it.” And we don’t tell them about the play we didn’t get into during our high school junior year and the job we knew we had, but didn’t get. No, we simply listen.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

THE NURSING HOME

An aunt – a widow – who had no kids – is in a nursing home and we go once a month to see her. It’s an hour’s drive. We bring her soup and Hershey Kisses. She takes the soup – she loves to give Hershey Kisses to the nurses and those who attend to her.

Driving there – we feel the stress of traffic and the time squeeze; driving home we feel great feelings of grace and comfort for the hour visit with our aunt.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

EMPHYSEMA
A long time buddy has emphysema. When we visit him we see that his favorite chair is a loser. We have an extra Lazy Boy Lounge chair, so we borrow another buddy’s pick up truck and bring him the Lazy Boy Chair. Every time after that, when we're watching football, we see how appreciative he is for the gift of the chair, “It’s so comfortable. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

ARMY-NAVY GAME

I called up a buddy of mine on Friday evening to comfort him. He is a big time Army fan. His wife answered the phone and said, “Please tell him I don’t want to go to the game.” When he got on the phone I relayed that message – and then comforted him – preparing him for the upcoming loss in Philadelphia yesterday. Now if I called him up today, that wouldn’t be comforting him. That would be rubbing it in.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

ONE GREAT NURSE

We all know how great nurses can be – but a brand new nurse discovers how great this one nurse on her shift is. She sees her go searching in every closet on every floor – to steal a second pillow or extra blankets for people under her care who are shivering and cold – even though everyone else is sweating – or for someone who is staying over night in the hospital, keeping vigil for a very sick family member.

“Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” Isaiah 40:1

CONCLUSION

So yes, today’s message about bringing comfort to others is an everyday opportunity.

I talked about a big old blanket we had as kids called, “The Comforter.”

What are your comforters?

The Comforter can be a glass of water or a beer on a hot day or hot chocolate with marshmallow in it on a cold day or a blanket or chocolates or baby sitting so a mom or dad can get a break.

The Comforter can be giving others the best seat in the family or living room or the car.

The Comforter can be listening to a joke or a story we’ve heard a hundred times from an old uncle.

The Comforter can be taking the time, making the extra time, to write on a Christmas card more than just a name, but a personal reference to something very significant to the person we’re writing to.

The Comforter can be holding hands with a child or the family around the dinner table and saying an Our Father before we eat or before we go to bed.

The Comforter can be great bread or wine, great music, a great listening to each other.

Today’s Gospel ends with the words, “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Come Holy Spirit! Isn’t that one of your nicknames, “The Comforter”?

EXPECTATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Expectations.”

What would you expect to hear in a homily on “Expectations.”

Advent – Preparation for Christmas – December – has many themes, one of which is expectations.

Shopping for gifts – wrapping them – wanting to surprise others - candles in windows in the dark – December – hoping to get a parking place at the mall – getting the cookies baked – cards sent – parties going just right. Worries about the economy – people out of work – hoping the new president and administration make great choices – weather watch – kids coming home – or getting plane tickets. Peace on earth – an end to fighting – expectations.

Suggestion: this week, this first week of Advent, reflect upon the theme of expectations in our life. That’s the rub, the sandpaper of my homily.

To be human is to have expectations – lots of expectations.

To be wise is to be aware of our expectations, to clarify our expectations, to communicate our expectations, to refine or to enhance our expectations.

What are our top three expectations right now? What were our top three expectations when we were 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50?

What were our top three disappointments at 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50?

Am I an optimist or a pessimist – a winner or a whiner – a beginner and a finisher or just a beginner – or someone who says, “What’s the use?” What’s playing on our inner screen - what’s our inner scream –most of the time? What are we talking to ourselves about lately? What are we talking to ourselves about right now?

I guarantee you – if you had one of those rubber stamps – and it had the word “expectations” on it – and you had an ink pad, you could take it – hit it on the ink pad and then stamp it on all your issues – on all our inner conversations and we’d say, “Yeah, you’re right. ‘Expectations.’”

What are your thoughts – what are your expectations for this Advent? What are your expectations for the month of December that starts tomorrow?

ADJECTIVES

Somewhere along the line someone said, “When it comes to expectations, don’t forget to use adjectives.”

“What?” I said to myself. “What are you talking about?”

The person said: “We are filled with expectations for ourselves and our kids – our spouse and our job – traffic and today – as well as tomorrow.”

They continued: “We need to name our expectations and then use an adjective like ‘real” or ‘unreal, ‘doable’ or ‘undoable’, ‘possible’ or ‘impossible’ stamped on each expectation.

For example: it’s unrealistic to think babies or cell phones don’t cry in church, drinking and driving can mix, or I’ll never make a mistake.

For example: it’s impossible for a 300 pounder to run a 3 minute mile.

Referees make mistakes. Spaghetti slips off forks. Sermons flop. People don’t show up. Spouses forget. Grass grows in summer and goes to sleep in winter. Gas prices go up and down. Perfume fades. I expect the Giants to beat the Redskins today. Kickers miss field goals. Babies leak. Parents age. College kids drop out. People lose jobs. Cars crash. Terrorists kill. Sin happens. People cheat. Kids surprise us. The pumpkin pie turns out perfectly. Life goes on.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings for this First Sunday in Advent triggered this theme of expectations.

Isaiah 63, today’s first reading, articulates our expectation for God to come to us.

Isaiah 63 describes God as a father, a redeemer, the potter who made us – and the expectation is that a father or a redeemer is expected to come to help his children or his people when they pray and when they cry – and a potter knows and loves his or her work.

Isaiah 63 says, “Wouldn’t it be nice if God walked in when we were doing good stuff, good deeds?” However, he prays that God will come when we feel like dirty drop cloths or withered leaves.

Is there any expectation more down deep desperate and recurring than the expectation for God to come and redeem us?

Today’s second reading from First Corinthians is very positive – describing how God has already come in the person of Jesus Christ – that Jesus gives us grace and peace – that Jesus enriches us – and the revelation is that Jesus will be there to the end – and the end is endless.

Today’s gospel from Mark is all about expectation. He uses the word, “Watch!”

We never know what’s next – so always be ready. No more sleep walking. Wake up. Watch.

Expectations

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Life is filled with expectations.

That’s the theme of this homily. That’s my suggestion for this coming week – to see expectations – to stamp the word “expectations” on what we’re thinking about – or worried about – or struggling with – to use adjectives with our expectations – and to bring the coming of Christ into our story – and experience the peace and grace of Jesus.

When the word “expectations” hit me, I began thinking about Charles Dickens from his novel, “Great Expectations.”

But all of Dickens’ novels get us thinking about the issue of expectations in our life. He wrote to figure out his life. We talk to ourselves to figure out our life. Dickens had to deal with his dad going into debtor’s prison – and then his mom and some of the kids as well. Meanwhile he went to work at 12 years old – 10 hours a day – pasting labels on black shoe polish bottles.

He dealt with rejection – envy – revelations – disappointments.

He dealt with surprises – that sometimes people come along and see great stuff – great talents – great gifts in us – that we don’t see in ourselves.

He dealt with others having more money, better jobs, higher positions.

He realized each of us can be generous or greedy, caring or selfish, givers or takers.

He saw the value of comparisons and contrasts.

He wanted to make wise choices.

He once wrote that he wanted to avoid “unconscious repetitions.”

Now that’s an unrealistic expectation – at least for preachers.

CONCLUSION

We are just coming to the end of Thanksgiving Week.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did it meet your expectations?

I spent all week with my brother’s family - his girls and their husbands and families.

Every Thanksgiving for the last dozen or so years they rent a house somewhere – and they come from all over the country to be together.

It had all the things I expected – lots of card games, a great jigsaw puzzle – this one 1500 pieces – a Thanksgiving Mass followed by dinner – lots of talking – walks – this year we were at Rehoboth – last year at Virginia Beach – the year before that at Deep Creek Lake – lots of stories.

Then there was the unexpected.

We didn’t expect the Pyrex dish with the stuffing to split and crack spontaneously when they took it out of the oven - right after Mass – right before Thanksgiving Dinner.

I wasn’t expecting the news when I walked in the door last Sunday afternoon that Sean, one of my grandnephews, got accepted into the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy – and he’s coming to Annapolis. I was hoping for it – but I wasn’t expecting that to be the first surprise – and this soon.

I wasn’t expecting to have to look at 100 drawings of the same thing by two different grand nieces, Olivia and Aubrey – and they put each drawing on opposite pages so you could see them both at once. I thought, “Someone please save this book of drawings and it will bring tears of joy when they are 55.”

Is that a realistic or unrealistic expectation?

In fact I got mad when someone ripped out a page from their spiral note book – for a piece of paper to keep score for Shanghai Rummy. I was hoping they would fill the book – and it was close when I left on Friday morning. I was hoping all would see this book in the making as sacred.

Expectations. Don’t rip them out. Look at them as a kid’s drawing and see yourself in the mirror – and make your drawings better as the years go on.