Home for Christmas
(A Christmas Story 2008)

Dec. 25, 2008, Christmas Day
Isaiah 52:7-10 Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-5, 9-14

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

Second reading from Hebrews

Brothers and sisters: In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets. In these last days He has spoken to us through his Son whom He has made heir of all things and through whom He first created the universe. This Son is the reflection of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of the Father’s being. He sustains all things by his powerful word. When He had cleansed us from our sins, He took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The Son was made greater than all the angels, just as the name which God gave Him is greater than theirs. For God never said to any of his angels, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.[3]” Or again, “I will be his Father, and He shall be my Son.” And again, when He leads his firstborn into the world He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.[4]”

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept Him. But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction
The three Masses of Christmas

Christmas is the only day in the liturgical calendar which has three different Masses assigned it: Mass at Midnight, Mass at Dawn and Mass during the Day. Each has its own scripture readings.


Mass during the Day

The Mass during the day is the oldest of the three. It originated in Rome in the early fourth century and was celebrated at St. Peter Basilica. It seems to mark the very origins of the celebration of the Feast of Christmas. Because the gospel for the Mass during the Day is St. John’s prologue about the Word which was in the beginning and which became flesh, it is also called the Mass of the Divine Word. (Jn 1:1-18)

Mass at Midnight

The Mass at Midnight, which originated in the fifth century, was celebrated in the Basilica of St. Mary Major to which relics of the crib were brought in the seventh century. The midnight tradition seems to be an interpretation of a passage from the Book of Wisdom, “While all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course, thy Almighty Word, O Lord, came down from Heaven from thy royal throne.” (Wisdom 18:14-15) Because the gospel for the Mass at Midnight has a heavenly multitude of angels praising God and singing “Glory to God in the highest,” it is also called the Mass of the Angels. (Lk 2:1-14)

Mass at Dawn

The Mass at Dawn was the latest of the three to appear. Celebrated first in the sixth century, it originated in a request from the Byzantine Governor in Rome that a Mass in honour of St. Anastasia (martyred on December 25 ) be celebrated on December 25 and in the church dedicated to her. That Mass was then 'fitted in' at dawn. When Rome ceased to be part of the Byzantine Empire, the tradition of the Dawn Mass remained, but its text was altered into a second Mass of the Nativity.[5] Because the gospel for the Mass at Dawn has an angel appearing to the shepherds and announcing the birth of the Savior in the city of David, it is also called the Mass of the Shepherds. (Lk2:15-20)

The simple (non-theological) gospel readings for both the Mass of the Angels (Lk 2:1-14) and the Mass of the Shepherds (Lk2:15-20) are for the ears of children. Those gospels require nothing more than to be heard, and immediately the child in us is filled with imagery and delight. Those two gospels are also for the eyes of children, for they are painted upon all Christmas cards which are in tune with “the reason for the season.”

On the other hand, the profound (theological) gospel reading for the Mass of the Divine Word is for the ears of adults. “The Word which was in the beginning and which was God” is not easily painted on a Christmas card. It requires more than just hearing; it requires hard work.

The heresy of verbalism

Through the years, many storms over words have nudged me (priest and preacher) to unearth a precious nugget in the Prologue of St. John. That nugget says to me that the Word of God isn’t a word anymore; It is now flesh and blood! It is now a Babe lying in a manger!

In my book, that nugget lays an axe to verbalism[6]. That’s the bad habit we have of putting too much stock in words. Verbalism is living by words and dying by words. What’s worse yet, it is making others, as well, live and die by words. It was verbalism which burned St. Joan of Arc at the stake. (1412-1431) The Inquisitors put her to death as a heretic for not having the right words to their theological questions. Verbalism is as good a heresy as Nestorianism, Monophysitism or Pelagianism, for it denies our bottom line that the Word of God isn’t a word anymore (and much less is it a steady flow of words); It is now flesh and blood! It is now a Babe lying in a manger!

Verbalism alive and well

After Mass, one of the faithful is angry because I did not recite the words of consecration over the bread and wine exactly as found in the Roman missal. She threatens to leave the parish if I do not conform to the prescribed liturgical words. She complains to the pastor of the parish, who directs me to recite the words exactly as they are chiseled into the Roman missal. Another one of the faithful complains that I shortened the reading of the prescribed gospel and omitted the recitation of the Nicene Creed at Mass on a very hot Sunday morning. My nugget from the Prologue wells up in me: the word of God isn’t a word anymore (and much less is it a steady flow of words); It is now flesh and blood! It is a Babe lying in a manger!

If verbalism is alive and well in the faithful that’s because it is alive and well first in the institution of the church. Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest of 36 years and a courageous Catholic voice for peace and non-violence, is the founder and leader of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW). Its job is to watch over the School of the Americas (SOA) which trains South and Central American police forces in the techniques of torture, repression, and counter-insurgency. Bourgeois also publicly supports the ordination of woman.

On October 21, 2008, the Vatican sent a letter informing the Maryknoll community that Fr. Bourgeois has 30 days to recant his public words supporting the ordination of women, or he will be automatically excommunicated. The church, which did in St. Joan of Arc, might frown today on burning heretics at the stake, but she still excommunicates them! Again, my nugget from the Prologue of St. John wells up in me: the word of God isn’t a word anymore (and much less is it a steady flow of words); It is now flesh and blood! It is a Babe lying in a manger!

Christmas doesn’t like words

There’s something about Christmas that doesn’t like words. At this time of the rolling year especially, we remind ourselves that when the fullness of time came and God wanted to reveal something very comprehensive and wonderful about Himself, God did not say something; God did something: God did not beget a Bible; God begot a Baby! God did not deliver a sermon; God delivered a Son.

Like our Christmas God, we, too, should be leery about words. We should be leery about the doctrinaire approach of religion which puts too much stock in the right answers from the catechism, and in the careful recitations of creeds, and in the exact mouthing of prescribed liturgical prayers or formulas. Christians should be leery about preachers who have God down pat with a steady flow of words.

Christmas likes stories

There’s something about Christmas that likes stories. At the end of the day, what are stories but words made flesh and blood. At this time of the rolling year, the gospel readings at Mass tell one story after the other: Once upon a time, there was an old priest, Zachariah by name, offering incense before the altar of the Lord in the temple. (Lk 1:5-25) Once upon a time, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her not to be afraid, for she has conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Lk 1:26-38) Once upon a time, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him not to fear to take Mary as his wife. (Mt 1:18-25) Once upon a time, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. (Lk 2:1-14)

At this time of the rolling year, not only scripture but also the media has an irresistible urge to speak not with words but with stories. Every year it features classical favorites like Amahl and the Night Visitors, Miracle on 34th Street, and especially Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The evening news, too, searches for a story bearing tidings of good news to balance off fast-departing 2008 with its heap of bad news about an economic meltdown, a bailout battle for bankrupt businesses, and a scandal about the Governor of Illinois auctioning off the senate seat vacated by the President-elect.

A Christmas story 2008

When editors find a gem of a Christmas story, they anoint their newspaper with it. Such a gem of a story graced the Houston Chronicle for Dec. 3, 2008. Philip Wattenbarger, his wife, Elizabeth and their three daughters are an outdoor bunch. Last summer the family embarked on a cross-country road trip -- a month-long tour of the national parks -- in their 32-foot Coachmen travel-trailer. They rafted in Colorado Springs, hiked in the Grand Tetons, and by early August they reached a campsite in Yellowstone.

Wherever they go, their cats Fluffy and Tiger (both from the pound) go with them. The family has a method: the cats are allowed out of the trailer unfed at campsites. After the cats get the lay of the land and are hungry, they return for dinner. One day Tiger returned, but Fluffy did not! For days, the frantic family searched nearby woods and looked up tall trees for their beloved tabby. But the Wattenbargers are pragmatic people: a housecat on the loose among bears, bobcats, coyotes and wolves isn’t long for this world. Heart-broken they called off their search and returned to Houston.

One day 79-year-old Shirley Armstrong, who spends part of the year living along the western edge of Yellowstone, noticed a stray cat lurking at her door. From her winter home in Arizona, Armstrong said, “It was getting cold and snowy, so I started feeding her. She wouldn’t come to me, but she would eat.” After a month or so, Armstrong borrowed a trap from the West Yellowstone police and caught the cat. The tag on its collar said “Fluffy.” Below that was a phone number. The plot thickens! Armstrong happened to have a neighbor (a retired flight attendant) who could fly for free. Mind you, the neighbor offered to chauffeur the cat back to Houston! The Wattenbargers met the flight attendant at Bush International Airport and were overcome with joy to be reunited with Fluffy.

Conclusion
Home for Christmas

Christmas isn’t for preaching truth. That tends to put us followers of the Prince of Peace at odds with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and anyone else who has a religious truth other than ours. Christmas isn’t even for preaching morality. That tends to fill us with the self-righteousness of the Pharisee who at prayer in the temple gave thanks that he was “not like the rest of men -- greedy, dishonest and immoral.” (Lk 18:11)

Christmas is for telling stories. For what are stories but words made flesh and blood? When we have a lot of shepherds and sheep, oxen and ass, stable and straw, kings and coffers, and a multitude of angels singing "Gloria in excelsis Deo," then, indeed, we have a lot of flesh and blood. Then, indeed, we have a story.

Christmas is for telling stories. Like the story about the Wattenbargers who lost a beloved cat which a compassionate 79-year-old lady found starving in the winter cold. Like the story about an equally compassionate flight attendant who turned herself into a Santa Claus when she volunteered to chauffeur Fluffy back to Houston, so that the tabby could be home for Christmas.

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

[3] II Samuel: 7: 14; Psalm 2:7.

[4] Revelation 1:5

[5] Prayers commemorating St Anastasia remain as part of the Mass at Dawn even in the 1962 Missal.

[6] If verbalism isn’t in the dictionary, it should be. That’s how language grows.

Christmas is also for Big Kids

December 21, 2008, 4th Sunday of Advent
II Samuel 7:1-5 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory to you, Lord.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction
Feasts of Light

Today, December 21, 2008, is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, and also the first day of winter. The Old Farmers' Almanac shows the period between December 17th and 25th as the darkest of the year. These days have fifteen long hours of darkness and only nine short hours of light. No wonder this is the season to light candles! Tomorrow, December 22, 2008, is the first day of Hanukah when the Jewish community will light the first of the eight candles of the menorah. Hanukah is their Feast of Lights. Today, the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Christian community lights the fourth candle on the Advent wreath. All four candles now burning brightly sing that “Soon it will be Christmas Day” -- our Feast of Light.

The season to tell stories

The second part of Advent (called Late Advent or the Novena of Christmas) began last Wednesday, the 17th of December. That part gazes back into the past — to a moment of history when an Infant was born of Mary in a stable in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the King. That part of Advent tells one story after another. It tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s annunciation to Mary that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit. (Lk 1:26-38) It tells the story of Mary’s visitation over hill country to the house of her cousin Elizabeth where the infant in her womb (John the Baptist) leaps for joy at the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary. (Lk 1:39-45) It tells the story of the inn which had no room for Mary and Joseph, and of the birth of Jesus outside in a stable. (Lk 2:1-7) It tells the story of an angel announcing tidings of great joy to shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night and their finding an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. (Lk 2:8-20) It tells the story of magnificent Magi from the East bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Mt 2:1-12) It tell the story of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt to escape Herod who was slaughtering all baby boys two years and younger. (Mt.2:13-18)

Because the second part of Advent tells one story after another at Mass, it perks up ours ears and delights the child in us (which the scripture readings of the first part of Advent does not do). It ignites childhood memories in us, and it sets the season doing what it does best: telling stories.

Ears of children and adults

The Book of Ecclesiastes utters that oft-quoted litany that there is a time for everything under God’s sun:

A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to weep and a time to laugh.
A time to embrace and a time to
abstain.
A time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

This time of the rolling year adds to Ecclesiastes’ litany:

A time to be simple about the story of Christmas and a time be profound about it.
A time to take the story of Christmas at its face value and a time to sound it depths.
A time to hear the story of Christmas with the ears of children and a time to hear it with the ears of adults.

That is not to say that the ears of adults are any better than those of children. But growing up into adult bodies means also growing up into adult faith. St. Paul writes, “When I was a child, I heard and heeded as a child. I thought and talked as a child. But now that I am an adult, I have put away the things of a child.” (I Cor 13: 11)

The story of virgin birth

At Mass on this fourth and last Sunday of Advent (cycle b), Dec. 21, 2008, we tell the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary her virginal conception of Jesus. The angel tells her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and that the power of the Most High will overshadow her, and that, therefore, the child born of her will be called the Son of God.” (Lk 1:35) And at Mass on Dec. 24 (the Vigil of Christmas), we tell the story of an angel announcing Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus also to Joseph (for a virginal conception takes two).

The story of Mary and Joseph’s virginal conception of Jesus does not fly well in our culture where breasts are bared and bursting, and where torsos are twisting and turning on TV all day long. Such a culture dismisses the virgin birth as not very serious or as quite incomprehensible and even offensive to human nature. That being so, how in the world can teenagers or adults today listen to the story of Christmas without a bit of tongue-in-cheek? How can the story of Mary and Joseph’s virginal conception of Jesus be told in such a way as not to give offence? What’s even more important, how can it be told in such a way as to be resplendent with religious meaning? That’s a task that’s long overdue for centuries.

A positive statement about Jesus

The story of the virgin birth is not a negative statement about sex. It does not say (it cannot say, it may not say) that when the Son of God comes into the world, it’s below His dignity to be conceived in the very same way that all other babies are conceived. What an affront that is to every mother and father and to every child born into the world! At the end of the day, many of us feel down deep that the story of the virgin birth is precisely that: a negative statement about sex.

The story of the virgin birth is a positive statement about Jesus. It says that Jesus is much more than a gift from Joseph and Mary; He is especially a gift from the Father in heaven. It says that Jesus is much more than the conception of man; He is especially the conception of God. At the end of the day, the story of the virgin birth wishes to say that man’s salvation always needs help from outside and from above.

A positive statement about woman

The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about woman. When the Novena of Christmas begins on the 17th of December, the gospel opens with that long male-ridden genealogy from Matthew: "Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. And Judah begot Perez and Zerah.” That genealogy continues through 42 generations of men begetting sons! (Who in the world ever heard of men begetting babies!) That male-ridden genealogy comes to a screeching halt with these words, "And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and it was of her [not of Joseph] that Jesus who is called the Christ was born.” (Mt 1:1-16)

With one powerful stroke the story of the virgin birth puts an ax to the quiet lie that lines up only men behind the great moments of history. Behind an event which divides time into B.C. and A.D., there stands no man at all -- only a woman. Upon the most momentous page of history a woman (and not a man) puts her signature. That’s not a feminist statement; it’s a Christmas statement. It convicts church and society. It challenges both to allow women to write on the pages of history.

A positive statement about man

The story of Joseph and Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about man – the male. The story has Joseph stepping aside and resigning his sexual prowess. He does so in order to let the message get through that Jesus is not just his and Mary’s gift to us but is also and especially the gift of the Father in heaven. Stepping aside is a big order for men who are used to center stage. Like the Governor of Illinois, men do not resign power easily. At the end of the day, that’s the real but unspoken reason why women never get ordained in the Catholic Church except by an act of disobedience. Joseph is a model to be imitated by a male-ridden church and society.

There are those who defend with all their might the virgin birth as miracle. That’s fine. There are others, who in adult bodies seeking adult faith, concentrate on defending the scriptural story of virgin birth as meaning. That’s better yet.

Conclusion
Christmas is also for big kids

Hearing the stories of Christmas as children and hearing them as adults is not a matter of chronology: first we hear them as children, and then we grow up and hear them as adults. We vacillate between the one and the other at various stages of our journey. Sometimes we stand before the story of Christmas as grown-ups with lost innocence and filled with anger or doubt or even unbelief. Sometimes we stand before it with innocence regained and filled again with childlike faith and excitement. Christmas is for little kids. It’s also for big kids. It’s also for adults who aren’t so grown up that they can’t be turned on by angels bearing messages from God, and by babes leaping for joy in their mother’s wombs and by magnificent magi bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

[1] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

Oh Rosy Candle Burning Bright

Oh Rosy Candle Burning Bright!

Dec. 14, 2008, 3rd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 61:10-11 I Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading from the prophet Isaiah

I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Second reading from St. Paul’s epistle to the Thessalonians

Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.” So they asked him, What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ

Introduction
The rose color candle

Before Vatican II, Advent (like Lent) was strictly a penitential season which frowned upon feasting and celebrating. Because of its somber atmosphere, Advent (like Lent) seemed interminably long in those days. So on the Sunday halfway through both seasons, the opening word of the old Latin Mass cried out “Rejoice!” The church was exclaiming, “Yippy! We’re halfway through our season of penance!”
Today -- mid-Advent Sunday -- the church still cries out “Rejoice! [in Latin Gaudete!]. We’re halfway through Advent, and soon it will be Christmas Day.” On Gaudete Sunday the color of the vestments and the third candle on the Advent wreath is rose which rejoices better than penitential purple.

Fr. Delp’s joy

The German Jesuit, Father Alfred Delp (executed by Hitler on February 2, 1945), sitting in prison and bound with chains, wrote in his diary for Gaudete Sunday, 1944,
Is it possible to rejoice in a prison cell (a space of three paces in each direction)? Is it possible to rejoice when your hands are fettered, and your heart is overwhelmed with longings, and your head is filled with problems and worries? Yes, happiness can happen even under these circumstances. I tell you every now and then my heart can scarcely contain the delirious joy that's in it. Suddenly, not knowing why, my spirits soar and there is no doubt in my mind that all the promises[3] hold good…. [He admits that that might just be an unconscious defense mechanism against depression.] But not always. Sometimes it is due to a wonderful premonition of wonderful things to come. (Prison Meditations of Fr. Alfred Delp)

How is it possible to rejoice when your heart is overwhelmed with longings, and your head is filled with problems and worries? Fr. Delp’s question sooner or later is everyone’s question. It’s a question which confronts us particularly at Christmas which claims to be the most joyful time of the year.

Commanding joy!?

Gaudete Sunday commands us to rejoice. We ask is it possible to command joy or any other internal emotional state? Is it possible to command joy especially when the chips are down? The prophet Zephaniah thinks so. Speaking to refugees in a slum district of Jerusalem he tells them to, "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel.…The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. "[4] St. Paul, too, commands joy when the chips are down. Sitting in prison and bound with chains, he tells the Philippians to, “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!”[5]

Joy: not just an outside job.

How is it possible to rejoice when the chips are down? How is it possible to rejoice when you’ve just received a chilling verdict from your doctor or have been plunged into some tragedy? How is it possible to rejoice when you’ve lost your job in the present economic meltdown? How is it possible to rejoice when you’ve lost a pet which taught you what it means to love unconditionally? How, indeed, is it possible to rejoice when you’ve lost a partner of 30, 40, 50, 60 years?

It is possible because joy (the real stuff) isn’t just an “outside job.” It isn’t just a willowy reed at the mercy of life’s favorable winds. It isn’t just some capricious mood at the mercy of life’s benign circumstances.

Joy (the real stuff) isn’t just getting your hands on a $798 Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV, or a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, or a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69, or a DVD such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9. These were all on sale at a Long Island Wal-Mart store the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2008, when a crowd broke down the doors at 5. A.M. and stampeded 34-year-old Jamaican Jdimytai Damour to death and injured an eight-month pregnant woman. That crowd was in hot pursuit of joy as an “outside job.”

Joy: an inside job

Joy (the real stuff) is an “inside job.” It is a decision to not get stuck in our pain. To evoke the climate of December, joy is a decision not to be snowbound by anger, self-pity, regret, grief, etc. Joy is a decision not to be snowbound either by unlucky birth or unlucky circumstance. Joy is a decision to break through the snowdrifts above us and rejoice as daffodils do in early spring. They bloom wherever they are.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady radiates joy as an inside job, as she decides to break through the snowdrift above her and bloom right where she is. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock. Her hair is fashionably coifed and her makeup perfectly applied (even though she’s legally blind). She moved to a nursing home. Her 90-year-old husband died recently, and that made the move necessary. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, the nurse in charge gave her a kind of visual description and preview of her tiny room. “Oh, I love it,” she said with the enthusiasm of an eight year old having just received a new puppy as a Christmas gift.

“Oh, but Mrs. Jones,” the nurse replied, “you haven’t seen your room yet. Just wait until you do! You’re going to be so happy.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on what kind of furniture is in it or how it is arranged. It’s what’s in my mind and how that is arranged there that counts. I have already decided to be happy with my room. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice: I can spend the day in bed bemoaning the difficulties I have with parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. My recipe for joy and also for a long life is this: a) free your heart from hate; b) free your mind from unnecessary worry; c) live simply.

Joy as a decision is mysterious. Why is it that one person decides to stay in bed and bemoan the difficulties she has with the parts of her body that no longer work, and another makes a decision to get up and coif herself fashionably and be grateful for the parts that do work? Why is it that Dicken’s old Ebenezer Scrooge, who has all the money he needs, decides to grouch out “Bah, Humbug!,” while his nephew, who doesn’t have a penny in his pocket, decides to sing out “Merry Christmas!”? Psychology and physiology have answers to that question.

Sometimes joy is downright mystical. It was mystical, indeed, when Fr. Delp, sitting in prison and bound in chains, every now and then experienced delirious joy. Such joy has no human explanation; it is utterly a gift.

Joy: also an outside job

Joy, indeed, is an inside job -- a personal decision. But it is also an “outside job.” That is to say it often needs help from others. The reality on the ground shows that joy as a decision doesn’t come easily for those who labor under unfortunate birth or circumstances. Then a personal decision for joy will, indeed, be helpful, but it won’t be enough. It will need help from others.

On Monday, Dec. 1, 2008, an emaciated and shackled 17-year-old boy (held captive for nearly a year) climbed out a window in the home of his captors and walked into a nearby gym in Tracy, California, in search of help. He was covered with soot, had a chain on his foot and was wearing only boxer briefs. It’s a good bet that that young man will be eternally scarred and scared. No matter how much he tries, a sheer personal decision for joy on his part will never be enough. Joy for him will always be also an outside job; it will always need help from many people.

Conclusion
Oh Rosy candle burning brightly
Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy is an inside job!”
We don’t have to stampede to get to it!
Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy is an inside job!”
It’s a decision we make,
like the decision the petite blind lady made
as she daily rose and counted her blessings.

Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy is also an outside job!”
It often needs help from others.
The joy of that eternally scarred and scared boy
will always need much help from many others.

Oh rosy candle burning brightly before us today,
we hear you: “Joy every now and then is also a mystical job!”
That was the joy of Fr. Delp whose spirit every now and then soared,
and whose heart could scarcely contain the joy that was in it,
even though he was bound in chains and sitting in prison.

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

[3] The promise is ”Blessed are they who suffer, they shall be comforted.”

[4]Zeph 3:14‑15 – 1st reading on Gaudete Sunday, cycle c.

[5]Phil 4:4 – 2nd reading on Gaudete Sunday, cycle c
Oh Rosy Candle Burning Bright 3rd Sunday of Advent

Fill the Valleys, Level the Mountains
Make Straight a Highway for Him
(Is 40:3-4)

Dec. 7, 2008, 2nd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 II Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1:1-3

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading from the prophet Isaiah

"Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them! Encourage the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven. I have punished them in full for all their sins.” A voice cries out, “In the wilderness make straight a highway for our God! Fill in all the valleys and level off all the mountains! Turn the hills into plains and make smooth the rough roads! Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all mankind will see it. The Lord Himself has promised this.”

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Glory to you, Lord.

Here begins the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Isaiah the prophet it is written, “I send my messenger before you to prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the desert, `Get the Lord’s road ready for Him. Make a straight highway for Him to travel on!’” (Mark 1:1-3)

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Good imagery

Every year on the Second Sunday of Advent, whether the Gospel reading is from Matthew, Mark or Luke, John the Baptist appears in the desert, quoting the prophet Isaiah who commands us to,

Prepare in the wilderness a highway for the Lord!
Clear a path in the desert for our God!
Fill the valleys and level the mountains.
Turn the hills into plains and make rough ways smooth.
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed
and all mankind will see it.
(Is 40:3-5, Lk 3:4-5)

There’s good imagery here. It suggests the preparation made for a visit from royalty in the ancient world. In the days leading up to an official visit from the Pharaoh of Egypt, teams of workers would be sent out to get the roads in shape. They straightened out sharp curves and leveled off hills. They filled in potholes and cleared away litter, so that the litter carrying the Pharaoh might freely move on.

When the Council of Nicea (which gave us the creed we recite at Mass) was held in 360 A.D. near what is today Istanbul Turkey, bishops from Ireland attended. How did they get from Ireland to Turkey? They walked! That’s a long walk. It took them almost a year to get there because there weren’t any trains or planes in those days, and there weren’t any bulldozers to fill in the valleys and level off the mountains. Naturally the bishops stayed for eight or nine months once they got there, conversing with other bishops and theologians from across the continent. We who enjoy the luxury of driving everywhere on perfectly paved super-highways can appreciate the imagery.

Early & Late Advent

Advent is traditionally divided into a first and second part. The second part (called Late Advent or the Novena of Christmas) runs from the 17th of December to Christmas Eve. Late Advent joyfully turns our gaze back to a moment of history when Jesus was born of Mary in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King. The first part (called Early Advent) runs from the beginning of Advent to 17th of December. Before gazing joyfully upon Bethlehem, Advent seriously assigns us a hefty job to do: “Fill the valleys, level the mountains and make a straight path for Him to travel on! Hasten the day of His coming!”

Hastening or road-blocking the Messiah

On the 17th of December, the church chants the first of the great Latin O Antiphons. The antiphon for the 19th exclaims, “O radix Jesse! Oh Sprout from the stump of Jesse! Veni et noli tardare!” Stop your delaying and come!” All the O Antiphons are filled with a strong feeling of Advent impatience. This one is steeped in it. It seems to cry out, “Oh Sprout from the stump of Jesse, for God’s sake hurry up and come! What in the world is keeping you!?”

There is, indeed, something that's keeping the Messiah. A rabbi, who no doubt had indelible and personal thoughts of the Holocaust haunting him writes,
If more people in the world were filled with love and compassion and tolerance we would enable the Messiah to come so much sooner. I often kid my synagogue that I visualize the Messiah about to be sent down to the world by G-d,[3] but looking at all the violence, hatred, inhumanity, especially in the name of religion, the Messiah beseeches G-d not to send him down to earth! We either hasten or road-block the Messiah’s coming.

A Samaritan hastening the Messiah.

One day a man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho and was waylaid by robbers who left him half-dead. Along came a Jewish priest, who saw the poor man and passed him by. Along came a Levite who also saw the dying man and passed him by. Finally, a Samaritan came upon this pothole in the road and patched it up. He poured the oil of compassion into the poor man’s wounds, hoisted him on his beast of burden and hurried him off to the nearest inn where he provided for his care and cure. (Lk 10:25-37)

The Good Samaritan had leveled off the mountains and filled in the valleys. He had made a straight highway for the Messiah to travel on. In his person he had hastened Messiah’s coming to a victimized human being. Restored to health, the man went to the Temple to give thanks, for the glory of the Lord had been revealed to him in the person of a despised Samaritan loving a wounded Jew on the road to Jericho! (Is 40:5)

What’s more, when the rabbi’s reluctant Messiah (holed up in heaven) heard about the great compassion of a despised Samaritan towards a wounded Jew on the road to Jericho, he changed his mind and beseeched God to swiftly send him down to the good earth.

The Advent command is “Fill the valleys, level the mountains and make a straight path for Him to travel on! Hasten the day of His coming!” That’s just what the Samaritan did.

Church hastening the Messiah

Sometime ago the Anglican Communion had its foundations shaken with the consecration of a gay bishop. That ruffled also the Russian Orthodox Church. One Anglican Church leader said, “The church will never be the same again!” By going on record for being gung-ho on sexual moralism, [4] the Anglican and Orthodox Church (and all the other churches) were simply doing what they always do, and what they always do best.

Worldwide there are 37 million adults and 2.5 million children living with HIV, and half of them will be dead before they are 35. In the United States there are 40,000 new HIV infections diagnosed every year. The day the church (Anglican, Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant) does not put herself squarely and whole heartedly behind sexual moralism but rather behind a morality of compassion for sick people and poor people and lonely people, that’s the day the church “will never be the same again!” That’s the day the church will shine like a city built upon a hill for all to see. (Mt 5:14) That’s the day a sea of HIV victims will give thanks for having seen the glory of the Lord. (Is 40:5)

What’s more, the day the rabbi’s reluctant Messiah (holed up in heaven) sees the church as a shining city built upon a hill, that’s the day the Messiah will change his mind and beseech God to swiftly send him down to the good earth.

The Advent command is “Fill the valleys, level the hills and make a straight path for Him to travel on! Hasten the day of His coming!” That’s a command not only to anyone on the road to Jericho but also and above all to the church. She, if anyone, must hasten the day of His coming. She, if anyone, must fill in the potholes impeding His coming, especially if the potholes are of her own making!

Church road-blocking the Messiah

We are recently confronted with a very huge pothole created by the church herself. On October 21, 2008, the Vatican sent a letter to the Maryknoll community stating that Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest of 36 years, has 30 days to recant his statement of public support of women's ordination or he will be automatically excommunicated.

Fr. Bourgeois isn't just any priest. Like Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, he is a very courageous Catholic voice for peace and non-violence. There is an organization called the School of the Americas (SOA). That’s a United States Department of Defense facility at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia. It trains South and Central American police forces in the techniques of torture, repression, and counter-insurgency. Fr. Bourgeois is the founder and leader of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW). Its task is to watch over the School of the Americas and expose its torture and repression.

On November 7, 2008, Fr. Bourgeois replied to his threatened excommunication. His response reads in part,

To the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

I was very saddened by your letter dated October 21, 2008, giving me 30 days to recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church, or I will be excommunicated. I have been a Catholic priest for 36 years and have a deep love for my Church and ministry.

When I was a young man in the military, I felt God was calling me to the priesthood. I entered Maryknoll and was ordained in 1972. Over the years I have met a number of women in our Church who, like me, feel called by God to the priesthood. You, our Church leaders at the Vatican, tell us that women cannot be ordained. With all due respect, I believe our Catholic Church’s teaching on this issue is wrong and does not stand up to scrutiny. A 1976 report by the Pontifical Biblical Commission supports the research of Scripture scholars, canon lawyers and many faithful Catholics who have studied and pondered the Scriptures and have concluded that there is no justification in the Bible for excluding women from the priesthood.

Conscience is very sacred. Conscience gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing. Conscience is what compelled Franz Jaegerstatter, a humble Austrian farmer, husband and father of four young children, to refuse to join Hitler’s army, which led to his execution. Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say she could no longer sit in the back of the bus. Conscience is what compels women in our Church to say they cannot be silent and deny their call from God to the priesthood. Conscience is what compelled my dear mother and father, now 95, to always strive to do the right things as faithful Catholics raising four children. And after much prayer, reflection and discernment, it is my conscience that compels me to do the right thing. I cannot recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women in our Church.

The Advent command is “Fill the valleys, level the hills and make a straight path for Him to travel on. Hasten the day of His coming.” It’s directed especially to the church. She, if anyone, should hasten the day of His coming. Instead, when the rabbi’s reluctant Messiah heard of the earthly church’s threat of excommunication upon the good Fr. Bourgeois, he beseeched God not to send him down to the bad earth.

A CEO hastening Messiah

Aaron Feuerstein is CEO and owner of Malden Mills, a fabric factory in Methuen, Massachusetts. He is also a devout Jew who reads Shakespeare and the Talmud (a rich treasury of rabbinical tradition). On the night of December 11, 1995 (six days before the beginning of Hanukah on the 17th that year), a surprise party was held for his seventieth birthday. During the party a boiler exploded and a devastating fire broke out which demolished a good part of his factory.

He didn’t grab the insurance money and run as a good man of business would do. Instead the morning after the fire he assured all his 2400 employees that with God's help they would all get through that tragedy together. Then he gave them their pay checks plus a $275 Christmas bonus and a $20 food coupon. Three days later on the night of Dec 14th in the gym of the Catholic High School where 1000 of his employees gathered to learn their fate, he made a startling announcement.

For the next 30 days, and it might be more, all our employees will be paid their full salaries. I think you already have been advised that your health insurance has been paid for the next 90 days. But over and above the money, the most important thing Malden Mills can do for our workers is to get you all back to work. By January 2, 1996, we will restart operations, and within 90 days, God willing, we will be 100 percent operational

There was a moment of stunned disbelief, and then the workers rose to their feet cheering and hugging each other and also weeping.

What a bright shining star is CEO Feuerstein in the darkness of the corporate greed and economical meltdown which are bringing the curtains down on fast-departing 2008! Time magazine for January 8, 1996 reported that Feuerstein was true to his word; he continued to pay his employees in full, at a cost of one and a half million dollars a week and at an average wage of twelve and a half dollars an hour. Later that same year, corporate America, stunned by such fiscal insanity and half-hearted capitalism, named him CEO of the Year!

What’s more, when the rabbi’s reluctant Messiah (holed up in heaven) heard about such stunning magnanimity of a CEO who had no private jet of his own to take him to congressional meetings on the terrible state of the economy and on the plight of the people on Main Street, he was flabbergasted. The Messiah changed his mind and beseeched God to swiftly send him down to the good earth.

The Advent command is “Fill the valleys, level the hills and make a straight path for Him to travel on! Hasten the day of His coming!” That’s just what Aaron Feuerstein did.

Conclusion
A huge cloud of witnesses calling him to come down

When the rabbi’s reluctant Messiah looked down on earth and saw a huge crowd of people filling in the potholes, especially those created by the church herself, he was delighted. He saw Archbishop Hunthausen of Seattle giving gays a place to worship in his cathedral. He saw Bishop Untener of Saginaw, MI, courageously inviting the church to open a brand new discussion on birth control. He saw Auxiliary Bishop Gumbleton of Detroit audaciously predicting there will one day be priestesses in the church. He saw Sr. Joan Chittister gently speaking truth to church and civil power. He saw Fr. Farrow and Fr. Bourgeois bravely putting their necks on the chopping block as both obeyed their conscience. When the reluctant Messiah saw such a huge cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) calling him to come down, he changed his mind and earnestly besought God to send him down upon the good earth.