First, on behalf of all of my family… My wife Karen, my Mom Terry, my children and my grandchildren. Merry (Almost) Christmas!
Now, that greeting might have just caused the purists in the pews to shutter a bit, because it’s not Christmas yet… So let me add Happy 4th Week of Advent to all, and let me begin with the Good News:
On a night in the desert, over 2000 years ago, a child was born to us fulfilling all that had been promised by God, setting up all that God’s love would do for his people. In a sense, this might be best summed up in a familiar phrase: “Every day can be Christmas!”
The Good News today, as we approach Christmas of 2021, is the same yesterday, today and forever. With God’s grace always at work, Christ can be born, and reborn again in the hearts of all of us! When I say “reborn”, I guess in this context I mean that WE can understand him in a whole NEW way, with a whole new purpose… Day after day, month after month, and year after year on our life’s journey, Jesus is waiting to come alive in a new way, calling on us to share the JOY of his love… AND HERE’S SOMETHING EQUALLY IMPORTANT… so that He might come alive in the hearts of others!
Hold on to that for a moment, while I digress a little…
This past week I was blessed to join with Campus Ministers in the Diocese for an Advent Day of Reflection. One of the guiding questions for the day was this:
DO WE LIVE WITH EXPECTANCY OR DREAD?
Now, I’ll be honest with you. To wake up in a state of dread does sound horrible, and many of us might not think of it with this level of seriousness… But I need you to know, that if this is you…
YOU ARE LOVED… You’re loved by God, by someone special, and by more people than you might realize. But I believe in the context of the day, the question offered for reflection was really meant to tap into the normal stressors of life vs. an optimistic (and idealistic) excitement that something great can happen.
This is what immediately popped into my head when the question was offered… Do I live with expectancy or dread? First, and again I want to be totally honest with you, first I thought about the dread of knowing that I’m still dealing with this physical stuff, and I too have my share of stress to do what I think is expected of me, but guess what immediately happened when that thought crossed my mind? A song of “expectancy” popped right into my heart…
You may have noticed that the Musical West Side Story has returned to the movie screens. I’m seeing it Monday, so don’t spoil the ending! LOL! Actually, this musical has literally been a part of my life’s fabric since I was a child, when my brother and sister and I would play Mom and Dad’s record of the music from the Original Broadway Cast on their Curtis Mathis Stereo! It was a song from this musical called “Something’s Coming”, that began to play loud and clear within me:
“Could be! Who knows? There's something due any day; I will know right away, soon as it shows…”
This is what I perceive to be a spirit of expectancy, which I would contend is not to the same thing as having expectations of the Lord! In the play, the lead character Tony begins his day just knowing that something good is about to happen, and that good is none other than Maria, or as he describes her later, “the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard!”
Is this not the same spirit that we heard in the First Reading from the prophet Micah? “Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel… He shall be peace.”
And in the Second Reading from Hebrews when they reassure us that “by [his] ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
That song in my heart from the other day continued to sing of this expected goodness: “I got a feeling there's a miracle due, gonna come true, coming to me!” Am I being a tad too “pie in the sky” tonight? I’m just following the lead of someone very special to us all!
In today’s Gospel, Luke establishes Mary as not only the mother of our Lord, but also the greatest disciple, all in one visit!
Elizabeth just knows it. In that spirit of expectancy of something great, she welcomes Mary exclaiming, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” At the same time, she recognizes Mary’s sharing of joy, “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,’ she said, “the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”
So today, let Mary be the example of our discipleship so that we can bring OUR JOY to others, allowing them to recognize the JOY within them.
Advent has called on us to PREPARE our hearts and our world for the PEACE of Christ, and JOY of God’s promise fulfilled… That is, LOVE… Love incarnate… The Son of God, the Word made flesh… The true food that nourishes us here today!
So when gather again next weekend, let come prepared for something great, and something new… I’ve got a feeling that there’s a miracle due. Don’t you?
Now, that greeting might have just caused the purists in the pews to shutter a bit, because it’s not Christmas yet… So let me add Happy 4th Week of Advent to all, and let me begin with the Good News:
On a night in the desert, over 2000 years ago, a child was born to us fulfilling all that had been promised by God, setting up all that God’s love would do for his people. In a sense, this might be best summed up in a familiar phrase: “Every day can be Christmas!”
The Good News today, as we approach Christmas of 2021, is the same yesterday, today and forever. With God’s grace always at work, Christ can be born, and reborn again in the hearts of all of us! When I say “reborn”, I guess in this context I mean that WE can understand him in a whole NEW way, with a whole new purpose… Day after day, month after month, and year after year on our life’s journey, Jesus is waiting to come alive in a new way, calling on us to share the JOY of his love… AND HERE’S SOMETHING EQUALLY IMPORTANT… so that He might come alive in the hearts of others!
Hold on to that for a moment, while I digress a little…
This past week I was blessed to join with Campus Ministers in the Diocese for an Advent Day of Reflection. One of the guiding questions for the day was this:
DO WE LIVE WITH EXPECTANCY OR DREAD?
Now, I’ll be honest with you. To wake up in a state of dread does sound horrible, and many of us might not think of it with this level of seriousness… But I need you to know, that if this is you…
YOU ARE LOVED… You’re loved by God, by someone special, and by more people than you might realize. But I believe in the context of the day, the question offered for reflection was really meant to tap into the normal stressors of life vs. an optimistic (and idealistic) excitement that something great can happen.
This is what immediately popped into my head when the question was offered… Do I live with expectancy or dread? First, and again I want to be totally honest with you, first I thought about the dread of knowing that I’m still dealing with this physical stuff, and I too have my share of stress to do what I think is expected of me, but guess what immediately happened when that thought crossed my mind? A song of “expectancy” popped right into my heart…
You may have noticed that the Musical West Side Story has returned to the movie screens. I’m seeing it Monday, so don’t spoil the ending! LOL! Actually, this musical has literally been a part of my life’s fabric since I was a child, when my brother and sister and I would play Mom and Dad’s record of the music from the Original Broadway Cast on their Curtis Mathis Stereo! It was a song from this musical called “Something’s Coming”, that began to play loud and clear within me:
“Could be! Who knows? There's something due any day; I will know right away, soon as it shows…”
This is what I perceive to be a spirit of expectancy, which I would contend is not to the same thing as having expectations of the Lord! In the play, the lead character Tony begins his day just knowing that something good is about to happen, and that good is none other than Maria, or as he describes her later, “the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard!”
Is this not the same spirit that we heard in the First Reading from the prophet Micah? “Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel… He shall be peace.”
And in the Second Reading from Hebrews when they reassure us that “by [his] ‘will,’ we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
That song in my heart from the other day continued to sing of this expected goodness: “I got a feeling there's a miracle due, gonna come true, coming to me!” Am I being a tad too “pie in the sky” tonight? I’m just following the lead of someone very special to us all!
In today’s Gospel, Luke establishes Mary as not only the mother of our Lord, but also the greatest disciple, all in one visit!
Elizabeth just knows it. In that spirit of expectancy of something great, she welcomes Mary exclaiming, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” At the same time, she recognizes Mary’s sharing of joy, “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,’ she said, “the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”
So today, let Mary be the example of our discipleship so that we can bring OUR JOY to others, allowing them to recognize the JOY within them.
Advent has called on us to PREPARE our hearts and our world for the PEACE of Christ, and JOY of God’s promise fulfilled… That is, LOVE… Love incarnate… The Son of God, the Word made flesh… The true food that nourishes us here today!
So when gather again next weekend, let come prepared for something great, and something new… I’ve got a feeling that there’s a miracle due. Don’t you?
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