Of Things Divine and Orange

Fr. Bryan P. Timby
Nov. 27, 2005

Well, the countdown has begun. It began at six o’clock Friday morning when stores all over the country opened their door to usher in the “Christmas Shopping Season.” Merchants are excited this year and anticipate an increase in sales over last year because of the good economy. The shoppers are so excited that they even trampled over one another as they sought the best bargains at the least expensive stores. They are counting down the days and will be reminding us tight up to the last hours of Christmas Eve that there are only so many shopping days left until Christmas.

Some have confused the shopping season with the Christian season that celebrates the birth of Jesus so much so that Christmas Day has become the end of a secular celebration of shopping. And the 25% off, 33% 0ff, 50% off and 60% off sales have replaced the Advent calendar as the way to prepare for the twelve days of the Christmas Season.

But there is still a place for Advent in the hustle and bustle of the month of December. Even Rev. Billy Graham just the other day in his column addressed the meaning of Advent in the life of a Christian. He reminded his readers that the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day and the days that follow them form the season of spiritual preparation Christian call Advent. He said it is a season of introspection and change, time to adjust one’s attitudes and priorities to conform to the mind of Jesus, who came to call us to conversion and life eternal.

Our encounters with Christ are many, although many go unappreciated. So often we fail to see the face of Jesus in those we encounter every day. Sometimes it is just plain difficult because there are those that seem to be the incarnation of evil, like the one who curses your driving habits, the one that stole your wallet from the locker at the gym, or the one who murdered a bunch of women and threw their bodies down a hillside over the course of several months or years. Yet we meet Christ when we meet them. Jesus tells us so.

Then, there are those who bring smiles to our faces and our hearts: the child’s face that lights up when a box of gifts is delivered in an otherwise disastrous year, the hope that is in the eye of an elderly person as we grasp their hand and say a prayer or speak a few kind words to them, the gratitude of a family who is rescued from destitution through an effort of friends, acquaintances and even strangers. It is just easier to admit to the presence of Jesus when there is the presence of love.

The difficulty we have in recognizing the Lord in people we don’t like is an aspect of conversion that needs our consistent attention. It is possible to see Christ in everyone. We just have to realize that one part of conversion is coming to the understanding that we are to call forth the presence of Christ in one another. He is there. He is just waiting to be revealed, waiting to be recognized.

Each of us is a work in progress. We are malleable as long as we are alive and allow the Master Potter to work with us. Every day presents opportunities for growth. Every breath is filled with promise. And it is all because God loves us and desires us to be in full communion with Him.

As we anticipate our encounter with the Lord in the mystery of His Incarnation, we surrender ourselves with confidence so that our own transformation may be accomplished through the potter’s hands. We open ourselves to the graces of the sacraments. We tend to the spiritual aspects of this holy season. We prepare ourselves for the joy that is Christmas by cooperating with God’s revelation of mercy, compassion and love.

We watch. And we wait.

It is possible even in the midst of the hurry-scurry of the holiday season. We make appointments with God. We go to confession. We keep the holy days of the season. We celebrate the quiet of Advent through lessons and carols that remind us that God did indeed become one of us, one like us in all things but sin.

So, let the countdown continue. Just remember that we are waiting and watching for something much more fulfilling than anything jolly old St. Nick can drag down a chimney. When it arrives we will not be tempted to say Christmas is over but will instead joyfully proclaim that it has just begun.

By: Bryan Timby

In a world that seems to have lost its sense of personal responsibility and accountability, the parable in today’s Gospel sounds a warning that not only we, but groups and corporations must heed.

We have seen corporate irresponsibility wipe out thousands of people’s financial security. Greed coupled with dishonesty is always a lose-lose proposition. Enron. WorldCom. United Airlines.

When it is all too tempting to say “I will do as I please; everyone else be damned”, Jesus reminds us that we will be held accountable for personal decisions. And, we will be held accountable not only for what we do but also for what we fail to do.

In the parable, the Master gives each of his servants a different amount of his wealth to protect and work. Notice that not all the servants received equal portions. They were given talents each according to his ability. But each was expected to be equally responsible with the portion allotted him.

Now, while the talents of which Jesus spoke were portions of financial wealth, a “talent” being a measure of silver equal to a full year’s wages, we can find a modern application of the word in St. Paul when he writes that some have the gifts to be deacons, some teachers, some administrators, and so on. Not all of us receive the same gifts or talents from God. Some of us are better at one thing than others are, and some who are good at the same thing discover that there is even a degree of capability among those with the same gift.

For example, there are people like me who love to sing and can occasionally get a melody right with some accompaniment. (I remember the eighth grade Christmas party in 1964 when I was unlucky enough to pull out of the game bag the instruction to sing the Beatles’ “If I Fell” in front of the class. If I remember correctly I was asked to take my seat after just four or five measures.)

Then there are those who have some talent and are parish cantors or choir members.

Then there are the “Three Tenors.”

When we recognize that we have a special gift we are called to develop it and use it for the glory of God. That is why God blessed us in the first place. Being faithful to God is more than having “faith.” It means that we respond in faith with good works. St. James tells us that faith without works is dead. Our lives as faithful stewards require both faith and work. We cannot just sit around thinking God is going to drop some wonderful blessing into our laps because we have faith in Him.

It’s a lot like expecting a candy bar from a machine into which we have put no money. We pull the knobs or press the buttons in the hope that someone else put money into the machine. That happens usually, well, next to never. And those who are old enough to remember pay phones … how many times did you stick your fingers into the coin return tray in the hopes of receiving something for nothing? Bet you couldn’t make a living that way, could you?

God expects us to be productive all the days of our lives. Oh, the type of work we do may change from age to age in a lifetime, but God still expects us to be productive with the gift of life He so generously bestowed up on us. He has no plans to offer retirement from good stewardship to any of us.

Even if we are lucky enough to be able to retire from our jobs, a truly modern invention in the history of the human race, God calls us to work and be productive in His vineyard because we have proclaimed our faith in Him. Without some serious medical reason, we can’t just sit in front of a television with the intention of letting someone else do it. We can’t rest on our laurels for the good things we have done in the past because our past success is an indication of our call from God in the present and for the future. From those to whom much has been given much will be required.

We’ve all heard the saying “use it or lose it” and there are examples right around us. Well, by means of this parable, Jesus warns us that those who just sit on what God has given them and fail to get involved in life will lose what little they were given by God.

The athlete that stops training loses the ability to perform the tasks once taken for granted. I am a living example of that. When my competitive swimming days were over after nearly twelve years of practice, I vowed never to swim another lap. Now, if I wanted to do a lap in butterfly I would gag on the water. If I wanted to do a lap in backstroke I would sink off the starting block. The same type thing happens to a football player who lifts weights for years of training and then “retires.” All that built-up muscle relaxes and the player in time turns into a ball of blubber.

The rule applies to other disciplines as well. A person who speaks a foreign language loses competency unless there is regular and active participation in conversation in that language. Singers that don’t practice lose the edge in their voice and are unable to perform at their best. Priests and ministers who don’t read, pray and familiarize themselves with the lives of the people in their congregation cannot preach a homily.

Today, Jesus asks us to recall what gifts we have received from God and reminds us to develop them and share them for the good of the Kingdom of God.

In coming weeks, we have many opportunities to share our gifts with others at Holy Rosary.

· The preparation of Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets is a wonderful way to share from our personal bounty.

· The Angel Trees will be going up soon to solicit gifts for needy people.

· The Ecumenical Thanksgiving Prayer Service is a week from Tuesday and our presence is so important in our work for the unity of the Church for which Jesus himself prayed.

· And next Sunday, the Altar Society is sponsoring a parish-wide bake sale and is soliciting everyone’s help

This is the time of the year that we are easily reminded that a single twig snaps very easily, but a bunch of twigs bound together in faith and purpose cannot be broken. Each of us, with all our blessings, is a twig. Individually we can do very little, but bound together in the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed we can accomplish great things for God’s glory. But we cannot fall into the trap of assuming that someone else will do what we are very capable of doing. When that happens, the usual result is that nothing gets done.

I think back just a few short weeks ago when we were all wondering what to do to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. All it took was one young woman with an idea that we rallied around and miracles were accomplished right in our midst. And, all it took was one suggestion from a single coach and a group of men were down in Biloxi contributing to the clean-up effort.

With what gift or gifts has God entrusted you? How did you use your gifts this past week for God’s glory? What return on your gifts do you have to offer today?

Scott Libby is a Presbyterian minister who was filling in for a pastor away on vacation. He decided to go to the church early to familiarize himself with the order of worship and to get a feel for the “lay of the land.”

He happened upon the church nursery in which he found just one unattended little boy. He greeted the youngster and asked why he was alone.

“No one has come to keep me company, Mister.”

Rev. Libby replied, “I’m sure somebody will be along very soon.”

The preacher started to walk away, and he heard the little boy’s voice chase after him like the Hound of Heaven, “Why not you, Mister?”

Eleven of us made it to the 40th Reunion of the Graduating Class of 1965 from St. Mary's Elementary School in Delaware, Ohio. We gather at Brewskee's Restaurant in Delaware on Friday, October 28. We talked and shred memories from 8 o'clock until after midnight.

John Bills and his wife Joanne, Jimmy Russell, Fred Furlong, Cathy Wolf, Cathy (Reed) and her husband Ralph Bennett, Ed Connell and he wife Donna, Tom Frentsos, Barb (Bianchi) Ekelberry, Brenda (Ingle) Bennett, and Charlie Kelly.

Why, even Wilbur and Mary Bills, John's parents and Tom's uncle and aunt, came by to visit. I didn't realize until the next day when I was driving through the Ohio Wesleyan University campus that a new fire station had been erected and named for Mr. Bills. In our day, he was a fixture at the station on the corner of William and Sandusky streets. If he wasn't there, a house was burning down in another part of town. Congratulations, Wilbur!

Steve Stromberg was out-of-town. Bob Held said he was coming but didn't make it. Steve Walker had to coach his high school football team in its last game of the season. Randy Thompson, Greg Amato, Kathy Shane, Barbara Buchaan and Mike Halter all live too far away to make the trip. Dan Parker was prohibited from joining by circumstances out of his control. And, according to his family Kevin Grigsby is "presumed" dead.

I was amazed at how little everyone had changed since 1965. That is not to say that we haven't gained weight (all except Cathy Reed and Barb Bianchi, that is) nor that some of us have lost some hair. It was the smiles and the senses of humor that remained the same. It was Charlie's devilish grin as he approached the table that gave his identity away to me. Jimmy is still soft-spoken with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. Freddie is still the same analyst getting to the "how it works" solution like he was when building his own radio and making his own glass in the basement of his parents' home. Ed is still quiet and reserved. John, the rock n roller of the class, still shows the brilliance of having been one of our class leaders. Barb was exactly as I remembered her as she introduced me to the Beatles, listening to records on her front porch in the fall of 1963. I would have recognized Brenda's face in a crowd of a thousand. Cathy (Reed)was my first real kiss (other than the playground antics of my third grade year) on the roller coaster at the Columbus Zoo in the spring of 1964; no one forgets the face of his first kiss. Cathy (Wolf) is her family personified, and so professional with a great memory for the details of our years at St. Mary's even if she thought my name was "O'Brien Quimby" when I first moved to Delware in 1958. And, Tom is still the charmer with his broad grin and dancing eyes. What a wonderful group of people to have known and know again!

We remembered our teachers: Sr. Peter Chanel, Mrs. Mahoney, Sr. Paulinda (now Sr. Colleen), Mrs. Elder, Sr. Marita, Miss Mahoney (Mrs' Mahoney's daughter), Sr. Paulinda again (she just couldn't get enough of us), and Sr. Agnes Clare. Mrs. Mahoney, Mrs. Elder, Miss Mahoney and Sr. Agnes Clare have all gone to the eternal reward, and we commend them to God's mercy and compassion.

As I visited each, I remembered moments long forgotten: my attempt at singing "If I Fell" by the Beatles at the 8th Grade Christmas party, the panic I caused over the strep infection for which my mother's poodle puppies had to be put down when we were all just suffering from an allergic reaction to the "Flubber Balls" we bought at Woolworth's, that first kiss, my throwing a pencil at the teacher in 6th Grade becasue she accused me of talking when it was actually the two in front of me (I won't reveal names!), the Fr. O'Brien explanation of how one of our classmates in 2nd Grade was Black (God burnt one, according to Fr. O'Brien!), Miss Mahoney's fingernails screeching as she wrote on the board, Sr. Agnes Clare's ruler and the back of our heads ... oh, there were just so many!

I think one of the funniest lines of the night, and I don't remember who said it, was: "I can't believe one of this group became a priest!" Well, to tell you the truth, my family still is considering that question. After all, according to my mother I was to be an actor, a priest or a jailbird. (I refuse to post any information regarding my experience in her predictions.)

I left Delaware so refreshed and wondered if we would ever get together again. Barb had a daughter get married this weekend, and John has a son getting married in May. Some are already grandparents many times over. I hope we do get together again, and I hope we don't wait another forty years.

By: Fr. Bryan Timby

The Gospel today, my friends, is very clear in its lesson. Stay awake! Pay attention! Be prepared!

In our western culture we don’t see wedding celebrations of the sort described in the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom, but they are still common place in the Middle East even two thousand years after Jesus spoke to the people of their need to be prepared for the Messiah. People are invited to the wedding feast on the appointed day but there is no specific time, so they come early and then wait for the groom to arrive with his friends. It could be at noon, the ninth hour, or the 12th. It could be well into the night, so everyone just waits and parties. And the bride's family provides everything, even the open bar.

We are so programmed to running our lives by the clock that the concept of just waiting for the groom to arrive is foreign to us. We’d be making ourselves crazy asking questions like “Will there be any food leftover when the groom gets here?” or “They’re drinking all the good wine while they wait” or “The photographer is taking too many picture. How much is this going to cost me?” or “The band charges by the hour; and they’re not cheap!” I suspect the folks in Cana ran out of wine because the groom and his friends stopped for a little celebration of their own on the way to the village – an ancient Bachelor Party, if you will.

When the groom didn’t arrive in a timely fashion and day slipped into night, the bridesmaids, whose job it was to led the groom to his betrothed, were expected to be extra observant. But the day had been long and five of the maidens had not anticipated such a long wait so they were short of oil for their lamps. When the groom finally arrived, only the lamps of those who had prepared for the unexpected were ready to meet him, and it is these that Jesus says we should emulate because it is those who are ready and waiting for him that he will recognize and know.

We all have been given the graces of salvation. Some of us safeguard them in every way imaginable. We go to Mass as often as we possibly can. We stop and pray throughout the day. We read holy literature such as the lives of the saints, scriptural commentaries, and the inspirational writings of the ages. Our Bibles don’t have time to collect dust on the end table. We avail ourselves of the sacramental graces of Confession whenever the opportunity arises. We truly thirst for the Lord and want to be prepared for the moment our Bridegroom arrives to greet us.

It is not just priests and women and men religious that make these practices a part of their daily lives. Ordinary men and women, boys and girls can be found waiting anxiously for the Groom. Evidence of this is reflected in the numbers of people at Holy Rosary who have made Confession and daily Mass a part of their everyday lives. And I’m not talking just old folks, but young men and women, struggling mothers and fathers, college students. It is an answer to my prayers to see these numbers growing and so edifying to know that there are people who thirst for a deeper knowledge of God.

Some people, on the other hand, can’t be bothered. They ignore the road signs the Church has posted as aids to being prepared. They don’t give a second thought to ignoring holy days of obligation or skipping Sunday Mass if something more enticing or relaxing comes along. They haven’t been to Confession in years, maybe not since they went the first time. Sometimes it is because they are frightened of confessing their sins to a priest. Or, it might be that they presume they are forgiven all their sins, forgetting that it is the Church to whom Jesus gave the power of the keys to bind and loosen sin both on earth and in heaven. Sometimes they just refuse to practice acts of penance because they have convinced themselves that it is medieval to punish themselves or deny themselves any pleasures the world has to offer.

Now, most people, and that’s us, just find that they are too busy to engage in a meaningful relationship with Jesus. They are good people. They go to Mass on Sunday. They honor the holy days. They make sure their children are educated in the Faith. But!, they have to get the kids to school and then get themselves to work. They don’t get home from work before they are picking up kids and taking them to practice of some kind or to scouts or to a game. Then there are their social functions, clubs and Bonko parties. And heaven forbid they miss their favorite television shows. It’s amazing how many people these days won’t leave their homes out of fear of missing out on the latest scandal from Wisteria Lane. Even on the busiest of days there seems to be enough time for Desperate Housewives and Survival. Of course, they’re too tired at the end of the day to pray.

Jesus asks us to be like the five virgins who brought extra oil. If we prepare for the unexpected, it is easy to deal with the expected.

Many workplaces nowadays have groups that get together to pray or for Bible Study. Check them out or start one. Don’t be afraid if the others are Baptist or Presbyterian. I’ll guarantee that you know a lot more about the Bible that you think you do.

Instead of reading the most recent bestselling book by John Grisham or John Patterson, read a biography of a Church Hero every now and again. You don’t have to give up what you like. Just add the lives of the saints to your library so you can learn how ordinary people hungered and thirsted for the Lord even as they tended to their responsibilities as parents, spouses and grandparents and were able to grow in extraordinary ways.

Schedule time to pray every day, and keep the appointment. Yes, God will always be there for us, but it is our faithfulness to the relationship that reveals what is most valuable in our lives.

Recommit to participation in all Sunday and Holy Day liturgies and other special church celebrations through the year, like the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Prayer Service. Put them on a calendar and when a “better” offer comes along simply say that there is a previous commitment that must be kept. Or, better yet, invite your friends to join you.

Get involved in some ministry to the poor, the sick or disadvantaged. There is no lack of opportunity to get involved in Memphis. Remember, the poor and the hungry are poor and hungry all year long, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The St. Vincent DePaul Society would welcome you and your willingness to help.

All the saints were ordinary people just like us who thirsted for the Lord and had the wisdom to prepare for his arrival through prayer and involvement in the needs of others. Remember, before anything else, our vocation, our call form God, is to be saints. That is, we are to be the light that leads others to Christ the Lord, their Bridegroom.

None of us knows the hours of the Lord’s return. For some, it will be soon, even tonight. For others, it may be many years from now. For all of us, it could be in an instant just moments from now. So we ask ourselves, “Am I ready? Will I be prepared? Am I paying attention and stocking up on the things that are considered treasure in heaven or do I tend to be complacent and nod off to sleep or get distracted by the things of this world?”

It is not easy to stay vigilant. It’s not easy to wait. But wait we must.

Are you prepared? There is no excuse not to be. God supplies what we need every day. And it doesn’t cost even a penny. It is freely given.

So, if today Jesus is telling us to be prepared and asking if we are ready, I have just one question for you:

Got oil?